text:
Your Council Agenda and draft minutes
Agenda and draft minutes
Partnerships Scrutiny Committee
Thursday, 14 February 2019 10.00 am
Agenda frontsheet PDF 301 KB
Printed draft minutes PDF 474 KB
Venue: Conference Room 1A, County Hall, Ruthin
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS PDF 116 KB
Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting.
Councillor Emrys Wynne declared a personal interest in item 5 due to his role as a Magistrate.
URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR
Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.
No urgent matters were raised.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 483 KB
To receive the minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20 December 2018 (copy attached).
The minutes of the meeting of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee held on 20 December 2018 were submitted.
The Chair thanked officers and praised the high standard of minutes from the previous meeting
RESOLVED that, the minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20 December 2018 be received and approved as a correct record.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT PROVISION PDF 240 KB
View the declarations of interest for item 5.
To consider a report by the Built Environment and Public Protection Manager (copy attached) the purpose of which is to consult with members on the draft specification for the contract for providing environmental crime enforcement contract. The report also outlines how the Council intends to deliver and manage the new environmental enforcement contract.
Environmental Crime Enforcement Report 140219 - App A , item 5. PDF 252 KB
Environmental Crime Enforcement Report 140219 - App B , item 5. PDF 293 KB
The Lead Member for Housing, Regulation and the Environment introduced the Built Environment and Public Protection Manager's report (previously circulated) the purpose of which was to consult on the draft specification of the contract for the provision of environmental crime enforcement services for the county. Members were briefed by the Lead Member on the background and the reasons why the Council was seeking a new provider to deliver environmental crime services, following Kingdom Security Limited's decision to withdraw from their contract for providing the service to the Council in August 2018. Prior to Kingdom's decision to withdraw from its contract with the Council it had become apparent that some residents were not happy with the company's approach to environmental crime enforcement. Following Kingdom's departure elected members had made it clear that the focus of any future contract should be on enforcement activities relating to dog fouling, with a particular emphasis on educating offenders and residents on the dangers posed by dogs fouling and on the importance of abiding with Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) relating to the control of dogs. Whilst the draft contract specification presented to the Committee for consideration focussed on dog-related crime it did also make provision for the appointed contractor to enforce against other environmental crimes, such as littering, begging etc. The Lead Member stressed that environmental crime enforcement services had never been delivered by the Council in-house, therefore the cost of establishing and in-house service, estimated to be between £200K and £250K, would be prohibitive. He also advised that enquiries had been made with respect of the potential of collaborating regionally to deliver environmental crime enforcement services, however this would not be viable in the near future, although collaboration with Conwy County Borough Council in relation to procuring environmental crime enforcement services may be an option in the not too distant future. Denbighshire's draft contract specification had been shared with Conwy CBC with a view to exploring the viability of tendering for services jointly in the future.
Members were advised by the Head of Planning and Public Protection that proposed new approach for dealing with environmental crime was made up of three separate elements:
· communication with the public to raise awareness and instil a sense of personal responsibility, with a view to get community buy-in to the aims and objectives of the anti-fouling strategy and this type of anti-social behaviour (ASB)
· clean and tidy streets, the work of the Streetscene team and their proactive approach in notifying the Public Protection Service of problem areas with a view to the Service targeting the area with posters and leaflets
· enforcement action (including delivering educational sessions in schools and to community groups etc.)
The Built Environment and Public Protection Manager advised that Kingdom had delivered environmental crime enforcement services for Denbighshire for approximately 5 years. During that time the company's contract with the Council had been effectively managed and monitored by the Public Protection Officer: Community Safety.
Responding to members' questions the Lead Member, Head of Planning and ... view the full minutes text for item 5.
DENBIGHSHIRE CCTV PARTNERSHIP UPDATE PDF 121 KB
To consider a report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection (copy attached) which provides an update on the Partnership, its governance arrangements and effectiveness in delivering a service. The report also outlines the work underway to develop a more sustainable future for the service and seeks members' support for its continued development.
Restricted enclosure 9 View the reasons why document 6./2 is restricted
CCTV Report 140219- App 2 , item 6. PDF 288 KB
The Lead Member for Corporate Standards introduced the Head of Planning and Public Protection's report (previously circulated) which provided members with an update on the CCTV Partnership, its governance arrangements, along with an assessment of its effectiveness in delivering the service, information on the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Cheshire West and Chester Council to deliver the service and work underway to develop a more sustainable future for the service. Attached to the report was a recent Internal Audit (IA) review of the service (Appendix 2) and a confidential operational update report on the service provided by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaCC).
The Committee was briefed on the Partnership's establishment by the Head of Planning and Public Protection. Due to financial constraints the Council was unable to continue to provide a CCTV service, which was a non-statutory service. However, the service was valued by the communities it served and North Wales Police (NWP) and as a result alternative arrangements were devised for its delivery, hence the establishment of the Partnership consisting of Prestatyn, Rhuddlan and Rhyl Town Councils, North Wales Police and Denbighshire County Council. The Partnership delivered a CCTV service which was not monitored on a 24/7 basis, however the partners were keen to explore potential options for developing a more sustainable and resilient future for the service. Following consideration of a number of options a decision was taken to enter into a 3 year Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Cheshire West and Chester Council which resulted in pictures being beamed from all cameras owned by the Partnership being beamed over to CWACC for 24/7 reactive monitoring. CWACC have immediate communication routes with NWP which enables them to alert them immediately they become aware of a developing situation. To facilitate broadcasting the pictures direct to CWACC investment was made in a new server. Going forward there are plans to contact other city and town councils to explore whether they would be interested in joining the Partnership in order to benefit from a reactive monitoring service. Each city and town council would need to make a judgement on the benefits to them of being able to access the service for an initial outlay costs and an annual contribution based on the number of cameras operated in their area. Members were advised that as the SLA with CWACC was a new arrangement officers had requested the Council's Internal Audit department to undertake a review of the arrangement with a view to providing assurances that the Council had robust governance and contract management procedures in place to manage risks, monitor performance etc. That review had given a medium assurance rating, it had identified minor weaknesses in the management of risks and/or controls but no risk to the achievement of objectives. All three risks identified under the review had since been addressed.
Responding to members' questions the Lead Member and Head of Planning and Public Protection:
· advised that the service provided under the SLA was very cost effective and ... view the full minutes text for item 6.
At this juncture (11.30 a.m.), there was a 10 minute break.
The meeting reconvened at 11.40 a.m.
SUPPORT FOR YOUNG CARERS IN DENBIGHSHIRE PDF 223 KB
To consider a report by the Early Help Programme Manager (copy attached) which examines the work being undertaken corporately to support Young Carers across the County with a view to ensuring that the Council's aspirations and vision for Young Carers, as laid out in the Corporate Plan and the Carers Strategy, are on track to be delivered.
The Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People introduced the Early Help Programme Manager's report (previously circulated) which outlined work being undertaken corporately to support young carers across the county. The report focussed specifically on the offer of Leisure cards to young carers and work being undertaken by Education and Children's Services in support of the Council's aspirations and vision for young carers as laid out in the Corporate Plan and its Carers Strategy. During his introduction the Lead Member emphasised that the information contained in the current report was additional information to that presented to the Committee in an 'Information Report' circulated to members in December 2018.
The Lead Member advised that every young carer in Denbighshire referred to Wrexham, Conwy and Denbighshire (WCD) Young Carers were offered a complimentary Leisure Card. Whilst there were in the region of 350 known young carers in Denbighshire, all of whom had been offered the Leisure Card, none of them had accepted the offer. They had declined the offer as it was not what they wanted.
Responding to members' questions the Lead Member, Corporate Director: Communities, Head of Education and Children's Services and the Early Help Programme Manager:
· advised that having spoken to Young Carer Groups it had become apparent that, whilst the concept of providing complimentary Leisure Cards was well intended, individuals did not feel that it was suitable for them. Some already attended Leisure facilities as part of their school activities, others did not want to attend Leisure facilities by themselves, whilst some viewed having a discounted card would make them stand out amongst their friends and branded as being 'different' – they felt that it had a 'stigma' attached to it ;
· advised that the card on offer to young carers offered a discount rather than free admission to Leisure Service facilities, the decision on whether it should offer free admission rather than discounted admission was a commercial one for Leisure Services;
· advised that Wrexham County Borough Council, Conwy County Borough Council, Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) provided financial contributions to support the work of WCD Young Carers. If young carers wanted to take up the offer of the discounted Leisure card the WCD organisation would fund their provision. However, parents would need to apply for them on the young carer's behalf. A number of these families, including the carers, faced challenges and complexities on a daily basis, therefore applying for a card and then making provision for another carer to stand-in for an hour or two for them to use leisure facilities may not be practical;
· advised that young carers were young people and similar to their peers they were interested in technology etc., it was therefore important for the Council to listen to them and to provide them with respite activities that met their needs, not what adults presumed would be of interest to them; and
· emphasised that the young carers did actively engage in activities that interested them i.e. trips, ... view the full minutes text for item 7.
SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 137 KB
To consider a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy attached) seeking a review of the committee's forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues.
Partnerships Forward Work Programme App 1[1] , item 8. PDF 322 KB
Work Programme Report 140219 - App 2E , item 8. PDF 284 KB
Work Programme Report 140219 - App 3 , item 8. PDF 432 KB
The Scrutiny Co-ordinator introduced the report (previously circulated) seeking Members' review of the Committee's work programme and providing an update on relevant issues.
A copy of the "Member's proposal form" had been included in Appendix 2. The Scrutiny Co-ordinator requested that any proposals be submitted to herself. The Cabinet Forward Work Programme had been included as Appendix 3, the table summarising recent Committee resolutions, advising on progress with their implementation, had been attached as Appendix 4.
The Scrutiny Co-ordinator confirmed following the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting three reports had been proposed for Partnerships Scrutiny Community to consider. The three reports had been included on the Forward Work Programme. The report titles were:
· Children and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) (April 2019)
· Cold Calling Zones (May 2019)
· Single access route to housing (July 2019, following Council briefing)
The Scrutiny Co-ordinator informed members she had been attendance at the Public Service Board Joint Scrutiny Committee introduction meeting, the Chair and Councillor Melvyn Mile had also been in attendance. A joint scrutiny committee had been established and a meeting was to be scheduled in the future.
RESOLVED, that subject to the above, the Forward Work Programme be approved.
FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
To receive any updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups
The Scrutiny Co-ordinator, reported upon the training provided for the Public Service Board Joint Scrutiny Committee. It was confirmed the Chair and Councillor Melvyn Mile had been in attendance. Councillor Melvyn Mile confirmed the training had been very informative and provided members with the expectations and ambitions for the joint scrutiny committee.
A copy of the notes from recent Service Challenge meetings had been circulated to members as part of the 'Information Brief' document.
RESOLVED, that the verbal reports be received and noted.
The meeting concluded at 12:20 p.m.


Flow Designer supports record-based, schedule-based, and application-based trigger types. For detailed descriptions of trigger types, see Flow trigger types.
Within Actions, flow designers can add actions, flow logic, subflows, or other flows.
Applies actions to each record in a list of records. Flow designers must specify the list of records from the flow data.
Note: Add a For Each flow logic block inside of another to repeat an action over a series of records. However, avoid nested For Each loops that process many records. Nested loops may cause the flow to run until stopped by the flow transaction quota rule, which prevents flows from running longer than an hour. For more information about transaction quotas, see Transaction quotas.
To activate this feature, request the Flow Designer support for the Service Catalog plugin (com.glideapp.servicecatalog.flow_designer) through the HI Customer Service system. This plugin activates related plugins if they are not already active.
Start a flow when a MetricBase trigger is met. MetricBase triggers track time series data and can monitor when a threshold is reached, when a trend is detected, or when a system stops reporting data.
Start a flow when a Service Catalog item is requested to automate the fulfillment process. To activate this feature, request the Flow Designer support for the Service Catalog plugin (com.glideapp.servicecatalog.flow_designer) through the HI Customer Service system. This plugin activates related plugins if they are not already active.
Create Service Catalog variables that are only available to a specific Service Catalog-triggered-flow. Flow-specific variables are available to catalog tasks and actions in the flow.
Enable flow designers to dynamically set field values when adding the subflow or action to a flow. For example, allow flow designers to set the priority and short description of a Create Task action.
View flows with record-based triggers that run on a specific table.
Communicate the current stage of a request or flow with an end user.
Define a sequence of reusable actions that can be started from a flow, subflow, or script. Define inputs and outputs to pass data to and from the subflow.


People regularly ask how my husband and I remain fit, and I'm usually found staring back at them like a deer in headlights. Honestly, I'm not at my ideal body type after having 3 kids, but in the grand scheme of things, I suppose I'm fairly fortunate to still be a size small, or x-small in most cases. But before you hate me! – though I'm small in stature, I have lots of jiggle and cellulite and bat wings. We're all in the same boat, my friends.
Only over brief periods have I been that gym junkie, and it probably had more to do with helping keep my friends accountable to their goals, as well as, share in the communal aspect of the routine. Otherwise, I'm not much of a gym rat. Or a lone runner. It's god-awful boring to me and I'm very unlikely to stick to it for the long-haul.
I prefer to get my exercise through fun, social means such as family activities, sports, walks, philanthropic runs, and the like. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'd know that my family is pretty active – we mountain bike, hike, kayak, surf, wakeboard, snowboard/ski, swim, paddleboard, play sports, etc. This way, we don't look at it as exercise – we see it as fun!
Exercise is highly beneficial to your health and your longevity. To prevent burnout and/or boredom, I suggest doing lots of different things, focus on having fun, and do it often!
If you go out, have fun, enjoy the activity, it won't feel like "exercise" … but you'll be getting fit and healthy in the meantime.
Make the workout the reward!
Do you have any fun exercise suggestions you'd like to share?
Thank you -- I appreciate that!
I like running with a friend. About a year ago I started running with her. We just talk the whole time (unless we're going uphill..ha!) so it keeps our minds off how far we go!
I just can't make myself get into running. I like a brisk walk (outside or on the treadmill) or some mat pilates for my exercise.
Unless it's something you want to cross of your bucket list, there are plenty of other exercises that can work your cardiovascular system. Did you know that walking and raising your arms above shoulder level, helps increase heart rate? True story!
new to me. Nonetheless, I'm definitely happy I came across it and I'll be bookmarking it and checking back regularly!
I have a hard time forcing myself to go to the gym. It's much easier to go with a friend or BF. I also love to stay active during the summer by going for walks/ hikes, kayaking, running, doing fun runs like the color run/ warrior dash/ color me rad.
Glad to see I'm in good company.
Wish you lived near -- sounds like we have similar interests! Love that!
So glad you commented, and more so, that you're reading my blog. Thank you!


A man in his 30s has died after he was being pursued by police in east London.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene after being involved in a crash with a lorry at Waterworks Roundabout, Walthamstow, at about 3am on Sunday morning.
Before the crash with the lorry, officers have confirmed the man had failed to stop for the police.
Officers have not revealed why they were pursuing the man, however.
The police have confirmed the incident is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
In a statement, police said: "Emergency services attended and the car driver, believed to be aged in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"We are not aware of any other injury, nor do we believe there was any other person in the car.


text:
Profile of suspicious mind
suspicious mind
reading between the li_es
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves." You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars? Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package com.mindoo.domino.jna.constants;

import com.mindoo.domino.jna.internal.NotesConstants;

/**
 * Access Control Level symbols used to qualify user or server access to a given Domino database.
 *
 * @author Karsten Lehmann
 */
public enum AclLevel {

	/** User or Server has no access to the database. */
	NOACCESS(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_NOACCESS),

	/** User or Server can add new data documents to a database, but cannot examine the new document or the database. */
	DEPOSITOR(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_DEPOSITOR),

	/** User or Server can only view data documents in the database. */
	READER(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_READER),

	/** User or Server can create and/or edit their own data documents and examine existing ones in the database. */
	AUTHOR(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_AUTHOR),

	/** User or Server can create and/or edit any data document. */
	EDITOR(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_EDITOR),

	/** User or Server can create and/or edit any data document and/or design document. */
	DESIGNER(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_DESIGNER),

	/** User or Server can create and/or maintain any type of database or document, including the ACL. */
	MANAGER(NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_MANAGER);

	private int m_val;

	AclLevel(int val) {
		m_val = val;
	}

	/**
	 * Returns the numeric constant for the access level
	 *
	 * @return constant
	 */
	public int getValue() {
		return m_val;
	}

	/**
	 * Converts a numeric constant to an access level
	 *
	 * @param value constant
	 * @return access level
	 */
	public static AclLevel toLevel(int value) {
		if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_NOACCESS) {
			return AclLevel.NOACCESS;
		}
		else if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_DEPOSITOR) {
			return AclLevel.DEPOSITOR;
		}
		else if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_READER) {
			return AclLevel.READER;
		}
		else if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_AUTHOR) {
			return AclLevel.AUTHOR;
		}
		else if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_EDITOR) {
			return AclLevel.EDITOR;
		}
		else if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_DESIGNER) {
			return AclLevel.DESIGNER;
		}
		else if (value == NotesConstants.ACL_LEVEL_MANAGER) {
			return AclLevel.MANAGER;
		}
		else
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown level constant: "+value);
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Women in two sexual assaults used Uber
Police say 3 cases may not be related
By Rachel Riley Globe Correspondent,December 16, 2014, 10:39 p.m.
At least two of three women who police said were indecently assaulted Sunday while using ride-sharing services in Boston had ordered vehicles through Uber, according to authorities.
The attacks were reported between 12 and 3 a.m. and occurred in Dorchester, the Allston-Brighton area, and an unspecified location between Faneuil Hall and Dorchester, Boston police said in a statement on their blog Monday night.
"The victims in two or more of the cases indicated that they had utilized the Uber app to secure transportation," said Officer James Kenneally, a police spokesman.
As of Tuesday night the three incidents did not appear to be connected, Kenneally said.
Uber officials could not confirm any connection between the company and the assaults, according to spokesman Taylor Bennett. "We have no evidence to suggest any Uber partner was involved," Bennett said.
At about 12:58 a.m. Sunday, a woman reported to police that she had arranged for a ride from Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road using a ride-sharing service. After entering an approaching vehicle, the driver offered her money and "touched her inappropriately," according to police.
The victim then received a text from her assigned ride-sharing driver saying that he had arrived to pick her up, so she demanded that the driver of the vehicle she was in stop and allow her to get out, police said.
Later, at 2:34 a.m., another woman reported being assaulted by a driver whom she believed was working for a ride-sharing service, police said. That victim had arranged to be picked up on Commonwealth Avenue and taken home.
When she entered the vehicle, she reported that the driver tried to touch her inappropriately, according to police.
The third incident was reported a short time later, at about 2:50 a.m. A female victim told officers she had secured a ride from Faneuil Hall to a Dorchester location with a ride-sharing service. But once inside the vehicle, the victim fell asleep and woke up to the driver indecently assaulting her, Boston police said.
The assaults were reported at a time when Governor Deval Patrick is pushing for statewide regulation of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, two programs that allow customers to use applications on their smartphones to request drivers and pay for rides directly.
Such services are also under fire from the traditional taxi industry, which has labeled their lack of transparency and regulation a public safety issue.
The new set of rules proposed by Patrick's administration would require employers at ride-sharing companies to conduct national background checks and bar applicants with convictions in the past 10 years for serious crimes. Registered sex offenders would be banned from working for ride-sharing companies under the proposed regulations.
• Passengers in the middle of ride-sharing dispute
•Governor Patrick to seek state oversight of Uber, Lyft
•Farragher: The inconvenient truth about ride-sharing
•California sues Uber over background checks; Lyft settles
•DC taxis to use ride-hailing app, much like Uber
Rachel Riley can be reached at rachel.riley@globe.com.


text:
Q: QuickSort's estimation of recursion depth Being the recursion depth the maximum number of successive recursive calls before QuickSort hits it´s base case, and noting that it (recursion depth) is a random variable, since it depends on the chosen pivot.
What I want is to estimate the minimum-possible and maximum-possible recursion depth of QuickSort.
The following procedure describes the way thats QuickSort is normally implemented:
QUICKSORT(A,p,r)
    if p<r
        q ← PARTITION(A,p,r)
        QUICKSORT(A,p,q−1)
        QUICKSORT(A,q+1,r)
    return A

PARTITION(A,p,r)
    x←A[r]
    i←p−1
    for j ←p to r−1
        if A[j] ≤ x
            i ← i +1
            exchange A[i] ↔ A[j]
    exchange A[i +1] ↔ A[r]
    return i +1

The second recursive call in QuickSort is not really necessary; it can be avoided by using an iterative control structure. This technique is also called tail recursion, and it can be implemented like:
QUICKSORT_tail(A,p,r)
    while p<r
        q ← PARTITION(A,p,r)
        QUICKSORT(A,p,q−1)
        p ← q+1
    return A

In this version, the information for the most recent call is at the top of the stack, and the information for the initial call is at the bottom. When a procedure is invoked, its information is pushed onto the stack; when it terminates, its information is popped. Since I assume that array parameters are represented by pointers, the information for each procedure call on the stack requires O(1) stack space. I also believe that the maximum-possible stack space with this version should be θ(n).
So, after all this said, how can I estimate the minimum-possible and maximum-possible recursion depth of each QuickSort version? Am I right in the above inference?
Thanks in advance.

A: Worst-case
The worst-case behavior for quicksort occurs when the partitioning routine produces one subproblem with n -1 elements and one with 0 elements.The partitioning costs θ(n) time. If the partitioning is maximally unbalanced at every recursive level of the algorithm, then the depth of the tree is n and the worst case is θ(n) the worst-case behavior for quicksort  θ(n^2), as you see the number of the last level of the corresponding recursion tree in the worst case is θ(n).
Best-case
In the most even possible split, PARTITION produces two subproblems, each of
size no more than n=2, since one is of size  floor(n/2) and one of size floor(n/2) -1. In this case, quicksort runs much faster.The recursion tree  in this case is what is known as complete binary tree It can have between 1 and 2h nodes, as far left as possible, at the last level h, then h = log n, then the best-case behavior for quicksort  θ(nlog n), and as you see the number of the last level of the corresponding recursion tree in the best case is θ(log n).
Conclusion
Minimum: θ(log(n))
Maximum: θ(n)

A: This depends very much on how you code the algorithm. Usually, just the smaller part is done with a recursive call, the larger part is done by an iteration within the same incarnation. With this approach, the maximal depth is log2(N), the minimal depth is 1.
In each step the smaller part can be at most half the size of the range. So in the worst case you need log2(N) steps to reach a size of 1.
The other extreme is when the smaller part has always only size one. In this case there are no recursive calls needed.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


It's over. We won. Designers have won the day. Most newspapers probably won't write about it that way, but that's what happened.
With Verizon's fire sale acquisition of Yahoo, Marissa Meyer's efforts to turn the company around have failed by all objective measures. Analysts might offer a number of reasons for this, but I'm here to tell you: it's the branding, stupid.
Why would I say that? A similar story has happened at United Airlines, which lazily appropriated Continental's branding post-merger in 2010 after a short meeting between CEOs, before relenting to public pressure to do something (slightly) better. Aside from a new typeface and improved airport signage, the latter company's 1991 design and livery went unchanged.
How generic is United's "new" livery? Saturday Night Live airbrushed the United name and logo off this plane to slap on a competitor's logo. Can most travelers tell the difference?
What happened? The company's market share shrank relative to its peers, and the company is under enormous pressure to improve profit performance despite cost-cutting measures and a superior route network compared to its peers. Why would fliers choose other airlines even if one has a better route network? Branding! Branding is what gives people a reason to choose one competitor over another, and for things like airline travel that have become commoditized, the branding is what provides customers with a superior experience.
Branding is about more than the logo (amenities & on-time performance, in the airlines' case), but the logo is a good symbol for what your company does in general. Lazy branding reflects lazy leadership. Good brands inspire passion. They inspire period. They make people want to give your company money, and to spend time on your Web site because it's pleasant to look at. They help move industries forward, and they spend on advertising, but they could grow through word-of-mouth alone if they wanted to. Because your stuff is just that good.
Counterpoint to United, when Delta merged with Northwest, they rebranded entirely, combining elements from both brands to create a classy logo. They promised through ads not just to build a bigger airline but a better airline. Those ads not only gave customers a reason to choose their company over others; it infused the corporate culture with a promise that every employee could be empowered to live up to. Delta followed through on that promise, and customers have rewarded them with their business. American Airlines rebranded too—even stealing much of United's old brand imagery. They too have been winning customers.
What's amazing about this turn of events is that United actually has a superior product—on top of their more convenient route network, they fly newer planes. Customers voted with their feet and chose the brand that spoke to them more, despite United's operational advantages (United's tone-deaf ads bragging about their size alone probably didn't help either).
Brands define the way people think about your company, and whether they think about your company.
You've heard of something called mindshare? Brands occupy that space. They define the way people think about your company, and whether they think about your company. When United took Continental's branding in 2010, in what was the design crime of the century, they vacated an important mindspace in airline travelers' minds. American's rebranding, which relied heavily on sky imagery and patriotic themes, moved into a space that United vacated. Now United can't get it back. It lost decades-old brand equity. It's become Generi-Airline, Inc. (United? Who's that?). Its old patriotic, sky-based branding was the only thing it had going for it. Why would anyone fly United otherwise? Your brand is an investment that should be protected like any other.
Your brand is an investment that should be protected like any other.
The early 2010s were a dark period for design among large companies. When Yahoo replaced its funky, personable logo with a decidedly boring Optima-inspired typeface, it relied entirely on the opinion of one person: the CEO. It was an excellent reflection of Marissa Meyer's style. But it was disastrously out of step with the times. A fun company like Yahoo rebranding to a staid, conservative typeface, and United's wholesale appropriation of Continental's branding post-merger were unprecedented in American corporate history for their carelessness and ignorance of modern design trends (most companies use mergers as an opportunity to refresh, rethink and retool their brands into something better. That didn't happen in United's case—and Yahoo ignored testing to choose a logo the CEO liked).
Before rebranding, Yahoo cycled daily through a bunch of random logos, anticipating backlash when it changed and seeking to neutralize it (remember when Gap tried to change its brand?), seeming to say the logo didn't matter. And for a while there, it looked like branding didn't matter. When Shell converted thousands of Texaco gas stations in the early 2000s after the latter's merger with Chevron, business continued as usual. A press release even bragged about the smoothness of the transition. Maybe branding didn't matter, it seemed—but I would argue it still did: what happened is that those gas stations went from one good brand to another. That's why sales weren't affected.
Branding is subjective. The evidence I'm offering here isn't hard, and it can't easily be quantified. But if Yahoo and United are any indication, and analysts can't find a hard explanation otherwise, I would argue it's the brand that makes the difference. It's the x-factor that helps bring all the others together. The French call it the je ne sais quoi (the "I don't know what"). American businesspeople need to embrace the unknown and make brands great again by listening to their designers.


text:
package zipkin2.storage.mysql.v1;

import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.sql.DataSource;
import org.jooq.DSLContext;
import org.jooq.exception.DataAccessException;

import static zipkin2.storage.mysql.v1.internal.generated.tables.ZipkinSpans.ZIPKIN_SPANS;

final class HasTraceIdHigh {
  static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(HasTraceIdHigh.class.getName());
  static final String MESSAGE =
      "zipkin_spans.trace_id_high doesn't exist, so 128-bit trace ids are not supported. "
          + "Execute: ALTER TABLE zipkin_spans ADD `trace_id_high` BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;\n"
          + "ALTER TABLE zipkin_annotations ADD `trace_id_high` BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;\n"
          + "ALTER TABLE zipkin_spans"
          + "   DROP INDEX trace_id,\n"
          + "   ADD UNIQUE KEY(`trace_id_high`, `trace_id`, `id`);\n"
          + "ALTER TABLE zipkin_annotations\n"
          + "   DROP INDEX trace_id,\n"
          + "   ADD UNIQUE KEY(`trace_id_high`, `trace_id`, `span_id`, `a_key`, `a_timestamp`);";

  static boolean test(DataSource datasource, DSLContexts context) {
    try (Connection conn = datasource.getConnection()) {
      DSLContext dsl = context.get(conn);
      dsl.select(ZIPKIN_SPANS.TRACE_ID_HIGH).from(ZIPKIN_SPANS).limit(1).fetchAny();
      return true;
    } catch (DataAccessException e) {
      if (e.sqlState().equals("42S22")) {
        LOG.warning(MESSAGE);
        return false;
      }
      problemReading(e);
    } catch (SQLException | RuntimeException e) {
      problemReading(e);
    }
    return false;
  }

  static void problemReading(Exception e) {
    LOG.log(Level.WARNING, "problem reading zipkin_spans.trace_id_high", e);
  }
}


Physical activity is a major component of a healthy lifestyle.
Classes in Physical Education and Sport run every week, with classes combining across years 3-6. We provide a balance of engaging activity (including self-directed play), skills development in minor games and formal sports.
There is an emphasis on building co-operation and teamwork across the year levels as well as providing opportunities for a competitive environment when appropriate. We take advantage of seasonal interests with units on specific skills for sports that children may see in their everyday life. These include netball, Australian Rules football, cricket, soccer, basketball, indoor hockey etc.
In years Prep to Two, PE primarily involves increasing skills and participation in games and activities as well as developing a fitness and flexibility base for students.
House swimming and athletics carnivals are run through the year, with specific practice provided in PE and Sports sessions.


text:
One dead in southwest Austin shooting
Posted: Jun 20, 2020 / 05:49 AM CDT / Updated: Jun 20, 2020 / 06:26 AM CDT
Shooting in Alexandria Drive in Austin (Picture: KXAN/Tim Holcomb)
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say one person is dead and another was hurt after a shooting early Saturday morning in southwest Austin.
Police say they got a call of someone being shot on Alexandria Drive near Brodie Lane around 4:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they found one person in the street who had been shot. Paramedics with ATC-EMS pronounced that person dead at the scene.
Police say the second person who was hurt went to the Austin Emergency Medical Center for treatment. That person is now in the hospital.
Police had no other information as of 5:30 a.m.
This is a breaking story. Please stay tuned to KXAN News Today at 6:00 a.m. and KXAN.com for more details.
More Austin Stories
by KXAN Staff / Jan 16, 2021
AUSTIN (KXAN) — One adult went to the hospital with serious injuries after a vehicle crashed into a pole on the service road of North U.S. Highway 183 in northwest Austin, according to tweets from Austin-Travis County EMS.
ATCEMS reports two people were pinned inside the vehicle and were removed by the Austin Fire Department following the crash on the U.S. 183 service road between State Highway 45 and Anderson Mill Road.


We understand the importance of the protection of the privacy of the personal information of individuals and the importance of security of confidential information of all types. This document sets out our policy regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and security of confidential information of all types, including personal information.
SmartSAVER collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information of users of SmartSAVER's services only as necessary to operate the SmartSAVER program, and to provide related services to those individuals. The operation of SmartSAVER includes, but is not limited to, the following activities: collecting and using personal information in relation to the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and the Canada Learning Bond (CLB), both administered by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, a department of the Government of Canada; disclosing indirectly personal information to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, a department of the Government of Canada regarding the CESG and the CLB; collecting and using personal information in relation to Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) and RESP providers and other financial service providers); disclosing directly personal information to RESP providers and other financial service providers); operation of the SmartSAVER website, marketing SmartSAVER; and compiling statistics for analytical and marketing purposes. Information submitted to the SmartSAVER website is kept strictly confidential unless disclosed in accordance with your express consent or legal requirements. In all cases, the provision of personal information by users who register on the SmartSAVER site (each a "user") is voluntary: any personal information provided by a user is submitted at the user's discretion.
Information provided by a user will not be forwarded, traded or sold to outside organizations unless disclosed in accordance with your express consent. Users who register with SmartSAVER for any purpose may request to be removed from our email list and any other electronic distribution list, at any time. SmartSAVER reserves the right to contact any user at any time to forward information, respond to questions or provide notification of any changes to our program or our policies.
SmartSAVER maintains a statistical record of SmartSAVER website usage and traffic. Analysis of this information reveals which pages are most often visited and the domains from which people visit the site. Identifying these trends helps us to provide more useful information to visitors.
SmartSAVER has designated a Privacy Compliance Officer to handle privacy matters and inquiries regarding personal information.
to meet legal obligations such as regulatory reporting.
SmartSAVER protects confidential information of all types, including personal information, with organizational, physical, mechanical and electronic safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
An individual may submit a written request to access his or her personal information retained by SmartSAVER. SmartSAVER is operated by The Omega Foundation.


text:
Robert Lehr (20 August 1883 – 13 October 1956) was a German politician (DNVP, CDU). He served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1950 to 1953 under chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

Early life

Robert Lehr was born on 20 August 1883 in Celle as the third child of Oskar and Clara (Stück) Lehr. His childhood was shaped by his father's involvement in the military as well as his parents' Protestant Pietistic beliefs.

Academia and early political career

Education
Lehr completed his Abitur in 1904 and began studying jurisprudence in Marburg, Berlin, and Bonn. In 1907 he passed his first Staatsexamen in Cologne and received his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg in 1908 with a dissertation on legal liability laws within the German Reich. After completing his referendary and final Staatsexamen Lehr decided to pursue a career in local administration because of the personal autonomy and variety such a position offered. He began working as an assessor for the municipality of Düsseldorf in 1913

Politics
In December 1914 at the age of 31, Lehr was elected department head of the police, in which role he was responsible for controlling the press, surveying food supply, counterespionage, and combating radical forces. He held this position throughout World War I. He moved to a position as head of the finance department in 1919 and worked there until 1924, when he was elected ''Oberbürgermeister'' of Düsseldorf. During this time he was able to foster economic success within his city despite the worsening economic conditions in nearby Cologne.

Nazi-era

Arrest
During a board meeting on 12 April 1933, only weeks after the Enabling Act (''Ermächtigungsgesetz''), ''Oberbürgmeister'' Lehr was arrested on charges of bribery and personal gain. He was released from "protective custody" in September 1933 due to a severe sickness. He remained barred from working as a lawyer or professor within Nazi Germany, and remained a private citizen throughout the remainder of the Nazi rule.

Resistance
In 1935, Lehr joined a Düsseldorf resistance group consisting of multiple prominent individuals of the Weimar Era including former Union Secretary Karl Arnold and evangelical lawyer Franz Etzel. The Düsseldorf resistance was connected with multiple other resistance groups throughout the nation, including those led by Jakob Kaiser in Berlin and Heinrich Körner in Bonn. Lehr and his wife remained under intense scrutiny by the Gestapo until the end of World War II.

Post-war
Lehr returned to politics immediately following the war, helping to establish the CDU in 1945. He was named the governor of the North Rhine-Westphalia province by occupying British troops. He belonged to the German Bundestag from 1949 until 1953.

Lehr remained active in other areas of society as well, serving as President of the ''Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald'', an environmental association, from 1947 until 1956 and acting as the head of the ''Marburger Universitätsbund'' from 1952 until his death. He also served as President of the ''Industrial Club of Düsseldorf'' during this time.

Lehr died on 13 October 1956 at the age of 73 in Düsseldorf.

Further reading
 Kaff, Brigitte (2004). "Robert Lehr." Christliche Demokraten gegen Hitler: Aus Verfolgung und Widerstand zur Union. Ed. Buchstab, Günter; Kaff, Brigitte; Kleinmann, Hans-Otto. Freiburg, Germany: Herder, 2004. p. 337-343. Print.

References

External links

1883 births
1956 deaths
People from Celle
People from the Province of Hanover
German Lutherans
German conservatives in the German Resistance
German National People's Party politicians
Members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia
Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953
Mayors of Düsseldorf
University of Marburg alumni
University of Bonn alumni
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Members of Parlamentarischer Rat
20th-century Lutherans

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Happy New Year! A message from Joan Lee
As we usher out 2020 and welcome 2021, I have been reflecting on the past year. No doubt, like many of you, I continue to grapple with and try to make sense of the occurrences of what would be charitably described as a challenging year. In some respects, the year has gone by in a blur and in other it has moved painfully slow.
In early 2020, we listened and watched what was occurring around the world and start preparing ourselves for something with the understanding that we had no idea how it was going to affect us personally and professionally. By March we were in full response mode, focused on the health, safety and security of employees, consumers, and those near and dear to us. By August we were adapting to our new operating structures, with new practices and innovations to keep our community engaged and safe. Then in November we were once again forced to react to resurging cases which seriously affected our entire society.
At some times, the challenges may have seemed insurmountable. However, the incredible compassion, support and selflessness from the entire Vecova community helped us overcome all of the obstacles that we faced. Our employees continued to prove their excellence and continued to provide quality services to our consumers and to forge ahead with our plans for Vecova's future.
Our consumers, including those in our Housing, Aquatics, Health and Fitness, Bottle Depot, Bottle Pick-Up Services and more, supported us in extraordinary ways. Every time we reached out, we were given an unprecedented amount of support. From the donations of hand-sanitizer and PPE, which allowed us to continue to safely provide services to our consumer base, to the monetary contributions which allowed us to pivot and be flexible in our service delivery, I cannot overstate how grateful we are for the community. We could not have done this without the encouragement, patience and donations of the numerous Albertans who decided to make Vecova part of their year. This support will guide us through 2021 as we adapt to the uncharted waters of a world dealing with a pandemic.
As the year draws to a close and the New Year will be upon us, another chapter in Vecova's history closes and together we will write a new chapter. One that propels us forward, builds on our work of the years past with our sights set on achieving our mission. I look forward to it with much anticipation and I know Vecova will continue to provide our communities with the same innovative and invaluable service that we are so well known for.
Thank you to all of our incredible supporters, volunteers, donors and the entire community.
Take care, stay well and cheers to 2021!
Joan Lee
Tags : Joan Lee


text:
Winter 2022-23 Magazine
Explore All Stories
Alumni Profile: Saida Caballero, '05
Major/degree: Bachelor of Science, Astronomy
Home state/country: Born in Puerto Rico, raised in Florida
Current state/country: Sheffield, England
Why did you originally decide to study at Michigan?
My sister had gone to Michigan to get her master's degree in education. I was fortunate enough to be accepted to all of the schools I applied to, and when it came time to make a decision, Michigan was very proactive in helping me be able to afford tuition. The more I learned about Michigan, the more excited I became.
I always wanted to study astronomy, and Michigan has a great program. As an undergrad, I got to do so much, and I realize now that not everywhere allows students to experience so much at a young age. To this day, a lot of experiences I bring to my professional career stem back to my time at Michigan.
I never expected to leave Florida. Several of my siblings went to school in Florida, and in my mind, I was thinking that's where I would end up. When it became clear that I would be able to afford to go to Michigan because of financial support, it was really exciting for me.
How did scholarship support impact your time at Michigan? What was your experience as a scholarship student like?
One of the scholarships I received actually allowed me to meet the people that donated to the scholarship fund, and I thought that was a fantastic experience, to meet the people that were helping me to pursue my education. I fully plan on giving back as much as I am able in order to give future students the same opportunity that I was given.
I come from a very humble background. I've always been in public schools and I have a public education. One of the things that I appreciate about Michigan is that I received a quality education, but I never felt out of place because I wasn't from a more affluent background. But I was still able to experience so many things that I hadn't previously been exposed to. I don't know if I would have had the same experience if I would have gone somewhere else.
Have you been back to Ann Arbor since graduation? What are some memories you have of campus?
I've been back 2 or 3 times since I graduated. I spent a lot of my Friday nights at the observatory. I was part of the Student Astronomical Society, and we ran these open houses every two weeks. We got to use and run the planetarium, which I don't think I would have that opportunity anywhere else, it was a great experience. I love that campus was a community in itself, and that beautiful places like the Arb exist right off of campus.
What ways have you found to keep in touch with the Michigan community while living outside of the US?
I never considered myself much of a sports fan before I was at Michigan, but now I still follow news on the football team to see how they are doing!
Are there any interesting projects that you're currently working on in your personal or professional life?
I was hired to work on a project at the University of Sheffield that uses Hubble data to look at a cluster of stars in one of the smaller galaxies around the Milky Way. This cluster is a very bright bit of the galaxy, and up until the 1960's, it was thought to be a star thousands of times the size of our sun. With better instrumentation, we were able to observe that there are actually a bunch of stars within this very bright dot—several hundred stars, in fact. What my team determined was that the brightest stars are still really massive, and the question became, are these really massive stars or more clusters of smaller stars? We don't think there are stars that big in our galaxy, but there may be ones that big in other galaxies.
What was exciting about our results is that we have confirmation that these stars really are as big as we first believed them to be. We were the first group to do a mass estimate for them, around 2010. I'll be continuing this research when I return to the States to teach.
You were recently nominated for the People en Español's "25 Most Powerful Latina Women in 2016." How did that come about?
We had a publication earlier this year on the results of our study, and a family friend that works for Telemundo saw the press release and mentioned it to the news anchor she works with, who is also Puerto Rican. The anchor, María Celeste Arrarás, had the opportunity to nominate me for the People en Español's up-and-coming powerful Latina women. I was contacted about the nomination and spread the word to family and friends. There was a public poll and I ended up being the runner-up for that competition. It was very exciting to be nominated!
This content was produced by the Office of University Development.
More stories from
Life Under Curfew
True Blue I Do's
Brown gift supports new LEAD Scholars fund, Alumni Center transformation


Reviews and refactoring take time - and there's just never enough of that. Once I found a blog entry (sorry, I can't seem to find it now - but Google's recent observations are similar) that said if you're working on a large codebase that has evolved for a long time, and you want to make improvements, you should concentrate your limited resources on code that actually changes. The rationale is that code that has worked well for a long time is probably stable - even if you don't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole.
This will give you a list, sorted by number of commits involving each file, in descending order (most frequently updated file on top).


Woo hoooo!!! I have the day off! The first in a long time! OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH what will I DO today? Should I vacuum… yeah, I should. Should I do laundry?? … definitely. Catch up on the exploding dust bunny population? Clean my tornado-stricken desk or bookshelf? Maybe even install the flatbed scanner and the software I'm missing since the computer virus wiped out my hard drive?
Oh yes yes yes, I should, i know I should.
But. But it's my DAY OFF.
What do you think I should do today? I'll have a poll. You vote for one of the following choices and tell me. Even if you read this Saturday night or something, I'll keep the tally handy and do it the next time I get a day off (which, judging by my estimations, should be sometime in the spring of 2045).
Leave your select number in the comments, eh?
Thanks to all who have "voted" here and on Facebook…. Everyone has chosen #3 so far! Hmm I've been running around today submitting resumes… But I AM planning to relax tonight, Lord willing!
I must go for number 1–if you don't do these things today, when will they get done (unless you can get your kids to do them which would be best). In that case, you should relax and read or do something fun because I know your computer is a priority for you so you will get that taken care of in good time.
I vote for # 3. Sometimes you just have to ignore what's going on around you and not think. So enjoy that coffee or tea and read a good book.


text:
Home / Journals / Biology and Life Sciences / American Journal of Life Sciences / Article
Analysis of the Levels of Endothelin, Homocysteine and Blood Lipid in Patients with Clinical and Subclinical Hyperthyroidism
Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2019, Pages: 27-30
Received: Feb. 26, 2019; Published: Apr. 28, 2019
Views 308 Downloads 48
Xu Qian, Department of Medical Technology of Cangzhou Medical College, Cangzhou, China; Cangzhou Thyroid Disease Engineering Research Center, Cangzhou, China
Zhang Jing-yu, Laboratory Department of Cangzhou Hospital Integrated of Chinese and Western Medicine, Cangzhou, China
Li Hong-yan, Department of Medical Technology of Cangzhou Medical College, Cangzhou, China; Cangzhou Thyroid Disease Engineering Research Center, Cangzhou, China
Hou Jian-zhang, Cangzhou People's Hospital, Cangzhou, China
Follow on us
[Objective] To discuss the changes of endothelin (ET), homocysteine (Hcy) and blood lipids levels in patients with hyperthyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism, and to explore their clinical significance. [Methods] The authors choose 251 cases of hyperthyroidism, 242 cases of subclinical hyperthyroidism and 130 cases of the control group to test ET, Hcy, TC, TG, HDL, LDL and LPa. [Results] The level of ET of Hyperthyroidism group is higher than subclinical hyperthyroidism group and the control group. The level of ET of subclinical Hyperthyroidism group is higher than the control group(P<0.05). The level of Hcy of Hyperthyroidism group and subclinical Hyperthyroidism group was lower than the control group(P<0.05). The level of TG, TC, LDL, LPa of subclinical Hyperthyroidism group are lower than the control group(P<0.05). The level of TG, TC, HDL, LDL, LPa of Hyperthyroidism group are lower than the control group and subclinical hyperthyroidism group (P<0.05). [Conclusions] All of ET, Hcy and lipids participate in the occurrence and development process of hyperthyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism. Monitoring the change of related indexes is helpful to predict the transformation of subclinical hyperthyroidism to hyperthyroidism and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease.
Hyperthyroidism, Subclinical Hyperthyroidism, Hcy, ET, Blood Lipids
Xu Qian, Zhang Jing-yu, Li Hong-yan, Hou Jian-zhang, Analysis of the Levels of Endothelin, Homocysteine and Blood Lipid in Patients with Clinical and Subclinical Hyperthyroidism, American Journal of Life Sciences. Vol. 7, No. 1, 2019, pp. 27-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20190701.15
Su Jun-ping, Zhang-Bo, Liu Chun-yan, et al. Changes in levels of thyroid hormone osteometabolism-related cytokines and bone metabolism-related indicators in hyperthyroidism patients and their clinical significance [J]. Shanxi Medical Journal, 2017, 46 (4):413-415.
Hou Zhen-jiang, Zhang Jing-yu, Bian Yun-zhuo, et al. Changes of serum lipid level, its ratio and cystatin C level in patients with hyperthyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism [J]. Shandong Medical Journal, 2017, 57(39):91-93.
Chen-Hua, Xin-Ning. Clinical efficacy and changes in serum lipid index of levothyroxine in subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism [J]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Research, 2014, 6 (9):84.
Guo Ya-qing, Wei Xi-liang, Zhao Dan-ning, et al. Plasma endothelin and carbon monoxide levels in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism [J]. China Journal of Modern Medicine, 2011, 21 (11):1407-1409.
Zhou Yan-guo, Mai Rui-lin, Huang Min-xuan, et al. Effects of alprostol on plasma endothelin, homocysteine and coagulation function in patients with coronary heart disease [J]. Hainan Medical Journal, 2018, 29(07):917-919.
Pancotto TE, Rossmeisl JH, Huckle WR, et al. Evaluation of endothelin-1 and MMPs-2, -9, -14 in cerebrospinai fluid as indirect indicators of blood-brain barrier dysfunction in chronic canine hypothyroidism [J]. Res Vet Sci, 2016, 105:115-120.
Li Ying-hui, Li-Jun, Ren Si-ying, et al. Effects of rosiglitazone on the expression of endothelin-1 around the lesion and the permeability of blood-brain barrier in rabbits with cerebral hemorrhage [J]. Neural Injury and Functional Reconstruction, 2018, 13(03):109-112.
Chen Xue-hui, Yin Qing-feng, Wang-Tao, et al. Changes of important plasma factors in radionuclide iodine therapy for hyperthyroidism heart disease [J]. Medical Recapitulate, 2013, 19(13):2492-2494.
Chai Guo-lu, Tan Li-yan, Yang Yu-hong, et al. Changes of plasma endothelin and nitric oxide levels in patients with hyperthyroidism and their clinical significance [J]. Heilongjiang Medicine and Pharmacy, 2004(04):34-35.
Hu Yao-shi, Zeng Zhi-yu. Research Progress on the Relationship between Homocysteine and Common Clinical Diseases [J]. Chinese Journal of New Clinical Medicine, 2017, 10(08):811-815.
Mao-Lei, Geng Guo-ying, Zhao Ming-hu, et al. Effects of rosuvastatin on serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and homocysteine in patients with acute coronary syndrome [J]. Clinical Research, 2018(06):84-85.
Liu Xiang-ru, Li-Yue, Yang-Bin, et al. Analysis of plasma homocysteine level and related factors in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus [J]. Contemporary Chinese Medicine, 2018(14):1-2.
Min JY, Min KB. The Folate-Vitamin B12 Interaction, Low Hemoglobin, and the Mortality Risk from Alzheimer's Disease [J]. J Alzheimers Dis, 2016, 52 (2):705-712.
Wang Xiao-quan, Wang Zu-sen, Shen Yu-hua, et al. Study on the correlation between serum homocysteine level and P300 in late-onset depression [J]. Journal of Psychiatry, 2017, 30(06): 410-412.
Pan Da-fu, Zhang Li-juan, Ren Yue-zhong. Study on plasma homocysteine level and MTHFR gene polymorphism in patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism [J]. Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2004(02):36-37.
Dai Li-li, Liu Jia-jia, Mi Yu-jing et al, Study on the correlation between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and serum resistin and homocysteine [J]. Chinese Journal of Health laboratory Technology, 2015, 25(14):2346-2348.
Wu Zai-rong, Zhang Li-rong, Pan Yu-qin, et al. Clinical significance of serum homocysteine and lipid levels in patients with thyroid dysfunction [J]. Progress in Modern Biomedicine, 2009, 9 (22): 4276-4278.
Xiao-Lin, Guo-Mei, Fan Ruiyun. The relationship between thyroid hormone levels and lipid metabolism in hyperthyroidism [J]. Chinese Journal of Laboratory diagnosis, 2016, 20(10):1679-1681.
Tan-Qian. Clinical analysis of abnormal metabolism of blood sugar and lipid in patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism [J]. Capital Food Medicine, 2018, 25(09):19.
Yuan-Zhuo. Metabolism of blood lipid and blood sugar in patients with abnormal thyroid function during pregnancy [J]. Maternal and Child Health Care of China, 2017, 32 (9):1874-1876.
Gu-Qing, Shao Ke-ke, Wang Yun-xia. Analysis of lipid and serum protein levels in patients with thyroid dysfunction [J]. Laboratory Medicine and Clinic, 2014, 11(24):3455-3456.
Duan Wen-bing, Liu-Yun, Zhang Lu-lu, et al. Correlation analysis of blood lipid, HCY, blood routine and indexes of thyroid function in patients with subclinical thyroid dysfunction [J]. Journal of New Medicine, 2018, 49 (1): 42-46.


text:
Q: What's the difference between 10k/15k SAS HDDs and SATA SSDs? What is the rule of thumb in performance characteristics and differences between 10k / 15k revolutions per minute (RPM) Serial Attached Storage (SAS) hard disc drives (HDDs), versus Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gbps solid state drives (SSDs) of the same generation?

A: Discussion
At HDD: performance differences between 7.2k SATA and 15k SAS, we've determined that 7.2k RPM HDDs would have well under a 100 IOPS, whereas even 15k SAS would still only net you about 200 IOPS.  (These IOPS parameters are limited by the speed of rotation, which stays constant through generations, and doesn't improve with each generation (unlike sequential throughput, which does improve with each generation).)  Doing simple math around random 4K reads/writes, this translates to a performance metric of at most 800KiB/s — well under 1MiB/s.
Compare this with the specs for various SSDs that have been on the market for a number of years; generally, the SATA 6Gbps (600MiB/s) ones appear to have reached interface limit, as they all appear to be spec'ed to about 85k IOPS for both reads and writes.  At random 4K read/write, that translates to 340MiB/s, which would appear to be faster than even the sequential speeds of latest-generation HDDs.
Summary
Of course, sequential speeds of 15k SAS HDDs (at about 250MiB/s on the outer physical layer (the beginning of the logical disc), and 100MiB/s on the inner layer (at the end of the logical disc)) are still relatively competitive with SATA SSDs (which usually do about 500MiB/s sequential throughput), because SSDs are reaching interface limits (6Gbps SATA is limited to 600MiB/s due to the 10/8 encoding); the difference is merely a factor of about 2 to 4x, whereas SAS HDDs would provide higher reliability.
However, random IO is uncomparable — SSDs are faster by a factor of about 400x (4 hundred times).  Given this, it's not very clear why there's even any market for 10k/15k SATA HDDs anymore — especially given that the capacities of these 10k/15k SAS HDDs are relatively similar and often even smaller than the capacities of the SSDs.


text:
Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy
by Yûki Yamato
Yûki Yamato
Hotto Gimikku: Garu Mitsu Boi
2019 / 119m - Japan
IMDb and trailer
toplist position
55	in toplist
Manga and anime adaptations are a dime a dozen in Japan. Most of them stick safely to the source material, so they can earn their money back without too much effort and risk. When you throw Netflix into the mix though, the rules aren't quite as simply anymore. Netflix is known for giving directors free rein and without the pressure of the box office looming around every corner, things can get a little crazier. And so a film like Yûki Yamato's Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy [Hotto Gimikku: Garu Mitsu Boi] can suddenly spring up out of nowhere.
If you're a fan of the manga, better think twice before watching this film. I haven't read it myself, but I'm aware of the shoujo manga tropes (comics aimed at young women) and Yamato clearly has other fish to fry than to deliver a faithful adaptation of the story. Yamato is here to make cinema and simply uses elements from the manga to drive her film. Fans have been complaining left and right after they got their hands on Hot Gimmick, but don't let deter you. Their complaints are nothing more than misplaced fanboy entitlement and baseless whining.
The most surprising thing about Hot Gimmick is that it feel young, modern and contemporary. After doing a quick check on Yamato though, it started to make sense. Young directors (Yamato was 30 when she made this film) are quite rare in cinema, young directors given free rein and a fair budget are pretty much nonexistent. All the more reason to praise her for making the most of this rare opportunity. Rather than turn in a simple manga adaptation, she made a film that feels of the now (which, in cinema terms, is at least 10 years ahead of its time).
The story revolves around Hatsumi, a meek and uncertain girl who is looking for purpose and identity. She's exactly the kind of girl guys fall for, and she's preyed upon by several boys in her neighborhood. There's a studious boy who tries to make her his slave, a childhood friend/teen idol who attempts to wow her with the glitz of show business, and even Hatsumi's brother is having a hard time controlling his feelings for her. Meanwhile, Hatsumi is following whoever offers her the world, but she soon realizes that people's intentions aren't always what they seem to be.
The cinematography is stunning, but a little unconventional. There are some lush tracking shots, Yamato makes excellent use of lighting and the framing is unique, with lots of strange focal points and novel cuts. By itself, the cinematography is outstanding, but it's not the star of the show. It's the editing that made me sit up and take notice. It really makes the screen come to life, by taking all the unconventional shots and stringing them together, creating some kind of moving collage that does an amazing job at capturing the mood of a scene. The pacing of the editing is sure to put some people off, both conventional viewers and more seasoned film fans, as it is quite rapid and intrusive, but that's exactly why this feels so fresh and contemporary.
The soundtrack and sound editing are pretty interesting too. The original music is fine, but nothing particularly original. What jumps out are the reworks of several famous classical pieces. They will sound very familiar (and many of them are in fact overused), it's just really nice to hear them in more modern-sounding arrangements. This adds a little extra consistency and it helps to tighten the mood. But again, it's the sound editing that stands out the most. The dialogues in particular are often fine-tuned to perfection, becoming a barrage of sounds rather than coherent conversations. Words are repeated, pauses between lines of dialogue are removed and the effect is simply glorious.
Performances are on point, though actors often act as mere models, especially in the heavier edited scenes. When everything is cut up and half of the time you don't even appear on screen in full, it's hard to give a memorable performance. There are a couple of longer tracking shots where the actors do prove their worth, but they're not really the main focus of the film. Miona Hori is a veritable discovery and should be at the start of a fruitful career, Hiroya Shimizu also shows a lot of promise and has plenty of screen presence. But a true actors' film this is not.
Hot Gimmick combines rather raw and ruthless drama with shoujo tropes. I'm not quite versed enough in the shoujo scene to make any exact judgements, but I did feel many of these tropes were pushed to their limits, to the point where they started to feel like critiques on the genre. It is indeed not always an easy watch, with a young and demure girl being pushed around and preyed upon by a bunch of selfish guys, on the other hand Yamato doesn't just turn her film into a simplistic feminist pamphlet either. Whatever your take on it may be, the film leaves you something to chew on.
Don't expect a straightforward manga adaptation or sweet Japanese drama, Hot Gimmick isn't simple filler or some easygoing pastime. It's a film that demands attention, challenges and weighs. No doubt it's going to disgust and confuse some people who didn't expect any of this, but I loved every single second of it. The cinematography is lush and varied, the soundtrack is impressive, performances are great and the story intrigues, but it's the ridiculously perfect editing that left me floored. People who complain about mediocre Netflix projects simply aren't watching the right films, as Hot Gimmick is anything but mediocre. It's youthful, fresh and original, but it's definitely not for everyone.
Niels Matthijs
Mad God
Phil Tippett
Hiroyuki Tanaka
Ambiguous Places
Akira Ikeda
Silence and Sunset
Kazufumi Umemura
White Snake 2: Green Snake
Amp Wong
Ryuichi Hiroki
Patrick Ridremont
Why Don't You Just Die!


text:
PCA presses forward with certification plan
03 December 2007 in Channel, News
Trade association set to launch certification process for members over the next 12 months
VARs have welcomed the Professional Computing Association's (PCA) plans to introduce its first technical certification for members.
The not-for-profit trade association, which has 800 UK members, will this week meet to discuss whether it is appropriate to include training requirements in its code of practice for the first time.
Keith Warburton, chief executive of the PCA, said: "We hope in the next 12 months to introduce a certification process.
"Until now, the only element of what we do that ties into professionalism is our requirement that members conform to our code of practice, which does not currently make reference to technical skills. But as a professional organisation that wants to raise its profile in the market, training is an issue we need to become mindful of."
Warburton also said the PCA will this month unveil a range of extra "tangible benefits" for members, including discounts on products such as office furniture, holidays and finance.
Stephen Bushell, marketing director at VAR and PCA member Probrand, said: "Anything that will increase the professionalism of our industry is important. And if it is thinking about a certification based on best-of-breed criteria, we may be able to help it."
Sue Richards, managing director of PCA member EBM, welcomed the move, but said: "The PCA has to consider if resellers already have high-quality vendors vendor certifications. We do not expect to be asked to jump through any more hoops."
Warburton stressed the PCA would consult with members before announcing the form the certification will take.
"We will only go down this route if the benefits for our members outweigh the burden," he said.


I have a HP server with raid5. If one of the disks breaks down is there any chance I could get an e-mail that the disk is down.
You did not say what server you have and what OS is running.
available for many different OS and hardware.
If the OS is HPUX , its better to use EMS or ISEE for monitoring/reporting.


text:
Best Fantasy Movies of all time
Fantasy films have almost always raked in the cash at the box office. The public seems to enjoy the world of total escapism, the world so far away from their own where fabulous things happen. As the popularity has never waned it is hard to say just what is the best Fantasy film, after all, everyone's taste is different, but there are several that lead the pack.
Labyrinth, along with characters created by Jim Henson (of Muppets fame), Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) must traverse the labyrinth to rescue her baby brother from Jareth (David Bowie as the Goblin King). It is a fun family film – a must watch.
The Wizard of Oz is the ultimate fantasy film. What starts out in black and white, when Dorothy lands in Oz she is welcomed by a burst of colour. It is one of the first films to use Technicolor. With witches, flying monkeys, talking scarecrows and a splash of magic this is the ultimate fantasy film.
Clash of the Titans, The Princess Bride and Never-ending Story were staple viewing in the 1980's, these days fantasy viewing is more Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.


Q is a 1 letter word that starts with Q.
related to a (ch, tch), p, q, and wh; as in cud, quid, L.
A very high level language by Per Bothner based on lazy generalised sequences. Q has lexical scope, and some support for logic programming and constraint programming. The language includes small subsets of common lisp and scheme.
Q was a test-bed for programming language ideas. Where apl uses arrays for looping, Q uses generalised sequences which may be infinite and may be stored or calculated on demand. It has macros, primitives to run programs, and an interactive command language.
Q is implemented in c++, and comes with an interpreter, compiler framework, libraries, and documentation. It runs on linux and sun-4 and should work on any 32-bit unix.
Latest version: 1, as of 1993-06-07. Development stopped in 1994.
The symbol representing the long arm of a chromosome.
The symbol used by hydrologists to represent flow. It may also mean the design flow for a particular project. With a subscript number, Q refers to a flow recurrence interval; Q10 is the flow that occurs, on the average, only once in 10 years (also known as the 10% frequency, or recurrence, event), Q25 is the flow which occurs only every 25 years (4% event), and Q100 occurs once in 100 years (1% event). The recurrence interval is a statistical average, not a fixed number of years. Q10, Q25, and Q100 are common design standards for flood control projects.


text:
Q: DDR3 memory for HP I have a HP Z600 Workstation and looking at the memory options on the HP website (https://support.hp.com/gb-en/product/hp-z600-workstation/3718663/model/3718664/document/c01709707) I'm wondering what the difference is between their "CTO" and "AMO" memory?

A: AMO seems to be Aftermarket Order, as far as I can find out!
Where CTO is Configure to order!
= CTO is what could be standard delivered from HP and AMO is something you could replace your self (according to what info I could google, with the same problem)
Jesper


For those who receive monthly government checks, including Social Security and disability payments, electronic direct deposit is convenient. On the first of every month, for example, the money "appears" in our checking account. For those who have difficulty getting around, this saves having to travel to the bank to deposit a monthly check. But there's a catch.
In a 6/1/09 WSJ article, Ellen Schultz recounts several stories of people who found their bank accounts frozen because of a loophole in the law that prevents banks from seizing payments like Social Security and disability. Several legislators are urging the Treasury to close the loophole.
If a bank receives a garnishment from a debt collector, they may turn over part or all of the money in the account and freeze the account without any advance notification to the owner of the account. This freeze in turn generates a number of "insufficient funds" fees for the bank when it bounces checks that the owner of the account wrote in good faith.
What can we do? Urge your representatives to get this loophole closed immediately. If you or someone you know has funds electronically deposited, ask the bank what their policy is regarding garnishments. If you are having trouble paying bills or are in dispute with someone over a bill, it might be wise to discontinue direct deposit till your situation changes or you are able to resolve the matter.


text:
English Course Offerings (2018-20)
Guidelines for Writing Reviews
The English Major at UMF
UMF English Department Blog
By Faculty and Students in English at the University of Maine at Farmington
Difficult Women Book Review
Difficult Women is a collection of short stories by Roxane Gay that explores the lives of different women living in the United States. I chose this book because of my love for short stories and also because I thought it would be interesting to review a collection of multiple stories instead of just one.
As the title suggests, these women are not what one may think of as average or normal. In all of the short stories, there are women who find themselves in difficult situations that allow the reader to see why these people act the way they do. These stories are very hard-hitting and touch on sensitive, emotional topics that some readers may not be comfortable with. The story "I Will Follow You" describes two sisters who were abducted, as children, by a man who raped them continuously over a long period of time. This plot point is not immediately obvious but is brought up later as we see how the adult sisters continue to cope with their past trauma. Another story, "La Negra Blanca", shows the conflict between a young stripper and an older, rich, white male who is far too pushy.
These more realistic short stories in Gay's collection cover main themes of violence, sexual trauma, and loss. Gay writes about these events in a way that doesn't use people's trauma for entertainment but provides explanation and insight. She writes very bluntly at times, which I think helps to deliver these tough topics in a way that feels genuine. In most of the stories there are descriptions of sexual encounters between people, and while I think it makes the lives of women more realistic and bold, I sometimes feel that this structure is used too much. There is also a great balance in these stories between the past and the present, and Gay weaves these two together well to leave the reader trying to figure out what will happen. In these more lifelike stories, I find that this form, while well-balanced, is sometimes repetitive.
That being said, Gay breaks up these more realistic stories with a style of magical realism. After the incredibly heavy opening story, "I Will Follow You," is "Water, All Its Weight," which describes the sad life of a woman who has an unusual problem. No matter where she goes, she is followed by water that leaks through the ceiling above her and creates mold. Others in the story find it hard to be in her presence because there is a constant dampness that seems to seep into their bones and drives them away. Another, "Requiem for a Glass Heart," follows the life of a couple, the glass woman and the stone thrower, who live together in a glass house with their glass son. My personal favorite was the longest of these mystical tales, "The Sacrifice of Darkness." The narrator is a woman who is married to the son of a coal miner who was filled with so much darkness from his profession that he flew up and consumed the sun. The narrator falls in love with the son, who is ostracized for being related to the man who took the sun away. There is hope at the end when their child is born and light begins to return to the sky.
I enjoy the impossibility of magical realism in Difficult Women. Gay writes very convincingly in this style and uses it as another way to tackle heavy topics. The writing, particularly in "The Sacrifice of Darkness" is fairytale-esque and pleasant to read. I felt that for these more mystical kinds of stories, there was never a clear ending. I understand that short stories do not need to be clear cut and tied up by the end, but there was too much openness at the end for my liking.
Overall, Difficult Women was a great read. While I sometimes had to take a break after more intense stories, I was always excited to pick it up and keep going. The stories were not meant to simply justify why difficult women act the way they do, it is an acceptance of all kinds of women and their situations in this modern world. This book would be good for someone who wants to read about well developed female characters and unusual scenarios. I would not recommend this book to someone who may be sensitive to topics of sexual assault and rape, or someone who cannot read graphic descriptions of sexual encounters. I would recommend reading this book with feminist ideology in mind because some of the stories are more about commentary on how things are rather than how they should be.
Difficult Women
258 pages. Published by Grove Press. Hardcover $25.00
by Belanna Morales on April 10, 2017 • Permalink
Posted by Belanna Morales on April 10, 2017
https://englishumf.wordpress.com/2017/04/10/difficult-women-book-review/
Caps, Coitus, and Caipirinhas
Local Bookseller Offers Student Discounts
Humanities Spring Reception 2019
Capstone-Alone in the Dark: Isolation in the Horror Genre
English Majors Get Jobs
The Echo of History & The BlacKkKlansman
BlacKkKlansman Discussion
Some Sentences From "Persuasion" – A New Commons Project Talk
Special Event: Jonathan Cohen on "Disciples of Dionysus: Nietzsche and the Ramones"
Special Event: Anthony Davis on John Coltrane's "Alabama"
Today's Music Through Activism: Performance by Anthony Green
Living Language
Native American Film and Performance Forum
Spring Reception
Student Accomplishments and Activities
What Can I Do With a Major in English?
American Indian Film Gallery
Birchbark Books
Literary Blogs
Indigenous New England Literature
Western Literature Association Blog
UMF Blogs
Analyze This!!!
Knack: Arts Journal of Western Maine
Literary Theory Blog
Noisy, Wild, and Extremely Troublesome
The New Commons Project
UMF Faculty Blogs
Bhutan Days
Wait Till I Tell Ye


As we ready for September I want you to know about August. More than 100 people joined this month. More than 10,000 mepeace.org pages were visited. We have taken off! Look forward to good news.
Hey Eyal - that's fantastic! Keep it going and growing.


text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>ProvidedStaticParameter - FSharp.Configuration</title>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="">
    <meta name="author" content="FSProjects team">

    <link href="https://netdna.bootstrapcdn.com/twitter-bootstrap/2.2.1/css/bootstrap-combined.min.css" rel="stylesheet">

    <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="./../content/style.css" />

fsharp.org

github page

FSharp.Configuration

ProvidedStaticParameter

  Namespace: ProviderImplementation.ProvidedTypes

Represents a provided static parameter.

Constructors

Constructor	Description

            new(...)

            Signature: (parameterName:string * parameterType:Type * parameterDefaultValue:obj option) -> ProvidedStaticParameter

CompiledName: .ctor

Instance members

Instance member	Description

            AddXmlDoc(xmlDoc)

            Signature: xmlDoc:string -> unit

Add XML documentation information to this provided constructor

            AddXmlDocDelayed(xmlDocFunction)

            Signature: (xmlDocFunction:(unit -> string)) -> unit

Add XML documentation information to this provided constructor, where the computation of the documentation is delayed until necessary

FSharp.Configuration

Home page

Get Library via NuGet

Source Code on GitHub

License

Release Notes

Getting started

AppSettingsProvider

ResXProvider

YamlConfigProvider

IniTypeProvider


Fellow passengers, we've come a long way from the glory days of 1960s Pan Am airplane food. It all looks so glamorous and plush on the new ABC series Pan Am. But now when you travel by air, you're lucky if you get a can of soda and a bag of pretzels for free. And even the stuff you pay for isn't all that.
But back in the day, Pan Am passengers didn't just get superior service from flight attendants who looked like Margot Robbie: They also got the posh nosh.
Apparently -- if you can imagine this -- travel was once a luxury experience just for the wealthy. Think china, silverware, linens, buffet tables with roasts. That's right, there was room on the airplane for a freaking buffet table! What else did the Pan Am fat cats of yesteryear eat?
Try lobster. And (are you ready for this?) filet mignon, salmon cream cheese pinwheels, shrimp cocktail, beef bourguignon, roast turkey with chestnut dressing, veal chops, Dover sole, chicken teriyaki, eggs Florentine, Boston cream pie, fresh strawberry shortcake, and chocolate fudge sundaes. You were served a salad course and a soup course and sometimes even a cheese course -- minus that shrink-wrapped stick of pepper jack.
Is your mouth watering yet? You also had your choice of cocktails when you arrived and someone was constantly refilling your wine goblet with something a few hundred notches above Yellow Tail Shiraz.
Pan Am the TV show gets the food details pretty right, even if it does crowd the serving trays with a week's worth of delicacies. In one episode, an attendant played by Christina Ricci presents a passenger with a cart loaded with "prosciutto, pate, escargot ..." As real-life Pan Am attendant Karin Fiedler tells it in the Chicago Tribune, "Not only did I have to learn how to cook fresh roast beef five different ways, maybe right in the middle I may have to deliver a baby."
Even today's first-class meals (on most airlines) don't come close. The trade-off is that now middle-class slobs like me can afford to fly. Pan Am would have been way out of my price range.
But I wonder if I could get away with bringing aboard my own set of china and silverware, with maybe some carefully-packed coq au vin and haricot vert? Think anyone would mind if I passed around a platter of bacon-wrapped dates and prosciutto-wrapped melon, just for old time's sake?
Based on what you've seen in the TV show, would you have loved to fly Pan Am in the 1960s?


We provide some free resources that we use to support our Success Driven Education Model in the 24/7 Learning Academy. These resources can help provide some structure, guidance, and support you with record keeping and goal setting.
Designed to allow you to easily support your Learner with their projects outside of school.
Parent training so that you can support your learner outside of school.


text:
Malinga ist der Nachname von:

 Alex Malinga (* 1974), ugandischer Langstreckenläufer
 Lasith Malinga (* 1983), sri-lankischer Cricket-Spieler
 Thulani Malinga (* 1955), südafrikanischer Boxer


Introducing A-Fifty, the Class A rated acoustic screen.
We're excited to launch the third product in our Liberate series: Bedouin.
How we helped create privacy for students seeking careers advice.
We are over the moon that we've been shortlisted for a Mixology North Award!
Take a look around one of our more unusual installations.


text:
Mount Olive Woman Perseveres 15 Years After Accident
New Jersey Hills Media Group article .pdf – May 23, 2014 – By PHIL GARBER, Managing Editor
Maria Tetto survives brain injury, committed to helping others.
MOUNT OLIVE TWP. – Maria Tetto was insistent that any questions be addressed directly to her and not through her father, Frank.
Asked about her goals, Tetto, 28, was clear.
"I'm focused on "My Community" to change public policy to let people live their own lives," she said, referring to the "My Community Care Team," a non-profit formed by Tetto and her father.
Asked about what she likes to do best and she again answered without hesitating, "Helping others."
Not bad for a young woman who was 13 when she nearly died after suffering a traumatic brain injury when she was struck by a pickup truck in Budd Lake. She spent a month in Morristown Memorial Hospital, several months at Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and 17 months as an inpatient at Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack-Gladstone.
Wheelchair bound, Tetto returned to the Budd Lake home of her parents, Frank and Alycia, in April 2000, and graduated from Mount Olive High School in 2006. She now works three days a week at "Presents of Mind," a gift shop in Flanders operated by Community Options, an organization that develops residential and employment supports for people with severe disabilities.
Upbeat Personality
Tetto, an attractive brunette-haired woman, was non-verbal for three years after the accident. No more. Now she speaks freely and smiles easily and frequently. Her speech is sometimes difficult to understand but she will be heard.
She gets around her apartment in a special Permobil C500 wheelchair provided by the Matheny Center.
"After my accident, I got stuck in happy," Maria said. "I may not be able to walk but I can run – run my life."
Frank Tetto, 66, is equally animated, outspoken and clearly devoted to his daughter as her primary caregiver since the accident on March 2, 1998. He was at his daughter's bedside 24 hours a day for six months when she was in Children's Specialized Hospital.
He said he is "bonded like an animal" to his daughter and her care is his full-time job. He made $100,000 a year as a former production manager with the N.Y. Times, but stopped outside work after the accident.
"We've sacrificed," Frank Tetto said.
The toughest days and months were after the accident. At the hospital, Frank Tetto was told his daughter was too injured to be rehabilitated. Ten days after the accident, with Maria in the intensive care unit at Morristown Memorial Hospital, Frank Tetto was asked to sign a waiver for his daughter's organ donations.
"To ask me that was unconscionable," Mr. Tetto said.
He said his daughter has shown the doctors and others that they were wrong.
"Maria's recovery has been remarkable," Mr. Tetto said. "We're thankful she survived. When death came looking for Maria, Maria gave death a whipping."
Maria lives semi-independently in her own apartment, which is adjacent to the home of her parents and six brothers. She lives with her personal aide, Tresa Murphy, who helps Maria out of bed in the morning, assists her in her personal care and breakfast, before Murphy leaves each day for another full-time job.
"I love Tresa," Maria said in an interview in her apartment.
For the last three years, Maria has worked from 1 to 5 p.m., every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at "Presents of Mind" on Route 206 in Flanders. Her brother, Vito, 32, doubles as her aide and transports Maria to the worksite. She helps make greeting cards and proudly creates her own custom-made cards on a computer.
"If you're looking for a card, just ask me and I'll make one for you," she said.
The arrangement is good for Maria because she is productive but also because she interacts with the public, said her father. Asked how much she charges for the custom-made cards, she quickly answered, "Zip."
Her requests to help aren't always quickly answered. Maria recently offered to volunteer to make computer data entries at the Mount Olive Public Library but was told there was a waiting list. Mr. Tetto hopes the library accepts Maria's offer as it would help her socialization while she would work at no cost with an aide to help with any personal needs.
"She's always trying to find ways to help people," her father said.
That's how it was when she returned to high school after her accident. She had previously been in the school choir and members of the choir visited her in the hospital. After she returned to school, she again joined the choir.
"It gave hope to other individuals (with disabilities)," her father said. "People joined who you hadn't seen in the choir before. She helped open that door."
Maria has continued singing and joins with her mother to sing on Sundays with the choir at St. Jude's Roman Catholic Church in Budd Lake.
The Tettos have had continuous battles with state and federal agencies to win services. One of the first battles came when Mr. Tetto wanted her daughter discharged from the Matheny School to return home. It was costing $200,000 a year at Matheny but the former, state Division of Developmental Disabilities was willing to pay for just 20 hours of home care a month, a value of about $4,000 a month or $48,000 a year. Despite the huge savings in having Maria at home, the state insisted that she remain at the very costly Matheny Hospital.
"I brought her home anyway," Mr. Tetto said. "She wasn't going to remain institutionalized. She belonged home."
The Tettos fought the state for more care and won, now receiving payment for 120 hours a week. As for help that's not covered, "There's always the non-paid family member to help," he said.
Another victory was when the Tettos appealed a Medicaid ruling and won payment for special thickened liquids that Maria needs because she has trouble swallowing.
The initial problem with bringing Maria home was that there was no wheelchair ramp.
"When I first came to home sweet home, my family carried me up to the house," Maria said.
The family soon built a ramp, making a huge difference in Maria's ability to come and go from the house for everything from work to eating out at restaurants or going to the movies.
The Tettos are proud of the work they do with their "My Community Care Team," a non-profit advocacy organization that provides referrals and information for people with disabilities. They learn of people's needs through various sources, including an on-line traumatic brain injury support group.
"We give help at no charge," said Maria.
A situation that Mr. Tetto read about in the newspaper was typical of the type of care the group offers. The story involved a young disabled man who needed transportation to his job at the Rockaway Mall. Mr. Tetto called and offered to help at no charge.
"Either I would do it on my own or I'd send Maria and her staff," Mr. Tetto said.
The offer was accepted and the Tettos provided transportation for the young man for several months.
"We do good things," Maria said.
Mr. Tetto said he read in the newspaper about another similar situation that involved a disabled man who needed someone to drive him to the doctor. Mr. Tetto called and offered to help.
"I said that we understand how someone in a family has work and life challenges," Mr. Tetto said.
Another time Community Care used donations it had collected to provide a ramp for a man who had been unable to find funding. Mr. Tetto said he learned of the man's needs on the Freecycle website.
"There was no obligation and no paperwork," Mr. Tetto said. "We paid for the ramp and installed it in two weeks."
Maria also is particularly proud of having donated her hair four times to the "Locks of Love" organization that provides hair to people with cancer.
Mr. Tetto was clear when asked what he wants for his daughter.
"The goal is for her to run her own life," he said.
← 2014 Spring Event Photo Gallery
NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson to Meet Lifelong Fan From Nonprofit Community Options →