This post was originally published on the BetterCloud Monitor.
In December 2016, our partner BetterCloud introduced the first-ever Unified SaaS Management platform. This post explains why BetterCloud has set out to help IT professionals around the world conquer the unique and enormous challenges caused by rapid SaaS proliferation.
In 2011, inventor, entrepreneur, and investor Marc Andreessen famously wrote, "Software is eating the world." Five years have passed and software's appetite is more insatiable than ever.
Every day, hundreds of millions of people go to work and use software delivered as a service. CEOs, developers, IT, and everyone in between rely on SaaS applications to do their jobs.
Building blocks for the modern-day company.
Today, SaaS plays an indispensable role for startups and multi-billion dollar businesses alike. And when it comes to advancements in enterprise technology, SaaS and innovation have become nearly synonymous.
Today's CEOs and CIOs aren't poring over blueprints titled, "Server Room Expansion Plan".
Instead, they're reading how-to books and meeting consultants in conference rooms to plan the replacement of legacy applications with SaaS alternatives. That's why digital transformation is the fastest-growing practice for many consulting companies around the world.
The SaaS-Powered Workplace is a worker's dream. It's a workplace that enables employees to use the best technology available to them.
Highly collaborative. Best-of-breed SaaS applications enable real-time collaboration across teams and time zones, minimizing traditional back-and-forth in ways on-prem applications never could.
Incredibly mobile. Whether you're 30,000 feet in the air or in the back of a taxi, SaaS applications give employees the flexibility to work when and where they want.
Simple to use. SaaS applications are intuitive, built with a focus on design and user experience. SaaS applications are light years ahead of on-prem applications in terms of simplicity. It's like learning to fly a kite versus learning to fly a plane.
Productivity powerhouses. 86% of users say SaaS applications help them succeed more than desktop alternatives, according to our 2016 Trends in Cloud IT survey. SaaS has already smashed through the boundaries of possibility and forever altered the way we work, and we've only just scratched the surface.
There's a reason on-prem is often referred to as legacy technology. For most companies, SaaS technology is the present and future of work.
There has never been a more exciting time to work in IT. Today's opportunities and challenges are unlike any the industry has ever faced.
The SaaS-Powered Workplace has put IT at the forefront of a workplace reinvention. The department that was once relegated to back-office work and labeled a cost-center is now the compass, the sherpas of success.
IT is in the driver's seat, and they aren't steering a caravan. They're behind the wheel of a SaaS-powered racecar.
But the road ahead isn't all sunshine and daisies. It's littered with unexpected turns and canyon-like potholes.
While sales, marketing, finance, support, engineering, and all the other departments reap the rewards of SaaS applications (without drawbacks), IT experiences the growing pains.
When IT is facing ever-growing checklists, constantly tabbing from dashboard to dashboard to perform manual tasks, data slips through the cracks. Sensitive financial figures fall into the wrong hands.
Employees are granted the wrong permissions, leading to disastrous and irreversible mishaps. Licenses go unused, and thousands, even millions of dollars, are thrown out the window.
IT needs visibility and control to solve these problems, and that's precisely what they lack. Without visibility, IT can't make informed decisions. Without control, they can't take action.
Without either, they can't do their jobs. It's that simple.
It's become clear, given the unprecedented lack of control and visibility, that IT needs a solution–if not an entirely new approach to IT.
Enter Unified SaaS Management, an IT approach fit for SaaS-Powered Workplace and the cornerstones of the new BetterCloud.
Due to the proliferation of SaaS applications, IT is faced with a growing set of challenges, the most simple and apparent being: information sprawl, alert fatigue, and an increasing amount of click-by-click repetitive tasks.
Data Centralization. In the SaaS-Powered Workplace, IT needs an administrative destination–a command center capable of ingesting information and replicating (even amplifying) the capabilities of admin consoles for various applications.
Operational Intelligence. When auditing applications, users, files, privileges, and policies, IT needs contextual, cross-app insights, which are next to impossible to find when manually searching for problems in each application. The SaaS-Powered Workplace also requires intelligent alerting on operational risks and exposures. Instead of just making IT aware of a problem, IT must know how to fix it–in some cases through automation.
Action Orchestration. All of today's SaaS applications require manual administration. As the SaaS-Powered Workplace grows, manual work compounds until it consumes the workday. IT must seek to streamline manual tasks to ensure accuracy, precision, and compliance.
For two years, BetterCloud has undergone a ground-up reconstruction to build a platform that is purpose-built for IT management in the age of the SaaS-Powered Workplace.
The result: our new Unified SaaS Management platform and integrations with our technology partners: G Suite, Slack, Dropbox, and Zendesk–with more to come in 2017.
Centralize information and merge SaaS accounts to create comprehensive user profiles. This gives IT an unprecedented view, far beyond identity, to show each user's apps, permissions, groups, files, and more.
Manage role-based privileges across applications, ensuring users and your IT team have access to what they need and nothing more.
Uncover actionable insights on users, groups, and more–all of which can be fixed with a single click or the creation of a repeatable and automated workflow.
Automatically trigger complex, cross-application workflows based on changes in your SaaS environment or external systems, such as the Google Admin Console, Active Directory, or SSO solutions.
Evaluate risks by auditing shared documents, apps, usage patterns, files, and more to identify and remediate security issues.
Request a demo of the new BetterCloud.
SaaS adoption shows no signs of slowing. The SaaS market will grow to $216 billion in 2020, more than double its current size, according to Gartner.
Without SaaS applications, thousands of companies would cease to exist. Thousands more would literally break down. Millions of employees would instantly be less productive or lose their jobs.
Without SaaS, there'd be no mobile workforce. No real-time collaboration or video conferencing.
Without SaaS, the world would be different. And without IT, it wouldn't be possible.
Let's continue this discussion at Next! BetterCloud, Cloudbakers, and AODocs will be hosting "A Brew with the Google Cloud Crew" on the evening of conference Day 2. RSVP to save your spot!
Who Is Supposed To Own Digital Transformation?


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Frankfurt – or Frankfurt-on-the-Main to give it its full name – is Germany's high-powered finance and business centre, home to one of the world's largest stock exchanges and the headquarters of the European Central Bank. This city of glass, steel and concrete skyscrapers is an awe-inspiring sight and hosts some of the world's most important trade fairs and attracts thousands of business travellers every year.
Scratch beneath the ultra-modern skyline, however, and there's even more waiting to be discovered. In the shadow of the skyscrapers sits a tantalisingly traditional city full of charm, boasting great appeal for visitors, especially in the medieval Altstadt (old city) complete with its half-timbered buildings. This friendly and relaxed city is a must for shopaholics and foodies, as well as being home to the best collection of museums in Germany outside Berlin.
We have several pick-up locations for hiring a car in and around the city, including at the airport, allowing you the opportunity to explore many wonderful old towns in Hesse and the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg,as well as the spellbindingly beautiful Rhine Valley.
Frankfurt may be best known as the birthplace of Germany's greatest writer, but there's more to the city than Goethe. Germany's financial and business hub has played a key role in the country's history and has many fine old buildings to prove it. It's also a city of reinvention, with a new generation making their mark on this city.
The Römerberg is Frankfurt's grand old central square, seen at its very best during the city's Christmas market in December. The square is lined with beautifully ornate gabled half-timbered buildings, rebuilt after the Second World War, the most notable of which is the iconic Römer, the city's town hall since 1405. Nearby is the circular St Paul's Church (Paulskirche), which hosted the first German National Assembly after the March Revolution of 1848, as the country took its first tentative steps towards democracy.
A short walk from here is the soaring Gothic St Bartholomew's Cathedral (Kaiserdom) where kings were elected and emperors crowned over 450 years. Close by, the Goethe House and Museum stand on the site of his birthplace. The 17th century building, destroyed by bombs in the Second World War, has been faithfully restored.
One of the tallest and most distinctive of Frankfurt's many skyscrapers, the Main Tower, looms high over the city, some 200 metres above street level. Soar to the top of the observation platform, situated on the 56th floor and reached by lift in a mere 45 seconds. It's surrounded by the skyscrapers that inspire Frankfurt's nickname of 'Main-hattan'. Atop this forest canopy of business, you can enjoy unrivalled views of the entire city far below. Watch Frankfurt stretch out in front of you and marvel at the pace of life passing by. Make sure to stop off for a spot of lunch to accompany your fantastic vistas at the 53rd-floor restaurant, or enjoy refreshments at the cocktail lounge next door.
Frankfurt has more than its fair share of museums and galleries, including the MMK (modern art), the Liebighaus (sculpture) and the Schirn (modern and contemporary exhibitions). If you only have time for one, though, make it the Städel, which showcases art from the Middle Ages to today. Founded in 1815, this world-renowned art gallery has an outstanding collection of European art from masters including Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Renoir, Picasso and Cézanne, as well as contemporary works by the likes of Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter.
Make the most of Frankfurt's geographical location and use it as a launch pad to explore the many historic towns and cities of the Rhine Valley. Just 44km west is the old cathedral city of Mainz, with a rich heritage dating back to Roman times. This is best seen in the excellent Roman-Germanic Central Museum and the Museum of Ancient Navigation, with stunning full-scale replicas of Roman galleons. Across the Rhine from Mainz stands the impressive city of Weisbaden, the state capital of Hesse. It's one of Europe's oldest spa towns, with many of its hot springs still flowing today. South along the Rhine is the picturesque town of Worms, one of the oldest in the country, famous for its spectacular 11th-century Cathedral of St Peter.
Further south from Frankfurt, on the banks of the Neckar River in the state of Baden-Württemberg, is the perfectly-preserved city of Heidelberg, home to the oldest university in Germany. It's a popular destination due to its magnificent hilltop castle and the beautiful baroque buildings that line the streets of the Old Town. Whether it's at the beginning or end of your visit, car hire in Frankfurt will truly allow you to delve into every nook and cranny of this wonderful area.
Situated at the heart of both Europe and Germany, and home to Europe's fourth busiest airport, Frankfurt is an important traffic hub and has excellent road access to all parts of the country. If flying in, you can collect your hire car at Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport, 20 km south-west of the city centre, via the A66 and A5. The A66 continues west past the airport turn-off to Weisbaden, a 30-minute drive, and then meets the A643 which runs south across the Rhine to Mainz, which is 40 minutes from Frankfurt.
From Mainz it's only 45 minutes south on the A63 and A61 to the historic town of Worms, on the banks of the Rhine. You can reach the beautiful old city of Heidelberg by heading due south on the A5 from Frankfurt. The A5 continues south to Freiberg, gateway to the scenic delights of the Black Forest.
Frankfurt's old town is compact. On-street parking in the centre is quite limited, so if you're parking in the city it's advisable to use one of the well-signposted car parks or one of the park-and-rides that circle the city and are cheap, or even free, to use.
Driving in Germany is on the right, as it is throughout mainland Europe. The speed limit on motorways (autobahns) is 130 km/h though it's important to note that many parts of the Autobahn have no actual top speed limit, which is indicated by a circular white sign with five diagonal black lines. On main roads the limit is 100 km/h and on urban roads it's 50 km/h. Seatbelts are essential for all, while children under 12 must use a child seat or restraint. Our local branch team will be able to help you with any specific queries you may have about driving rules in Germany.
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 0700-2100, Sa-Su 0800-1700.
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 0800-1800, Sa 0800-1200, Su on request.


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text:
Q: How to remove .py extension while using os.listdir In my code, I want to execute import filename for all the files that are present in a directory. I have a file abc.py under workspace.
I am currently doing the following :
for filename in os.listdir(homedir/workspace)
    exec "import " + filename
    filename = eval(filename + '.function(variable)')

The problem is that instead of doing import abc, it is doing import abc.py, and then showing the error no module named py
How can I resolve this?
Thanks in advance!

A: You can use os.path.splitext
os.path.splitext(filename)[0]

Of the returned two element array, the first element is just the filename, the second element is the extension. To be extra safe, you could double check that you did indeed grab a .py file:
if os.path.splitext(filename)[1] == '.py':
    # do stuff

A: To run .function(variable) for all Python files in a directory:
import os
import sys
from importlib import import_module

dirpath = 'homedir/workspace'
sys.path.append(dirpath)
for filename in os.listdir(path)
    module_name, ext = os.path.splitext(filename)
    if ext == '.py':
       try:
           result = import_module(module_name).function(variable)
       except Exception as e:
           sys.stderr.write('error: %s: %s\n' % (filename, e))
           continue
       else:
           print('%s: %s' % (filename, result))

See also Building a minimal plugin architecture in Python.

A: You can use glob:
import glob
import os
os.chdir("/mydir")
for file in glob.glob("*.py"):
    # do something with file

Read this to make sure You really want to use exec

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text:
Trainings,Camp,Conferences
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International Jobs - Find a job
More on US/China naval dialog and J-20 project
In my last post, I talked about China's participation in the Rim PAC 2014 exercise. As this was happening, Admiral Greenert, Chief of US naval operation, made a visit to China and was the first US (possibly first foreign) service member to visit CV-16 Dalian and speak to its crew member. You can see the DOD article here.
Admiral Greenert had what seems to be a good overview and very frank conversations with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Wu about the near future of Chinese naval aviation program. I don't think it's a surprise to Chinese naval followers that they are building another STOBAR carriers similar to CV-16 before moving on to a more modern design. And it's certainly not a surprise that he saw all of the Russian equipments ripped out and replaced with brand new Chinese ones, because that's what we've seen from all of the TV reports. Even so, I really do encouraged at the increased level of communication and discussion between the two sides even though they have feel like they are dealing with possible adversaries. That's the kind of discussions that will hopefully eliminate or at least reduce miscommunications in the future. Greenert also visit a 039B (Improved Yuan) class submarine and some other ships in the North Sea Fleet around where CV-16 is based. The 039B that he boarded was one of the most recently commissioned PLAN submarine, so it certainly seems like Chinese navy is not holding back. From that, I get 2 thoughts:
China is certainly reciprocating US efforts for greater transparency. It is also showing greater transparency in general.
Biggest factor to the greater transparency and willingness to show what they have could be their improved hardware and professionalism. A large part of China's secrecy is due to not wanting to be embarrassed with less advanced ships and non-professional crew members.
There has also been more news coming out on the J-20 project. The new prototype No. 2012 has made its maiden flight. From all the pictures I've seen so far, it seems to have minimal changes from Prototype No. 2011. The word is No. 2013 and 2014 will also be coming out sometime this year for test flights. So, I think they will now start comprehensive flight testing programs. On SDF, one of my fellow PLA watcher compared the first 2 flying J-20 prototypes (no. 2001 and 2002) to YF-22 while comparing this new batch of prototypes to the F-22 EMD program. It took over 5 years from the first flight of F-22 EMD prototype to the first production F-22 being delivered to Nellis AFB. I would say it will probably take similar amount of type for the first production batch of J-20s to be delivered (so around second half of 2019). Even though the Russians have been saying production version of PAK-FA will be delivered in 2016, I think there is a good chance that won't happen and we will see the 2 aircraft enter service at around the same time.
Present acquisition plans of Chinese air force
China's military expenditure
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For immigrants from Latin America, Africa, India, China, etc. you must read this article
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Room 4 Dargaville Intermediate School : Breakfast time!
Kia Ora. Welcome to Room 4 DIS Class blog for 2013- check out what we are up to!
Thanks for your comments. We greatly appreciate your feedback!
Room 4 kids will be participating in this charity this year so that we can give a Christmas to a child in need please check out the link to see what we need to do.
Papakura Marae - Room 6 really enjoyed going to the Papakura Marae this week. We learnt poi, te rakau, flax weaving and bread making.
Our school camp this year is at Motutapu Island- the children have started fundraising to cover the cost of this . Check out their website to see what your children will be participating in. Roll on September!
We all love games so -give some maths games a go!
An awesome way to create a story from scratch with the pictures already drawn for you!
A great way to make learning fun!
Some of our favourite links!
How you as parents can help at home with your child's learning.


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One would think that considering that their debt, or rather about 60% of it, was haircut over the past 2 days, the Greeks would be grateful to Germany who not only orchestrated this transaction over the vocal protests of her French vertically challenged counterpart, but effectively has pledged a substantial portion of German GDP to preserve not only the Greek welfare state but soon that of all the other European countries. One would be wrong.
And the most ominous sign is that we already are seeing animosity between ordinary people on both sides of the table, people who are part of the proverbial 99%, and who have nothing to do with the disgusting arrangements at the top whose only purpose is to enrich the already uber-rich.
If that last one isn't very concerning, re-read it enough times until it is.
And while geographical proximity between Greece and Germany may be a redeeming feature to what are already preambles to outright aggression, when will geography no longer matter: when the Greek "experiment" moves to Portugal? To Belgium? To France? Is it time to start plant more trees in the Ardennes forest?


Pride is having a feeling that you are more important or you think you are better than others. Some people are not aware of themselves being prideful at times because they are busy checking others that they forget to have themselves check.
While we are all living in a fallen world and all of us are imperfect, we are all vulnerable to pride. I believe one of the first gifts of the Holy Spirit gave to each person who recently surrendered his or her life to Christ is no other than "peace". If you can't find peace, you feel oppressed or your prayers are not answered, search for God's will but first look for pride. Yes pride, because pride above all blocks miracles.
There are times I fail to look at it when leading people. When a person has given the authority to execute, administer, and lead people, I have observed that some leaders have the tendency to fight for uniformity than unity.
I have learned that unity is accepting the differences of the people I am leading in terms of background, beliefs, perspective and opinion, and use them as an advantage to work as a team and not enforcing what you want for the person to do even it is not aligned to his or her values or what he or she wants to do.
Some leaders think that if one member of his team opposing his ideas and goals could be divisive. No! It's an advantage for a leader when someone speaks out his or her mind because it will strike a balance to the team.
Because when you force them to do what you want and threatened them — you are enforcing yourself to them and not giving them an opportunity to grow — that's uniformity, sacrificing unity for the sake of uniformity is a big No-no for me.
A person can be in a spiritual stress if he or she came to the point of comparing his or her ministry achievements to others. Don't get me wrong about here, it is always better to check our inner motives. Why do we brag this accomplishment to others? Sometimes spiritual stress causes anxiety because a person is seeking self- admiration and self-glory for the things he did for God that leads to other manifestations.
If a leader doesn't have trust to his or her team members, he or she will have the tendency to do all the things that other members can do better than him. In this way, the person may be seeking admiration from others and would like to take credit for what he has done.
When you don't trust others, you don't delegate tasks. You are relying on yourself and simply telling God that you don't need him because you don't think your members can do it. Isn't it God gave you the team to serve with?
Sometimes we are unaware of this, hidden superiority exists when we insist what we want , even others don't like it.
When a leader listened to suggestions from his or her members yet, he does the exact opposite of it because he thinks he is right all the time, not being teachable is a hidden superiority.
When there is over-ambition, there is competition. Competition can be healthy but not all the time. I have joined short term missions trip to other nations twice already, I don't agree when a leader told his or her co-workers of competing with him in the ministry. There are no competitions in the ministry! All of the members are working for the advancement of the Kingdom God in the nations not seeking glory for themselves.
Pride blocks happiness destroys unity and can destroy one's hope. I have learned not to blame Satan or the enemy when we feel we are being attacked because he wants it, he wants us to think of him, he wants to distract us from our purpose. When we are prideful, I think it's better to ask God to reveal more of it and blame ourselves instead because we hardened our hearts.
But there's good news. The cure for pride is no other than love. Love more, give more and let go of what you're holding just like what God did for us.
He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to live the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died that gives us eternal life when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, He gave everything so we could not boast to ourselves that we earn it. It is free.


Over the summer, I pulling myself out of bed at 5 am to get in a ride before work. After a couple of days, I was hooked. It was great having energy during the day and knowing that my exercise was out of the way.
Fall came and I dedicated myself to the trainer and treadmill because I just couldn't roll out of bed and go exercise in the cold.
Tonight, I hit the road after the kids went to bed. It was great! I put in a 45 min ride up and down some big hills. It beats the heck out of exercising indoors.
I should sell my treadmill and trainer and buy gigawatts worth of lights. Right now, I am using a 10 watt halogen and cateye TL1000 tail light. I NEED MORE POWER!
Over the summer, I learned to use the cyclocross bike for the night rides with the 32mm tires. I figure I won't cry if I destroy my crappy bontrager wheels.
I have been going crazy trying to figure out how to attach more tail lights to my bike. I have a 2006 Lemond Poprad and I don't know how to attach a traditional rack to it. I was thinking of putting on a mountain bike rack just to have more mounting locations for lights.
Also, I am looking for recommendations for a 28 or preferably 32 mm tire with reflective sidewalls. Any suggestionss out there?
Other night riding tips are welcomed.
Have you seen the IllumiLite clothing reflective clothing? If I rode more at night, I would seriously consider those. I'm also running a Cateye TL-1000, but I use an EL-300 at the front. When I do ride at night, it is in the city on lighted streets. I do wear bright jerseys day or night, but that's as far as I have gone so far.
As Flatlander_48 recommends, I wear clothing with Illuminite stitching to make myself visable. I also use a rear flashing tailight and until recently was using 10W halogen lights. I've since upgraded to a Light in Motion HID light which not only dwarfs my old Halogen, but also seems to force drivers of automobiles to take notice. Its also lighter weight and lasts far longer than anything else I've used. Definitely worth the expense.
I ride quite a bit at night now. The illuminite stuff rocks - I have their arm and leg warmers. I frequently wear them at night even when its not cold enough just for the extra visibility.
Good idea on the illuminite. I need to get a cycling jacket anyhow. I am also thinking about getting some of those flashing LED ankle bands to wear.
Bikes: avanti vivace, repco piece of $#IT and a raleigh mtn bike.
My father seems to think its a crime to ride in the dark! It s#!TS me to tears lol. I would love to do more night riding! What prices are you looking at for a really powerful set of lights?
I do 20 miles at night. I just got back right now. Left late tonight to go out. Its safer around here to ride at night. I can see the cars coming at the crossing streets by looking for headlights. Very nice.
As far as tires go Vredestein make an interesting tire called the Prefect Moiree, http://www.vredestein.com/Fietsbande...FietsSoortID=2 with reflective sidewalls plus they have other tires with the reflective side walls as well. Its not a lightweight tire but its suitable for fast urban use.
If you look at the lights sticky in the commuter section, the sky is the limit. In the short term, I will probably throw another 10 watt halogen on the front for around $100.00 I was thinking of aiming one up higher than the second. I am much more concerned about making myself more visible from the back and will put my money into a niterider taillight and/or more rigging to add more blinking lights back there.
Part of my strategy is to use a sturdy bike so I don't need to see every detail on the road.
In a strange way I felt safer riding at night. Cars gave me plenty of room and waited if needed to pass me without honking or brushing me. I guess they were shocked to see me or more likely just weren't in a hurry.
When I rode in the morning, people would honk at me even if no one was in the oncoming lane. I think they were just upset that I was out riding and they were on their way to work. I was surprised because it was before 6am and very few cars are out.
Thank you for the tire recommendation. My local LBSs really don't have a wide selection of tires so I will have to mail order tires and recommendations are valuable.
Thanks for the links! The helment cover is another good idea.
I just wish that made a heavier jacket for winter riding, although I cannot seem to find the Xenon model.
According to illuminite's web site, the Contravento is their winter cycling jacket. Have you seen it?
I just got a 13 watt HID system at BatterySpace.com that I am quite happy with. Can't wait to do a nighttime century one of these days with it. Can't believe how nice it is riding with enough light at night.
I use a neat little light by Nite-Hawk called the Digital Emmitter.
I ride with some guys who have halogen and this thing is about as bright as a 10w halogen. It has a much bluer light though, and a longer run time (something like 9 hours on 4 AA batteries). There's another version called the Emmitter(same as digital emmitter just fewer power settings) and Nashbar had 'em for $45 a while back. Great little light - only bad thing is for some reason it wigs out my wireless computers. I have 2 and it messes with both of them.
For tail lights I have a clip on LED blinky on my helmet, one under my seat on my saddle bag, and a red flashing ankle band around my ankle. I also frequently wear the illuminite arm/leg warmers and a high-vis yellow decente vest. If they can't see me then they're freakin' blind and shouldn't be driving anyway.
For rear lighting, I think it's important to have redundant lights in case one fails.
at swps.net, it's a polic supply house.
strapped to the helmet, I have a Nite Rider 15W that lets me blind oncoming drivers.
on the back pack, I have two flashing strips from ems.
on the bike, I have a small blinking red light bought at an lbs.
I think this is pretty much all you need in a suburban/city setting. I used to ride singletrack with just that 15W light at night.
Don't let the dark, cold, or rain stop you.
Not yet, but thanks for the reference!
This is an excellent source for batteries and lights if the price tag on the Designer lights is too much for your pocketbook. Betteryspace has an HID with Li-Ion bike light package for under $200!
Just a tidbit. Here in Maryland, IT IS illegal to ride your bike at night without any lights. But yeah, to ban it completely without compromise would really be ridiculous.
Its easier to see them comming up from behind too.
There are also those red lights that fit in the ends of your road bars. There are some taillights that attach to a battery pack with the front light and they seem to be the brightest.
If you really want to be noticed you can also get a lot of litewire. It is basically a small wire coated with phosphorescence and then a plastic coating in your color of choice over that. A small 2- AA battery pack attaches to it and lights the wire up. Get plenty and don't worry that it will be to bright. The wire is simular to wire in a light electrical coard so it is plenty flexible. You could tape it to all parts of your frame and light your frame up. I can tell you that pink is definatly brighter than orange as I have both colors. (pink for my daughter and orange for me) You could even attach some to the back of your jacket or camelback for extra visability. Here are a couple of eb sites with it so you can see what I am talking about.
However the cold cathode tube will make the ground below you even glow and you will be noticed with this more than anything else out there that I have ever seen! I have seen a couple of road bikes going by with them on and wow do they get noticed.


The Galaxy S10 marks the first time in a long time where choosing the smaller Galaxy S flagship won't result in losing significant camera capabilities. Both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ ship with a triple camera system around back, which also marks the first generation Samsung is using an ultra-wide angle camera on its phones. This ultra-wide angle camera is the biggest change coming from the Galaxy Note 9, as the standard and telephoto camera are otherwise identical to what we saw on Samsung's best 2018 flagship.
To see every picture comparison we have for the Galaxy S10, head on over to the gallery on Flickr.
It's the ultra-wide angle lens that represents the most exciting new addition to Samsung's lineup and joins ranks with LG and Huawei in having such abilities. Samsung chose a wider angle than everyone else by several degrees, coming in at 123-degrees, making this the absolute widest angle smartphone camera on the market. Simply put, that means you'll see more of the whole scene at once, but it also means there's going to be a tad bit of distortion due to having a fisheye lens.
During the day you'll notice that the Galaxy S10's ultra-wide angle camera produces images with wider dynamic range than both the Huawei Mate 20 Pro and the LG V40 ThinQ. During these brighter conditions, the Galaxy S10's ultra-wide angle camera is the best you'll find.
In any kind of lower lighting, however, the performance significantly degrades when compared to the other two major phones with an ultra-wide angle lens. The pixel size on this 16-megapixel camera is quite a bit smaller than what's on the main 12-megapixel camera and, as a result, noise elevates significantly in lower lighting.
Oddly enough, Samsung appears to be using a different type of processing for the ultra-wide angle camera in low light than it does with the main camera. On the main camera, lower lighting typically allows a bit more noise into the shot to preserve detail, but this doesn't appear to be the case on the ultra-wide angle one. The result is something more akin to muddy than clear.
Dynamic range is still pretty wide and the shots are plenty bright, but fine detail gets lost very quickly, and even in a well-lit restaurant just looks soft and cheap. Whether or not you'd ever zoom into a photo enough to see this result may be another conversation entirely, so this issue may be less relevant than if it happened on the other two cameras.
As we saw on the Galaxy Note 9, the 12-megapixel main rear camera is an incredibly solid performer in any lighting condition. The two biggest negatives come in the form of color reproduction and fine detail. Colors tend to be a tad on the warm side, which isn't offensive by any means, but it's not color accurate either.
Fine detail can sometimes be lacking, as has been the case for a significant number of generations now, but Samsung has improved this over the past 2 years in particular. Samsung's processing tends to over-scrub noise out of a scene which results in reduced fine detail on objects. This is more apparent when a scene requires extra HDR processing and is similar to what LG does on the V40.
This loss of fine detail is more apparent on the telephoto camera, which shows less detail than other telephoto cameras out there in many situations.
Even the Pixel 3 often beats the Galaxy S10's telephoto camera in sheer detail, which obviously should not happen given that the Pixel 3 only uses a single camera system with the same megapixel count as the Galaxy S10's main camera, yet it's clear Google's software tricks do a better job of producing a nicer zoomed in image than Samsung's dedicated hardware solution in some lighting conditions.
All three cameras do an exemplary job at capturing motion though, even in lower lighting conditions, and this is where Samsung seems to have made the single biggest improvement over previous generations. When compared to the Pixel 3 there's seemingly no contest; Samsung's Galaxy S10 takes clearer, less blurry pictures than Google's latest flagship in every lighting condition we tested movement in.
Folks with kids will particularly appreciate this, as I had no issue taking pictures of my 5-year-old son in any lighting condition with the Galaxy S10, and it frequently was either the best or tied with the best performers in all of these cases. That ultra-fast dual-pixel focusing system is really paying off here, and the f/1.5 dual-aperture helps lower shutter speeds in these types of lighting conditions on that main camera, resulting in sharper imagery.
Moving onto low light shots with less movement, you'll find that the Galaxy S10's camera performs essentially identically to the Galaxy Note 9. It excels at providing a super balanced image that has lots of detail, good dynamic range and prioritizes light sources being blown out. Shots end up being slightly darker than the Mate 20 Pro, but considerably brighter than the Pixel 3 in auto mode in most cases.
As we've seen in the past, Samsung is not afraid to let a little noise into lower light shots to keep them from looking muddy, and these shots tend to look crisper than photos taken in bright light with the Galaxy S10. In auto mode, the Galaxy S10 tends to trade blows with the V40 in many moderately low light shots.
Very low light shots are probably the biggest disappointment with the camera, as Samsung still doesn't have a proper night mode. Most of the time you'll find that taking low light shots uses the standard auto mode, even with scene detection enabled, and there's no way to force what's called Bright Night mode. Rather, you have to hope that the automatic scene detection switches to this new mode when it's needed most.
Even then you may find that auto mode just turns out a better picture, even if it's a darker one. Bright Night isn't nearly as effective at its task when compared to other night modes, especially Google's Night Sight or Huawei's night mode. As a result, there was almost never a situation where Bright Night picture looked visually preferable to a shot taken without this functionality enabled.
Bright Night mode's problems are two-fold, and they're entirely situationally dependent. Some scenes don't appear much brighter than when just using auto mode, if at all, and even when they are brighter the loss in detail is almost never worth it.
Quality is mostly neck-and-neck with LG's auto night mode, which a similar idea on the surface, but achieves the goal very differently on both the back-end and user-facing end. LG's method uses pixel binning to take photos nearly instantly, while Samsung's method asks you to hold the phone still for a few seconds while it captures several photographs and stitches them together.
Given the time difference and the lack of any substantial quality difference in most shots, LG's method seems to work better for this style of auto night mode. Oftentimes, keeping scene detection off resulted in a nicer picture and the quality performance was more predictable with this setting turned off.
Speaking of predictable, Samsung has added a few cool new features to the camera software this time around. Utilizing that new generation neural processing unit (NPU) inside the Snapdragon 855, Samsung has designed a way for the NPU to analyze the viewfinder in real time and come up with suggestions for each shot.
Sometimes this simply tells you to slightly adjust the angle you're looking at to better frame a subject, while other times it might tell you to switch to one of the other two cameras instead, either zooming in with the telephoto camera to focus more on a single point, or using the ultra-wide angle camera to take in the whole scene.
My biggest complaint with the software is the continued use of the carousel design that's completely taken over the industry. Samsung started the iPhoneification of its software on the Galaxy S9 and now has very little differentiation between it and Apple's design language. Much of this is Google's fault, as Samsung is just following what Google is doing, and it shows in the user experience overall.
Up until the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung users were able to record a video or take a picture without ever having to switch a mode. Now you have to swipe and wait just to do either of these things, and the same goes with switching to any of the other modes on the camera.
Other than being exactly like an iPhone, there's almost no reason for a manufacturer to switch to this type of interface. It's slower, clunkier, doesn't show all available modes in a single pane of glass, and is far too easy to accidentally swipe anywhere on the screen and change the mode or swap cameras.
Pro mode is at least excellent, despite still not having pro controls for video recording. Shutter speed adjustments up to 10 seconds in length are great, but you can still only select up to 800 ISO. Samsung's apparent fear of allowing high ISO on its cameras is a bit perplexing, especially given that manufacturers like Sony and Huawei regularly push the boundaries of how high ISO can go.
Manual focus features focus peaking, a way to see what the camera is focusing on by way of green highlights around objects in focus. This means that manual focus is actually usable on the Galaxy S10, joining the ranks of the LG V-series, among a scant few others. Many phones forget steps like this, which assist users in getting the shot focused without professional tools.
Samsung has added in a ton of new advanced video modes with the Galaxy S10, but there's a bit of a caveat to all of them; they only work on the main rear camera, not the ultra-wide angle or telephoto cameras. That includes the new 4K HDR video feature and the new super stable video mode, as well as 4K 60FPS recording.
4K HDR isn't too much of a loss though as, quite frankly, HDR recording on a phone is pretty useless at this point in time. We took several videos using the HDR setting but have walked away with the opinion that it's simply not a feature that will provide value for the vast majority of people, and even the ones that might find it useful will likely find the tools provided are a bit lacking.
For instance, one of the HDR videos was rotated incorrectly from the get-go, which would normally be a non-issue since you can normally rotate video right in the photo gallery. The gallery doesn't support rotating or editing HDR video of any kind, unfortunately, so it's impossible to edit this footage on the phone.
Try importing it into any popular video editor, even professional tools like Adobe Premiere, and you'll find it's not easy to edit it in those programs either without running into issues. The bottom line is that HDR video is still something meant for professionals, and the tools Samsung provides here don't help that image in any way.
Thankfully, image stabilization is quite excellent, as is overall exposure. You'll find that in 4K the Galaxy S10 does a better job of nailing the exposure than the Pixel 3 in our sample videos, and is equally as smooth as the best phones on the market during movements like walking.
Samsung has added a new Super Stable mode that only works up to 1080p resolution, but can be easily toggled via single button press on the top of the viewfinder. This essentially toggles between the default set resolution and 1080p and provides an easy one-button-press way to add additional stabilization to the mix when needed.
Advanced stabilization is not available for use with the ultra-wide angle or telephoto cameras.
Likewise, limiting 4K60FPS video to the main camera is quite a missed opportunity, especially since the LG V40 ThinQ has no problem using both the ultra-wide angle and telephoto cameras at that resolution and frame rate.
Thankfully at 4K30 the Galaxy S10 does a great job of providing a more delay-free way of switching between all available cameras, while the V40 has a noticeable pause when swapping between all three. Hardware reasons aside, the user experience is far smoother on the Galaxy S10, whether it's simply pressing the buttons on the interface to toggle between all three cameras, or just dragging the slider to dynamically swap between them.
Low light brings a rather large dichotomy between the standard and ultra-wide angle cameras, which is to be expected given the pixel size difference between the sensors but is unfortunate nonetheless. That f/2.4 lens is also unable to bring in as much light as the main camera's lens, and with these two combined factors, you're inevitably going to have a darker video when using the ultra-wide angle camera.
The ultra-wide angle camera records smoother, brighter and more detailed video than what the Huawei Mate 20 Pro can do, but the LG V40 ThinQ does a better job with its ultra-wide angle camera than both of those phones.
In our video review, we ran an audio test recording a live performance at a brewery on St. Patrick's Day. Results of this test conclude that the Galaxy S10's audio recording performance is good, but not the best. Audio is very center-weighted and sounds a tad flat, but Samsung does a good job of leveling volume automatically without obvious volume adjustment after-effects. This keeps distortion down, especially when recording loud environments like that.
Lastly, we'll take a look at the front-facing camera. This is the area where Samsung made one of its biggest improvements on the Galaxy Note 9, and the Galaxy S10 continues that improvement. The Galaxy S10 is safely in the top of the top best front-facing cameras, especially when considering the secondary 8MP camera on the Galaxy S10+, which is used exclusively to capture better depth information in portrait mode.
The Pixel 3 still delivers pictures that look more punchy, but tend to look overly harsh in conditions with lots of contrast like a bright, sunny day. The Pixel 3's pictures tend to look hyper-real instead of real, while the Galaxy S10 just looks nicer, with more realistic colors and skin tones. We did not use beauty mode in our comparison tests for any of the phones to give you an idea of the least processed output.
The Galaxy S10+'s new depth camera on the front does an excellent job at front-facing portrait mode, which is a massive improvement over all previous Samsung phones, as those really just did a terrible job at object detection in this mode. You'll see worse edge detection on the standard S10, unfortunately.
Both phones are able to record up to 4K quality on that front-facing camera, which is a step up from the previous generation and adds a level of crispness not found on other phones.
Low light is awash between most phones we've tested and doesn't show all that much difference in quality performance between any of these four.
The Galaxy S10 has an odd wide-angle setting on the front camera, but the standard view is really just a crop of the wide-angle one, making it a bit of a strange option to provide.
At the end of the day, the Galaxy S10 family provides a very positive camera experience. This is particularly interesting because it's the best in very few situations, but it's also almost never the worst, either. It's sort of a happy middle ground in all areas with particular strong suits in a few.
Quality restrictions in the video mode hurt it when compared to the LG V40, and a lack of a real night mode puts it behind many other phones that have launched with such a feature. If those aren't deal breakers for you, however, it's likely the Galaxy S10 will provide the most well-balanced experience of any phone on the market, especially if you have children or pets to take pictures of.


Long term benzodiazepine use can provoke behavioral side effects. Withdrawal may take months or years to get past with discomfort being part of the process. The problem is going to continue getting worse as more people are dealing with prescription medication addiction. Learn more about the behavioral side effects of benzodiazepine use and how to seek help.
Benzodiazepine medication works by increasing neuronal inhibition mediated by GABA or gamma-aminobutyric acid which leads to suppression of the electrical impulses and activity in all regions of the brain and spinal cord. The largest number of benzo receptors are concentrated in the cerebral cortex.
The frontal lobe of the brain dealing with reasoning can be subject to sedative effects. When the frontal lobe's function is suppressed, people experience reduced judgment, impaired cognition and executive abilities which make a person act impulsively.
Behavioral Disinhibition can be detected in any person who consumes alcohol or drugs which act as depressants of the central nervous system (CNS). Benzos fall into this category as damage to the frontal lobe of the brain occurs and disinhibition of the frontal cortex from self-regulation and control occurs. The lack of control experienced causes a person to act in ways that bring about potential consequences.
Several groups of people are more susceptible to developing issues. These populations include kids, the elderly, individuals in stressful environments and those who suffer from mental health issues.
When dealing with benzo side effects it can feel isolating. The best thing to do for coping is to connect with others who share the same situation and understand the experience. Seeking professional support can also help deal with the side effects.
Blueprints supports young adults who are facing recovery from addiction. Every person is unique and we tailor our programs to fit your needs. Call us to find out how we can best support you or a young adult you know struggling with addiction recovery.


So I am imagining that you have read the headline for this piece and are immediately outraged. How very dare you, opine writer? How dare you come and tell me that my mental health illness is fake?
Well, bear with me here.
Let me start off by saying that mental health issues are important and we need to talk about them more. People shouldn't feel ashamed of mental illnesses that they suffer and should be able to openly discuss them the same way we discuss physical illnesses. Most people are not faking their struggles and too often suffer in silence.
However, some people – and these people are a minority – use their mental illness as an excuse for all their faults.
Take Kanye West as an example. West claimed that slavery was a choice in a now infamous interview on TMZ that left the interviewers stunned and speechless. It was a worrying rant that many felt merely demonstrated how estranged West had become from the very community he is supposed to represent. The incident was later attributed in part to West's alleged bipolar personality disorder.
But that's not an excuse.
There are so many people that struggle with mental health problems that don't go on racist tirades. Take Kristen Bell, actor and star of Frozen: she has spoken frequently about her own struggle with depression for years. She has yet to go on a crazy diatribe or as far as I know say anything that is massively problematic. It doesn't excuse West's other seemingly random and unhinged twitter rants, that range from his rant on Drake to calling himself god.
It maybe explains it, but it is not an excuse. When it comes to criminals, a severe untreated mental health problem can be an explanation for why someone shot up a school or murdered a random passer-by. But it doesn't excuse it. These criminals are not then allowed to walk free. No, they are convicted as normal, sometimes with sympathetic sentencing and committed to a secure mental facility. They deserve our sympathy for sure, and we should absolutely try to bolster our mental health facilities so that this doesn't happen again but we don't and we shouldn't allow it to be an exonerating excuse.
This is a worrying trend.
Public figures are increasingly using their supposed mental health problems as an excuse for their abhorrent behaviours.
Just look at Harvey Weinstein – he claimed that the slew of allegations of sexual harassment against him were a manifestation of a mental health problem that if he merely went on to a facility would be fixed. A systematic abuse of women cannot be excused with a meek apology and crying 'mental health.' We need to be more aware of this incredibly worrying trend. It detracts from those who really do have sincere struggles and labels everyone suffering as overreacting and inauthentic.
I am all for having patience for those with mental health problems who genuinely struggle with simple day to day tasks. I have grown up with a parent with a serious disability and know only too well how even small tasks can seem complicated and insurmountable. But, this, this is where I draw the line. It doesn't excuse all of your crappy behaviours.
Your mental health illness is not a get out of jail free card.


This week An Phoblacht details the reasons why Irish republicans are calling for a 'No' vote in the forthcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The referendum date has yet to be set but it is expected in May. This is another important milestone for democracy in Ireland and nothing less is at stake than the ability of the Irish people to determine our future politically and economically. It is vital that all Sinn Féin members and supporters are mobilised because this is a winnable referendum for the forces of progress.
This week has witnessed the Green Party leadership throw in its lot with the larger establishment parties in the 26 Counties in calling for a 'Yes' vote on the treaty.
It should never be forgotten that if successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led governments had had their way there would have been no referendum on the European Union after that which led to the accession of the 26-County state to the then European Community in 1972. A principled citizen, the late Raymond Crotty, challenged the constitutionality of the Irish Government's action in adopting the Single European Act in 1987. His victory in the courts meant that governments have had to refer to the people whenever treaties affecting the sovereignty of the 26 Counties have been proposed at EU level. Of course attempts by Irish governments to undermine democracy did not end there and other court battles had to be fought and won to ensure that Government money could not be spent on only one side in a referendum and that the broadcast media treated both sides fairly.
This means that today voters in the 26 Counties are in the unique position of being the only ones in the EU who will be able to vote on the Lisbon Treaty. The stakes are high for the current Fianna Fáil-led government and for their colleagues in the political establishment throughout the EU who want this Treaty passed.
Like its predecessors, the Lisbon Treaty takes more powers away from democratically elected parliaments in EU member states and vests those powers in an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels and Strasbourg. It further undermines our already greatly weakened ability to make economic and political decisions in the interests of the people of Ireland.
Two simple and recent examples illustrate the point. As a result of EU dictation the Irish government is no longer exempting schools from water charges, resulting in further financial strain on already hard-pressed schools. A laudable attempt by Dublin City Council to provide free 'wifi' broadband access to its citizens has been blocked by Brussels as 'anti-competitive'.
As usual the 'Yes' side will peddle the lie that a 'No' vote is a vote against EU membership. It is no such thing. It is a vote for stronger democracy at national and EU level. It is a vote for international peace and Irish neutrality. This referendum can be won by those calling for a 'No' vote and Sinn Féin will play a vital role in the campaign.


Ben Austrian (Pennsylvania, 1870-1921), baby chick with broken eggshell, oil on canvas, 8 x 10in. (13 x 15in. framed), signed, dated 1908. Est. $1,000-$2,000.
SOUTHAMPTON, PA.- Stephenson's Auctioneers, the Philadelphia and tri-state area's preferred estate specialists, will host a Summer Antiques & Decorative Arts Auction on Friday, September 7, 2018. The event will take place at Stephenson's gallery in Bucks County (suburban Philadelphia), with absentee, phone and Internet live-bidding options for those who cannot attend in person.
The 600-lot selection includes high-quality items from a variety of estates, residences and long-held collections. The auction will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time with 60 lots of precious coins from a Bucks County collection. It includes gold Kruggerands, Canadian coins, graded silver, platinum and palladium.
The collection includes gold Kruggerands, Canadian coins, graded silver, platinum and palladium.
"Coins are a really nice way to start a sale, as they attract collectors whose goal is to make them part of their investment portfolio. Many who don't have faith in the stock market turn to gold and silver coins as a hedge. They bid at a different level than dealers, whose goal is to resell," said Cindy Stephenson, owner of Stephenson's Auctioneers.
Collector favorites, Krugerrands are gold coins that were first produced by the South African Mint in 1967 to help market the nation's abundant gold supply. Each Kruggerand entered in Stephenson's sale contains one ounce of fine gold and is estimated at $900-$1,300. They are followed by Canadian palladium Maple Leafs, gold half-sovereigns, silver ingots, silver American Eagles and silver dollars; and other coins.
A physician's residence in Huntingdon Valley (Montgomery County), Pa., was the source of a 1968 Franklin Mint 'History of the United States' wooden-cased set containing 200 sterling silver medallions. Each medallion weighs 1.48ozt, and the set is complete with its original paperwork. This hefty treasure chest loaded with silver is expected to make $4,000-$6,000 on auction day.
Stephenson's will offer silver in other forms, such as a six-piece sterling silver tea service in Reed & Barton's Pattern 118. This exquisite set has a total weight of 126.535ozt and is estimated at $1,500-$2,500. The auction's array of silver lines up beautifully alongside the fine jewelry category, whose highlights include a 14K white gold engagement ring with a 1.89-carat round diamond solitaire. The sparkling gem is of I1 clarity and HIJ color. With its grading report included, it could reach $2,500-$5,000 at auction.
Three prized Pennsylvania paintings – two by Ben Austrian and one by Abner Zook – also came from the Huntingdon Valley doctor's residence.
Ben Austrian (1870-1921) was an artist from Reading, Pa., who gained fame from his paintings of baby chicks. It is said that he gained his inspiration from the flock of chicks he allowed to run freely around his studio. His best-known depiction is the hatching chick that the Bon-Ami company adopted for use on the front of their household cleanser, along with the slogan "Hasn't Scratched Yet." That image is used to this day. Original Ben Austrian oil-on-canvas paintings of chicks are highly sought after. Two such paintings are entered in Stephenson's Sept. 7 auction. Lot 428 shows a single peep gazing at a broken eggshell. Signed and dated 1908, the 8 by 10-inch work is estimated at $1,000-$2,000. Immediately following at Lot 429 is a similarly sized depiction of two peeps in a wicker basket. Signed and dated 1909, it, too, is estimated at $1,000-$2,000.
A widely collected folk artist who sometimes was called "the Grandma Moses of Pennsylvania," Abner Zook (1921-2010) created one of the sale's top highlights: a three-dimensional painting of a horse-drawn wagon passing through a covered bridge. It is an especially "busy" winter scene, with children ice-skating on a frozen river below the bridge and a dog running alongside the wagon. The wagon's passengers are dressed in traditional Amish attire, typical of Zook's work, which reflects Amish culture. Signed "Abner Zook, Womelsdorf, PA June 1985," it carries a $4,000-$8,000 estimate.
Other items worth of special mention include a Steinway Model A grand piano being offered with a no reserve and a $2,000-$5,000 estimate, a running-horse folk art weathervane from a Wachung, New Jersey estate, $500-$1,000; a consignment of books from Center City Philadelphia, and a Clarion, Pa., estate collection of sugar shakers, (6) spool cabinets and many other fine pieces. A Bucks County collection includes stylish designer handbags and vintage designer perfumes; while a Doylestown home was the source of a number of concrete and iron urns, garden gates and ornaments.


With the stockings all hung by your chimney with care it's time to start thinking about what's going to fill them. Like the appetizer before a meal, stocking stuffers set the tone for the Christmas morning. Make it a joyous tone with superior stocking stuffers from our marketplace! Spoil your children with fun toys, games, and clothing or shop for your significant other. Check out some of the great options available.
Clothing – Babies grow into infants grow into children grow into teenagers. All that growing means that you'll need to keep them in clothes almost constantly. For every stage of their lives keep them in clothing with our amazing selection. How about a baby bodysuit for your young child?
We also have fun dresses for your daughter in sizes ranging from newborn to 24 months.
If you are a parent who uses cloth diapers, or just loves to take your child swimming, a couple of diaper covers as stocking stuffers would be a great gift for your baby.
Toys & Treats – No child wants to receive only clothes in their stocking. Why not hide a few cool surprises underneath the new clothes to bring a smile to their face? Start off with a mini basketball hoop.
While Christmas is primarily about children adults love receiving gifts too. The stocking stuffers may be different than what you would give to children, but they joy they'll cause is no less memorable! Let's take a gander at some fun stocking stuffer ideas for adults.
Drinkware – The holidays can be very stressful, so why not take the edge off with an adult beverage or two? A cool hip flask in a Christmas stocking may garner a huge smile!
For the family member who is always on the go, and is always swilling coffee to stay energized, gift them a cool travel mug.
Is someone you love a gym rat? Keep them hydrated during their workout by giving them a water bottle.
Clothing & Accessories – Great for lounging, or for wearing underneath a dress during colder weather, our leggings will be a welcome stocking stuffer.
For fancy occasions an exquisite pair of cufflinks can turn heads. They'll be a pleasant surprise in any Christmas stocking.
No one ever went wrong buying someone they love a beautiful piece of jewelry! We have options from rings to bracelets to necklaces.
Electronics & Accessories – Holidays are usually the time when brands release new versions of their old tech. Make sure you are also on the cutting edge with custom electronics and accessories. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus just came out and you'll want to protect your investment. Grab one of our iPhone 7 cases!
We also carry Samsung cases.
Help them play Christmas music with a pair of headphones or a bluetooth speaker.
Electronic devices take a whole lot of juice. Does someone you love always complain that their phone/laptop/smartwatch is always dying on them? Stuff their stocking with a power bank or a USB charger.
*Whew* What a list of fun stocking stuffers, and there is something there for the whole family! Enjoy the holiday season and the smiles as your loved ones pull these gifts out of their stockings.
your thoughts prior to writing. I've had a difficult time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.


Vintage statue depicting a naked woman with long hair, Made in Italy, in Rolled Silver 925, good condition, minor wear and tear due to ageing.
Handcrafted with the utmost attention to detail.
Height 11 cm, width 13x7 cm, weight approximately 190 grams.


text:
Q: How to check if laptop screen is turn on? In my new laptop in Xubuntu 16.04 toggle screen Fn button is not working so I need to write a script that will toggle the display, for this to work I need to check if screen is on or off, how can I do that from command line?
I can use:
sudo vbetool dpms off/on

but I need to know which command to execute, I didn't test it yet because will need to turn my display on after I turn in off.

A: I've ended up with this script:
#!/bin/bash

file=/tmp/display

if [ -e $file ]; then
    rm $file
    sudo vbetool dpms on

else
    touch $file
    sudo vbetool dpms off
fi

A: xrandr can list the on screens for you. You can then grep any or all of their id's from there:
xrandr --listmonitors

I wrote a bash screen toggle script using it and mentioned it in a similar question:
Lubuntu: hotkey to toggle displays


text:
import Bmp180.CollectSample
import akka.actor.{Actor, ActorRef, Props}
import akka.event.Logging
import com.pi4j.io.i2c.{I2CBus, I2CFactory}

/**
  * The BMP180 is a pressure & temperature sensor from Bosch that connects to the I2C Bus.
  */
object Bmp180 {
  val DEFAULT_ADDRESS:Byte = 0x77.toByte

  val REG_CHIP_ID = 0xD0
  val REG_CONTROL = 0xF4
  val REG_TEMP = 0xF6
  val REG_AC1 = 0xAA
  val REG_AC2 = 0xAC
  val REG_AC3 = 0xAE
  val REG_AC4 = 0xB0
  val REG_AC5 = 0xB2
  val REG_AC6 = 0xB4
  val REG_B1 = 0xB6
  val REG_B2 = 0xB8
  val REG_MB = 0xBA
  val REG_MC = 0xBC
  val REG_MD = 0xBE

  val CHIP_ID = 0x55
  val SCO_MASK = 0x20 // Wait for this bit to clear before reading samples

  /**
    * Intiailizes a properties object for this Actor
    * @param bus the I2C bus number on the rPI for the device
    * @param address the address of the device on the I2C bus
    * @return a Props object to init the actor
    */
  def props(bus:Int, address:Byte = DEFAULT_ADDRESS):Props =  Props(new Bmp180(bus, address))

  /**
    * Send this message to the BMP180 actor once after actor creation to initialize the chip
    */
  case object Initialize

  /**
    * This actor will reply with this message when a sample is taken.
    * @param pressure atmospheric pressure in inches mercury
    * @param temperature temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
    * @param altitude current altitude above sea level in feet
    */
  case class Sample(pressure:Double, temperature:Double, altitude:Double)

  /**
    * Send the Bmp180 actor this message to start collecting a sample.
    * @param replyTo the actor to reply to with a Sample message.
    */
  case class CollectSample(replyTo:ActorRef)
}

class Bmp180(busId:Int, address:Byte) extends Actor {
  /**
    * OSS controls how many samples are taken.  In this case, we take 2^3 samples (8).  See BMP180 datasheet for
    * details, but we're not too concerned with a few uA of power consumption and a few extra tens of ms to
    * capture data.
    */
  private val oss = 3
  private val cmdStartPressure = (0x34 + (oss << 6)).toByte

  private val cmdStartTemp = 0x2E.toByte

  private val log = Logging(context.system, this)

  private val bus: I2CBus = I2CFactory.getInstance(busId)
  private val device = bus.getDevice(address)

  // Calibration parameters
  private var ac1 = 0.toShort
  private var ac2 = 0.toShort
  private var ac3 = 0.toShort
  // AC4-6 are 16-bit unsigned so keep them as Int to keep positive
  private var ac4 = 0
  private var ac5 = 0
  private var ac6 = 0
  private var b1 = 0.toShort
  private var b2 = 0.toShort
  private var mb = 0.toShort
  private var mc = 0.toShort
  private var md = 0.toShort

  // Probe to make sure it's the right chip
  private val readChipId = device.read(Bmp180.REG_CHIP_ID)
  if(readChipId != Bmp180.CHIP_ID) {
    throw new RuntimeException(f"Could not detect BMP180 expected chip ID 0x${Bmp180.CHIP_ID}%x but got $readChipId%x")
  }
  log.info(f"BMP180 detected: 0x$readChipId%x")

  /**
    * Main actor loop.
    */
  override def receive: Receive = {
    case Bmp180.Initialize => init()
    case CollectSample(replyTo:ActorRef) => collectSample(replyTo)
    case _ => log.warning("Received unknown message")
  }

  /**
    * Called when an Initialize message is received.  Reads out the calibration parameters from the chip.
    */
  def init():Unit = {
    ac1 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_AC1).toShort
    ac2 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_AC2).toShort
    ac3 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_AC3).toShort
    ac4 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_AC4)
    ac5 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_AC5)
    ac6 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_AC6)
    b1 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_B1).toShort
    b2 = readShort(Bmp180.REG_B2).toShort
    mb = readShort(Bmp180.REG_MB).toShort
    mc = readShort(Bmp180.REG_MC).toShort
    md = readShort(Bmp180.REG_MD).toShort

    log.info(f"Read calibration parameters ac1=$ac1%d ac2=$ac2%d ac3=$ac3%d ac4=$ac4%d ac5=$ac5%d " +
      f"ac6=$ac6%d b1=$b1%d b2=$b2%d mb=$mb%d mc=$mc%d md=$md%d")
  }

  /**
    * Called when a CollectSample message is received.
    * @param replyTo the Actor to reply to with a Sample message
    */
  def collectSample(replyTo:ActorRef):Unit = {
    // Read out the uncompensated values from the chip.
    val ut = readUncompensatedTemp()
    val up = readUncompensatedPressure()

    log.debug(f"Uncompensated T:$ut%d P:$up%d")

    // Math time.  See BMP180 datasheet for details.
    // Compensated temp
    var x1 = (ut - ac6) * ac5 / 32768
    var x2 = mc * 2048 / (x1 + md)
    val b5 = x1 + x2
    val t = (b5 + 8) / 16
    // Convert t (integer tenths degrees C) to degrees Fahrenheit
    val tf = t * 0.18 + 32.0

    log.debug(f"Temp calcs: x1:$x1%d x2:$x2%d b5:$b5%d t:$t%d tf:$tf%.1f")

    // Compensated pressure
    val b6 = b5 - 4000
    x1 = (b2 * (b6 * b6 / 4096)) / 2048
    x2 = ac2 * b6 / 2048
    var x3 = x1 + x2
    val b3 = (((ac1 * 4 + x3) << oss) + 2) / 4

    log.debug(f"p1 calcs: oss:$oss%d b6:$b6%d x1:$x1%d x2:$x2%d x3:$x3%d b3:$b3%d")

    x1 = ac3 * b6 / 8192
    x2 = (b1 * (b6 * b6 / 4096)) / 65536
    x3 = ((x1 + x2) + 2) / 4
    // B4 is 32-bit unsigned so use JRE Long
    val b4 = ac4 * (x3 + 32768).toLong / 32768
    // B7 is also 32-bit unsigned.
    val b7 = (up.toLong - b3) * (50000 >> oss)

    log.debug(f"p2 calcs: x1:$x1%d x2:$x2%d x3:$x3%d b4:$b4%d b7:$b7%d")

    // No, I don't have any idea what all this is doing
    var p = 0
    if(b7 < 0x80000000L) {
      p = ((b7 * 2) / b4).toInt
    } else {
      p = ((b7 / b4) * 2).toInt
    }
    x1 = (p / 256) * (p / 256)

    log.debug(f"p3 calcs: p:$p%d x1:$x1%d")

    x1 = (x1 * 3038) / 65536
    x2 = (-7357 * p) / 65536
    p = p + (x1 + x2 + 3791) / 16
    val kPa = p / 1000.0
    val inHg = kPa * 0.2953
    log.debug(f"p4 calcs: x1:$x1%d x2:$x2%d p:$p%d kPa:$kPa%.3f inHg:$inHg%.2f")

    // Pressure to altitude
    val am = 44330 * ( 1 - Math.pow(p.toDouble / 101325.0, 1.0/5.255))
    // meters to feet
    val af = am * 3.2808399
    log.debug(f"altitude $am%.1f meters ($af%.1f feet)")

    replyTo ! Bmp180.Sample(inHg, tf, af)
  }

  /**
    * Convenience function to read a short from the given address, MSB first.
    * @param regAddr the register address to start reading from
    * @return the two bytes combined into a short.  Returned as an Int so it's unsigned.
    */
  private def readShort(regAddr:Int):Int = {
    val msb = device.read(regAddr)
    val lsb = device.read(regAddr+1)

    return (msb << 8) | lsb
  }

  /**
    * Reads uncompensated pressure from the chip
    * @return the 16-to-19-bit uncompensated pressure value (depending on OSS setting)
    */
  def readUncompensatedPressure():Int = {
    // Write 0x74 to register 0xF4 to start
    device.write(Bmp180.REG_CONTROL, cmdStartPressure)

    // Loop until sample is ready.
    var ctlReg = 0
    do {
      // Wait 7.5ms
      log.debug("Sleeping for device to compute pressure")
      Thread.sleep(8L)

      // Make sure value is ready
      ctlReg = device.read(Bmp180.REG_CONTROL)
      log.debug(f"reg_ctl: 0x$ctlReg%x")

    } while((ctlReg & Bmp180.SCO_MASK) == Bmp180.SCO_MASK)

    // Read reg 0xF6, 0xF7, and 0xF8
    val msb = device.read(Bmp180.REG_TEMP)
    val lsb = device.read(Bmp180.REG_TEMP+1)
    val xlsb = device.read(Bmp180.REG_TEMP+2)

    log.debug(f"msb:$msb%d (0x$msb%x) lsb:$lsb%d (0x$lsb%x) xlsb:$xlsb%d (0x$xlsb%x)")

    // Note the BMP180 datasheet is wrong here since addition is higher precedence than shifting.
    return ((msb<<16) + (lsb<<8) + xlsb) >> (8-oss)
  }

  /**
    * Read uncompensated temperature from the chip.
    * @return the 16-bit uncompensated temperature value.
    */
  def readUncompensatedTemp():Int = {
    // Write 0x2E to register 0xF4 to start
    device.write(Bmp180.REG_CONTROL, cmdStartTemp)

    // Loop until sample is ready.
    var ctlReg = 0
    do {
      log.debug("Waiting for device to sample temp")
      // Wait 4.5ms
      Thread.sleep(5L)

      // Make sure value is ready
      ctlReg = device.read(Bmp180.REG_CONTROL)
      log.debug(f"reg_ctl: 0x$ctlReg%x")
    } while((ctlReg & Bmp180.SCO_MASK) == Bmp180.SCO_MASK)

    // Read reg 0xF6 & F7
    return readShort(Bmp180.REG_TEMP)
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub