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Tuesday Thoughts With Sean – Unity?
by Sean Estelle
Last week, on Wednesday January 20th, with much pomp and circumstance, Joe Biden was elected as the 46th president of the United States. Amidst a spectacle of flags representing the now 400000+ Americans dead from coronavirus that looked much more like the "American carnage" that Donald Trump raved about during his inaugural speech 4 years ago, Biden delivered an inaugural speech that reached for grandeur about American exceptionalism but couldn't get past platitudes about unity and healing.
Yes, that may be a president's job to unify (especially after 4 years of the Trump horror show that culminated in the failed putsch on Jan. 6), but as many have pointed out – unity from an incoming president usually just means a conscious decision to not hold actors in the previous administration accountable for anything they've done. And, as is the case with most 'bipartisan' politics (the twin sibling of unity politics), that also usually means a swift break from campaign promises that would disrupt the status quo or create new hurdles for capital.
That wasn't exactly the case with Biden, though. Immediately after the inauguration was over, Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain released a memo on the orders Biden would immediately sign, including:
Rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization
A federal mask-wearing requirement (a low bar, but a good one to set!)
Reinstating DACA and setting public benchmarks for a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants
A relatively far-reaching executive order on federal regulations and immediate next steps with regard to the climate crisis, and revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, a hopefully final nail in the coffin for a project that has been a decade-long campaign for the climate justice movement.
However, it's not all good news. Even though Keystone's permit was revoked, Biden did not also shut down DAPL and Line 3, which was the Day One request of a broad set of indigenous leaders and the climate movement at large. Additionally, Biden and his key spokespeople have not delivered on two of the most immediate economic relief promises that were made in the lead up to his taking power: namely, that of more stimulus money in the form of direct cash payments, and canceling some student loan debt. Instead, Biden has said —- and also only paused student loan payments + interest accrual until September. And the full list of promises yet to be delivered on is quite long.
Some of the first moves out of the gate from the new have been extremely (and predictably) bad, too. As many suspected, there will be some sort of 'domestic terror' response to the events of January 6th, which will certainly create blowback for the left. More broadly, Biden is now putting forth a message that 'we cannot change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next few months', which is objectively not true – the political will simply doesn't exist to make it happen. And, the most egregious example of this is a short-sighted executive order on school re-openings, which makes it clear that Biden and his advisers want to see schools re-opened as soon as possible. This is happening at the same time that the Chicago Teachers Union is being forced to defy their local school district's reopening plan and continue remote work, even if that means lockouts and being forced to then go on strike
If CTU ends up going on strike, it will be one more to add to a growing list of workers that are using strikes with increasing frequency, and are pointing the way forward for what is the most important task for the left is right now. In New York City, Teamsters workers at Hunts Point Produce (which supplies 60 percent of the produce for the city), struck for a week because management wouldn't move on a 1 dollar raise. And it worked! That strike also provided an important example of what left electeds can and should be using their platform for – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez skipped inaugural ceremonies to serve pizza and leverage media visibility, and the "DSA For The Many" slate of elected socialist officials in the NY state legislature all came to support as well. Now, eyes turn to to Chicago's teachers to see what will happen in the coming days (and other strike solidarity work that is less visible but no less important continues on strong, like in Minnesota's St. Paul Park where TC DSA is mobilizing to support Teamsters Local 120 workers striking for workplace safety and unfair labor practices at a Marathon oil refinery).
This work one of the clearest examples of the ongoing organization-building, class-forming strategies that we can move into action on no matter what the flurry of administrative orders looks like. Biden has inserted promising language about supporting unions into some of his recently signed orders, and the labor movement is already on the move to push hard on passing the PRO Act, but the only way that we'll see really concrete and permanent gains is if we spend the time building relationships and showing up in solidarity with organized labor. And that will also help us pivot quickly when necessary to support those trying to join the ranks of organized labor and dealing with really fucking terrible bosses, like the fired workers at Instacart or the Amazon workers in Alabama dealing with an extremely aggressive union-busting campaign.
Unity, for us as socialists, is much more about unifying a working class that can fight for the fruits of our labor than it is about allowing the mouthpieces of capital, racism, and xenophobia to get away with their actions with no accountability. And we'll need that unity in the days to come, because there are already cracks in the façade of Biden's Democratic trifecta that could lead to a breakdown in any legislative openings for the policy promises he's making.
Filed under: Op-Ed, National Politics, Socialists in Office, Biden, Chicago Teachers Union, Coronavirus, covid, CTU, DAPL, DSA, inauguration, Keystone Pipeline, unity
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No, You
Log Archive » Logs for March 2009 » No, You
What starts polite quickly escalates in what can be described as the verbal equivalent of a slap fight. And then somehow manages to get pettier.
Shooters Bar and Bistro
A place that used to be a cafe and is making a slow progression towards being a dive bar. During the day, the balcony and a good portion of the sidewalk is taken up by outdoor chairs and tables, where people can enjoy a beer as well as a sandwich or whatever else is on their menu - a decent, if simply array of bar food. During the evening, unless it's a warm night, these are taken inside, and the kitchens are closed. A wide variety of beer is available, along with hard liquor and maybe a few wine labels, but nothing fancy. The interior decor is similar to traditional British pubs, with a hardwood bar and brick wall. There's an old pool table towards the back, along with a dart board. The building is actually two storeys high, but whatever is upstairs is inaccessible to the general public.
It's conspicuously pretty up there this sunset. The barometric pressure and precipitation are such that the atmosphere hangs over the sea and ruined city with enough clarity to allow an entire rainbow spectrum of light through in delicate gradiation overhead. Not even the smudges of a hundred culpable fingerprints really dims or distortes the spectacle by thickening the intermediate glass pane with dust and old oil.
Teo is staring out of it. In an absent sort of way, at odds with the fact that he picked a table where he could watch the door.
Instead, he is studying the squiggles of three seagulls swoop before diving toward and past the rusted, pipework, and corrugated metal of adjacent rooftops. He read a fact file on the Internet once, about how the bird species as a mean whole keeps migrating further and further inland, feeding less off marine fruits hunted in swift flight than picking edible refuse out of McDonald's dumpsters.
This place is disgusting, a turn-off for all the reasons that it attracts baby terrorsts and like fugitives from the law. An empty pint glass sits just off his threadbare elbow; hard to tell from the weak urine-colored dregs what exactly he had been drinking.
They're going to have a meeting. He had made sure to ask politely for one. Pre-emptively promised that if harm were intended, it would already have been done. His ignorance of Deckard's recent overtures of antipathy probably either showed through there or were easily mistaken for cruelly ironic humor. Every regular to Staten Island is capable of that, surely; even ones who watch sea birds pursue rotted burger buns out of big blue doe eyes instead of watching the damn door.
Teo came perilously close to being stood up, but in the end, it's about keeping up appearances. And what would the neighbours say of Rookery royalty being afraid of some no-name Manhattaner! They do have a tendency to gossip. Already words of the shakier foundations of the Happy Dagger and its big brother the Pancratium have been starting to circulate, the flaws in the facade of two smoothly run crime organisations starting to show in a most unseemly fashion.
Likely in harsher words than that. Fucked, is a good one, if a mild exaggeration. But it's early days yet.
When the door opens, it's inevitably not just Logan's lanky frame entering into the room, but the bulkier figures of hired thugs. Just two. Familiar faces, perhaps, the regular ones that haunt around the Dagger or other public rooms Logan occupies, taking up shadows and keeping an eye on things. Considering the former night, Logan wasn't about to be thrifty for this meeting, and a sharp gaze settles on Teo before the pimp mutters instruction to the two men he had brought him him. Take a walk. They move off, one remaining not so far away and one taking up a perch at the bar. It's polite to maintain some distance.
The cane swings and clicks against the ground as Logan approaches. There is little swagger in his walk despite the flamboyant addition of the polished cane, and he looks like he hasn't slept. A pea coat hangs open to a sedate black shirt and matching slacks, and he pulls out a chair without waiting for the inevitably polite invitation or greeting that might surface. If there is any indication in the heaviness in which he sits down, he's started his drinking a little earlier than this.
Subtle nuances to be inferred with any range of accuracy. What is more striking is the bright red line that runs across where Logan's throat meets his jaw, a surgically careful slice that looks about as fresh as it could be without actually bleeding. Teo gets a smile. There's nothing behind it. "Haven't kept you waiting, have I."
Predictably, Teo smiles back. Reflex. It isn't insincere, but there is a deliberate lack of warmth there, too. It's plastic, thin, roughly the same shape as the new mark that Logan is sporting above the foofy cut of his clothing. Eye-catching. Red.
Not the color of luck, apparently. Not for John Logan. There's a momentary curiosity as to the characterization of the pimp's vanity, that he carries his polished cane — subject to a stare — and wears his narrow-waisted coats, yet does not trouble himself to obscure this neon crimson sign of vulnerability with an equally frivolous and campy scrap of scarf. It seems like an oversight.
"Hazard of being early," Teo replies, with a nod of his head which is either forgiving or him indulging the bodyguards with a stare. Two of them. Maybe that's flattering. The look he gives to Logan upon returning his attention is not particularly. "Little bird told me about your partner's property and personnel.
"Condolences." It says nothing especially sweet about him, probably, that Teo's sincerity regarding the loss of life comes as naturally as invoking that reminder by way of prologue.
"Thank you," Logan says, said with about as much sincerity as the women he rents out. They're usually encouraged to thank the men that fucked them, after all. All the same, it's diverted, Logan resting the cane against the table in a practiced, steadying move, which says something of his small motor functions under the influence of self-medicating, as he adds, "I'll pass that on to James."
Either an oversight or an issue of practicality. He has a long neck and the cut is high up, but still, it does act as an eyecatcher, and not the kind of eyecatching Logan appreciates. Like blood in the water, in a sense, and it shifts with his skin as he swallows, smile fading not even into the droll smirk he tends to wear. He blinks a little rapidly, glances out the grimy window Teo was paying attention to, irritation now in the tug at his mouth into a frown, brow furrowing.
"You came to gloat, then?" A direct question, if maybe unfair, but it's asked anyway and lacks the accusatory glare that goes with it, Logan's gaze wandering over the glass that needs a polish six months ago.
Bebe would've shown more sincerity than that, the Sicilian is fairly sure: butter wouldn't melt in the pimp's mouth unless you dragged matches across its teeth. For whatever reason, that eases the tension in Teo's wiery frame faintly. It's better that John isn't very good at hiding his ire or his injuries, really. Doesn't mean Teodoro himself still isn't out of his depth, mind you, but it's reassuring to think he isn't the only one coming to grips with that grim revelation.
"No. That whole thing was fucked up. Between the tongues and janitorial staff, sounds like everybody lost enough. Bridge, water, other shit, right?" Teo drags his elbows backward off the table, lets his hands fall below the level of the furniture and onto his lap. His shoulders bow around the weight of something that isn't laziness, deliberate without choreography, and he tilts his head almost owlishly, studies the other European out of eyes the color of fucking Antarctica.
Other shit.
The list, it does go on. "Came to ask you why Eileen's brain was caved in on Wednesday's fight night."
A breathy laugh. Tongues and janitorial staff. The chuckle is without affect, surprisingly, the kind of agreeable laugh that neglects to pay respect to how much he's actually responsible. As if these things happen. Life, eh? Logan's hand raises to rub a thumb along the line of his jaw, an inch or so above the deep slice, angling a look back at Teo as he so boldly asks his question without an actual question mark. All expectant like.
His hand moves from his face to flip from the wrist, palm turning up to the ceiling before his fingers curl against it. "These things do happen," he says, primly. "A warehouse goes down in flames, a crucial bet gets lost - all in the same night, bizarrely enough. And Eileen wouldn't be the first little girl to realise that there are few places down this way that cater to little girls."
The pimp shifts in his seat, leaning forward a little. Gin is a biting kind of alcohol, sharp and takes a certain kind of commitment to drink, but it's not so overpowering as bourbon or beer. Still, it might just be a little detectable as Logan lets his torso rest against the edge of the table as green eyed gaze meets blue. "Maybe she got what was coming to her," he says, quietly, words carefully enunciated.
Life, yeah; no question mark. Eileen once told him that he has a problem with making assumptions, that it'll cock everything up or so her lexicon goes, but he can't help it. Someone caved her skull in on the tongues and janitorial staff week. It makes him angry enough to spit, but he refrains, meeting the trajectory of Logan's eyes with his own eyes and as much directness as an uppercut would have from his hand.
Teo doesn't have that many tells. That's just his face.
"Can't speak for anybody else, but I felt a little bad toward the end." His neck straightens with what seems like whiplash-inducing abruptness. "When it turned out your boy Muldoon didn't fuck my friends over, did he? I mean, yeah, you and him technically fired the first shot. Figured that's why Abby's people wanted the last fucking word in. Call it trite if you want. I'd understand, although I'm pretty sure it wasn't." Trite implies trivial.
The rubble morass and severed limbs that remained on the site seemed to lie in diametrically opposite territory from 'trivial.' The tang of gin is dispelled with a sharp grunt of impatience with his own inarticulate temper. "Little girls make for shitty punchline, signor. Hoped you'd've figured that out by now."
"Oh please," Logan hisses, lip curling in a visible sneer although he doesn't immediately follow up for an explanation as to this reaction, although there's certainly enough honest ire behind it, green eyes flashing not with preternatural light, but a less obvious anger. In his world, it's certainly righteous.
His head tilts a little and the gash at his throat smiles pleasantly at Teo as if to make up for the scowl of its owner. Logan's voice comes quietly, but somehow volume takes nothing away from viciousness, understated as it is. "I try not to take things personally, Teo. But if what happened to Eileen doesn't serve as an adequate fuck off that you people might understand, consider it personal. Or did she not tell you she tried to kill me?"
Eyebrows raise, arch, as if this idea only just occurred to Englishman, and his scowl softens more into an easier smile, as cold as the gaze locked on the Italian. "Tampered with a prescription for painkiller, my medic only got to me in the nick of time. Resourceful little viper, is our Eileen."
For a protracted moment, Teo's brain doesn't process. Either the use of the p-word threw him or maybe it struck him as illogical that the Vanguard's spectral sylph of a daughter would. You know.
Kill somebody. He isn't very bright and his memory is skewed, see. Though Teo had never precisely forgotten about the birds that took Alexander's eye, the genocidal terrorist cell she'd hired out with, or the knife she put in his own belly, all of those circumstances and her subsequent turn of leaf, employment at clinic, sacrifices of companionship, the lot of it, had lent her decisions a somewhat less malevolent cast.
Besides, she'd been the one who brought word of negotiations. Sent the sparrow, talked him through it.
And honestly, if Teo expects to see a forked tongue come out of any face in his acquaintance, it wouldn't be Eileen's. Disbelief ladders his forehead with new lines, at odds with the spiteful points Logan's features have honed into. "Or she accidentally wrote the label in American and you became very fucking confused." His scowl isn't long returning in the retreating tide of surprise, the eddy curling his lip in turn. They have that in common. Righteous anger. "It was supposed to end. No further. Your fucking words, John."
Beneath the table, one long leg crosses over the other, a deceptively casual pose born out of a fidgety desire to relax himself. Logan rolls his eyes and wishes, vaguely, he had ordered a drink, but the warmth beneath his skin from a drink already had should well be enough. It isn't, incidentally.
"She admitted to making a mistake with the prescription," he says, eyes blinking in faux-innocence. That twists back into, "She said she'd should've shot me instead." A shrug. Yes, she probably should have. C'est la vie. "Guess you'll never know now, will you. Call it unfinished business," one long finger points at Teo, "what came knocking on her door that night had nothing to do with you or what we agreed upon." As if verbal contracts make it all okay.
Hand retracts, touches the scarring injury at his throat, fingertips brushing the rough red seam without a flinch, an absent gesture that doesn't act to necessarily point it out. More to remind himself. "Don't see why you're getting so hot and bothered over the fine print," he sniffs, simmering resentment. The venom in his voice replacing itself with something sulkier, the affected sound of injury covering over the actual scars themselves. "Deckard certainly isn't."
Red, green, red, green. The badminton match spectatorship of Teo's attention flicks back and forth, penduluming, erratic, between the polite eye-contact that he defaults to when he is having a conversation with somebody and the garish injury scrawled out on the side on Logan's neck. The surprises don't stop coming, though Deckard's inclusion on the list of the pimp's complaints startles him somewhat less. No discredit to the old man.
The point of Teo's elbow hits the table again, and chair legs shriek in abrasive protest against the floor. "I don't give a fuck about formalities." Five rough fingers snatch shut on the narrow shaft of the cane fast as a dog-bite and, locked, the scarred palisades of the boy's knuckles threaten to rip right out of the backs of his hands. His breath smells of comparatively lighter fare. Probably why he moves faster, between the two of them.
Teo's reaction— however restrained he thinks it is, would probably seem smarter if the equations of their situation were indeed limited to the two of them. Unfortunately, they aren't. The other two in the background with their quantities of muscle and integered salaries provide quantities that Teo probably shouldn't ignore.
If he were, there'd probably be a whole different set of smears diluting the sunset through the window. "How many more tries do you honestly think you have in you? Or third time's the fucking charm?" he snarls, his face cat-ugly with stinking disgust.
It's just a walking stick. One whose wolf head's come close to crushing skulls, breaking jaws, with a good two feet of razor steel inside the sheath of wood. These reasons and more, Logan's hands, when they don't find the cane, find the edge of the table and push himself back with a wince as an injury beneath his clothing twinges. The chair similarly scrapes with complaint as it's forced back, and the glass on the table tips under the sudden shudder, lands with a heavy clink and goes rolling. Doesn't break when it lands. The cheap things are forever.
They're moving, the hired muscle, as they should, the nearest one making hasty work of letting his heavy foot steps fall in ominous thuds against the ground as he approaches. They stop, though, with a princely gesture of Logan's hand, eyes vibrant in the old fashioned sense and still caught on Teo.
"Now, now," he says. "Like you implied before I set foot in this building, I'd be dead if that was the intention." There's a mocking twist in his words, as if he doesn't consider the man in front of him to be a true threat. "Of either've you, I expect. Don't be rude, Teo."
He swallows, the line of red shifting with the movement, and the thrill of making Teo spark up so subsides readily, Logan's expression drawing into anger not so disimilar to the younger man in front of him. His gaze slides down to the cane in Teo's possession, narrows, then back up to baby blues. "What I did to Eileen is no fucking different than what Deckard did t'me." Save for the whole dead thing but. Anyway. He still keeps his voice down enough. Those here that will witness this little slapfight don't need the details. Tellingly, his voice wavers just a little, last night's nightmares not entirely shaken.
To win sympathy? Unlikely. Unlike most things about Logan, it wasn't there for show. "Now fuck off back on your high horse, would you. I expect we're done here."
Something about the shape of Teo's contracted fist around the walking stick articulates in fewer and ruder words where he thinks the wolf's head ought to be applied with great mechanical gusto, again, and again, and again. He looks — grim. Logan and Laudani have that in common; a certain flagrant tactlessness about them. At the very least, evidently, Teo severely dislikes John. It gains the pimp only a very teeny, tiny favor that he only thinks he succeeded in murdering the Ruskin girl.
Enough to tilt the scales. Mathematically speaking, blood spilled is still easily in their favor, and though that's sort of farcical to think about, farcical ethical commitments have always sat better with Teo than none at all. The white armor and high horse require certain other literary conceits.
"I hadn't known Eileen as long as the other one," he admits, after a lengthy, struggling moment, the passage of which grates like sandpaper. Fucking Constantine and his stupid fucking charade—
Some sort of punching should have been involved. Hooligan sensibilities say so. Teo gets up with more violence than was strictly necessary. The chair rattles. The table rattles too. Already relieved of the pint glass, however, neither furniture provides a satisfying noise and the slender weight of the cane lacks the heft or bulk to make swinging it at nothing any fun at all. He is breathing too visibly. Forces his shoulders back, his jaw straight, hazards a look at the goons.
"Take care of yourself, okay? Save me some fucking trouble."
The goons hang back, but no longer trying to be subtle about is, as subtle as two large, muscular men in cheap suits can be. Which isn't very, but slightly better than just standing several feet away and waiting, which is what they do now.
Tension makes the pimp stay very still for several seconds. Logan can't really be himself for as long as he has without knowing when someone wants to punch the living daylights out of him, and he's almost waiting for it, tracking Teo's jerky progression to get to his feet. Despite matching mood for mood, his movement is more sinuous and calculated, flowing up to stand after a moment's weighty hesitation.
"You the same," Logan says, too lightly and flippantly for the venomous words shot back and forth, accent crisp. Sharp. He glances again at Teo's possession of the cane, pointedly now. "Can I have that back, please?"
Teo's just being spiteful now, or some shit like that. Possibly, he isn't sure that he could get his hands loose and doesn't want to fumble through the embarrassment of trying. Have to use his teeth and feet or something. It would obviously be wiser to have his hands free, though. What with two gigantic men between himself and his exit point, but as of current, the only valid alternative seems to be hitting the two gigantic men the moment he gets his hands free.
He bends his mouth around a smile that fails utterly at appearing remorseful. His voice emerges thickly, the opposite to the trilliant cut of the Englishman's syllables. The wolf's head gestures vaguely. "Have a few drinks on me."
Except, you know, not really.
A moment of incomprehension, then shoulders defined in the well-tailored cut of his coat promptly droop at the simple refusal, Logan's hand that had gone out to accept the thing back dropping to his side again. It's been too long of a day of sleepless fretting for him to bicker back and forth any longer, and though it is tempting as hell to simply leap with the intent to maybe scratch out Teo's eyes in pure frustration— that's what he hires other people for.
Just as spitefully, Logan pushes the table back from where Teo had shuddered it forward last, letting the edge of the furniture connect with whatever part of the Italian is nearest. "Suit yourself." A glance at the other two men, a raised eyebrow. Go on, then, what do I pay you for?
If they get paid at all, anyway. Whatever salary these two men get is enough to have them start moving forward. To wrest the object from Teo and then preferably throw him saloon style out the window. Finish things somewhere where the bartender doesn't have a shotgun. Either way, meeting adjourned evidently, Logan wandering a few steps with a tight smile across at the other man.
Abrupt as a flamingo or a petticoated chorus line is to dance, Teo's knee pops upright, catching the edge of the table across his ankle and hip. It throws him off-balance. He wasn't exactly centered to begin with. "Vaffancul—" —ow. He stumbles, weight stacking across one foot, scowls up at the bodyguards for lack of even a single frame's instant to spare glowering at their boss.
Punishment appears to be imminent. His evacuation from the premises, also. He kills as many birds with the one stone as he can. Summarily puts himself through the window on behalf of everybody who wants him to go that way, bounding like a labrador off the top of the table, cane tucked in under his armpit, clipping his shoulder and forehead on the incongruously shaped, flakey plaster edges of the wall.
Inconveniently, cheap shit really is forever. Or at least gives it its best shot. The pane fragments, on his arm, mostly, but the long-limbed Sicilian that tumbles out into the spit-speckled alleyway nevertheless has glass stuck in his face. Small piece. Leaks off toward his ear, a ribbon of red that curves down his cheekbone as if to underscore the childish, idiot rictus that's hauled up the corners of Teo's mouth like a contusion.
"Die," he suggests.
The cane's pert black butt flips upward in no-finger salute. He finds his feet in a mad, crustacean scrabble of sharp-angled joints and clicking parts against pavement and dirty meltwater. Away, away — sliding out of line of sight and the same-shaped trajectory of bullets.
Holygod. Italians. At the shattering of glass and cracking of wood, Logan throws his arms up to protect himself from stray shards, and Teo is rewarded with a look of wide-eyed shock and indignance from the pimp as he's given a suggestion— no points given for originality, even disembodied voices are saying the same thing— and then the sight of Teo's back as the man darts away. With his sword-cane.
Exactly two bullets bury themselves in the opposite brick wall outside, to the protest of the bartender who only gets a thin lipped sneer from a hired thug before the Glock is tucked somewhere safely. Logan's still blinking by the time a sane noise level has restored itself.
For all of two seconds, because the slightly pointed toe of Logan's shoe suddenly connects just beneath the rim of the table he'd been seated at, sending it crashing back into Teo's vacated chair and tipping over on spindly legs. "Fucker," he spits at no one in particular, and despite the gaping wide invitation of the broken window, Logan makes for the door, slamming it hard enough behind him to cause it to nearly bounce back and hit the wall.
Leaving behind the corner of the bar that had briefly turned into a battle field, splintered wood and broken glass left for someone else to sweep up. At least no blood spilled, this time. That could almost be an improvement.
March 15th: Handle
Little More than a Man
March 15th: Tit for Tat
_logan_teo

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The International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR) and the Ikwerre Youth Movement (IYM) International, have cautioned the Rivers State House of Assembly over the suspension of Azubuike Wanjoku.
Chancellor of ISSJHR, Omenazu Jackson, Secretary of IYMI, Marshal Chuku and its National Publicity Secretary, Dike Bekwele, said the suspension of Wanjoku, who represents Ikwerre Constituency was malicious and aberration of the democratic process.
Describing the House action as draconian and against democratic institution, they said the act does not show maturity., adding that in a democratic settings, individual opinions should be allowed.
"All the House should have done was to note Wanjoku's opinion and not suspend him. This is a display of rascality," they said.
Jackson, therefore, urged the house to allow democracy to flourish, saying a situation where the Rivers State House of Assembly returns to crisis and chaos was not good.
Also, Peterside Didiah, expressed concerns that the lawmakers' action may again, result in crisis among the lawmakers and the two major political parties in the state.
The groups stated that the suspension of Wanjoku, who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), infringed on the fundamental rights of the lawmaker and his constituent, urging the assembly to revert its decision.
The groups, therefore, threaten to seek legal redress if the assembly does not reverse its decision within seven days.
The State Assembly had yesterday suspended Wanjoku following APC lawmaker's opposition to a petition written by the House against the commander of the special anti-kidnapping squad, Akin Fakorode.
Wanjoku, had in his reaction to the resolution, which was published in a national daily, urged members of the House to exclude the names of the six APC lawmakers, saying they would seek legal redress if their names were included in the petition.


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* The Mexican press has reported that based on figures from the state-owned oil firm, Pemex, four states continue to suffer from a shortage of petrol fuels as a result of the measures introduced by the government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in January to combat the stealing of oil (huachicoleo). According to the data compiled by the press, up to 15 March a total of 45 of Pemex's 75 petrol fuel storage and distribution terminals were still registering low levels of fuel reserves due to insufficient deliveries from the petrol tanker trucks that the government has been using to deliver fuel as a temporary measure until it can ensure that oil pipelines can no longer be targeted by oil thieves. This situation has left the central states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Estado de México, and Jalisco still suffering from fuel shortages.
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EPMS school counselors believe that all students are entitled to attend a school that is safe, warm, and welcoming, where active participation exists as well as rigorous and relevant academics.
Professional school counselors are an essential component of helping all students build interpersonal skills, opportunities for success, and rewarding relationships through a standards and evidenced-based comprehensive school counseling program.


As you set off at Maes Y Gornal, you will head up Hall Lane and start to climb a steep incline passing livestock and organic farms. This is the hardest part of the circuit untill you come to the mountain gate, your bike will have to be carried over the gate and you will set off up the mountain towards Airmans Grave. If you look over your shoulder, you will enjoy breathtaking views which look over Wrexham, Chirk and the aquaduct can also be seen on a clear day which belongs to the Llangollen canal. When you reach Airmans Grave which is at the top of the mountain to your left, you will see a mound of white rocks in a cross formation. These represent a pilot who was lost during world war two (his body was never found). This pilot helped defend the City of Liverpool from German bombardment when they set lanterns on the mountain to make it appear to be Liverpool City. If you look at the surrounding landscapes as you ride on the track you should see bomb craters which were left from the German bombardment as they were fooled from the British Army/ Air Force. You will then reach a road near Worlds End and Offas Dyke, you will then carry on towards Minera across the moars, this terrain can be challenging on hot days, be aware of motor vehicles which are very few and far between. You can reach high speeds in this area after all your hard work climbing the mountain. When you get to Minera Mountain you will see the beautiful views of Minera, Coedpoeth and Wrexham industrial. On a clear day, you should be able to see Liverpool and also see Jodrall Bank which is a telescope that monitors space. As you head down the mountain you can reach speeds of up to 35mph, so be careful of traffic, when you reach B5426 you will see Minera lead mines on your right. You then carry along this road untill you reach your finished destination. This route is harder cyling the opposite way. Mountain bikes are best suited for this route.


The new liquid is the first in a series of special releases crafted using irreplaceable whiskies from "ghost" distilleries that have long since closed, together with other rare malt and grain scotch.
Diageo Reserve has today announced the launch of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare. Each edition will be crafted with one incredible whisky at its heart, the first being Brora.
The additional five whiskies are rare expressions of malt and grains from the existing distilleries of Royal Lochnagar, Clynelish, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie and Cameronbridge. The result is a smooth scotch, with the fruity sweetness of pineapple, rich notes of hazelnut and dark chocolate, and a subtle smoky finish.
Commenting on the special release, Jim said: "Over the years of crafting fine Scotch whiskies, I've had the remarkable privilege of working with some of the rarest spirits ever to come out of Scotland. I'm lucky that we have stocks from more than 30 distilleries from every region of Scotland from which to choose the perfect casks to craft each blend. It gives us a richness of character, flavour and age that no other scotch can match.


text:
WATCH: Footage Of Lemmy Performing In Motörhead's Last Show Before His Death
31 December 2015, 09:00 | Updated: 31 December 2015, 14:33
The frontman's last gig took place on 11 December in Berlin.
Footage from Lemmy's final gig with Motörhead before he passed away has been discovered online.
The video was uploaded to YouTube by a fan a day after the gig took place in Berlin on 11 December, but has resurfaced since the sad news of the rockers death was revealed this Monday (28 December).
Before playing their last song, Overkill, Lemmy speaks to the crowd, introducing the band and saying: "We Are Motörhead and we play Rock N' Roll!"
The band finished their explosive tour - which celebrated 40 years together - with a gentlemanly bow.
Lemmy passed away just two and a half weeks after this performance on 28 December after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer on Boxing Day.
Drummer Mikkie Dee has since confirmed the band will split following his death, saying: "Lemmy was Motörhead".
Recalling his bandmate in his final days, he revealed: "He was terribly gaunt, he spent all his energy on stage and afterwards he was very, very tired."
Meanwhile, the biggest names in rock have paid tribute to the Ace Of Spades star, with Ozzy Osbourne tweeting he lost one of his "best friends" and Josh Homme calling him the "genuine article" in a lengthy Instagram post.
A tattoo artist has also shared a picture with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, after he commemorated Lemmy with an Ace of Spades tattoo.
Tattooed #davegrohl from the #foofighters last night hella cool dude
A photo posted by royaltattooz (@royaltattooist) onDec 29, 2015 at 1:11pm PST
Is Arctic Monkeys' When The Sun Goes Down their darkest track?


First I want to offer my sad condolences to the families of the 59 dead and the more than 500 injured in Las Vegas Nevada, May God be with you all.
By now you all know about the mass shooting in Las Vegas so I won't spend a lot of time going over all the sad details.
The singer was on stage, singing the last song of the night, when 64-year old Stephen Paddock began opening fire on defenseless concertgoers from his 32nd floor hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Paddock then took the cowards way out by taking his own life as police attempted to subdue him.
But even though this is said to be the worst mass shooting in modern American history, I want you to understand that the gun is not to blame. Nothing or no one is to blame except Stephen Paddock.
Fox News is reporting that ISIS has taken responsibility for the attack claiming that Paddock was a recent convert to Islam, they also say that Paddock "was known" to local authorities.
Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that Paddock "was known to local authorities" in Vegas, and multiple weapons were found in his hotel room.
At this time, federal officials do not see any connection to international terrorism and little is known about Paddock's motivation, sources said. The Islamic State terror group took credit for the Las Vegas shooting, saying the gunman converted to Islam months ago.
However, there is no evidence (yet) to support this assertion from ISIS.
Right on que, the far left has already begun calling for more gun control.
I really don't know how many times I have heard that statement from a member of congress. "We must pass just a few more laws to stop this from ever happening again." As I said, laws don't stop crime. If they did we wouldn't have the crime we have. An example is a sign in front of a school that reads "This is a Gun Free Zone." Like Sandy Hook.
I just knew this was coming.
Here is the situation, the left can't seem to let go of the notion that more gun laws will stop more gun crime. It just hasn't proven itself. Most of the time the opposite is true. Read More Guns Less Crime by John Lott. Plus the fact that in this specific case no law would have stopped this particular crime or shooter. Not a background check, not a limited capacity magazine, not a law against ugly guns or a one gun a month law. Moreover the full auto that was used, has been illegal by Federal law since the 1930's and even that law didn't stop the criminal from acquiring one and using it. Not even on the other side of the Second Amendment the right to carry, no one would have been able to defend themselves against this gunmen, more than 500 yards away and 32 stories up, with a hand gun from the ground.
But reactionaries like Hillary Clinton with her lack of knowledge about guns and ballistics saying: "Imagine the deaths, if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get…" this is not only irresponsible but ignorant. On the other hand, I could say, well… maybe, but there would have had to be an awful lot more going on here than just a silencer to quiet that particular gun enough so that no one would have heard it. As it was, at first the victims didn't even recognize the gun fire for what it was anyway, and then no one could tell where the shots were coming from.
The truth is, the only way to significantly quiet that kind of firearm, which was a high powered fully automatic rifle as Mrs. Clinton said, even with a silencer, would be to also use special subsonic ammunition, which is special low power ammunition that would slow the bullet to less than a 1000 feet per second. Slower than the speed of sound. Which would also impede the effectiveness of a high powered rifle. A silencer alone will not eliminate the crack sound that a bullet makes as it pierces the sound barrier moving at 3700 feet per second. A Silencer only has a limited effect on mussel pressure. This is why silencers are usually used on guns that are very low velocity.
THE BOTTOM LINE: I only told you all this because Clinton was a law maker and the majority of law makers know next to nothing about guns or the gun laws they write. They make laws against ugly guns, and assault rifles, as if one can't be assaulted with any other kind of gun. or anything else for that matter. And then criminals violate the laws anyway, that's what makes them criminals.
And then their is the little matter of another ridicules law, this time against Bump-Stocks. Any stock that they have already made illegal, such as stocks with thumb holes and pistol grips and yes even a so-called Bump-Stock isn't an issue or a threat, it's just more ignorant attacks on the constitutional rights of Americans. Anyone who has even the slightest knowledge of semi-autos, knows that if one wants to Bump-Fire a semi-auto one certainly doesn't need to buy a Bump-Stock to rapid fire it. WATCH. And then bump-firing or using a bump-fire stock or even 'full-auto machine gun' is not only inefficient but inaccurate. WATCH. Moreover, if that is not enough to prove that your law makers are so ignorant about the laws that they are making, especially illegal unconstitutional anti American gun laws, then how about the so-called large capacity magazines that every manufacturer makes for their semi-auto gun. They ignorantly believe that by limiting the capacity of a magazine they can stop a semi-auto from continuous fire. WATCH. I could continue to blow away all of the anti-American anti-Constitutional illegal and ignorant so-called gun safety laws but I think you get the idea.
The Constitutional architects wrote the Second Amendment for a purpose. And that purpose was and still is 'defense.' Whether it be personal self-defense or the defense of some other person, or in the defense of a Free State as the Amendment stipulates. FBI statistics show that the vast majority of the time if the victim or a by stander had a gun, the only one shot would be the perpetrator. The State of Vermont and other states like it, that have no, or few state gun laws have among the lowest gun crime in the nation. And by contrast many of the states or even cities that have the most gun laws have among the highest gun crime like Chicago.
But as I said in this case the perpetrator was a sniper from over 500 yards away, and nothing short of prior knowledge of this atrocity, would have headed off this tragic massacre. Not even a half dozen more gun laws.


text:
At the project space: TRIPLE
29 Mar — 23 May 2019 at the Galerie Gisela Clement in Bonn, Germany
At the project space: TRIPLE. Courtesy of Galerie Gisela Clement
Galerie Gisela Clement is pleased to present the group exhibition TRIPLE with works by Janine van Oene, Riette Wanders and Stephen Westfall.
Riette Wanders (*1966 in Rhenen, NL) works on paper mark an ongoing search for elusive and contradictory images. Her charcoal drawings seem like musical notation – similar to the écriture automatique – structured with raw, energetic and at the same time fine lines.
The geometric works of Stephen Westfall (*1953 in Schenectady, New York) move in the field of tension between painting and architecture and negotiate in an innovative way influences of American abstract painting since the 1960s. At the same time, the tapestries shown in the exhibition can be seen as a re-evaluation of textile working techniques for the subject area and the expressive possibilities of painting.
The paintings of Janine van Oene (*1988, NL) are quite different. The artist constructs her paintings in such a way that the forms dock just as loosely to figuration as they are left floating as basic forms. The contradiction works because she balances the statics of a picture with a sure eye. Thus the artist questions the relationship between abstraction and object again and again.
What all three artists have in common is the constant search for a system of forms and colors, which are continuously assembled into a new pictorial world. In this way, the individual picture universes become sign systems that question and re-evaluate the social context of their reception(s).
Jan van der Ploeg (*1959, Amsterdam, NL), curator of the exhibition, was a guest artist at the gallery in 2018 (exhibition OVLOV with Martin Pfeifle). At the same time, gkg in Bonn presented a large mural painting by Ploeg specially designed for its rooms.
Galerie Gisela Clement
The gallery, founded under the name kunstgaleriebonn, represents a broad spectrum of international contemporary art with 22 artists.
More from Galerie Gisela Clement
Marmalade Sky
29 Mar — 30 May 2019
Harmonic Enterprise
1 Feb — 14 Mar 2019
Alexander Ernst Voigt
1 Dec 2018 — 19 Jan 2019
9 Nov — 20 Dec 2018
More in Bonn, Germany
Permanent event at Kunstmuseum
The Classical Modern
More in Germany
4 Dec 2021 — 26 Mar 2022 at Sprüth Magers in Berlin
Nancy Holt. Mirrors of Light
25 Nov 2021 — 5 Feb 2022 at Sprüth Magers in Berlin
Mark Francis. Reverb
12 Nov 2021 — 29 Jan 2022 at Bernhard Knaus Fine Art in Frankfurt am Main
The Crown of Kerch
19 Oct 2017 — 25 Sep 2022 at Neues Museum in Berlin


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If you're heading abroad, we also run an extensive Travel Clinic with the full range of vaccinations you may require for your next adventure. Book an appointment or telephone consultation to discuss your needs.


text:
Not Two But Three – Will Be The Number Of Display Edges On The Galaxy S6 Edge
By Ramish Zafar
Feb 11, 2015 23:24 EST
When we thought two edges on the Galaxy Note 4 Edge was enough, apparently Samsung wasn't thinking the same as we were. According to Bloomeberg, the Korean manufacturer is looking to go even further with the Galaxy S6 Edge this March - with the device now being slated to come with a tripel edged screen. For a device that sounded impressive even with dual edges - three edges will definitely prove to be either a make it or break it feature.
Bloomberg Claims Samsung Will Launch The Galaxy S6 With Three - Not Two Edges
According to Bloomberg's 'people with direct knowledge of the matter', the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge may be looking to go too far when it comes to display edges on a smartphone. Both the variants will be coming with a 5.1 inch screen size and an all metal body which stands in contrast to earlier news about glass covers for the devices. The Galaxy S6 will come with a display that covers three sides of the device, leaving speculation as to what the third side with a display be on the Galaxy S6. And what function could the screen curving to the bottom of the phone serve as well.
As far as we go, we certainly hope that Samsung sticks to only two sides for a display when it comes to the Galaxy S6 Edge. The device has managed to incite interest among a lot of people owing to its peculiar design and Samsung choosing to overshoot with the curved display will undoubtedly effect the device's future in a major way. All we can do now is wait for the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to solve this once and for all. So stay tuned to stay updated and let us know what you think in the comments section.
Yes, Your Samsung Galaxy S6 Will Get Android 8.0 Oreo! Confirmed By Samsung Support Agents
Zara Ali • Nov 24, 2017
Android Update: Sony Fixes Camera Distortion Issue on Xperia Phones, Galaxy Note 8 & S6 edge Start Receiving October Security Patch
Zara Ali • Oct 24, 2017
Galaxy S6 Explodes in Bed and Causes Property Damage for the Owner
Omar Sohail • May 2, 2017
Nougat Update Roundup: Xperia XZ and Xperia X Performance Gets Android 7.1.1, T-Mobile's Galaxy Note5 Receives Android 7.0
Zara Ali • Apr 25, 2017
Sprint Begins Rolling Android 7.0 Nougat Update for Samsung Galaxy Note 5 & Galaxy S6 edge+
Zara Ali • Apr 6, 2017


text:
Q: Knockout foreach - set attr Hello I'm using knockout foreach to generate my layout. I have problems with settings attributes in proper way. Here is my code:

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I need to populate in some way attribute data-name with my points -> name data. To get something like here:

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I tried:
addAttributes: {'data-name': name}

and
attr: {'data-name': name}

But none of them works.
Can someone suggest my simple solution of my problem?
Update1 Answer for the nemesv
No errors in the console.
    var poszukiwane = $(this).attr("data-name");
    console.log(poszukiwane);

Above code always returns undefined...
Update2: adding Jsfiddle:
http://jsfiddle.net/nnsBQ/3/
But don't know how to include more than 1 js framework there so will throw error in one line

A: Knockout does not set the this to the current element inside the event binding handlers.
So you need to use the second argument of the handler function which is the event object and get the data from there:
self.mouseEnter = function (viewModel, event) {
    var poszukiwane = $(event.currentTarget).data("name");
    console.log(poszukiwane);
    console.log("mouseEnter");
};

Demo JSFiddle.
But you are using Knockout so this is an anti-pattern to use the data- attributes to pass around your data because you anyway have all the data in your viewmodels so you can just write:
self.mouseEnter = function (viewModel, event) {
    var poszukiwane = viewModel.name; //viewModel is the currently hovered point
    console.log(poszukiwane);
    console.log("mouseEnter");
};

Demo JSFiddle.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
A new system, or, An analysis of ancient mythology : wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity
The instance A new system, or, An analysis of ancient mythology : wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity represents a material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Biddle Law Library - University of Pennsylvania Law School. This resource is a combination of several types including: Instance, Electronic.
The Resource A new system, or, An analysis of ancient mythology : wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity
wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity
London, Printed for T. Payne, P. Elmsly, B. White, and J. Walter, 1775-1776
Getzville, New York, William S. Hein & Company, 2017
"In this work is given an history of the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Canaanites, Helladians, Ionians, Leleges, Dorians, Pelasgi: also of the Scythæ, Indo-Scythæ, Ethiopians, Phenicians. The whole contains an account of the principal events in the first ages, from the Deluge to the Dispersion : also of the various migrations, which ensued, and the settlements made afterwards in different parts : circumstances of great consequence, which were subsequent to the Gentile history of Moses."
©2017 Cassidy Cataloguing Services, Inc
The second edition.
1 online resource (3 volumes, 18 leaves of plates, 2 unnumbered leaves of plates)
illustrations, maps.
.b755607x
Context of A new system, or, An analysis of ancient mythology : wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity

 Data from A new system, or, An analysis of ancient mythology : wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity - Biddle Law Library - University of Pennsylvania Law School

Data Citation of the Instance A new system, or, An analysis of ancient mythology : wherein an attempt is made to divest tradition of fable, and to reduce the truth to its original purity


Feel right at home in a property that's both impressive in stature and timeless in design! Experience the pinnacle of luxury and comfort with this breathtaking Sammamish home located at 3202 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE!
This 4 Bedroom 3.5 Bathroom is located in a private enclave of luxury homes that overlooks mountains, the beautiful Lake Sammamish, and features a shared waterfront with your own boat slip on a great dock, along with a lakeside cabana at the water's edge!
The interior features miles of granite laid throughout a stunning gourmet kitchen, a large media/workout room, spacious wine-cellar, and a dreamy master suite that has it's own covered deck, fireplace, and luxury 5 piece bathroom.
If you're interested in this home and would like more information, contact Margo Allen and visit the listing page to view some photos!
Comments Off on Classic Shared Waterfront Property!


Technology solutions for reading accommodations. We will look at how to go digital in the classroom. Converting handouts and reading material has been a struggle for years. What OCR means and how it supports are struggling readers? We will explore the Microsoft Immersive reader and Google extensions for reading. They have developed some possible solutions for students who struggle in reading to be able to keep up with their classroom classmates. Writing accommodations. Technology to be able to support writing in the classroom. A look at Microsoft and Google products along with add on for free in addition to what the ISD is able to offer? Participants will be able to better understand how to integrate the technologies available to them in the classroom.


I did not intend to say it´s not true, I just don´t know for sure.
I´m just dropping in thrilling myths that can be looked at by the Mythbuster himself.
I think you still miss my point....this is basic stats 101 stuff here!
If all my misses are random are you suggesting its just coincidence that all my misses with 5:30 spin were all better misses than my misses with zero dot and therefore, thats why they all went 3-4 yards longer on average?
Given that I have nearly 30 data points, wouldn't we expect to see the ranges on both sets of data more or less the same if there really is no difference in the distance they travel?
I'm not saying your way of testing isn't superior to mine, but based on general randomness these ranges should at least overlap for the most part, but neither of them do. Because as mentioned it would be one helluva coincidence if I hit all my zero dot shots "less solid" than my 5:30 ones.
the difference in your distances is coming from the slight amount of sidespin that you you are applying to the ball when you do your 5:30.
test it really simply: go to range. do some shots with 1 'dot side spin (hold shift +right arrow). compare these distances to your 5:30 position (shift+ right down down down). the results will be the same.
thereby proving what i said above.
Top and bottom spin have no effect on wood shots. As you move up from irons into woods, top/bottom spin effect is diminished, until around the 3 iron/5W area, when it begins to have no effect.
Ever try using full topspin/backspin as a newb on hole....(uhh, crap...the par 4 with the arch in the middle...)..7?
Sorry bro, but I stand by the evidence: Top and bottom spin have no effect on wood shots.
I have tried many different tests to see if top/bottom has any affect on woods. I can find no effect. The target circle does not move, the distance does not change, and, as far as I can see, the height is identical. All u need to do is a test where you are applying only top or only bottom.
If you are relying on a shot where side spin is involved, it is only the side spin that is affecting the shot.
Show me a shot where you apply some top or bottom and it has some effect. You must use a set number of Shift-<Arrow> clicks, in order to avoid any random difference if setting spin "by hand". Tell me the stats used when hitting said shot. If top/bottom is shown to have some effect, I will pay you 20 mil NGs.
What he said was NO EFFECT.
Rufus Sand is thicker than regular sand.
The most probable reason for this myth is that most people simply add a multiplier to the distance shown when they are in sand and then hit it for that distance according to their chart. This method assumes that the effect the sand lie has will "percentage-wise" on average be similar both for 8 yards sand shot as well as 35 yard sand shot (or to be more concise 25%powerish shot vs 70%powerish shot), however this is not the case since sand shot hit with low % power loses significantly more in distance in percent than what a higher % power sand shot does.
Now where does Rufus come into this?
Well on Rufus, most players typically experiences a lot of these very short sand shot which then subtract more in distance (percentage-wise) than the more traditional green-side sand shot distance which on most courses usually are 15-30yards, making them more often than usual end up short on their sand shot due to the unusual high frequency of very short sand shots. This may create the illusion that Rufus sand is thicker.
I have always found them to play thinner but this could be an illusion as I find the greens play very fast and you tend to get more roll from the ball.
And thus we lead to another question of myth or fact......do greens on different courses play differently??
Myth: Rufus sand is different than other sand.
However, an open discussion is warranted first, since this is not something that i know "for sure".
Is there any difference in sand other than the different %ages shown? Put another way, is 68%-82% sand (or whatever) the same on all courses.
I know that I play it as if it is the same on all courses.
The only greens that I play differently than others is Sosori. On Sosori, I play more break.
Do others do the same? Can we agree that Sosori greens are "different". Are there others?
Those guys put up crazy low scores there, so if anyone knows, they do.
"There are no magic stat thresholds"
28 stamina is where one goes from 98%-99% to 99%-100% on the fairway, and at different intervals one gets more accuracy from sand and rough with more stamina, and it takes more and more stamina for a per cent point as you increase the total.
One can probably assume that all other stats work like Stamina does-- that is, with thresholds-- but that we just don't see them with explicit numbers.
Yeah, it goes from 98.96%-100% to 99.00%-100%. Very magic!
Been many, many months since this was on the front page of posts. I have seen some of the old myths creeping back, so I thought it was finally time to bump this back up for newer peeps to see.
Of course, if I can test that on driving range or on practicing field, I should say without doubt, but I can't. Need help here.
U know that field on volcano, where the FW rise up, and mid lvl players shot somewhere arround the tree in the rough. I think I found that driver with BS go higher and reach almost top of FW - pretty far away from that tree and rough.
A 2nd case is a long course on hela. Ordinary drive shot (possibly with tail wind) fly so low that ball slide on FW grass. I think that BS add ... let's say yard or 2 at hight.
Of course, there are a more than this 2 courses, but those are significant. Actually, U can check this wherever ball fly low, comparing Ur backspined shot with competitors shot(s).
And, please, don't say anything before U make at last 5 properly checking, and if U doubt after that, make another check.


How are you all! So after a great response for my post on "25 street style outfits by Bella Hadid which will give you fashion envy" I decided to post on the wearable casual outfits inspired by my own very Favourite Kylie Jenner. I was inspired by her looks ever since I know her but sadly we won't get everything she wears for cheap right! So here I have curated my favourite Kylie Jenner Casual looks which any girl can copy and slay her outfit game.
Also, these outfits contains very basic clothing staples like white T-shirt, black T-shirt, denims, white sneakers which probably everyone of us have and it becomes very easy to get outfits like Kylie jenner.
I hope you all love the outfits too. Coz I will Definitely copy them.


There are over 23 raw pigments in our line. Shown are our most popular. These mineral powders can be used with our Flip-it Brush for eye shadow. You can also use them to create a non-toxic nail polish or dust them on your lips and apply a clear lip balm over for a new look!
Mineral powders are so much more fun. That's why Earthlab created our Multi-Purpose Powders or "MPPs". These brilliant raw pigments are so versatile, they can be used as eye shadow, blush, lip tint and even as a nail polish!
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text:
Vittorio Paggio (born 19 September 1973), known by the stage name Omar Galanti, is an Italian pornographic actor.

Biography
Galanti began his career as a porn actor in 2004 and to date has starred in about 500 porn productions. In 2010 he signed as exclusive contract as director with Evil Angel's Buttman Magazine Choice niche.

Omar Galanti started his career in low budget pornographic productions in Milan in 2004.

All productions were impressed by his attitude and his professionalism. He started to be very requested from different directors and finally he was also noticed by Rocco Siffredi.

He started to cooperate constantly with Rocco Siffredi in 2006, appearing in most movies of the most famous Italian actor and director for the next 4 years.

Despite this, his career was full of ups and downs until he signed an exclusive contract as director with Evil Angel's Buttman Magazine Choice niche in 2010. He released several movies until 2013 when, after a controversial disagreement with all the adult industry in Hungary and USA, he decided to retire from the adult industry.

He is actually living in Italy and running a bike shop, cultivating his passion for mountain bike and cycling.

Galanti has appeared on TV programs such as Le Iene and Lucignolo. In 2008 he was a contestant in the FX reality show Ciak si giri.

Partial filmography

Mucchio selvaggio - 2007, regia di Matteo Swaitz
Belle streghe in calore - 2011, regia di Marco Nero

Awards and nominations
 2006 Ninfa Prize nominee - Best Supporting Actor - Those fucking nuts
 2007 AVN Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer of the Year
 2008 AVN Award winner – Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production - Furious Fuckers Final Race
 2008 AVN Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer of the Year
 2009 AVN Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer Of The Year
 2009 Hot d'Or nominee - Best European Actor - Dans Règlements De Comptes
 2010 AVN Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer of the Year
 2011 AVN Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer of the Year
 2011 AVN Award nominee - Best Director – Foreign Non-Feature - Omar's Russian Impact!
 2012 AVN Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer of the Year
2013 XBIZ Award nominee - Male Foreign Performer of the Year

References

1973 births
Italian male film actors
Italian male pornographic film actors
Italian pornographic film directors
Living people
People from Gattinara
Playgirl Men of the Month

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


WorkSafe ACT inspectors will soon commence the issuing of on-the-spot fines throughout construction sites that are in breach of safety regulations.
A report released last year cast a dark shadow over the Canberra construction industry when it revealed the serious injury rate there was 31% higher than the national average.
The Government accepted the report's recommendations which included the soon to be implemented on-the-spot fines.
Workplace Safety Minister Simon Corbell says 11 types of safety breaches fall under the new fine scheme.
"These deal with relatively straight forward, factual matters that allow inspectors to exercise their discretion and issue a fine," he said.
WorkSafe ACT are pleased with the new power, and announced that employers could potentially face on-the-spot fines of approximately $3,000.
WorkSafety commissioner Mark McCabe says construction safety can no longer be gambled.
"I think they knew it's only the very serious cases that are going to end up in court," he said.
Under the new penalties, building site managers will still be able to challenge a fine in the courts if they believe it has been incorrectly imposed.


text:
class AddFulfilledAtToOrders < ActiveRecord::Migration
  def change
    add_column :orders, :fulfilled_at, :datetime
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
New Lynn, New Lynn
New Lynn, for many Aucklanders, means Lynnmall (New Zealand's first retail shopping mall) and Crown Lynn (the now 'iconic' pottery). When I was a child, Dad drove through it on our way to the West Coast, specifically Piha; now that I live close to New Lynn it's where I do Significant Errands.
When I heard about the plan to amalgamate Auckland's library systems, my fervent wish was to go inside the New Lynn War Memorial Library sometime and use it, as a legitimate member. I'd passed it and only just refrained from pressing my nose against the (expansive) windows: I lived in Auckland City and it was in Waitakere — out of bounds, I thought, though I've now learned that New Lynn's library has quietly given free membership to 'outsiders' for several years.
This is a busy place, a different sort of busy from my local library in Avondale, which is often full of excitable schoolkids. New Lynn seems quieter, more studious... especially when you go upstairs to the reference desk and the 'learning centre', which is full of people gazing into computer screens as if they were crystal balls.
On my first visit, though, there was a kerfuffle. It was just after the amalgamation and an elderly gent had come in to pay a bill, perhaps for his water rates. Waitakere City residents used to be able to pay these in the library, but post-amalgamation a laminated sheet of paper stated that some bills now had to be paid elsewhere. This man may not have seen it, and perhaps he was a little deaf. Anyway, there was a lot of shouting, all from his side of the counter, and some of it was about "the bloody Maoris", whose fault it surely wasn't. Somebody had to be blamed, and no doubt he'd been cross about the bilingual library signs for a while.
A staff member (shelving books I think, and senior) came over and tried, in hushed tones, to assure Mr Disgruntled that the library still cared about him. He stomped out. I hope he made it to the post office, which now accepts payments. It's half a minute's walk for most of us, but may be a longer one for someone aged 75-plus.
Change is hard. Some of us in Auckland have celebrated our freedom (as far as libraries are concerned) of the now enlarged city by engaging in a literary kind of trainspotting: reserving vast numbers of books and noting the new and interesting places they come from — not to mention how quickly they turn up. But there were always going to be people such as Mr Disgruntled who felt left out of the loop. Then there are others in the centre of the loop, library staff, for whom amalgamation may sometimes have felt like a tightening noose.
But back to New Lynn. Its library is in Memorial Place, just behind Lynnmall and close to one of its pedestrian exits. I walked through Memorial Square, between the fragrant plantings of non-noxious jasmine, taking in the "LEST WE FORGET" etched into granite and the white wall of Anzac poppies in bas relief. Then I passed the cycle stand, the Citizens Advice Bureau and the display of New Lynn ceramics to enter the library.
In this second visit, on a day when we lapped up rain after weeks of relentless sun, the library was a lot less busy, perhaps because 2011 is still doing its warm-up. School hasn't started, and people are just getting back from their holidays. I had books to return and nothing in particular to collect, though at the New and Recommended shelves just inside, the National Portrait Gallery's Gay Icons and Living with Books from Thames and Hudson jumped out at me. These coffee-table books seemed like a frivolous follow-up to previous borrowings such as Library Service in New Zealand and New Lynn Jubilee 1929–1989: The History of New Lynn — maybe that was why I ended up taking them home.
On the retail and light industrial chunk of Great North Road that many people think of as New Lynn in its entirety (it's not — there are streets of houses), I wonder if the suburb is in search of itself. I muse that "New Lynn" and "history" don't seem like great mates, but I'm an outsider, and visiting the Waitakere Central Library's local history collections may disabuse me of that notion.
The jubilee history spans the life of New Lynn from its first town board meeting at Mrs Shaw's Temperance Hotel (a Great North Road landmark better known as the New Lynn Hotel, demolished 2008) to the borough's 1989 amalgamation with Waitakere City, and a couple of years ago local councillor Derek Battersby announced an intention to produce something more comprehensive. Dick Scott's 1979 Fire on the Clay: The Pakeha Comes to West Auckland, a Ceramco commission, mentions interesting early bits in the chapter 'Burned clay, burned fingers'. It outlines the early days of brick-making by the Gardner brothers in what one called 'a wilderness of scrub and gorse and blackberries', and the arrival in 1905 of competitor Albert Crum.
New Lynn's first library opened only in 1957. Less than a decade later, the borough librarian Miss Tibbles pressed for more space. "If we are to keep pace with the growth of population and the emphasis on intellectual pursuits that this scientific age demands, plans are now needed for the over-all extension of the library," the Western Leader quoted her as saying in June 1964. A revolution in the public attitude to libraries was evident worldwide, she said, with people appreciating that they were the key to progress.
The present building, designed by Moller Architects, opened in 2005. It's much more spacious than the first — and no doubt lighter and more airy. There's low-key civic art, with the diverse clientele alluded to in a mural whose hibiscus and lotus represent Pacific Island and Chinese migration.
These days, New Lynn is undergoing a redevelopment with major initiatives in transport services, including what's claimed to be the biggest rail project in New Zealand for decades. "Think Newmarket today; think New Lynn tomorrow", trumpets a Waitakere City webpage: "New Lynn has a future that one day will see it rival places like Newmarket as one of the most prestigious town centres in the Auckland region." It's ambitious — and how many places can be that elite? Concept plans show the residential aspect reformed too, with high-density housing for "up to twice as many people as presently live in New Lynn". (The 2006 Census recorded a population of 56,355.)
Little surprise, then, that the redevelopment keeps New Lynn's reference librarian very busy. And by the time it's done, there'll be a lot more of New Lynn for the library to collect and serve.
Photos: The bike stand outside New Lynn Library (including a Lynnmall shopping trolley with an identity crisis); the library's New and Recommended shelves viewed through a display of Crown Lynn pottery; the present library building.
Claire 19 January 2011 at 14:32
Following my request, New Lynn's reference librarian has sent me info about the redoubtable Miss Tibbles, borough librarian from about 1962-1970.
In 1936, Catherine Tibbles came to New Zealand from England. She continued her teaching career, then graduated with a diploma from the NZ Library School and worked as a librarian at Dunedin Training College as well as Auckland's Central Medical Library. She lectured at the library school and went on to the New Lynn Library. There she was elected Honorary Secretary of the 'Friends of the Library' at their inaugural meeting, in 1962. Miss Tibbles died in NZ at age 95, in 1993.
This info came from resources at the Waitakere Central Library's JT Diamond Local History Room. I'm impressed.
Catherine 21 January 2011 at 17:32
I bought some Crown Lynn on Trademe (as you do) & when I picked it up met a lovely young man who lives in New Lynn who is working on local history including Crum.
Arise, Sir Philip
Everything in the Garden (and the Library) Is NOT ...
The Blogosphere Gets Bigger


Then you know ALL about The Fiesta Mall. Unfortunately over the years, many stores have left and people have stopped coming.
Dillard's Clearance Center, will remain open and is still owned by Dillard's Store Services Inc., county property records show.
However, the land itself will be changed to something completely different reports say.
But the mall won't stay empty for long, says Ray Cashen, with Cashen Realty, the project manager and broker for the site now owned by Dimension Financial & Realty Investments Inc., based in Phoenix. The new owners bought the mall in spring 2017 for $6.72 million. They own much of the interior mall property, though the Sears building, Dillard's and the former Macy's have other owners.
The developer set its sights on transforming the space into a health and education campus called "The Campus at 60," named for its location near U.S. 60. He says tenants will likely begin to move into the space in 2019.
Did you spend time at Fiesta Mall? Are you going to miss it?


The mobile phone has become part and parcel of the everyday life of people that even when it comes to businesses you can't run a company without embracing it. Phones are a regular tool use by businessmen. There are so many advantages it has brought to the businessman but there is a good share of disadvantages as well. Let us compare and take a look the advantages and disadvantages.
This is going to be between using mobile phones and land line phones. Mobile phones can be carried everywhere and you can do more just take calls. It can be taken everywhere around the country if you wanted and still you can make calls. The land line phone draws power and network through wires and is always connected. You won't have any worries about battery being low or bad signal. Most telephone yellow pages require you to get a landline to get your name on the book but people rarely check yellow pages nowadays thanks to Google.
Cellphones are call mobile phones because of its mobility. It doesn't matter what mobile network you are using what sim card you are using, postpaid or buy sim card Hong Kong you still have the ability to use it anywhere in the field or in the office. This is way you will rarely miss business calls unless of course when you are at a meeting. Even, if you are at meeting you can send text saying you are at a meeting and put of the call to the next hour.
Mobile phones allow considerable amount of saving when it comes costs. Especially for a small business it is easier cheaper to give limited number of employees a mobile phone than bring in a landline system. However, for a large organization, giving out mobiles for everyone and paying monthly can be really costly than installing a landline system.
There are limitations when it comes to mobile phones such as loss of signal. Landlines rarely lose signal and you fix by calling the network provider. Businesses in rural areas may have bad signal and that will be cause of a problem. Some mobile network has different price ranges for business which may leave you to lose your cost advantages. These limitations can be a limit of the amount of talk time allowed or data transfer limits, etc. Contracts might have to be signed for a period of time and even before the contract is over you might have sights on a better plan but will have to wait till the contract expires. These are a few limitations but I believe in my opinion that advantages outweigh the disadvantageous.
The National Basic Theme by tasan.


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Q: Nginx отдача статики, wsgi Добрый день! У меня такой вопрос. Есть приложение, запускаемое при помощи nginx и wsgi, оно генерирует html-страницу где в header-ре    <script src="http://localhost/js/OpenLayers/OpenLayers.js"></script>    <script src="http://localhost/map.js"></script>    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://localhost/static/css/main.css" />В конфиге nginx    location / {            root            /home/user/server;            uwsgi_pass      127.0.0.1:3031;            #uwsgi_pass unix:///var/run/uwsgi/app/geoserv/socket;            include         uwsgi_params;............    }location ~* .+\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png|ico|css|zip|tgz|gz|rar|bz2|doc|xls|exe|pdf|ppt|txt|tar|mid|midi|wav|bmp|rtf|js|mov) {    expires 30d;}Проблема в том что страница генерируется, но при этом не подгружаются css и js. Подскажите, пожалуйста, в чём проблема, заранее спасибо!
A: Ну так пропишите в конфиге каталог (root dir ), где у вас лежат js файлы, для такого локейшена, вам же явно пишут что файл  /etc/nginx/html/js/OpenLayers/OpenLayers.js не найден, даю 100 гульдонов что он лежит совсем в другом месте.


Duck and Topaque? Match made in heaven!
This dish is incredible! Using flavours not traditionally used together, Chef Adam Mclean from Elements at the Gardens in Wagga Wagga has invented this recipe which not only has a salted caramel thing going on but the freshness of the mint and peach will leave you wanting more every time. Why not try making it for your friends and get them to guess the secret ingredient?
Place duck in smoker and liberally salt the skin with good sea salt. (If you don't have a smoker it's easy to use a standard pot with a steamer pot, just line the bottom of the pot with foil to aid in cleaning).
For your smoke mix combine equal quantities of tea, rosemary and thyme with a tablespoon of brown sugar and smoke the marinated duck on low heat on the stove until the duck is just firm when pressed in the centre.
Peel and chop pumpkin into roasting sized pieces, toss in a bowl with olive oil, black pepper and sea salt. Roast in the oven at 170ºC until soft and just coloured.
Place in food processor while still hot and process while adding butter a teaspoon at a time until puree is glossy and smooth.
Chop the bottom 4cm from the stalks, then with a vegetable peeler, peel the skin from the next 4cm. To cook simply immerse in salted boiling water for 40 seconds, then toss with oil and seasoning.
Add 200ml of Topaque to a saucepan with 100ml of water and 100g of sugar, on medium heat and reduce by 2/3rds until syrup consistency. Set aside.
Cut peach in half and slice thinly, add to hot syrup and gently mix.
Remove peaches and toss with finely sliced salad onion and mint.
Spoon 2 tablespoons of puree onto a plate and smooth into a disk with the back of the spoon, place asparagus spears in centre of plate on top of puree.
Slice duck breast into 5mm slices and place on asparagus slightly fanned. Arrange peach salad on top of the duck.


Not really. Continuing from part one's look at Peter Lehmann's Barossa offerings, we now turn to a major producer from Chile whose flagship white I am a big fan of, plus a Spanish Bodega I hadn't heard of before making top quality traditional-style reds.
Going under the tagline "French in essence, Chilean by birth" the house ("casa" of course) of Lapostolle is a Chilean outfit owned by the French Lapostolle-Marnier family, famous for the Grand Marnier liqueur. Even before founding their Chilean outpost twenty years ago, the family was heavily involved in wine, particularly in the eastern Loire.
Regular readers will know that I really rate their Cuvée Alexandre Chardonnay (in fact I made it one of my favourite whites of 2013), how does the rest of the portfolio stand up?
This is not your bog-standard Chilean Sauvignon, which can sometimes even be made with the inferior Sauvignonasse (or as I like to call it, Sauvignonarse) grapes. For me this is where the French influence really shines though, it's a great everyday-drinking bottle but would be fine to serve to guests at the weekend too.
The baby brother of my favourite below, how does it compare? Well it tastes exactly like a junior version – gently toasted oak in the background and luscious tropical fruit in the mid-palate. Grapes are sourced from the Casablanca Valley, fermented in stainless steel and then matured for seven months in a mix of old and new French oak barrels. Bravo!
Nectar of the gods! Melon and pineapple sing but grapefruit keeps it from getting out of hand. Plenty of acidity to keep it from getting flabby and low residual sugar giving a dry finish. The 2011 had 75% of whole cluster pressing and 25% of maceration into the press before fermenting. 50% was fermented in French barrels and 56% was aged in French barrels for 8 month (part news and part used) and 44% in stainless steel tanks. The wine didn't go through malolactic fermentation which accounts for the strong streak of acidity.
As any wine student will tell you, wines sold in the EU have to have a minimum of 85% of the stated varieties, and therefore don't have to tell you about the other 15%. This Ribena-special Cabernet actually has 7% Carmenère, 3% Merlot, 3% Shiraz and 1% Cabernet Franc in the blend – and is probably all the better for it. Cabernet can have a great attack and great finish but be a bit hollow in the middle – it sometimes gets called the "doughnut grape".
All the grapes are harvested by hand and fermented with the native yeasts of the area (the subject of a future geeky blog post). Maturation included six month in oak, 55% of the wine was aged in new barrels and the balance in second and third fill barrels. If you like this style of wine (which I do), this is a steal! Mint and chocolate really come through on the palate; tasted blind I might have guessed at my favourite red wine region of Coonawarra.
The assemblage for 2011 was 88% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Syrah. It changes from year to year depending on how different parcels perform and hwo they work when blended together. The vineyard is certified Organic by CERES, if you pay attention to that sort of thing.
100% of harvesting is by hand, then triage is done partially (77%) by optical sorting machines and the remainder (23% for those who can't count) is hand de-stemmed. Only wild yeasts are used for fermentation; this, and the relatively shaded nature of the vineyard mean that alcohol is a relatively sensible (for such a warm climate) 14%.
So how does it taste? It's definitely a Cabernet, tannins are present and correct, but they are fine. It's approachable now but needs several more years to blossom.
This is Lapostolle's flagship wine, one might even use the unloved term "icon wine", with a price tag to match. Why is it so expensive, and is it worth the money?
The idea behind the wine is to use the best quality grapes available, give them the most painstaking manual treatment, and intervene with the winemaking process as little as possible. For example, the fruit is harvested by hand very early in the morning (so that temperatures are still fairly cool) and then stacked in small 14 kilos cases (so there's less chance of grapes bursting and either spontaneously fermenting or spoiling. On arrival at the winery the grapes are 100% destemmed and sorted by hand.
After pressing, French oak fermentation vessels are filled by gravity which is the gentlest way to handle the must. The native yeast strains that arrived with the grapes are left to their own devices, apart from temperature control keeping a ceiling of 26C. Manual punch downs (as opposed to pumping over, for example) are used to extract colour, tannin and flavour from the macerating grapes over four to five weeks.
The juice is then racked into 100% new medium toast French oak barrels and left to go through malolactic fermentation. After 22 months maturation the wine is bottled by gravity "without any treatment or filtration" – I don't know if this precludes a dose of sulphur at bottling or not, but it does mean no cold stabilisation.
You might have noticed that the grape variety is absent from the front of the bottle. The blend for 2008 was 73% Carmenère (Chile's signature grape), 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. This is significantly different from year to year (another good reason not to put it on the front) – for example 2011 has only 57% Carmenère, 2009 has a dash of Petit Verdot (another minor Bordeaux grape).
And what is the result from all this care and expense? It's a monumental wine, huge, powerful and packed with flavour. Keen tasters will notice the results of the heavy extraction process. Although we are now over six years from the 2008 harvest, this still needs a long time to unfurl and even out. If you want to try it now then I'd suggest several hours in a big decanter ahead of serving. Personally, I'd buy a case and forget about it for five years!
Still in the Spanish speaking world, we now head to Navarre in northern Spain. At one time considered part of the Basque Country, Navarre is now a separate autonomous community from an administrative point of view, sandwiched between the Basque country and La Rioja.
From a vinous point of view, it's slightly more complicated as DOCa Rioja wine can include grapes from some parts of Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. DO Navarra is for wines made in the southern part of the autonomous community, principally in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Navarre used to be well known for its rosado wines, but now whites and especially reds are more common. With slightly more relaxed regulations than Rioja next door, international grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are fairly common.
The following three wines are from the latter range.
Made from 100% of the early-ripening Tempranillo, this has spent twelve months in 225 litre American oak barrels (the same size as Bordeaux's barrique) – double the minimum of 6 months for a Crianza. The grapes come from the Santa Cruz estate in Traibuenas.
It's full of voluptuous red fruit – cherry, strawberry, redcurrant, plus delicious vanilla from the oak. Ochoa give food matching suggestions of grilled meat, stews and cured cheeses, but to be honest it's might fine drinking on its own.
Now we have the Reserva level which means wines have to be aged for at least three years before release, of which at least one has to be in barrel. Ochoa go a little further and have a minimum of fifteen months in oak. As there's a step up in quality and price, they also use more expensive French oak along with the American oak.
Rather than being a single varietal, the Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Merlot (15%). The palate moves on from just red fruit to a blend of red and black – this makes perfect sense when it contains Cabernet. There's also a touch of mocha which I reckon comes from the toasted French oak.
I tend to steer clear of Gran Reservas. I often find them far too woody and far too dry – a result of being aged for far too long in oak. Don't get me wrong, I like oak if it's done well – but if there isn't the fruit to support it in the first place I will happily leave it to others.
The general rules for Spanish Gran Reservas require a total ageing of five years before release, of which at least eighteen months has to be in barrel, and thirty six years in bottle. Ochoa mature theirs in French and American oak for two years, and don't filter, fine or cold stablilise to preserve as much of the flavour as possible.
The Gran Reserva is a Tempranillo – Cabernet – Merlot blend just as the Reserva was. It's a step-up in intensity of flavour and body. Black fruit has almost totally replaced red fruit, and the mocha tones are right up front. It's a gorgeous drop, and I don't find it in the slightest bit "woody" – hurrah!
Keep your eyes out for Part 3 which will include lots of savvy Sauvignons!
Previous postSunshine On A Rainy Day!
Great notes Frankie, especially love the sound of the Cabs. Also I've never seen or heard the phrase "doughnut grape"… But it will get used to describe done wines in the future!!
Merlot is used as Jam in the Medoc!
Both Cabernets and all the Ochoa reds great value for money…though the Cuvée Alexandre Chardonnay gets my vote overall, as usual!
Thanks Cara! You don't need the geek facts to enjoy wine, but I think it does give the wines a bit of context.
The whole Lapostolle range is great IMO, I just picked out the ones I liked best. I haven't noticed Ochoa around in the shops but they are great fun!


It's an interesting time to be a high school journalism adviser. The high school newspaper has long been a staple of high school culture, though at times its purpose has been debated in courts high and low. And as I read through the Language Arts section of the Common Core Standards, many of those standards could be met through journalism classes, especially a class in which newspaper production is the goal.
Yet across the country, independent, professional newspapers are slashing staff, slashing service, slashing content, and raising prices.
When I'm involved in writing curriculum for journalism classes, we hang a lot of "must-haves" on the phrase "industry standard." But when the "industry standard" involves layoffs and deep budget cuts, tossing around that phrase suddenly becomes a little loaded.
I just completed my first year of newspaper advising at my high school (I had one other year advising at a school in Salt Lake City), and right out of the gate, I was asked to make cuts. Luckily, as part of a curriculum, I don't have to cut staff. But I had to cut pages, color printing, and frequency of publication. Budgetary concerns have been part of the conversation with my business manager (a student) and the editorial board (all students).
Here's my concern about "industry standard" and journalism. It's starting to mean do more with less. It's starting to mean decrease coverage. And what scares me the most is that it's starting to mean further devaluation of the Fourth Estate, a subtextual message that with so many people willing to write (not always well, and often not objectively) for free on blogs, Americans do not need a professional, paid press to report news. After all, reading an objective report of a newsworthy event is not nearly as exciting as reading the snarky commentary about said event.
I get the bottom-line philosophy that drives America these days. Really, I do. Producing a paper costs money. Advertising revenue is down. Readership is down–unless it's online, so behold the paywall–and with fewer readers, I get that it's tough to justify an army of reporters and page designers.
So my worry, I suppose, is less with the actual newspapers and more with us. Are we reading the newspaper? Are we paying for online content? Are we trying to be an informed citizenry?
But here's my bigger worry: how do I teach my students that journalism matters, when there's so much evidence telling them it doesn't?
← Previous Post The Running Experiment.


Brand new single family home at Isle at Oasis Barbados by Lennar. Complete smart home with many features, spacious floorplan and quality finishes, truly a must see. Close to Airbase, Baptist Hospital, restaurants, highway and shopping. Easy to show vacant.
Listing courtesy of Build U S Back Realty Fl, Llc.


MSP – What's Your Biggest Business Challenge?
MSP – What's Your Biggest Business Challenge?
As an MSP, the software you run can determine your services and profitability. Are there times when you feel a lack of flexibility in software hurts your business? Have you ever had to turn away business because your MSP does not have the right solutions to handle customers' specific needs?
The GFI MAX team wants to know about the challenges you face in order to grow your business. What, if anything, is holding you back e.g. money and time required for training staff on internal systems? What do you see as the biggest challenge your MSP business will face in the next two to three years?
Help us understand how you are addressing the changing landscape and how agile you feel when it comes to reacting quickly.
When we reach 500 responses, GFI MAX will donate $500 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Look out for the results which will be published by GFI MAX later this Quarter with valuable insight into international growth trends in the Managed Services environment.
IT has changed the earth. I want want to be part of that chang by becoming an IT expart!


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Q: Python - strange interaction between exec and timeit functions I'm trying to write a script that will time another script on a line by line basis.
So far i've coded a loop that should ideally return a dataframe showing the time taken to execute each line in a script:
import pandas
import numpy
Py_file = open("test execute.py").readlines()
Timer = pandas.DataFrame([])
i = 0
while i < len(Py_file):
        Timer = Timer.append([[i,numpy.average(timeit.timer('exec(Py_file[0])', globals = globals()).repeat(5))]])
        exec(Py_file[0])

The issue is with this line segment:
timeit.timer('exec(Py_file[0])', globals = globals()).repeat(5)
If I run the exec statement by itself a single line might take 0.1 seconds per iteration. When I run that same line inside the timeit.timer function it takes ~ 12-15 seconds per iteration.
I'd appreciate some help explaining this unexpected behaviour and coming up with a more robust solution if possible.