has this guy gone too far?
Now it's been almost universally agreed that the typical western decentralised, auto-oriented suburban model has been a failure, especially with the soaring cost of oil. This model has lead to the sundering of traditional neighbour and family relationships, as well as bearing a terrible environmental cost.
The alternative calls for pedestrian-centred neighbourhoods with primary social and economic facilities within a five-minute walk, with a commitment to re-establishing the relationship between the art of building and the remaking of community. This should be accompanied by the elimination of large-scale commuter travelling, which in turn calls for locating work within the community. However, the solution cannot be by way of the massive neo-Stalinist tower blocks that disfigure so much of the 'advanced' world's landscape.
Does he mean loads of Africans holding table quizzes to fleece friends & family of a few quid so they can take a two week holiday to Ireland to build us a house. Ala the Niall Mellon Township thingy.
Now it's been almost universally agreed that the typical western decentralised, auto-oriented suburban model has been a failure, especially with the soaring cost of oil. This model has lead to the sundering of traditional neighbour and family relationships, as well as bearing a terrible environmental cost.
The alternative calls for pedestrian-centred neighbourhoods with primary social and economic facilities within a five-minute walk, with a commitment to re-establishing the relationship between the art of building and the remaking of community. This should be accompanied by the elimination of large-scale commuter travelling, which in turn calls for locating work within the community. However, the solution cannot be by way of the massive neo-Stalinist tower blocks that disfigure so much of the 'advanced' world's landscape.
He hasn't travelled much in Africa then!!
look at the progress the Romans made 2000 years ago.
You woull have waith a long time for that to happen.
Dublin City Council seem to be embracing cultures from other continents!
It seems that DCC will look at Town Planning and management strategies from outside Europe!
The alternative calls for pedestrian-centred neighbourhoods with primary social and economic facilities within a five-minute walk, with a commitment to re-establishing the relationship between the art of building and the remaking of community. This should be accompanied by the elimination of large-scale commuter travelling, which in turn calls for locating work within the community.
Seems like an eminently sensible proposal. Not sure why this is considered "African town planning" given anti car town planning is fairly common on the continent, with emphasis on public transport, walking and cycling, along with a greater focus on higher density housing.


Although it might sound cute, love handles are something you would want to lose quickly. 'Love handles' is the common name for the excess fat deposit at the sides of your waist, often visible over the top of your trousers. Despite being a soft layer of fat (sometimes called muffin top), love handles can be a challenge to get rid of.
Strength or resistance training allows you to contract your muscles against resistance, helping you to build strength and lean muscle while burning calories at rest. Research has shown that combining cardio with resistance training helps in burning belly fat more effectively than either resistance training or cardio alone.
Here we have listed some toning exercises that target your core muscles particularly obliques, a group of muscles that run along the sides of your torso. Repeat each workout for three sets, resting one minute after each. Try to follow this routine thrice a week. Most of these exercises can be done at home if you have a dumbbell or medicine ball.
Grab a dumbbell using both hands and stand with a hip-width stance.
Lift the dumbbell overhead above your left shoulder.
Twist your torso to make a chopping movement down towards the right leg.
Raise the dumbbell up to the original position.
Repeat for 20 reps and then switch sides.
Grabbing a pull-up bar, hang freely.
Flexing your abs, raise your feet up while keeping your legs straight.
Sit on the ground with your legs bent and feet placed on the floor.
Holding a medicine ball, extend your arms.
Lean backward until your upper body makes an angle of 45 degrees with the floor.
Twist your upper body to move your arms from right to left and vice versa without lifting your feet.
Get into a side plank position by keeping your elbow on the floor and resting your legs and hips on the ground.
Keeping your torso in line with your legs, engage your core in lifting your body off the floor into a plank position.
Lower your body back to the initial position.
Repeat 14 times on your right side and 14 on your left.
Lie on an exercise mat while keeping your hands behind the head and bending your knees.
Lift your upper back and left knee off the floor, keeping your right leg straight.
Take your right elbow toward the left knee.
Switch your elbow and knee.
Repeat the motion as quickly as you can 20-25 times.
Stand with a shoulder-width stance at a distance of 1-2 feet from the box.
Descend into a quarter squat position.
Extending your hips and swinging your arms, drive through your feet to jump onto the box.
While these exercises are good at helping you get rid of love handles, they will only work when you make dietary changes like cutting out sugary foods from your diet, having foods rich in fiber, including quality protein sources, adding complex carbs, and staying hydrated with plain water or unsweetened tea. Aside from eating healthy, you may need to include half-an-hour cardio session three to four days a week.


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Investigating The Truth Behind The Roswell Incident
By Richard Stockton | Checked By John Kuroski
The Roswell incident is the most famous event in extraterrestrial lore. But, there's more to the story than government conspiracies and flying saucers.
JOSHUA ROBERTS/AFP/Getty ImagesA group of protestors march in front of the General Accounting Office (GAO) to raise awarness about an examination being conducted by the GAO for documents about a weather balloon crash at Roswell, New Mexico in March 1947.
In the summer of 1947, something crashed on the Foster Ranch in south-central New Mexico. The site was about 30 miles southeast of the small town of Corona, but it was 75 miles northwest of the larger town that gave this event its name: the Roswell incident.
What that object was, what the government said it was, and what the public thought it could be has created a near-mythical confusion that has lasted over 70 years now.
The Roswell crash happened to occur right at the beginning of what would be the American public's UFO craze. So perhaps it was inevitable that the debris collected from the New Mexico scrub would come to be associated with alien life and contact from another world.
This idea is so magnetic that even today around half the population of the United States believes aliens have visited Earth at least once, and Roswell is Ground Zero for the belief that they crashed here. Wherever there's a majority belief, there will be people pandering to it. Candidate Hillary Clinton even made releasing the government's files on the Roswell incident a campaign promise in 2016.
This atmosphere of conspiracy and coverup doesn't do anyone any favors. In fact, it arguably makes the story less, well… less cool. This is because what really happened at that ranch in New Mexico in 1947, separated from the fiction surrounding it, is a pretty interesting story on its own.
The Story Behind The Roswell Crash
Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty ImagesPoster of Flying Saucers Attack! Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.
To understand how the Roswell incident blew up the way that it did, it helps to have some context regarding other events going on at the time.
In 1947, the United States had recently emerged victorious from World War II, a war that was to a great extent fought in the sky with (at the time) advanced technology. Early rockets had made news and jet aircraft were making test flights all over the American Southwest. Add to that the sudden appearance of the atomic bomb — a product of super-secret government research — and the mysterious air it gave the area around Alamogordo, which is just a few miles west of Corona.
Of more immediate notice was the 1947 Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting. This was the first close encounter to make the news as contact with unknown flying objects.
Arnold, a pilot, described the objects as white spheres that skipped "like flying saucers" through the air. Mishearing what Arnold said about his sighting, story-hungry reporters took the flying saucer angle and ran with it in their stories as a gag.
The Arnold sighting took place less than two weeks before the Roswell incident, which was close enough for "flying saucers" to be fresh in people's minds, but long enough for local papers to need a new story.
Then something went down at the Foster Ranch.
The Roswell Incident
Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty ImagesJesse Marcel, head intelligence officer, who initially investigated the Roswell incident and recovered some of the debris from the crash site in 1947.
On the morning of July 3, 1947, rancher Mac Brazel found some debris scattered over about 200 square yards near a service road on the ranch where he worked. Later reports became muddled, but his first description to the press was of finding strips of papery material that were covered with shiny foil. He also said he found broken strips of lightweight wood and plastic, some of which had odd symbols on it, and spongy bits of rubber.
He described the foil as having small metal grommets embedded in it as if a cord used to pass through them. He specifically described finding sticks to the reporter for the Roswell Daily Record who came to take his story, and he described the debris as resembling a broken kite.
Getty ImagesBrig. General Roger M. Ramey, Commanding General of 8th Air Force, and Col. Thomas J. Dubose, 8th Air Force Chief of Staff, identify metallic fragments found by a farmer near Roswell, New Mexico. This is the basis of the Roswell Incident, the supposed crash of an alien spacecraft.
Brazel's first impulse was to stick the debris under some brush and leave it there.
But, a little while later, after hearing about the Arnold sighting, he told the local sheriff what he'd found and suggested it might be a flying saucer. The sheriff, a man named Wilcox, reached out to report the debris to the Air Force, which he knew was operating out of Holloman and White Sands, both of which were near the ranch where the material was found.
An Air Force officer came out to meet with Brazel, who led him to the site and helped him collect most of the debris. Word got out to the local press a short time later, and the flying saucer-fueled interest made itself felt in the now-immortal headline: "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region."
Flying Saucers
Wikimedia CommonsRoswell Daily Record announcing the "capture" of a "flying saucer." July 8, 1947.
Fake news wasn't entirely to blame for the misreporting of the Roswell crash. Almost all of the early reports of the Roswell incident were based on the July 8 press release the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) published, claiming a flying disc had been captured on a ranch in Roswell.
Exactly why the Air Force felt the need to make this claim is not clear, though the local 509th Bomb Group's Intelligence Office was certainly interested in covering up what the material had really been part of.
It's possible an overly creative press agent for the Air Force had simply grabbed a headline that had been floating around and spun it into a fun diversion from what really was a classified program nobody was supposed to know about.
That program, as we now know, was Project Mogul, a then-Top Secret operation to test A-bomb detection hardware that was intended to be deployed near the Soviet Union. Mogul used commercially available weather balloons to heft a 5-pound "kite," made of balsa wood, plastic, and mylar, up to an altitude of about 28,000 feet.
There, the balloon would carry a microphone and drift at a stable altitude hoping to hear the rumble of an atomic bomb going off. The foil was part of a radar reflector that helped the base track the probe, while the "strange hieroglyphs" were minimalist floral patterns printed on the struts and some of the cellophane tape by the manufacturer — a party supply company.
The Coverup Of A Coverup Of A Coverup
Eglin Air Force BaseA soldier sets off a weather balloon.
This all had to be kept secret for several reasons. First, there was a general keep-it-from-the-Soviets attitude that permeated everything the military touched in those days.
Second, the project itself was part of a larger technical spying effort to spot the first Soviet bomb test. If the Soviets found out what Mogul was, they could have made it harder to hear the bomb they wound up testing in 1949.
Another reason for secrecy was the then-advanced technology project balloons used to maintain their altitude, which was quite a trick for a craft with no propellers or control surfaces.
All of this may have driven the press office to release the bogus "flying disc" narrative, which seems to have been a local decision. On sober reflection a few days later, the official lie became the now-infamous "weather balloon."
Instinctive dishonesty like this has a price. After an initial period when the weather balloon story was accepted by the public, interest in the Roswell incident picked up again after multiple documented instances were made public of the government outright lying about its activities.
A full 30 years after the incident, those early reports of a flying disc, followed by hasty denials and an obvious coverup, proved too much to resist for authors Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt. Their book titled UFO Crash at Roswell interviewed hundreds of people between 1978 and 1980 on the incident and helped spread the UFO craze out of Roswell.
Public Interest Picks Up
HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty ImagesTourists leaves the alleged Roswell crash site, passing by a gate at Corn Ranch 30 miles north of Roswell.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the American public had been through the wringer.
From the Watergate scandal to the Church Committee's revelations about the multiple times the CIA tried to overthrow governments and kill Fidel Castro, the country was ready to believe almost anything with regard to the government's skullduggery. To add fuel to the fire, movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which was all about the government trying to cover up alien visitations, were massive hits and often extended the public's fascination with the other-worldly.
Eventually, a cohesive narrative of Roswell emerged via a cultural game of telephone. To the general public, the Roswell incident happened like this:
In 1947, an actual alien spaceship crashed on the Foster ranch in Roswell, NM. The RAAF slipped up at first and admitted the truth, which was followed by a clumsy lie about a weather balloon a few days later. In the meantime, Men in Black arrived at the Roswell crash site to threaten everybody who knew anything about the incident and keep things hushed up. The bodies of the dead aliens were whisked away, along with the debris, to a hangar located at the infamous black site Area 51.
Alien Bodies
Wikimedia CommonsAlien mannequin displayed at Roswell Museum.
That bit about alien bodies crept into the story during the 1978-80 interview process. Nobody seems to know exactly who was the first to have claimed they saw dead and dying aliens at the Roswell crash site, but by the time the Roswell story got wide traction in the 1980s, it was an indispensable part of the mystery.
One person even claimed to have been with Mac Brazel on his first trip out to the Roswell crash site, where he said he saw a living alien walking around among its dead shipmates. Around the same time, in the mid-90s, documents purporting to be classified blueprints for the UFO were "leaked" to — no kidding — the National Enquirer. Sadly, none of the allegedly official descriptions of this advanced technology revealed anything a college-educated human being wouldn't already have known about a power supply, propulsion, and life support systems.
It goes without saying that the military vehemently denied all of this. When they finally declassified the details of Project Mogul it must have come as a surprise how few people believed it.
Apparently, in the minds of over half of the American public, the Air Force developing a secret bomb-detection machine was less likely than an advanced alien race losing a ship and several crew members in the New Mexico scrub land, followed by a flawless 30-year coverup by the same government that couldn't stop atomic bomb secrets from leaking to the Russians.
The Roswell crash story is a lot of things. In reality, it's a pretty neat glimpse at the sort of secret projects the tech wizards of the Air Force were into in the years between World War IIand the Korean War. In legend, it's a spooky story about alien life and government cover ups.
In delusion, it's part of an ongoing project to keep the truth away from the American public. And perhaps, in a way, the fantastical stories about alien invaders, secret bases, shadowy conspiracies, and malevolent forces inside the government are a painless way for people to start talking about the very real corruption and culture of secrecy that does exist in the deep state.
For many people, struggling to come to terms with the scandals and shocks of the 1970s and 1980s, a government-orchestrated alien coverup could have been a relatively painless way for them to broach the topic of secrecy and corruption at the highest levels, even if the subject matter was far fetched.
Whatever the underlying psychology, the Roswell story opens a window into the very real way normal, almost boring, events can spiral into utter mythology in just a single human lifetime. If the "aliens" have anything to teach us at all, maybe that's the most useful thing we could learn from all this.
Enjoy this look at the Roswell incident? Learn about the bizarre beliefs of Raelism — the religion that says humanity is an alien experiment. Then read about 4 real U.S. government alien research projects straight out of The X-Files.
Richard Stockton
Richard Stockton is a freelance science and technology writer from Sacramento, California.
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Twelve Days in December by is a sweet romantic novella set in New York. While it is a part of a series, I can tell you that it does not have to be read with the series to enjoy it. I haven't read any of the previous books and loved this one! William and Charlotte are characters from Marrying Christopher, and while I hadn't read that book, I found the two quite charming.
William Vancer is a wealthy NY businessman, who is set to claim an inheritance only if he is married. He is kind, gentle with Charlotte, and takes up with her son as if he was his own. Yet he guards his own heart fiercely. This marriage with Charlotte will be his third attempt, after being jilted twice. My heart broke a bit for him and what he has faced.
Charlotte is Marsali's older sister (for those that have read the other books) and is recently widowed. When her own sister's husband turns up alive, Charlotte offers to take her place. She has a young son and no home to go back to. But she is still grieving, hurting over the loss of her husband and afraid to give more than just friendship to William.
This short story focuses on the 12 days that William has taken from work to get to know his new wife and step son. It really is amazing to me just how much an author can pack into these short stories. In just 80 pages, there is tremendous character growth for both Charlotte and William along with a budding romance. It's sweet, tender, and moving!
Overall I really enjoyed their story! Personally I could've read a full novel about the two, it is that good 😀 I hope to go back and read the entire series as I'd like to know more about Marsali and her husband. If you enjoy historical fiction and a little clean romance, I highly recommend this one!


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Dr Eugenio Galindo
Dr. Eugenio Galindo reflects on McAllen Oncology's recent grand opening event
April 1, 2019 | Dr. Eugenio Galindo | Dr. Eugenio Galindo
Oncologist Dr. Eugenio Galindo looks back on cancer treatment center's grand opening celebration which took place earlier this year.
Kicking off 2019 in style with McAllen Oncology's grand opening celebration in January, Dr. Eugenio Galindo, a veteran of the oncology field for more than three decades, reflects on the highly successful event, staged in association with the Texas city of McAllen's Chamber of Commerce.
"We had over 375 patients and their families in attendance, as well as several representatives from the city's Chamber of Commerce," reveals Dr. Galindo of the grand opening celebration which took place in January. "It really was an amazing event," he adds.
Oncologist Dr. Galindo continues, "At McAllen Oncology, we offer complete cancer care in a state-of-the-art facility which includes an innovative community infusion center with private suites and a diagnostic imaging center and laboratory."
McAllen Oncology is the only cancer center of its kind in South Texas, says Dr. Galindo, explaining more about the clinic following its grand opening. "Our ribbon cutting was a great way to kick off 2019," he adds of the event which took place earlier this year, on January 11.
The beginning of January marked a busy month for the South Texas city of McAllen. Other events which took place, in association with the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, included the Mediforce, LLC grand opening and ribbon cutting, the Rio Grande Regional Hospital ground-breaking, RGV Electrical Supply's grand opening and ribbon cutting, the Jalapenos Bar & Grill grand re-opening and ribbon cutting, and Ric Brown Family Funeral Home's 1st year anniversary and ribbon cutting, as well as grand opening and ribbon cutting events at Skinn Bar and ProSports Massage Clinic.
With a membership of 2,000 and a staff of 21, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1924 as an evolution of the McAllen Businessmen's Club, which, 13 years earlier, and founded in 1911, drove the initial creation of the City of McAllen.
"The McAllen Chamber of Commerce," adds Dr. Galindo, wrapping up, "is the largest chamber in a 15 county area, broadly regarded, I'm proud to say, as the most cutting edge, innovative, and progressive chamber in the region."
Dr. Eugenio Galindo is certified in medical oncology through the American Board of Internal Medicine and has served in the Rio Grande Valley for more than 28 years. The medical director for McAllen Oncology, Dr. Galindo completed his fellowship at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and is an active participant in bringing the very latest in cancer treatment and screening to the Rio Grande Valley area. Fluent in English and Spanish, Dr. Galindo has also authored several influential medical publications on the subject of oncology.
Dr. Eugenio Galindo
Dr. Eugenio Galindo provides a closer look at the Texas Medical Association
March 25, 2019 | Dr. Eugenio Galindo | Dr. Eugenio Galindo
Physician Dr. Eugenio Galindo shares an insight into the Texas Medical Association following his decades-long oncology career.
A member of the Texas Medical Association, headquartered in Austin, Texas, respected oncologist Dr. Eugenio Galindo is also a member of the American College of Physicians, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Here, Dr. Galindo shares an insight into the Texas Medical Association, the largest state medical society in the United States.
"Whether a doctor is in a solo, small, or group practice, the Texas Medical Association offers many of the essential services, educational resources, and tools called for by physicians here in the Lone Star State," reveals oncologist Dr. Galindo, a specialist cancer doctor, and a resident of the Rio Grande Valley.
The Texas Medical Association was first established by a group of physicians in 1853 to provide medical and public health education for physicians in Texas and their patients. "Right from its inception, the association has also focused on legislative and regulatory advocacy and health policy research," adds Dr. Galindo. "The very first president of the Texas Medical Association," he goes on, "was Joseph Taylor, while today, currently in charge is association president Douglas Curran, MD."
A professional nonprofit organization currently representing more than 53,000 physicians, residents, medical student, and alliance members, in 1991 the Texas Medical Association opened the 'History of Medicine Gallery' on the ground floor of the association's headquarters in Austin. "Items from the Texas Medical Association archives and collections," Dr. Galindo reveals, "are displayed in regularly changing exhibits within the gallery."
Furthermore, the Texas Medical Association also owns and publishes 'Texas Medicine,' a monthly members' news magazine which presents information on public health, medical economics, science, medicolegal issues, medical education, legislative affairs, and more.
"More recently," Dr. Eugenio Galindo adds, wrapping up, "the Texas Medical Association has, in addition, begun publishing a monthly e-newsletter called 'Action' which reports, digitally, and via email, on the latest information surrounding the medical community here in Texas."
Graduating in the 1980s and practicing at the South Texas Cancer Center for six years before transferring to McAllen Oncology in Edinburg, Texas, where he remains settled today, Dr. Eugenio Galindo is an experienced and highly-regarded oncologist. In addition to the Texas Medical Association, Dr. Galindo—who is fluent in English and Spanish—is likewise a member of the Hidalgo-Starr County Medical Society and both the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Physicians. Today, Dr. Galindo also holds the title of Medical Director at the Edinburg-based DHR Health Oncology Institute.
To find out more about Dr. Eugenio Galindo or to get in touch, please visit https://www.facebook.com/McAllenOncology/.
Dr. Eugenio Galindo offers an insight into decades-long oncology career
March 7, 2019 | Dr. Eugenio Galindo | Dr. Eugenio Galindo
Specialist cancer physician Dr. Eugenio Galindo reflects on his years of training and practice as an oncologist.
First graduating in the 1980s before practicing at the South Texas Cancer Center from 1994 until 2000, and at McAllen Oncology in Edinburg, Texas from 2000 until today, Dr. Eugenio Galindo is an experienced and highly-regarded oncologist based in the Rio Grande Valley.
Earning a Fellowship of Medical Oncology and Medical Hematology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 1994, having successfully completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Galindo has gone on to earn a number of society memberships and awards. "These include membership to the Texas Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology," he reveals.
Dr. Galindo is also a member of the American Medical Association and the Hidalgo-Starr County Medical Society. Furthermore, accolades and awards obtained by the specialist cancer doctor include an early 1991 acknowledgment for colon cancer screening, and a house staff science program award from Case Western Reserve University. "I was also named the graduate resident who had manifested the highest level of ethical compassion and human standards of patient care during my training," reveals Dr. Galindo.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Dr. Eugenio Galindo also boasts several publishing credits, including in the Journal of Oncology. The specialist physician also has a number of textbook credits, including a review and follow-up surrounding early breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and care, published in Brazil.
Dr. Galindo's current licenses include State of Texas and State of Ohio Medical Licenses. Certifications held by the oncologist, meanwhile, include ECFMG 386-815-5, Federation Licensing Examination, and Oncology Board Certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "I also hold a further dedicated Internal Medicine Board Certification from the Pennsylvania-based physician-evaluation organization," adds the doctor.
Positions held by Dr. Galindo during his three-and-a-half decades in medicine have included Health Center Coordinator at the Universidad de Monterrey in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, between 1985 and 1988, as well as On-Call House Officer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the early 1990s, to name just two.
Dr. Galindo also acted as Junior Facility Associate at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, before taking a Chief Fellow position at the same institution. More recently, until 2013, Dr. Galindo was McAllen Oncology's Laboratory Director, now filling the role of the organization's Clinical Consultant. Today, he also holds the title of Medical Director at the Edinburg-based DHR Health Oncology Institute.
Dr. Eugenio GalindoEugenio Galindo
Dr. Eugenio Galindo Explains Adult T-Cell Cancer
Dr. Eugenio Galindo Continues to Bring Latest in Cancer Treatment and Screening to South Texas
Dr. Eugenio Galindo Shares a Brief History of the American Cancer Society
Dr. Eugenio Galindo Highlights Forthcoming Cancer Awareness Initiatives
Dr. Eugenio Galindo Marks Six Months at Groundbreaking New Cancer Facility


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� Twinkle Twinkle Little DOOM | Main | Obama Explains Bad Economy, Vice President's "Terrorist" Slur �
Whoa....Paul Ryan Reconsidering Running For President?
This might get very, very interesting.
Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan is strongly considering a run for president. Ryan, who has been quietly meeting with political strategists to discuss a bid over the past three months, is on vacation in Colorado discussing a prospective run with his family. Ryan�s concerns about the effects of a presidential campaign � and perhaps a presidency � on his family have been his primary focus as he thinks through his political future.
�He�s coming around,� says a Republican source close to Ryan, who has been urging the 41-year-old to run.
�With Paul, it�s more about obligation than opportunity,� says another Wisconsin Republican. �He is determined to have the 2012 election be about the big things. If that means he has to run, he�s open to it.�
My number 1 requirement for a presidential candidate is executive experience but Ryan is a guy I'd waive it for. He's a budget expert, he knows how to build them and where the bodies are buried. It's not ideal but if like I do you think the budget and entitlement reforms are the key to a lot of what's going to happen in the next few years, we could do a lot worse than Ryan.
There are obviously significant challenges facing a Ryan run.
His entitlement reform is a lightning rod that Democrats would love to run against and by run against I mean, lie about. Of course any Republican is going to have to answer questions about it and you could make the case it's best to have the man who understands it better than anyone defending it.
It's kind of late in the game to build and organization and raise money. Rick Perry could do it because of his Texas ties. Could a congressman from Wisconsin, even as one as popular with the base as Ryan do it? Maybe given new technologies but it'll be a struggle.
And then there's history. A sitting member of the House hasn't been elected President in a long, long time. It's a big leap from running in a relatively safe congressional district to running a national campaign or even just a multi-state primary effort.
On the upside, Ryan has a lot going for him. One of the big things Perry brings to the race that no other candidate has to date is an ability to mix anger about Obama and the present state of the nation with a sense of optimism about the future of the country. Ryan would bring that as well.
Then there's this from Obama's health care summit.
Ryan v. Perry would be a tough choice but for once we'd have a tough primary choice. I'd love that.
I see people in the comments talking Ryan up as a VP candidate. It's not going to happen.
First, it's almost a lock that any eventual GOP nominee will run to Rubio and wisely so.
Second, you pick Ryan and you are tied to his plan. It's likely any candidate for President is going to have their own approach to dealing with entitlements, why would they tie themselves to Ryan's plan so directly? Even if they eventually come around to his plan, they are going to want as much wiggle room during the Mediscare fight (aka the general election campaign) as possible. Picking Ryan as the VP candidate eliminates that.
Finally, if he's not going to be President, Ryan is far more valuable in the House.
posted by DrewM. at 10:39 AM


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Hobson & Porter completes Pontefract social housing project
Our team recently transformed the site of a former 1960's-built care-facility in Pontefract into 12-new build, two-bedroom homes.
The Monument House scheme was for the Wakefield and District Housing Ltd (WDH) with the plots orientated in a half-circle on a roundabout.
We demolished the two-storey care facility before building the homes. They are adjacent to the already built WDH-owned and operated 72-bed care home named Monument Mews.
Each of the dwellings is identical, offering a ground floor compromising a kitchen diner, lounge, downstairs bathroom, hall and bedroom. There is a further bedroom and en-suite, with a first-floor attic space.
Colin Kettlewood, Hobson & Porter's site manager for the project, said: "This has been a successful build which further demonstrates our skills and capabilities in the health and social care sector.
"It didn't come without some challenges though. With the work taking place on a roundabout, it made deliveries a little tricky at times.
"Each home has been modernised to a high-standard with modern kitchen units and level access shower rooms.
"All the bungalows have been designed with over 60s in mind, having been modernised throughout to create a relaxing and comfortable environment.
"These homes will help maintain that independent living and make a massive difference in the area, so we're pleased to have played our part in building them."


When decorating a home, the key is not to make the environment too excited, incorporating the use of calm colors will be a good alternative to bold prints, the furniture chosen for the house is also very important, an efficient table is usually the main work chosen, comfortable chairs important items too. The room towards your front door must have a friendly and not boring appearance. The entrance should have a doorbell or knock, eye holes and a sign on your house. Adding decorative shelves to the wall is a great way to display collections, knick-knacks or photographs, wooden shelves can be stained or painted, or you can choose a wrought iron shelf.Always keep your front door shining. Wooden furniture as box furniture, mirror frames, and cabinets you can plan to fill your home. You can decorate like waterproof wall paint for bathroomswaterproof wall paint coveringswaterproof wall paint indiawaterproof wall paint price, waterproof wall paint philippineswaterproof paint for shower walls uk.
Make sure that the kitchen table is large enough, the kitchen table surface is also important, a table with a waterproof surface is preferred this is the same as we would choose a kitchen chair.Make sure kitchen furniture is made of the right ingredients. The wood that has been used must be of high quality, check to make sure that the wood does not have knots, sanding marks, or grain irregularities. Start by checking the cabinet face, these are the parts that are visible from the front of the cabinet. Having the right furniture will make it easier for you to do kitchen work comfortably, you might need a few kitchen chairs, kitchen trains, tables, bar stools and shelves. You might need a kitchen cabinet.
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News|Gun Violence
Burkina Faso attack: Operation to end siege under way
Over 20 killed and 126 hostages freed as security forces raid hotel in Ouagadougou to end the standoff with gunmen.
Over 20 people are killed and an unknown number of hostages taken in an attack on a restaurant and hotel in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
At least 126 hostages, including a government minister, have been freed and three gunmen have been killed, the Associated Press news agency reported on Saturday, quoting a government official.
A senior security official said that armed fighters have rigged with explosives the upper floors of the Splendid Hotel they seized on Friday, slowing the progress of United States and French-assisted Burkinabe security forces seeking to retake it.
"What's making our job more difficult is that they've rigged the access to the upper floors," the Burkinabe officer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Security forces in the early hours of Saturday began an assault to reclaim the besieged hotel and entered its lobby, part of which was on fire, witnesses said.
Diallo Ismael, a human rights activist, said that about 300 people could be inside the hotel popular with foreigners.
The interior ministry said that the fire brigade has found around 10 bodies on the terrace of the restaurant opposite of the hotel.
Earlier, Olympia de Maismont, a local reporter, told Al Jazeera that police confirmed that there were hostages in the Splendid Hotel, and she said the military had surrounded the building following reports of gunfire and explosions.
The attack, she added, happened around 8pm local time (20:00 GMT) on Friday.
Map courtesy: Google
Reuters reported that gunmen stormed the hotel, burning cars outside and firing into the air to drive back crowds before security forces arrived, prompting an intense exchange of gunfire.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attack, SITE Intelligence Group, a monitoring organisation, reported.
Splendid Hotel, a four-star residence near the airport, is known to be popular with foreigners, including UN staff.
This is the first time gunmen have carried out an assault in the capital of Burkina Faso.
In November, gunmen stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako, and took at least 170 people hostage.
After a nine-hour standoff with Malian and UN soldiers, most of the hostages were released – but 19 were killed. Two attackers were also killed.
Burkina Faso elected Roch Marc Christian Kabore as its new president in a historic vote in November, becoming the West African country's first new leader in decades.
Kabore's win marked the end of a transitional period after the overthrow of the country's longtime ruler, Blaise Compaore, in 2014 and a failed coup attempt in September.
From: Inside Story
Bamako hotel attack: Mali's security challenges
Could the attack on a luxury hotel in the Malian capital have been prevented?
Burkina Faso votes after year of political turmoil
Ouagadougou holds first election since last year's popular uprising toppled longtime ruler Blaise Compaore.
Burkina Faso elects new leader in historic vote
Former PM is second civilian to become president of West African nation after almost three decades of one-man rule.


NEW YORK (July 8, 2014) – RIMS Executive Director Mary Roth has been named President of the International Federation of Risk and Insurance Management Associations (IFRIMA), a position she will hold in addition to her current role with RIMS. IFRIMA is an international umbrella organization comprising risk management associations that represents 20 organizations in more than 30 countries around the world.
Prior to this appointment, Ms. Roth served as IFRIMA's Executive Vice President for two years and has been involved with the organization since the early 1990s. RIMS has been a member of IFRIMA since its inception.
Ms. Roth joined RIMS in 1985. Since that time, she has served in such roles as Assistant Director of Research and Director of Membership and Chapter Services, and Chief Operating Officer. In October 2004, she was named Executive Director of the Society.
Ms. Roth received her bachelor's of science degree from Pennsylvania State University. She also completed Columbia University's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management in New York. She holds the Insurance Institute of Americas Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation and is also a member of the American Society of Association Executives.


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Q: Populating a div with JSON data from Google API with auto refresh, on Raspberry Pi tl;dr: Want to have an HTML page with a div that refreshes every ten minutes and pulls trip time data from Google Maps Distance Matrix API.
I've got a wallboard running off a Raspberry Pi, displaying a custom HTML page which displays two sections (divs) - the top is a calendar that links to Dakboard, and the bottom I'm trying to display transit time to a series of destinations using the Google Maps Distance Matrix API. I have my URL with origin and destination, and everything works to return me JSON data, but I don't know what to do with it. I have no experience with dynamic HTML pages, but it really looks pretty similar to C++, which I majored in many many years ago so I have some recollection of.
My goal is to have the bottom div on my page refresh every ten minutes, pulling data from the Distance Matrix API to tell me how long it will take to reach a list of destinations, without refreshing the top div. My thought is that I need to write some script which calls out to the Google URL and stores that data in an array which the HTML file then uses to display readable text. Two minutes of Google says I'll need to use AJAX to refresh only that div, though I also know nothing about AJAX.
Sample URL to pull data (API key removed): https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/distancematrix/json?units=imperial&origins=sacramento+ca&destinations=santa+cruz+ca|san+francisco+ca&key=MY_API_KEY
Sample results:
{ "destination_addresses" : [ "Santa Cruz, CA, USA", "San Francisco, CA, USA" ], "origin_addresses" : [ "Sacramento, CA, USA" ], "rows" : [ { "elements" : [ { "distance" : { "text" : "147 mi", "value" : 236412 }, "duration" : { "text" : "2 hours 26 mins", "value" : 8778 }, "status" : "OK" }, { "distance" : { "text" : "87.2 mi", "value" : 140327 }, "duration" : { "text" : "1 hour 31 mins", "value" : 5443 }, "status" : "OK" } ] } ], "status" : "OK" }
Desired output on webpage based on above results:
Sacramento to Santa Cruz: 2 hours 26 minutes
Sacramento to San Francisco: 1 hour 31 minutes
Willing to learn, just not sure where to start. Help is appreciated!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


For the last 30 years Bentley Systems founder and chief technology officer Keith Bentley has masterminded the infrastructure software firm's technical development as it navigates the accelerating digital revolution.
When Keith Bentley founded Bentley Systems 30 years ago his mission, he says, was simply to automate the creation of construction drawings. Even if they had thought bigger, he adds, the computing power available at the time wouldn't have permitted anything much beyond this aim.
Since then, the ambition has certainly accelerated, with the firm now a driving force behind the Building Information Modelling (BIM) revolution. And with its latest Bentley Connect Edition release, it is pressing forward with new technology and ideas to put digital data at the heart of long term global infrastructure asset management.
As a founder of Bentley Systems and principal architect of the firm' technology direction he remains a driving force in guiding the firm's future strategy, taking BIM "from a software architecture to a business process".
Last week Bentley gave a rare keynote address at the firm's annual Year in Infrastructure conference in London, looking back over 30 years but crucially also setting out his vision for the future as the infrastructure business moves rapidly through BIM towards integrated and whole life asset management.
And central this this future, he says, is the Connect Edition which makes all of the firm's software available on any device or operating system, offering the most appropriate solutions to professionals wherever they work and whatever they do.
In the new "age of innovation", he says, the challenge will be bridging the gap between the real world and the digital models as we manage global infrastructure not just throughout the design and construction process but across the whole of asset management.
You founded Bentley Systems 30 years ago. How has the landscape of construction computing changed since then?
I remember back in the early days to trying to convince people to think broader than just automating the production of drawings. I thought I had a great idea but people said "Keith you don't get it – we can't change the process – we are just a little guy – go tell the owners". And the owners would say "yeah, well it's been like this for the last 100 years and there are just too many people involved in the process to change". But today I feel positive when I hear people accept that the only thing that can make any real difference [to efficiency in construction] is changing the process.
While technology drives your business, BIM is ultimately about people, process and culture. Did you imagine that in 1984?
No, I thought it was impossible. I was discouraged beyond words when I proposed solutions that involved slight modifications to people's workflows and we were told in no uncertain term that "sorry we are not looking to do that because we can't". People then were resigned to living within their current workflows [because of government regulations, custom and practice etc]. So [it's great] to imagine 30 years later more of less all those obstacles have been more of less overcome.
There is a feeling that the UK is leading the way? Is that how you see it?
One of the things that is most impressive is that in the UK it is the government pushing the private industry – I don't know how that happened! There must have been some pretty forward thinking people who got together and said we need to work on this. When I said it in 1989 I was roundly shouted down when [I put forward] the idea that you would use technology to solve a problem in a different way.
So convincing people of the process of change is more important than the technology?
You could have the smartest technology with the coolest demo of the newest solution but if people say 'that's not the way I work and I'm not prepared to change the way I work" then you are wasting your time. If you look at the BIM world – and I'm not really sure what that is – I'm not entirely sure at which point BIM changed from a software architecture to a business process but I am all in favour of it.
So do you ever see a day when the role of the paper drawing will be obsolete in infrastructure?
There is no getting around the fact that we still live in a world of drawings. But I think it isn't true that the only way to present a design or a construction process is to commit it to paper. There is a better solution. Drawings have a useful role but only as an augmentation to the model. They reflect information. So it is not that I don't like drawings – I just don't like paper drawings.
Given the exponential growth in the power of computing, how do you prepare for the future?
The future happens to us rather than by us. There is no masterplan for the road map for the next 30 years. Every five years we look back and ask what is different today. The decisions we made five years ago were all based on the technology available and the problems that we wanted to address. Sometimes the right decisions of the time turn into the wrong ones for all sorts of reasons and so you have to keep revising the plan.
Since 2006 Bentley has invested over $1bn in research, development and acquisitions. How can an independent business maintain the investment level required to stay ahead?
We have to make ourselves relevant to tour users so that they continue to invest in us. Obviously if we are unable to provide the solutions that they need they will look elsewhere. I believe that this is a fluid moving market and that there is a plenty of room for innovation. If we were to stand still from where we are today, in five years we would be irrelevant. So we have to continually reinvent ourselves and innovate and I believe that we are at a scale now where we are in a pretty comfortable niche in the market.
What would you say have been the big game changers?
One of the biggest game changer in our thirty year history has just been announced – Bentley Connect Edition - and I have been telling all of our developers and programmers that you must think differently in the post Connect world. I am very much looking forward to the connected world where all of our software works with all the rest of our software.
But surely advances in hardware and mobile communications must have also prompted massive change?
Yes, there have been points over the last years where you think "wow that was an important change". Take point clouds – now you don't have to model everything and it will really change our philosophy. And I think if you measure it in terms of value to the user then of course mobile device are very important. But I am taking about optimising the whole rather than optimising the steps. It think that Bentley Connect will influence many more decisions going forward than practically any other advance. There have been other advances that we have taken advantage of in the past but here is one that will optimise the whole not the parts.
What will the big changes be in the future?
For one, the idea that you buy a software licence for a machine, install it and operate it. Instead software deployment in future will be more freeform. The tools you need on a project may change from operator to operator and from day to day so the licencing model for software is a very liberating concept.
I also think we need to focus more on the business problem that needs solving than the independent pieces of geometry or graphics. Our software is pretty graphics centric and the model is premised on the fact that we understand the physical location of things and that works for designing roads bridges and buildings. But the bigger concern is what does this model mean, what problem is it trying to solve. There is going to be an inverting. Today it is geometry first but in future I think we will defines things in term of "I want a building that has these qualifications and inside has these systems to help do this". I don't mean to imply that we won't have all of the same tools for creating geometry and there are reasons why you must know the physical properties of things so that you can design better. But it is business first then physical.
Your software is so heavily geared around process and culture change are you heading towards expanding your services towards more management or business consultancy?
Well I think there is some role for that – I am not sure that it would be out primary mission but if you are not willing to look at the whole business process – to optimise to whole rather than the parts – then our technology isn't going to get used correctly. Micro optimisations aren't going to give anyone any real value so I think it does fall to us to say "hey look how successful this was maybe you management should consider this". Whether that makes us management consultants? But certainly we have an operational role that is more than just a software supplier.
That said, cool technical advances are at the core of your DNA. What is the next big thing?
A BIM workflow can affect both the construction and operation market. When you think about tying together a business database of the asset, which includes the geometrical and business properties with real time information from many sensors, I think that there is so much more value to add. These kind of problems are very exciting because there are a lot more [infrastructure assets] that exist in the world than are being built. So if you only focus on what is designed and constructed it is probably only 10% of the problem.
Bentley has had a consistently platform strategy to help to bring together all of its software for clients. How has this developed?
One way that you solve software problems is to create layers and some might say that using a platform to utilise all those layers might be a disadvantage but platforms are very important. It has been Bentley's continuous feature. Interoperability and upward and downward compatibility is a distinguishing feature of Bentley but is it not like the platform we use today is the same as the one we used 30 years ago!
How hard is it to stay ahead in a market that includes firms like Google?
You could look at Google and say yes they have an infinite war chest to work on any problem they like. But they are likely to focus on the problems that have the broadest appeal. So when you talk about the tough problems [faced by the construction industry], Google would probably think they are thankless. So I don't really worry so much about Google – whatever they do, we will interface to it. The market is likely to consolidate further and I worry about a lot of things but Google isn't one of them.
Do you think a firm like Google would ever buy Bentley?
I wouldn't want to be absorbed into Google – no thanks – we kind of like it the way it is. If there was a company that we would consider selling Bentley Systems to I doubt it would be a Google because I don't think they would value us in the way we do. Besides, we are pretty happy with the way we are.


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Brussels Airlines Unveils A320 with Tintin-Themed Livery
AircraftAirlines March 16, 2015 Staff 0
The livery makes the aircraft look like a 37-meter long black shark, based on Professor Calculus' shark submarine from the Tintin adventure, 'Red Rackham's...
Brussels Airlines and design studio Moulinsart have unveiled an Airbus A320 with a special theme livery and interior bulkheads inspired by the Belgian cartoon character Tintin.
Both Belgian companies have worked for several months in secret on the project, based on the original drawings by the hand of Belgian author and illustrator Hergé.
At an unveiling ceremony at Brussels Airport on March 16, Brussels Airlines and Moulinsart presented the aircraft in its new Tintin livery.
The livery makes the aircraft look like a 37-meter long black shark, based on Professor Calculus' shark submarine from the Tintin adventure, 'Red Rackham's Treasure'.
Brussels Airlines has named the aircraft 'Rackham'.
On March 16, 2015, Brussels Airlines and design studio Moulinsart unveiled an Airbus A320 wearing a Tintin-themed livery, to honor Hergé, one of Belgium's most famous authors and artists
On its fuselage is the Twitter handle #SNRackham ('SN' is Brussels Airlines' flight code) and the A320's fuselage also bears the slogan "We fly you to the home of Tintin".
As Belgium's flag carrier, Brussels Airlines already promotes Belgian gastronomy with its 'Belgian Star Chefs' in-flight meal program.
It also offers a large number of Belgian products on board its flights and has partnered with the Belgian national soccer team The Red Devils (at least two of Brussels Airlines' aircraft, an A330 and an A319, are painted in a 'Belgian Red Devils theme livery).
The special livery adorning the Brussels Airlines A320 named 'Rackham' features detailed paintings of Tintin and his dog Snowy
Brussels Airlines also partners with Tomorrowland, which it says is the world's largest music festival, and has painted an Airbus A330 in a special Tomorrowland livery.
Tintin is a historical Belgian comic-book character created by Hergé who travels the world on adventurous quests. According to Brussels Airlines, the legacy of Belgian cartoonist Hergé has never been translated on to the fuselage of an aircraft until now.
According to the airline, Hergé himself was fascinated by aircraft: they are the most used means of transportation in the Tintin oeuvre and they were always drawn with great technical precision.
Interior bulkheads in the special Tintin-themed Brussels Airlines A320 'Rackham' have been painted with Tintin color drawings
For the painting of the A320, Brussels Airlines worked with aircraft paint artist Andre Eisele, who had the task of adapting the perspective of the drawings prepared by Moulinsart's graphic designers to the unusual curves of an aircraft fuselage.
The reason for doing this was to get as close to the original shark submarine design as possible.
With Eisele working with Brussels Airlines maintenance technicians to paint the aircraft, the entire paint job took 1,500 man hours in total.
Cartoon fishes swim along the fuselage of the Brussels Airlines A320 'Rackham', which has been painted to look like Professor Calculus' shark submarine from the Tintin adventure, 'Red Rackham's Treasure'
After the unveiling on the morning of March 16, Rackham operated its maiden voyage in its new colors, a 1 hour and 45 minutes flight to Toulouse.
Spotters, aviation enthusiasts and Tintin fans can follow the whereabouts of the aircraft on www.brusselsairlines.com and are invited to share their pictures tagged with #SNRackham.
The special Tintin livery will remain on the A320 until 2019.
Airbus A320191 aircraft color schemes38 aircraft liveries47 Brussels Airlines17 Brussels Airlines Tintin livery1 Moulinsart1 special liveries43 Tintin1
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