Join us as we go back in time and discuss the early days of the disaster restoration field with industry pioneer Major Long. Major was one of the first disaster restoration practitioners. Major Long, CR is a past president of the RIA (1978-1980) and also served a term as the association's disaster restoration technical director. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from one of the early innovators in the field of disaster restoration field.
Married at 21, Major Long entered the construction business with his father-in-law building spec homes. This is where he learned about structural components and how to effectively deploy laborers and subcontractors. Building spec homes was a risky business.
When the construction business went bankrupt, Major invested $10K to go into the carpet cleaning business with a high school friend. Several insurance adjusters asked them if they could do post fire cleanup. Major and his partner split up and Major morphed from carpet cleaning business into fire restoration calling his business Smoke Master.
In those days, carpets were cleaned by rotary scrubbing and wet vacuuming. Upholstery was dry cleaned with towels soaked in chlorinated solvent [111-trichloroethylene]. Or wet-cleaned with rotary brush and extraction.
Major is the disaster restoration industry's earliest, early adopter.
In 1975 Major invested $5,500 into purchasing a Deep Steam extraction machine from Canada. The impressive looking stainless steel machine consisted of a rectangular base on wheels which contained the pump and vacuum components on which rested 2- stainless steel coffee urns. The machine weighing 80 pounds could be broken down for transport upstairs. As the first steam carpet cleaner in Atlanta, word spread about the technology and he quickly purchased 2 more.
The Smoke Master business was run out of his father-in-law's basement, which according to Major had so many support posts, he had to shift and fold a 9'X12′ rug multiple times to clean it. He would take the cleaned rugs outside to dry in the sun on the lawn. The neighbors complained about rugs on the lawn so he was forced to move the business into a rental space.
By this time, if the work wasn't fire and smoke related Major wasn't interested in doing it.
He persistently called on insurance adjusters whether they would give him work or not, until they were tired of seeing him.
He rented a 1200 sq. ft. warehouse, for cleaning and storage of customer's smoke damaged personal property. When the building burnt down with customer personal property in it, the business received some snarky press coverage in the Atlanta Journal.
He purchased boxes and moving supplies from local moving companies, where he first saw storage vaults. He felt storing contents in vaults was neater looking and more efficient so he adopted their use.
He stuck to his knitting by only cleaning contents and cleaning and deodorizing structures so as not to compete with contractors who gave him work.
A fire in Firestone tire store with 40,000 tires in the basement. He came up with the idea of using cattle troughs filed with detergent solution to clean the tires. After working 2.5 days straight on the job without wearing PPE, his skin turned yellow and he passed out at the job and was taken to emergency room by ambulance.
Not a fan of T&M pricing, he always preferred line item unit cost estimating.
Soot removal was primary done with chem sponges. To clean walls better and faster he invested $10K into a wall washing machine. Not all of Major's early adopting paid off' the wall cleaning machine "didn't do squat". He found buckets, towels, and degreaser. He found an effective cleaner/degreaser for wall cleaning and had it private labelled.
His Atlanta business was doing very well so he expanded by opening additional Smoke Master offices in Tampa and Houston. He decided to franchise and quickly sold franchises in: Memphis, St. Louis and Joliet. He then spun-off his Tampa and Houston offices as franchises. Always a fan of fancy cars, whether he could afford them or not, he decided to celebrate his success by buying a Rolls Royce. He sold it after a year because he only drove it at night so the adjusters who gave him business wouldn't see it.
At this point he was sued in Federal Court for trademark infringement by ServiceMaster. He offered to bear all costs for his franchises to rebrand under Smoke Services or walk-away. Franchisees chose to walk away.
This was the mid 1970s; he was the first to use full color literature. Two pieces I specifically remember are an employee wearing Smoke Master shirt fogging an attic with a ULV fogger*. The other photo that stood out pictured a severely smoke damaged ornate antique chest which was cleaned and restored on one side and not on the other.
Years before laptops and tablets, he used a portable self-contained audio visual projector which used 35mm slides, narration and music to tell his story.
He says that his best marketing idea was investing in a custom made 8'X10′ rug that said "Smoke Master at work". He once placed it in the lobby of an Atlanta high-rise building after it suffered fire damage and he received so many calls from wealthy residents that he was forced to turn work away.
To celebrate an early anniversary of the business, he boldly had elaborate invitations printed inviting clients to have lunch at one of Atlanta's Finest Restaurants [Chateau Fleur de Lis] at his expense. Over the course of a year he paid for 40-50 lunches. It was a good investment; he knew that one fire job would pay for it all.
Deep sea fishing excursions. Major took his best client's on deep sea fishing excursions.
Fear of the unknown. Major ran a small classified ad in the RIA magazine, advertising his service to consult with pricing on large or unusual projects. One project of which he is very proud was Jackie Gleason's Florida mansion. The home was spectacular in both size and appointment. The playroom had 4 full size pool tables. Gleason had a collection of 3,000 leather bound first edition books, valuable paintings and other fine arts.
Labor, find who can do the work, or be trained to do the work at an hourly rate you can afford to pay.
To assist him with estimating, in 1977 he purchased an IBM PC for $6K. He developed a system of take-off sheets and worked with a computer programmer to develop a DOS based estimating program. He marketed his estimating system to other restorers.
His most proud business accomplishments, life as a restorer, volunteer service in ASCR where he was the first restorer to be president, for his stint as technical director when Marty King was on sabbatical.
* Note: The MicroGen ULV fogger, the pest control industry's first ULV fogger, powered by a chain saw engine with air pressure provided by a Porsche automobile supercharger. This device was $3K-$4K.
RadioJoe and I interviewed disaster restoration pioneer Major Long on September 19, 2008. Admittedly, it was great to hear Major's voice again today; I smiled like a Cheshire cat through the entire episode.
Some of the adjectives that describe Major Long are: humble, kind, soft-spoken, generous, creative and bold. For some of us restoration old-timers, Major is the guy who made a Major impact on our careers.


The Python home page is at http://python.org.
On the NeSI systems Python is available in various versions with already installed packages. On Mahuika you will find Python/2... and Python/3... modules, on Maui cray-python and on Maui_ancil Anaconda2 and Anaconda3 is provided.
All versions of Python available on NeSI platforms are owned and licensed by the Python Software Foundation. Each version is released under a specific open-source licence. The licences are available on the Python documentation server.
Programmers around the world have written and released many packages for Python, which are not included with the core Python distribution and must be installed separately. Each Python environment module comes with its own particular suite of packages, and the system Python has its own installed packages.
In addition to relying on the packages installed with Python by our staff, you can install packages under your home directory (usually using the --user option). We suggest to install additional packages into a project directory as follow. Thus you can easily share the installation with collaborators and prevent filling your $HOME quota. In the following we install a python3 package called prodXY into /nesi/project/<projectID>/PyPackages and create a module for it.
NOTE: If you install multiple packages in the same location, e.g. /nesi/project/<projectID>/PyPackages, you just need to set these environment variable once.
whatis "The packageXY for python."
iPython (interactive Python) is an enhanced tool for accessing a Python command line. It is available in many NeSI Python modules.
You can use iPython to list the functions available that start with a given string. Please note that if the string denotes a module (i.e., it has a full stop somewhere in it), that module (or the function you want from it) must first be imported, using either an "import X" statement or a "from X import Y" statement.
len<TAB>   # List functions starting with "len"
and expect to see the methods and values provided by the os module - you have to put the full stop after the "os" if you want to do that.
are given.  If x is floating point, the conversion truncates towards zero.
You can also do this on functions (len?), methods (os.mkdir?) and modules (os.path?). If you try to do it on something that isn't defined yet, Python will tell you that the object in question couldn't be found.
Just enter the quit command at the iPython prompt.


text:
Good Samaritan Receives Job Offers After Rescuing Victim From Car Accident
Aaron Tucker, an ex-prisoner in Connecticut, receives an outpouring of goodwill after missing a job interview to help a car-wreck victim.
Clarissa Hamlin
A newly released prisoner received an outpouring of goodwill Wednesday after he missed a job interview to save a stranger from a smoke-filled car.
Aaron Tucker, 32, took a bus from the Isaiah House, a half-way residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut, about 9 a.m. when he saw the overturned car. He sprung into action even though he was on the way to an interview for a job as a bus boy at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Stamford to help support his 21-month-old son, writes the New York Daily News.
"I looked up and saw a car flipped over right in front of the bus, so I ran to try to jump out of the bus," Tucker, who is living in the halfway house after serving a 22-month sentence related to a weapons charge, tells the News.
HERO: Ex-prisoner en route to job interview takes shirt off back to save man's life https://t.co/852iYrHNFG pic.twitter.com/kRpIYskiQ3
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 14, 2017
Tucker told the news outlet that he removed his shirt when he saw the driver bleeding from his head. Thanks to Tucker and two other rescuers' quick thinking, the man only sustained some head trauma, the report says.
ICYMI: When a car crashed and flipped on Post Road East Wednesday, a trio of bystanders burst into action in an… https://t.co/gZPGbfA80K
— Connecticut Post (@connpost) July 13, 2017
An ambulance arrived and took the man to Norwalk Hospital where he is in stable condition, reports the Westport News.
While he missed his job interview, his act of kindness "earned him three offers so far for jobs in construction and at a rubber factory," writes the Daily News. But the good Samaritan remains humble.
"God put me there to be helpful," Tucker tells the New York Daily News. "It [my job interview] didn't go through my head because a job can come and go, but a life is only one time. The only thing running through my head is that person in the car could pass away and I could help him."
Additionally, a GoFundMe page was created to help Tucker get on his feet. As of Friday, the page had raised more than $3,000 of a $10,000 goal, writes the Daily News.
SOURCE: New York Daily News, Westport News
North Carolina Teen Rescues Baby Cousin From Burning Home
Jamie Foxx Shares Touching Moment With Father Of Man He Saved In Car Rescue
Celebrities Who Saved Someone's Life Before
1. Jamie Foxx
2. Ol Dirty Bastard
3. The Game
4. TI
5. T.I.
9. Ryan Gosling
10. Vin Diesel
Continue reading Celebrities Who Saved Someone's Life Before
Good Samaritan Receives Job Offers After Rescuing Victim From Car Accident was originally published on newsone.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What's Up! Welcome To My Profile!
Hello! I'm New Member On HollandCraft Forums.
My Name Is Hayen David,You May Call Me Hayen.I'm 15 Years Old,From Brooklyn,New York.My Minecraft In-Game Is iHayen.
I'm Joined HollandCraft Forums at 27 February 2016.I like every part of it.On Minecraft,I feel peace and comfort on it.I like program games, and I love math and English.I'm a boy.I'm very good at sports,especially football and badminton.I have many passions on Minecraft.I really like three things: PvP,building,and making a potion/drinking potions.PvP is a best and intense,building is full of endless possibilities,and potions are fun to make and use,especially in PvP.I like playing with friends,and talking to peoples on Minecraft.I just love meeting new peoples.I'm an optomist,and I am full of energy,good ideas,and encouraging words.I like the colors purple and green.I also really like bread.
That's All For Now.Thanks For Reading!


text:
Forward Failing
Learning to see failure as a verb, not a noun.
by A. L. Blackmon in Uncategorized Tags: improv, iO, summer intensive
iO Summer Intensive
Instructor- Barry Hite
Our last week. It's both exciting and sad, I don't want to say bye to all my new friends. This week's focus is other long forms, besides the Harold. There is a list of them, I'm not sure how many we will get through. I'm hoping at least a few are ones I haven't done before though I would enjoy getting to do Close Quarters again.
Barry started the day out chatting with us for a few minutes, having each of us tell the group/him something about ourselves that was not improv or performance related. Learned new things about people. He then recommended that we take one night this week to do something that has nothing to do with improv, preferably something we can look at or watch (like a museum).
For our warm-up we invented out own, based off one we already knew. We started Show Me How To Get Down. To start with, we didn't change it. As he pushed us to experiment and change it we made tiny changes, but it mostly looked like the same warm-up. Finally, after he pushed a few more times someone got out of the circle, and then things went crunk. It was actually really fun, wish it was something I could replicate but I don't think I can. It involved random questions yelled, with random (not always fitting) answers, as the group tried to keep the people talking as far apart as possible.
He had us do 2 Person Scenes, with an emphasis on Who/Where. These were burn-off scenes. Several teachers at HUGE would do this and I love it. It's a chance to get all your bad scenes out for the day and I was glad he brought it out.
We then ran two full Harold's, each one with half the group. I think he was using this as a baseline for where we are with them, what kind of stuff we gravitate to, our team interactions, etc. He's responsible for getting us ready for our show on Thursday night and assigning the form or forms we do, as well as the teams.
After that we learned The Living Room. This is a fun form! Half of us got up and set on chairs on the side of the stage. We then got a topic from the audience (I was in the first group and we got Health Care) and then have an actual conversation about the topic, as ourselves. We discussed the topic, hopefully letting everyone say a piece, and then when someone is inspired they jump up and start a scene. We were to do a few scenes, drawing from the theme (not plot and not directly) of the conversation. At any point someone can sweep and return to the chairs, which signals everyone else to do the same thing. Then the discussion continues until someone decides to start a new scene. So forth and so on until time is up.
When you return to the chairs you can go back to the old topic is something is pressing on you but typically its better to move forward, allowing the scenes you just saw to lead you into a new topic. This form is like the Armando in that the scenes are there to allow us to prove or disprove the theme that has been raised. For that reason, it is good to step out with an idea/first line to that end but once that line is said you have to let go and just have a scene- no matter where it goes. He said that we needed to hold onto connection more than detail. These scenes are not to be literal, we are moving the theme to a new set of circumstances, not using the exact same set-up.
Barry also encouraged us to let the conversation expand and grow instead of trying to keep it narrow. To stay polite. Getting fired up is great, but don't yell over each other. He reminded is that we are human beings, not ideas. We are people, not topics. Don't become the issue, be a person dealing with the issue. In this form the idea is less (no) history, it's all opinion. And while we need to honor the suggestions we get, we don't need to be married them. Expansion is vital.
Barry's step-by-step of this process-
Take/discuss the topic
Figure out what I think about it
Decide how I feel about it
Find a theme in that feeling
Think of scenes that will illustrate that feeling
Figure out a first line that will get that scene idea across
Say that line
GIVE UP CONTROL
Respond to my partner and follow the scene that happens, not the scene I had in my head
He had us then do Armando's again because we were struggling with theme, which Barry (in contrast to some of our other instructors) says is always a sentence. We've been finding theme in the sense of "selfishness" or "globalization". However, Barry says those are just ideas. That theme is "selfishness hurts people" or "globalization is inevitable". That kind of thing- which then gives the premise that we can prove or disprove. I really like this definition. It feels more helpful and useful than a single word, and looking at the Armando scenes as a way to talk about the theme like that gives them a lot more depth. Makes me like the Armando a little more. If it's done like this.
We then ran half class Armando's, 20 minutes each. Our specific intent was to find these kinds of themes and deal with them. He said theme is deeper and harder to play than premise (or pulling random details as inspiration) but that it ultimately much more rewarding. He kept urging us to name each other, saying it would help the feeling of being stuck that we were constantly in.
Snatches from today–
Honor the choices your team makes by repeating them.
Name your partners! Give them odd names, which are easier to remember. Use them repeatedly so that everyone can remember them for callbacks later.
Never sacrifice scenes for theme. Theme will emerge on its own.
Never play premise. Play the scene.
We all have an opinion on any topic that is more than "this is bad/good". Find it in yourself.
Can't Do It All
Instructor- Rance Rizzutto
We started out with Zip-Zap-Zop but with the same rules as the pattern game yesterday. We were to copy EVERYTHING about the way it was passed, and the circle as a whole. In a way this was more difficult because I "know" how to play the game and I kept ignoring details because they weren't part of the rules. Except they were. Except I couldn't seem to remember that.
We then played You-Yes the same way (it's a game I always heard called Go, but with a slight variation). And then we played Pass the Word the same way. Rance was very specific that we were supposed to mimic the sounds we heard exactly. I'm very bad at that. I kept saying the word we started with, the word I knew it was, instead of the word I heard. Rance said some people are good with words, some with voice, and some with physicality- but that no one is going to be amazing at all three.
He, nicely, pointed out afterward that I kept screwing the thing up because I was forcing the word back to what it had been. Told me my strength is clearly words, now I can work on the others to become more well-balanced. And on my listening, train myself to hear what is actually being said instead of what I "know" is being said.
I've gained a lot of knowledge into the kind of player I am over the past four weeks. I'm not naturally gifted with accents or characters- I don't snap into them quickly or instinctively like some people. I don't see patterns as fast as many players. I'm not naturally "funny", I don't think of puns or plays on words or jokes easily. I struggle with expressing myself emotionally- what I think is a strong emotion isn't, 99% of the time. My rhyming skills are dismal. I'm not "high energy", by natural disposition. My default is quiet and watchful, not engaging and active.
But I'm good with making connections between things. I am physical, I move around and do a lot of space work. I can keep a lot of things straight in my head at once- I love the Alphabet Game at CSz because I'm naturally good at it. I tend add details, specific ones, that add depth to characters or places without realizing it (probably why I'm naturally drawn to scene painting, character painting, etc). I've been told repeatedly that I am grounded on stage. I'm a natural straight man, and this intensive has shown that even more. I enjoy being the one who says little things to make the scene move forward while other people are bouncing off the walls.
Now I have a double challenge to myself. One, to work on my weaknesses so that I can become an over-all stronger player. Practice my rhyming. Get on YouTube and learn at least a few accents. Learn to roll my R's! Push myself to show my emotions clearly on stage, and more intensely. To play the crazy character more often. To make high-energy choices on stage. Two, to spend just as much time working on my strengths. Instead of only trying to bring up my weaknesses, as important as that is (since some of them will really hold me back), I want to focus just as much on strengthening things I already do well. To push myself to pay attention to/remember even more things at once. To practice my space work, pushing into new actions. To get into better shape so that I can be even more physical. To practice my deadpan. To practice adding details that are exquisitely nuanced.
Anyway, to get back to class. The next thing we did was run Harold's from Opening through second game, half of the class at a time. However, each one had a restriction placed on it that was in effect the entire time.
Use the opening to paint three characters that somehow connect. Then use the first in the first beat, the second in the second beat, and the third in the third beat.
Paint a room during the opening. All three first beats take place in that room.
Everyone must stay on stage at all times, even during edits. No sides allowed at all.
Entire thing after the opening had to be in gibberish. No actual dialogue. Or exaggerated miming. Just talk and trust that they understand you.
The afternoon was spent running full length Harold's. Each of use got to be in two of them. Things got a little off the rails because we got started playing with all of our toys and chasing plot to hold it together. Which just led to a learning experience as we had the chance to see what it feels like from the inside when things get side-tracked. We got confused, and as soon as that happened things would start feeling flat. I wonder how long it takes to develop the sensitivity to feel that right away, as soon as it starts, so it can be headed off before it takes over?
We did props at the end and I got one for the tree I played that turned into a bully, and also for a scene I did where we mapped the scene from the first beat. That scene is probably the scene I am most proud of, out of this entire intensive. The other two guys started out and I suddenly saw what they were doing, and it was magic. We turned "getting a girl" into "getting a job" and it killed.
Don't feel like you have to talk about the objects you use so that people will know what they are. Don't, in fact. It's a crutch. Just use them.
3rd beat of a Harold is for connecting things. That's the only rule. One scene, three scenes, eight scenes- doesn't matter.
"Anna, I wanted to see you kill someone. Or all of them." -Rance. The note I never thought I'd get.
Recap: Week 22
by A. L. Blackmon in Uncategorized Tags: One Million Words, writing
One Million Words Challenge
So, I can't write on buses. I thought I could, I write in cars. But for some reason bus travel sucks out all of my brain power and I end up just sitting there, staring blankly out the window.
Made it home Wednesday. I had a wonderful trip, fun and exciting, but it'll be nice to have a few weeks here before I move. To do things like write, read, get paperwork in order, catch-up on emails I owe people, finish typing up my class notes, dye my hair, etc. Normal, "boring" life stuff that hasn't happened much over the past 8 weeks.
Here are my totals for the week–
Journal 1,375
MPs 4,913
Letters 569
Black Dog 336
Total 7,284
YTD 304,426
Where I should be 421,960
Making Everything Worth It
We started this morning with Pattern Games. I've done these before but not like this. In a normal Pattern you stand in a circle and one person points to any other person and says any word. The second person points to someone else and says a new word that somehow connects to the first. Then the third says a word that fits the pattern that has been established. After that everyone is just to follow that pattern. Typically you leave your arm up until everyone has been pointed at, to make sure no one gets skipped. From there, multiple variations can occur depending on the lesson being taught.
It good for teaching the concept of how patterns are set. First person says anything, for example- "Red". Now the second person really has the most control because they set the pattern. If they say "green" we are probably doing colors, if they say "slick" maybe we are describing blood. However, the third person can have some say in the pattern. Like with "green". If the third person says "orange" then yes, colors. But if they say "reindeer' now we're doing Christmas stuff.
Rance had us doing this but he took it to the extreme. We were supposed to watch and copy EVERYTHING about the pattern. Things I didn't even think to look for before he pointed them out. The tone of voice, accent, pauses before/during/after speaking, body movements, gestures, expressions, etc. All of it. An overwhelming amount of things. It was very similar to Pass the Character but I like this version better because it was easier to see what was going on standing still.
He used it to explain Group Games in the Harold. They are the same idea- we have to stay in the moment and react to the thing that just happened (instead of whatever happened several people before) while at the same time keeping the entire pattern in mind, and stay current with what is happening on stage. Over the entire stage. It's a mental juggling act.
General group game advice-
A group game is not a scene. Don't let it become scenic. There were three scenes before it, three scenes are going to follow it. It needs to be something different.
Don't feel like you are ever stuck or have to keep doing the same thing the entire time. In a scene is important to have and maintain a point of view or character. Not in a game. Feel free to evolve and change, and to drop things.
Make sure your game moves are strong. Strong choices get supported.
The 2nd group game can be very short. We already have all our pieces/information, it is more of an energy/palate cleanser.
We moved into doing Openings-3 Beats-Game-3 Beats, half of the class at a time. Rance pulled each person aside and gave us a special assignment for this baby Harold, something we were to do as much as possible during the games and scenes without anyone else knowing what we were doing. Afterward he gave us a list of the things he had assigned people-
Scene Painting
Character Painting
Monologues (stepping out mid-scene to deliver one)
Being Objects (that was mine! I was a box, mouse, tree, and mail sorting bin.)
Group Edits
Playing an Extra (background character)
Moving the Action Offstage (up in the audience, behind the stage, wherever)
Music/Singing
Interacting with the audience/involving them
Taking over other characters
Being SUPER blunt (even to the audience)
Controlling Physical Space (adding camera angles, rotating the space, etc)
Our Harolds that came out of this were crazy. And amazing. I didn't know improv could be so much fun. Why had I never been objects before? Why have I never narrated? Why have I never ordered my scene partners to flip the scene orientation, so that they had to run to the back of the room so we could see the other side of them?
Today was light on notes, heavy on mind explosions. Today was magic. I can't find the words to describe how I felt. Rance opened up a world of wonder and excitement and fun that I didn't even know how to look for. All of the frustration over the past few days, and even with Lyndsay last week, paid off this afternoon. For the first time since I started doing improv I felt like I could do anything. Anything! It was liberating. I wasn't worried about screwing up. I wasn't trying to make sure I was doing the right thing. I wasn't in my head.
For the first time I understood how no move is the wrong move. Nothing we did today was a mistake because none of us thought that it was. We were all behind each other 100%. I was able to relax. That's it. I relaxed on stage for the first time because I KNEW everyone else had my back and nothing was going to be judged. What an empowering, honoring thing the experience.
Even the "mistakes" were fun. We turned them into games, and suddenly they were perfect. One person stumble? Now we all take turns stumbling, maybe in that scene, maybe later in the show. One person use odd grammar? Now we're all looking for chances to use it too. One person have to ask the person character painting what they said? Now we're all asking for clarification after something/someone gets painted.
I was talking to a classmate who had the same sort of revelations today. Neither of us felt fully capable of putting it into words. It's like, now I have this tool belt of amazing things that I can use. Me! I've seen other people do this stuff, my favorite improvisers, but now I can do it too. I don't know why that never occurred to me before. I've never felt like I had the "right". Like, once I'd put in a certain amount of time, or gotten so good (however "good" that is), or done something (undefined) then I would be "allowed" to do these awesome things. And, I didn't know how. I mean, I'd never tried it before, I wasn't sure what it was I wasn't doing. Now I know. Now I know what it feels like, what it's like to step out and make a move.
The hard part will be doing it even if the people around me are not. To support myself the same way I supported my team, and was supported by them. To step out in jams and classes and shows with other people and trust that they will have my back. And to grow into this place where even when they don't it's OK because I have my own back. I have to have the confidence to make moves with no guarantee that anyone will have my back. And that's terrifying. Yet, I think that's the thing I've been missing.
I've never had my own back. I wait for permission, and I wait for others to support before I risk anything. But my favorite improvisers, the people I look up to and love on stage, don't do that. They have their own backs. They make moves and trust themselves, and if the others around them are doing the same thing then it's beautiful. But even if the others don't, like in a jam with beginners, it doesn't make them stop. They are still confident in themselves and what they are doing. I can too. I can believe in what I am doing and do it without apologizing for it.
I'm not even entirely sure what to do with this revelation. But having it makes all the frustration over the past couple of days more than worth it.
Be careful to not connect the 2nd beats. Save those moves for the 3rd beats, makes the magic bigger.
It is always the right time to do something, if the group supports it. If the group doesn't support it then it leaves that one person looking like an idiot.
Sometimes inaction is harder than action. Being the still person in a scene takes a lot of work.
If I'm wondering, "Why won't someone edit?" I need to change that thought to "Why don't I edit?"
Nothing you do on stage is a mistake unless you or your team think that it is. Then you'll die up there, in public misery.
Moves are never wrong. Never. They only feel wrong when they aren't supported or when they are half-assed.
When it doubt- say it. Don't know how to make an idea work? Say it. Just say it.
Make Your Moves Clear
This morning Rance had us stand in a circle on stage. He told us he was going to put on some music and we were to think about improv and it's effect on us, our time at iO so far, etc. To meditate for a few minutes. We, or at least I, shrugged. Didn't see the point, per say, but at this stage in the game I'll do whatever I'm told- I've learned so much over the past three weeks, often from things that at the time seemed weird or pointless. So, why not?
Then Rance turned the music on. My head snapped up- it was a loud rap song- NOT meditation music. I stared at my classmates who looked equally confused. I thought maybe it would change. Nope. I thought it would cut off in a minute. Nope. In fact, the lyrics started and they were along the lines of "get out of you f****** head!"
We stood there to start with, wondering what to do. Slowly but surely we started moving with the music, it was rather catchy. Then one of my classmates stepped out and started dancing in the circle for a minute before going back to her place. It took some time, but then someone followed her. Over the rest of the song several other people also stepped out and danced, as others started clapping and getting into the beat.
OK, I didn't dance. Or even clap with any enthusiasm. I was so self-conscience that I couldn't bring myself to do it. I can't dance and I know it, I was sure that if I stepped out I would only embarrass myself, I'd also earn the disapproval/judgment of the group. It was easier to not.
Rance came down when the song was over and told us it was a test. To see who would be the first to break out of the circle (break the rules), who would join in, what we would do, etc. It was a sneaky test. He also asked if any of us had held back. I was one of a few who raised out hands. He said he knew, and that it was obvious. Which stung. But it was true, I did hold back. I didn't want to do something badly, or draw attention to myself. He left it at that and we moved on.
The first exercise of the day was to do silent world building while music played in the background. The music was instrumental, and varied in speed/emotion. We were to pick a specific place we saw ourselves in, interacting with the others or not, but all of us were to belong to that space. We could interact, didn't have to, but no miming or non-verbal communication. Just interact if we wanted, then move apart if we wanted. We could have a narrative in our head but no sharing it with the group. We were to be together yet separate.
It became very interesting. At one point there was a huge fight and someone got shot, which held the attention of most of the group, we were all interacting with this thing going on, in our own way. Which was interesting because there was no common knowledge of where we were or what was happening. I saw it has all taking place on a train platform, others saw a bus depot or a town square or a farm, I think. Didn't write them down.
Rance's point was that it didn't matter. He asked us, what drew you together? What caught your attention? It was the big, specific actions. He added that when we are confused we tend to want to stay in a nebulous space but that in reality adding specific details is the answer to that confusion. A blank slate helps no one and solves no problems.
Also, we tend to avoid adding details because they might be wrong but any details we add can be adapted to fit situations as they change. I thought I was on a train platform, someone else saw a sort of "small town", where everything was compressed together- yet our individual actions didn't cancel each other out. Who he saw as a possible killer strolling through town I saw as a stalker I was dodging while I waited for a train. By reacting specifically and with a clear idea both of us were supporting the other without even knowing it.
We moved into Openings, followed by the first three beats. His instructions were very vague. On purpose. It was a continuation of yesterday and the first thing that morning. We kept doing things, or not doing things, and then he'd ask why, or point out that we weren't really enjoying ourselves, and when we told him why he'd say, I didn't tell you that. And, quite frankly, it was frustrating. I feel so overwhelmed doing improv on a good day that trying to keep up with all these new things we're learning and balance so many things at once is really hard, and then add to that trying to figure out what he wanted from us too, when he wouldn't say, well, it drove me nuts. And some of my classmates looked openly angry at points. I figured out what he was doing, I had a teacher at HUGE who did the same thing and it drove my "do everything right and perfect" brain insane.
Rance talked about First Beats in the Harold then, after we'd done some. First beats must be emotionally grounded. This is vital because they set the foundation for the beats that follow. The Opening is a place where anything can and should happen, a world of crazy. The first beats need to slam us, and the audience, back to the ground emotionally, and be authentic. In the second and third beats we can easily go from grounded to crazy, but it is very difficult to impossible to go from crazy in the first to grounded in the second. And he said that we need to keep the box of weird shut, and shut tight, in the first three scenes. Weird box holds the fun toys but they need to stay put up until the first group game.
Also, first beats each pull from the Opening, never from each other. The further apart these first three scenes are the more magical it will be at the end when they are woven back together. These first beats should be simple. Don't make them bonkers. They should only have two actors in them, if there are more for some reason they should still only have, at most, two points of view. This keeps things untangled for later beats.
We talked more about the structure of the Harold in the afternoon. Rance said any edit is potentially a group edit. The mood of the Opening should give a hint as to if that is the case. The first beat needs to be long enough to establish something, but not long enough to finish the story. That's what the second beat is for. The group game that comes between the acts will often tell you the type of move that needs to happen in the next piece, to move the story forward. Rance listed four types of moves that can happen in the 2nd beat–
Story. Most common. We follow the relationship of two characters from the first beat. We are NOT following plot, though it might come up.
Character. Almost as common as Story. We follow a single character from the first beat, as they are someplace else or interact with someone new. This feels like a tag-out, something about this character made us want to see more of them or see them somewhere else.
Thematic. Little vague to define. This includes mapping (Tara separated the two). We take the essence or spirit of a scene and move it to a new scene. Keep the original emotion.
Tangential. Something, anything, catches the eye of a player and we explore it. This often blends over with theme.
He said that if we are the same actor in the same beat of another act, we need to play the same character. It's not a rule, but it's very confusing 90%+ of the time if we don't. The only way around it is to make a fast, massive change in accent/posture/attitude/etc right off the bat. But even that doesn't always work, so typically just be the same character.
We have to act even when we think there is a 90% chance we can/will fail. It's our only chance at being great. Failure and success both teach a lesson.
If you're going to suck- suck big!
Hesitation means you're over-thinking/judging.
No one pays for an improv show to watch people "try".
If you're trying to play subtext and the audience thinks it is reality- it is now. Play the subtext harder next time you try.
Playing a extra in a scene is a fair move, just make sure you stay connected. And no matter how much you don't want to be a main character you are if your team makes you one. Accept it.
Touch people. Touching brings relationship, puts the scene in the moment, grounds the scene, and connects the actors.
If I feel stuck, or feel like the scene is stuck, I must unstick it. We are all waiting on each other. It's my responsibility to act.
Story and plot are not the same thing. Story -> Alive. Plot -> Dead.
We really DON'T have to front load our actions with words. Just make a clear move and trust that your team will follow you.
When we get confused we often start hyper-yessing. Instead, respond with reality.
It is easy to get caught-up in one or two parts of what is going on but we have to train ourselves to remain aware of everything at once.
Keep a watch on energy levels over the course of a piece. We want to make sure there is a variance from scene to scene, but also, even more, to make sure that it doesn't ever go too low.
This week caught part of the week before and the lack of writing that occurred. It was about half way through that I realized what I was doing and went back to trying to write an adequate amount every day. I did make some progress, but not enough to undo what I'd already done.
Blog 7,154
When You Assume You….
This week is Harold Week. This is the week where we learn the form iO is famous for, a form I've never done. It's considered foundational here for other forms but at HUGE I never did one. Which everyone in my class finds very odd. In fact, I think I'd only seen one before this trip and it was long ago when I had no idea what they were doing.
By the end of this week I am supposed to be able to do the Harold in multiple ways and understand the reasons and the different options available. I'm looking forward to this so that I will have a better common basis for discussing improv forms with other people.
Rance started us out with a warm-up that had no name. First he emphasized "safety first" as our number one rule this week, but particularly during this warm-up. Then he had use walk around the stage area and decide on one person who we wanted to make eye contact with, without that person knowing. When he gave the word making eye contact with them became out number one priority. Of course, unless they happened to have picked you as well it was almost impossible. If that did happen, or you made eye contact some other way, then you were just to pick a new person. I managed to get my target to look at me after a minute, but my second one never did.
Then he would call out the name of a person in the group and suddenly we all wanted eye contact with that one person more than anything else in the world. That person picked one of us to give it to and then was not allowed to change to someone else.
This may not sound like an exciting game but it quickly grew into something out of control. We were polite to begin with, just walking around and trying to get in the way of the two people but as Rance encouraged us to take risks (while staying safe) we became more and more motivated and direct in our attempts. By the end we were tickling the "looker" to make them let go (as they were often wrapped around the main person hanging on) and dragging them away, covering their eyes with our hands to make them stop looking, while they took drastic measures to stay together, including laying on each other. And all that pushing/pulling/tickling/wiggling resulted in quite a few people going down in piles, getting picked up and removed, crawling through the group to shove themselves up through the middle, etc.
After it was over we named it Hot/Awesome. Because we were hot and it was awesome. Obviously. Rance used it as an example of several topics for the day. One, to be safe in really physical situations on the stage it is important to move slowly and in smooth motions instead of jerky, fast ones that are unpredictable to people standing over or very close to you. Two, both for safety and for scenes it is vital to keep an awareness of everything going on around the stage no matter how much we are focused on one thing that we want.
We then ran scenes. Just a montage, simple stuff. After a few minutes he stopped us and asked what we were doing. We said, running scenes. And he said something along the lines (I wish I'd written this conversation down) of, why aren't you tagging out? Or doing other edits? Or having fun? And we said, this is the way all the other teachers have had us do this over the last three weeks. This is the way we're supposed to do it. And he said, I never told you that.
So we did more. And we did tags and a few things. And then he stopped us and said, Are you having fun? And we weren't. He said he could tell. And then we explained that it wasn't that fun because of this thing and that thing we couldn't do or had to do. Then he said, I never told you that.
And then we got irritated because he wasn't being reasonable.
Openings came next. Rance said the purpose of an Opening is to find theme, character ideas, generate information, get group mind flowing, and teach the audience the Rule of Three (subconsciously).
Three big things to keep in mind doing Openings
Explore and Exhaust. Don't jump topics, stay with a thing until it is used up and exhausted. This takes longer than you tend to think.
Energy. Be at the same level during the Opening or else going up. Never go down in energy. This can be in intensity, doesn't have to be volume- you don't have to scream. An energy dip in the Opening often means the group is confused/not on the same page.
Be on the same page. Avoid a confrontational tone/being on opposite sides.
We then moved into a training Opening. It was structured as object-object-object. We would describe something in detail, then move to a second thing that somehow connected to the first, then to a third that connected to the second.
For example- "We see a cactus. It is green. It is tall, twice as tall as I am. It has white flowers all over it." etc. Keep going as a group until everyone had spoken at least once, and the thing is well described. Then, "Over here" (moving to another part of the stage), "We see a horse." Describe it an equal amount. Then something else, on another part of a stage. A cowboy, or a barn, or an airplane. Whatever. Doesn't really matter as long as you see the connection. This teaches the audience the Rule of 3, and it give plenty of information to the group.
A theme could be pulled from it. Or specific details, like flowers and saddles. Or you could use each of those three things somehow in the first three beats. Whatever. That's up to the group. But it's there and available to be drawn from by everyone.
We spent the rest of the day doing Openings. Rance had us form two groups and we rotated out. However, as each group did one it was off the table and could not be repeated. That was fine until about 6 in, when he made it clear we were going to keep going. That made us panic. We were out of ideas. Each time a group got us we would look at each other with fear and confusion because it felt like there was nothing left. Yet, he only stopped us a couple of times to make us start over. We did-
Tribal/Interpretive
Character Monologues
Personal Monologues
Then we started getting more creative as we got pushed out of our comfort zone-
Silent (we were puppets)
"Over Explanation" (heavily interactive with the audience)
Narrative, Dr. Suess style
Multiple Hybrids that were so far off the charts they were impossible to categorize. My favorite was either "Zip-Zap-Monologues, with Glitter" or "Misunderstanding all the suggestions, followed by jumping on a motorbike and racing until we crashed and flew off".
The point was, we never ran out of options. And as we were pushed further and further from the standard forms we knew an interesting things developed- fun. We were all having more fun, and coming up with Openings that were more interesting and had more content. Plus, even without meaning to a lot of them had three parts. Interesting.
In all this Rance gave us a piece of advice that he says will take us far-
Make strong, clear moves. And support them. Which will be easy if they are strong and clear. Vague, weak moves are hard to support, help no one, and weaken the entire show.
Snatches from the day–
Give your character a want. If they get what they want, good. Celebrate, then chose a new one. If they don't, live in that suffering reality (which is more fun than succeeding anyway).
Clap for each other in class, be eager to jump up, pay attention, look like you're having fun- these are both supportive to your classmates and also good practice for auditions.
There is no right answer. There is one wrong answer- hesitation. Quit hesitating.
Everyone should join into the physical. No one should be standing around and watching the rest of the group.
If the audience sees or hears something- it's real. Deal with it. And they see/hear everything.
Even if you don't know what is going on and you're lost- just say your part. And then make it right.
Make clear moves. Don't hesitate. They are always the right move to make.
Not speaking in a group/Opening draws more focus than speaking, the audience begins to watch you and wonder when you are going to say something.
The first move can lead anywhere. The second move sets the pattern. The third move cements the pattern.
by A. L. Blackmon in Uncategorized Tags: improv, One Million Words, writing
I don't want to post last weeks numbers because they are so bad. Improv so consumed my life that I didn't write at all outside of some MPs and journaling/notes in class. That was it. As you can see below. And as much as I can't afford to let myself get any further behind I also don't feel bad about it because it was an incredible week at iO and I did a lot of improv. I was in 2 shows, and prepared for a 3rd, plus saw a lot of shows and had class and went to an extra class. So I stayed busy. Just not writing.
Feeling a Little Lost
by A. L. Blackmon in Uncategorized Tags: failure, improv, iO, lost, summer intensive
Instructor- Lyndsay Hailey
I taught the class Super Villain Death this morning before Lyndsay came in. It was taught to me at CSz in MSP by a teacher who was annoyed by the fact that no one in the class would lose. We all wanted to win, to be right, to survive. Very human of us. Just not useful on stage. I changed it a little to make it flow better and make it more fun, so my version is like this-
Someone is an imaginary super villain, something made up on the spot (Dr. Acidica! Ant Commander! Death with Tentacles!), cheesier is better, and then they kill someone else in the circle with an attack that matches their power (Pour a bucket of acid on them, order 10,000 ants to eat them alive, rip them apart with their mutant octopus arms). As that person dies they must choose an avenger in the circle, someone to rise up as the next super villain and avenge them. As soon as there is another death then the first person killed can rise, fueled by the ashes/life force/powers of the latest victim. I love this game because you get to be so over-the-top dramatic, both in the killing and the dying.
Anyway, Lyndsay came in and found us playing. She seems to feel that we are a very violent group, since pretty much all our warm-ups involve all of us dying. She moved us into Openings and Singing Soundscapes.
Spent more time walking around and doing short scenes with whoever we squared off with when she called a stop. We did different characters, ideas, energies, etc. Then we moved into longer scenes, back as ourselves.
After that was doing an opening and trying to find the theme of it as a group (selfishness). Then doing 8 scenes that could be the first scene of a Harold, each one completely different from the others. I got some hard notes during this part. It was frustrating in the moment because I couldn't figure out what she wanted (nor could my scene partner), but the feedback hit some of my big weaknesses dead center. So that gives me something to work on.
The afternoon was personal feedback and then scenes with a challenge to address a weakness. This was all feedback from Lyndsay, and it was stronger/harder than last week, though a few of the notes were the same. Some were different though, and one, the big one, was the same note I was getting a year ago! I don't know how to "fix" it. And I know I'm holding myself back, I've known it for awhile. I can feel this thing almost all the time when I'm on stage and I know, I KNOW, that if I can deal with it I am going to be shocked by how much better my improv gets. Just a gut intuition. But that doesn't help me clear it out.
My challenge was to play a bi-polar person with no control, who has crazy mood swings and doesn't even make sense when they talk. It didn't happen, but I did chase my partner hissing and trying to bite him, which is a big step forward for me. And then he beat me to death with his pogo stick. So it actually was a fun scene, but I still don't know how to get out of my own way.
Any tiny detail can be mined and mined for richness and detail. Nothing is too small.
If you put the theme of the show into your character then it can never be lost, no matter where the scenes go.
The real "yes" can be to say yes to the conflict.
Strong emotions are supportive, even if they feel impolite or nonsupportive.
When you don't know what to do in a scene it means you are circling the subject to justify it with words instead of acting and improvising.
Feel things, and show those emotions, instead of using words and making things make sense.
Justification strips the magic out of the thing.
Emote!
We started out before Lyndsay got there. My class is so awesome, I love them. We are all so enthusiastic about being here and learning that we often start doing warm-ups before class begins. This was a version of Zip-Zap-Zop that the guys from NC taught us last week. It's played like normal but at any point someone can change the Zops to kill mode and then it's every man for himself. Dodging and running around the room trying to avoid the Zop in the pattern because if it hits you then you die. Dramatically is best. Eventually the floor is littered with bodies that the survivors have to jump over as they try to avoid being hit. When the end comes and there are only two players left most people take it well, remaining calm as their killer handles them execution style.
Lyndsay came in during the game and since we were already playing the game she waited until only one remained, then had us circle back up for a game of silent Zip-Zap-Zop. Then we moved to elimination style, still silent, and as you got out you were allowed to distract the other players. Screaming at them, jumping around, clapping to cover the claps they were listening for, telling them they were going to fail, breathing in their ears- we got mean. Then we broke the circle and played as we moved around the room. Lyndsay kept adding Zips until there were dozens, then more, so fast no one could keep up. After it was over she pointed out, quietly, that it was interesting how flustered some people got when the "rules" were broken.
We followed that with more walking around and pairing off for scenes. Then 4 people were told to start doing a major physical task, and the rest of us could join in with whoever we were most drawn to helping. These turned into group scenes, that we all took turns watching, where she really drilled up on not talking about the activity or making a plot. Without those two things it's really, really hard to figure out what is fair game. It's such a habit to talk about the thing, or something else that isn't there.
After lunch we did some more Soundscapes/song, which led into a scene. It happened to be an airplane crash, where all but one person ended up dead by the end of the scene. I think the serious mood over the past few days is getting to everyone because my group is experienced enough that we don't normally kill each other in scenes. (If you don't do improv you won't know this but a common reaction for new improvisers is to kill all the peoples. Not everyone goes through that phase but I sure did. Don't know how to end a scene? Kill them. Don't know what to say? Kill them. Panic for no reason at all? Kill them.)
Then she asked two people to get on stage and do a scene with no instructions. When the next two got up she told them that they had to repeat that earlier scene, words and motions. They failed. Obviously. But then the next pair were told to mimic that scene we'd just seen, same thing. Also didn't do well. And even though the rest of us knew what was coming very few of the scenes were noticeably close to the scene they were supposed to mimic. Which led to an interesting conversation about listening, and how little we really hear. Also, though the words and movements were lost the tone remained throughout the piece. Emotion carries a lot better than dialogue.
Lyndsay pointed out some research that shows that we only hear about 10% of what is said to us, regardless of how much we think we are hearing. Now, knowing that can help, and she said improvisers in general tend to hear a little more. I'd hope so, considering how much time we spend just training on listening. Still, most of our mental energy in a conversation goes into planning what we will say next, even in deeply personal conversations. Our job, then, is to SLOW DOWN and be present on the stage. To actually hear what is being said instead of planning our answers to what we think was said.
Often we don't respond to things authentically because we want to be likable to the audience. But interesting characters are often people we wouldn't like in real life.
When we talk around issues on stage (instead of naming/facing them directly) our scenes become flat and predictable.
Everyone, even side characters, should be looking for the main relationship/s in a scene and doing whatever they can to throw fuel on the fire.
Seeing a relationship isn't writing! It's intuition, and a gift. Writing is when we see that relationship and try to wait for the perfect moment to use/reveal it. By the time that moment comes the scene has moved and everyone is onto something new.
We keep giving our emotional power to someone who isn't in the scene. Why?
If you're not sure if they are talking about you, make it about you. End that confusion for everyone. It's a gift.
Don't resist love!!!
The only wrong choice is the one to move away from what you feel.
Don't worry about how to protect your scene partners (emotionally or in the story), protect yourself. They are strong actors, they can take care of themselves too.
When you invent a reason for something that's happened you move the action out of the present and into the past.
Naming a connection is not inventing. Not if you are aware of and using the energy that is already there.
Words are golden, silence is beautiful
If you are feeling like something needs to happen in a scene it's always emotion. Go for the emotion!
In improv, to lose is to win. It is beautiful, fun, and safe.
Eat the asparagus. You don't have to like what you are doing to move a scene forward, and that can show, but you still have to do it.
If someone baits you into a fight- don't back down. This is contrary to most improv teachers but Lyndsay said she never backs down- she hits 10. Fast and hard. Go apeshit crazy on them. That will take the emotional stakes over the 10, which will then allow for an authentic status shift. Like in a real fight, there is a pause at the end where everyone just stands there, then life goes on.
Anger scene laughs are often a release of tension. Love (in any form) scene laughs are often a moment of recognition.
What I'm saying
Get the e-mails!


text:
Q: Updating badge icon in background on iOS7 I have an app that I want to update the badge icon weekly.  I see that at least pre iOS7, UILocalNotification could only set the badge icon to a specific number like
someLocalNotification.applicationIconBadgeNumber = 42;

But I want my app to load in the  background lets say every sunday, do a calculation based to get the difference between the current date and some start date, and update the badge number accordingly.
UILocalNotification can't do this apparently.  It looks like push notifications can, but I don't have a server component for this app, so using that as a workaround wouldn't work, and I'm not sure Apple would like it anyway.
I know there is some background app refresh updates in iOS7, but I'm not sure if they would work in this situation.
TLDR:  How do I update a badge icon in iOS7 that requires a bit of calculation to get the correct number, on a weekly basis (or any arbitrarily long time basis)?  And I want to do this background updating without a server component.

A: You simply schedule a silent local notification, with a nil message and then update the badge number. Also set the repeat count to nil otherwise the badge wont get updated if you call this local notification multiple times
This person posted a similar question, have a look

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Lemawork Ketema (born 22 October 1985) is an Austrian long-distance runner. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. He finished in 41st place.

Career

He competed in the men's half marathon event at the 2016 European Athletics Championships held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He finished in 20th place.

In 2018, he competed in the men's half marathon at the 2018 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships held in Valencia, Spain. He finished in 67th place. In the same year, he also competed in the men's marathon at the 2018 European Athletics Championships held in Berlin, Germany. He finished in 8th place with a personal best of 2:13:22. He won the bronze medal in the 2018 European Marathon Cup.

He competed in the men's marathon at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He did not finish his race.

Competition record

References

External links

Living people
1985 births
Austrian people of Ethiopian descent
Austrian male long-distance runners
Austrian male marathon runners
World Athletics Championships athletes for Austria
Place of birth missing (living people)
Olympic male marathon runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Austria

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
La Torre Bianca di Salonicco (in greco: Λευκός Πύργος Lefkós Pýrgos; in turco: Beyaz Kule; in ladino: Kuli Blanka)è uno dei principali monumenti della città di Salonicco, in Grecia.

Caratteristiche
L'edificio sovrasta il porto e si trova in un parco pubblico. Ospita una mostra permanente dedicata alla storia della città. Ha 6 piani, 34 metri di altezza e 70 di perimetro.

Storia
La Torre Bianca fu fortificata nel XV secolo, utilizzata in seguito come posto di guardia dei Giannizzeri e come prigione per i condannati a morte. Fu costruita nel luogo di una preesistente torre bizantina, che collegava il lato orientale della fortezza di Salonicco (che sopravvive ancora oggi), con quello sul mare (abbattuto nel 1866).

Denominazione
Inizialmente era chiamata «Torre dei Leoni» e in seguito, negli anni della dominazione ottomana, assunse diversi altri nomi. Nel XVIII secolo si chiamava «Fortezza di Kalamaria» e durante il XIX secolo, quando veniva utilizzata come prigione per i condannati all'ergastolo, «Torre dei Giannizzeri» e «Kanli-Kule», cioè Torre del Sangue, perché i turchi la usavano come prigione per i morituri e come luogo di tortura, spesso eseguita dai Giannizzeri, riempiendo le mura di sangue.

Nel 1890, Nathan Guéledi, un prigioniero della torre condannato all'ergastolo, imbiancò l'edificio in cambio della propria libertà, da allora il monumento fu chiamato «Beyaz-Kule», cioè «Torre Bianca» (Λευκός Πύργος).

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Architetture di Salonicco
Torri della Grecia


Maximise your performance with these Joma Maxima TF Men's Astro Turf Trainers. Developed with moulded rubber studs for enhance traction on turf surfaces, these trainers have a rubber outsole offering durability and grip. They also have full lace up fastening and a padded tongue for extra comfort, perfect for astro turf use.


Today's bike club ride was the route to Downey and the Columbia Memorial Space Center. It sits on a piece of land that used to be part of the old North American Aviation plant where they built the Command and Service Modules for the Apollo Program, as well as the second stage of the Saturn V moon rocket. Then, in the late '70s, it was where the Space Shuttle was designed. Downey's connection with the Apollo moon program can still be seen in things like the little strip mall called "Apollo Center".
We stopped for drinks and snacks at 3rd Street Coffee in Downey. After that, we rode over to the Rio Hondo bike path for the ride home. The day got pretty hot, but not to the point of being unbearable.


For many in the print industry, this may seem like a redundant question, but I was recently at an event that got me thinking about it a little more than I would normally. Talking with the MD of a financial management company who needed print for various marketing items, I showed him samples of recent work we'd done in-house on our digital presses: brochures, catalogues and such.
He said "that's great! but it's litho. I don't need large quantities, what about the digital stuff you do?" I don't know why it surprised me but it did; I guess I'm so used to seeing digital work that I've become a little blind to its quality. I had to convince him that the print in his hands was, in fact, digital, and explain how digital print had come a long way these days.
I love litho print! There I said it! It's where I started in print many years ago back in 1987, and in my opinion, it's still unmatched for richness and depth of tonal quality – if it's done well of course. Plus you have an unrivaled array of beautiful stock options available to choose from. If money and time were no object then yes, why not print all jobs litho? Unfortunately, I'm not an eccentric billionaire, I live in the real world where turnarounds and cost-effectiveness are the two most important factors. As that meeting highlighted, if you're not an obsessive print-o-phile like me then the average person looking at the end result would never be able to tell how it was printed, and let's face it, wouldn't care one way or the other.
Now, I know from years of experience that whether or not a job is printed digitally or lithographically isn't the only factor in determining the perceived quality of the finished job. What actually marks out the difference is a well thought-out design with proper consideration for the method of production and, in the case of digital, clever use of available materials such as digital white ink or matt laminate coupled with digital clear spot varnish. A badly-designed job printed litho will still look poor quality – litho printing can't work miracles – just the same as a badly designed job printed digitally will look equally bad.
Over the years this is what I've seen time and again. When someone is putting together a litho job, with a run of thousands or tens of thousands at substantial cost, they tend to spend a little more time getting the design right in the first place and they don't start printing until they're 100% happy. It's all the thought that's put in beforehand, the design and the intended finishing, that add up to a great piece of work.
On the other hand, if a newsletter, for instance, is put together without close attention to typography and colours and uses a mixed bag of low-resolution images and logos, then printing litho won't help – it's still going to look like it was cobbled together. Alas this is what happens too much of the time with digital print. Often because it's a last-minute thought, it's wanted quickly, it's only a small quantity etc etc, so people create the artwork themselves for speed. Consequently poor old digital tends to get an unfair rap when the results aren't stellar. Using talented designers with great assets and comprehensive briefs – and designing in collaboration with your printer – is the way to achieve great digital print.
In the end, asking which is best 'digital or litho' is like asking if a 'pen or a pencil' is best. At the end of the day, it all depends what it's needed for. In 2018 I think it's fair to say we have two great choices.


Is there a way to make my blog post images as big as the featured image?
The blog I need help with is stephanielara.com.
The answer is no you cannot create images the size of featured images in posts, unless they are, in fact, set as featured images.


It's no secret that we are living longer than we used to. This is an undeniably good thing, but we all hope to spend our later years in good health so that we can continue to enjoy life to the fullest. Fortunately, there are steps we can take to look after our bodies the best we can.
One often overlooked aspect of living a healthy life is taking care of our hearing. By doing so, we are also safeguarding our mental and emotional health. For instance, several recent studies have discovered a connection between hearing loss and the development of Alzheimer's disease. It was found that responding proactively to hearing loss could reduce a person's risk of Alzheimer's by 75 percent! People with hearing loss are also less likely to see their family and friends, which becomes especially important as we enter our later years.
A surprisingly large amount of hearing loss isn't due to old age at all, but is noise-induced – that is through repeated exposure to loud sounds. So, you shouldn't resign yourself to thinking that hearing loss is an inevitable part of the passage of time. Here are some tips to help you look after your hearing as you enter your later years.
Ideally, you should avoid being in any noisy environment. However, that isn't very realistic. There are plenty of fun things that take place in noisy places, like concerts, sports events and political rallies to name a few. Generally speaking though, noise is loud enough to damage your hearing if you have to talk louder to communicate with other people, and you find it difficult to hear what other people are saying next to you because of the noise.
Noise levels are measured in decibels. The louder the sound, the less you can be exposed to it before hearing damage occurs. If you are spending an extended period of time in loud places, it pays to wear hearing protection. This is a growing problem – about 15 percent of Americans have developed noise-induced hearing loss from their job or their choice of leisure activities. Earplugs come in a variety of materials and price ranges, and you can get specialty models to suit the activity that you are engaged in. Many come in handy keychain containers so you can take them with you wherever you go.
Do you listen to podcasts and music using earphones? You might be endangering your hearing on a regular basis. The World Health Organization estimates that one in every seven people on this planet are at risk of hearing loss from unsafe levels of volume on their earphones.
The WHO recommends following the 60/60 rule: You should listen with your headphones at under 60% of your max volume, for a maximum of 60 minutes a day. The most damaging type could be earbuds as they feed sound directly into your ear, as opposed to headphones which disperse the sound a little more. Many smartphones today come with an option to automatically limit the volume on your phone to a certain percentage of the maximum volume. This can help you if you absent-mindedly max out your volume controls on a regular basis.
To go one step further, try noise cancelling headphones. They use special frequencies to mask sounds around you which makes you less likely to crank up the volume when you want to drown out the outside world.
The best thing to do as soon as you can is to get your hearing checked regularly by a trained hearing health professional. This is because hearing loss develops slowly and needs to be tracked so that appropriate action can be taken in the future. It's important to act sooner rather than later as untreated hearing loss has been linked to a slew of health conditions like depression, dementia and heart disease. Generally speaking, you should get your hearing tested annually once you pass the age of 60.
As we get older, we experience an increasing number of major life changes. How we respond to these challenges is important for staying healthy. The earlier you take charge of your hearing loss, the earlier you can focus on living your life to the fullest. The first step to better hearing is contacting Exceptional Hearing Care to schedule a hearing exam. Get in touch today!


text: Q: Платформа для моделирования задач с физики Нужно смоделировать задачу, где будут физические константы по типу ускорения падания(к примеру можно менять чтобы было не только земное) можно было описать силы действующие на тело в таких случаях(равно ускоренное движение или равномерное). Знаю о geogebra и вопрос состоит в том, если кто пробовал делать такое, то где лучше всего и какой метод реализации?


text:
using CommunityToolkit.HighPerformance;
using CommunityToolkit.HighPerformance.Buffers;
using System;
using System.Buffers.Binary;
using System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis;
using System.Globalization;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace Secs4Net.Sml;

public static class SmlWriter
{
    public static int SmlIndent = 4;

    public static string ToSml(this SecsMessage msg)
    {
        using var sw = new StringWriter();
        msg.WriteSmlTo(sw);
        return sw.ToString();
    }

    public static void WriteSmlTo(this SecsMessage msg, TextWriter writer, int indent = 4)
    {
        if (msg.Name is not null)
        {
            writer.Write(msg.Name);
            writer.Write(':');
        }
        writer.Write("'S");
        writer.Write(msg.S);
        writer.Write('F');
        writer.Write(msg.F);
        writer.Write('\'');
        if (msg.ReplyExpected)
        {
            writer.Write('W');
        }
        writer.WriteLine();

        if (msg.SecsItem is not null)
        {
            writer.Write(msg.SecsItem, indent);
        }

        writer.WriteLine('.');
    }

    public static async Task WriteSmlToAsync(this SecsMessage msg, TextWriter writer, int indent = 4)
    {
        if (msg.Name is not null)
        {
            writer.Write(msg.Name);
            writer.Write(':');
        }
        writer.Write("'S");
        writer.Write(msg.S);
        writer.Write('F');
        writer.Write(msg.F);
        writer.Write('\'');
        if (msg.ReplyExpected)
        {
            writer.Write('W');
        }
        writer.WriteLine();

        if (msg.SecsItem is not null)
        {
            await writer.WriteAsync(msg.SecsItem, indent).ConfigureAwait(false);
        }

        await writer.WriteLineAsync('.').ConfigureAwait(false);
    }

    public static void Write(this TextWriter writer, Item item, int indent = 4)
    {
        var indentStr = new string(' ', indent);
        writer.Write(indentStr);
        writer.Write('<');
        writer.Write(item.Format.ToSml());
        writer.Write(" [");
        writer.Write(item.Count);
        writer.Write("] ");
        switch (item.Format)
        {
            case SecsFormat.List:
                writer.WriteLine();
                foreach (var a in item.Items)
                {
                    writer.Write(a, indent + SmlIndent);
                }
                writer.Write(indentStr);
                break;
            case SecsFormat.ASCII:
            case SecsFormat.JIS8:
                writer.Write('\'');
                writer.Write(item.GetString());
                writer.Write('\'');
                break;
            case SecsFormat.Binary:
                WriteHexArray(writer, item.GetMemory<byte>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.F4:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<float>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.F8:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<double>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I1:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<sbyte>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I2:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<short>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I4:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<int>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I8:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<long>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U1:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<byte>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U2:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<ushort>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U4:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<uint>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U8:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<ulong>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.Boolean:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<bool>());
                break;
            default:
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(item.Format), item.Format, "invalid SecsFormat value");
        }
        writer.WriteLine('>');
    }

    public static async Task WriteAsync(this TextWriter writer, Item item, int indent = 4)
    {
        var indentStr = new string(' ', indent);
        await writer.WriteAsync(indentStr).ConfigureAwait(false);
        await writer.WriteAsync($"<{item.Format.ToSml()} [{item.Count}] ").ConfigureAwait(false);
        switch (item.Format)
        {
            case SecsFormat.List:
                await WriteListAsnc(writer, item, indent, indentStr).ConfigureAwait(false);
                break;
            case SecsFormat.ASCII:
            case SecsFormat.JIS8:
                writer.Write('\'');
                writer.Write(item.GetString());
                writer.Write('\'');
                break;
            case SecsFormat.Binary:
                writer.WriteHexArray(item.GetMemory<byte>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.F4:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<float>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.F8:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<double>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I1:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<sbyte>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I2:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<short>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I4:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<int>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.I8:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<long>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U1:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<byte>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U2:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<ushort>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U4:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<uint>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.U8:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<ulong>());
                break;
            case SecsFormat.Boolean:
                writer.WriteArray(item.GetMemory<bool>());
                break;
            default:
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(item.Format), item.Format, "invalid SecsFormat value");
        }

        await writer.WriteLineAsync('>').ConfigureAwait(false);

        static async Task WriteListAsnc(TextWriter writer, Item item, int indent, string indentStr)
        {
            await writer.WriteLineAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
            foreach (var a in item.Items)
            {
                await WriteAsync(writer, a, indent + SmlIndent).ConfigureAwait(false);
            }

            await writer.WriteAsync(indentStr).ConfigureAwait(false);
        }
    }

    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
    private static void WriteArray<T>(this TextWriter writer, Memory<T> memory)
#if NET6_0
            where T : unmanaged, ISpanFormattable
#else
            where T: unmanaged
#endif
    {
        if (memory.IsEmpty)
        {
            return;
        }

        var array = memory.Span;
        ref var rStart = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(0);
        ref var rEnd = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(array.Length - 1);
        while (Unsafe.IsAddressLessThan(ref rStart, ref rEnd))
        {
            WriteValue(writer, rStart);
            writer.Write(' ');
            rStart = ref Unsafe.Add(ref rStart, 1);
        }
        WriteValue(writer, rStart);

        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
        static void WriteValue(TextWriter writer, T value)
#if NET6_0
                => writer.WriteSpanFormattableValue(value);
#else
                => writer.Write(value.ToString());
#endif
    }

    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
    private static void WriteArray(this TextWriter writer, Memory<float> memory)
    {
        if (memory.IsEmpty)
        {
            return;
        }

        var array = memory.Span;
        ref var rStart = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(0);
        ref var rEnd = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(array.Length - 1);
        while (Unsafe.IsAddressLessThan(ref rStart, ref rEnd))
        {
            WriteValue(writer, rStart);
            writer.Write(' ');
            rStart = ref Unsafe.Add(ref rStart, 1);
        }
        WriteValue(writer, rStart);

        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
        static void WriteValue(TextWriter writer, float value)
#if NET6_0
                => writer.WriteSpanFormattableValue(value);
#else
                => writer.Write(value.ToString("G9", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture));
#endif
    }

    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
    private static void WriteArray(this TextWriter writer, Memory<bool> memory)
    {
        if (memory.IsEmpty)
        {
            return;
        }

        var array = memory.Span;
        ref var rStart = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(0);
        ref var rEnd = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(array.Length - 1);
        while (Unsafe.IsAddressLessThan(ref rStart, ref rEnd))
        {
            writer.Write(rStart.ToString());
            writer.Write(' ');
            rStart = ref Unsafe.Add(ref rStart, 1);
        }
        writer.Write(rStart.ToString());
    }

    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
    private static void WriteHexArray(this TextWriter writer, ReadOnlyMemory<byte> memory)
    {
        if (memory.IsEmpty)
        {
            return;
        }

        var array = memory.Span;
        ref var rStart = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(0);
        ref var rEnd = ref array.DangerousGetReferenceAt(array.Length - 1);
        while (Unsafe.IsAddressLessThan(ref rStart, ref rEnd))
        {
            AppendHexChars(writer, rStart);
            writer.Write(' ');
            rStart = ref Unsafe.Add(ref rStart, 1);
        }
        AppendHexChars(writer, rStart);

        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
        static void AppendHexChars(TextWriter sb, byte num)
        {
            sb.Write("0x");
            var hex1 = Math.DivRem(num, 0x10, out var hex0);
            sb.Write(GetHexChar(hex1));
            sb.Write(GetHexChar(hex0));
        }

        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
        static char GetHexChar(int i) => (i < 10) ? (char)(i + 0x30) : (char)(i - 10 + 0x41);
    }

#if NET6_0
    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
    private static void WriteSpanFormattableValue<T>(this TextWriter writer, T value) where T : unmanaged, ISpanFormattable
    {
        using var spanOwner = SpanOwner<char>.Allocate(128);
        if (value.TryFormat(spanOwner.Span, out var writtenCount, default, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))
        {
            writer.Write(spanOwner.Span.Slice(0, writtenCount));
        }
        else
        {
            writer.Write(value.ToString());
        }
    }
#endif

    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
    internal static string ToSml(this SecsFormat format)
    {
        return format switch
        {
            SecsFormat.List => "L",
            SecsFormat.Binary => "B",
            SecsFormat.Boolean => "Boolean",
            SecsFormat.ASCII => "A",
            SecsFormat.JIS8 => "J",
            SecsFormat.I8 => "I8",
            SecsFormat.I1 => "I1",
            SecsFormat.I2 => "I2",
            SecsFormat.I4 => "I4",
            SecsFormat.F8 => "F8",
            SecsFormat.F4 => "F4",
            SecsFormat.U8 => "U8",
            SecsFormat.U1 => "U1",
            SecsFormat.U2 => "U2",
            SecsFormat.U4 => "U4",
            _ => ThrowHelper(format),
        };

        [DoesNotReturn]
        static string ThrowHelper(SecsFormat format) => throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(format), (int)format, "Invalid enum value");
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


After what seems like weeks of almost endless eating and drinking (and not much exercise), I have decided to start the new year fresh and cut back on sugary treats and carbs in favour of salads and, well, something that will make me forget how much I love sugar.
So it was with great delight (and a little bit of drool) that I recently stumbled upon the Sweet Adventures blog hop for December, hosted by Sydney blogger 84thand3rd, which had the oh-so-tempting theme of 'truffles'.
While most of the truffles featured were rich in chocolate (and calories), 84thand3rd kicked things off with a semi-healthy recipe for Skinny Fat-Elvis Truffles—bite sized treats that not only make a great after-dinner snack but can also be made in vegan, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free and even gluten-free varieties!
Within 10 minutes, I'd whipped up a batch of these beauties and had them chilling in the fridge while I raced to Coles for the last (and possibly most delicious) ingredient—Ice Magic topping.
These peanut butter-based babies have become my nightly after-dinner snack with the drizzle of Ice Magic being just enough to cure my sugar cravings.
Combine peanut butter and banana (and honey, chocolate chips or cacao nibs if you're using them). Stir through oats. Roll into truffles.
Freeze for 20 mins or refrigerate for a hour until cold, drizzle over magic shell or dip truffles to fully coat.


Entries tagged with "transit payments"
65% of US commuters who use cash to pay for mass transit worry about having the right amount to pay for their trip.
36% were unable to take mass transit at some time because they did not have enough cash on hand.
44% have missed a bus or train while waiting in line to purchase a ticket or add money to a fare card.
Take a look at 5 ways transit and parking industries are accepting electronic payments.


In Richmond, when you find that your drains are damaged, collapsing or even need replacing, it can seem like a disaster.
The immediate symptoms – bad smells and worse troubling you, your employees and your customers plus the impact on your business – are bad enough. But then there's the fear that the cure could prove an even bigger headache – huge diggers tearing up your premises, massive disruption and a bill that you don't want to think about. Well, let us put your mind at rest – we can fix most problem drains quickly, cost-effectively and without having to dig up anything. We call it Stemmle Plumbing No Dig Technology.
This technology has grown really fast! Our No-dig technology has moved so fast in recent years that we can now repair anything from small breaks in an underground pipe to collapsed sewers without a digger ever being required. Most of the problems you'd expect with drains can be fixed quickly and easily – from fractures and cracks to subsidence, invasions by tree roots and corrosion.
Call Stemmle Plumbing today, and see if we can save you both time and money.