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WSKG (https://wskg.org/news/a-new-coal-mine-is-opening-in-pennsylvania-is-trump-to-thank/)
A New Coal Mine's Opening In Pennsylvania. Is Trump To Thank?
By Jenn Kinney | December 12, 2018
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KEYSTONE CROSSROADS – Tom Maziekas' house in Mahanoy City faces a row of empty lots. Rowhomes once stood there, but they suffered the fate of many buildings in this once-booming coal town in northeastern Pennsylvania: a fire, then rubble, now blight.
Scenes like this are common in the Schuylkill County borough — dilapidated rowhomes, sooty with the exhaust of passing cars, empty glass storefronts, boomtowns that have seen better days.
But Maziekas, who has lived his whole life in Mahanoy City and is now the borough council president, is hopeful for the future.
"We're not dead yet, we've still got a pulse in Mahanoy City," he said. "Thank god Trump lifted all the regulations on coal…coal is gonna be king."
Mahanoy City Borough Council President Thom Maziekas talks about the struggles of the town, which has a population of about 4,000 residents. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
From the campaign trail to today, President Donald Trump has promised he would bring back coal and manufacturing jobs to the United States — and he's been specifically referencing Pennsylvania.
"The miners of Pennsylvania, we're digging coal again," Trump said in June 2017. "When I campaigned for president, I said we'd end the war on coal and put our incredible miners — and that's what you are, you're incredible — back to work."
In the anthracite coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, this optimism has been music to the ears of many.
After all, coal created places like Mahanoy City. Anthracite is a particularly pure, high-heat, high-carbon form of coal that, in the United States, is only found in this region. In the early 1900s, over 200,000 people worked the mines around Mahanoy City, including many of the town's then 16,000 residents.
Mid-century, though, the industry began to collapse as oil replaced coal for home heating. In the early 2000s, coal-fired power plants began to fall out of favor, both because of tougher environmental regulations and because natural gas is less expensive. This year, Americans have so far consumed less coal than any time since 1978.
Meanwhile, the population in Mahanoy City has fallen dramatically, to about 4,000 people. After years of struggling to fund municipal services, the borough turned to the state for help in 2016 through the Act 47 program, and is now making its way back to financial health.
A December day on a street in Mahanoy City. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
The collapse of the coal industry affected the entire region, which has become home to some of the most distressed rural school districts in the state. In all of the county, median household income is well below the state average, and just 500 people work in mining.
Yet coal remains a big part of the culture, and many hope, part of its future.
Many residents still use coal to heat their homes and Mahanoy City offers municipal ash collection. When asked about his age, Maziekas said proudly, "I was born on Johnny Mitchell Day" — a holiday for the man who founded the United Mine Workers. It used to be a paid day off for miners here, but today, it's not celebrated like it used to be.
Maziekas blames burdensome coal regulations, and praises Trump for taking steps to slash them.
He points to the Blaschak coal company, based at the edge of town, as proof of a Trump-fueled comeback. With the help of a $1 million state grant, Blaschak has re-opened a mine in nearby Mount Carmel — the biggest mine redevelopment project in the region.
"That's going to mean a lot of work," said Maziekas.
A look at the the Blaschak Coal Corporation pit mine in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
Touring the mines
On a grey day under a light snowfall, Blaschak CEO J. Greg Driscoll drove around the grounds of the new mine. A conveyor belt dumped coal into a huge, shiny pile. A massive, nearly vertical pit sat in the center of the bustling scene, exposing a darker band, deep in the rock.
"You can actually see the black there, that's the beginning of the coal seam coming out of the ground," Driscoll said. At some points, it's nearly 100 feet thick.
At the beginning of the 20th century, this was an underground mine, with mine-shafts burrowed deep into the earth and underground workers wielding pickaxes. It was shuttered for decades, then intermittently surface-mined before closing again.
Now, nearly 20 years after the last operations, Blaschak is blasting away the rock to get at the remaining coal seam. The company will spend nearly $18 million to redevelop the mine, helped by $1 million in state grants.
Driscoll estimates it could yield $450 million worth of coal over the next 20 years.
Metallurgical coal, like anthracite, has taken a slightly different trajectory than the more common thermal coal, the kind used to generate electricity. Anthracite is instead used in home heating and metallurgy, like steel-making. While the rise of natural gas has continued to gut the thermal coal industry, the market for metallurgical coal is growing steadily — though not to the levels of its heyday.
Once, there were nearly 100 million tons of anthracite coal mined every year in Pennsylvania. Today, it's closer to 3 million tons. Driscoll knows the anthracite industry will never return to its peak, but he believes there's room for growth.
"We think it could be 10 million tons [per year] and that would certainly be a major benefit to employment, to the economy, to building a future in the region," he said.
Greg Driscoll, president and CEO of Blaschak Corporation, stands atop the company's new pit mine in Mount Carmel. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
If that comes to fruition, there would be major positive ramifications for the regional economy.
But what about today? Have Trump's actions impacted Blaschak's new mine and boosted local job growth?
The short answer: no.
"Not directly," said Driscoll. "We have not seen a big impact from any changes in the past three to four years."
The Trump administration did scrap certain Obama-era policies in order to allow increased production by coal-fired power plants, a move lauded by supporters, but one the Guardian reported could lead to 1,400 more deaths by pollution per year by 2030.
Another change, announced last week, would also make it easier to build coal-fired plants.
But industry experts don't necessarily expect that to happen — natural gas is still cheaper.
But those changes won't affect anthracite. The only slashed regulation that has touched the industry so far, said Driscoll, is the end of the Stream Protection Rule, which prevented companies from dumping ash and waste into waterways.
Nationwide, there has been a slight increase in mining jobs since Trump took office. But experts say that's due to market forces, not cuts to regulations.
This isn't the only new mine to open in Pennsylvania in recent years. One in Somerset County took center stage when Trump referenced it while pulling out of the Paris climate accords in 2017. Yet, overall, according to the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, the trend's still downward: After a slight uptick in 2015, there are now just 837 people employed in anthracite mining in the whole state.
Given Trump's rhetoric, and news of mine openings, those facts can be confusing. For instance, when news of the Mount Carmel mine re-opening broke, local news stations made it sound like it would bring dozens of new jobs.
There are about 30 people employed at the mine now, including Charlie Gasparetti, a load operator from Mount Carmel who's been in mining for 23 years.
"This is a good job. It's a lot of coal," he said. "Knock on wood, it goes great and I should be able to get close to retirement on this job."
But like all the workers here, Gasparetti was transferred from another mine that Blaschak had just closed, only a few miles away.
Those media reports about new jobs got it wrong, says Driscoll. So far, nothing new has been created.
"We try to make it clear that this is what's happening right now," he said. "There could be another 25 jobs, if we are able to get this developed and find a market."
J. Greg Driscoll, president and CEO of Blaschak Coal Corporation, holds a block of coal as he gives a tour of the company's new pit mine Dec. 4, 2018, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
People who know the coal industry say projects like Blaschak's maintain employment in the sector, a good thing for the economy.
But that promised coal revolution?
"Coal is not coming back. Coal in the U.S. will never come back," said Art Sullivan, a mining consultant in western Pennsylvania. He's worked in coal for 52 years, starting as a miner. He's says people in the country's coal regions have been misled.
"Trump is a liar. Trump gave hope to a group of people I respect, admire, and have spent my working career with. He lied to them because they were desperate for hope," said Sullivan.
He and Blashak CEO Driscoll agree that the true hope for a new coal boom lies in innovation. Anthracite can be used in filtration and water purification. People are also experimenting with using it for manufacturing, and extracting its rare minerals — all of which has the potential to create a new coal economy that's less tied to the energy industry.
"There are known uses of this material that we need to pursue and see if we can't increase demand by broadening demand — not just by looking for more of the same," said Driscoll.
Manufacturing on the rise
Like coal, manufacturing was also once a lifeblood of the area around Mahanoy City, with hundreds of small factories making products like cigars, plastics, and thermal underwear. Frank Zukas, president of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation, grew up in the region. In the 1960s and 1970s, he watched factories close as manufacturing jobs — particularly in textiles — moved overseas.
"That industry disappeared completely," he said.
Small economic development corporations formed around the region to attract employers back, ultimately combining into one: SEDCO. The group tried to attract companies by building business parks and offering incentives, and it worked.
Fifteen Fortune 500 companies now have facilities in Schuylkill County's 772 square miles, making everything from aircraft parts to plastic film for medical devices, and residents and local experts say these jobs are plentiful in the region.
Schuylkill County still falls well below the statewide median household income — $47,642 compared to $56,951 — and it ranks 57 out of the state's 67 counties for unemployment.
But the county is above average for manufacturing jobs: according to the Department of Labor and Industry, 21 percent of residents are employed in manufacturing, compared to just 8 percent across the U.S.
Employment in logistics is growing too.
Zukas, though, is wary of directly linking either to the president.
"I just think economy as a whole is doing better," he said. "Local papers are peppered with job listings."
Raymond Harris, who moved to Mahanoy City from Philadelphia several years ago, and works at a plant fulfilling online orders for a major retailer, agrees.
"The temp agencies send me jobs nearly every day that are trying to hire," he said. "The companies are begging people to take overtime. I've never seen supervisors get mad [that] you won't take overtime until I moved here."
In his experience, the jobs pay better than his offerings in Philadelphia — between $10 and 17 an hour, he said.
Jennifer Wakeman, executive director of DRIVE, an economic development corporation serving nearby Columbia and Montour counties, says education is a key component of this region's future. Jobs are here, she says, but workers often aren't.
"We spend a lot of time working with either community colleges or trade and technical schools to really create this pipeline of workers, but that's a long term process," she said. "I don't think we'll see the results of that for another five, eight, 10 years."
At that point, she hopes some students will leave high school and find well-paying work without taking on expensive debt to attend a four-year college.
"There's some re-education that has to happen," she said. "I'm of the generation that was told, 'You're going to college, you're going to college, you're going to college.' Because parents or grandparents were in manufacturing and they lost pensions, or lost their job because it was shipped off somewhere out of the U.S."
A look at West Centre Street on Dec. 4, 2018, in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
The question now is whether a stable coal industry and growing manufacturing base can turn around towns like Mahanoy City, with their shrinking populations and crumbling housing. Zukas says unless these townships can fix their blight problems, that's unlikely.
"Not to the extent decline is taking place. If we're losing a couple thousand people a decade, I don't think those numbers are reversing," he said.
When people do find better-paying jobs here, he said, they tend to move out of the townships, onto larger plots of land — away from the blight of towns like Mahanoy City.
At borough council headquarters in a second interview, Maziekas was surprised to learn Blaschak hadn't created new jobs.
"I just assumed that they're going to be out there doing that," he said.
But he remains optimistic as ever.
"Everything is going to turn around, eventually," he said. "Not just Mahanoy City — I do believe the small towns in these areas, we are making the circle and we are coming back."
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BUFFALO, NY (WBFO) - Wednesday is UN Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Buffalo, one of the events marking the occasion is a scheduled visit by an author who has published a book about a Polish resistance fighter who sought to gather intelligence about the Auschwitz concentration camp complex by infiltrating it.
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SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) - Groups of volunteers and human service professionals with the Housing & Homeless Coalition of Central New York will be canvassing Oswego, Onondaga and Cayuga counties Wednesday to get a count of how many people are homeless in the area. The count last year found nearly 600 men, women and children in central New York were experiencing homelessness, which includes emergency shelters and transitional living facilities.
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CANTON, NY (NCPR) - The White House announced late Monday that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) will serve as a member of President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team. She described it as an honor. "I am proud to stand up for the Constitution, my constituents in New York's 21st District, and the American people's vote," Stefanik said.
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ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - Dyslexia is a language processing disorder that causes difficulty reading or processing spoken words. It affects anywhere between 5% and 20% of the population, according to various estimates.


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package com.github.chrisruffalo.stringsearch.nodes;

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Map;

import com.github.chrisruffalo.stringsearch.config.RadixConfiguration;

public abstract class NodeWithValuesAndChildren<T> extends NodeWithValues<T> {

	// copied from NodeWithChildren: sometimes I could really use multi-inheritance

	private Map<Character, Node<T>> children;

	/**
	 * {@inheritDoc}
	 */
	@Override
	public void init(RadixConfiguration configuration) {
		super.init(configuration);

		this.children = configuration.storageFactory().createMap();
	}

	@Override
	protected void children(Collection<Node<T>> children) {
		this.children.clear();
		if(children == null) {
			return;
		}
		for(Node<T> child : children) {
			this.children.put(child.key(), child);
		}
	}

	@Override
	public boolean supportsChildren() {
		return true;
	}

	@Override
	public void swap(Node<T> outgoing, Node<T> incoming) {
		Map<Character, Node<T>> refs = this.children;

		// swap by removing old and adding incoming
		// probably should wrap this in some sort of lock
		refs.remove(outgoing.key());
		refs.put(incoming.key(), incoming);
	}

	@Override
	protected Collection<Node<T>> children() {
		return this.children.values();
	}

	@Override
	protected void putChild(Character key, Node<T> child) {
		this.children.put(key, child);
	}

	@Override
	protected Node<T> getChild(Character key) {
		return this.children.get(key);
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Appeals court pushes back on Vineland bank robber's complaints
A bike-riding bank robber's appeal of his conviction got no traction before a New Jersey Appellate Division court.
Appeals court pushes back on Vineland bank robber's complaints A bike-riding bank robber's appeal of his conviction got no traction before a New Jersey Appellate Division court. Check out this story on thedailyjournal.com: https://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/news/2020/01/15/nj-bank-robber-bike-leonard-johnson-appellate-decision-rejected/4471756002/
Joseph P. Smith, Vineland Daily Journal Published 9:39 a.m. ET Jan. 15, 2020 | Updated 9:40 a.m. ET Jan. 15, 2020
TRENTON – A bike-riding bank bandit's bid for a second trial, or at least a lighter sentence than 15 years in prison, has failed to impress a panel of New Jersey Appellate Division judges.
An appeal filed for former Millville resident Leonard K. Johnson was roundly rejected in a decision issued Monday.
More: Vineland bank robber made getaway on bicycle
More: Vineland couple in food stamp case say they don't have to pay back money
Johnson, now 55, protested the use of his recorded confession at trial, the jury's racial composition, a federal agent's testimony, and the total impact of those alleged "errors."
Additionally, the appeal contested the sentence Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Cristen D'Arrigo imposed. Johnson previous to the robbery had been arrested 12 times and had two indictable-level convictions.
Leonard K. Johnson (Photo: N.J. Department of Corrections)
"The record supported his (D'Arrigo) conclusion," the three-judge panel wrote. "The judge's thoughtful consideration of the factors readily survives appellate review."
Johnson was convicted in September 2017 of first-degree armed robbery. He was acquitted of a second bank robbery charge.
Johnson presently is at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton. His conviction was subject to the state's No Early Release Act, which requires an inmate to serve 85 percent of a sentence to be eligible for parole. Johnson hits that mark in February 2027.
As the appellate decision notes, the jury that convicted Johnson got to look not only at bank surveillance video but at a confession Johnson made to a Vineland police detective.
The robbery took place on April 24, 2013 at a Susquehanna Bank at Garden Road and Delsea Drive in Vineland. Johnson rode his mountain bike to the bank, gave a demand note to a teller, and showed a gun in his waistband to the teller. He rode away with $1,000.
The note Johnson gave the teller turned out to be written on the back of his son's paystub, the opinion notes.
"Defendant's identity was discovered when police connected him to a green minivan in his girlfriend's name, which had been captured on various surveillance cameras," the opinion states. "In his statement, after admitting his involvement in the Vineland bank robbery, and that he had ridden his bike to Millville intending to rob a bank there, defendant denied involvement in several other bank robberies about which his interrogators posed a host of questions."
At a pre-trial hearing, Johnson argued that the police and FBI continued questioning him after he tried to exercise his right not to speak. The pre-trial judge, however, said the videotaped interrogation makes it clear Johnson did not refuse to answer questions.
Appellate Judges Carmen H. Alvarez, Karen Suter, and Patrick DeAlmeida issued the 22-page opinion.
Assistant Deputy Public Defender John W. Douard represented Johnson in the appeal.
Cumberland County Assistant Prosecutor Andre R. Araujo represented the state.
Joe Smith is a Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer at The Daily Journal in Vineland. Have a news tip? Reach out at (856) 563-5252 or jsmith@thedailyjournal.com or follow me on Twitter, @jpsmith-dj. Help support local journalism with a subscription to The Daily Journal.
Read or Share this story: https://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/news/2020/01/15/nj-bank-robber-bike-leonard-johnson-appellate-decision-rejected/4471756002/
Millville woman charged with using nail clippers in fatal stabbing
Man indicted on attempted sexual assault charge
Trio indicted after reported drive-by shooting
Food stamp fraud defendants balk at restitution
Jail hold for man charged in millville murder
Protect your pet from frigid temperatures

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Car & Classic Magazine MENU
1976 Ford Capri L – Classified of the Week
By Chris Pollitt
The Ford Capri is, make no mistake, a legendary machine. It was, as Ford put it, the car you always promised yourself. It was a hairy-chested, cigarette smoking, gold-chained symbol of '60s machismo. It was our Mustang, and it was our muscle car. It still stands as one of the greats, a car thrashed around by Bodie and Doyle, it's a beast. Yet despite its staggering popularity, nobody ever seems to talk about the Mk2.
Introduced in '73, the Mk2 was bigger, longer and wider than the somewhat dainty Mk1. It was a more solid and more purposeful machine. It was also a clever car, aimed more at everyday driving than spirited blasts. It boasted a hatchback (the first Ford to do so) making it practical, the cabin was bigger and could comfortably house four people. But it wasn't a car that captured our imaginations quite like the Mk1. Thanks in part to its big, 'Deirdre Barlow' headlights that for some, were simply not in keeping with the style of the Mk1. The Mk2 was seen as being a bit too soft, it was a car that moved too far from what the original Mk1 represented.
Ford of course put this right with the Mk3, which thanks to its angry, sharp, quad-headlight face was seen as a more menacing, purposeful machine. The fast Mk1 versions had quad headlamps, after all.
When the Mk3 came along (which really was just a Mk2 face lift) we forgot all about the Mk2. The second Capri simply never enjoyed the popularity of the third, despite some impressive models like the mighty 3.0S (our Editor used to have one, as it happens). As such, values tumbled and many Mk2s went the way of the scrap yard in favour of the Mk3. Sad times.
That's why this week's classified of choice is a Mk2. It's lovely to see one these days, but to see one in such incredible condition is on another level. This '76 1.6L has been the subject of a complete restoration that was only finished late last year, and as such, is about as close as you can get to finding one in 'as new' condition. No panel has been missed, no bolt left untouched, no mechanical element ignored. It truly is a work of art. It might not be the most muscular, being a 1.6, but don't let that put you off. The 1.6 Pinto engine is a wonderfully solid old lump, and as such, will never let you down.
We adore the Mk2 Capri. For us, the big, square headlights help to give it a bullet-nose kind of look. It's sleek, it's unfussy and it's elegant. This is the perfect classic Ford in our eyes. You simply don't need a V6, or go-faster stripes to celebrate the blue oval.
At £9,000, this Capri also represents exceptional value. Looking at the quality of the restoration, we'd wager that more money than that has been put into it. Buy this, cherish it, and keep it in this condition and you'll own one of Ford's now rarest classics. Go on, do it. It is, after all, the car you always promised yourself.
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Classified of the Week
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A History of Science Fiction – Pt. 2
September 20, 2019 Sean Tasker Movies, Sean Tasker, TV 3 comments
In an article last week, we took a look at Science Fiction as it grew from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, through Jules Verne, to the pulp magazines with Isaac Asimov. Today, we are going to take a look at how sci-fi has evolved on screen, from silent films, to Star Wars, and now shows like Black Mirror.
It's both easier and harder to write about science fiction, then to create it. When you write sci-fi, you can come up with anything in the world, and don't have to worry about how that looks, or the physics would specifically work. The downside is that you can't handwave your way through the story, you have to come up with reasons for things to happen, even if they are made up words, like reversing polarity. When you film sci-fi, you are always limited by the technology of the real world to symbolize the fiction, but you don't have to have answers for everything. You can show something on screen, and the audience can fill in the blanks of how that works.
When the time came to begin filming sci-fi, the first major attempt was in the 1902 silent film A Trip to the Moon. The movie showed astronauts being shot to the moon, via cannon, and interacting with aliens. In the movie, many new filming techniques were used, both in editing as well as set construction. The director, Georges Méliès, was a fan of the stage first, and explored how to bring theatrics to the screen in a way that hadn't been done before.
In 1927 came one of the most influential sci-fi films ever, Metropolis. This film had the first instance of a sentient robot, which has been copied multiple times, most notably and closely as C-3PO. This film also was one of the first ever dystopian films.
In 1956 two of the most popular sci-fi movies hit theaters, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Forbidden Planet. Invasion is on several lists of best sci-fi movies (American Film Institute), horror movies (Bravo!, Chicago Film Critic Assoc.), or just great movies in general (Library of Congress, Time Magazine). Forbidden Planet on the other hand was almost a parody of what science fiction had become. It was seen as silly and fun, bringing a lightheartedness to science fiction.
"More than another science-fiction movie, with the emphasis on fiction; it is a genuinely thought-through concept of the future, and the production MGM has bestowed on it gives new breadth and dimension to that time-worn phrase, 'out of this world.'"
Los Angeles Times on Forbidden Planet
When television joined sci-fi, the first few were based on the pulp magazines, such as Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon. Buck Rogers was a World War I vet who, due to a mining accident, was in suspended animation until the year 2419, where he helps the contemporaries with his advanced combat expertise. This wasn't the beginning of the idea of suspended animation, but none others had lasted for 500 years, which allowed a more expansive view of the future to take hold. Flash Gordon was one of the most popular sci-fi pulp stories ever, and was an inspiration for later characters like Superman.
Sci-Fi Grows
Eventually, it was time to leave the pulp magazines, and let modern science fiction evolve.
Star Trek is extremely important to science fiction because it wasn't aimed for kids reading fun fantastical stories. The intended demographic were adults, and so the stories revolved around slavery, warfare, and discrimination. It tackled real world issues in the "safe-space" of safe space. A focus on inter-racial friends and relationships was a hot topic in the '60s, especially having a Russian crew member, and the first on screen interracial kiss.
I thought it was a Trekkie, and so I said, 'Sure.' I looked across the room, and there was Dr. Martin Luther King walking towards me with this big grin on his face. He reached out to me and said, 'Yes, Ms. Nichols, I am your greatest fan.' He said that Star Trek was the only show that he, and his wife Coretta, would allow their three little children to stay up and watch. [She told King about her plans to leave the series.] I never got to tell him why, because he said, 'You can't. You're part of history.'
Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) on meeting a fan.
Star Wars took the pulpiness out of sci-fi. Star Wars was the first time that the world created felt "lived in," meaning that it didn't feel like a representation of what could be, but instead was a fully living and breathing world. Whereas Star Trek had everyone living in pristine ships, not needing pockets because of a lack of currency or other material needs, Star Wars had a hive of scum and villainy. If you compare the interior of the Millenium Falcon to the interior of the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701, you'll see what I mean. There are entire articles/videos/podcasts/documentaries dedicated to how Star Wars is influential and important, so I won't spend more time on it here.
The Matrix was an incredible jump in modern sci-fi, showing how modern computer graphics could really expand the kinds of stories that we tell on screen. Star Wars and Jurassic Park are known for having more practical effects than you would originally imagine, but The Matrix, between the enhanced cyberpunk style and the heavy CGI really helped expand what modern science fiction is.
Diversify Sci-Fi
Obviously as science fiction has evolved a lot over time, and there are now distinctions and sub-genres.
The major distinction in sci-fi is if it's "Hard" or "Soft." Hard sci-fi focuses on scientific accuracy and logic. Popular Hard sci-fi stories include:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, for it's focus on how the submarines worked, to a level that is accurate to today's technology.
Jurassic Park, for it's focus on gene-splicing in labratories, and how genetic mutations occur, even within a controlled experiment.
Blade Runner, for it's focus on A.I. and the Turing Test, or a natural progression of American and Asian cultures into megalopolises.
Soft sci-fi on the other hand, focuses more on cautionary tales and metaphors, that use sci-fi as a level of separation. Popular soft sci-fi's include:
Fahrenheit 451 was set 50+ years after it was published, and didn't have much "highly advanced" technology, but instead focused on what the future could hold in regards to high government control and restrictions.
Gullivers Travels is rarely described as a science fiction, except for the focus on the ideas of a utopia/dystopia, which is a strong sci-fi backdrop.
The Giver, a story about how people remove negative feelings from their society as a whole, and how that breaks apart and eliminates the joys that come on the other side of suffering.
Interestingly, the George Orwell novel 1984 falls into both categories, as much of the technology used came to pass, such as screens that can monitor your eye-movements and large government oversight, called Big Brother. However, the point of the story was cautionary and, at times, extremist, in how it saw the worst version of the future.
Next we have two sub-genres, so they aren't in every science fiction story, Utopia or Dystopia. When you are telling a story of the future, your views on the world will lead you to the future being a better place, or a worse one. A Utopia is a perfect society, like in Star Trek, where there is no need for currency, property, or the Industrial-Military Complex. The world is safe, accepting, and people can work together to focus on exploring the universe and making life better.
A Dystopia is the opposite. A belief that the future only holds more suffering, on the lower class, controlled by the upper class or government. A great dystopian sci-fi from recent years was The Hunger Games, where the government, and those lucky enough to be born in the capital, have amazing lives, and everyone else works themselves to death, have very little food or water, and might have to fight to the death as children for the entertainment of the captial, as well as a reminder that they cannot revolt.
The last major sub-genres of sci-fi are "punk"; either Steam, Cyber, or Diesel.
Steampunk was the first, originating properly in the '50s and '60s, but was inspired by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells sci-fi writings. The idea revolves around Victorian fashion and ideas, and adds in steam-powered technology, or tech that existed at the time. Steampunk most notably has evolved into a subsection of Cosplay, taking popular characters and giving them a steampunk filter.
Cyberpunk was the the next, originating from '70s stories like Judge Dredd and Neuromancer. The core of cyberpunk is the expansion of cybernetics and artificial intelligence, mixed with societal breakdown. The next major cyberpunk property will be the video game Cyberpunk 2077, starring Keanu Reeves.
Lastly there is Dieselpunk, a less common name, but a style you will definitely recognize. Like how steampunk focuses on the technology and transportation of the Industrial Revolution, Dieselpunk focuses on World War 1 to the Cold War tech and styles. We see this style with the 1989 Batman, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Modern Sci-Fi
The most modern version of science fiction is, in my opinion, Black Mirror. In large part because this shows how misuse and lack of respect for modern and post-modern science can be ultimately detrimental, just like it was in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This full circle of sci-fi is interesting, because no matter how science fiction grows, the biggest fears are still whether or not future technology will be used and abused by those with selfish and shortsighted agendas.
What is your favorite science fiction movie or series? Let us know in the comments below!
198420000 Leagues Under the SeaA Trip to the MoonBatman (1989)Black MirrorBlade RunnerBuck RogersCaptain America: The First AvengerCosplayCyberpunkCyberpunk 2077Fahrenheit 451Flash GordonForbidden PlanetFrankensteinGullivers TravelsInvasion of the Body SnatchersJudge DreddJurassic ParkMetropolisNeuromancerSciFiStar TrekStar WarsSteampunkThe GiverThe Hunger GamesThe Matrix
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damage the air of elegance they carry around. By offering custom bibs, you earn a secret appreciation from guests, promote your brand like none other, and pave the way for customer loyalty. Whether you run a restaurant, bar, or catering company, offering lobster bibs to your guests is a great way of saying that you care.
It may come across as an insignificant part of the business but these minor details can make a huge difference and separate the leader from the herd. Here are some interesting ways to use lobster bibs to stand out from the crowd, get more eyes on your brand, and make customers for life!
When you want to pierce through competition and want people to know your new business, you need to create a specialty. Every restaurant tries to impress guests with great food, effective food presentation, and friendly service; stand out by offering just a tiny bit more.
When you offer disposable bibs that people can tie with ease and enjoy every bite of the succulent seafood without worrying about stains, they are sure to remember this special service. They may even recommend your business to others.
You will be able to target casual eaters and the corporate executives who would love to drop in, eat well without staining clothes, and head for an important meeting. Your guests will no more be choosy about food if they have to attend a corporate event or even an interview.
Whether you run a catering business, restaurant or bar, you need to raise your brand's visibility to stay ahead in the competitive marketplace. If you are catering for an event, offering custom printed bibs can be a great way to make guests take notice of you.
They will be impressed by your thoughtful gesture and may want to hire your services for their own personal or business event. As the disposable bibs can be custom printed with your logo, company name, website, and phone number, the guests will no more have to keep looking for your information.
If you own a catering business, you will cater to a wide range of corporate picnics, wedding receptions, birthday parties, and anniversaries. You can add some spark to the next event by including a warm and heartfelt message on the bibs. Something like "Cheers for the new couple – Kim and Chris" along with the date. This beautiful gesture will set you apart and make your clients your loyal customers for life!
Promotional items are used as an effective marketing tool to get noticed by potential customers and remind existing customers about you. People generally use pens, shirts, hats, and ice-scrappers as promotional items. Try something different and offer a pack of lobster bibs printed with your company name and details.
Pens and hats may remain unused in some corner of the house, but the bibs will be highly appreciated and happily used by people while eating. If the traditional promotional materials are not yielding much result, try custom bibs to get your business cooking.
If you are looking for high quality yet affordable hospitality products to be used on diverse occasions, the name of Alfred Mank stands tall. With more than 85 years in business, we carry a rich legacy that reflects in every product manufactured by us.
Our custom disposable bibs are made from the high-quality absorbent Airlaid or non-woven material to protect your clothing from stains. We use the flexograph printing method to meet large quantity orders with quick turnaround. This enables us to create the most impressive end-results with full tone colors.
Our bibs come in different sizes for people of all ages. So, whether you are looking to promote a new business, make your brand more visible, or just save your guests from an unwanted splatter on their fine clothes, custom lobster bibs have you covered.


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Wild Voices
About wildlife, wild lands, and honoring the intrinsic value and beauty of the world of nature.
wild lands
industrialization of wild lands
protection of wild lands
Ecosystem Services: Think of bees that pollinate more than 90 commercial crops in the U.S….
July 26, 2018 by sharonstjoan
Wolves of Douglas County News
…That's the beauty, or bounty, that the Endangered Species Act provides. The ESA ensures these beneficial ecosystems just don't unravel. You see the Endangered Species Act doesn't just protect the individual species, it also protects the lands, or habitats, the endangered species need to survive. For sure protecting these habitats can make it difficult for certain industries, mainly extractive industries, such as; oil & gas, mining and lumbering. Renewable energy is out pacing coal, oil & gas extractive industries in America. It's a well known fact that, extractive industries cause more harm for our vital ecosystems; such as land, water, air and wildlife. But there are several politicians, like Senator Barrasso, Republican from Wyoming, that supports these extractive industries and wants to rewrite the ESA to accommodate these dying-extractive-industries.
What are the economic benefits the Endangered Species Act generates from protecting vital habitats?
In the following article from Time The…
The Media's Failure to Connect the Dots on Climate Change
There's No Price Tag on Our Mother Earth…
Follow Wild Voices on WordPress.com
What caused the ice ages? Tiny ocean fossils offer key evidence
A comment on a discussion of wild horses…
New York Times article – "The Social Life of Forests"
Rare pelican in the Netherlands
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Migratory birds and Asian, African and European children
Feathered polar dinosaurs discovery in Australia
Black grouse in Sweden
Ascension Island green turtles good news


NEW DEVELOPMENT OF 18 contemporary villas designs with an ambient warmth of vegetation and lighting. THERE ARE ONLY 5 AVAILABLE THE REST IS SOLD. This complex provides elegant homes that are a joy to inhabit.
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Each finish has been selected on its individual merit of quality, as well as its compatibility with the universal property design and its Southern Spanish surroundings. Expansive storage spaces, internal/ external access to the basement, separate pantry area beside kitchen, hidden "chute" to easily move washing from bedrooms to basement-level laundries, non slip flooring finishes in bathrooms and swimming pool surrounds.
This new development is a golfers' paradise. There are 10 high standard courses located within 10 minute vicinity each providing stunning views across the greens.
Licence in place. Construction started completion end 2018. Up to 80% Finance Available. Visit the stunning new show villa.
3 Bedrooms, 4.5 Bathrooms, Built 244 m², Terrace 87 m², Garden/Plot 540 m².
Views : Mountain, Country, Garden, Pool, Courtyard.
Features : Covered Terrace, Fitted Wardrobes, Private Terrace, Satellite TV, Games Room, Guest Apartment, Storage Room, Utility Room, Ensuite Bathroom, Disabled Access, Marble Flooring, Double Glazing, Basement.
Parking : Covered, Open, More Than One.


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Gmail Gives An Accidental Peek At Its Upcoming Redesign
Jason Kincaid	@jasonkincaid / 10 years
A video inadvertently posted to Google's YouTube account has given a sneak peek at some of the changes that will be coming to Gmail in the very near future. It was quickly taken down, but not before a few screenshots were snagged by Google Operating System.
The new UI is obviously based on the Gmail 'preview' theme that it began offering back in June, which has more whitespace and options for tweaking how densely you want your conversations listed. The biggest change seen in the video is the conversation/reply view, which looks a lot more like Facebook Messages — each person in the conversation has their photo shown, and it's easier to read previous messages in the thread.
Another key change: Gmail will start surfacing its advanced search features as soon as you click the search box. Before now these haven't been as easily accessible — you'd have to either click a 'show search options' link, or use search operators ("sent:", "has:attachment", etc.). Now these options will pop up immediately, and you can also create a new filter from your search query on the fly.
There are some more minor tweaks as well. Some buttons are now represented with visual icons reminiscent of those seen in Android Honeycomb/Ice Cream Sandwich. You can now manually adjust the size of the Labels and Chat windows. And there's a new slick effect: as you resize your browser window, Gmail will dynamically adjust its layout so that everything fits.
They're nice improvements, but, as someone who lives in Gmail all day, there are still a lot of changes I'd like to see. In particular, there are some features that Hotmail (yes, that Hotmail) recently launched that I'd love Gmail to reproduce. For instance, in Hotmail it's now possible to automatically delete certain messages after a few days (there's no reason to let all those expired deals clutter your inbox, after all).
Google took its video down, but here's a mirror, again via Google Operating System:


Today, for any kind of a purpose, whether it being securing employment, moving to another country, or even getting something as small as procuring a driver's licence, we need official documents for every purpose possible. Documents such as a Green Card, Visas of different countries and passports of different countries are tough to procure for normal citizens, and their value, especially of documents such as Green Cards and Visas is quite high. Even with a million dollars, these things may not be procured.
For procuring these documents, what one needs is not a million dollars, but the services of professionals who provide inequitable document support. We are those professional. We have been in the business of document support since quite long, and our services have been put to use by a lot of people like you, who have ultimately achieved their goals with timely procurement of the documents with our help.
We specialize in the procurement of documents such as Green Cards, Visas, Passports, driving licences and certificates of exams such as IELTS, GMAT and TOEFL. We deal in both legal and verified documents and also counterfeit documents in connection to passport, green cards and visas.
Our team has been quite worrisome about providing the required documents on time. We understand how important a factor time is when it comes to these documents. Our team pays close attention to the quickness of procurement of these documents, and with our high quality printers, you won't even miss a coffee stain on your counterfeit document. Our services are worth a shot at such prices.


There are a few hard and fast rules in finance. One is that the higher an interest rate you can earn on an investment, the higher the risk inherent in that investment. Your local bank will pay you about one percent interest on your savings account; in return you can rest assured that unless your bank collapses, that interest will be paid. A group of mortgages bundled together that pay nine percent interest; well, that would be considerably more likely to have an unhappy ending. This rule, while simple in practice, got lost on both bankers and investors for much of this decade until it abruptly came back as a reminder in the bank collapses of 2008.
As capital markets editor for The Financial Times, Gillian Tett watched the growth in sophisticated financial products that paid investors ever more in interest, earning investment banks ever more in profits, between 1998 and 2008. Fool's Gold tells the story of how a group of whip-smart financiers at J.P. Morgan helped create a vast array of derivatives products with the aim of reducing the level of risk their clients had in their portfolios. What ensued was a runway train of ever more complex financial products which finally imploded last year.
Derivatives are financial products, like stocks or bonds, that investors can purchase. Mostly they are purchased by large companies or pension funds. While there are dozens of different kinds of derivatives, their common attribute it that their value is based on some other financial entity. Derivatives, such as an interest rate swap (where one party agrees to exchange their interest for that of another party's interest), are designed as an insurance against unlikely, unforeseen and unwanted events. The mortgage backed security (MBS) is the derivative which features most heavily in the book. Think of an MBS as a group of 100 mortgages of identical value bundled together, each paying 6 per cent interest. You purchase the bundle and receive the interest payments, which would be equal to 6 per cent of the bundle. If one of your 100 mortgagees defaults and doesn't make their payment, it's no big deal because there are 99 other people who did so you still get close to your 6 per cent. Now, if 20 of those 100 don't make their mortgage payments, well, you can say goodbye to your 6 per cent interest. Few people predicted many mortgage payments would default as the United States hadn't had a sustained decrease in house prices since the 1930s.
Tett traces the origins of derivatives back to a rambunctious gathering of J.P. Morgan financiers at an offsite meeting at a glitzy Florida hotel in 1994. After the previous night's party, in which the boss got a broken nose and a golf cart found its way into the swimming pool, J.P. Morgan empowered a group of young traders to come up with more ways to put derivatives to work. As Tett makes clear, derivatives were a relatively benign part of the financial world until they collided with the mortgage industry after the internet boom ended in 2000.
The book's central character is J.P. Morgan Chase's CEO, Jamie Dimon. Prior to Dimon's arrival at the firm in 2004, midway through the book, the narrative reads much like a long newspaper story as Tett tells how the derivatives team evolved, packing ever more and ever riskier mortgages into MBS. Dimon is a compelling protagonist; fiercely determined to succeed and not disposed to playing nice.
While J.P. Morgan's offices are arguably where the MBS security and all of its hybrids originated, nearly all banks partook in bundling mortgages into sellable securities. One rather comical scene involved a ratings agency who made public how they valued MBS, thereby enabling bankers to put the absolute maximum number of risky mortgages into a security while still achieving the desired AAA rating.
Tett sets up Dimon and the derivative creators at J.P. Morgan before the predictable troubles arise. Aptly, the last three chapters in sequence are named "Bank Run, Bear Blows Up, Freefall." While J.P. Morgan was one of the first into MBS and other derivatives, its institutional knowledge of the products, combined with its unorthodox CEO, allowed for them to emerge as one of the winners of the crash of 2008. It bought investment bank Bear Stearns for nearly nothing and grew many of its divisions' revenues while rivals disappeared.
Many other authors have written about the financial crash of 2008 and new books are being produced weekly. Tett assumes a fairly advanced level of understanding about derivatives, therefore the book can be overwhelming, especially in the early stages. It does however lead to a rollercoaster finish that would be rather funny - if it weren't all true.


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Stadion Kralj Petar I. je nogometni stadion u beogradskom naselju Banjica u Srbiji. Na njemu svoje domaće utakmice igra FK Rad, tamošnji nogometni klub.

Stadion je otvoren 13. kolovoza 1977. utakmicom između Rada i Bregalnice iz Štipa. Rezultat utakmice je bio pobjeda Rada 2:0. Prvi pogodak na ovom stadionu zabio je Dragan Kokotović u 19. minuti utakmice.

Kralj Petar I.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


All McDonald students ages 7 & up are welcome to participate. This is a great, FREE opportunity for students who are interested in acquiring softball skills or having fun!
We will be Hosting a bake sale tomorrow, sponsored by Fordson NJHS students. All proceeds will go to a local homeless shelter.
Congratulations to Mrs. Modica, Ms. Aun, Ms. Jacobs, and Ms. Lyscas on receiving the Distinguished Service Awards at the PTA Founders Day Dinner last Friday. Thank you for all you do in the service of our students and school!


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Contumazá este una dintre cele treisprezece provincii din regiunea Cajamarca din Peru. Capitala este orașul Contumazá. Se învecinează cu provinciile San Miguel, San Pablo și Cajamarca, și cu regiunea La Libertad.

Diviziune teritorială

Provincia este divizată în 8 districte (spaniolă: distritos, singular: distrito):

 Contumazá
 Chilete
 Cupisnique
 Aramani
 San Benito
 Santa Cruz de Toledo
 Tantarica
 Yonán

Surse externe
 Site-ul oficial al provinciei

Referințe


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What next if UK MPs reject Brexit deal?
AFP , Sunday 9 Dec 2018
article image What next if UK MPs reject Brexit deal? (Photo: Reuters)
UK PM May says: It's my deal, no deal or no Brexit at all
British government loses key parliament vote on Brexit
Another UK govt minister quits over Brexit deal
UK government will face votes on Brexit alternatives before final approval ballot
The Brexit deal is 'doomed'
Prime Minister Theresa May appears likely to lose a historic vote on the Brexit deal she has struck with EU leaders in a crucial parliament vote on Tuesday.
Defeat in the House of Commons is almost certain to lead to either a no-confidence vote from the opposition or a leadership challenge from within her own Conservative Party.
Here are some of the most probable scenarios:
Renegotiate deal
The prime minister could face demands to head to Brussels and attempt to extract concessions before putting the deal to a second vote by parliament.
EU leaders have rejected the prospect of renegotiating the withdrawal agreement itself but European sources speaking privately say tweaks in the accompanying declaration on post-Brexit ties might be possible.
May is headed to Brussels anyway for a summit with 27 fellow EU leaders on Thursday and Friday.
"Theresa May is going to come to the European summit on December 13 and 14 and ask for a re-negotiation and the 27 are going to say no, the texts are agreed," an informed European source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"They are then going to fall back on a protocol or a clarification on a point seen as important to then go back to parliament."
Norway option
With MPs having more of a say in the process, it is possible they could push for a "plan B", which would see Britain adopt a softer Brexit, such as staying in the EU's satellite trading bloc the European Economic Area -- the so-called Norway option.
Although being in the single market would require maintaining freedom of movement of EU citizens into Britain -- a contentious issue for May and many pro-Brexit voters -- this approach is considered more likely to command a majority in parliament and potentially pass a second vote.
Another potential obstacle, however, is that Britain would have to continue paying large amounts of money into the EU budget which would prove hugely unpopular.
EU figures are said to be in any case "wargaming" how the bloc could extend Article 50 to allow for a tweaked deal or other scenarios such as a second referendum.
No-deal Brexit
Britain has legislated to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019, after triggering Article 50 -- the treaty mechanism used to exit the bloc -- two years prior.
May has warned that if MPs vote down her plan the country risks crashing out on this date with no agreement.
That would sever ties overnight with its closest trading partner, amid fears of grounded flights, medicine shortages and gridlocked ports and motorways.
The Bank of England has warned of a financial crisis, slashing house prices and crashing the pound.
Dozens of arch-Brexiteers, led by a hardline backbencher, Jacob Rees-Mogg, believe no deal would be preferable to the current plan that keeps the country tied closer to the bloc.
But that view lacks majority support in parliament.
Second referendum
Calls for a new referendum now attract significant cross-party support from dozens of MPs.
May has repeatedly ruled out another vote but could face pressure to call one if Britain slips into political paralysis.
Supporters of a second referendum received a boost from a European Court of Justice legal opinion last week stating that Britain does have the unilateral right to revoke its Brexit decision.
The ECJ's final ruling is expected Monday.
The prime minister could try to break the parliamentary deadlock by calling a general election -- but would need the backing of two-thirds of all MPs.
A simple majority of all lawmakers could also topple her government with a vote of no confidence.
That could lead to the formation of a new government -- possibly a coalition of parties -- if MPs agreed on that within two weeks.
Otherwise, a general election would be called.
The Democratic Unionist Party, a fervently pro-Brexit party in the UK's Northern Ireland which props up her government, has said it would vote against the deal, but not aim to topple May.


Beautiful cards! I am thankful for this wonderful hobby that gives me a creative outlet and a chance to use it to send love and caring to others.
Thank you Judy. I enjoy being creative also and am so glad I get to create as a job and a hobby!
I love these cards… any cards with butterflies and dragonflies catch my eye. I am so grateful for my loving husband.
I'm also thankful for my loving husband; such a blessing.
Such pretty colors! Thank you for taking the time to share your talent with us! I am reminded by these cards of the creativity of the Creator who has made such a diversity of dragonflies and butterflies and am thankful for all that we see of His beauty in the world 🌎 around us.
Dragonflies in particular always amaze me when I see them; their wings are irridescent. God has filled the world with beauty for us to enjoy.
Seeing these cards make me thankful for bright colors and how beautifully orange, yellow and pink blend together! Butterflies and dragonflies also top my thankful list!
If's funny how once upon a time I would never have put orange and pink together; now it is one of my favourite colour combos.
First, I am grateful to our Lord and Savior who loves us and shows us grace and mercy every day.
Secondly, for you…your work is extraordinary. I learn from you each time I see one of your cards. And for you to take the time to write tutorials is amazing act of kindness to us.As a teacher, I know how tedious it is to write detailed instructions and techniques to someone you may never meet or see in person. Yet, each time, you so graciously take the time to explain.
I have used your ideas many times, with such great success, not nearly as great as your work, but enough that the receiver of card is very appreciative.
Thank you and may God always bless your creativity.
So nice to hear from you Tish, thank you for your kind words about my blogging and for sharing what you are thankful for. May God bless you too.
What beautiful cards! What I am most thankful for is my husband who is always right there when I need help. I know that he has just as many aches & pains as I do but he always takes careffect of me.
So glad you have such a caring husband.
Dragonflies are just rather magical, aren't they? I have a dragonfly mobile, two dragonfly shirts, a framed Advice from a Dragonfly and a dragonfly necklace. I am so grateful for friends and family who gift me with meaningful treasures as well as their love and support.
Dragonfly wings always amaze me, so delicate, often iridescent, just beautiful.
I love LOVE the type-background and dragonfly card! I am so thankful to God for the blessings of our little grandbabies that fill our hearts and lives with such sweet Joy!
Great look with the dragonflies…I have this delightful stamp set and do enjoy the change in look from butterflies too! Your backgrounds are both unique…how did you get to be so creative – LOL!!! I am so thankful for your sweet words of encouragement and want you to know I am grateful!
Beautiful cards, Heather! I love the gorgeous colored background on the first card & the typed background on number 2 is equally impressive. I'm thankful for all you awesome designers & the amazing techniques & creations you share with us here in blog land. So much great inspiration!
Love, Love, love these. So happy and uplifting. I am thankful for all your beautiful posts.
Fabulous dragonflies! I am thankful and grateful to the Lord for His faithfulness to see me through so many dark moments (health).
I am grateful for people like you, Heather, who inspire me and help me to be more creative with my supplies. I love learning new techniques and reaching new levels of beauty in my cardmaking. Thank you so much for sharing your creative journey with the rest of us.
Thank you for leaving this note. I am so happy to hear you are inspired here. Happy creating!
I am thankful for all those in the crafting world who share their talents and their time.
So pretty! Fall is the best of all! I am very thankful for each one of my children. I have 3 here with me on Earth and 1 in Heaven.
Thank you Tamara. I am thankful for my children too; they bless me in so many ways.
Gorgeous cards! I am thankful to be retired and now able to do more crafting!
Thank you for your kind words. I should create a duo more often but I usually get distracted with another idea I want to try.
I'm thankful for people like you and Foiled Fox sharing their talents and inspiration! Beautiful!
I love these dragonflies! I'm always thankful that talented artists such as yourself so willingly share and inspire with your creations!


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Q: Adding an auto-generated number in table row in asciidoc file Hi so I want to add "auto-generated" row number into a table in asciidoc file. I have something like this.
.Sample Table
[cols=2, options="header"]
|===
|ID | Description

|1
|This is row #1

|2
|This is row #2

|===

Where 1 and 2 are hardcoded. Is there a way to make them auto-generated? Like how we can have "." in list view to become numbers.
Thanks,
KT.

A: Try using the {counter} attribute. Here's a tutorial.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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[Trailer] 'Dying Light' Heads to Space in Latest "Low Gravity" Event And DLC
August 19, 2021 Mike Wilson dying light, dying light 2, gog, PC, playstation 4, PlayStation 5, steam, techland, Video Games, xbox one, Xbox Series
Once again, Techland are sticking to their promise to keep on delivering new content for Dying Light while Dying Light 2 is still in development. The latest DLC is out of this world (sorry) with the new Low Gravity in-game event. The event sees Harran attacked by forces from outer space. Players must protect the Earth from […]
'Mortal Shell' DLC "The Virtuous Cycle" Available For Free Until August 23
August 16, 2021 Mike Wilson Cold Symmetry, Epic Games Store, gog, Mortal Shell, Playstack, playstation 4, PlayStation 5, steam, The Virtuous Cycle, Video Games, xbox one, Xbox Series
Looking forward to Mortal Shell's first expansion in "The Virtuous Cycle"? Well, as part of its first anniversary, developer Cold Symmetry and publisher Playstack have a special treat for existing owners: The Virtuous Cycle is free for the next five days. That's right, The Virtuous Cycle is getting a 100% discount from August 18 to […]
[Watch] New Trailer Gives Overview of PS5 Enhancements For 'The Medium'
August 8, 2021 Mike Wilson bloober team, Epic Games Store, gog, PC, PlayStation 5, steam, the medium, Video Games, Xbox Series
With The Medium arriving next month for PlayStation 5 users, and the fact that the game will be taking advantage of the PS5's DualSense, Bloober Team thought it best to drop a trailer explaining just what users can expect from the enhancement. Over on PlayStation Blog, Bloober Team producer Szymon Erdmanski explains that The Medium […]
[Trailer] Phobia Game Studio's 'Carrion' Hitting PlayStation 4 Later This Year
August 5, 2021 Mike Wilson Carrion, devolver digital, gog, Nintendo Switch, PC, Phobia Game Studio, playstation 4, steam, Video Games, xbox one
PlayStation fans will finally be able to snag Phobia Game Studio's Carrion later this year. The developer and publisher Devolver Digital made the announcement today via PlayStation Blog. Unfortunately, "later in 2021" is the best we're going to get at the moment for this little "reverse horror" game that we absolutely loved (despite a few […]


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Best Bets This Weekend in Houston: K-Pop, Music of Queen and Frida B-Day
Sit in at the Honky Tonk at The Doyle and Debbie Show at Stages
Hamilton in Houston Proves That Greatness Can Go On the Road
Jessica Goldman
Hamilton takes it on the road.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Jessica Goldman | April 26, 2018 | 8:45am
The day before Hamilton opened in Houston, a number of my colleagues and I discussed our fantasy critique for the production. The review we all wish we could hand into our editors and call it a day. It would be one sentence long and go something like this: Yes the show is ridiculously amazing and the sound at the Hobby Center is either, A. Horrible like it usually is, sadly undermining this ground-breaking musical, B. Better than usual, thank goodness we could actually hear most of Lin-Manuel Miranda's astoundingly intelligent/linguistically buoyant lyrics or, C. Crystal clear and hallelujah for that, because this is a musical where every word, every inflection, every aside is worth savoring.
I mean, what else needs to be said? Actually review Hamilton? Comment on the infectious music that seamlessly mashes up genres so that we get hip-hop, R&B and jazzy numbers mixed in with more traditional Broadway melodies? Mention how the cadence of the lyrics, rap or otherwise feel like a modern Shakespearean-metered vernacular? Talk about why the deliberate use of performers of color to tell the story of the American Revolution is so profound and necessary? Discuss how choreography that includes everything from club moves to rap strutting to traditional ballet and back again is the perfect encapsulation of the history of American movement? Address how the lighting and costumes meld together to create a beautifully neutral palate that lets the multicultural faces of the cast shine even more brightly?
There is literally nothing to be said about this stratospherically successful musical that hasn't already been done a trillion times before in everything from print reviews to Ph.D. papers. Hamilton is a masterpiece that at this point shouldn't be dissected, but instead should just be enjoyed.
Hamilton is Upon Us and There's Still Time To Enter the $10 a Ticket Lottery
And therein, to my mind anyway, lies the job of the critic as the touring production of Hamilton finally makes its landing in Houston. Not to make a case for the show itself, but instead to see if what the show has to offer actually works in Houston. Can you take perfection on the road and make it work?
Let's go back to the fantasy review and the issue of sound. It's what anyone who's ever seen a show in at Sarofim Hall was most concerned about. But either the Hobby Center crew finally figured out how to do it right or the Hamilton folks schooled them, because damn if it wasn't the first time I've ever been to a show in this space where I could actually hear the lyrics over the music. Well most of them, but let's leave that for later.
What about the quality of the touring show itself? Is it as good as the New York production (yes I've seen it. With the original cast. Don't hate me, it's my job)? The answer to that is 99 percent yes. If you are one of the lucky Houstonians who managed to secure a seat (and BTW there are still tickets available throughout the run and of course there is the $10 lottery which you can read more about then you can rest assured that this superbly executed tour is, as far as I can tell, an exact replica of the Broadway production.
The industrial three-story exposed brick and wooden staircase/catwalk set looks exactly the same. The double turntable stage that spins the action around is there. The same bare minimum props are brought on and off the stage as needed, never lingering to clutter. Present is the switcheroo staging and lighting that at one moment has the set full to the brim with cast members and then, with a poof, an intimate scene with just two or even one performer holding our hearts in their voices.
And what performers this touring cast offers up. Even when things don't go as planned. Two of the show's leads, Alexander Hamilton and his bride, Eliza, were played by understudies at the media performance. But without the insert in our program to tell us so, no one would have known that Edred Utomi and Dorcas Leung (a Houston native) weren't part of the first line cast. Utomi injects Hamilton with all the nerdy, aggressive, verbose, unyielding energy that the role calls for. Vocally he not only rings all the bells, but it was almost eerie at times how close his higher pitched, clear, yet somewhat shallow voice, sounds like a dead ringer for Lin-Manuel himself when he played the role. Leung, while a tad stiff physically as Eliza, completely won us over in her more emotional musical numbers where many a sniff could be heard, including my own.
If there's a contest for the best voices in this cast, there's no question that it's a three-way tie between Sabrina Sloan as Angelica, Eliza's older sister and Hamilton's platonic soul-mate, Carvens Lissaint, a majestic George Washington and the show's most popular comic relief, King George played with cheeky piss and vinegar by Peter Matthew Smith. All three have their show-stopping numbers (and trust me there are more show stoppers in this show than you can count) but only one has an introduction that embodies what Hamilton is all about.
By the time George Washington is brought into the action, we're about halfway through Act 1. In other words, we've seen white historical figures played by performers of color for more than minutes already. But there's just something about the grand entrance of the Founding Father and first President of the United States played by a tall, commanding black man that just makes you sit up and go, YEAH!!! If you have to ask why, well then not only have you missed the point of this whole musical exercise, but you haven't been paying attention to the color conscious casting struggle that has engulfed every theater nationwide.
But back to the cast. The musical may be called Hamilton, but in truth, the star of the show is narrator Aaron Burr, the man who shot and killed Alexander Hamilton out of yearslong professional jealousy. The man who wonders how the hell Hamilton, "a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman" manages to leave the Caribbean for New York, become George Washington's right-hand man, an instrumental creator of the constitution and eventually Secretary of the Treasury under the country's first political administration, where he creates our present-day financial systems.
Burr is a role that could have been pure villain. A petty, jealous, vindictive man who kills the hero of our story. But Miranda doesn't write him that way and Nicholas Christopher certainly doesn't play him like a one-dimensional character. Frustration, insecurity, pain, loss, regret – Christopher delivers it all and it a bravura performance. We feel his agony even as our dislike of him grows. We understand and even empathize with his feelings of impotence in the face of Hamilton. Do we wish he was a better man? Yes. But Christopher never lets us forget that he is just a man after all, struggling the way we all do. All feeling like we are on the outside of the room where things happen.
There are many moving parts to ensure this touring production is a success, and without question, Christopher's Burr is a major part of the magic that makes sure this show radiates greatness. But that doesn't mean everything is peachy. In fact, there is one distinct misfire that utterly erases two key characters from the narrative. Characters that unfortunately are some of the most sassily written and the most fun to watch.
Tasked with playing both Lafayette (a flamboyant French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War) and Thomas Jefferson (depicted as a diss-a-minute smart ass), Chris De'Sean Lee fails at both roles for the same reason. He's certainly got the swagger down, but we fail to understand one word out of his mouth.
As Lafayette, Lee's French accent is so affected we can't make out a single syllable. As an accentless Jefferson, he fares better, but his enunciation/projection merely lets us glean every third word or so. And what a shame that is. A tremendously amusing and biting cabinet debate (of course depicted as rap battle) between Jefferson and Hamilton becomes one-sided due to missing most of Jefferson's barbs. His constitutional negotiations with Hamilton are unintelligible as well. Getting the gist works in some shows, but not in this one when words, rhymes and linguistic play matters so much.
But here's the thing, while everyone I ran into or overheard commented on this issue at intermission and post-show, no one let it diminish their gushing love of the production. That's the power of Hamilton. You can take away some of the most satisfying and sly parts of the narrative and still find enough to blow your mind. And then some.
Still, I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me that Houstonians weren't getting the whole Hamilton experience. It irks me that the show's now famous, "Immigrants, we get the job done", battle cry gets buried due to our inability to process one actor's lines. Really great however, is not the enemy of perfect as they say. Or perhaps Eliza, Angelica and their other sister, Peggy, have it right. "Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now".
Flaws or not, how lucky are we in Houston to have such a superb Hamilton stop by our doorstep for a while. Seems then, in the end, my fantasy review is perfectly apt:
The musical is stupendous, hallelujah the sound is great. Enjoy the show.
Hamilton continues through May 20 at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit thehobbycenter.org, broadwayatthehobbycenter.com or ticketmaster.com.
Jessica Goldman was the theater critic for CBC Radio in Calgary prior to joining the Houston Press team. Her work has also appeared in American Theatre Magazine, Globe and Mail and Alberta Views. Jessica is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
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Reviews For The Easily Distracted:


No two homeowners are alike. That's great news for Mike, who considers working with members of all stripes a major job perk.
In his quarter century-plus of experience at STCU, Mike has enjoyed working with first-time buyers, retirees poised to build their dream homes, big families, country lovers, urban dwellers — all happy to call the Inland Northwest home.
An Eastern Washington University graduate, Mike is a home-improvement buff. A perk for Mike: No two home projects are alike, either.


Suicide has become one of the prevailing sicknesses in the community today. It is the act of taking one's life in various form. We won't anymore identify here the process, nor how people go about it. But what is worth mentioning is that, of the late, many are being creative in making it happen.
There are many causes of suicide. It could be caused by problems one think cannot anymore be addressed. It may be caused by the feeling of hopelessness in that person's current situation. This may be caused by abuse that same person undergo on a regular basis. It could also be that that person was suffering from depression over reasons unidentified to us, or he may just want to be released from he was the pain he was experiencing from a terminal illness. Some reasons may be petty to others, but the end game is the same – death.
Contrary to what many people think, suicide has no face. You cannot determine who is capable of it until it is done. Sometimes, you think that just because that person exudes such a joyful facade, he is already safe from committing one. This has already proven to be not true time and time again. In fact, there are times when who seems to be the happiest member of the group who chooses this out. This is the sad part when it is undetectable – you do not know to whom you should extend a branch of hope. Most often than not, these people do not also know to whom they should ask for help.
This is exactly why the No Assisted Suicide online platform was created. This website aims to prevent any form of suicide from taking place, whether it is self-inflicted, or assisted. We recognize that sometimes, to prevent this, all it takes is a single person who can listen and who can provide an alternative solution. This is what we hope to offer those people. We offer a lifeline through our help desks which are open 24/7 to assist you.
We started with just the email and the landline available to the public. But due to the accessibility of the internet to people world over, we decided to take advantage of this to reach more people. Now, we are not just citywide in Milwaukee, we are already accessible throughout the whole United States. We are even working to branch out beyond that. So even if you are camping behind your garage doors in Milwaukee, you could access us anytime.
Our team is reliable and professional in helping everyone who would call. Whether if it is a live chat you need, a video conference, or correspondence via text messages and email, we'd get back to you in no time. We can even get someone to you to help because we are in partnership with many physicians and law enforcement who specialize in this kind of trouble. The best thing is, through all of this, every information you give us remain confidential.
We are your friends that are always here through and through.
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text:
Q: by securing and endpoint with a role, works for GET methods bot not POST, I receive 403 Forbidden By using Keycloack springboot adapter (with spring security), when defining the typical SecurityConfig (which extends from  KeycloakWebSecurityConfigurerAdapter), and overriding the "configure" method, I run into a problem when defining access roles for an endpoint, like follows:
// typically access is defined something like this:
http
.authorizeRequests()
.antMatchers(GET, "/SOME_ENDPOINT").hasRole("SOME_ROLE")
....

This works for me, but when I change GET for POST, suddenly my API responds with - 403 Forbidden - for the intended endpoint (yes, I also updated the HTTP method on the controller's @RequestMapping annotation method itself).
What is even weirder is that I have already created many "bearer only" API's, also secured via Keycloak + springboot adapter + spring security, which have no problem whatsoever differentiating this type of endpoint access by HTTP method (I have used POST, PATCH, PUT, etc), and they work fine.
Is there some kind of restriction with "non bearer only" clients, or may I be overlooking something?
EDIT: The problem seem to stem from the fact that spring security only allows per default GET methods, and a way to go around this as suggested on the link I shared in the comments, would be disabling csrf as follows:
.csrf().disable()

As also explained there, this deactivates the security for all endpoints which is not what I intend to do. What I'd expect would be that all http POSTs method calls (or any HTTP method) would be treated and secured by the same schema as their "GET" counterpart.

A: Long story short, for anybody running into a similar problem; Spring security by its default  CSRF (cross site request forgery) protection policy, will produce an HTTP 403 access denied for all non safe http verbs (POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE) type of request.
One approach often seen here on stack overflow forums to go around this, is simply to disable csrf checks for a subset of the endpoints like this:
//@configure method of your Spring Security config

// disable some endpoints
http.csrf().ignoringAntMatchers("/URL_PREFIX_WHERE_CRSF_IS_IGNORED/*")....

// or disable all endpoints
http.csrf().disable()....

A better approach would be to explicitly include csrf tokens for any request (and thus avoiding the need to deactivate csrf checks).
Insight into the problem was provided by PraveenKumar Lalasangi as seen on the comments, and here is a detailed documentation related to the inclusion/use of csrf tokens:
https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/site/docs/3.2.5.RELEASE/reference/htmlsingle/#csrf-include-csrf-token


text:
The latest encroachment of state upon medicine is, I think most of us realize, nothing novel. We have socialized medicine elsewhere in the world, and no matter how badly it fails and how reductive of liberty it is, the drumbeat to implement it here has been constant throughout my lifetime. But the slope didn't start slipping with Medicare or any of the other government programs; in my opinion, the journey predates modern collectivism by centuries.
I've written before about how my great-grandmother was threatened with arrest for curing TB patients. This would've been in the early decades of the 20th century. But she was hardly alone: Medical guilds have been attacking outsiders since the days they were respectable barbers with a shady side-business.
Basically, when the various medical associations managed to get a monopoly on treating the sick, and got the force of the state on their side, they not only diminished prospects for health (in the name of protecting people, of course, it's always in the name of protecting people), they signed their own death warrant.
Someone else at Ace's or Althouse mentioned Microsoft, which is a propos because one of Microsoft's tactics for conquering a niche has always been to "partner" with their future competitors, usually offering some tempting deal. At that point they'd steal code (for example), and integrate it into the OS. Cut off their oxygen, as I think MS CEO Steve Ballmer put it. At that point, you can either outlawyer them, buy them off cheap (if you need to buy them off at all), and voila, you own the market.
I actually consulted for a company that partnered with MS. I was astonished that they partnered with them, seemed to be proud of that fact, and watched as MS created a competitor that is now included with every version of Windows. But at least they're still in business.
That's, of course, similar to how the government works, as well. The government "partners" with doctors--and look how tight the AMA and government are--offering them the sweet deal of a monopoly, and wiping out their competition. (Remember, the government just spent $2.5 billion to prove that none of these other things work. Meanwhile tens of billions go into curing cancer with no appreciable progress made.)
And while the government forbade compensation increases during WWII (to stem inflation), they exempted medical insurance, thus leading to the current weird situation where one is beholding to an employer for tax-deductable coverage or else stuck buying their own, giving us the current market distortions in the insurance market. (Well, that and all the other "help" the government gives.)
And now it's time to pay the piper: The price for the monopoly--for convincing the country that there is only way to treat medical problems, and that there is only one source for that treatment--is to become public servants, under the thumb of the government. In the words of Darth Vader, "I have altered the deal. Pray that I don't alter it again."
The thing that got me thinking about this was stumbling across this somewhat overblown video on poor Willhelm Reich. I referred to him as a "probable quack" in my previous post, which was just a flip statement (plus, like "snake oil", I use "quack" affectionately).
I don't know if Reich was really a quack or not. I do know that he was destroyed, just like my old pal Ignaz Semmelweis, and his writings actually banned by the government! (Or so they say; I haven't seen the order.) I'm not sure how the First Amendment allows celebrities to be attacked with known lies, but also allows controversial philosophical and medical ideas to be banned.
But I do think it's kind of interesting that I keep seeing "the ether" pop up in scientific articles. And I'm pretty sure that it's within my rights as an American--or it was supposed to be--to explore such ideas, however wacky, stupid or even personally harmful, they might be. I think the Founding Fathers would have wanted me to be able to buy an orgone box if I felt like.
Hell, Franklin would've gone halfsies with me.
Labels: history, medicine, politics, science


text:
Hitler versus Stalin: The Eastern Front 1942 - 1943
Stalingrad to Kharkov
Nik Cornish
* The second volume in a four-volume photographic history of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union
* Rare photographs of all the key episodes in the campaign, including the battles at Stalingrad, Voronezh, Rzhev and Kharkov
* Photographs of the German and Soviet troops and the civilians caught up in the fighting
* A graphic introductio
175 photographs
Dimensions : 9.75 X 7.5 inches
The second year of the Second World War on the Eastern Front was dominated by Stalingrad, the protracted battle for the city on the Volga, and this is the major episode in this volume of Nik Cornish's four-volume photographic history of the conflict.
Stalingrad was a turning point in the war, the moment when the Red Army seized the initiative and threw back the German invaders. But the struggle at Stalingrad was far from the only focus of the fighting during 1942 and 1943. German forces conquered the Crimea, besieged Leningrad and advanced deep into the Caucasus. The Red Army took the offensive, not only at Stalingrad but at Rzhev, Kharkov and Kursk.
So this phase of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union saw dramatic changes of fortune, offensives and counteroffensives on a massive scale, and these events are also illustrated in these rare photographs. These vivid images show the front-line fighting, the troops and the conditions on both sides, but they also document the consequences of war for the civilians under German occupation and the devastation of the Russian towns and cities.
Nik Cornish is a former head teacher whose passionate interest in the world wars on the Eastern Front and in Russias military history in particular has led to a series of important books on the subject including Images of Kursk, Stalingrad: Victory on the Volga, Berlin: Victory in Europe, Partisan Warfare on the Eastern Front 1941-1944, The Russian Revolution: World War to Civil War 1917-1921, Hitler versus Stalin: The Eastern Front 1941-1942 Barbarossa to Moscow, Hitler versus Stalin: The Eastern Front 1942-1943 Stalingrad to Kharkov and Hitler versus Stalin: The Eastern Front 1943-1944 Kursk to Bagration.
"The pictures are very sharp and clear. The book will be of great interest to military historians and modelers alike. Lots of diorama ideas come to mind looking at the pictures."
- AMPS Indianapolis
"Highly Recommended for those interested in the Eastern Front battles in 1942, and those with a focus on infantry actions."
- AMPS
Hitler Versus Stalin Reviews
Deserters of the First World War
Andrea Hetherington
Fallschirmjager: Elite German Paratroops In World War II
Jon Sutherland
German Armour Lost on the Western Front
Bob Carruthers
From Fury to Phantom
Group Captain Richard Haine OBE, DFC
Fighting for Spain
Alexander Clifford
Stephen English
Charles I's Executioners
James Hobson
Battles of the Dark Ages
Peter Marren


Elizabeth Comuzzi: Director of Human Resources, F.G. Lister & Company Ltd./F.G. Lister Transportation Inc.
Home / Elizabeth Comuzzi: Director of Human Resources, F.G. Lister & Company Ltd./F.G. Lister Transportation Inc.
Jo is a talented Recruiter who provides time and energy to every encounter. Jo's knowledge of the food business is what sets her appart from the competition. In fact, it was Jo's knowledge of the unique needs of our business that won Hanna Castle Recruitment the contract to be our go-to-recruiter.
I have always been impressed by how strategically Jo establishes a plan of action for a job search and then flawlessly executes the plan.
Hanna Castle Recruitment is our service provider of choice and I would not hesitate to recommend Jo or any member of her team.
Are You A Leader? How Engaged Is Your Workforce?
Why You Need To Treat Each Interview as A Performance!
Restructured at 50…What to do now?
Just Because It's Summer Recruiting is Not at a Standstill!
John Priester, Senior Division Human Resource Manager, Packers Sanitation Services Inc.
It is with great pleasure that I recommend Jo Morgan Dakin for any and all of your recruiting needs.


Kodi Krypton has been around for a while and its last official iteration v17.6 was released several months ago. Ever since then, the Kodi developers have been working on an entirely new and major version of Kodi v18, which is codenamed Leia. In fact, the developers have already rolled out the pre-release version of Kodi 18 for the end users for testing purposes. The Kodi 18 version is not totally stable as it is still in the beta phase. But, I believe it is good enough to try your hands on.
Kodi 17.6 continues to be the official version till date. But, you can always give Kodi 18 a try. In this guide, I show you how to install this pre-release version of Kodi on your FireStick device. FireStick is a popular media tool and supports a range of entertainment apps including Kodi.
There are basically two methods to install Kodi 18 Leia APK on Firestick. One method is through ES File Explorer and the other is through Downloader app. We are going to learn both methods in this article and install Kodi 18.
If you don't have ES File Explorer app on FireStick yet, go ahead and download it. Read more about ES File Explore on Firestick and learn how to download and install this app. You just need to look up in the Amazon Store.
After entering the URL and path name as shown in the image below, Click Download Now option.
#9 You have successfully installed Kodi 18 for Amazon FireStick. Go to your Apps section on FireStick and access Kodi 18.
ES File Explorer is a more popular Android app overall. But, Downloader is more popular as a side-loading utility on the FireStick platform. Read our guide and learn to install Downloader on your FireStick or Fire TV devices.
Step 1: Open the Downloader app. By default, the app opens with the Home option (on the left) selected. Also, by default the URL text field on the right is selected as you can see the cursor blinking in it.
Step 4: After downloading the Kodi 18 APK file for you, Downloader app will also initiate the installation automatically.
Step 5: Give it about a minute to install Kodi 18 on FireStick. When this App Installed notification is displayed, it means that you have successfully installed Kodi 18.
While you can click Open on this notification window to run Kodi 18 right away, I would recommend you click 'Done'. We will go back to Downloader and delete the Kodi 18 APK file. This file is of no use as the app is already installed.
Step 6: When you click Done, you are back to Downloader where this pop-up is on. Click Delete.
Step 7: Click Delete again.
So, this is how you install Kodi 18 on FireStick using the Downloader app.
You must have noticed that some apps appear on the home-screen of your FireStick but some do not. FireStick has a section named Your Apps & Channels where you will find all your installed apps. Only the apps that are in the first two rows of this section appear on the homescreen.
One way to access Kodi 18 is to go to Your Apps & Channels. You can do that by holding down the Home key on the Amazon FireStick remote for a few seconds. When the menu appears, just click Apps. You may scroll down and navigate to the bottom of the list of the apps and open Kodi from there.
The other way is to access Kodi 18 from FireStick homescreen. For that, you will need to move the app to the 1st or the 2nd row in Your Apps & Channels. Select Kodi 18 icon and press the menu button on your FireStick remote. On the right bottom corner click Move. Now you can move the Kodi 18 icon to the top row and drop it there by pressing the Select button.
We know that Kodi 18 is still in the development phase and the developers have rolled out only the pre-release version of the app for testing. If you find Kodi 18 buggy and unstable, don't worry. This is how it is supposed to be. The developers are continuously learning from these shortcomings and making Kodi 18 Leia even stronger. You have learned to install Kodi 18 on FireStick through this step by step guide. Since many builds and addons have been updated to work with this version of Kodi, you will find plenty of content to watch.


During those days in the sports complex of the Portuguese city Vila Real St. Antonio European Athletics is doing a test competition for the new track and field athletics program Dynamic New Athletics, which will be presented for the first time at the 2nd European Games in 2019 in Minsk. Athletes from the leading track and field teams of Portugal, as well as Spain, compete in 10 disciplines. This is mini-atlon, long jump (women), javelin throw (men), high jump (women), 100m (men and women), 110m hurdles (men), 100m hurdles (women), 4x400m mixed relay, and the hunt.
The winner of each individual event and relay is awarded 12 points, the second place – 10 points, the third – 8 points, the fourth – 6 points, the fifth – 4 points, the sixth – 2 points. Athletes and relay teams with no valid performance, disqualified or not finishing are not awarded points.
After nine events, the team scoring determines the starting positions of the tenth event – the hunt. Each point difference between the teams is equivalent to the distance gap in one meter at the start of the pursuit race. In itself, the hunt (i.e. pursuit race) is a medley race of the 800m, 600m, 400m and 200m distances. Each team in the pursuit consists of two men and two women performing in the following distribution: 800m (men) – 600m (women) – 400m (men) – 200m (women). The strongest team in pursuit becomes the winner of the competition.
Before the decisive relay race, athletes compete in several stages. At the initial stage following the decision of the European Athletics Association, athletes are divided into 2 groups, three people in each. The participant has two attempts to confront the two other athletes in his group. For each victory, the athlete receives 3 "spikes", in the case of tie between – 1 "spike" and 0 "spikes" – for lost or foul. The amount of spikes determines the position of the athlete at the initial stage in each group. In the case of any ties between 2 or 3 athletes after the initial stage, the best is determined by the best performance. The athlete who took the third place in the "A" group performs against the athlete who took the third place in the "B" group and they are fighting for the 5th and 6th positions. The same scheme applies to athletes who took the second and first place in both groups.
At the same time in the high jump, athletes need to set the starting heights, not knowing the choice of rivals. This scheme of determining the heights for athletes is repeated at each new round and at each new duel. An athlete, who ordered a lower height, jumps first.
The decision to introduce the updated track and field athletics program Dynamic New Athletics at the European Games in Minsk belongs to the European Athletics Association. The main goal is to create a youth-friendly format for athletics competitions and, thus, compete with other sports for a new audience of fans.
In general, the updated format of the program will allow to preserve the intrigue until the end of the competition (the winner of the 10th event takes all) and combines the demonstration of traditional track and field elements in a new format and in the conditions of innovative rules with an understandable scoring system and taking into account all characteristics of the athlete's performance.