text:
No matter how comfortable I'd gotten in the suite I shared with Melinoë - and that was extremely comfortable - Stepping to Athena's palace always felt like coming home.
Apparently, word of Michel's death had travelled ahead of me…or maybe Mother's intelligence network really was just that good, because Danae was hurrying down the steps towards me even as I appeared at the bottom. Before I had a chance to orient myself, I was caught up in her embrace and found myself returning it tightly.
"Talia, I heard, I'm so sorry…" She hugged me tighter.
"It gets better," I said breathlessly, then told her about the plan to install Michel as our private physician.
She nodded as I finished. "That's actually a really good idea. I mean…I'm sorry he died, of course, but I'm glad he's going to get to fulfill his dream after all. And I'm glad we'll be able to stop bugging Apollo and Hermes with every little scrape, bump, and broken bone."
I just nodded.
She rested her hands on my shoulders. "So, if you didn't come here to be comforted, something about how he died must've brought you here."
"I've just come from Hephaestus's forge. He identified one of the bullets fired at Michel as being made of Orichalcum."
Danae froze in place, eyes widening in surprise.
"I take it you haven't heard of any mortals capable of making it right now," I said. "Hephaestus isn't aware of any."
Danae shook her head. "I haven't heard of any." She took a breath and straightened. "Lady Pluto, I imagine you'll want an audience with Athena."
"If she can spare me a few minutes, Lady Minerva," I replied with a small smile.
Danae huffed a little laugh and nudged me with her elbow as we started up the steps together. "As if she'd ever turn you away."
As we entered the main hall, Mother turned from where she was standing by her throne. She'd evidently been talking to her owl companion, Bubo, who was sitting on his perch beside her throne. Today, he looked like an eagle owl…very regal and a little intimidating.
Mother met us halfway to her throne with a smile and a hug for me, kissing my cheek before stepping back and becoming more formal. "Welcome, Lady Pluto. I understand you've brought me quite the puzzle today."
"That is correct, my Lady," I said, curtseying politely.
"Very formal and correct," she teased gently, "but I do so prefer it when you call me Mother."
I smiled. "Thank you, Mother." I held out the squashed bullet to her. "Two of these were used to kill Michel. I retrieved this third one from the wall behind where he was standing. Daedalus identified it is Orichalcum, Hephaestus confirmed the identification and informed me that he believed there were no mortals capable of making it right now."
Mother smiled. "Is that what he said?"
I hid a smile and dropped my eyes for a moment. "Actually, he commented on the poor quality of its manufacture. Very politely and respectfully, considering how hard it evidently is to make, but still…"
She laughed softly. "No doubt." She took it from me, held it up and looked at it thoughtfully. "I can confirm one thing, at least…I too know of no one in the mortal world capable of making Orichalcum, however badly. And clearly, it's not so badly made as to be ineffective."
She lowered it again and frowned. "This is a problem. Orichalcum is one of the few substances in existence which can completely neutralize the benefits of and bring death to those gifted with true Immortality. If someone out there is making it and using it against immortals, we must know." She turned and handed the bullet to Danae. "Minerva, please take this back to Hephaestus and have him melt it down. Perhaps from its component elements, he can find a clue as to where it was made. From there, look into the matter…but quietly, and with caution! Bring me whatever you find."
Danae bowed. "Yes, Mother." She turned and gave me a quick hug. "See you later, squirt." Then she was gone with a soft pop of in-rushing air.
"Is your information network really that good?" I asked curiously.
Mother's smile was a secretive, conspiratorial one. "You have no idea, my little owlet. You might say that I'm the patron goddess of the Internet and conspiracy theorists." She winked. "Sit and have tea with me while we wait, if you have a few - "
My cell phone rang.
Honestly, I hardly remember the thing exists most of the time. Hades communicates with me telepathically rather than use one - when he communicates with me remotely - which meant that when it rang, it was probably one of two things: Eos just wanting to hang out, or Eos needing an extra pair of hands with something violent.
I'm a little disappointed that nobody ever calls just to talk. Not that I ever object to spending my free time with Eos. Or to committing acts of violence against monsters with her. Each was fun in its own way.
I pulled the phone out and checked the screen. Yup, it was Eos. I held it up so Mother could see the screen, then answered it when she made a little 'go ahead' gesture. "Hi Eos. What's up? I'm with Mother at the moment."
"Is it important?" Eos's voice asked through the little speaker.
"Not immediately," I said carefully.
"Good. I hate to interrupt any time you get to spend with your mom, but I need your help ASAP." She sounded a little breathless, like she was running.
I smiled a bit. "What is it this time?"
"We've got a zombie outbreak in New Orleans. Can you meet me at the Saint Louis Cemetery #1 in a few minutes?"
I blinked. "Zombies?" I asked incredulously. "In New Orleans? The day before Halloween? Come on, you're pulling my leg."
Mother looked amused.
"Nope," Eos said, still sounding breathless. "Would-be necromancer got his hands on a couple of actual, honest-to-darkness spells for raising the dead, and went to town with them. Literally."
"Infectious?" I asked, growing alarmed.
"No, thank all the gods. This isn't like the outbreak in Jakarta last year. That was a chemical spill, remember?"
"Sorry," I said dryly, "I have trouble keeping my zombie apocalypses straight."
"They have been very popular lately," Mother agreed, still smiling.
"Hi Mrs. Talia's Mom!" Eos called over the phone. Another of her irreverent running jokes, which I found charming in spite of myself. Good grief, I was besotted.
"Hello, Jupiter," Mother said. "Hang up now, Pluto will be right there."
"Thank you!" The phone beeped twice to indicate the end of the call.
I gave Mom a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks. Call if Danae finds anything."
"As soon as I hear from her. Now go!"
I went, Stepping back to my office to get ammunition for Cerberus.
Michel and Mel were still sitting in front of my desk, though they'd moved closer together. Mel was apparently in the middle of regaling him with a story about the time she spent playing muse for H.P. Lovecraft, and Michel looked utterly entranced by her.
I didn't bother them, just went to the ammunition locker and opened it. Inside was a huge variety of ammo magazines and specialty rounds, all color-coded for my convenience. I grabbed five big magazines of consecrated silver buckshot shells…silver bullets are fanciful; if you want to get anything done, silver buckshot is the way to go.
All five magazines went into my belt pouches. I pulled Cerberus from the back of my belt and unfolded it into its spear form, unfurled my shield, activated my helmet, and Stepped to the Saint Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans.
My timing was excellent. I appeared at the entrance just as Eos rounded a corner and came pelting towards me at a sprint.
"GUN!" she shouted.
I twirled Cerberus around, transforming it into its rifle form as it went, and pulled out one of the magazines of silver buckshot shells. I slapped it into the receiver on the bottom of my rifle, and Cerberus thickened and grew slightly to accommodate the 12 gauge shotgun shells.
Eos Skipped the rest of the way to me, appearing not far from me and shedding her momentum by skidding to a halt beside me. "Gods, but I hate zombies. They're so disgusting!"
"You're using lightning," I observed. "Aren't you just burning them to a crisp?"
"Yeah, but they have a tendency to burst and leave stains on things." She made a disgusted sound.
Everything was quiet.
"Um…so why the cemetery?" I asked. "And where are they?"
"They're coming here next," Eos said, catching her breath. "The cheeky bastard who's raising them has been visiting every cemetery in town, picking up cannon fodder as he goes and heading in this direction. So far, the folks in town are collectively so drunk and stoned - Halloween's almost as big a party down here as Mardi Gras - that they think it's some kind of wild street show."
"Mortals," I huffed.
We waited. I glanced at her. "I thought this was a rush situation."
"It was…several blocks back. I guess they're not much for high-speed chases. So, how's Michel taking it?"
I sighed a little. "Pretty well, considering. We're setting him up as private doctor to the Avatars."
"That is a really cool idea," she enthused. "I like it. Any idea how he died?"
"He was shot twice in the heart with bullets made of Orichalcum."
She blinked, all of her excitement and enthusiasm draining away in an instant. "Bullshit."
I shook my head. "No bullshit. Hephaestus confirmed it, and Minerva's looking into it for Mother."
"Holy shit," she breathed.
A human - or rather, something that had once been a human - finally shambled around the corner Eos had come from. It stopped for a moment, turned slowly, then started plodding towards us. Another followed it, then two more…
Eos hummed a few bars from Thriller. Nothing throws off her equilibrium for long.
"Well," I said with a sigh, "at least they're not runners like the ones in Jakarta last year."
"Not all undead are created equal," Eos said philosophically. "The real problem with these is that there's -"
I'd already counted eight…ten…fifteen…I gave up at thirty zombies, and they kept coming, shambling along behind their point man. Er…point zombie.
" - one whole hell of a lot of them," Eos said.
I nodded. "How'd you hear about this, anyway?"
"Ah, well…" She smiled and shrugged. "I'd been planning on bringing you here after lunch. To, you know, celebrate. I came anyway, thinking you might need a few drinks after collecting Michel."
"That's sweet."
She winked at me, then nodded to the slowly approaching zombies. "Shall we?"
I nodded. "Let's." I checked Cerberus's ammo counter - 12 - and started walking with her towards the zombies. "If I'd known there were so many, I'd've brought more ammo."
"How much did you bring?"
"Five magazines. Not nearly enough for this lot. Guess we'll find out how well Cerberus's energy blasts will work against this type of zombie."
"Yes we will," Eos agreed. She balled her hands into fists and electricity started to spark and crackle around them. "Ready?" A bolt of living lightning formed in each of her hands, ready to be thrown.
I lifted Cerberus and braced it against my shoulder. "Ready!"
The next few minutes were made up of the sort of violent chaos that only video game fans and adrenaline junkies can really appreciate. To some extent, Eos and I fit both bills.
She popped the lead zombie with one of her lightning bolts. Literally. The thing burst like a gooey sack when struck, leaving smears of ichor on the street.
"Ew! You weren't kidding!" I said. "They're not just dead, they're disgusting. You're paying my dry cleaning bill for this one."
With that, I started pumping consecrated silver buckshot into the crowd of zombies as it approached. For once, popular culture got it right: the best way to stop a zombie - pretty much any type of zombie, in fact - is to sever the head from the body, or destroy the brain outright. Without the brain to coordinate the central nervous system, you don't have a zombie anymore.
A talented necromancer could turn the remains into an animated skeleton, but it's usually a lot more trouble than it's worth.
Digression aside, I was taking advantage of the nature of necromantic zombies and bypassing the headshot rule by using consecrated silver. Blessed silver acts on this type of zombie pretty much the same way Eos's lightning bolts did.
Boom, splat.
Within moments, the street was growing slick with sticky blackish goo as we slowly whittled away at the shambling horde approaching us. The good news was that each of my shots took out two or three zombies. The better news was that unless this necromancer had ridiculous amounts of power as his disposal, it wouldn't be long before we exhausted his supply of animated corpses. No matter how skilled a necromancer you are, you can only control so many undead at one time.
This young man didn't seem to have a whole lot of power at his command…either that, or Eos had jumped on things so quickly that he hadn't had a chance to build up too much of a horde yet. My helmet's HUD gave me a count of just under two hundred zombies as we went to work, and that number started to fall.
I blasted two more as they approached, and Eos began throwing bolts of lightning with both hands, taking out a zombie with each throw. We worked steadily on the approaching masses of the undead, but were pretty quickly surrounded anyway. No matter how good you are, being outnumbered so dramatically always presents difficulties.
We turned and went back to back, shoulders pressing against one another. I glanced over my shoulder as Eos began gathering larger bolts of lightning with both hands and taking out three or four at a time. "Can you do that lightning storm thing you did in Siberia?"
"In a residential area? It's not a great idea. I might hurt somebody by accident."
"Well, then," I said, ejecting my second empty magazine and popping in the third. "We'd better pick up the pace."
Standing back to back, we blasted zombie after zombie, whittling away at the shambling horde. Whenever they got too close, Eos would combine two of her lightning bolts into a spear-sized one and swing it around us, leaving smoking, decapitated corpses falling back into their companions. Between the two of us, they never actually got close enough to threaten us.
In a little under five minutes, we'd thinned the surrounding mass of zombies enough that during a brief pause we heard someone calling for them to stop and make way. I was ejecting my last magazine as the undead parted, and was a little relieved by the reprieve. While I was pretty sure Cerberus's energy blasts would work on them, and knew that its bladed forms would, I wasn't really keen on having more zombie stains on my uniform.
From the directions the zombies had come, the remains of the horde parted to reveal a shocked looking man in Goth clothing.
Well…Gothic clothing, anyway. I shouldn't judge.
He was about my height, slim and pale, with long, greasy-looking black hair and sunken eyes. He wore an old maroon velvet frock coat over black trousers and a black silk shirt, and carried a long black wooden staff topped with a milky white crystal in his right hand. After a moment, I recognized it as a reproduction of Saruman's staff from the Lord of the Rings movies.
He banged the end of it on the ground angrily. "You can't do that!" he said petulantly.
Eos and I looked at one another, then back at him.
"Really?" Eos said.
"In case you hadn't noticed," I added, "we just did."
It's very hard to take a whiny villain seriously.
"Who are you, anyway?" he asked. "You look like rejects from a Greek renaissance faire."
Eos bowed. "Lady Jupiter, at your service. This is my colleague, Lady Pluto. We swat bugs like you for a living."
He clenched his hand around the reproduction staff and glared. "How dare you…"
I sighed. "Jupiter."
"Sorry," Eos said unrepentantly. "Didn't mean to insult any bugs."
I sighed again and reminded myself that diplomacy should always be my first resort. "Young man," I said, "you're playing with powers you can't possibly understand - "
"But I do!" he cut me off, drawing himself up to his full height and thrusting the staff out like it was supposed to intimidate us. "I will call up a horde of undead like the world has never seen!"
"The likes of which the world has never seen," I corrected, unable to help myself. "You might want to work on your grammar."
"The Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt," Eos said helpfully, "during the days of the Middle Kingdom, bore witness to a necromancer who called up almost ten thousand zombies at one time. It was just outside of Thebes, I believe. I think that's the most undead any one man has ever raised up at one time. You've got a goal to reach now!"
"Stop mocking me!" he shouted.
"Stop acting like a ponce," Eos replied mildly.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, trying to sound gentle and reasonable, hoping to get us back on the diplomacy track.
"All my life," he said in a low, angry voice, "I've been mocked, made fun of, ridiculed! Well now it's time for the pathetic losers of this world to - "
Eos interrupted him by zapping him with a small jolt of electricity. He screamed and fell to the ground, twitching and spasming.
"Jupiter!"
"I was tired of listening to that twaddle a hundred years ago, Pluto," she said. "It hasn't gotten any better with age. And honestly, why do so many of these would-be megalomaniacs think that talking is a free action?"
It was easy for me to forget that Eos was about two hundred years my elder. Behaviorally, it usually seemed like I was older. I wondered what that said about me. I sighed. "All right. So who do we give him to?"
"He's styled himself as a necromancer, and actually did a halfway decent job with these zombies," Eos said. "Wanna give him to Hecate?"
I shivered. I'd spoken with Hecate precisely once during my five years as Hades' Avatar, and had hoped it wouldn't happen again any time soon. "I suppose so. Necromancers are her domain, after all."
"No one will take me!" he croaked, struggling to his feet as he shook off the effects of Eos's weak TASER-shot. "Your fancy magic can't stop - "
Eos threw another small spark at him. Hopefully enough to knock him out this time. He was, after all, every bit as annoying as she'd said.
Instead, to my surprise, he raised a hand and a disk of dark, oily-looking energy sprang up in front of it. The little jolt of lightning spread out over its surface and was dispersed enough that it never reached him.
"As I was saying," he started again, looking smug, "your fancy magic can't stop - "
Eos hit him again, with a strong bolt of lightning this time, then twice more in quick succession when he managed to stop that one. The third bolt of lightning shattered his shield and crackled up his arm, spinning him around and leaving him tottering and jerking unsteadily, trying to balance himself with his staff.
"Stop that!" he shouted.
In spite of myself, that made me snicker. Really, there's nothing sillier than a would-be villain who thinks the world will stop turning just because he said so.
"Zombies!" he shouted, "get them!"
I glanced around. There were maybe a dozen zombies left, and one of the ones I counted was already missing both arms.
Eos rolled her eyes. "You want them?"
"Let's just split them," I said. "It'll be over faster."
She nodded and started throwing lightning again. I transformed Cerberus into its sword form and Skipped to the nearest zombie, slicing the top half of its head off. It dropped like a sack of rotted meat (which it was, come to think of it), and moved on to the next one.
Eos and I finished at the same time, almost colliding as we took out the last one together. She flashed me a quick grin, then we both Skipped back over to stand in front of our would-be necromancer.
"So," I said, "are you going to surrender and come quietly, or do we need to rough you up some more?"
"Let's just rough him up," Eos growled. "Hecate won't mind if we soften him up for her." She can really be very intimidating when she wants to be, and this was one of her better growls, but this nut was too far gone to crack.
"You can't stop me!" he ranted. "Nobody can stop me! I am the Necromancer, and I have dominion over all things! Even death itself!"
I winced. "Oh, you really shouldn't have said that while we're around."
Eos took a few steps back, and when I glanced at her I saw she'd gone pale. She'd only seen what was about to happen once before, and it was rather unsettling, even for me. "It's been real, man," she said.
He blinked, surprised. "What? Are you surrendering?"
I shook my head. "Getting out of the way."
There was a soft rustling sound, like dried leaves blowing over the ground, and a shadow loomed up behind him. It quickly took form, becoming a familiar tall, gaunt figure in a heavy cloak. His face was hidden beneath his heavy cowl, and the evening shadows seemed to gather around him like lovers.
"I…beg your pardon…" Thanatos's raspy, whispery voice drifted out from inside the cowl. "I don't think…I heard that right…"
The young man whipped around, laughing maniacally, oblivious to his danger. "I said, fool, that I have dominion over death!"
Thanatos sighed. The sound made Eos back up another step, and sent a little shiver down my spine. It wasn't a natural sound. It was like…stale air escaping from a crypt that's been closed up tight for a long, long time. "Foolish. Ignorant."
Eos squeaked and turned away as Thanatos reached out and plunged a skeletal hand into the young man's chest. It wasn't a wound, there was no blood or physical damage…his hand simply entered. When he pulled his hand back out, a shadowy, insubstantial echo of the young man came with it, looking impossibly surprised.
"No mortal has dominion…over me," Thanatos said softly. "Especially not necromancers. Come."
Thanatos melted back into the ground, taking the young man's soul with him. The now-empty body simply fell forward onto its face, very dead.
Saturday, October 19, 2019 1:27:16 PM


We all knew it was coming, but now YouTube has announced it will soon be showing ad-supported feature length films. This now puts it in direct competition with Hulu, who already specializes in showing feature length films. Now the competition will begin, as YouTube receives more visitors a month and Hulu receives more money from ad revenue because sponsors are more likely to pay for video that's full length. Find out more at CNet.


Bal Malkit Singh, Core Committee Chairman, AIMTC, says striking truckers will relent only when their demands are met.
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the traffic police and the transport department of the AAP government to check whether vehicles on Delhi roads were compliant with pollution norms.
Electric cars are taking a back seat to more profitable trucks and sport utility vehicles at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, a venue that recently has been a showcase for green cars.
With its recent acquisition of self-driving truck startup Otto, Uber Technologies Inc.is plotting its entry into the long-haul trucking business, aiming to establish itself as a freight hauler and a technology partner for the industry.
Acting tough to curb pollution in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday directed all commercial vehicles entering Delhi to pay environmental compensation charge in addition to the toll tax.
Transporters continued their nation-wide strike for the third consecutive day today, disrupting supply of goods to various parts of the country.
Trucks from India carrying essential goods and petroleum products today started entering Nepal which is grappling with a fuel crisis due to the blockade of a key trade point with India by protesters opposing Nepal's new Constitution.


Busch Series was the first series of his professional career. Twenty-five years ago, Gordon added $ 6500 to his bank balance when he partakes in NASCAR Winston Cup. In next year, Gordon was very successful in earning 10x more money than before. He was so fortunate to have a wonderful startup. After some time, Gordon was a part of NASCAR Nextel Cup. He has remained consistent throughout his career. He collected massive money from his participation in NASCAR Sprint Cup. Gordon is the first racer to gain over $ 100 million from Cup Series.
Two years ago his wonderful career was going to its finish line. Recently, Fox NASCAR has employed him as an announcer. So current salary detail of Jeff Gordon in 2018 is here for you along with his meet and greet schedule net worth and sponsors earnings.During last year, Gordon was chosen as a substitute driver for some particular races. Furthermore, Gordon has its own racing car Chevrolet No.
48 which is now been driven by another driver, who gracefully won 7 Cup Championships.As racing is now the biggest trend in the US, so sponsors chose successful drivers of all the time. Gordon is already the greatest driver of all the time so he is also chosen by several companies for endorsement and advertisement purposes.
His sponsors include Gillette, Nicorette, Pepsi, Coke and many others.
Major Achievements: For the four times he achieved Sprint Cup Champion title. He is also awarded the Daytona 500 title. NASCAR placed his name on '50 Greatest Drivers' list and after 10 years his remarkable winnings makes possible for him to become 25 Greatest Drivers of All-time.
This Former American professional American racing car driver was born, in Vallejo. He is the son of William Grinnell (father) and Carol Ann. His mother remarried to John after the divorce. He has an elder sister named Kim. He went to the Public school situated in Lizton and joined school's team there.
At the age of 5, Gordon's stepfather bought a BMX for him. Thus BMX was his first ride. A year later, Gordon began racing with other kids and made new records on the track.


text:
Hello, welcome to the Experiband!
For more than a decade the members of the Experiband have dedicated themselves to being instrumental to human purpose and evolution. Our research has caused all kinds of music to appear in a variety of styles, sounds, rhythms and melodies. Our passion is to compose essence music, which is music that can haunt, touch and nourish the inner lives of the human. We have developed special ways and means to tune ourselves to the natural worlds and to natural concepts, ideas and influences.
In case of questions, send an email to Paul Keuskamp pkeuskamp@telfort.nl
"Spectrumized", our last album, is about the seven rainbow colours which all have a different frequency and nature. This CD is highly recommended if you want to explore in the domains of movement, dance, meditative processes in relation to the spectrum colours. Each colour is converted into melody and rhythm. The result is a very rich and varied listening experience! More information about the effect of these colours you''ll find in the CD booklet.
A Los Trios Experiment
The cd "a Los Trios Experiment" is a special project about essences and qualities in music such as what is essential in Greek or Portuguese music and how do qualities as gratitude and dignity translate into music?
Our album "Detox" appeals to the natural formation and process of the brain and contributes to the removal of blockers in the pathways of the brain.
Our research has caused all kinds of music to appear in a variety of styles, sounds, rhythms and melodies.
The cd "Along the road" takes you from places such as Morocco and Turkey to Tibet but also the Netherlands. It contains swinging, driving and joyful tunes as well as meditative and contemplative music. Here are 1 minute samples of all the tracks of this CD:
"Connections" is an adventurous exploration into the essence realms of speeds, devotion, intactness, humility and much more. During this research we had a feeling about life in a much bigger perspective. The starry worlds were on our minds.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The latest game company to raise a round of funding reflects the global reach of the industry. Chile's Atakama Labs has raised $4 million from two Chilean venture capital funds, Austral Capital and COPEC-UC.
The company hasn't announced its games, but its co-founders say they're working on "meaningful games" that "help you feel better as a human being." The first game is expected to debut in January.
Atakama Labs was founded by Esteban Sosnik (right) and Tiburcio de la Carcova (below), two Argentines who crossed the Andes and settled in Santiago, Chile, in search of more political and economic stability. The company has 10 employees but expects to have 50 by the end of next year. The founders said in an interview their goal is to innovate in Chile and sell in the United States. They plan to make money via virtual goods, micro-transactions and possibly subscriptions.
The co-founders have already created one successful video game company in Chile. Along with Wences Casares (now chief executive of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bling Nation), they created Wanako Games in 2002. That game company produced Assault Heroes, the 2006 XBLA game of the year and 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures, among others. Wanako was acquired by Vivendi Universal's Sierra Entertainment division in 2007.
Following a subsequent merger with Activision, Vivendi divested its Sierra Online game unit, selling Wanako to Canada-based Artificial Mind and Movement. Sosnik said it was the only gaming studio Vivendi was able to sell among the three it had – the others were in Shanghai and Seattle. Wanako remains active today in Santiago.
Atakama's board will consist of Casares, Enrique Pizarro of COPEC-UC, and Gonzalo Miranda of Austral (for more on Austral, see separate Venturebeat story). The company's future games will tap Web 2.0-like trends such as sharing and being part of a cause. The games will likely include 'peer reviewing" and "collaborative learning," said de la Carcova.
It's hard to say whether Atakama will succeed. But its founders have already put Chile on the map in the gaming industry. They had no industry experience when they started Wanako. And de la Carcova said that "during the first year, basically everyone from the industry told us what we wanted to do was nearly impossible." Just having to explain where Chile is was their initial challenge. One executive from a large publisher asked them, "that's in Asia, right," said de la Carcova. Sony would not ship them development kits because it said Chile could build missiles with them. (The PlayStation 2 actually was classified as a supercomputer for export purposes).
There were also business challenges – a contract with a large publisher to develop its first original retail product led Wanako to go on a hiring binge. But Sosnik said that when the client did not renew the contract nor provide the business it had promised, Wanako ended up in "the worst possible scenario – no projects and a huge burn rate." Ironically, that is when it decided to prototype its first original IP game, Assault Heroes.
Today Wanako is also a symbol of the potential of entrepreneurship in Chile. Recent articles have noted that Chile has an attractive climate for startups. Several members of Wanako's original art team formed their own art studio, Animation Works. Others formed a company called Ace Team.
Additionally, he said that, "and the competition for talent here is nothing like it would be if our development was based in California." They also estimate their costs will be 35 percent lower than they would be if they were based in the U.S.
One possible challenge – Atakama is no longer the only player in South America's Southern Cone region, which now has several successful gaming companies.
Powerful Robot Games based in Montevideo, Uruguay, also a pioneer for the region, was launched in 2002 and has created games for Disney, Lucas Film, and the Cartoon Network. It developed "Path of the Jedi" for "The Clone Wars." It also developed "The Howard Dean for Iowa Game," considered to be the first game commissioned by a US presidential campaign.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Three Melons has created "Indian Jones Adventures" and Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2D2. Yet for Three Melons co-founder Mariano Suarez Battan, Atakama's founders are not so much competition as they are inspiration. He considers Sosnik and de la Carcova to be mentors.


text:
Q: jQuery Plugin Development - Keep track of all elements plugin has been applied to How do you create a jQuery plugin that is able to access other elements it's been applied to?
What is meant is, if a custom plugin is applied via $('selector').test(), test may add an event click to all elements matched by 'selector'.
Within this click event some action needs to be performed on all other elements matched by 'selector', what is the best way to go about doing this?
The following is a working example:

*

*it will apply a click event to all spans,

*on click it will log all other elements that test has been applied to.

-
$.fn.test = function() {
    var children = [];
    return this.each(function(){
        $(this).css('color','green').on('click',function() {
            console.log(children);
        });
        children.push(this);
    });
};

$('span').test()

Although this example works, is this best practice? The jQuery document on plugin development don't seem to cover this topic.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

A: jsFiddle Demo
It isn't bad practice per se, but it can be improved a little. Internally jQuery will iterate over a set, and the this inside of the jQuery.fn is the whole set of the selector response so you don't need to use each and then rewrap them individually
$.fn.test = function() {
    var set = this;
    return this.css('color','green').on('click',function() {
        console.log(set.not(this));
    });
};

$('span').test()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Ceratitis acicularis är en tvåvingeart som först beskrevs av Munro 1969.  Ceratitis acicularis ingår i släktet Ceratitis och familjen borrflugor.

Artens utbredningsområde är Elfenbenskusten. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Borrflugor
acicularis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Spotted: An Elizabeth Sandwich. Graduates of the first ACADEMY ensemble, Elizabeth Antonucci and Patrick Gannon, and Black Box instructor, Elizabeth Birnkrant, looking absolutely stunning at Step Up Productions' fundraiser. Photo credit to Michael Courier.
Emily Hooper Lansana (Storyteller and U of C Arts Facilitator) and Ron OJ Parson (numerous Chicago theater endeavors and presently directing Gem Of The Ocean at The Court Theater) are presenting a once a month summer reading series at University of Chicago.
The next play will be L. Trey Wilson's award receiving SOMETHING HAPPENED on Monday, September 14th.
Equity and non equity actors will be considered.
Director/Writer L. Trey Wilson received the LA Ovation Award and The GLAAD Award for SOMETHING HAPPENED. His play, STAGE DIRECTIONS was performed at Chicago Theater Company, Penumbra in Minneapolis and EST LA in Los Angeles. It received the NAACP Award, The LA Drama Critics Circle Award, The LA Weekly Award and The Backstage West Garland Award. He was also featured on NPR's All Things Considered.
Gimme More: Chicago Fringe Festival Friday, September 11, 8:30 pm, September 12, 4:00 pm, and September 13, 5:30 pm! More info here.
We're all following @arthistorysnap on Instagram, right? Okay, good, just checking.


Two Gazans died in an Israeli strike on Sunday, raising to five the total number killed as Israel pressed a series of raids targeting militants, among them a top Salafist leader.
Palestinian witnesses said the latest Israeli strike targeted a motorcycle near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, killing two militants in their early 20s.
The Israeli army confirmed the strike, saying it had targeted "a terrorist rocket squad."
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry, told AFP the strike killed Ezzedine Abu Nasira, 23, and Ahmad Fatayer, 22, and left another two people in critical condition.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said they were targeted after firing a rocket into Israel that landed in the Eshkol regional council flanking the southern sector of the Gaza border, without causing injury.
It was the third deadly Israeli raid within 24 hours and came just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "act aggressively" against anyone threatening to attack Israelis.
"Global jihad is increasing its efforts to strike at us and we shall continue to act aggressively and forcefully in response," he told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting, saying the military would also engage in "preventive strikes."
The surge in bloodshed began on Saturday night when the air force targeted a motorcycle in the northern town of Jabaliya, killing top Salafist leader Sheikh Hisham al-Saedini, 43, and a fellow militant called Fayek Abu Jazar, 42.
Saedini, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship, headed a Salafist group called Tawhid wal-Jihad, or the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which has claimed responsibility for firing a handful of rockets at Israel over the past six weeks.
A 12-year-old bystander was wounded in the raid, medics said.
Several hours later, warplanes targeted two militants from the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the southern city of Khan Yunis, killing one and critically wounding the second.
The dead militant was identified as Yasser Mohammad al-Atal, 23.
The strike came shortly after a rocket hit an open field in the Eshkol region, with the army saying the dawn raid had targeted "a terrorist squad."
Saedini was one of the top Salafist militants in Gaza who founded the Mujahedeen Shura Council at the end of 2008.
He was buried in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli army said it had targeted Saedini over his group's involvement in "significant terror activity against Israeli civilians and... soldiers."
It said his group was behind an attack in late January 2009 that killed a soldier and seriously wounded another, and said he had in recent days been "planning a complex attack to be carried out along the Sinai border" in collaboration with Salafi operatives inside Egypt.
But Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry, accused Israel of targeting "innocent civilians."
He said the attack was an attempt to make up for Israel's "severe security failure" on October 6 when a drone sent by Lebanon's Hezbollah militia managed to enter Israeli air space before being shot down near the Dimona nuclear reactor.
Saturday's strike was the second time in a week that Israel had targeted what it describes as "global jihad" activists.
On October 7, two Salafists were critically wounded in an Israeli strike on the southern city of Rafah, and one later died. Another eight people were injured, among them five children.
In response, the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad unleashed a barrage of rocket fire.
The last time Hamas militants fired on Israel was during a flareup in June when militant groups fired more than 150 rockets, wounding five, and Israel hit back with air strikes that killed 15 Palestinians.


In His word, God has given us the revelation about the promises that He has for us. But He's given us that revelation without giving us the manifestation of those promises yet. That's because there must be a demonstration of application on our part in order for us to receive that manifestation. Pastor Ford will dive more deeply into these concepts on today's Treasured Truth.


text:
Q: Mocking GetItemLinqQueryable and Extension method ToFeedIterator() We are using Azure cosmos client V3.
For fetching data we are using GetItemLinqQueryable and ToFeedIterator for making it Async. It works well however while mocking/unit testing we are getting error related to ToFeedIterator
Code:
IOrderedQueryable<T> linqQueryable = _container.GetItemLinqQueryable<T>(requestOptions: requestOptions);
var feedIterator = linqQueryable.Where(predicate).ToFeedIterator();

For mocking
UnitTestCode Code:
var _mockResponse = new Mock<ItemResponse<Test>>();
mockContainer.Setup(x => x.GetItemLinqQueryable<Test>(It.IsAny<bool>(), It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<QueryRequestOptions>())).Returns(queryable);

It does return 1 records from GetItemLinqQueryable however ToFeedIterator() fails saying System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: 'ToFeedIterator is only supported on cosmos LINQ query operations
Parameter name: linqQuery'

A: I ran into this same issue. Check out the comments in this github issue 893 in the azure-cosmos-dotnet-v3 repo. I ended up following approach suggested here.


Git is a phenomenal source control system. Having used some of its predecessors, SVN, CVS and SourceSafe, I'm always impressed at how much better things have gotten. If you have not seen Linus Torvalds talk about why he created git you should take an hour and watch it.
I do think too many developers just gloss over Git. They learn the basic commands they need day to day but miss out on some of the robust features Git has.
So here is my list of my most used and helpful Git commands.
Here is my list of commands I use much less often but are very useful in a pinch.
You should be using a branching model during development. This how to merge one branch into another. --squash is optional. Using it will squash all the commits into a single commit on the target branch.
Not need to switch to and update a branch before merging it. Just git pull and merge the remote URL.
Forgot a file in the last commit? Did you do a lot of commits to track your work but want to roll them into just one commit? Use rebase to squash them together!
Want to bring over one commit from another branch into yours? Well, that's what cherry pick is for! It'll just bring over the selected commit to your branch.
We've all completely fucked up our local copy at least once. It's always fixable with git. Resetting hard will drop your changes, while soft will keep them as staged files. You can also use remote URL's here to reset to the server's working copy.
Working remotely and want to have someone look at some code for you? Send them a patch file.
Apply a patch to your local copy.
This is my most used Git feature. I'd always surprised when I see people not using stashes. Stashes gives you a way to save local changes then restore them later.
This makes a few git tasks much easier. Need to switch tasks to work on something else? Stash your changes! Need to merge a branch into your local copy but you have active changes? Stash your changes! Tried an idea that didn't work out but what to revisit the code later? Stash your changes!
git stash save "Optional Description"
There you have it, a few commands to add to your git toolkit.


text:
News, Reviews, & New Writing
Origami Dogs
Pretend We Are Lovely
So There!
In the Breeze of Passing Things
If You Must Know
Readings & Events
Noley Reid
FORTHCOMING FEB. 26, 2023
from Autumn House Press:
stories about women and men, and
the dogs who share their lives
Noley Reid is author of the novels Pretend We Are Lovely and In the Breeze of Passing Things and the short story collections Origami Dogs and So There!.
Her short fiction and nonfiction appear in The Rumpus, Bustle, The Southern Review, The Lily, Literary Hub, CRAFT Literary, Pithead Chapel, Arts & Letters, and Confrontation. Reid holds an MFA from George Mason University. She taught creative writing for 18 years in colleges, universities, and community centers before giving up tenure to write full-time. She's now at work on a circus novel, teaches every once in a while because she misses it so, and lives in southwest Indiana with her two best boys, a rabbit, and the two most wonderful dogs.
Origami Dogs'
reviews and news here.
Noley Reid | Novelist & Short Storyist
Keep up with me.


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text:
AMERICAS TRAVEL
Central and South American Countries I Want to Visit
Do you fancy a trip to Central and South America? Me too! This continent has fascinated me for years, and I have decided that in 2019 I want to go on an adventure there. There's a few countries that excite me the most, which I have listed below.
Belize formerly British Honduras, is an independent Commonwealth realm on the eastern coast of Central America. Belize is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south and west by Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea.
Belize is a nation of differences with beaches to the east and dense rainforests to the west. Offshore is the massive Belize Barrier Reef, dotted with hundreds of low-lying islands called cayes, hosts rich marine life and there are an array of dreamy vacation homes in Belize.
Whereas to the West you can find jungle areas home to Mayan ruins like Caracol, renowned for its towering pyramid; lagoon-side Lamanai; and Altun Ha, just outside Belize City.
Other things to do in Belize include scuba diving at Hol Chan, rife with sharks and stingrays, and the massive Great Blue Hole, a sinkhole once explored by Jacques Cousteau, Caye Caulker, a small Caribbean island off the coast divided by a narrow channel called the Split, and Barton Creek Cave, a archaeological natural cave in Belize.
Here you can indulge in supersized steaks and burn them off on the dance floor. Argentina is easy to forget due to its proximity to the UK, being the furthest country away from us. However, it is actually the eighth biggest country in the world.
When visiting Argentina it is useful to remember how big this amazing country is and how long it can take to head off across the country. I would begin my trip by landing in Buenos Aires, South America's most romantic city, and take in the culture of this stunning city, dining in steakhouses and enjoying the opera.
Other things to do in Argentina include road tripping through the Jesuit mission at San Ignacio Miní ending up at the Iguazú Falls, wine tasting in the famous Mendoza wine region and believe it or not, visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier, located in the Los Glaciares National Park.
Mexico is a country with a diverse landscape of mountains, deserts and jungles. And a history which dates back thousands of years. The ancient ruins, such as Teotihuacán and the Mayan city of Chichén Itzá are scattered throughout the country, as are Spanish colonial-era towns and along the Riviera Maya is the Mesoamerican Reef, a popular spot for diving and snorkeling.
Other things to do in Mexico include Tulum, the ruins of a walled, ancient Mayan city, located on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Xcaret Park, a privately owned park, resort and self-described ecotourism development located in the Riviera Maya and Arch of Cabo San Lucas, a distinctive rock formation at the southern tip of Cabo San Lucas, which is itself the extreme southern end of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.
The heart of Latin America, Bolivia, is a little rough around the edges, but stunning in its natural beauty. Bolivia is one of South America's most diverse and perplexing nations.
Sometimes referred to as the Tibet of the Americas, Bolivia is one of the most "remote" countries in the western hemisphere; except for the navigable Paraguay River stretching to the distant Atlantic, Bolivia and Paraguay are the only two landlocked nations in the Americas. It is also the most indigenous country in the Americas, with 60% of its population being of pure Native American ancestry.
La Paz is a wild place full of clamorous markets and in a spectacular setting in a bowl at 11,942ft above sea level, at the foot of the mighty Illimani mountain. But offers tourists a chance to see the original Latin America, in all its rawness.
Other things to do in Bolivia include visiting the Amboró & Carrasco National Parks, twin national parks in the most bio-diverse section of the country full of rivers, waterfalls, mountains, and canyons, Tiwanaku, an ancient ruins and UNESCO World Heritage site and Salar de Uyuni, amid the Andes in southwest Bolivia, is the world's largest salt flat.
A rugged, rainforested Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific, Costa Rica is a real beauty amongst it's neighbours. A few friends have been over the years and it has looked incredible, so I couldn't leave out this one. Costa Rica is known for its beaches, volcanoes, and biodiversity with over a quarter of the country made up of protected jungle, teeming with wildlife.
Other things to do in Costa Rica include active pursuits include golfing, surfing, and hiking or taking a zip-line canopy tour through Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, viewing endangered sea turtles as they nest in Tortuguero National Park, and soaking in hot springs near the base of Arenal, an active volcano.
*This is a sponsored post, but as always opinions are my own.
ArgentinaBelizeBoliviaCentral AmericaMexicoSouth America
The Ultimate Guide to Agios Nikolaos (+ stay at Daios Cove Luxury Resort)
7 Things I Cannot Travel Without
Ultimate Guide to 48 Hours in Småland
Among all these places I would Choose Mexico and Costa Rica.Mexico because of its Landscapes and ancient history and Costa Rica because of its beaches and wildlife.I think that these two are the only places in Central South America to visit.
Oh yes, good choices! xxx


I installed 6.0.1 and now 6.0.2 and neither version would start. I click the start button on the control panel it fades out and then after a while it comes back on. I tried one of the older beta versons and it started but I switched back to 5.4.1 because it shut down too much.
What can I do to install the software.
> started but I switched back to 5.4.1 because it shut down too much.
> What can I do to install the software.
This is the entire log file.
Compilation failed in require at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Buttons/Plugins.pm line 20.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Buttons/Plugins.pm line 20.
Compilation failed in require at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Buttons/Common.pm line 15.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Buttons/Common.pm line 15.
Compilation failed in require at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Buttons/Settings.pm line 11.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Buttons/Settings.pm line 11.
Compilation failed in require at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Display/Display.pm line 14.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /Library/PreferencePanes/SlimServer.prefPane/Contents/server/Slim/Display/Display.pm line 14.
Compilation failed in require at ./slimserver.pl line 205.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at ./slimserver.pl line 205.
> This is the entire log file.
> Compilation failed in require at ./slimserver.pl line 205.
> BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at ./slimserver.pl line 205.
I was suspecting something of the sort. I think I have a symbolic link not an alias though. Also the first beta of Slimserver version 6 worked. It just seemed to quit often.
Will I just checked and it does appear to be an alias. Is there a work around?
>Will I just checked and it does appear to be an alias. Is there a work around?
Yes - use a symlink instead.
I created a symlink and everything works great.


We try to make it very easy for Canadian customers to receive their products hassle-free and with no extra hidden costs.
How will I know the cost of duties on purchases?
Boxerbrand will calculate all duties and include them as part of your customized product quotation.
Will I incur any additional costs, in addition to my customized quotation, once my order has shipped?
No. Boxerbrand is the Shipper of Record and advises of all costs in your written quote. All Taxes, Fees, Customs Clearance Fees, etc., are included in your quote so that you know all costs up front. Once your order has shipped, Boxerbrand will satisfy all Canadian Government requirements and you will not receive any additional charges at your end.
May I use my own customs broker if I prefer?
Yes, you may certainly use you own broker. In this case your goods will be shipped by UPS who will contact you and advise of all duties and taxes when your goods arrive at the Border. Please let your Boxerbrand Sales Associate know if you wish to use your own Broker.
What is the normal lead time for importing Boxerbrand products into Canada?
Our lead times are the same within the U.S and Canada. (Please see lead times here). On occasion, some orders may experience an added day or two for customs but because Boxerbrand is the Shipper of Record, our Door-to-Door service is quick and uninterrupted.
Does Boxerbrand offer C.O.D for Canadian orders? How can I make my payments?
Boxerbrand does not make C.O.D shipments into Canada. We accept all major credit cards. Corporate checks and cashiers checks are also acceptable when paid in U.S dollars. Payment in full is required on all orders before shipping from Boston, MA. U.S.A.
What is Boxerbrand's return policy?
All returns require authorization. If your product is deemed defective or you have received incorrect merchandise, Boxerbrand, at it's discretion, will either replace the product or refund your payment in full. In all other instances, returns, if authorized, will be subject to a 20% or $25.00 restocking charge, whichever is greater.


When spices are dried, enzymes in them actually create the volatile oils that give spices their flavour. A vanilla bean is green and tasteless when fresh, cloves go dark brown and the volatile euganol is created on drying. So when we talk about 'fresh' spices, we don't mean 'just harvested' but rather we are referring to the brightness and freshness of the dried items.
After opening a pack, squeeze out as much air as possible and zip the seal closed. These pouches are made of a high-barrier material that has a very low oxygen transference rate. This keeps the flavour in, and prevents oxygen making the volatile oils oxidise and destroy the flavours.
Next, keep your spices protected from extremes of heat, light and humidity. And be sure you are not storing them next to a cupboard that generates heat, such as the fridge, dishwasher or stove.
Do not store your spices in the fridge or freezer. The main problem with this is that your packs will attract condensation on exposure to the air, and that introduces moisture, which in turn accelerates the deteriorating effects of water molecules.
As a general rule of thumb, whole spices such as peppercorns, cinnamon quills, star anise etc., will keep their optimum flavour profile for up to three years when stored correctly.
This is because the volatile oils are neatly encapsulated in nature's perfect package.
However, once a spice is ground, the cells are broken up to release the flavour, and the optimum storage life comes back to between 12 to 18 months depending on the volatility of the oils in that spice. For this reason it is always risky to buy spices that don't have a 'Best Before' date on the label.
For spices that are used rarely, or in very small quantities, we suggest you just buy them whole and grind what you need at the time. That way you have whole spice when it needs to be used whole, and you can grind a little as required.
For spices you use a lot of, such as coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel seed, chilli powders etc., simply buy the ground spice as you will no doubt us it well before its Best Before date.


text:
Q: Scanner for first, middle,lastname The following is the requirement:
i. If there is a first, middle, and last, only display the first and last name
ii. If there is a first and last, then display both first and last
iii. If there is only a first name, then just display it
I have the following code:
String fullName = "first middle last";
Scanner nameScanner = new Scanner(fullName);
nameScanner.findInLine(" ");
MatchResult result = nameScanner.match();
if(result.groupCount() > 2)
{
System.out.println(result.group(1)+ " "+ result.group(3));
}
else
{
System.out.println(fullName);
}

When I try to run the code I get
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalStateException: No match result available
at java.util.Scanner.match(Unknown Source)
at com.assignment.RunAssignmentApp.main(RunAssignmentApp.java:48)

What am I doing wrong ?

A: String has a built in split().
String fullName = "first middle last";
String[] names = fullName.split(" ");

switch(names.length) {
    case 3: // The string had three tokens. Print the first and last one.
        System.out.println(names[0] + names[2]);
        break;
    case 2: // The string had two tokens. Print both.
        System.out.println(names[0] + names[1]);
        break;
    case 1: // The string had one tokens. Print it.
        System.out.println(names[0]);
        break;
    default: // The string had less than one or greater than 3 tokens.
        System.out.println("You either have no name or a very long name!");
}

A: Scanner doesn't work this way.  The way you're writing this, you would be better of splitting the input into string arrays based on the spaces:
public static void nameScanner() {
    String fullName = "first middle last";
    String[] names = fullName.split(" "); // split the string at the spaces
    if (names.length > 2) {
        System.out.println(names[0] + " " + names[2]); // arrays start at index 0, so names[0] is first name
    } else {
        System.out.println(fullName);
    }
}

Of course, if you're taking input from a user, you definitely want to add some error checking and handling to make sure you don't go out of bounds on your array.

A: Try
nameScanner.findInLine("(\\w+) (\\w+) (\\w+)");


We shot Katherine Evelyn Anita "Katie" Cassidy today (Sunday, April 6, 2014). She's on that CW show called Arrow. She's also the daughter of David Cassidy the 70s star from the Partridge Family.
Photographer Marc Baptiste was in from New York for a photo contest we judged together, so i set up for him to shoot Katie on the rooftop of the Luxe Hotel on Rodeo Drive. It all came together in our usual Genlux fashion—quickly and serendipitously. Quixote Studios was kind enough to deliver some staging to the rooftop so we could lift Katie up above the level of the wall that surrounds the patio of the hotel. Then, this morning I had this thought to make it look super summery by adding a lawn—so I zipped over to Home Depot and loaded up my car with 64 square feet of sod. You see the result below. That white building directly behind her is the CHANEL boutique on Rodeo and Brighton and those dots on the building are all CHANEL logos. (Okay, when was the last time you saw Home Depot and CHANEL in the same paragraph).
We had a late start. Katie just flew in from Vancouver this morning for the shoot. so our call time was 11:30. (We usually like to start by 9) Being as she needed to be hard-out at 5 to get back on her plane to Vancouver (whew!) we were going to be hard-pressed to get a full fashion story. Especially since Marc called me early this morning to let me know that the light was going to be too harsh to shoot from about noon to 3. Really? Hmmm. So I grabbed a ladder from my garage, went in the backyard and cut down three huge palm branches that we then could use to "cut" the light. It worked! Gives a cool summery vibe while allowing us to shoot mid-day light! And much easier to transport than a 12-by scrim and high-rollers. So now you want to hear about some drama, right?
Katie Cassidy standing on 64 square feet of sod on a platform four feet high under the shade of one palm branch. That's the CHANEL building in the background on Rodeo Drive.
Remember, our call time was 11:30, so we all knew we had to get shakin' as soon as everyone arrived. Ashleigh Louer from The Wall Group (she did that brilliant bowling alley shoot—Alley of the Dolls with us last year) was the first to arrive and got Katie going in makeup as Elisa Wishan with The Rex Agency immediately started her manicure. Then, I'm not sure why it hadn't hit me before, but a whole hour went by before I realized that Robert Steinken our hair stylist was not on set. And he's ALWAYS on time. His agent Susanna Burke at CloutierRemix HAD confirmed "receipt" of call sheet on Friday—something I always request of the artists and agents—so I was sure 'all was good.' So anyway, I don't say a thing, I just casually walk out of the hotel space and go outside to call Robert on his cell—THERE'S NO ANSWER! I call Cloutier to get their "emergency" phone number from their answering machine. I call it. It goes nowhere. Not even connected. ARE YOU KIDDING? So then, without showing worry because I always know things are meant to be, I walk back in and I guess everyone knew what was happening because Katie was on the phone to her hair girl and hands me the phone. I give her the info and ask that she gets down as soon as possible. She was there in less than 30 minutes and she was FANTASTIC! Everything is meant to be. It's hard to understand in the moment why seemingly "bad" things are happening, but have faith. Everything is going to work out fine. At around 2 I get a call from a VERY apologetic Robert Steinken who said he thought the shoot was not til tomorrow! Listen, if Robert wasn't the best, I'd place him on my blacklist.
Now, during this time, a truly miraculous thing is happening. The publicist, who I'm working with for the first time, is NOT freaking out. She's being calm. Not yelling. Not getting in my face. Not being a B. She is being cool. She is being calm. She is letting the creative process play out in a positive way. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY THINGS WORKED OUT SO QUICKLY!! Sure, she was concerned, but she's mature enough to know that getting negative on us is not going to help solve anything. Next to Brad Cafarelli, who is also as chill as can be on set, this girl is my new favorite pr person! Kimberly Simone with BWR.
So by 2:00 we started rolling. The fashion was awesome. That's Katie in a Valentino coat in the shot above. Our stylist who pulled a brilliant "strong solid graphic color" story was Holly Copeland with The Rex Agency. Talk about a hard worker. She had a shoot yesterday. Has our shoot today and one tomorrow. Crazy! Anyway, Katie worked so well that we finished by 4:00. AND we stopped to have lunch. I'm not quite sure how that all works but sometimes during our shoots TIME STANDS STILL. We can be shooting and I'll look at the time, and it's like it hasn't moved. I think God protects us in some kind of creative bubble, where time does not matter. He's good like that.


Sync & Save is a .Net Windows application that runs on a workstation or server on your local network.
Sync & Save communicates with the public web services provided by doForms.
Customers have also had success running Sync & Save on Apple hardware using VMWare.
Any firewall or proxy server must allow access to the above urls.
If you are using a proxy server that only supports HTTP 1.0, please follow the directions here.


The University of Lisbon's PhD in Anthropology (DANT) is a joint programme offered by the Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS) and the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas (ISCSP) with the cooperation of the Centro de Estudos Comparatistas (CEC) of the Faculdade de Letras.
It is a four-year programme with a focus on research. The first year is a probationary one and includes a lecturing component with the aim of developing the theoretical and methodological consolidation of the thesis project, under individual supervision. The following years are entirely dedicated to the development of research and thesis preparation, including the regular participation in research and postgraduate studies seminars.
The personal supervision of the students is a permanent feature of the whole programme. We welcome students who wish to carry out innovative research based on a diverse set of methodologies, from fieldwork to archival research. We similarly welcome and encourage a plurality of theoretical approaches, within the anthropological tradition and in its overlap with other disciplines.
DANT.ULisboa is granted in the areas of Material Culture Anthropology, Anthropology of Economy and Labour, Anthropology of Ethnicity and Politics, Anthropology of Religion and the Symbolic, Anthropology of Health, Anthropology of Kinship and Gender, and Anthropology and History.
João Vasconcelos (ICS, coordinator), Celeste Quintino (ISCSP), José Manuel Sobral (ICS).
Cristiana Bastos (ICS), Elsa Peralta (CEC-FLUL), Fátima Amante (ISCSP), João Vasconcelos (ICS, coordenador), Paulo Castro Seixas (ISCSP), Ricardo Roque (ICS).
Classes will take place at the ICS facilities, Av. Prof. Aníbal de Bettencourt, 9, University of Lisbon Campus.
Available soon. Classes will begin on October, 3rd 2016.
The PhD in Anthropology has a total duration of 8 semesters corresponding to 240 ECTS.
Holders of a master's degree or the legal equivalent in any field of the humanities and social sciences.
Exceptionally, in terms of the Portuguese legal rules, holders of undergraduate or graduate courses whose CV and recommendation letters disclose the candidate's outstanding ability to undertake the programme.
g) English language proficiency (written and spoken) certificate or, in its absence, a declaration on honour for the same purpose.
h) Letter of intent stating the candidate's reasons for choosing ICS' Anthropology PhD programme.
2,750 € in the 1st year and 1,375 € annually for the remaining.
Fees for PhD students who obtain funding or scholarship that covers academic costs will be covered by this amount.
From the 2nd to the 4th year, fees are paid to the institution which the coordinator belongs.
Students may, without prejudice to the payment of fees already due, request, until January 31st of each year, the annulment of her enrolment in all the curricular units of the academic year she is attending, cancelling therefore her registration at ICS-ULisboa.


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24. 05. 2019 Issue 66
Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award cum Student Awards Presentation Ceremony
The Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award cum Student Awards Presentation Ceremony was successfully held on 26 January, 2019 at Yasumoto International Academic Park to recognise outstanding academic achievement of students, appreciate excellent teaching performance of staff, and congratulate those performed superbly in international competitions.
Faculty Retreat
The Faculty Retreat on Strategic Planning brought more than 25 faculties together on 25 April, 2019 to discuss and shape the direction of the strategic plan for future development. Professor Xie Zuowei kicked off the day by inviting Associate Deans and the management team to examine the key elements on Education, Student Affairs and Research. Associate Deans presented related reports and figures and led the team on the discussion of future opportunities and challenges of the Faculty. Participants shared collective insights into outreach and STEM education, internationalisation, student development, research initiatives, as well as the wealth of opportunities of the Greater Bay Area. Professor Xie concluded the event by drawing a clear path of priorities moving forward.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Science Career Fair 2019
More than 40 organisations joined the Science Career Fair 2019 to share career advice, talk about vacancies and showcase trainee programmes to CUHK students on 6 and 7 March, 2019 at the Science Centre Podium. Recruiters seeking science students for more than 100 jobs across a wide range of industries, ranging from Data Science, Risk Management, Banking, Lab Testing, R&D, Life Sciences to Teaching. The Fair served as a useful platform for students to learn about recruitment trends directly from employers and to build network with potential company representatives. Through the recruitment talks, company recruiters were able to explain the details of trainee programmes and the career paths of various positions to our students.
15th Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series
The Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series has entered its 15th year in continuing the promotion of science education. This year, Professor Lam Hon Ming from School of Life Sciences and Professor Yau Chun Yip from Department of Statistics were invited to share with audience their exciting research and applications on 12 April.
Hong Kong SciFest 2019
Faculty of Science is dedicated to nurturing young generation to become future scientists and innovators and promoting Science to the general public. A group of our faculty members offered interesting and inspiring popular Science lectures in the Hong Kong SciFest 2019 held from 12 to 28 April, 2019 organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum. The lectures were well-received by secondary school students, teacher and the public.
Meeting with Dean of College of Science of United Arab Emirates University
Professor Ahmed Murad, Dean of College of Science of United Arab Emirates (UAE) University visited CUHK Science Faculty and met with Professor Xie Zuowei and Professor Wong Hoi Ying on 16 April, 2019 to explore collaborative relationship between two faculties. Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences and Department of Physics also led tours to laboratories and shared latest development, structures and facilities with Professor Murad.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
JUPAS Interviews for SCIENCE New Intake
With the support of academic units, the Faculty had completed the 2019 JUPAS Admission Interviews on 9 and 10 May, 2019 at the Esther Lee Building. The event went smoothly and over 870 secondary six students were interviewed by more than 60 teachers. After the interviews, potential students were given opportunities to talk to current science student ambassadors who shared their multifaceted experiences at CUHK, including their academic learning, college life, exchange and extracurricular activities that helped broaden and deepen students' horizon.
FACULTY ACHIEVEMENT
Discovering a Small Molecule to Restrain Neurodegeneration
Apart from studying polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases, which is a group of rare neurological disorders including spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), Professor Edwin Chan from School of Life Sciences and his research team have recently discovered a small molecule compound named Anti-polyQ Aggregation for Machado-Joseph-Associated Neurodegeneration (AQAMAN).
AoE Project to Study Fundamental Structure of Matter
A team of particle physics researchers, led by Professor Chu Ming Chung of Department of Physics, has been awarded HKD 78 million under the University Grants Committee's (UGC) eighth round Areas of Excellence (AoE) scheme. The project named "Probing the Fundamental Structure of Matter with High Energy Particle Collisions" will build on the strengths of existing involvement in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), lead in some areas of Higgs particle properties measurement and contribute to the ATLAS detector upgrade.
Revealing the Secret Pattern of Cell Movement
Professor Wu Yilin of Department of Physics discovered that bacteria, which seem to randomly move, in fact go in a similar speed and oscillate in predictable elliptical spheres when individual movements of each cell are filtered out from the defocusing images. It is revealed by physical tracers and image-processing techniques that the weak individual interactions of bacteria will drive each other to form a similar group orbit, which lead to a loose pattern of collective oscillation.
Announcing The World's First Reference-Grade Wild Soybean Genome
Professor Lam Hon Ming from School of Life Sciences is dedicated to soybean research. His recent research has successfully completed the world's first reference-grade wild soybean genome. The genome is a useful reference when finding important genes and improving the varieties such as stress tolerance, seed protein, and secondary metabolite contents in cultivated soybean.
Unleashing the Potential of Mushrooms
Having been devoted to the research of mushrooms for over four decades, Professor Kwan Hoi Shan from School of Life Sciences has never stopped in finding ways to unleash the potential of mushrooms with his teams of Mushroom-X, a social enterprise established in March 2018, and Food Research Centre.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Mushrooms not only serve as food, its vegetative part called mycelium can form biomaterials as well. Teams collect and upcycle food and wood wastes such as coffee grounds, bean dregs, and wood chips by mixing them with cultivated mycelium. The mixture will then grow into mouldable, flexible, and 100% biodegradable biomaterials, which are ideal alternatives to plastic and bricks for product packaging and thermal insulation of buildings.
The potential of mushrooms has not reached the end yet. The Food Research Centre has achieved a breakthrough in developing new technology of which a provisional US patent has been obtained, to suppress fungal bricks from further growing without killing the mycelium. The biomaterials can even self-repair if there are brick cracks.
2019 Class of Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellow
Professor Zou Jun, Chairman of Department of Mathematics, has been honoured by the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) in the United States as a Fellow of the 2019 Class in recognition of his contributions to numerical methods and analyses of direct and inverse problems of partial differential equations.
The 47th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva
Professor Wang Jianfang and Dr. Yip Hang Kuen from Department of Physics were awarded the Bronze Medal in the 47th International Exhibition of Inventions held in Geneva, one of the biggest worldwide events in inventions. Their invention of noble metal nanoparticle-based platform makes use of the low-cost, precise, and efficient nano chip in a general laboratory setting instead of a clean room environment for Raman spectroscopy; it also enables a more effective and accruable detection of harmful substances.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Collaboration between Plant Hormone and Vesicular Transport Regulatory Protein for Crop Tolerance Improvement
Plants are able to suppress their growth when they are in unfavourable conditions to increase survival chances. A team of researchers from CUHK, including Professor Jiang Liwen from School of Life Sciences, and South China Normal University discovered that the plant vesicular transport regulatory protein FREE1's participation in plant hormones ABA signalling not only takes place in the cytoplasm, but also in the nucleus to directly regulate it at the transcriptional level. The clues found in both gene expression and protein transport levels contribute to the theoretical basis for improving crop tolerance to environmental stresses through genetic engineering.
Verifying the Existence of Ultralight Bosons with a Single Gravitational-wave Measurement
Professor Tjonnie Li and his PhD student Otto Hannuksela from Department of Physics discovered a new possible method to verify the existence of ultralight bosons, the suggested extremely light theoretical particles, by using single gravitational wave measurement through model selection.
Adopting Intercropping as a Sustainable Farming Alternative
Professor Amos Tai from Earth System Science Programme worked with Professor Lam Hon Ming from School of Life Sciences to investigate whether intercropping could totally replace monoculture as a way to alleviate the worsening of food crisis and air pollution.
University's 2018 Long Service Awards
Over 20 teachers and staff from the Faculty were awarded the University's 2018 Long Service Awards and received congratulations and thanks from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rocky Tuan, in April 2019, for their efforts and dedication to their services at CUHK.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Professor Henry Wong was one of the recipients of the 35-Year Long Service Award. Ten years after graduation from his bachelor's degree, he returned to CUHK to teach in Department of Chemistry in 1983. Since then, his contribution to the University and the Faculty has never stopped. He took up different teaching and administrative positions such as Professor of Chemistry, Dean of Science, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. And he is now Head of New Asia College, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, and Research Professor of the Faculty.
International Mathematics Competition
More than 20 students from the Faculty joined the Simon Marais Mathematics Competition (SMMC), an international mathematics competition which aims at promoting creative mathematical problem-solving among undergraduate students. The joint efforts have led CUHK to be the first place winner among more than 40 universities.
Kwok Man Yi, Mandy and Lee Shun Ming, Samuel, both from Department of Mathematics, solved most of the problems set in the two 3-hour tests and are awarded the first place in Pairs prize. Another pair, Tung Kam Chuen and Wong Chun Shing, won the third place in Pairs prize; and Shen Jianhao won the second place in the Individual prize.
Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award Scheme 2019
Yeung Chun Yat, a year-2 student from Department of Physics (Enrichment Stream in Theoretical Physics; Science, Technology and Research Stream), has been awarded the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2019. He will receive up to HKD 150,000 to support his participation in a range of attachment, mentorship, internship, and service project programmes both locally and overseas to widen international exposure, gain industry experience, and nurture passion and commitment towards the field.
International Collegiate Programming Contest
The programming team from CUHK, including Mathematics student Ho Ngan Hang, won a Bronze medal at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) held in Porto, Portugal. The ICPC is the largest and oldest algorithmic programming contest which aims at promoting contestants' collaboration, creativity, innovation, and the ability to perform under pressure through training and competition.
Science Faculty Research Day 2019
Date: 29 May, 2019 (Wednesday)
Venue: MMW LT1
Faculty Distinguished Lecture Series 2018-19
Change-Point Detection: Past and Present
Speaker: Professor David Siegmund
John D. and Sigrid Banks Professor of Statistics, Stanford University
Date: 28 May, 2019 (Tuesday)
Venue: LSB LT6
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards (12th Edition)
The awards consist of EUR 400,000 and are undertaken in collaboration with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
Deadline: 30 June, 2019 (Saturday) 23:00 GMT
Details/ Website: www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es
European Union (EU) – Hong Kong Research and Innovation Cooperation Co-funding Mechanism by the RGC 2019/20
ORKTS Internal Deadline: 12 June, 2019 (Wednesday)
RGC Germany/ Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 2019/20
RGC PROCORE-France/ Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 2019/20
ORKTS Internal Deadline: 19 June, 2019 (Wednesday)<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Issue No. Issue 64 Issue 65 Issue No. Issue 66 Issue 67 Issue No. Issue 68 Issue 69 Issue 70
Copyright © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.


7:00 pm Leinthall Starkes Handicap @ Lienthall Starkes.
Leinthall Starkes Handicap @ Lienthall Starkes.
4.5km race to the top of the Wrekin, and back down the rocky/concrete track.
Three distances: 50km, 32km or 17km. Starts between 7am and 9.30am (no mass start).


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You are here: Home / ESPN / ABC's Bob Woodruff makes ESPN feature debut tonight on UCLA concussion victim
ABC's Bob Woodruff makes ESPN feature debut tonight on UCLA concussion victim
Internationally recognized ABC News and award-winning journalist, Bob Woodruff, contributes 12-minute feature to Tuesday's E:60 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Woodruff shares the story of former UCLA linebacker — and the Bruins' 2011 Defensive Player of the Year — Patrick Larimore, who retired prior to this season due to multiple concussions.
In a special collaboration between E:60 and ABC News, correspondent Bob Woodruff, who suffered a traumatic brain injury covering the war in Iraq in 2006, takes viewers inside Larimore's story with his own personal understanding of head injuries.
"There is always this relationship between hard news and investigative reporting and sports," said Woodruff. "They're all together, they're all related, and they need to be broadcast. I love well-told storytelling and important stories that show people being a part of the world. I really thought this was something that was important for us to do."
This was supposed to be a season of triumph for Patrick Larimore, a 22-year-old middle linebacker for UCLA. Captain, defensive MVP, and team leader in tackles in 2011, Larimore was projected as an NFL draft pick. But in mid-August, as his senior season was about to start, Larimore decided not to play another down – ever. He had suffered multiple concussions in spring and summer practices that forced him to the sidelines. Rather than risking his long-term health, Larimore medically retired, giving up his life-long dream of being a professional football player.
"Working with Bob on his first feature for ESPN – a look at concussions in college football – has been an honor and a privilege," said E:60 Executive Producer Andy Tennant. "His years of reporting experience, his intimate knowledge of the effects of brain trauma, and his passion for sports, made this an ideal collaboration. It has added a new and powerful dimension to our show."
Woodruff was part ABC News' post-9/11 coverage recognized with the Alfred I. duPont and the George Foster Peabody Awards, the two highest honors in broadcast journalism.
See behind-the-scenes photos of Bob Woodruff and the E:60 roundtable and video clip of his piece with UCLA's Patrick Larimore. For more on Woodruff's piece: http://bit.ly/WoodruffE60.
Additional stories on this week's E:60 include Jeff Chadiha's profile on the anchor of the New York Giants defense, Justin Tuck , who behind his two Pro Bowl selections and World Championships, has a career built on family values and a small-town way of life; and Jeremy Schaap's story about a Madison County, Va. high-schooler, Jacob Rainey, who developed a special bond with the New York Jets' Tim Tebow after the youth suffered a tragic on-field injury that required amputation of his right leg. That should have ended his football career. But with the support and encouragement of his coaches, trainers, and family, and even Tebow himself, Rainey attempted what many thought impossible – to play quarterback on a prosthesis. Schaap tells the story of the faith and comeback of the kid who would be Tebow.
Filed Under: ESPN


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package org.apache.cloudstack.diagnostics;

import com.cloud.agent.api.Answer;

public class PrepareFilesAnswer extends Answer {

    public PrepareFilesAnswer(PrepareFilesCommand command, boolean success, String details) {
        super(command, success, details);
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


THEO.bLog.OGY: Blind Spots in the Emerging Church?
Blind Spots in the Emerging Church?
In a seminary class on reconciliation, another student gave an excellent presentation pertaining to the Millennials - the generation coming up quickly behind Gen X. In the midst of his very compelling report he commented as an aside that the emerging church isn't cutting it with this generation. He said the emerging church is mainly for Gen Xers and Boomers, and they don't seem to be having many conversations about the younger people just behind them who are distinct from them in many significant ways, and who are largely being missed by the church.
I've been pondering that observation and wondering just how true it is. I can certainly think of a few exceptions. But I think he might have a very good point. It appears that the EC is having some conversations about what to do with their children, now that they are growing and having families and finding existing, traditional models of discipleship with children to be inadequate. But what about the gap between the parents and the young children? Where are the Millennials in the emerging church? I'd love to hear from people on this subject.
As we prepare for planting what we hope will be a multi-class church, I've been keeping my eyes open for emerging churches who are involved in doing ministry with the poor as multi-class congregations. There is no doubt that the EC generally has a strong social conscience - caring about creation, AIDS, and global poverty. But how many have reached beyond the limits of charity to be churches of and with the poor? Again, I can think of a couple of exceptions. But for the most part, the EC generally appears to be a movement of middle class folks who do more charity than justice - at least on the local level.
I know there are some fabulous exceptions in the EC world to both of these observations. But what do you think? Do we have some blind spots in these areas?


Traveling around the state on a regular basis allows me to venture into areas that often I don't know much about. New Albany is one of those areas. Located just northwest over the Ohio River from Louisville, New Albany is a gem that I wish I had explored sooner.
First, Culbertson Mansion. This historic home is one of the Indiana State Museum's eleven historic sites around the state. In the late 1800s it was home to William Culbertson – once the richest man in Indiana. That makes sense when you learn that at the time it was built (1867) it cost $120,000.
Culbertson not only spared no expense in the building of his home, but he spared no expense in caring for others including funding a widow's home and founding an orphan's home.
Walking through his mansion, you can experience a bit of what made him who he was.
My next stop in New Albany was Hull and High Water – a seafood restaurant right on the Ohio River.
I ordered the fried cod and curly fries. Not a bite was left! (Also shown, the cod … which also was eaten in its entirety!).
After lunch I was able to hit a couple local shopping spots. Dada Boutique's goal is for you to be the best you can be … not to be just like everyone else. That is proven by the choices they make in what to carry … both in clothing and self care.
Next up was Dress and Dwell.
Think unique clothing, home items and gifts with a local twist. Perfect for gift ideas!
Sadly, I was rushed at the end to get to a meeting and didn't get to visit the other many shops I noticed. That leaves you to explore some and me to plan another visit.
If you would like more information on the area, be sure to Go So IN (as they say). You'll find there just aren't enough hours in the day!