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Archive for the 'Agricultural and Inspection' Category
Posted: February 11, 2016 in Agricultural and Inspection, Drone Benefits, Future of Drones
Deep learning algorithms have taught these aerial robots how to follow an unfamiliar path.
Autonomous drones have already mastered the wide-open skies. DHL, Amazon, and Google have each demonstrated self-piloting drones that can deliver packages — in fact, the latter two, as The Verge recently reported, are ready to implement full-scale drone delivery operations in the US and are simply waiting on regulators to get out of the way. But drones that can fly autonomously in complex environments with multiple obstacles (i.e. not the wide-open sky) are another story.
Navigation in terrains that are densely populated with obstacles is an ongoing challenge for researchers. There's been some headway by a team at MIT, who last November demonstrated an autonomous drone avoiding trees while flying at high speeds in a wide-open field. Now, a group of Swiss researchers have developed technology that allows drones to autonomously navigate forest trails, a development they say could one day aid in search-and-rescue operations.
The group, comprised of researchers from the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the University of Zurich, and NCCR Robotics, used deep learning neural networks to tackle the challenge of training an autonomous drone to navigate a densely wooded forest. Teaching a computer to recognize the direction of a trail is a complex task. It can even be difficult for a human to determine the direction of a trail. Just take a look at these photos of trails taken by the researchers and try to determine which direction they're headed in:
In order to train their algorithm, the researchers mounted three GoPro cameras to a headset and took off on hiking trails across the Swiss Alps. One camera was pointed ahead of the hiker, one to the left, and one to the right. After hours spent on these trails, the researchers had snapped over 20,000 images (images in front of the hiker and on either side). Then they used these images to teach their algorithm what the boundaries of a hiking trail should look like.
The result was a deep-learning algorithm that allows a drone equipped with a single forward-facing color camera to navigate a previously-unseen trail completely on its own — no human interaction whatsoever. The algorithm, the researchers claim, was even better than humans at determining the correct direction of the trails it traveled on, guessing the correct direction of a trail with 85 percent accuracy. Humans tasked with determining the direction of the same trails were able to do so correctly only 82 percent of the time.
The team cautions that these results are still in very preliminary stages. But while there's a lot more work to be done before autonomous drones will be able to search forests for missing people, the researchers believe their work is a good sign of how deep neural network will allow autonomous vehicles to navigate situations that involve complex and highly dimensional inputs.
Source: http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/11/10965414/autonomous-drones-deep-learning-navigation-mapping
Why BNSF Railway is using drones to inspect thousands of miles of rail lines
Posted: June 3, 2015 in Agricultural and Inspection
Unmanned inspection vehicles will increase safety and efficiency for the freight network.
After years of accusations of foot-dragging on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) regulation, the Federal Aviation Administration has recently been speeding exemption approvals and announcing new regulatory programs. One beneficiary is BNSF Railway, which has gained approval for a pilot(less) program to use drones to inspect its far-flung network of rails. The inspections could help reduce derailments and other safety problems—and though BNSF isn't saying so, lead to lower labor costs in the long run.
Rail safety is drawing new focus after May's catastrophic Amtrak derailment. Though that accident's immediate cause was excessive speed, the Federal Railroad Administration reports that nearly 500 derailments were caused by defective track in 2014, making up more than a third of total rail accidents. Those derailments caused 35 injuries and $94 million in damages last year. BNSF says its drones will allow for more frequent track inspections, which should reduce track-caused derailments.
FILE – In this Nov. 6, 2013, file photo, a BNSF Railway train hauls crude oil near Wolf Point, Mont. A collapse in oil prices won't derail the railroads' profit engine even if it does slow the tremendous growth in crude oil shipments seen in recent years. Railroads went from hauling 9,500 carloads of crude oil in 2008 to 435,560 last year, as production boomed and oil routinely sold for $90 a barrel or more. But even with the surge, crude oil shipments remain less than 2 percent of all the carloads major U.S. railroads deliver. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
The FAA has greenlit more than 400 so-called "333 exemptions" for limited drone operations since this February. But unlike most operators, BNSF will be testing UAV's outside of direct visual contact with their operator, referred to as "beyond visual line of sight," or BVLOS, operation. BVLOS operation is regarded as more risky by the FAA.
BNSF has earned this special right as part of the FAA's Pathfinder program, an initiative to develop UAV regulation in collaboration with industry that was announced in May. CNN and the drone systems maker PrecisionHawk USA are the other two inaugural participants, and the FAA has invited applicants from other sectors.
The ability to fly drones long distances is crucial to BNSF's goals for the program. The railway owns over 32,500 miles of rail line across the U.S., and says that every foot of track is inspected in person twice a week. But some of that track is hundreds of miles from any major population center, increasing the expense and inconvenience of manned inspection. BNSF has emphasized that its drone program would allow for more frequent inspections, rather than replacing human crews.
5 ways unmanned drones could affect the American food supply
Posted: January 27, 2015 in Agricultural and Inspection, Drone Benefits
Herding cattle. Counting fish. Taking an animal's temperature. Applying pesticides. When it comes to drones, "your imagination can go pretty wild in terms of what would be possible," says Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union. This month, the Federal Aviation Administration issued the first permit for agricultural use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Steven Edgar, president and CEO of ADAVSO, says his Idaho-based business will use a lightweight, fixed-wing drone to survey fields of crops.
Drone technology, already used in other countries, can make farmers more efficient by helping them locate problem spots in vast fields or ranchlands. Increased efficiency could mean lower costs for consumers and less impact on the environment if farmers used fewer chemicals because drones showed them exactly where to spray.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a trade group, says agriculture could account for 80 percent of all commercial drone use, once government regulations allow it. That could be a while. The Federal Aviation Administration has been working for years on rules that would balance the desire for commercial flights of small drones with the need to prevent collisions involving manned aircraft.
Five ways drones could affect the food supply:
SCOUTING FARMS
The first agriculture drones are looking at massive fields of crops to scout out where crops are too wet, too dry, too diseased or too infested with pests. They can help farmers count plants or measure their height. Farmers can now use satellite technology, but it's slower and less detailed than images from low-flying drone.
"This is about getting the most productivity from every square inch of a farm," says ADAVSO's Edgar.
Alabama farmer Don Glenn said he would buy a drone or use a service that provides drone surveillance on his farm of corn, wheat, soybeans and canola. It's hard to survey corn fields when they are 8 feet to 10 feet tall, he says.
Drones can carry different tools, including high-resolution cameras, infrared sensors and thermal sensors. Ground-penetrating radar could even measure soil conditions.
APPLYING CHEMICALS
Once the land is surveyed, farmers could use that data to narrow the areas that need treatment. If a plot of farmland is infested with weeds, for example, a farmer could spray a small amount of herbicide just in that area, instead of an entire field, to kill them. Farmers hope that they eventually could use drones to do the spraying.
Kevin Price of the Iowa-based drone company RoboFlight Systems says that kind of precision would put farmers at a huge advantage, helping them reduce the costs of chemicals and their application.
PLAYING COWBOY
The National Farmers Union's Johnson says his father used to fly a plane over his ranch and his neighbors' to spot escaped cattle when he was growing up in North Dakota. That's something a drone could do with far less money and effort.
Lia Reich of the UAV manufacturer PrecisionHawk says the company's drones can use thermal sensors to take the temperature of cattle. The data comes back as bands of color, and "if all of the cattle look green and one looks dark purple then that one has a higher temperature," she said.
The South Lawn of the White House in Washington is seen on Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. A device, possibly …
Drones could help ranchers count cattle, disturb pests that are aggravating livestock or even apply insecticide to an animal.
FINDING FISH
A University of Maryland project is developing drone technology to monitor fish in the Chesapeake Bay. Matt Scassero, the project director, says the idea is that a laser-based sensor mounted on a drone would allow scientists to see through the water and measure the size of a school of fish. Researchers could ascertain the conditions of the water, too.
Some drones can land on water, making it possible to measure water quality, as well.
REVEALING SECRETS
There are downsides for farmers. Documentary filmmaker Mark Devries has used an unmanned vehicle to fly over large commercial hog operations and film them. He wants consumers to see the buildings full of animals and huge manure pits.
The drones "allow for close-ups and vantage points that satellites and airplanes cannot easily obtain," Devries says.
R.J. Karney of the American Farm Bureau Federation says there is a "major concern" about those kinds of films and his group intends to work with the Obama administration and Congress to address it. He says such films are not only a privacy violation, but can put farmers at a competitive disadvantage.
Still, the agriculture industry sees the advantages of drones as far outweighing the disadvantages.
"We're concerned about falling behind other countries" as the FAA delays, Karney says. "Farmers are anxious to see where this can go."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-ways-unmanned-drones-could-affect-american-food-123420545.html
Drones could become familiar sight over Wine Country vineyards
Posted: October 21, 2014 in Agricultural and Inspection, Drone Benefits
U.C. Davis engineer Ryan Billing flies a Yamaha RMAX helicopter over the Oakville Station test vineyard to demonstrate the use of the drone applying fertilizers and pesticides to vineyards. (JOHN BURGESS/ PD)
As he went around Napa Valley in the past two years, Ken Giles had the unenviable task of notifying nearby residents that UC Davis would be conducting a demonstration project using drones to spray pesticides at its vineyard in Oakville.
Giles, a professor in the university's biological and agricultural engineering department, said he was prepared for questions, especially given the civil rights qualms over military and police use of drones.
"I would go out and say, 'I'm here to talk on drones spraying pesticides.' If I was spraying over GMO crops, then I would have been three for three (on paranoia)," Giles wryly noted, referencing concerns over genetically modified organisms.
But Giles said he has not experienced much uproar over the program with partner Yamaha Motor Corp. USA, which has used its RMAX helicopter to test the efficiency and safety of aerial spraying over the Oakville vineyard. "It seems to be quieted down a bit," he said.
The drones are expected to be more commonplace in the Napa vineyard, likely by next year if the Federal Aviation Administration approves Yamaha's application to use unmanned aircraft systems for agricultural purposes.
Such approval appears increasingly likely as the FAA on Sept. 25 authorized six aerial photo and video production companies to use drones in the film and television industry.
"We feel the timing is right to investigate the U.S. market. We have been doing it the last couple years," said Steve Markofski, business planner for Yamaha. "We have been focusing on high-value crops, specifically grapes here in Napa."
Yamaha and UC Davis conducted a demonstration of the RMAX helicopter on Wednesday in conjunction with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a trade group which supports the defense, civil and commercial sectors. The aircraft, a small helicopter that weighs 140 pounds, carried water in its 2.1-gallon tanks, instead of pesticide.
Officials at the event were on message to continually utter the phrase "unmanned aircraft" as opposed to drones, which carry a more sinister meaning.
So far, the opposition to commercial use of drones is not as intense as that for military and police use.
"Our primary and basically exclusive focus has been and will continue to be on the use of drones by law enforcement," said Will Matthews, senior communications officer for the ACLU of Northern California, via email.
Japan pioneered the use of drones in agriculture during the early 1990s, and now unmanned aircraft farm up to 40 percent of that country's rice crop. Australia also uses drones for agricultural purposes.
Yamaha's pitch for the American market is simple: the unmanned aircraft can save money, time and be more efficient than the traditional method of spraying by either tractor or by hand.
For example, the RMAX, flying approximately three meters above the vines at a speed up to 20 kilometers per hour, can cover up to 12 acres an hour. In contrast, a tractor can cover one acre. "We're quite a bit faster compared to the current method," Markofski said.
If approved, Yahama would likely target hilly vineyards, such as those along the Mayacmas Mountains, where spraying is much more difficult and time consuming. It also would apply for use in Yamhill County, Ore., which also has many wineries.
"Can you imagine treating those (hilly vineyards) with a ground tractor, how narrow those (fields) are and how risky that can be?" Markofski said.
The drones also can apply fertilizer and seeds as well as monitor crops. Yamaha would lease the aircraft, operated by a three-man team. The operator must remain up to 150 meters near the drone.
Yamaha is still formulating the price of the drones, pending approval, Markofski said.
UC Davis continues to crunch data from the test flights to monitor the drones' efficiency, productivity and spray drift, Giles said. But so far there have been no red flags, especially in its safety.
"It's a vehicle with potential where we know there are things we can do with it that we couldn't do in the past — spot treatments, quick treatments, delivery of a very localized payload," Giles said.
Drones may provide big lift to agriculture when FAA allows their use
Posted: September 15, 2014 in Agricultural and Inspection
A drone lifts off at Kunde Family Vineyards near Santa Rosa, Calif. Ryan Kunde, a winemaker at DRNK Wines, flies his drones recreationally and has been testing drones with the goal of one day using them to help make decisions in the vineyard.
When Steve Morris began building unmanned aerial systems in the late 1990s, he envisioned flying them over fields and collecting data that would be useful to farmers.
But after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, drones became largely associated with military strikes and surveillance operations. Morris said the technology became the subject of contentious political debates and public paranoia.
"The entire dream evaporated at that point," said Morris, founder and president of MLB Co. in Santa Clara, Calif. "In an alternate universe where [drones] rose to prominence through helping the economy, creating businesses and jobs, people would have a different view of them."
More than a decade later, attention is refocusing on development of drones for commercial purposes. Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. and Walt Disney Co. are grabbing headlines with plans to develop drones for deliveries, mapping and entertainment. I think it's going to change agriculture as we know it in North America. It's definitely going to allow producers to become much more efficient. – Scott Shearer, a professor at Ohio State University and an expert in precision agriculture
But the big boom in unmanned aircraft may come from what's known as precision agriculture — using high-tech systems to help farmers increase yields and cut costs.
FAA-approved drones report for duty on North Dakota farms
Posted: April 22, 2014 in Agricultural and Inspection, Drones & The FAA
North Dakota will soon get a glimpse of a future where farmers can monitor their crops using small, flying drones. That's because the US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given the state the go-ahead to start using its unmanned aerial systems (UAS) test site. It's the first one to become operation among the six commercial UAS testing program sites chosen by Congress in 2013. The state's Department of Commerce will hold two rounds of flight tests using Draganflyer X4ES drones not only to monitor crops, but also to test soil quality. These are relatively small, helicopter-like machines, which measure 36.25 inches in length and width and are equipped with Sony cameras.
While the mission's main goal is to prove that drones can be used for those aforementioned farming tasks, authorities will also be collecting safety data from the flights.
According to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta:
These data will lay the groundwork for reducing risks and ensuring continued safe operations of UAS. We believe the test site programs will be extremely valuable to integrating unmanned aircraft and fostering America's leadership in advancing this technology.
In other words, missions conducted in the six test sites will determine the future of UAS in the country and perhaps even to make the public realize that not all drones are harbingers of doom. The Draganflyer X4ES drones will take to the skies on the week of May 5th at North Dakota State University's Carrington Research Extension Center and then again at Sullys Hill National Game Preserve this summer. But, as the permit to operate the site is good for two years, the drone will likely roam more Peace Garden state fields in the future.
Source: (Thanks Kevin!) http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/21/drone-test-site-north-dakota
Drone experts see booming agriculture market
Posted: December 18, 2013 in Agricultural and Inspection
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
A four-rotor, camera-equipped drone hovers during a demonstration flight at a McMinnville, Ore., forum.
Speakers say agriculture will be an early adapter of drone technology.
MCMINNVILLE — Young Kim is a former U.S. Air Force pilot and familiar with the "outcome oriented" use of drone aircraft by the military. Get them over a target, conduct the surveillance or fire the missile – that's how success is gauged.
Putting drone technology to work in agriculture, as he does now as general manager of Bosh Precision Agriculture in Virginia, requires an entrepreneurial mind-set.
"Do not waste growers' time," he said at drone technology forum in the heart of Oregon's wine country this week. "You've got to deliver value very, very quickly. Show them how it will increase yield and lower inputs costs."
Kim believes unmanned planes, equipped with sensors and cameras, will rapidly transform agriculture by providing quick, detailed information on plant health, soil and water conditions, disease or pest outbreaks and more. He said it's a change similar to moving from analog to digital technology.
Agriculture is in the midst of a significant transformation, he said. The "biggest ag boom since the 1980s" is accompanied by a trend in which the number of farmers is declining but the acreage farmed by each is increasing, Kim said. At the same time, those farmers working large plots of land want the intimate knowledge they used to have of smaller acreage. Drones can provide that, but Kim said people shouldn't get hung up on the "sexiness" of the technology.
"The real value is the data," he said. "Focus on the problem of the grower and work backward from there."
Oklahoma Farmers Use Drones To Monitor Crops, Cattle
Posted: November 27, 2013 in Agricultural and Inspection
OKLAHOMA CITY – Privacy concerns weigh heavy on the governmental use of UAS. But for farmers in Oklahoma and all around the United States, UAS could be a necessary tool to the future of farming.
"The technology is pretty new to our members but as we go and technology gets stronger I see a huge market for it in the future," said Oklahoma Farm Bureau's John Collison.
UAS is already a tool for many Oklahoma Farmers.
"Check their cattle, check their property, use these drone for precision agriculture and make sure we are farming the most efficient and effective way possible," Collison said.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau's John Collison still hears concerns from other farmers across the state.
"Farmers want to use these drones in a correct manner and under FAA guidelines and using them correctly," Collison said.
In an exclusive statement to News 9, the FAA clarified the issue, stating:
"Farmers may operate an unmanned aircraft over their own property for personal use and Guidelines for the operation of model aircraft, such as those published by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, may be used by farmers as reference for safe model UAS operations."
One priority guideline from the AMA… "(c) Not fly higher than approximately 400 feet above ground level within three (3) miles of an airport without notifying the airport operator."
"System are much smaller, and has the capability to sense where his crops need to be watered," said Retired Major General Toney Stricklin.
Retired Major General of the US Army and member of the Oklahoma Unmanned Aircraft Council Toney Stricklin knows the difference between military and commercial drones, and feels farming is just the beginning.
"I Like to say the genie is out of the bottle. This technology will continue to grow in public safety and agriculture," Stricklin said.
It really is just the beginning. General Stricklin estimates in the next 20 years, UAS will be a multi-billion dollar industry.
Source: Academy of Model Aeronautics National Model Aircraft Safety Code
Nepal tests new unmanned aerial vehicle technology to stop wildlife crime
Posted: November 18, 2013 in Agricultural and Inspection, Positive Drone Uses
[ For more information about UAV's positively impacting wildlife, pick up the January/February 2014 issue of Robot Magazine and check out "UAV's Deployed in Nepal To Save Wildlife", by Tom Atwood. http://www.botmag.com ]
BARDIA NATIONAL PARK – Nepal's antipoaching efforts received a major boost this week as park rangers and army personnel learn how to operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in two national parks in a training program organized by WWF.
Nepal is home to rhinos, tigers and elephants, among the world's most vulnerable species. Poaching of these and many other animals is at an all-time high and the hope is that UAV technology will help capture poachers in the act and deter others from even trying.
WWF has supported Nepal with training rangers to use unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor for poachers.
"Nepal is committed to stopping wildlife crime, which is robbing Nepal of its natural resources, putting the lives of rangers and local communities at risk, and feeding into global criminal networks," said General Krishna Acharya, Director of Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. "Technologies like these non-lethal UAVs could give our park rangers a vital advantage against dangerously armed poachers."
Nineteen park rangers and Nepal army personnel were trained to use the UAVs by developer Mr. Lian Pin Koh, an ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. Participants learned how to use the planes and conducted field tests in Bardia National Park.
Traditionally, effective monitoring of national parks has depended largely on accessibility of the terrain by anti-poaching patrols as well as prior intelligence on poachers in the vicinity.
The UAV gives the patrols a new strategic advantage with an eye in the sky, allowing them access into previously unreachable areas and a safe view of illegal activities on the ground. The presence of a UAV also serves as a deterrent to poachers and illegal loggers since they now know that the parks are being monitored both on the ground and from above.
The GPS-enabled FPV Raptor model planes are light enough to be launched by hand, filming the ground below with a still or video camera. They can fly a pre-programmed route of about 30km at a maximum elevation of 200 meters for up to 50 minutes. The battery can be recharged in about half an hour. Each UAV costs about $2500, making it affordable even for developing countries like Nepal.
"WWF is excited to be part of this field test of new technology in partnership with the government of Nepal," said Anil Manandhar, Country Representative of WWF Nepal. "We see this as a potentially powerful new tool to improve protection of Nepal's national parks from illegal activities like poaching and logging."
Source: http://wwf.panda.org/?206154/Nepal-tests-new-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-technology-to-stop-wildlife-crime=
Source: http://www.botmag.com/
Drones Are Helping Make Delicious Wine
Posted: October 9, 2013 in Agricultural and Inspection, Commercial Drones
Preparing To Launch A Drone
This is some Firefly-level futuristic Old West juxtaposition.
3D Robotics, via YouTube
Sometimes it's hard to get the big picture from the ground. In a vineyard, the color of vines and signs of stress are easier to see, especially for a whole field, from the sky. Today, this kind of aerial surveying for agriculture can be done with an appointment and service fee from a manned airplane or helicopter, but in the future it could all be done by drones the farmers' themselves own.
DRNK Wines, a vineyard located in Sebastolpol, California, recently had 3D Robotics, the drone company founded by former Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson, fly a drone over its fields. 3D Robotics specializes in piloting systems for smaller drones, and the vineyard used 3D Robotics's route-plotting software for mapping out the drone's precise path. In just an hour, the drone flew over the field snapping pictures, then stiched together the pictures to create a comprehensive map of the vienyard. Looking over the newly created field map, farmer Ryan Kunde noticed two things he expected, and one he didn't. The top of the hill had darker vines, indictating more water and better soil, than the lower slopes. That variation was expected. Unexpected was a fertile crescent at the bottom of the hill, with darker vines indictating a second especially good growing patch. With that knowledge, Kunde sampled grapes from the crescent, and decided which part of his crop to harvest first.
Watch a video of the flight and the farmers below:
Unmanned drones are being tested on the Olympic Peninsula
Posted: September 30, 2013 in Agricultural and Inspection, Future of Drones
NOAA has begun testing unmanned aircraft in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary that could allow researchers to observe animals at relatively close range with minimal disturbance, and possibly locate marine debris in remote areas.
The test of the Puma system, which can fly lower and slower than manned aircraft and are much quieter, is taking place in and around the sanctuary through June 29 and is the first test of unmanned aircraft for use in the Olympic Coast.
During the test, the aircraft is launched and recovered from the research vessel Tatoosh. The test mission will demonstrate the aircraft's camera resolution and allow researchers to explore the aircraft's potential to support management of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex and other marine resource trustees.
"The primary objective of the tests is to monitor seabird colonies along the coastline and offshore islands of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary," said Carol Bernthal, sanctuary superintendent. "We also plan to survey remote coastline and open waters for marine debris and other marine wildlife."
The Puma is a 13-pound, battery-powered aircraft that can be hand-launched from any location on land or at sea from a boat and is controlled remotely. The aircraft can fly for up to two hours on a charge and cover a range of about 50 square miles.
If successful, unmanned aircraft technology could be used in marine protected areas worldwide.
Agencies throughout the state, including Grays Harbor, have submitted a proposal for a drone research and testing facility in Washington. The proposal provides a testing range over the Pacific Ocean near Grays Harbor for those developers needing "blue water" testing capability.
The final decisions for the flight center are scheduled to be made before December 31, 2013.
Source: http://www.suasnews.com/2013/06/23508/unmanned-drones-are-being-tested-on-the-olympic-peninsula/
Posted: August 29, 2013 in Agricultural and Inspection, Drone Benefits, Positive Drone Uses
A drone the size of a small Cessna plane buzzing over the massive Rim fire has become a valuable tool as commanders use its real-time imagery to strategize their next move.
The remotely piloted plane began flying Wednesday morning after Incident Cmdr. Mike Wilkins requested the MQ-1 aircraft belonging to the California Air National Guard. It has since been giving fire commanders a bird's-eye view of the 300-square-mile blaze in and around Yosemite National Park, which is now the sixth largest fire in state history.
Unmanned aircraft have been used sparingly on fires but are gaining value as a cheaper, more efficient tool for fire commanders to better understand how fires are behaving.
They are prized for their ability to beam real-time pictures directly to fire commanders, who can make tactical adjustments more quickly. The aircraft are equipped with infrared heat sensors and a swiveling camera operated remotely.
During a 20-hour mission Wednesday, the drone — taking off from the Victorville airport and operated from March Air Reserve Base in Riverside — alerted crews to a spot fire and provided a more comprehensive fire map.
PHOTOS: Rim fire rages into Yosemite
Unlike manned planes and helicopters, drones are not grounded at night or unable to fly in high winds or smoke. They fly at about 18,000 feet and cost about $800 an hour to operate, Keegan said.
There are now 4,840 firefighters battling the Rim fire, which has been burning in the Stanislaus National Forest for nearly two weeks.
The blaze is 30% contained and has cost nearly $40 million to fight so far, officials said. The fire has burned about 301 square miles, an area bigger than Chicago or San Francisco, and destroyed at least 111 structures.
Fire crews in Yosemite were hoping to slow advancing flames by conducting large-scale backfire operations from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir south to Tioga Road.
The rate of spread of the massive fire has slowed in recent days and firefighters expect to have it fully contained by Sept. 10, officials said.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drone-providing-yosemite-fire-commanders-with-birdseye-view-20130829,0,6826104.story


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The Block Disk Cache stores cached values on disk. Like the Indexed Disk Cache, the Block Disk Cache keeps the keys in memory. The Block Disk Cache stores the values in a group of fixed size blocks, whereas the Indexed Disk Cache writes items to disk in one chunk.
There are two ways to limit the cache size: using element count and element size. When using element count, in disk store there will be at most MaxKeySize elements (not disk blocks). When using element size, there will be at most KeySize kB of elements stored in the data file. As the Block Disk Cache doesn't need optimization, the data file will be not longer than specified. The limit does not cover the key file size. The mode is chosen using DiskLimitType. Allowed values are: COUNT and SIZE.
Copyright © 2002-2018 The Apache Software Foundation. All Rights Reserved.


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Daily News: Paris Hilton Confirms She's Not Pregnant…"Yet!"…Theory's New Design Lead, Condé Nast's Rent Debacle, J.Lo Stuns In Coach's Fall Campaign, And More!
by Julia Oakes July 27, 2021
written by Julia Oakes July 27, 2021
Coach; Ben Gabbe/Getty Images
Read today's dose of chic intel right here…
Paris Hilton isn't pregnant after all
Rumors ran riot online today that Paris Hilton is pregnant. Alas, the Hollywood personality personally announced that she's not expecting with fiancé Carter Reum, who she was engaged to in February, yet. "I am not pregnant, not yet," she said on Tuesday on her podcast amid the multiple news stories claiming she is pregnant. "I am waiting until after the wedding. My dress is being made right now so I want to make sure it looks gorgeous and fits perfectly so definitely waiting for that part." The couple has been outspoken about wanting to start a family, with Hilton divulging earlier this year that she's been undergoing IVF treatments for some time. On the episode today, Hilton added that she "can't wait to have a little girl" in the future and name her "London."
A post shared by Paris Hilton (@parishilton)
Condé Nast behind on rent payments, negotiating on lower rates
Condé Nast is reportedly falling behind on its rent at its 1 World Trade Center office. The publisher's owner, Advance Publications, paid its rent in the months of May and June—a monthly price tag of around $2.4 million—however it has yet to pay the rates from January to April of this year, which totals to nearly $10 million, according to reports. Since August 2020, the publishing behemoth has been in the market for a new lease, expressing concerns over the rent price associated with the current workspace. Following months of no price change, the company decided to start withholding its payments in January.
One World Trade, home of the Condé Nast offices. (Shutterstock)
Jennifer Lopez is the face of Coach's latest campaign
It's J. Lo's world right now, and we're just living in it. Now, the Coach ambassador is starring in the brand's Fall 2021 campaign alongside Michael B. Jordan, Kōki, and Jeremy Lin. Photographed by Renell Medrano, the "With Friends" campaign highlights moments of unexpected joy—the same moments that come to life when friends and loved ones come together. How, you ask? The stars introduce the house's new Tate and Soft Tabby bags—namely, the Hitch Backpack and a rejuvenated model of its signature Rogue bag—while gathering at block parties, game-watching from the sidelines, and catching up with furry friends. Also included in the release is a short video featuring the campaign's headliners, who share their sentiments on the importance of friends and the ways in which they inspire and support them. In addition to the new totes, the Fall offering comprises plush shearling coats and leather jackets.
(Courtesy/Coach)
Selfridges to be sold for $5+ billion
Iconic luxury retail destination Selfridges is up for sale—and for a whopping price tag. Currently owned by the Weston family, the business has already entered the auction with a price that is said to reflect the brand's entire portfolio. Though not many buyers have shown interest yet, the deal is expected to finalize by the end of the year. Though touting 25 physical locations dotted across the globe, as well as its e-commerce sites, the more than century-old business has experienced the same pandemic-related retail crisis familiar across the industry.
Dos Swim x Paloma Elsesser release inclusive swimwear capsule
Model and Vogue regular Paloma Elsesser has teamed up with swimwear label Dos Swim for what might just be summer's best swim offering. The campaign, shot by Mayan Toledano, features Elsesser and friends modeling the collection—an assortment of fun prints, flirtatious cutouts, and supportive separates—off the beaten path somewhere in upstate New York. The venture into inclusive swimwear is nothing new for the label, who has always put a broad size range (XS to 3XL) and comfort top of mind. Elsesser isn't new to the concept, either. For the model, who has always been outspoken about inclusivity in the fashion industry, the foray into a swimwear collaboration fully backs her mission to make fashion more, in her own words to Vogue's Emma Specter, "chunky-girl-friendly." "I think the swimwear industry is reflective of the fashion industry, which ultimately sends messages like, 'This is what's flattering, so this is what you have permission to wear,'" she added.
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Jagger Walk's Runaway New York brand is tapping into the lifestyle market
Since its inception, Runaway New York has been a brand defined by its city-ready approach to tees, hoodies, sweatpants, and hats. For its latest summer capsule though, designer Jagger Walk wanted to switch things up from the brand's usual offering—and he did so with a lifestyle product instead. Set to release with the Summer capsule collection will be his 'Before Noon' candle, a hand-poured dip made of 100% soy wax that's guaranteed to burn for up to 200 hours. As for the aroma, the candle elicits notes of jasmine, black currant, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, and balsam. Adding a new meaning to getting lit!
(Courtesy/Runaway New York)
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Theory enlists new designer
Dutch fashion designer Lucas Ossendrijver has been chosen as the brand's new design collaborator. Formerly designing menswear with Lanvin, Ossendrijver worked closely with the late Alber Elbaz and helped to rewrite the rulebook for menswear through a mix of youthful inspiration and sophisticated tailoring. He even boasts stints with Kenzo and Dior Homme earlier in his career. Now, Ossendrijver is set to partner with Theory on future projects, surely expanding his portfolio with a range of womenswear and menswear inspired by his Lanvin signatures, aka an activewear-formalwear hybrid aesthetic. The first of his work with Theory is scheduled to debut next year.
(Courtesy/Theory)
Celine Homme was a stylish rave without the rowdy crowd
For its latest SS'22 runway, Celine gifted us all a two-ffer—a head-bopping concert and a coastal runway debut all in one. Shown by way of streamed video, which was directed by Hedi Slimane and released on social media, the collection was cool, calm, and collected—with an emphasis on the cool. What danced down the runway was proof: Moto leather jackets (and vests!) met oversized trenches and rebelliously unfitted trousers…quelle surprise! And, what zoomed around the runway was an added bonus: motor-cross tricksters flipping and stunting to the beat of a techno soundtrack—courtesy of L.A-based musician Izzy Camina. Check it out for yourself below and get cruisin'.
(Courtesy)
Alber ElbazCarter ReumCélineCeline HommesCoachConde Nastdos swimJennifer LopezLanvinLondon SelfridgesLucas Ossendrijvermichael b. jordanPaloma ElesserParis HiltonRunaway New YorkTHeory
Julia Oakes
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Wheat, a cereal grain, originated in the Middle East. It is the oldest crop, dating back over 10,000 years, but was first planted in the U.S. in 1777. Wheat is grown worldwide and is one of the top three produced crops today. Wheat is the primary grain used in U.S. grain products. Approximately three-quarters of all U.S. grain products are made from wheat flour. Additional uses of wheat include: packing peanuts, plastic bags, golf tees, fuels, flour, pasta, bran, chewing gum, chocolate, ice cream and beer, just to name a few!


where legal action is in progress.
At Stage 1, complaints about schools should be dealt with directly by the school concerned, we aim to provide a response in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If the parent or young person is unhappy with the response following the Stage 1 complaint then they might want to raise the complaint to Stage 2.
There are times when we are unable to handle complaints through the process above as there are some disagreements which the law says can be resolved in different ways. We anticipate that most disagreements to do with additional support needs would be covered by these other processes and these are described below.


Breitling has build a close relationship with aviation industry for a long time, meanwhile, Breitling has its own flight formation. That is the reason why the aviation watches released by Breitling have been regarded as the most professional ones. This year, Breitling launched a new Navitimer 1 with 38mm, which simplifies the flying slider rule function that was difficult to master and leaves enough space on the dial. The simplicity style makes the Swiss fake watch look more elegant.
The 38mm Breitling Navitimer replica watches will be the best choice for no matter men wearers who love timepieces with small face or the women wearers who have been anticipating for the Navitimer watches in smaller size. 38mm is a perfect size to all of them. The watch looks simple and graceful without the chronograph sub-dial. Another Navitimer released by Breitling was dating from 1950s, which was created with classic three hands. The new member of Navitimer family is given an elegant appearance with its 18k red gold bidirectional ratchet bezel redesigned. The easy-handled circle slide rule has been always used in the Navitimer collection, making it convenient to convert flight information very quickly.
Copy Breitling with brown leather strap is driven by Calibre B17, a self-winding mechanical movement manufactured by the brand, which can provide a power reserve of 40 hours at least thanks to the bidirectional ball bearing rotor. Moreover, it has passed the tests from COSC successfully. The date window has been moved to the aperture of 6 o'clock. The new Breitling Navitimer 1 maintains the flying slide rule, which is the symbolic function of the collection, meanwhile, being designed with distinctive bezel, new Breitling logo and the new pencil-shaped hands, all of which make the watch look more elegant and gentle. It will be suitable at any occasion.
Breitling has redesigned the Superocean Héritage collection to celebrate its 60 years birthday. This year Breitling has launched the new delicate copy watches in 44mm and 42mm. There are gold version and steel version for you to choose. The first Superocean watch was created for professional divers in 1957, however, it attracted much more amateurish divers and deep diving lovers. Superocean Héritage has maintained the quintessence of the original model and integrate it with advanced technology. The important innovation including beautiful and practical is the brand new steel bezel, fit on robust, anti-shock technological ceramic ring. The design of the distinctive hands and hour markers come from the original model.
Today I will introduce the 44mm copy Breitling Superocean Héritage II B01 to you.The model is driven by Calibre 01, which is manufactured by Breitling. Breitling Master Calibre 01 has been regarded as one of the most reliable mechanical movements. Through the transparent sapphire crystal caseback, the delicacy of the self-winding movement could be appreciated clearly. It has a great power reserve of 70 hours. Water resistance is to 200 meters.
Breitling fake with steel bracelet continues the legend of the brand. Three white sub-dials set at 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock respectively, are contrast to the blue dial, making it easy to read the time at any occasions. Fitted with aero classic steel bracelet, the watch becomes more reliable and sturdier.
Breitling announces to launch a special chronograph replica watch to celebrate the cooperation with MR PORTER, which is considered as a famous online luxury retail for men.The limited Edition Navitimer 8 Aviator B01 Chronograph is one member of Navitimer 8 family which has been launched earlier this year. Georges Kern, who is the CEO of Breitling, is looking forward to the partnership with MR PERTER which has the same value with Breitling.
Only 1000 pieces of Navitimer 8 Aviator B01 Chronograph limited edition will be launched. The Breitling replica watch with silvery dial is equipped with Calibre B01 which is developed and manufactured by Breitling. Like all other Breitling watches, the model has been certificated by COSC. The anthracite chronograph is contrasted to the silvery dial. The limited edition Breitling has been sold on MR PORTER on June 4 and it will show up in Breitling Boutiques and Breitling retailers all over the world in July.
Breitling Navitimer 8 imitation watch with brown leather strap has transparent case back which allows wearer to see the precise movement of the Calibre B01. Besides the limited edition model, another 31 pieces from Breitling's iconic Navitimer, Superocean, Chronomat and Professional will be available on MR POTER.


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Fourth of July weekend is almost upon us, and since July 4th is on a Tuesday, many have a four-day weekend! Whether you are going somewhere, or plan on having a fun BBQ in your own backyard, there are many things to do for the holiday weekend. Ultimately, a long weekend is the perfect time to unwind and relax, and catch up with friends and family. Get a group together to go somewhere, or head to the nearest lake and rent a boat; no matter what you do, you'll have a good time when you are with great people!
The best thing about staying home for the Fourth of July weekend is that you will still know many people around, and can all get together! Additionally, you'll know the best places to go to watch fireworks, get drinks on a rooftop, and pick up good food. If you are staying home, either plan on hosting a Fourth of July bash at your home, or have a friend throw one! If your home isn't the best for hosting, talk to your group of friends or family and find the perfect host; then plan on doing some sort of potluck where everyone brings some food and/or drinks!
Many choose to travel over Fourth of July weekend; some go to the same lake every year because family has a cabin, while some go somewhere new! Certain places are great for visiting over Fourth of July weekend, including, but not limited to, San Antonio, Nashville, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Chicago. From fireworks display to relatively inexpensive hotel rates, your group will have a great time visiting any of these cities. If you are going somewhere new, spend time searching the best spots to go for food, drinks, tourist spots, and more! Even if you are going somewhere you go every year, try to do something new, whether it is trying a new restaurant, hosting a dinner party or game night, or something else.
Enjoy your Fourth of July weekend, and if you will be in the Fresno area, book with Piccadilly Inn Airport!


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Vibrant Gujarat
Vibrant Gujarat roadshow held in China
During the current tour of China, a delegation of Gujarat state officials and industrialists is expected to sign MoUs to set up a 700 MW solar plantPTI | October 18, 2016, 08:30 IST
From K J M Varma
Beijing: The government of Gujarat which is a favourite destination for Chinese investors today held a roadshow here inviting them to take part in the 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit' to be held early next year.
A delegation of Gujarat government officials and industrialists led by Sanjay Prasad, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperation, made presentations about the investment opportunities in various sectors of the state.
"The response is good and we have over 150 participants in the event," Prasad said here.
He said over the years the state which has been campaigning for Chinese investments from the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of the state and continued to receive very good response.
Gujarat was ranked number 1 in 'Ease of Doing Business' in 2015 among all states of India in a joint study by the government of India and the World Bank, he said.
An industrial park comprising of Chinese small and medium industries is coming up at Sanand in the state.
Also during the current tour of China, the delegation is expected to sign MoUs to set up a 700 MW solar plant as well as a fibre glass manufacturing plant.
The final agreements will be signed during the summit to be held from January 10-13, he said.
The delegation later left for Shanghai where it plans to hold a similar show for Chinese investors.
Prasad said the summit has been attracting large number of Chinese investors during the past few years and hope to attract a big delegation next year also.
The roadshow was organised in association with the Indian Embassy here.
Tags : Renewable, Vibrant Gujarat, Solar, Renewable, Ease of Doing Business, China


Technical and Professional Requirements- *Minimum 5 years of relevant experience required.,*Candidate with experience in any of the Big Data testing areas such as Hadoop, Hive, NoSQL DBs, Spark etc. ,*Candidate should possess strong SQL writing skills and should have experience in writing SQL scripts for multiple DBs. ,*Basic skills in Unix is must.,* Candidate should have good experience in ETL or Data Migration testing prior to Big Data testing.,* Experience in various big data frameworks such as Horton Works, Cloudera, AWS etc. and analytics/visualization tools are desirable.
• Adherence to the organizational guidelines and processes.


I am linking DOMO to my smartsheet tables.
I have columns that are percentage (Number) but when pulling them into Domo they are appearing as Text columns.
Can a change the data when setting up the data source?
Hi @user08320! Just a quick glance at the connector documentation in the knowledge base, and it doesn't look like the connector has the functionality at this moment to adjust data types. You could do a quick Magic ETL job on your smartsheet dataset in Domo to change the data types. This will probably be the fastest fix.
If that isn't an option, I would reach out to Domo Support for assistance.


Through using and explaining BDD, I have become convinced that there are 3 main facets to the BDD approach. Understanding the incremental benefit and cost of these facets is key to guiding you on your BDD journey.
Using the 'Given, When, Then' pro-forma for describing behaviour is the first, easiest to introduce and IMO, most important aspect of the BDD approach.
It is easy to get across to people without resistance because it is so simple, almost trivial. When I have introduced it to even skeptical teams the response has been oh, ok, thats how you do it, lets go.
The commonality of the approach is key. Everybody in the team can use this language to describe the intended behaviour of the system. Your BA folks don't need to write separate specifications, your QA folks don't need to write separate test cases and your Developers don't need to write separate integration tests (but more about that in a moment). The Product owner can also see and understand exactly what he is getting without pouring over additional artefacts.
In short, your whole team can use this approach to simultaneously talk about quality, behaviour, user focused design and all agree on one description of the behaviour before moving on. This simple approach is enormously powerful and is compelling enough to use even without using the other 2 facets.
A raft of clever tooling (JBehave, Cucumber etc…) has been created that allow you to take the textual descriptions of behaviour that you get from using 'Given, When, Then' and turn them into automated 'black box' tests. This usually involves writing some 'glue' or 'steps' code between the behaviour and the test.
Adding this to your BDD approach gives you the additional benefit of creating an automated test that both allows you to prove that the software works (and close a story in an Agile context) and give you an automated behavioural regression test that you can run over and over as the software evolves.
Note that you don't need to introduce this tooling and approach in addition to using the vocabulary aspect. Indeed it does come with an additional cost. Turning the behaviours into tests invariably takes some additional effort. You need to weigh this additional effort with the double benefit of story closure and automated regression.
Using this facet of BDD requires careful consideration of the balance between cost and benefit and a firm eye on the medium and long term.
Create 'black box' Test -> Black box test goes red -> Write unit test -> unit test goes 'red' -> write code until unit test goes 'green' -> repeat unit test cycle until black box test goes green.
The key benefit of this approach is that your development team never writes any unnecessary code i.e. it prevents 'over engineering'. The flip-side of this benefit and indeed the additional cost of this approach is related to refactoring. Because the developer is encouraged to write 'just enough' foundational code to support the current behaviour, as you introduce new behaviours, there is often a need to refactor those foundations.
This is by far the most controversial aspect to BDD. While most developers will agree that TDD is the best approach, there is no such consensus on 'test first' for BDD. Many developers want to design the foundations of their solutions with a broad vision of what it needs to achieve with quotes like "If I need to build a 3 story house, I need bigger foundations than a single story house. If I know this up front why not build the larger foundations first".


1. Testing & Commissioning of 220/66/11 kV Protection Systems at RIO Tinto – Yandi @ Western Australia.
2. Testing & Commissioning of 33/6.6/0.415V switchgear and protection systems at BHB – Jimblebar.
3. Testing & Commissioning of Transformers & Switchgear panel at 2X660 MW Power plant NCC – Nellore, AP.
4. Testing & Commissioning of 132/33kV GRID Substation at JKPDD at Bandipora, Kashmir.
5. SJEC recruits Fresher's now.
SJEC is a part of SUN & JAY Group, having its operations in Energy Sector since 2005. SJEC provides specialised consultancy services in the field of Project Management and Execution of Energy Projects.
Since its inception,SJEC has continuously refined its services to suit customer requirements and its now one of the renowned solution and service provider in energy sector.
Mission: With a strong corporate policy, committed team & efficient workflow system, the team is sure to gain respect, recognition and derive its market share.
The Team is basically involved in the testing and commissioning of test equipments of electrical installations.
The team is basically involved in the testing and commissioning of the protection relay,control supervision and SCADA equipments.
The team is basically involved in the routine maintenance/ annual maintenance operations.
The team is basically involved in the replacement/refurbishment of old equipments with the new equipments.
The center is basically involved in imparting training on "Testing,Commissioning and Maintenance" of Electrical Installations.


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Allen J. Bloomfield (May 29, 1883 – September 21, 1932) was an American businessman and politician from New York.

Life
He was born in Warren, New York to Charles W. and Elizabeth (McCredy) Bloomfield. He graduated B.A. from Columbia College in 1904, and then engaged in the hotel business in Richfield Springs. On October 31, 1906, he married Renelcha (Elderkin) Tuller (died c. 1910), and they had two children. In 1915, he married Ruby Emma (Newcomb) Quick, and they had two daughters.

Bloomfield was a member of the New York State Assembly (Otsego Co.) in 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (39th D.) from 1921 to 1924, sitting in the 144th, 145th, 146th and 147th New York State Legislatures. Later he continued to hold a variety of civic offices, and at the time of his death was President of the Village of Richfield Springs.

He died on September 21, 1932, in Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, after an operation for a ruptured appendix; and was buried at the Lakeview Cemetery in Richfield Springs.

Sources
 General register of the members of the Phi Kappa sigma fraternity, 1850-1930 (1930; pg. 264)
 The Hon. Allen J. Bloomfield in The Otsego Farmer on September 23, 1932 (with portrait)

External links

1883 births
1932 deaths
Republican Party New York (state) state senators
People from Herkimer County, New York
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Deaths from appendicitis
People from Cooperstown, New York
20th-century American politicians

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A Ph.D. in Philosophy, Jonathan Weidenbaum has enjoyed a long infatuation with the study of comparative religions. A professor of Liberal Arts in Manhattan, he enjoys a regular dialogue with young people of every background- from Portugal to Palestine, China to Trinidad. Once specializing in Continental philosophy, he is currently immersed in the American philosophical tradition. Jon has a passion for the insights of James, Dewey, and Whitehead, and his topics of interest range from the problem of evil to the nature of the self. A phenomenologist by training, he sees a future in the marriage of two formerly disparate goals: The art of doing justice to the texture of lived experience, and the struggle to restore the broader and bolder forms of philosophical speculation.


text:
About Ricardo
Ricardo Cobo Sponsors
Contact Ricardo
Ricardo Cobo
Classical Guitar Musician
Category > Reviews
Summary For The Busy Executive: Cobo's "Walking on the Water"
admin » 02 July 2008 » In Reviews » Comments Off on Summary For The Busy Executive: Cobo's "Walking on the Water"
Stunning. Music by virtuosos for virtuosos.
During the Sixties, my sister saved up her pennies to buy a serious guitar, so I had the opportunity to hear a beginning student close up. Recently, she's gone back to playing after a good number of years and after findingout her guitar is now worth a small car. Anyway, I love the sound of theacoustic guitar, due in part to the folk-music craze of my youth, in part tothe artistry of Julian Bream and the Romeros.
The guitar – at least if the player picks, rather than strums – always struck me as temperamental an instrument as the french horn, even under thehands of a decent executant. The little inadvertent scoops and slides made by fingers riding the strings too closely on the freeboard as they move from note to note or the sharp little thud of a note picked but not sounded or the accidental buzz of a note due to God knows what are just the usual pitfalls. It's an instrument that loves to point out its owner's deficiencies. Furthermore, many classical players seem to lose rhythm in harder passages, as well as clarity. Seldom do you find a player able to consistently deliver not only notes, but music.
Cobo plays so well, he tends to overshadow the music, and the music is strong in itself, as well as well-written for the guitar. Each composer on the program is a virtuoso guitar player in his own right, so one experiences the concert as one might a display piece by Liszt — where the performer's dazzling technique becomes an integral part of one's enjoyment. If there's a technically-better guitarist than Cobo, I don't know whom. Furthermore, with perhaps the exception of Sainz de la Maza's Homenaje a Toulouse-Lautrec, a lovely fin-de-siècle waltz, all of these works pose considerable interpretive challenges. The opening to Dyens's Villa-Lobos homage is a toccata featuring AK47-rapid repeated notes. Dyens designed the opening not only to impress, but to get the listener's jaw to drop, and Cobo unquestionably achieves the effect. The second movement emphasizes colors and "orchestration," as if the guitar were a small Brazilian combo doing a set in a club.
The guitar sets up calls-and-responses with itself, and Cobo creates the illusion of different "groups" handling each one. The third movement, an aria of the type of the famous one in Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. The finale is a blazing samba, with all sorts of cross-rhythms and various textures. Cobo plays everything preternaturally cleanly and generates great rhythmic excitement throughout. Pujol's multi-movement Elegía for Piazzola is, paradoxically, the most Villa-Lobos-like guitar music on the CD, particularly the "Melancolía" second movement, a slow tune accompanied by a South-American syncopation. Pereira's Pieces Brésiliennes evoke the energy of Brazilian jazz. The effect is that of hearing hard bop in Rio. Again, Cobo produces a huge range of colors on his instrument – nails, no nails, various half stops on the frets – and he uses them to illuminate the structure of the pieces.
Dyens's neatly-named L. B. Story quotes material from Cuban guitarist-composer Leo Brouwer and from Leonard Bernstein (the opening Jets song in West Side Story). Just describing it sounds like shreds and patches, but Dyens writes tight. The piece is also unusual in that it doesn't resort to a Spanish or South American idiom. It's a little Modernist gem.
John Major (not the Tory former prime minister) dedicates Burning Circle to Keith Jarrett and "R. Colavito." I assume that's Rocky Colavito, power-hitter wannabe who played for the Cleveland Indians in the Fifties and Sixties and later (briefly) for the Yankees. On the other hand, I have no idea why anyone would want to devote a piece to Rocky, a flashy but not particularly solid player. At any rate, Major's score poses the greatest interpretive challenge on the disc, since it's the most diffuse. It has the meanders (and occasionally dithers) like a Keith Jarrett solo. However, it's also the most contrapuntally stunning on the disc. If you think about it, most guitar pieces fall into the category of melody line plus accompaniment, although the accompaniment often implies more than it actually states. A composer gets a guitar to do counterpoint only through extreme brilliance and a profound understanding of the instrument: Bach and Dowland come to mind. Major sets up three independent ideas and gets them going simultaneously.. The guitar writing is ingenious and difficult as a bear. Again, Cobo plays as if the challenges didn't exist. How he gets through the piece without twisting his fingers up, I don't know. One hears music, rather than difficulty.
Larry Cooperman spearheads the New Millenium movement of music written for guitar. I'm not quite clear on the movement's aims, but from it has come an expansion of technique and musical idiom, without denying the guitar's inner nature. All the composers on the CD play guitar as well, and more than passably. All of them have written works that seem to call for the Jimi Hendrix of the classical guitar. One can easily imagine them getting ideas from their time playing. Cooperman's Walking on the Water comes from Kosinski's Being There (I haven't read the book, but I saw the movie). The piece strikes me as a modern equivalent of a Dowland fantasia.. It forces the player through a gantlet of techniques, including harmonics and faux harmonics, various ingenious strum patterns, and so on. Cobo even produces different colors from his instrument simultaneously – perhaps a trick on the ear. Its difficulties must be fiendish, because Cobo makes more noise on the frets than in any other cut – which puts him down a notch to a merely outstanding virtuoso rather than someone who, guitaristically speaking, indeed walks on water. If you can't tell by now, I consider this one of most the outstanding guitar discs I've ever heard.
Steve Schwartz
Fanfare Magazine: Brouwer Concerti 3 & 4
admin » 02 July 2008 » In Reviews » Comments Off on Fanfare Magazine: Brouwer Concerti 3 & 4
BROUWER: Concertos for Guitar and Orchestra: No. 3 ("Concerto Elegiaco"); No. 4 (Concerto de Toronto"). Ricardo Cobo, guitar: Richard Kapp conducting the Pro Musica Kiev. ESSAY CD 1040 [DDD];56:29. Produced by Adam Abeshouse. (Distributed by Koch International)
This release demonstrates great courage on the parts of the guitarist and the conductor. Both concertos have been previously recorded-No. 3 by its dedicatee, Julian Bream (Currently available on BMG 09026-61605) [DDD] Nos. 3 and 4 by L. de Angelis (Quadrivium SCA 020). In both cases the composer conducts. I have been unable to locate a copy of the Quadrivium release. In Bream's performance of No. 3, Brouwer acquits himself as a competent and generally authoritative podium maestro at the helm of a pickup band dubbed the RCA Victor Chamber Orchestra, and the whole enterprise has been nicely recorded by the veteran producer James Burnett (with engineering by Bob Auger).
Both Kapp and his producer, Adam Abeshouse, and Brouwer/Burnett, achieve acceptable balance between guitar and orchestra. Burnett does more cardioid pinpointing of various orchestral instruments but the soloist is thin, treble heavy, and distant. Abeshouse opts for a more blended orchestral sound in keeping with Kapp's general approach to recording, but teases out the solo line more effectively, capturing more of the guitars subtle colors along the way. In neither case is any detail fully lost to the ear. Burnett's recording is marginally brighter and airier (though less timbrally rich): Abeshouse's is marginally more homogenized and occasionally betrays a slight standing wave in the upper parts of the bass register-a small price to pay for its generally richer texture.
The crucial differences have to do with the rendering of the solo part and with the overall organization of the orchestration by the two conductors. The state of Bream's playing on his 1987 recording is less than ideal. Although Bream realizes the effective beauties of the 1986 "Concierto Elegíaco", rapid passages are often sloppy, blurred and rhythmically less than precise (e.g., the ascending passages commencing at track 7, 4:24 on the Bream disk; track 1. 4:20 on Cobo's). Ricardo Cobo sails through those and similar moments with great aplomb and knife edged precision, and is particularly compelling in his realization of the quasi improvisatory-sounding music of the brief second movement. Bream is playing notes, Cobo makes a music unfold before the ear. As conductor, Brouwer is episodic, occasionally bringing isolated moments to great heights, but failing to project overall architecture of any given moment. The biggest difference between Brouwer and Kapp is the realization of the orchestra's motoric ostinato passages. Under Brouwer they are limp and degenerate into tendentiousness, whereas Kapp imbues them (and those of the "Corcerto de Toronto") with fine rhythmic springiness that does much to enliven the texture.
The 1987 "Concerto de Toronto" was dedicated to John Williams. Whereas the "Concerto elegacio" is introspective, scoring its emotional points through deft manipulations of harmony, the "Concerto de Toronto" is brashly extroverted, making greater technical demands on the soloist, and deploying the orchestra in a more complex and variegated manner. Its core is found in the thirteen minute theme and variations movement. The Coplanesque subject is rife with melodic and harmonic possibilities, and Brouwer's imaginative exploitation of it constitutes a veritable compositional tour de force. The finale, after a linking cadenza, is a bracing romp full of perilous passages for the soloist: tricky metrical changes for the conductor, and numerous moments for the orchestra to shine. Like the "Concerto Elegíaco", the "Concerto de Toronto" employs Franckian cyclical structure. The reprise of the variations theme is particularly telling-and made all the more so when the listener realizes that the whole of the finale is itself yet another huge variation on that same Coplanesque theme.
Both concertos are jewels of the twentieth-century guitar concerto literature, Brouwer is typically unrelenting in his flow of inventions and resourceful in his handling of all musical elements. His fluency is compelling, but often hides the fact that he is, all expressive nuances and surface glitter aside, an extremely logical and structurally sound composer. Cobo and Kapp give both sides of his personality, and what emerges is a recording that will not be bettered for some time to come. The recording cited from the Bream BMG series also includes readings of Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" and Lennox Berkeley's guitar Concerto. op 88-factors that undoubtedly will be of import to some collectors. For those in quest of Brouwer alone and presented in the best possible light, this Essay offering cannot be too highly recommend.
I hope Cobo/Kapp/Pro Musica Kiev will have a go at the remaining Brouwer concertos
-William Zagorsky
Soundboard Magazine
admin » 02 July 2008 » In Reviews » Comments Off on Soundboard Magazine
Just for the Record. Guitar Foundation of America. Winter 1997.
Recording: Excellent balance and bloom.
Performance: Dazzling
Comments – Ricardo Cobo plays these brilliant but grueling scores with the insouciant flair of a master, a title which he has clearly earned in just a few decades of life. These two stunning additions to the concerto repertoire were written for Bream and Williams respectively, and beautifully explore both the techniques and aesthetics of those well-known personalities. Cobo makes them his own, however, and even out-Breams Bream, whose premiere recording of the piece (RCA7718-RC1988) is woefully misbalanced, in spite of the composer's superb conducting and valiant soloing on the part of the dedicatee. This ESSAY recording is the Toronto Concerto's premiere recording, and will doubtless win many friends for the piece, whose gorgeous 13 -minute theme and variation middle movement shows Brouwer at his lyrical.
Fanfare Magazine
admin » 02 July 2008 » In Reviews » Comments Off on Fanfare Magazine
TALES FOR GUITAR. Ricardo Cobo, guitar. ESS.A.Y CD 1034 [DDD] 51:19,
Produced by Adam Abeshouse. ( Distributed by Allegro.)
PIAZZOLLA: La Muerte del Angel; Primavera Porteña: BROUWER: El Decameron Negro; BROTONS: Two Suggestions Op. 23; DYENS: Libra Sonatina; KOSHKIN:Usher Waltz., Op. 29 .
When much of Piazzolla's music is performed on the classical guitar it both loses and gains something in transition. La Muerte del Angel, when played by Piazzolla's own quintet (Ermitage ERM 124), is redolent with highly appealing ethnic grunge. One hears five very accomplished and serious musicians who seem hell-bent on appearing to be just the opposite, as if to say simultaneously, "Ha! And you thought this was all just mere entertainment!" and "Ha! And you thought this was just all mere fine art!"
The net gain from a good classical guitar performance comes in the form of harmonic and structural elucidation. Piazzolla's music, for all its surface appeal, is very well and rigorously composed. The loss comes when the guitarist tries to clean Piazzolla up a bit, put him in a three-piece suit, and make him a paragon of musical propriety suitable for a "Live from Lincoln Center" telecast.That does not happen here.
Alfred Heller has intimated to me that the most sympathetic way to approach Villa-Lobos's piano literature (and, by extension, Latin American music in general) is from the point of view of a cocktail pianist–that is to say unpretentiously and with an alert, improvisatory attitude. The player venerates it by striving to get the notes right, never losing sight of the fact that the music must communicate–directly and naturally.
All of this music is programmatic–some of it overtly (Piazzolla's La Muerte del Angel ; Brouwer's El Decameron Negro; Koshkin's Usher Waltz), some of it subtly (Piazzolla's Primavera Porteña; Broton's Two Suggestions; Dyens's Libra Sonatina ). The stylistic range of this music is wide–from the accessibly tuneful Piazzolla and Brouwer, through the more harmonically audacious Two Suggestions of the young, Barcelona-born Salvador Brotons; the exotic-cum-jazz-rock-and-funk Libra Sonatina of Roland Dyens; to the quietly manic and occasionally explosive Usher Waltz of Nikita Koshkin.
Colombia-born Ricardo Cobo takes it all in stride. He is an impeccable guitarist who never lets his technical fastidiousness impede the verve of the music. On the contrary, it is placed squarely at its service. One minute into La Muerte del Angel, Cobo seemed to disappear, leaving only the unencumbered voice of Piazzolla. And so it went throughout the recital.
The sound is in keeping with all the other elements of this release–it's first-rate.
William Zagorsky
"Whoops and roars" at a …Classical guitar concert?
admin » 23 April 2008 » In Reviews » Comments Off on "Whoops and roars" at a …Classical guitar concert?
At the intermission of the April 23 classical guitar concert featuring Ricardo Cobo and Christopher McGuire at UNLV's Doc Rando Recital Hall, I overheard two different groups of friends jokingly refer to their hanging out between acts as "tailgating." It made me laugh, then think. Classical guitar in Las Vegas? Of course, there is no cultural reference point for this in a city of clubs, neon and millionaire productions. So Las Vegans at such an event must import concepts from that world to make sense of what they're seeing and hearing.
admin » 25 July 2006 » In Reviews » Comments Off on The Washington Post
Grace Notes Elevate Alexandria Guitar Festival
The annual Alexandria Guitar Festival is one of the undiscovered gems of the summer music scene, bringing some of the planet's best classical guitarists to town for a week of intimate and always interesting recitals. The seven-concert series closed, alas, over the weekend — but not before showcasing some spectacular talent.
The Colombian guitarist Ricardo Cobo may be one of the finest guitarists of our time — certainly he's a first-rank interpreter of Latin American music, as he showed in the tango-flavored second half of Saturday's program. From the driving "Acrilicos en Asfalto," by Eduardo Martin, to smoky cafe music from Horacio Salgán and the classic "La Muerte del Angel," by Astor Piazzolla, Cobo has the smoldering sensuality of Latin music deep in his blood, and played with heart-clenching passion.
— Stephen Brookes
American Record Guide. Spring 2004
admin » 01 April 2004 » In Reviews » Comments Off on American Record Guide. Spring 2004
American Record Guide
Piazzolla, Brouwer, Pujol, Carlevaro, Reis,
Salgan, Villoldo, Pereira
Ricardo Cobo—Naxos 557329—60 minutes
It was initially hard for me to muster enthusiasm for yet another potpourri of Latin American guitar miniatures. But when the guitarist is Ricardo Cobo it doesn't much matter that there is a glut of such releases. The Colombian-born Cobo, a winner of several international competitions in the late 80s, is a world-class talent, possessed of stunning technique, penetrating musicianship, and a beautifully refined sound. I cannot imagine more satisfying or engaging interpretations of this music; his readings are incisive and vigorous in the fast pieces, dark and soulful in the more contemplative works, and every phrase is shaped by an impeccable musical instinct.
Several works here are presented in new arrangements by Cobo, including Piazzolla's well known tangos 'La Muerte del Angel' and 'Primavera Porteña', which serve as bookends to the program. His arrangements offer refreshing new insights into these often played pieces; the works sound fresh and alive, as though one were hearing them for the first time. Considering the ubiquity of Piazzolla these days, both on the guitar and in other settings, this is no small feat.
The works that come between the two Piazzolla tangos range from the unassuming waltzes of Dilermando Reis, which Cobo plays with incomparable poetry, to the more ambitious Elegía por La Muerte de un Tanguero by Máximo Diego Pujol, a three-movement homage to Piazzolla. This piece is harmonically richer than some of Pujol's other works, especially the haunting 'Melancolía' movement, and Cobo invests even its simplest passages with an expressive depth and interpretive commitment that make the whole utterly persuasive. This charismatic interpretive voice is everywhere in evidence here, transforming what initially appears to be an ordinary recital into a truly extraordinary listening experience. With each sterling passage Cobo confirms his position as one of the finest guitarists of his generation.
admin » 22 October 2000 » In Reviews » Comments Off on San Antonio Express-News
Guitarists strum up success
Festival features Cuban composer, additional talents
The guitar world enjoyed a love fest Friday night when Cuba's Leo Brouwer, the most revered living composer for the instrument, conducted his own "Toronto" Concerto and other works for the Southwest Guitar Festival. Travis Park United Methodist Church was nearly filled with about 1,000 listeners, including locals and registrants for the Guitar Foundation of America's international convention, which ran concurrently with the festival.
Conducting a San Antonio Symphony chamber orchestra, Brouwer opened with music from Mexico – Silvestre Revueltas' "Homenaje a F. García Lorca" and Manuel Ponce's "Concierto del Sur," with guitar soloist Gonzalo Salazar. Brazilian guitarist and composer Egberto Gismonti was represented by "Sert¢es e Veredas I" for strings.
The finale was Brouwer's Concerto No. 4, composed for John Williams and first performed in Toronto. The soloist here was the remarkable Ricardo Cobo. Brouwer began his career as a nationalist, then followed the European avant-garde of the '50s and '60s, and finally, tiring of hermetic modernism, settled into an attractive, individual romanticism, the style of this concerto. Two traits unite all of Brouwer's styles – a highly fluid form of rhythmic complexity, recalling the African influence on Cuban music, and generosity of spirit.
This is music by a man who has discovered wonderful sounds and rhythms and is eager to share them with his friends. Though craft and virtuosity and intellect undergird every bar, the music comes across as natural, joyous and humane.
The "Toronto" Concerto is notable for Brouwer's wonderful way of combining the colors of the guitar and the instruments of the orchestra; Brouwer painted as a young man, and this is painterly music. Cobo's performance, too, was characterized by generosity of spirit, to say nothing of knockout virtuosity. His playing was extrovert, lyrical, rhythmically alive. Every line knew where it was going. His tone had a deep gloss and brilliant highlights. Salazar's patrician style and elegant technique were well suited to Ponce's concerto. The Revueltas piece desperately needed more rehearsal, but Gismonti's, a sort of Brazilian hoedown, came off well.
mgreenberg@express-news.net
Memo: MUSIC. Section: Metro / South Texas
Edition: Metro Page: 3B Record Number: 515213
Copyright 2000 San Antonio Express-News
Soundboard Magazine: Cobo's Brouwer Vol I
admin » 15 October 1999 » In Reviews » Comments Off on Soundboard Magazine: Cobo's Brouwer Vol I
Just for the Record. James Ried. Fall, 1999. Comments – The several times I have seen Ricardo Cobo perform, I have been very impressed by his combination of facility, musicality and intensity. All these characteristics are abundantly present on this fine disc. Every selection is carefully and convincingly rendered down to the last note. In the "Etudes Simples", for example, he can be lyrical and tender, or fiery, according to the needs of each study. In his performance of his "Danza Característica," articulation and a wide dynamic range are combined to craft a powerful interpretation. The "Fugue No. 1" is an example of wonderfully clear contrapuntal playing, and the "Guajira" that follows is equally impressive, as it represents the romantic side of Brouwer's personality. As I listened to this CD, I was reminded of what a powerful composer Leo Brouwer was and still is. These pieces, mostly examples of his early works, speak as forcefully now as they did when they were first written, and one could not ask for a more eloquent interpreter of these works than Ricardo Cobo.
Los Angeles Times: Cobo, Guitar Duo Show Rare Prowess
admin » 01 July 1996 » In Reviews » Comments Off on Los Angeles Times: Cobo, Guitar Duo Show Rare Prowess
Cobo, Guitar Duo Show Rare Prowess
Setting-and raising-standards for students and public alike is part of what programs such as CSU Summer Arts is all about. Today at Cal State Long Beach's Daniel Recital Hall, the guitar and lute faculty continued to do its part, with fresh, highly effective performances from Ricardo Cobo and the Newman and Oltman Guitar Duo.
Indeed, Cobo set the bar so high that despair must have been as much a part of the package as inspiration for the students in the audience. Armed with a cup of coffee as well as his guitar, Cobo strode onstage clearly ready to melt nylon and mesmerize listeners. By way of unscheduled introduction, he offered a movement from Leo Brouwer's tricky "Decameron Negro" and then delivered a pair of Astor Piazzolla tangos with rare definition and' characterful nuance.
No matter what the pace, the Colombian guitarist neither contorts the rhythmic spine of the music nor cheapens the colors, as he proved deftly in the fanciful Sonata that Brouwer' wrote for Julian Bream. ' And then he turned to display pieces. Graceful musicality was as evident as superhuman technique in an unhackneyed troika from Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, Antonio Lauro and Roland Dyens.
For the second half of the evening, Michael Newman and Laura Oltman offered the series' first ensemble installment. Having performed together for almost 20 years now, they form an assured and synergistic partnership. They" too, are able to play expressively at speed, as they demonstrated with the motor energies of "Horo," by the young Bulgarian composer Atanas Ourkouzounov. Dusan Bogdanovic's rhythmically punchy Sonata Fantasia, also Balkan folk-inspired, gave them greater opportunity, to display their interpretive prowess. Their loving arrangements brought a measure of revivification to five Isaac Albeniz staples, although the rubato-laden performances often bordered, on over-interpretation. In encore the duo offered a sprightly account of John Dowland's four-hands, one-instrument novelty "My Lord Chamberlain, His Galliard."
JOHN HENKEN


text:
Pommier-de-Beaurepaire ist eine französische Gemeinde mit  Einwohnern (Stand: ) im Département Isère in der Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Sie gehört zum Arrondissement Vienne und zum Kanton Roussillon (bis 2015: Kanton Beaurepaire). Die Einwohner werden Pommiérois genannt.

Geographie
Pommier-de-Beaurepaire liegt etwa 23 Kilometer südöstlich von Vienne. Umgeben wird Pommier-de-Beaurepaire von den Nachbargemeinden Saint-Julien-de-l'Herms im Norden und Nordwesten, Bossieu im Nordosten, Faramans im Osten, Pajay im Südosten, Beaufort im Süden und Südosten, Saint-Barthélemy im Süden und Südwesten sowie Pisieu im Westen.

Bevölkerungsentwicklung

Sehenswürdigkeiten
 Kirche Saint-Romain aus dem 19. Jahrhundert
 Kapelle Notre-Dame de Tournin aus dem 16. Jahrhundert
 Häuser Ginet, Roux und Pellet aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert

Weblinks

Ort in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes


text:
package javaee.samples.frameworks.injection;

import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
import javaee.samples.frameworks.injection.tablegenerator.EntityWithTableGenerator;

import javax.inject.Inject;
import javax.persistence.EntityManager;
import javax.persistence.PersistenceContext;
import javax.persistence.PersistenceProperty;
import javax.transaction.Transactional;

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;

@RunWith(InjectionRunner.class)
@PersistenceContext(unitName = "table-generator-pu", properties = {
        @PersistenceProperty(name = "hibernate.id.new_generator_mappings", value = "true")
})
public class PersistingClassTest {
    @Rule
    @Inject
    public JPARule jpa;

    @Inject
    EntityManager em;

    @Test
    @Transactional
    public void shouldInjectEntityManager() {
        assertThat(jpa)
                .isNotNull();

        assertThat(jpa.getCurrentEntityManager())
                .isNotNull();

        assertThat(em)
                .isNotNull();

        assertThat(em)
                .describedAs("Proxy instance should have same delegate.")
                .isEqualTo(jpa.getCurrentEntityManager());

        assertThat(em)
                .describedAs("Proxy instance should not be same.")
                .isNotSameAs(jpa.getCurrentEntityManager());

        assertThat(jpa.getCurrentEntityManager())
                .describedAs("Proxy EM and new EM without proxy should not be equal.")
                .isNotEqualTo(jpa.createEntityManager());

        EntityWithTableGenerator e = new EntityWithTableGenerator();
        em.persist(e);

        assertThat(e)
                .extracting(EntityWithTableGenerator::getId)
                .isNotNull();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How to Produce a Rectangular Radial Glow Consider the code
\documentclass[a5paper,12pt,onecolumn,openany,final]{book}
\usepackage[hmargin=0.7in,vmargin=0.75in]{geometry}

\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{calc}
\usetikzlibrary{fadings}

\definecolor{forestgreen}{rgb}{.13, .55, .13}
\definecolor{sunriseyellow}{RGB}{255,219,0}

% I compile this code with Xelatex
\begin{document}
\thispagestyle{empty}

\centering
\tikzfading[name=fade out, inner color=transparent!0,
outer color=transparent!100]
\tikzset{
  star/.style={forestgreen, fill=sunriseyellow, path fading=fade out}
}
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \clip (-1.65, -2.15) rectangle (1.65, 2.15);
     \draw[forestgreen!35!black, shading=mradial, inner color=sunriseyellow!65!white,
     middle color=forestgreen!60!black, outer color=forestgreen!35!black]
    (-1.65, -2.15) rectangle (1.65, 2.15)
    ;
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

which produces the output

QUESTION: How may I modify the code in order to get the radial glow to extend over the entire rectangular region? Presently, the code produces a circular-type radial glow. (Actually, a circular radial glow, which in this case, appears egg-shaped because the tikzpicture is not a perfect square.)
Thank you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Nigeria Approves N6.45bn…
Nigeria Approves N6.45bn For New Oxygen Plants
Patsy Nwogu
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the disbursement of the sum of N6.45billion for setting up of oxygen plants in 38 locations nationwide to enhance the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
This was disclosed at the first National Economic Council (NEC) of 2021 presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed said the President's approval for the production of oxygen was necessitated by the increase in coronavirus patients.
In addition, at the NEC meeting, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire revealed that sequel to Buhari's decision to activate the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund based on the National Health Act, N55.1billion was approved in 2018 and that 50% of the sum has since been released to the States and the FCT.
The Fund was established under Section 11 of the National Health Act (NHA Act), as the principal funding vehicle for the Basic Minimum Package of Health Services (BMPHS).
The minister also added that the country has surpassed a 20,000 milestone of active Covid-19 cases. The new figure stands at 20,877 hence the urgent need for the approved oxygen plants.
Tags: Covid-19 Covid-19 Cases in Nigeria Oxygen Plants
Reporting on data-driven featured stories and investigations.
Debt Relief: Is China Considering Blanket Forfeiture...
Should You Be Worried About The New...


A letter to a friend: Blended families are NEVER easy, but here's why I don't have a lot of sympathy for your situation because… we CHOOSE them. When I married Will, I knew Trey was part of the package…Period! If I didn't want that…I needed to marry someone else. Then I learned if I am going to love Trey…I had to learn to love the most important person in the world to him…his mother. And the two of us may not have always LIKED each other… but we have learned to LOVE each other.
Wow. I have to say I am impressed and I agree with her on so many points here. First of all, blending families is not easy. It is hard work. Couples considering it should know that it will require all the patience, determination, and commitment they can muster. I also find it impressive that she is able to have a healthy relationship with her husband's ex-wife. I believe that is so important for the sake of the children and also for the marriage. But what pleases me the most is that she took such a strong stand on supporting her husband's relationship with his child from his first marriage. I see so many families where the new spouse makes it difficult for their husband or wife to maintain a strong, healthy relationship with their children, often forcing them to choose between their children from their first marriage and their second. This is a situation where everyone loses. This kind of commitment requires a big dose of healthy self esteem and the "ego death" that Jada mentions above. That's almost always a good thing in my book.
What are your thoughts about or experiences with blending families? What have you found most challenging and most helpful along that journey? I'd love to hear.
This entry was posted in mental health, parenting and tagged blended families, divorce, ex spouses, families, family life, parenting. Bookmark the permalink.
I have had lots of experience with blended families. All I can say is this. Children can never have enough loving supportive adults in their lives. Jada is right, you must check your ego at the door. Great blog topic Gretchen!


text:
Татья́на Генна́дьевна Ники́тина (род. 6 ноября 1953 года) — российский  и , специалист по молодёжному сленгу, русскому жаргону, ненормативной лексике, пословицам и поговоркам. Доктор филологических наук, профессор.

Биография

Научная деятельность
В 1976 году окончила Ленинградский государственный университет по специальности «Финно-угорская филология».

В 1976—1979 годы — преподаватель русского языка как иностранного в Волгоградском государственном педагогическом институте.

В 1979—1980 годы — учитель русского языка в Карчахпюрской средней школе (Армения, Варденисский район).

В 1980—1984 годы — преподаватель русского языка как иностранного в Волгоградской высшей следственной школе.

С 1984 года — ассистент, старший преподаватель, доцент, профессор кафедры русского языка Псковского государственного педагогического университета имени С. М. Кирова.

В 1985 году окончила аспирантуру ЛГУ по специальности «Русский язык как иностранный» и защитила диссертацию на соискание учёной степени кандидата филологических наук по теме «Русская юридическая лексика в аспекте преподавания чехам».

В 1995 году окончила докторантуру СПбГУ по специальности «Русский язык» и защитила диссертацию на соискание учёной степени доктора филологических наук по теме «Идеографические аспекты описания народной фразеологии».

С 1998 года — профессор и заведующая кафедрой теории и методики гуманитарного образования факультет образовательных технологий и дизайна Псковского государственного университета.

Научный руководитель Экспериментальной лаборатории учебной лексикографии Псковского университета.

Член редакционной коллегии научного журнала «Язык. Словесность. Культура».

Автор 400 публикаций, включая 10 монографий, 10 учебно-методических пособий, более 50 словарей русского жаргона, ненормативной лексики, пословиц и поговорок и др.

Музыкальная деятельность
В 1999—2001 годы — барабанщица рок-группы «Баобабы».

С 2001 года по настоящее время — барабанщица рок-группы «Отцы и дети» (дискография: «Арифметика», 2006; «Отцы и дети» в Тире, 2007; «Воля всем», 2008; «Ступени», 2011).

С 2009 по настоящее время – перкуссионистка группы «3D-Формат»

Награды
 Золотая медаль Европейской научно-промышленной палаты («За педагогическую деятельность и проведение оригинальных исследований в области филологии награждена»)
 Почётный работник высшего профессионального образования Российской Федерации

Основные работы
Книги

 Никитина Т. Г., Рогалёва Е. И., Желибтер Т., Пёшо М.-П. Фразеологизмы в нашей речи. Учебный словарь с комментариями на французском языке. -Псков: ООО «ЛОГОС Плюс», 2015. — 200 с.
 Никитина Т. Г. Лингвокультура молодёжного социума и проблемы адаптации иностранцев в регионе обучении. Монография. — Псков: ООО Логос-Плюс, 2015. — 238 с.
 Никитина Т. Г. Словарь как информационный ресурс и средство обучения. Учебно-методическое пособие для слушателей курсов повышения квалификации и магистрантов педагогических профилей. — Псков: Изд-во ПсковГУ, 2016. — 108 с.
 Никитина Т. Г., Рогалёва Е. И. Актуальный молодёжный лексикон: Псков 2015—2016. Лингвосоциокультурологический словарь. — Псков: ООО «Логос Плюс», 2016. — 180 с.
 Никитина Т. Г., Рогалёва Е. И. Регионы России в пословицах и поговорках. Лингвострановедческий словарь. — Псков: ООО «Логос Плюс», 2016. — 126 с.
 Рогалёва Е. И., Никитина Т. Г. Сами с усами. Веселый фразеологический словарь. — М.: Издательский дом Мещерякова, 2018. — 192 с.
 Никитина Т. Г., Рогалёва Е. И. Лингвокраеведческие аспекты профессиональной подготовки учителя русского языка как родного и иностранного. Монография. — Псков: Логос, 2018. — 304 с.
 Никитина Т. Г., Рогалёва Е. И. Псковские городские названия. Лингвокультурологический словарь. — Псков: Логос, 2018. — 150 °C.
 Рогалёва Е. И., Никитина Т. Г. Русский язык после уроков: тайны и загадки фразеологизмов. — Ростов-н/Д: Феникс, 2019. — 156 с.
 Никитина Т. Г., Рогалева Е. И. Путешествуем по России с русскими пословицами и пговорками. Пособие по русскому языку для иностранных учащихся. — М.: Русский язык. Курсы, 2019. — 136 с.
 Мокиенко В. М., Никитина Т. Г. Русская диалектная фразеография: дифференциальные и полные словари. Монография. — СПб. — Greifswald: Universität Greifswald, 2019. — 310 c.

Статьи
 Вальтер Х., Михова Ю. В., Мокиенко В. М., Никитина Т. Г. К концепции большого немецко-русского словаря устойчивых сравнений (проблема эквивалентизации материала) // Вестник Псковского государственного университета. Серия: Социально-гуманитарные и психолого-педагогические науки. № 11. 2010

Примечания

Литература
 Хан-Пира Э. И. В. М. Мокиенко, Т. Г. Никитина. Толковый словарь языка Совдепии (рецензия) // Знамя. 1999. № 7.
 Светланов С. Словари и барабанные палочки профессора Никитиной // Псковская правда. — 2005. — 22 сент. — С. 15.

Ссылки
 Официальный сайт рок-группы «Отцы и дети»

Лексикографы России
Ударники России
Авторы энциклопедий и словарей
Выпускники филологического факультета Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета
Преподаватели Волгоградского социально-педагогического университета
Преподаватели Псковского государственного университета


Saint Basil the Great ( 329 or 330[5 , was the Greek bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church, fighting against both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea. His ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.