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Tag: courage in art
Ways of Looking
Deep attention is precious because it is so rare, and it speaks to what is endangered within us. This is worth fighting for.
I recently finished reading a beautiful, difficult-to-categorize novel that was almost not published. It's Helen DeWitt's The Last Samurai, (the title a reference to the Kurosawa film, which features heavily throughout the story), and it was deemed by most of those who could have published it to be too difficult. People wouldn't get it. I had never heard of it, and then I heard it mentioned twice, with earnest praise, by serious poets I was following, whose work had been sustaining me in profound ways. Serious poets are one group who tends to know especially well the loneliness of creating what no one is asking for. I had to read the book that they found so sustaining, and now I am so grateful I did.
I won't even try to summarize any of it here. It won't work, because what happens in this book is not going to lend itself to any sort of succinct overview. Suffice to say, there are parallel plots: a boy looking for his father, and his mother looking for some relief from predictable banality. Her artistic sensibilities are extremely heightened, and she is the sort to be in the handful of about five people left in an audience after a renowned composer tries difficult work, exploring really new territory. The composer, too, suffers from a crisis of faith, no longer wanting to perform or create CDs when there are only about five people who would want to listen to the type of music that he finds interesting now. Each of these characters is wearied by the commodification of the familiar. None have material wealth, and all feel the limitations of not having money, in real ways. And yet. The mother, who had tried to kill herself long ago, before the son was born, is someone for whom the presence of deeply honest art may be a life-saving force.
I won't get into further details here, except to note something profound that DeWitt writes in the afterword. She is describing the irony of living in a world where "humanities are increasingly dismissed as impractical and whatever counts as STEM is a good thing because practical. But we don't live in a society where every schoolchild has Korner's The Pleasures of Counting, or Steiner's The Chemistry Maths Book, . . . Lang's Astrophysical Formulae. . ." She goes on to observe that "perhaps we should really be more interested in the unknown capabilities of the reader." She reflects on the way that her manuscript was summarily dismissed for years, and also on the intensity of the response of those readers who have connected with it. She writes, "It's not hard to imagine a world where the effect of the book on what has been a coterie of readers is multiplied to the point where general assumptions about what is possible are changed." Perhaps alluding to the strict ethical code observed by the samurai who feature so prominently in her book, DeWitt observes, of this possible new world, that while it is "by no means unflawed, . . .it looks better than what we have. We should fight for it when and where we can." I am so deeply grateful to this writer for persisting in her vision when all signs (as they are typically read) pointed to giving up and abandoning her vision for something "more practical."
"The Last Samurai" by Óscar Velázquez on flickr under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivs 2.0 Generic license.
These thoughts happened to coincide with some vague awareness I've been coming to lately, about connections between honesty, risk, and gratitude. It came to me while I was observing someone who was being celebrated, who seemed rather bored by their own following, even as they had come to depend in certain ways on the attention. When there's so much of it, the attention itself becomes excessive, perhaps even cheapened. With some people in public places doing things publicly, an offering of appreciation seems to get absorbed into an echo chamber, validating whatever sense of greatness was already felt before the performance began, looping back the grand stature like the canned soundtrack of some preordained manifest destiny, as if someone has taken a carefully prepared, handmade gift and tossed it without looking on the overflowing table behind them.
But with others, when someone approaches with gratitude, reflecting their light back to its source, they cannot help but wonder: who is this here, seeing; really seeing? How is it that some kindred soul in this moment of abject, naked vulnerability, will manage to stop and look? These others return the gaze, inviting the pilgrim to meet them; to rediscover, in the wild, the sort of contact once thought extinct. The attention is precious because it is so rare, and it is meaningful because it speaks to what is rare and endangered within us. This is worth fighting for.
Author Stacey C. JohnsonPosted on July 1, 2021 August 3, 2021 Categories art, Notes on Reading, On Creativity, Wonder, writingTags attention, courage in art, faith, Helen DeWitt, the last samuraiLeave a comment on Ways of Looking


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Biografia
Era figlio del re Alfonso X di Castiglia e della principessa Violante d'Aragona.

Il 17 febbraio 1281 fu nominato cavaliere dal padre a Burgos e con i fratelli Giovanni e Pietro di Castiglia giurò fedeltà alla corona.

Ricevette nel 1277 la signoria di Cameros da suo padre, dopo l'esecuzione capitale del precedente signore Simon Ruiz avvenuta insieme all'infante Federico di Castiglia, zio paterno di Giacomo.

Quando la guerra civile iniziò nel regno di Castiglia e Leon tra Alfonso X il Saggio e il figlio Sancho Giacomo prese dapprima le parti del fratello maggiore ma nel marzo 1283 tornò al servizio di suo padre.

Nel 1283 in collaborazione con Juan Alfonso de Haro fomentò la rivolta delle città di Soria e Ágreda contro suo fratello l'Infante Sancio che aveva temporaneamente preso il trono di loro padre.  Alfonso X, come ricompensa per il servizio prestato ancora una volta, diede a Giacomo per testamento il regno di Murcia, a condizione che si considerasse vassallo del regno di Castiglia e Leon. Giacomo però morì prima di entrarne in possesso nel
1284.

Ascendenza

Note

Bibliografia
in lingua spagnola salvo diverso avviso
Jofré De Loaysa, Antonio García Martínez,  (1982). Academia Alfonso X el Sabio, Colección Biblioteca Murciana de bolsillo Nº 27. ed. Crónicas de los Reyes de Castilla Fernando III, Alfonso X, Sancho IV y Fernando IV (1248-1305). latín y castellano (2ª edición). Murcia. ISBN 84-00-05017-7.
 H. Salvador Martínez, (2003). Alfonso X el Sabio (1ª edición). Madrid: Ediciones Polifemo. ISBN 9788486547660.
Faustino Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, (1982). Instituto Luis de Salazar y Castro. ed. Heráldica medieval española. Volumen I: La Casa Real de Castilla y León. Hidalguía. ISBN 8400051505.
Félix Pérez Algar,  (1997). Alfonso X el Sabio: Biografía. Madrid: Studium Generalis. ISBN 84-605-6339-1.
Julio Valdeón Baruque,  (2003). Alfonso X: la forja de la España moderna (1ª edición). Ediciones Temas de Hoy, S.A.. ISBN 84-8460-277-X.
Julio Valdeón Baruque,  (1986). Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación y Cultura. ed. Alfonso X el Sabio (1ª edición). Castilla y León. ISBN 84-505-3366-X.
Jerónimo Zurita, (2005). Institución Fernando el Católico. ed. Anales de Aragón (1ª edición). ISBN 84-7820-823-2.

Voci correlate
Regno di Castiglia

Giacomo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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August 16, 2017 by: Content Team
The term "specific performance" refers to literal performance of one's obligations under a contract. Should a party default on his obligation, a court may issue an order for specific performance, requiring a party to perform a particular action. The action is usually one that has been previously detailed in a contract. Specific performance is an alternative to a court's decision to award damages and it is commonly used as injunctive relief in cases involving real property or the disclosure of confidential information. To explore this concept, consider the following specific performance definition.
Definition of Specific Performance
The performance of a legal contract strictly or substantially according to its terms.
Compliance with one's contractual obligation, as ordered by a court.
What is Specific Performance
While specific performance is technically the performance of a contractual obligation, it is most commonly referred to in relation to a court order to fulfill such an obligation.
Specific performance is a directive ordered by a court wherein a party to a contract must perform a specific action as outlined in an existent contract. Specific performance can refer to any kind of forced action, though it is usually enforced so as to complete a transaction that had been previously agreed to.
For example, specific performance is usually ordered in cases wherein an award of damages would not be enough to remedy the situation, such as cases involving the sale of real property. A specific performance remedy is up to the discretion of the court. Therefore, its availability relies heavily upon whether its award is appropriate when considering the facts of the case.
History of Specific Performance
Insofar as the history of specific performance is concerned, such a remedy was not initially permitted under common law. A litigant's rights were limited to his being able to collect damages for his loss or suffering. However, the history of specific performance saw the courts of equity realizing that real property made for unique cases. As such, damages were not always adequate insofar as compensation for someone's loss.
Specific performance was therefore established so as to guarantee a party the remedy of the right to possession of the land. Specific performance allowed the plaintiff in a case the right to take ownership over the property at the center of the dispute. Insofar as performance contracts are concerned, however, the threat of contempt of court was sometimes used to enforce a party's ownership, rather than specific performance.
Circumstances in Which Specific Performance Might Be Ordered
There are certain circumstances in which specific performance might be ordered. For example, specific performance will be enforced only in cases where the underlying contract was both fair and equitable. Examples of specific goods that have been at the center of cases wherein the courts have ordered specific performance include works of art, and products that were custom-made specific to the buyer's request.
California has its own circumstances in which specific performance might be ordered. For instance, specific performance is ordered if the court decides that it is an appropriate remedy for the situation at hand. Another circumstance in which specific performance might be ordered is in a situation wherein a party agrees to perform an action in the future which had been previously detailed in the contract at issue.
Exceptional Circumstances Barring Specific Performance
The award of specific performance is never a guarantee. There exist exceptional circumstances barring specific performance, which influence a court's decision. Some examples of these exceptional circumstances barring specific performance include:
Such an order would cause the defendant severe hardship.
The underlying contract is found to be unconscionable, or too vague to enforce.
Damages would be enough to remedy the plaintiff's loss.
The claimant has "unclean hands," meaning he has misbehaved in some way.
If the court finds any of these exceptional circumstances barring specific performance to be true, then specific performance will not be ordered.
Buyer's Right to Specific Performance or Replevin
A buyer's right to specific performance or replevin is determined by three main factors. First, specific performance may only be ordered when the goods are unique. Second, an order of a buyer's right to specific performance or replevin may include terms and conditions that the court feels are just insofar as the payment of damages or other relief. Finally, a buyer's right to specific performance or replevin of goods identified in a contract is confirmed if, after reasonable effort, he is still unable to recover what he has lost.
If the buyer has purchased goods for the purposes of household or personal use, or for members of his family, then his right of replevin is fulfilled upon his acquiring special property. This is true even if the seller refused to fulfill his end of the contract or simply failed to deliver as was promised.
The right of replevin is the right of an individual to recover goods or chattel that were wrongfully taken, after having given them for security. This is different from repossessing the property.
Jill bought a used car just over a year ago. She financed the car through the car lot, and only made payments for the first eight months. Jill has been hiding the car, expecting the creditor to repossess it, and her brothers have threatened violence when a tow truck showed up at her apartment to take it. In this case, the creditor is unable to repossess the car without breaching the peace, or without risking injury.
The creditor may apply to the court for replevin, asking the court to order Jill to return the car. If Jill were to refuse to comply with an order of replevin, she risks a charge of contempt of court. In addition, she would likely be ordered to pay the creditor the balance owed on the car loan, as well as any fees and costs associated with the recovery.
Specific Performance Example Involving an Oral Contract
An example of specific performance occurred in April 10, 1959, when Harold Weldon, a driller, was in E.C. Joachim's store on April 10, 1959 when the two entered into an oral contract to transfer the interest in an oil and gas lease. Weldon alleged that the deal hinged on Weldon's securing a drilling contractor to drill a well on the property leased by Joachim. For such services, Weldon alleged that Joachim agreed to convey to him the royalty interest in the lease, but ultimately refused to make the transfer. Weldon then sued Joachim for breach of contract, and Joachim countersued with a general denial.
Weldon finally found a contractor, Paul Hammer, who drilled the well and obtained an assignment of the lease from Joachim. On the same day that Joachim assigned the lease to Hammer and his partner, Weldon demanded that Joachim assign him the interest he had been promised. Joachim, however, ultimately refused to uphold his end of the bargain. Joachim testified that he never had any conversation with Weldon insofar as drilling the well, nor did he have an oral or written contract with Weldon.
At trial, the contractor testified that he would not have taken the contract if it hadn't been for Weldon's efforts. Upon the completion of the trial in the matter, the court found that the parties had indeed entered into an oral contract, and that Weldon had upheld his part of the contract. As such, the court felt that Weldon was entitled to specific performance and ordered in his favor.
Joachim moved for a new trial, which was overruled, and so he appealed the trial court's decision to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. Joachim's argument was that the evidence relied on by Weldon to establish the contract at issue was not clear nor forcible to bring it within the rule that applies to specific performance cases involving oral contracts.
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma, however, disagreed, holding specifically:
"The evidence in the instant action is cogent, clear and forcible as to leave no reasonable doubt that plaintiff and defendant entered into an oral agreement wherein defendant would give plaintiff an interest in the lease if plaintiff would find somebody to drill the lease. That plaintiff fully completed his part of the contract by finding a party who drilled the lease. We therefore conclude that plaintiff and defendant entered into an oral contract as contended by plaintiff and the trial court did not err in so finding."
As such, the findings of the trial court were affirmed, in that the Supreme Court of Oklahoma held that Weldon did perform on the oral contract as agreed and further, that the trial court did not err in its decision to enforce specific performance.
Contempt of Court – A willful act of disobedience to an order of the court; deliberately being rude or disrespectful to the judge or the court.
Court of Equity – A court that is authorized to apply the principles of equity, rather than the law, to the cases that are brought before it.
Defendant – A party against whom a lawsuit has been filed in civil court, or who has been accused of, or charged with, a crime or offense.
Injunctive Relief – A court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition.
Plaintiff – A person who brings a legal action against another person or entity, such as in a civil lawsuit, or criminal proceedings.
Replevin – A procedure providing for seized goods to be returned to their owner pending the outcome of a case wherein the rights of the interested parties are determined.
Trial – A formal presentation of evidence before a judge and jury for the purpose of determining guilt or innocence in a criminal case, or to make a determination in a civil matter.
Unclean Hands – The act of having done something unethical regarding the subject of a lawsuit.
Unconscionable – Shockingly unfair or unjust; shocking to the conscience; extremely wrong.
Mutual Assent
Incidental Damages
Executory Contract
Rescind
Yellow Dog Contract
Tortious Interference
Time is of the Essence
Quasi Contract

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So what is wrong with my marriage?
Me and my sin. I am the sinner or as Apostle Paul states in 1 Timothy 1:15, "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all." To say that I am a sinner is to stare boldly at the fundamental reality that many people don't even want to glance at. But when we acknowledge the fact that sin holds considerable sway in our lives, several things become clear.
First we find ourselves in some pretty good company including all the heroes of the faith in and not in the Bible from Old Testament times until now. They all experienced the battle with sin.
Often we think that issues like communication are the biggest problem with our marriage. But when we realize that our battle is against sin, it helps the gospel shine brighter in our heart and marriage. Bad communication can be a big problem in marriage, but it is not fundamental. Bad communication is the result of ignoring sin that desperately needs the grace of God and hope of the gospel to speak life.
What shapes your marriage comes down to your theology. By theology I mean your view of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, God's Word and the gospel. Theology governs your entire life and it determines how you will live in your marriage day-to-day and year-by-year.
The Foundation of our marriage is the Bible: The center of the Bible is Jesus Christ. The Bible fills marriage with significance as it speaks as an authority on what marriage is to be.
The Fountain of marriage is the gospel. God did not just send Jesus to be an example of moral goodness and to teach us how to live – He sent Him as the answer to the sin dilemma and to propitiate His wrath against sin in order to restore us in a relationship with Him. The gospel is the ultimate solution for our sin and is the center of theological truth. We remain in our sin even though we have been saved and we need the gospel every day to resist sin.
The Focus of our marriage is the glory of God. Marriage is not just something God invented – it is something that belongs to Him. It exists for Him more than it exists for you. It is for our good but more so it is for God's glory.
So, what is the key to a thriving marriage?
It is dealing with sin. When we apply the gospel to our sin, it gives hope to our personal lives and in our marriage. The sin that remains in our heart opposes God and our spouse. It obstructs our joy and our holiness and eclipses thriving, healthy marriages.
The hope that arises from the gospel is the beginning of a sweet relationship and marriage can become a living, thriving union where sins are confessed and forgiven.


Tampa, FL– Everyone can help prevent cancer. It's all about the lifestyle choices you make.
You can find out more at the first lecture in the 2008 Integrative Medicine Lecture Series. Kathy Allen, M.A., R.D., LD/N and manager of Nutritional Therapy at Moffitt, will discuss "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective" at 9 a.m. Feb. 9 at the Vincent A. Stabile Research Building auditorium.
The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have funded a report outlining new guidelines on how to reduce your risk of cancer. The report is based on the research of experts from around the world.
"They will know the steps they can take to reduce their cancer risk. They'll learn about foods that fight cancer and lifestyle recommendations to reduce riskafter treatment," Allen says of the lecture.
A complimentary light breakfast will be served from 8:30 to 9 a.m., and the lecture and Q&A will be from 9 to 10. Space is limited. Please R.S.V.P. by Feb. 6 at 1-888-663-3488.


Pick a moral problem or a case in business that we have not already analyzed in any detail in class. A moral problem is one in which there is some difference of opinion on what is right and wrong. The issue is not clear cut and there is no consensus about it. Similarly, a case should be one about which there is some debate. Write a paper arguing to a conclusion about the morality of the problem or the case you have chosen. The problem may consist either of a general issue of policy or a specific issue that is found in a case you analyze. In your paper: (1) Start by explaining the moral problem or outlining the case. (2) Then present the moral arguments which support your conclusion. You may use whatever approach to moral argumentation (from among those we have studied) that you choose. Make clear the moral criterion you are using to decide the issue. Develop your arguments clearly, step by step, giving reasons for the position you defend. (3) Present and answer at least one argument that someone on the other side of the question might put forth. You may use this assignment to pursue some moral issue in business we have not discussed in class. The issue might be one raised in some other class or one you find in the newspapers or periodicals . . . or it might be one that you are simply concerned about. The problem might deal with some aspect of a business practice within a profession in which you are interested; it might concern individual or corporate responsibility; it can deal with an aspect of advertising, discrimination and affirmative action, conflict of interest, trade secrets, multinationals, as examples. You may use a case in the text, as long as we have not discussed it and DeGeorge does not resolve it. You may use any sources that you wish for background information. The paper, however, is not to be a report of what other people say; you are to argue the issue to a conclusion. If it is helpful, you might think of the paper as an article that you are writing to convince the general public about the morality of a practice or case; you might also think of it as a letter to a CEO or the President to convince of the morality or immorality of some practice or policy. A good paper will be well argued, and so convincing. Your paper should be 3 to 5 pages in length. As with all of our papers, it should be formatted double-spaced with one-inch margins and will include a properly formatted works cited. There should also be at least 3 sources cited. source..


Visit to Whitsunday is one part of the Queensland trip I had been waiting for. The white sand of the beach clearly mesmerized me. We took full day tour departing from Airlie Beach. The tour that we took explore Whitsunday Island in the morning and Hamilton Island in the afternoon and provided by Cruise Whitsunday.
Whitsunday Islands is a group of 74 islands, and it's best part is Whitehaven Beach. The water is so clear and the silica sand is by far the whitest I have seen.
The tour that we took departed from Port of Airlie at 7 am, and it passed Daydream Island before arriving at Whitsunday Island. We were given about 3 hours to play in the Whitehaven beach and or explore the island. We could also snorkel if we want. Since I had dreamed about playing sand and water, I spent almost most of the time just relaxing, took some pictures, and played around the Whitehaven Beach.
In the afternoon, we left for Hamilton island. The difference with Whitsunday Island, Hamilton Island is more "modern" island, there are bars, restaurants, many offers for water sports, and there's also Hamilton Island Yachts Club and Hamilton Island Golf Club. If Whitsunday is quite, Hamilton island is vibrant. It's almost like a city on itself. It even has an airport. So if you want to leave the Queensland mainland, Hamilton Island is your alternative point of departure to Whitsunday island (rather than from Airlie Beach).
We were dropped off in the Hamilton island Marina to look for lunch and had another two hours before going back to Airlie beach. Along the main street in front of the Marina, there are lots of Restaurant with seafood specialties. We ate at Marina Tavern. We also took a short bath in its free shower and bathroom facilities before going back to Airlie.


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The Wenger era: Right-midfielder
WTTGT • General
Welcome to WTTGT's new blog: The Wenger era.
Over the course of these posts, we'll take a look at the best players to have graced the red and white of Arsenal since the Professor arrived at Highbury back in September 1996.
By the end of the blog, we'll have formed the best Wenger XI as voted for by YOU.
Today we take a look at right-midfielders, and you have three of the best from Wenger's time at the club to choose from.
Happy voting!
The Romford Pele began his career as an Arsenal youth player in 1989 before graduating to the first team just 3 years later.
Often described as an "unsung hero" and a "fans' favourite" for his 'never say die' attitude, Parlour went on to make over 330 appearances for the Gunners before leaving Highbury to join Middlesbrough in 2004.
He was a bit-part player until the arrival of Arsene Wenger in 1996, where the Frenchman made Parlour a permanent fixture either on the right-wing or in the centre of midfield and was an instrumental part of the 1997-98 double-winning team.
Four years later, Parlour had his moment in the limelight as he scored a sensational 30-yard strike to give the Gunners the lead in their 2-0 FA Cup final win over Chelsea a few days before they clinched the league the title at Old Trafford.
Parlour captained Arsenal in the famous 5-1 win over Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2003 and picked up a Premier League winners medal as part of the 'Invincibles' team later on that season.
Freddie Ljungberg
One of the most popular players of all time, an iconic Swede for his red hair, his own song and his, er, underwear modelling.
Arsene Wenger brought in Freddie Ljungberg from Halmstad in 1998 for £3m and got off to a dream start by scoring on his debut after coming off the bench against Manchester United at Highbury.
Ljungberg's best spell as a Gunner came in the 2001-02 campaign as he played a crucial role at the business end of the season as Arsenal went on to win the double.
He scored the second in Arsenal's FA Cup final victory over Chelsea just a few days before netting the goal that won the Premier League at Old Trafford.
He won the FA Cup the following year before playing his part in the 'Invincibles' unbeaten Premier League triumph.
He added a third FA Cup to his honours in 2005 and was then a part of the Gunners 2006 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona.
He played in North London until 2007 before he moved to London rivals West Ham United after an injury-plagued season.
Theo Walcott
Having moved to Arsenal in January 2006, it took Walcott the best part of a year to break into the team and he made his debut in the first ever Premier League game at the Emirates. He came off the bench at the age of 17 to set up Gilberto for the equaliser, which was the first competitive Gunners goal scored at their new home.
His exploits with Arsenal that year earned him the accolade of BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year, and he went on to score first goal for the club in the 2007 League Cup final defeat to Chelsea.
After some mixed fortunes with performances and injuries, Walcott came of age last season and starred in the 5-2 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur as he tore their North London rivals apart with his pace and claimed a brace.
His impressive form continued until injury again ended his campaign, but at the age of 23, Walcott still has a long time to etch his name into Arsenal history.
Matt Cotton
@FindingCotton
Who has been the best RIGHT-MIDFIELDER during Arsene Wenger's reign at Arsenal?
Mesut Ozil was gone long time ago – About the time he stop taking risks in his game
Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Freddie Ljungberg, Ray Parlour, The Invincibles, Theo Walcott
Wenger once again praises RVP, Andre Santos gets stick
Video: Koscielny secures Giroud signing
One Response to The Wenger era: Right-midfielder
topemagnus@yahoo.com June 26, 2012 at 1:01 pm #
i think Robert Pires plays the right wing and Ljungerg the left wing and if i'm right he deserves to be in contention cos he will be the best on that wing IMO.


Balance reserves of marble A + B + C - 1616 m3, C2 - 113 m3.
All those who wish to participate in the auction should submit documents for participation in bidding from no later than 31 of December 2015 to the State Agency for Geology at: Bishkek city, Erkindik Ave., 2, office No.220. Detailed information on all required documents for participation in bidding is in "Bidding conditions on provision of subsoil license".
For familiarization with the terms and conditions and other information regarding the bidding is possible on Agency website http://www.geology.kg, by phones: (+996 312) 909864 (on Russian), (+996 312) 909869 (in English), and also in Information Resources Department of the State Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, office No. 217, every day from 9:00 to 18:00 o'clock.


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Sansolo Speaks: Building Value Against the Odds
by Michael Sansolo
Longtime readers of this column know all to well that I look everywhere for unusual lessons. But while I'm willing to talk about sports, fashion, recipes, movies and even airplane safety videos, there's one topic I studiously avoid: politics.
The reasons are simple. First, we've become so polarized about politics that increasingly any discussion is immediately dumped into the good or bad bin and all talk shuts down there. Second, the nature of competition in politics is usually less than stimulating because it is so limited. If business competition constantly limited new competition, one can only imagine where we'd be today. What's more, the primary process is directly opposite usual marketing. Instead of census-balanced feedback, primaries seem to skew the consumer group even more.
Yet sometimes there are happenings we shouldn't ignore, even in the incredibly yucky world of politics. So, for this morning, let's think of Rick Santorum as a lesson, not a politician. Ignore any positions or statements made by the former Pennsylvania senator, no matter how hard is may be to do just that, and consider the following:
If Santorum were in any field other than politics, his methods and success would be getting studied right and left. After all, Santorum is the Moneyball candidate, getting more mileage from less than anyone should.
Santorum has amassed the second largest number of delegates to the Republican Convention and has won the second largest number of state primaries and caucuses. Yet as media reports make clear daily, Santorum is being outspent on ads and organization by Mitt Romney's campaign by as much as 10-1 in some states.
Santorum is even being outspent by Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, both of whom trail him in victories and delegates. By any measure, Santorum spends far less per delegate than any of the other three candidates, which makes him the champion of productivity even if it's unlikely that he will win the nomination.
And by looking at his productivity we can find obvious lessons for every business. Based on reporting of the campaign, his success seems based on a few easily discussed characteristics: clarity and authenticity.
Let's start with the clarity. Whatever you think of Santorum, he certainly projects a clear picture of who he is. Like all politicians his record is full of inconsistencies, largely because so much of politics is a business of compromise and conciliation, so virtually every long-term candidate has past votes that seem strangely at odds with their current positions. Yet, throughout the campaign, Santorum has articulated a defined group of issues with consistency and clarity. His positions are what they are and seem to remain that way no matter where he is or whatever crowd he's talking with. Those positions may not get him elected, but they certainly define him.
Likewise, he seems to be exactly as advertised. It's clear that he's a religious man from a relatively simple background who never hesitates to explain how his background or religion helps form his world and political view.
Let's examine the parallels to business. We hear endlessly about the importance of clarity and authenticity. Santorum demonstrates that if such a strategy is done well and with discipline, a store or product can achieve exceptional productivity from ad spending and marketing. In business terms, he has a well-defined niche that appeals to a core group of shoppers. (As a side note, the same could be said of Ron Paul. But as with niche markets, it's important to serve a large enough constituency to keep you in business. Paul has enthusiastic followers, but apparently not enough to win primaries.)
Of course, business and politics are very different. In politics is that only one candidate can win each contest, whereas in the marketplace there are countless winners and losers each day. And certainly, lots more and better choices in the end. Plus supermarkets and products have to wage the competitive battle daily, not every four years.
So maybe there is some benefit to this depressing political season after all. Certainly there's at least one lesson's worth.
Michael Sansolo can be reached via email at msansolo@morningnewsbeat.com . His book, "THE BIG PICTURE: Essential Business Lessons From The Movies," co-authored with Kevin Coupe, is available by clicking here .
Tuesday Morning Eye-Opener: Meet In-N-Out's Best Asset (Excluding Burgers)
buy Kevin Coupe
Meet Larry. (Pictured at right.)
When my daughter and I were in Southern California last week, we stopped at an In-N-Out Burger in Torrance. (My daughter thinks that In-N-Out reflects the best culinary traditions of the western world. I would not go that far, though I do love their cheeseburgers animal-style.) When we walked up to the front door, we were greeted by Larry. Big smile. He held the door for us.
"How are you doing today?" he said. Lots of enthusiasm. Booming voice.
I told him we were doing fine, and he told us to enjoy our lunch. We went inside, ordered, and then sat outside to munch on our burgers.
Larry was out there, walking from table to table, checking to make sure that everybody had what they needed, that they were enjoying their meals.
I engaged Larry in a bit of casual conversation, and he told me that he'd been working at In-N-Out for seven years and loved it. His job had allowed him to get his own place, and he thought the world of the company. And then, he moved on to the next table and the next one. Being Larry. Being In-N-Out's roving ambassador.
I couldn't help but think that Larry probably attracts a lot of people to the In-N-Out on Carson Street in Torrance. He had that kind of infectious personality - he just made everybody feel good about being there.
Ironically, I received an email from MNB user Brian Connellan the other day that was weighing in on the broader discussion of customer service, and it was about In-N-Out:
I was in Dallas this week and made a trip to the In-n-Out in Las Colinas. The burger was as good as expected but the ambiance was not there. (Can I even use the word ambiance when talking about a fast food joint?) The employees there seemed to treat it like any other part time job, like a McDonald's. There's something to be said for understanding a company's heritage. Maybe In-n-Out is best served sticking to it's West Coast roots.
Could there be a better advertisement for just how important a guy like Larry is, even for a fast food joint?
Retail battles are won and lost on the front lines. If I owned a retail business, I'd want an army full of people like Larry.
Small Is Beautiful, For The Moment
Advertising Age has a piece about how retailers that previously focused on big box stores - Walmart, Kmart and Target - now are focusing on smaller stores. "Small has suddenly become beautiful -- or at least a lot more alluring," Ad Age writes, and "the big-box epoch may be winding down."
Here's how the story explains the strategy at Walmart, which seems to typify all the chains' thinking: "Smaller locations' same-store sales growth was more than three times Walmart U.S.'s overall figure. They also had positive traffic for the entire year, vs. only the fourth quarter for Walmart U.S.
"Part of the story is product mix. Neighborhood Markets, mostly with food sales, benefited from food-price inflation. They also have little exposure to categories (such as apparel and electronics) that have been declining for Walmart. For example, same-store electronics sales had been dragged down by deflation rather than boosted by inflation."
First of all, I hate pronouncements like "the big-box epoch may be winding down."
Sure, maybe it is. Until it isn't anymore.
Life is rarely this simple. There will be markets and customers for which big stores will be appropriate, as well as markets and shoppers for which smaller stores will be appropriate, and markets and customers for which online alternatives will be appropriate. What retailers may be learning is that they cannot be monolithic - the same customer may want a big store on Saturday, and online option on Tuesday, and then a small store option on Thursday... And retailers have to decide if and how they want to try to meet these various need states.
Beyond that, there is one sentence from the story that needs to be highlighted: Walmart and other big-box retailers must determine how to remove selection from stores at the same time as they use them as outposts to deliver a wider range of products online.
The key to Walmart's small store strategy is to use these units as drop-off depots for products sold online, which positions the company - it believes - to better compete with Amazon.
Federal Judge Okays Mandated Graphic Warning Labels on Tobacco Products
Bloomberg reports that a federal court has ruled that guidelines mandated by the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - putting graphic warning labels on cigarette packages - does not violate the free speech guarantee in the US Constitution.
The ruling comes less than a month after another federal judge said that the mandated graphics would, in fact, violate tobacco companies free speech rights.
Fine by me, though as often has been noted in this space, I have no objectivity on the issue. After having watched my mother die of lung cancer after having smoked for 40 years, I have no sympathy for tobacco companies; my usual feeling is that there will be a special circle of hell reserved for the executives who have sold this stuff.
Their free-speech is killing people.
• Advertising Age reports that in a recent pitch to marketers, Walmart CMO Stephen Quinn called the retailer "an experience platform" that cuts across all the company's various enterprises (in-store, advertising, online and social media) and, because of the retailer's extensive reach and traffic, can be viewed as "one of the highest-reach media options to be found in an increasingly fragmented media landscape."
In some ways, what this suggests is that Walmart is trying to develop a broad strategy, with all these pieces - physical stores, online retailing, various marketing initiatives - becoming tactical extensions of that strategy. It seems to make sense in a 21st century retailing environment, but there will be those who will question whether Walmart can culturally pull it off. Sure, the company makes all the right noises, but in the end, it may just be too rooted in a brick-and-mortar tradition to really be able to make all this "experience platform" stuff work.
MNB's Tales of Tesco
• In Glasgow, Scotland, the Herald reports that a Tesco in Edinburgh has become the first major retailer in the country to open a full-service dental clinic on the premises. The move is seen as a response to what has been an accessibility problem in Scotland - not enough dentists and too many people trying to get appointments.
• Retail Week reports that Tesco has installed 147 kiosks in 120 of its UK stores designed to give customers full access to the retailer's full selection of online merchandise, which is broader than that offered in-store.
No decision has yet been reached to roll the kiosks out to other Tesco stores in the UK and Ireland.
Having kiosks like this makes sense, since increasingly stores have to be seen as a subset of a retailer's broader universe.
...with occasional, brief, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary...
• In Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports that a close reading of Target's annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suggests that the retailer is increasingly depending on non-discretionary products (such as household goods and food) "to drive sales at the expense of discretionary items (everything else)."
According to the story, "This is remarkable for a couple of reasons. Target has significantly adjusted its sales mix without altering its image as the 'cheap chic' retailer of choice for designers like Michael Graves, Missoni, Liberty, and Jason Wu. Target may hang out with the fashionistas in New York but it's mainly selling toilet paper and cat food to everyone else.
"What's driving this shift is Target's strategy to induce more of its most loyal customers, who tend to be higher income shoppers, to buy more stuff versus attracting new customers."
• At this point, it seems reasonable to suggest that the new iPad tablet computer is a success.
It went on sale last Friday, with pre-orders being taken for about a week beforehand. Experts projected that Apple would sell between two million and three million of them by the end of March ... but yesterday, Apple said it already has sold three million of them.
The iPad does not go on sale in some 25 global markets until this Friday.
• Reuters Health reports on a new study by the Harvard School of Public Health concluding that "eating more blueberries, apples and pears may be linked to lower risk of diabetes" because they "are loaded with flavonoids, a natural compound present in certain fruits, vegetables and grains, which some research has tentatively tied to heath benefits such as a lower risk of heart disease or cancer."
The finding, according to the story, "show an association ... but don't prove the fruits, themselves, prevent diabetes."
The only thing that disappoints me about this story is that nowhere is the word "pie" used. Because I really, really love pie. Especially blueberry and apple pie. And if eating more pie could be proven to have health benefits, well, I'm there. Totally there. Just saying...
• The Kroger Co. announced yesterday that Tim Brown, who has been serving as vice president of operations for the company's Virginia division, has been promoted to be president of its Delta division, which is based in Memphis and operates stores in Western Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri.
• Rick Bendel, marketing director at Walmart-owned Asda Group in the UK, reportedly will begin working in a broader marketing-related role for the mother company. He will remain based in London.
Bendel will be succeeded at Asda by Stephen Smith, the former Delhaize executive who has spent the last year as chief marketing officer for Walmart's China business.
From The MNB Sports Desk
• ESPN reports that four-time MVP Peyton Manning, recently released by the Indianapolis Colts, has decided to play quarterback for the Denver Broncos next season - a move that is likely to result in the trading of Tim Tebow as soon as Manning's deal is finalized.
Cornell University Food Executive Program: Diverse Skills for Diverse Challenges
July 15-20, 2012 Ithaca, New York
The Cornell University Food Executive Program is unique – it offers an unmatched opportunity for food industry leaders to sharpen skill sets, gain new perspectives, advance careers, and make a difference.
Retailers, Wholesalers, CPG Suppliers, Service Providers.
The program prepares middle- and upper-level executives for their next promotion and beyond, and is well-suited for high-potential leaders being prepared for broader general management responsibility.
"The Professors and industry-leading speakers are very connected to the real world and are also very willing to provide that 'nudge' to think differently, ask 'why' and develop as a leader. You learn from the professors, you learn from each other and you come back ready to perform." - Beth Newlands Campbell, President, Hannaford Supermarkets
For more information and to apply, click here.


Introduction Lands and territories inhabited by most indigenous peoples across the globe are rich in natural resources. Through generations of experimentation and as custodians, the indig-enous peoples have developed an expansive body of knowledge for sustainable use and management of these resources. The continuity of this knowledge and sustainable use and management practices of these resources are enforced through rules, beliefs and taboos which form a part of their customary laws.


April 3rd & 4th, 2014 – This conference is CACPT accredited.
The model is intended for working with children ages 3-18 who have been impacted by trauma, and their families. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) training is provided in two days, with the first day including an overview of the model, screening and assessment, and the early PRACTICE components: Pyschoeducation and Parenting Skills, Relaxation, Affective expression and modulation, and Cognitive Coping and Processing. The second day covers the latter model components: Trauma narrative development and processing, In vivo mastery of trauma reminders, Conjoint child-parent sessions, and Enhancing future safety and development.
Alison Hendricks, LCSW, is a trainer and consultant who specializes in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and trauma-informed systems. She is a National Trainer for Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit, a product of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) in the US.


text:
Todd Engineering delivers an extensive Spray Booth for Trelleborg
UK's leading manufacturer and Bodyshop equipment supplier, Todd Engineering, has won a contract to provide a Commercial Spray Booth for Trelleborg, a world leader in engineered polymer solutions that seal, damp and protect critical applications in demanding environments.
Todd Engineering has completed the installation of an immense spray booth for the company. The Spray booth has been designed as the ideal working environment to coat Trelleborg's large drilling Riser buoyancy modules ensuring they are protected against erosion.
"We are still working at Trelleborg, but we have moved on to install four large Ovens. Our team are doing an amazing job keeping to the schedule and providing the customer with a high-quality product," a Todd Engineering official said.
Are you looking to install a bespoke spray booth in the UK?
Todd Engineering work alongside each customer to ensure we provide the perfect solution to suit their Bodyshop and the work they do.
For more information on how they can help you optimise your productivity, contact their head office today:
Todd Engineering Ltd is a family-run business that was formed in the early nineties and has swiftly expanded to become one of the UK's leading spray booth manufacturers and Bodyshop equipment suppliers.
About Trelleborg
Trelleborg is a world leader in engineered polymer solutions that seal, damp and protect critical applications in demanding environments.
Trelleborg's end-to-end service and a comprehensive product portfolio meet and exceed customer need retaining vigilance and full control from conception to completion and beyond to ensure optimum performance.
The company uses its expertise in polymer engineering for infrastructure to keep the world turning. It is active in the maritime segment with its Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure business having an extensive portfolio of industry-leading equipment for ports and terminals around the globe. From high-performance marine fenders to docking and mooring equipment, The Performance People at Trelleborg serve a range of applications including container terminals, naval facilities, bulk carrier facilities, RoRo and ferry berths.
Trelleborg Offshore


Performance in Indianapolis on January 26th, 2017.
Stephen will be giving a concert with the Indianapolis Society of the Classical Guitar at 7:30 on Thursday, January 26, 2017. See Stephen perform works about an old cathedral, spiritual mysticism, political activism, torture, and death in child birth.
Click play below to hear Stephen Mattingly perform Joseph Michael's Variations. Click here to listen to additional live recordings.


"Obee" from Singapore's Bamboobee has crossed the Bay of Bengal and landed in Gili Lankanfushi Maldives. Gili Lankanfushi is one of the most exclusive resorts in the Maldives. The eco-friendly bike made from sustainable sources of Bamboo has found a niche amongst the environmentally conscious hotel industry. Ibis Hotel and Jen Hotel (former Traders Hotel) are some of the hotels in Singapore where you can experience a ride on the Bamboo bike.
The use of bicycles is not a new idea to the island nation. It is widely known that the Sultans rode them, and so did the cabinet ministers and the elite. Bicycles were the only mode of transportation until the introduction of cars in the late 60s and early 70s.
The police force had previously purchased 500 bicycles to be used for patrol. A number of island resorts offer bicycles and bike tours such as Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa, Soneva Fushi and Sun Island Resort & Spa.
In the 70s key events such as Independence Day or Republic Day are marked with bike rides around the capital. In 2010 when climate change awareness events in collaboration with 350.org was held in Malé, along with the world famous underwater cabinet meeting, the entire cabinet members marked the day with a bike ride in the capital Malé. More recently in September 2014, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Maldives and the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives, held a bicycle ride in Hulhumalé, with the purpose of raising awareness and engaging the community on the issue of climate change through promoting the use of bicycles or non-motorised vehicles as a means of transportation in the Maldives.
The Singapore company – Bamboobee, designs and produces its own bamboo bicycle products and accessories, since it began its operations online on April 2013, has sold more than 200 bicycles, with a premium price of each costing USD$1200 to USD$3300.
Bamboo is strong and durable, having higher tensile strength than many alloys of steel. Bamboo also regenerates fast and can be continuously re-harvested every 3 years this means the supply of bamboo can be more constant and regular and sustainable.
As a raw material for bicycles, and given the right engineering, bamboo bicycles can perhaps be a more natural looking and long lasting mode of transportation for a country like Maldives where the islands are so tiny that everything is affected by the salt carried by the sea breeze. For Bamboobee, its advantage is that it uses the lost Chinese practice of using honey wax to strengthen its bamboo.
Bamboo bicycles have been around for a long time, with the first recorded bamboo bicycle showcased in London in the year 1894.
In the last 20 years however, there seems to be a surge of bike builders offering these bamboo transportation to the wider masses; From Craig Calfee of Calfee Design headquartered in California, USA, to Flavio Deslandes, a Brazilian industrial designer based in Denmark, and here in Asia a Singaporean by the name of Sunny Chuah, the founder of Bamboobee.
Asia's bamboo bike builders also include Kawayan Tech Bamboo Bikes based in Quezon City, Philippines, Bambike based in Manila, Philippines, Bamboo Bicycles Beijing based in Beijing, China, and Burma Bike Partnership based in Burma, or what is also known as Myanmar.
Each of the abovementioned bamboo bike builders have a different history, business structure and purpose, and of course their designs vary as well. In a way, this gives consumers a wider range of options to choose a bamboo bicycle that suits ones preference, taste and budget.
Lastrina is also a volunteer-coordinator with 350 Singapore. 350 Singapore was founded by Young NTUC in March 2010. It is the Singapore chapter to the global 350.org movement. 350 is widely believed by many scientists to be the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, measured in parts per million.


No. It's illegal. Even if it's just a little "dog food"
Anybody hunt ducks out there this year?
Lol go slay em, E!
Going squirrel huntin on 3 in the morning. Haven't seen any pig sign, but the squirrels are doing good.
Picked up my permit this am. Thinking about going this weekend. Any one else?
Units 2 & 3 are under water again. Drove by there yesterday.
My place backs up to unit 3, as of Friday we've got a poacher jumping the fence and throwing corn on our property. If anybody sees anything fishy please let Leroy know, he came out and spent over an hour with me looking around last week. Pretty sure the guy was out there Friday afternoon while I found the corn, didn't find where he was sitting until Saturday.
I don't think he will be back as we painted posts this weekend and posted signs where he was coming through. But, if he does I've got cameras on cameras on cameras back there to find him.
I squirrel hunt a lot on 3. I'll keep a look out.
Always a mess of sign, never see or hear them. There is some super thick brush in there though.
I was up off 2756 about two weeks ago and found a few spots of "dropped" corn right at the entrance by the bridge and later stopped by a game warden. He didn't pay much attention to the dropped corn as there is not physical feeder.
Here is what I learned. Bow light is permitted, there is no curfew, They will tell you where they seen the pigs and as long as you are legal you are good to go. I called that same game warden out on another section (which he suggested) to pull me out as my pig of a 4x4 was stuck to the axles.
If anyone is interested in a hike through some thick brush, spot and stalk or even post up in a pop up blind. Let me know. I plan on spending some time out there this weekend past dark.
i was thinking about going out there sunday morning. I looked at Zone 5 a few weeks ago right off of 451, and there were quite a few pigs there just as i pulled up. This was around noon too.
Went to zone 5 and couldn't find a place to park. Walked 2 and 6 today and didn't see anything.
Dant I just saw this thread! Ive been wanting to try it out there... I gotta go back through the thread and read up. I'll need to get a permit, But I'd be in!
I walked Zone 2 near CR318 south of FM546 on Saturday afternoon. there were fresh tracks all over the place.
I have wanted to check out lavon myself. I hope the whitetail population grows enough to allow hunting in the future! Until then it would be nice to get out and stick a few pigs.
Yeah, that would be nice if we could hunt white tail out there. I went up to Cooper WMA this season, saw quite a few deer up there.
I'm looking into Lavon as well. Squirrels (in season) and hogs too. Just talked with the office. Seems a pretty simple process, except that I've got a 4 door sedan. I'll bring the fat tire bike and a lone wolf.
No closed season for squirrels in Collin County and no limit.
Well gentleman got my permit on frday and in a cedar tree right now. I found some fresh sign and ready to fling a slick trick. I would like to scout off of 2756 tomorrow. Good luck to everyone who made it out this weekend.
Good luck! Please post results.
Ended up having an intense hunt. Had two good size hogs come in behind the Cedar I was in. I tried to turn to pull back and they spooked. Then it was on, I put a stock on em and they led me to a waller which I sat at until dark. I could hear em walking around me but would not step out. Tomorrow I will go back to the waller and see what steps out.
Very cool! My son and I are going to check things out today. Reconnaissance only. Never been there before. Hope you get your bow drawn on'em today.
i was out yesterday. zone 2 just south of the bridge on 546 east of the river. there is a little pond that had a lot of activity. good luck to you guys!
It's been a slow morning so far. Good luck to you and your son.
We need some Lavon LDPs.
Scouted small pieces in 2 different units. Saw plenty of fresh hog and deer tracks and one of the biggest rubs I've ever seen. Too bad there is no deer hunting! Plenty of potential for my boy and me. I will get permit signed and all official this week. It just felt good to be in the woods today.
I tried to walk out and spooked 9 or so and some where darn good size. Attempted to put a stalk on em and failed. Bumping them twice has me thinking I should back out and wait tell next weekend. I'm going to hold up in a clearing for a little bit longer then head out.
Man. Wish I would have went out today. I'll be out there Saturday with my son.
Pope--just sent you a PM, fyi.
I work in Melissa, and live in Plano. I just gotta get a permit and I'll be going. Hit me up, I might be able to get 1 or 2 others to roll with!
I'm in Mckinney but moving to Melissa later this month. I haven't hunted Lavon in quite a few years, guess it's time to get the permit and get after it!
I'm over in McKinney. I'm always up for an outing.
Planning on heading out to Zone 2 Sunday morning. Gonna throw some corn down Saturday evening. Fingers crossed!
Glad you said something. I just read the regulations again. I know you can hand toss and use mineral blocks at Whitney. Should have paid more attention. Thanks.
Good luck Purvis. I had to work today but plan on going in the morning as well.
Just came back from unit 6. Saw tracks heading to the south from the pipeline. Also managed to glass two WTD.
Great morning to be in the woods. Good luck to everyone who made it out this morning.
Sure was! No luck for us, but got to teach my son a little more about scouting and what to look for.
It was a slow day for us yesterday as well. Buddy of mine seen a giant run across the clearing he was in but never gave him a shot opportunity. Maybe next weekend will bring a little luck.
I might try to head out one evening this week. I need to check out some other areas. I've been hunting zones 1 and 2 mostly over the last several months. Might head north to 9 one of those up there.
Good luck to those who made it out this morning. I'm in a cedar hoping one steps out! With the moon last night not sure how much action I am going to have.


The brain's reward system can detect internal physiological changes even independent of taste.
Respiratory symptoms are more common among short sleepers independent of obesity.
Nuclear density is independent of size of nucleus but inrease with inrease in mass number.
▼ "Sensing Sweets Without Taste"


Be sure to check out the detail and to listen to the audio.
The same symbol (represented here by "(l)") appears in the KRS word sk(l)ar, shown above. The runic scholars who originally examined the KRS were unfamiliar with this uncommon symbol. The context called for some kind of landmark. Early on, someone suggested that it represented a Germanic j-sound (English consonantal y) so that the word could be read skjar, "skerries" or "rocky islets," and this became the generally accepted interpretation of the KRS letter.
In 1987, however, Richard Nielsen, writing in vol. 16 of Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers, pointed out no less than 8 uses of this admittedly rare symbol in the Codex Runicus, counting the two specimens in the above song. It was therefore, unbeknownst to Moltke, an authentic 14th century nordic rune, and not a newly invented J-rune at all.
Nielsen's discovery is enough to put the KRS back in the running -- how could the minimally educated Minnesota farmer who is generally believed to have forged it have known more about 14th century runes than someone with Moltke's credentials? Moltke's "coup de gr�ce" thus backfired, and this KRS symbol, far from being "imaginary," in fact provides a strong indication of authenticity.
Apparently this symbol represents a soft (one might even say silky) L-sound, and not a Germanic J-sound (English Y-sound), as had been assumed by Moltke and most prior writers. According to Einar Haugen (The Scandinavian Languages, Harvard 1976, section 10.3.1), it was also used in medieval inscriptions on the Baltic island of Gotland, to mark an L with "a special dental quality." Nielsen suggests that this word should be read skylar, or "shelters," rather than "skerries."
While the back is naturally glaciated, other surfaces were clearly "dressed" to provide the present shape.
Some of the man-made surfaces clearly show weathering, but not as much as the glacial surfaces.
Several of the inscribed grooves contain significant iron-oxide deposits, a byproduct of the decomposition of pyrite within the stone. However, roughly 90% of the runeforms were recently carved or recarved, removing any such deposits that may have originally been present.
A freshly fractured surface of a core sample obtained from the KRS shows well-defined, sharp mica crystals in a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image displayed in the report. Another image shows that the mica crystals on a carved surface have completely weathered way, indicating that the runeforms "spent a long time in the ground." The report calls for further comparison testing of gravestones, etc., to determine the rate of mica decomposition.
"Response to Dr. James Knirk's Essay on the Kensington Runestone" by Richard Nielsen, Scandinavian Studies, vol. 72 no. 1, Spring 2001, online electronic supplement.
Bergen runes. Many of these inscriptions, discovered in 1955-79 and so not available to early discussion of the stone, are roughly contemporary with the 1362 date on the KRS. The searchable Bergen Database shows that 11 of the 670 items contain the phrase Ave Maria, generally assumed to be the meaning of the KRS Latin letter phrase AVM. Only two of the 670 contain the word virgo, and neither of these is in the phrase Ave Virgo Maria that has also been advocated. For further considerations in favor of Ave Maria, see the forthcoming article in Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers by Keith Massey and Kevin Massey-Gillespie. Please note that an earlier version of this page erroneously attributed the reading Ave Virgo Maria to the Massey brothers -- corrected 4/25/01.
Computus Runicus: The Runic Calendar from Gotland from 1328, with commentary written in 1626 by Ole Worm. More cool runes roughly contemporary with KRS.
Samnordisk Runtextdatabas. Data base of over 6000 Scandinavian runic inscriptions, sponsored by Uppsala U. It's all in Swedish, so you're on your own.
Session of the Joint Midwest Archaeological and Plains Anthropological Conference on "The Kensington Runestone Reexamined," St. Paul, MN, 11/10/00. Summary by Michael Zalar, from his website. News article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, on the NEARA website.
Dalarna runes from the 18th century, including some of the peculiar KRS runes. In particular, an X-like A-rune (!), not only the well known O-form Dalecarlian O-rune, but an umlauted O-form O-rune for o-umlaut (!), an umlauted two-stroke symbol for y (!), an umlauted A-rune (in an inverted V-form rather than the X-form) for A-umlaut, and a K-form K-rune. Unfortunately, the specimen of 16th century Dalarna runes on the same site does not include these features, except for an incipient X-form for the A-rune, and an incipient O-form for the O-rune. The site unfortunately gives no references to original sources.
Norwegian and Swedish runes, with additional photos.
Statement by Olaf Ohman's great grandson, dated 8/24/2000, on scifi.com message board.
Runestone Museum, "right off exit 103 on I-94," with 28 foot tall statue of "Big Ole."
AVM Stone a hoax. In May of 2001, a boulder resting about 1/4 mile from the findsite of the Kensington runestone was noticed to bear the Latin letters AVM, presumably for Ave Maria as on the KRS, the year 1363 (1 year after the KRS) in KRS-like pentadic numerals, and three additional symbols, apparently ASU in Danish-type runes unlike the KRS runes. The new find was announced in August of 2001 on the AVM Stone webpage of the Runestone Museum. Three months later, Prof. Kari Ellen Gade, chairwoman of Germanic Studies at Indiana University, and Prof. Jana K. Schulman, associate professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana University, admitted that they had carved the stone as graduate students back in 1985, along with three other members of a University of Minnesota seminar on runic inscriptions taught by Prof. Anatoly Liberman. According to an interview with USA Today, their motive was to cast doubt on the validity of the original KRS. In a letter to the Runestone Museum, Gade and Schulman explained that the third line was intended to read "ALU" (a pagan invocation comparable to Ave Maria), in the Older Futhark, but that the chisel slipped on the "L". I would have expected something like UMN in KRS-style letters instead.
The Echo Press of Alexandria Minn. reported that Janey Westin, the finder of the stone who had spent weeks and hundreds of dollars investigating and transporting the 2200-pound stone to safe storage, was not amused by the prank.
Wikipedia article on KRS, with remarkable 1885 rune chart by Edward Larsson from the collection of the Institute for Dialectology, Onomastics and Folklore Research in Umea [Sweden]. The chart contains the exact form of the controversial Kensington A-umlaut rune, i.e. an "X" with a hook and two dots. The Dalarna rune site cited above contains the X-form, but not the hook or the dots. It also contains an O-form O-umlaut rune, with two dots as on KRS. The only difference is that whereas the KRS rune contains a miniature e-rune inside the "O", the Larsson form has a vertical stroke that extends outside the "O" both above and below. The Larsson chart also contains the unusual (if less controversial) KRS Y-rune, as "u", complete with its two dots, though without its crossbar.
Furthermore, Larsson lists the pentadic numerals from 1 to 9 plus 0, and dates his chart 1885 using these numerals in Arabic placement, just as on the KRS. Richard Nielsen has abundantly documented the use of these pentadic numerals plus knowledge of Arabic placement in Scandinavia in the 14th century, but this is the first example that I am aware of (outside of KRS) of actually using pentadic numerals in Arabic placement. The symbol Larsson identifies as 0 is used twice on the KRS as 10, without Arabic placment.
Larsson's chart demonstrates that most, if not all, of the controversial letters and numbers on the KRS are authentic runic conventions. The only issue is how far back before 1885, if at all, these conventions go. Larsson indicates that the runerow containing the contested KRS letters is more recent than a shorter FUTHORK he also gives, but he doesn't say how recent it is, or where he got it.
The Wikipedia article indicates that knowledge of these runes was widespread among late 19th century guilds, with the tacit implication that the KRS forger must have shared this knowledge, but does not indicate how this knowledge eluded the many runic scholars who have criticized the KRS for using these symbols. Even without the unusual symbols, the article concludes that the inscription is a hoax on linguistic grounds, in particular because "It also contains the word 'ded,' which is actually the English word "dead," and not Scandinavian at all." As Hjalmar Holland pointed out long ago, this word was in fact used in a 14th century letter by the famous Queen Margarete, who ruled Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and therefore is at least as Scandinavian as she was.
In a new book coming out in November of 2005, The Kensington Runestone: Compelling New Evidence, Richard Nielsen and Scott F. Wolter present new evidence in favor of the authenticity of the KRS runes, including a discussion of the Larsson letters and Wolter's petrographic analysis. The Foreword by Alice B. Kehoe, author of Land of Prehistory: A Critical History of American Archaeology (Routledge, 1998), concludes, "The notion that the Kensington Runestone is a late nineteenth-century hoax is not supported by contemporary data."
Photos courtesy of the Runestone Museum. I think these were taken circa 1930. Unfortunately, they do not show the side well. Note that the frontal photo is lit with an intense light from the side. This shows up the vertical strokes very well, but makes some of the horizontal strokes, including the crossbar on the L in sk(l)ar above, almost invisible. The two photos should be viewed in conjunction with one another.
It should be noted that the Kongelige Bibliotek (Royal Library) in Copenhagen has photos of the KRS that it received from Ludwig F.A. Wimmer of Chicago, accompanied by a letter dated Oct. 15, 1899. These photos would show the stone in its early condition, before any scrubbing or enhancing of the letters that might have taken place after 1899. I have photocopies of the Wimmer photos, and can see no evidence of any alterations, but a comparison to good glossy copies of these photos would be in order. The Wimmer photos are shown in Wm. W. Fitzhugh and Elisabeth I. Ward, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga (Smithsonian Inst., 2000), p. 380, though with insufficient enlargement to be very useful for study.
If anyone has some good color photos of the front and side or glossies of the Wimmer photos, I would like to put them up.


Blackjack airbag backpack from the side.
As many readers know, the airbag components for the Blackjack are sourced from Avi Vest, who makes airbag systems for snowmobilers (and are in the process of changing their name and re-branding). Last year's focus for Mystery Ranch was on integrating those components into a rucksack suitable for everyone from ski patrol to weekend warriors. The original design was successful, but this year's somewhat cleaner overall, with a few added features.
The Blackjack airbag is now sewn into the lid so if you've got the lid attached to the pack you can be certain you've packed the airbag. Inside the Blackjack body you'll find a zippered pocket (easily sliced out for weight reduction) for goggles and doodads, as well as a tiny open top pocket for ski patroller's tools. In a consumer version, these pockets are a good example of non-essential features that could be made with much lighter fabric, so we see potential here in terms of trimming mass. But they do add function to what would otherwise be a basic sack and zippered rear tool compartment.
Speaking of mass, it's interesting to me that backcountry skiing consumers are asked to carry around stuff designed for ski patrollers who mostly get rides uphill. Considering that a lot more regular folk than ski patrollers die in avalanches, one wonders at the point here. Is the ski patrol market so huge the rest of us must bow to it? Apparently, so be it. Nonetheless, I'd suggest that the consumer market for airbag backpacks will be larger than the patrol market (it already must be so in Europe), and whomever has the lighter more elegant version of the airbag backpack will win the market in the human powered crowd. Digression, done.
Blackjack backpack waist belt has an oddly padded double configuration. Really, overkill. The waist buckle is adjusted by pulling to the rear on the double looped straps, again, for a backpack of this size that seems like unnecessary webbing.
Diagonal ski carry on the Blackjack is provided for with a reinforced back panel, loop and strap. A-frame carry is possible as well by using side compression straps, but not recommended unless you have no need of the airbag safety feature. Strap system can also be configured to carry a snowboard.
What about the re-worked plumbing? According to the designer at Mystery Ranch, the new system uses a new feature called a "closed venturi." Essentially, this means that the orifice that accepts air into the bag is attached with a sealed connection to the gas bottle (other types of venturi have openings). The closed venturi ensures the bag will fill if it's pinned between the user's body and the ground or snow surface (though it wouldn't fill once buried by avalanche, it needs to do that before the slide stops moving.) The new venturi is also more efficient at filling the bag, thus reducing the required gas bottle size by about 20% in comparison to last year (and perhaps a bit smaller than other brands).
Blackjack airbag gas bottle is 20 percent smaller than before.
The release cable (AKA lanyard) now uses a system that makes it stay in the right place despite how your pack is adjusted. Moreover, the clip that secures the cable to one of the grommets in the yoke sleeve is lighter and more secure than last years system. Deactivation (for heli riding, for example) is now accomplished by simply removing the girth hitched handle/trigger from the lanyard.
Blackjack viewed from rear. Diagonal ski carry uses visible loop at bottom and buckle-strap to the side at top.
Of interest is the lack of a hydration system in the Blackjack. As weight is so critical with these packs, we're not mourning this omission (though we do like hydration compatibility that some of the other airbag backpack brands offer). This especially in view of the fact you can still pack a hydration bladder, route a tube over your shoulder, and you'll be fine if you know how to manage such systems in the cold. Likewise, the Blackjack comes with a small removable waistbelt pouch. Again, something you'll probably want to shed if you intend to stay off the back muscle relaxants. For more detail about features, please check our Blackjack review from last year, as most remain the same.
For more info, please see our Airbag Backpacks category.
Can a snowboard attatch to it? Aka. Does it work for knuckle staggers?
Does it deploy properly if a board or skis are attached to the carry system?
This is the first time I've checked out the cost for one of these packs. $1000. Wow. I think that is going to be a much bigger factor (compared to the weight) in keeping one of these off the backs of users.
I know, I know, "it could save your life"! But the fact is that for that much coin (especially in this economy) a 4 digit price tag makes it awefully easy to say "well, I'll just try harder not to get in trouble in the first place" despite what decisions are made during the subsequent tour.
Shane, that's most certainly a good point for any safety gear. Different brands and models do vary in price, and as demand increases sale prices will become more common. It'll be personal, of course, but wait till the stories of saved lives start coming out more frequently in English. Once that happens, lots of folks will skip a new pair of skis and bindings for one of these. Or they'll run that $$$$ mountain bike for an extra season or two.
For human powered touring, the weight is a deal breaker. I understand this will come down over time, but for now I think packs like this only make sense for internal combustion powered turns or patrollers.
I agree survival stories will have an impact, but I don't think they will overcome the cost and weight barrier. When those barriers are reduced to a more negligible level, these types of bags will become commonplace.
Weight? Give me a break. If you aren't already carrying an extra 3.5lbs of fat with you on a typical tour, then, even among backcountry skiers, you are an extremely rare bird. Drink one less beer per day and in a year you'll probably be down that 3.5lbs and have the money for the pack.
Spoken like someone who's lucky to not be paying the "mountain tax" or who isn't living in fear of a lay-off (most of my skier friends are/were builders). I would wager that there are plenty of folks out there who ski the BC on old gear and and do so because it costs nothing other than gas to the trailhead.
I think I paid $130 for an Osprey Kode pack a couple years ago so your math is quite a bit off on the price difference between an airbag and conventional pack.
Not every BC user is college kid that can use a big chunk of the student loan refund to buy toys. Most of us aren't sponsered either. That $1000 pack could just as easily be a mortgage payment for someone.
I guess my point is that I agree with you that a couple pounds may not be the deal breaker for lots (maybe even the majority) of people. The fact that the weight difference is made up by lightening of the bank account may be a bigger factor for the majority of users.
I have to agree with shane. When it comes to life support equipment, I'll take the weight penalty. Unfortunately, I can't afford it right this minute, as much as I really want too. So, while I'm saving up for one, I'll cross my fingers and hope the price comes down.
I don't doubt that there are people who don't have the scratch on hand to get one of these things without significant sacrifice (if at all). My main point though is that backcountry skiing is already a very expensive sport (gear wise, at least). If you are doing it at all, at some point you were able to afford skis, boots, skins, touring bindings, a pack and (hopefully) beacon-probe-shovel as well as some kind of car to get to the mountains. Anyone who has been able to afford all this can probably get the money together for an air-bag pack at some point in time, if they made it a priority.
And yes I know what it is like to live on a shoestring budget. I spent better than ten years living in a 12'x12′ room and couldn't afford to own a car while working my way through college and grad school. I did a couple of different sports at the time, but I can assure you that backcountry skiing wasn't one of them.
Price of avalanche airbag backpacks is all over the place, BCA has best bang for buck, well under most others, and they work just as well as far as I can tell. BCA and Blackjack weigh about the same, with Blackjack having more volume for weight.
Thanks for the update Lou. Is there anyway the comparison chart Nick prepared could be updated to reflect the new model and weight? Would be interesting to see how the weight of this now compares to the BCA, ABS, Snowpulse, etc… In particular, just for bags of the same approxmiate size.
I'm pretty sure Nick is in the process of updating our Airbag overview, but I'll ask him how it's going.
i may trim the extra interior pockets and probe/saw sleeves from my blackjack…to save weight and to allow for more usable volume for mountaineering and overnight equipment.
Ty, according to Louie, who does a lot of trimming, there really isn't all that much you can trim from BlackJack, but looking at the one I have here I can see that a few ounces could easily be removed. More, if you got the sewing machine going you could do some mods such as removing the outside one of the overkill double waist belt.
I would just like to chime in a little bit about the waistbelt. Remember this is safety gear we are talking about. The waistbelt system has been tested and designed to withstand serious forces associated with an avalanche. What you are suggesting is akin to modifying a climbing harness- which is something very few would be comfortable with doing.
Patrick….the mod that i want done is to make it into a climbing harness…why not trim some excess padding and insert rated webbing and double back buckles all around?
Ty, you bring up a good point. I've seen plenty of rated climbing harnesses that are much more minimal than some of the stuff on these airbag backpacks. That demonstrates that the pack designers have a LOT of room for improvement, and that making the waist belts and leg loops on these packs work as a climbing TYPE of harness could work. I wouldn't expect it to be a true climbing harness, however, as generally you wear the waist belt of backpack lower than you wear a climbing harness waist belt. BUT, if the pack straps were integrated into the system, what a rig that would be for glacier travel!
My 2 sons and I are 6'1″ to 6'4″, so we are intrested in the specs on long torso (21″-23″) models. I have talked to BCA and they say their Float 36 fits a longer torso then the Float 30, although I have not gotten any specs.
The SnowPulse Life bag 2.0 looks intresting, but I haven't been able to find many specs.
Hmmm. So the one thing that's kept me from saving up and buying a avybag is I don't know if it would make much if a difference for the terrain I ski in. As I understand it, most of the saves with airbags have been above tree line, where as I spend most of my time skiing in places with lots of rocks and trees, i.e. blunt force trauma is more of a concern to me then suffocation. I know some of the makers compare these things to an airbag in a car, but someone pointed out to me that the pressures used in the bags are way low and aren't going to make a difference in a major collision with a tree, etc.


text:
CGC 2008 Congrats
Congratulations 2008 CGC Recipients!
Canine Good Citizens are batting 1000!
This year, our Labbies went fourteen for fourteen with everyone evaluated for CGC making the passing team! What a great way to conclude our 15th Anniversary year with all the dog players getting a grand slam to achieve Canine Good Citizen status. Although many of the players came out of spring training prepared and pre-registered for CGC evaluation, we had a number of walk-ons who also made the team even though they had not expected to be evaluated or to do so well. In fact, one returning player from last year worked hard over the off-season and received the "Most Improved Player" award for his efforts! Way to go, "T"! We also had a late season trade with a player who came over from Search and Rescue to provide long ball power to round out the team.
Our umpire and AKC certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the 2008 season was Bevalee Crawley. She did an excellent job "behind the plate" to call every evaluation and all of them were winners. Thanks Bev for your good judgment and fair calls for all the dog players and for not postponing the "game" due to rain.
Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Hot Dogs! What a great day at the park!
Start your online shopping at GoodShop.com and a portion of your purchases at hundreds of retailers will be automatically donated to LRR!
Search and Shop
Make reservations at more than 25,000 pet friendly hotels, and LRR gets a $5 donation!
Indicate "LRR.org" in the message section of the Helping Udders check-out process, 10-50% of your purchase will be donated to LRR!


Textkernel, the international market leader in semantic recruitment technology, has launched its lead-generation tool Jobfeed for the UK.
Jobfeed makes the online job market searchable and transparent. After its success in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium and Italy, Jobfeed is now also available for the UK market. Textkernel will present its product Jobfeed at the Recruitment Agency Expo, on 3–4 February at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London.
Jobfeed gets its information by spidering the Web, collecting the online job ads and structuring, classifying, deduplicating and enriching the data. This information is mainly used by HR and recruitment professionals for lead generation, labour market analysis and outplacement/redeployment purposes.
The company behind the Jobfeed product is Textkernel, an Amersterdam-based leading-edge HR technology supplier specialised in natural language technology. Textkernel has been providing semantic recruitment technology to the market for 15 years and is known for its multilingual CV parsing software and semantic search, sourcing and matching technology. By adding Jobfeed to its UK portfolio, Textkernel is able to offer a unique proposition to recruitment and staffing agencies, outplacement and redeployment firms and job boards.
By combining Jobfeed with Textkernel's semantic matching tool, companies are able to match any job found with Jobfeed to their entire candidate database. Conversely, companies can also match their candidates to all (direct employer) jobs in the market found with Jobfeed, allowing recruiters to place every candidate they ever source.
Besides finding relevant jobs and lead generation, Jobfeed also reveals trends and insights into the labour market with its analytics tool. For more information or a free trial, visit www.jobfeed.com/uk.
Philip van Leeuwen, partner manager at Textkernel, will give a demonstration about Jobfeed in the Demo & Sourcing Lab at the Recruitment Agency Expo on the 4th of February at 12.15 pm.
Textkernel will also give demonstrations of its full HR software suite at stand B.11.
Schedule a meeting via demo@textkernel.com.
Textkernel specialises in semantic recruitment technology offering multilingual CV parsing, job parsing and semantic search, sourcing and matching software. These tools, easily integrated into your system, help accelerate the process of matching people and jobs.
The company was founded in 2001 as a private commercial R&D spin-off from research in natural language processing and machine learning at the universities of Tilburg, Antwerp and Amsterdam. Textkernel now operates internationally as the leader in multilingual semantic recruitment technology.


Properties For Sale – TAG Homes, Inc.
In addition to TAG's custom built homes, you may also be interested in our speculative designed homes. We also have lots available. Please contact us for more information.
210 E Maple Ridge Dr.


The winners of the Fabulous Beauty Awards 2018 were announced at a presentation ceremony on July 12. So-named after Fabulous Magazine, the Awards cover a host of diverse categories, from Hero Hair to Top of the Tips and Act of Kindness to Best Beauty Gadget, and over 150,00 readers' votes were cast.
Given the summer we are currently having, there will now be a mad dash to purchase the winner of the Suncare Safety Award (Nivea Sun Protect and Bronze Tan Activating Sun Lotion SPF30) and many of us should probably invest in a bit of TLC for our skins and look out for Elemis Pro Collagen Overnight Matrix, winner of the Skin Innovator category.
The trophies, designed and produced by Special EFX, have a lovely fresh and zingy quality to them. Made in polished nickel plate, with a digitally printed acrylic central disk featuring the event's graphics, the top part of the trophy neatly slots into the base for a professional and secure fit. TV presenter Laura Whitmore and Fabulous beauty editor Lauren Ezekial co-hosted the awards. EFX's customer reported: "Really happy with the service I received from EFX, the process was from brief to delivery completely seamless and the awards looked fantastic. The winners were all thrilled"!


text:
<?php

/**
 * New Page APIs
 *
 * @author Xavier Barbosa
 * @since 13 February, 2013
 * @link https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2012/03/14/new-page-apis/
 **/

use Mute\Facebook\App;

/**
 * Default params
 **/

$app_id = "YOUR_APP_ID";
$app_secret = "YOUR_APP_SECRET";

/**
 * Reading Milestones
 **/

$app = new App($app_id, $app_secret);
$result = $app->get('PAGE_ID/milestones');

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Creating a Milestone
 **/

$result = $app->post('PAGE_ID/milestones', array(
    'title' => 'Example Title',
    'description' = >'Description',
    'start_time' => 1329417443,
));

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Deleting a Milestone
 **/

$result = $app->delete('PAGE_ID/milestones');

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Editing a Page's Attributes
 **/

$result = $app->post('PAGE_ID/milestones', array(
    'about' => 'About Text',
    'phone' => '415-448-4444',
    'description' => 'Description',
    'general_info' => 'Info',
    'website' => 'http://example.com',
));

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Setting Page's cover photo
 **/

$result = $app->post('PAGE_ID/milestones', array(
    'cover' => 1232343,
    'offset_y' => 30,
    'no_feed_story' => false,
));

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Reading Page's cover photo
 **/

$result = $app->fql('SELECT pic_cover from page where page_id = PAGE_ID');

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Reading Page Apps
 **/

$result = $app->fql('SELECT name, link FROM profile_view WHERE profile_id = PAGE_ID');

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Updating a Page App's Image
 **/

$result = $app->post('PAGE_ID/tabs/app_<APP_ID>', array(
    'custom_image_url' => 'http://example.com/image.jpg',
));

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Uploading a Page App's Image
 **/

$result = $app->post('PAGE_ID/tabs/app_<APP_ID>', null, array(
    'custom_image' => realpath('tab_image.png'),
));

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Reading Messages
 **/

$result = $app->get('PAGE_ID/PAGE_ID/conversations');

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Replying To a Message
 **/

$result = $app->post('THREAD_ID/messages', array(
    'message' => 'A Reply',
));

var_dump($result);

/**
 * Hidding a Page post
 **/

$result = $app->post('<POST_ID>', array(
    'is_hidden' => true,
));

var_dump($result);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Johnny Moss, nicknamed the "Grand Old Man", continued to play poker right up to his 89th birthday. He is remembered for the saying "If things get tough, you get tougher."
Born in Texas in 1907, Moss learned how to gamble – and how to cheat at it – as a young boy. When he was in his teens, a local saloon actually hired him to watch games to ensure that no players were cheating. At the same time, Moss picked up some valuable poker know-how. He then became a rounder – a travelling poker player in search of gambling action. Much of his early poker experience came from underground gambling dens during the years of the US Great Depression.
After moving to Las Vegas, Johnny Moss took over the Dunes poker room, known for its high-stakes poker.
One of the most famous heads-up poker match of all time was played between Johnny Moss and Nick "the Greek" Dandalos, on Fremont Street in Las Vegas in 1949. The game was Five-Card Stud, and the match lasted for an extraordinary total of 21 weeks. This match was one of the first to attract a really notable number of spectators. Moss ultimately prevailed, after winning anything between $2 and $4 million.
Johnny Moss played at every World Series of Poker from 1970 to 1995. He won the no-limit Texas Hold 'em championship event in the World Series of Poker a total of three times (in 1970, 1971 and 1974), putting him on a par with Stu Ungar as the player with the most World Series wins. He has won a total of 9 World Series of Poker events and has earned winnings of over $680,000 in tournament play.
Johnny Moss died in Las Vegas in 1997. The starting hand Ace-Ten in Texas Hold 'em is named "the Johnny Moss" in his honour.


text:
Home News Twitter Is Bringing Back the Old Timeline To Show You The Latest...
Twitter Is Bringing Back the Old Timeline To Show You The Latest Tweets First
Hate Twitter ever since it moved to an algorithmic timeline? You can finally go back to using Twitter as it was when it began as the reverse chronological timeline feature is back. Users should now see the latest posts first and not in the order decided by Twitter's algorithm.
Twitter has announced that it will let users choose between a reverse chronological timeline and an algorithm-based feed, which is populated by tweets that are deemed most relevant to users. The timeline switch feature will start appearing in the upcoming weeks, however, Twitter has not shared any date or a timeline for the roll-out.
4/ So, we're working on providing you with an easily accessible way to switch between a timeline of Tweets that are most relevant for you and a timeline of the latest Tweets. You'll see us test this in the coming weeks.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 17, 2018
Twitter claims it is making the changes because it wants to give users more control over their timeline.
Twitter currently has a feature called 'Show me the best Tweets first' which arranges the timeline on the basis of tweets which are of more interest to users, or have been posted by people users are most likely to interact with. However, switching off the feature would still insert the 'in case you missed it' section which also contained tweets from people users don't even follow.
Needless to say, it was a confusing mess. So, Twitter is also changing how the 'Show me the best Tweets first' feature. Starting today, when the feature is turned off, users will only see tweets from people they follow in a reverse chronological order. Twitter also plans to eventually remove the 'Show me the best Tweets first' feature altogether in favor of a timeline toggle for all users.


Description: Fyre is a tool for producing computational artwork based on histograms of iterated chaotic functions. At the moment, it implements the Peter de Jong map in a fixed-function pipeline with an interactive GTK+ frontend and a command line interface for easy and efficient rendering of high-resolution, high quality images.
and spec updates that you've done?
Didn't see it the repo, I'll go ahead and take over the orphaned package.