For Indigenous Australians, health transcends the absence of disease, and includes the health and wellbeing of their community and Country: their whole physical, cultural and spiritual environment. Stronger relationships with Country and greater involvement in cultural practices enhance the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, and those in more remote regions have greater access to their Country and higher levels of wellbeing. However this does not translate into improvements in clinical indicators, and Indigenous Australians in more remote regions suffer higher levels of morbidity and mortality than Indigenous people in non-remote areas, and other Australians.
The Interplay research project aimed to explore how Indigenous Australians in remote regions experience high levels of wellbeing despite poor health statistics, and how services could more effectively enhance both health and wellbeing.
Indigenous Australians in remote regions, together with researchers and government representatives developed a wellbeing framework, comprising government and community priorities: education, employment and health, and community, culture and empowerment respectively. To explore these priorities Indigenous community researchers recruited participants from diverse Indigenous organizations, including Indigenous land management, art, business development, education, employment, health and municipal services. Fourteen focus groups and seven interviews, involving 75 Indigenous and ten non-Indigenous service providers and users were conducted. These were recorded, transcribed and analyzed, using thematic analysis, based on the wellbeing framework.
Research participants highlighted Indigenous land management as a source of wellbeing, through strengthened identity and empowerment, access to traditional food sources, enjoyable physical activity, and escape from communities where high levels of alcohol are consumed. Participants described how collaboration and partnerships between services, and recognition of Indigenous languages could enhance wellbeing, while competition between services undermines wellbeing. Indigenous land management programs work across different sectors and promote collaboration between services, serving as a source of comprehensive primary health care.
Developing primary health care to reflect distinctive health needs of Indigenous Australians will enhance their health and wellbeing, which includes their communities and Country. Indigenous land management consolidates aspects of comprehensive primary health care, providing both clinical benefits and wellbeing, and can provide a focus for service collaboration.
The health of Indigenous Australians is poor compared with that of other Australians and has been so since data were first collected on Indigenous Australians in the 1960s . Indigenous peoples throughout the world, including in Australia, experience poorer health than the dominant peoples in their countries as a result of colonization, appropriation of peoples' lands and continuing discrimination . Life expectancy, infant mortality, low birthweight, and social determinants of health including education, employment, and incomes for Indigenous Australians are considerably worse than for other Australians, and the differentials are more marked than in comparable countries, such as New Zealand, Canada and USA .
Australian Indigenous people are diverse, being contemporary representatives of over 250 language groups throughout a vast nation, whose initial contacts with non-Indigenous colonisation stretched from the late 1700s until the Pintupi people lost their independence from settler society in the mid-1980s [4, 5]. Many socio-economic and health indicators are worse for Indigenous people in more remote regions, particularly literacy, numeracy, income, employment status, many disease risk factors, and mortality . The association between remote residence and poorer health is so strong that some researchers suggest facilitating movement of Indigenous people to larger towns to improve their health .
However, the concept of remoteness is not meaningful for many Indigenous people, especially those who remain on the land their communities have occupied over thousands of generations . Australian measures of remoteness were developed to assist in equitable distribution of government services without reference to Indigenous people . For many Indigenous Australians remoteness reflects presence in their own Country, their spiritual and physical home, a place of fulfilment, meaning and identity . "Country" in this sense, and throughout this article, is defined by Indigenous people, and includes land, sea, sky, rivers, sites, seasons, plants and animals; place of heritage, belonging and spirituality .
Indigenous Australians in remote regions describe higher levels of wellbeing and life-satisfaction than those in non-remote regions despite poorer health statistics . For example, a measure of wellbeing that is used in Australia is overall life-satisfaction, based on a single question of how well people feel their life is currently going. People respond based on their own goals, perceptions and values, enabling comparisons across time, and in different cultural, age and gender groups . In remote regions of Australia, Indigenous people report mean life satisfaction of 7.6; compared with 7.2 for Indigenous people in urban regions and 7.6 for the total Australian population [13, 14].
Enhancing wellbeing is a function of primary health care, together with responding to individual and community needs, and promoting social justice and leadership for better health. Primary health care includes advocacy for economic, social and community development, and health promotion, to complement clinical services. Indigenous people's specific needs require attention to ensure the effectiveness of primary health care services [15, 16].
Indigenous Australians conceive of health holistically, as an attribute of individuals and their community, which contrasts with narrower individual and clinical understandings of health. Indigenous people's health includes social, emotional and cultural factors, and is a means to wellbeing rather than a goal in itself [17, 18]. Recognizing their distinctive health service needs, Indigenous Australians and their supporters have established community controlled health care services since the 1970s. A range of state and national government sources fund these services, but their dependence on government funding limits their capacity to provide genuinely community controlled services. For example, undertakings such as breakfast for undernourished school children, literacy classes, or transport for bereaved people to attend funerals are not supported by funding arrangements, even though clinical improvements have been demonstrated through such approaches . Despite efforts to achieve Indigenous control of the services, there is a focus on defined clinical activity to account for government funding .
The disease focus of primary health care for Indigenous Australians emphasizes monitoring and surveillance of conditions of greatest burden, focusing on people and conditions of highest risk, and prioritizing interventions with evidence of greatest clinical benefit . This epidemiological, disease and risk focused approach is explicated in funding arrangements, which require health services to report their clinical performance indicators to government funding agencies, including behaviours and risk factors such as prevalence of smoking, alcohol use, obesity and diabetes .
Throughout Australia Indigenous land management (ILM) is increasingly being recognized for its benefits across many sectors, including health. ILM involves employment of Indigenous people to manage lands and seas, using both customary and modern techniques. Aims include harvesting of bush foods; monitoring and protection of threatened species; revegetation; control of fires, weeds and feral animals; and art and craft work. ILM depends on Indigenous people's knowledge and skills, including languages and cultural expertise. Colloquially ILM is known as caring for Country . Since employment rates of Indigenous people in remote Australia are approximately 30%, ILM is an innovative approach to complex disadvantage and disempowerment .
Indigenous Australians have managed Australia's ecosystems over millennia, and on-going human involvement appears critical for ecosystem function. Recognition of the role of Indigenous people in land management has led to the establishment of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) where Indigenous people are supported to undertake conservation activities on their traditional lands in accordance with Australia's international conservation commitments such as to the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). IPAs now comprise almost half of Australia's nature reserves  so Indigenous people's knowledge and skills are needed for Australia to maintain its conservation estate and meet international environmental commitments .
The wellbeing that people experience from involvement in ILM led to Indigenous community leaders asking for research into relationships between their involvement in ILM and clinical indicators. This showed that greater participation in ILM was associated with increased physical activity, better diet, and lower body weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol .
The Interplay research project explored wellbeing of Indigenous Australians in remote regions who experience high levels of wellbeing despite poor health statistics. In this article, we investigated the role of ILM in wellbeing, through thematic analysis of focus groups and interviews. The Indigenous peoples of Australia comprise both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For consistency with the term Indigenous land management (ILM) and international implications, we have used the capitalized term "Indigenous people" in this article for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Without capitalization, "indigenous" refers to indigenous peoples worldwide .
The Interplay project was a wide-ranging exploration of wellbeing for Indigenous people in remote regions of Australia, carried out through the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation . The project brought together Indigenous community members, researchers and government agencies who are responsible for funding decisions. Qualitative methods were used to increase researchers' understanding of wellbeing through exchange of experiences, ideas and values, and particularly to explore cross-cultural differences in understanding of wellbeing . The focus of the Interplay project was on positive experiences and stories, to build a policy approach based on Indigenous people's strengths, and provide an alternative to the negative perceptions of Indigenous people that pervade the literature and undermine Indigenous people's wellbeing .
The Interplay project prioritized Indigenous people's research interests and perspectives throughout the process, which began by developing research methodology and a wellbeing framework. This comprised wellbeing priorities for government agencies, namely education, employment and health, and for community members, namely community, culture and empowerment. The framework is shown in Fig. 1 .
Focus groups were chosen as the main data collection method, because they enable intercultural communication and understanding, and allow participants to share and build on one another's ideas. Focus groups can empower participants through enabling them to guide the focus of the research, criticize services and provide solutions in a confidential setting . Interviews were conducted for convenience of people who were unable to participate in the focus groups, but whose contribution was considered valuable in providing insights to wellbeing for Indigenous people in remote communities.
Indigenous communities in the jurisdictions of Northern Territory and Western Australia who had previous research experience with the Cooperative Research Centre were invited to participate in the project. Communities were selected to achieve diversity in community geography, population size, proportion of people in the community who are Indigenous, and extent of use of Indigenous languages. Research capacity enabled four communities to participate.
Indigenous community researchers were employed to conduct research in each of these communities in 2014 and 2015. They recruited participants who could speak English through their interpersonal networks and service organizations. This approach ensured that focus group members knew one another and many worked together as service providers, so within the focus groups, participants could share and compare understandings . Participants were recruited for 14 focus groups, which were facilitated by the Indigenous community researchers in English, after sharing of ideas in English and Indigenous languages, to enable participation regardless of English proficiency . Notes were taken during the focus group to aid the transcribing process.
Focus groups explored participants' views and experiences of wellbeing. Interviews followed similar format to the focus groups, conducted by Indigenous community researchers and guided by interviewees. The focus was on what works well and why. Focus groups and interviews each lasted approximately 1 h, following which participants were offered food and drink but no payment.
Information on focus group members and interviewees' services, role, and demography is summarized in Tables 1 and 2.
Focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded, then transcribed, coded, interpreted and analyzed. The priorities of the wellbeing framework, shown in Fig. 1, provided themes for initial coding and inductive analysis. The importance of ILM to wellbeing which had emerged in development of the project provided a coherent central concept . This enabled development of Aboriginal perspectives of health and wellbeing expressed in the focus groups and interviews to be formulated as an approach to health care services through ILM.
Conduct of the research through the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation required mutual understanding to support the on-going relationships which are the basis of the Research Centre, particularly between Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. This provided credibility and rigor for all aspects of the research, including transcribing, interpreting, analyzing and reporting the findings [35, 36].
Engagement and support from the Indigenous services and organizations involved were fundamental for the project. Northern Territory Department of Health/ Menzies School of Health Research Ethics Committee (Reference 2013–2125), and the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (Reference 549) provided formal ethical approval.
Indigenous land management (ILM) services were the main sector represented by participants in the Interplay focus groups and interviews. ILM emerged as a contributor to wellbeing through participants from many sectors including business development, education, health and municipal services.
"Makes me feel good going out on country. Looking forward to getting up for work – I want to go back and see that place again and again." (ILM program participant: focus group A).
"My benefit is the land and the sea… It made me strong and it changed my life to be stronger." (ILM program participant: focus group G).
"[The Country is] in your bloodline, you know." (ILM program participant: focus group G).
Participant's identification of Country as a family member, meant that for him ILM or caring for Country is caring for his family.
"It's all about empowerment, you're empowering yourself to go to work every day." (ILM program participant: focus group G).
Participants in the Interplay project described how ILM provides them with direct clinical benefits. These include mental and physical health benefits from exercise and quality diet from harvest of traditional foods.
"Sugar bag, yep, bush honey." (ILM program participant: focus group E).
"Tons of physical activity – the blokes work really hard – manual labour at parks and wildlife centre and in [the Indigenous Protected Area]." (Non-Indigenous interviewee, ILM program coordinator).
"[Our people are] getting out and away from the community and some of the men said you know 'It's good you know, you're away from alcohol, you're out on the Country.' It's good." (ILM program participant: focus group A).
"Gets [our people] away from the streets and from alcohol and drugs." (ILM program participant: focus group B).
"Through learning on Country, we are actually … making sure our Country is safe, our next generation of young people get educated, in both ways have a healthy life, healthy community, and healthy people…. It forms a career pathway." (ILM program participant: focus group G).
"[Indigenous] people came up with this, started exploring the link between health and education the [Indigenous] way." (Indigenous Education program: focus group K).
"The [ILM] organization's growing because of the unity and the friends …we work together, learn together, being healthy together. Healthy workplace, healthy Rangers. [We are] …empowering our organization to be a strong, and we'll have a sustainable future." (ILM program participant: focus group G).
"Working on Country … is one of the most important things we have in these communities, as community and land connects everyone together, emotionally, physically, spiritually and culturally. The Country and being in charge of managing it is extremely important to people … across Indigenous communities in Australia." (Non-Indigenous interviewee, ILM program coordinator).
"[Indigenous] people want to talk their language … it's like they got their language they speak all the time. Why don't we speak our languages? …. [we] want to be recognized." (ILM program participant: focus group B).
"They should [use] our language, that [Indigenous] language. We should be there, coz we're the first nations of the land." (ILM program participant: focus group B).
These findings show how ILM contributes to sustaining and promoting Indigenous languages, for the benefit of speakers, their communities, and the land management knowledge communicated through Indigenous languages.
"… [we provide] support across the board like a wrap-around service." (Non-Indigenous interviewee, ILM program coordinator).
"It all comes back to the same thing, the funding competing for each other. It's all in silos still. If you say interplay between education and health that's not how it happens on the ground." (Indigenous Research organization: focus group F).
"[It's a problem for us] competition. We are talking about people's lives" (ILM program participant: focus group J).
In the remote communities of the research, separation of services through government policy frameworks creates barriers to collaboration and teamwork. Participants described how even within one service sector, such as health, service providers must compete for funds. This can undermine relationships within families and communities which is counterproductive for wellbeing.
"Some of the NGOs feel threatened by us [Indigenous organization] at times. Like the Red Cross and Anglicare and Centrecare, … they all going for this Indigenous funding… So there is competition for funding." (ILM program participant: focus group E).
Non-Indigenous participants drew attention to bureaucratic barriers to professionals providing effective services in remote Indigenous communities. Specific instances were described of Indigenous health educators and psychologists being barred from providing services outside established settings because of funding or registration restrictions.
"We've had to look at other ways to fund from other avenues and partnerships to pull money in and taking this on like an enterprise rather than a centrally funded idea." (Non-Indigenous interviewee, ILM program coordinator).
In the Interplay project, the opportunity for ILM to enhance wellbeing emerged in discussions with service providers and users in a range of sectors. Research participants described how ILM promotes wellbeing through strengthening people's sense of identity and important relationships, empowering people, providing access to traditional foods and physical activity, limiting access to alcohol, and strengthening and promoting collaboration of community organizations.
Participants in the Interplay project described how ILM builds on their strengths, identity and relationships. This contrasts current service provision for Indigenous people, which focuses on problems perceived in Indigenous people, such as poor health status, unemployment and lack of educational attainment. Services established on the basis of negative comparisons of Indigenous with non-Indigenous Australians contribute to negative perceptions of Indigenous peoples, pejorative stereotypes and perceptions that Indigenous Australians are intrinsically problematic . In contrast, Interplay research participants described how ILM programs arise from common goals of government and Indigenous community members including improving employment and education outcomes, promoting better diet and physical activity, and reducing access to alcohol.
Misuse of alcohol by Indigenous people is a particularly challenging problem when harmful levels of alcohol consumption are a community norm, so interventions with individuals may be ineffective . Because it services the community, ILM provides a strength-based intervention to reduce alcohol consumption and harm.
Negative statistics on Indigenous people's health are pervasive. Although their use is intended to motivate health care service providers to provide quality health care for Indigenous people, they also contribute to undermining the wellbeing of Indigenous people whose self-perceptions are of pride, strength and survival . More culturally attuned health services for Indigenous people could monitor their performance with indicators based on Indigenous people's own concepts of health and wellbeing. Validated measures of participation in ILM have been developed, and these are associated with clinical indicators . Measures of cultural education and practice, and valuing Indigenous law and ceremony have also been validated as indicators of wellbeing [39, 40]. These could be incorporated into the performance indicators that Indigenous health services report to the Australian government to complement current clinical performance indicators. Greater emphasis on non-clinical aspects of health service provision will drive more culturally attuned health services for Indigenous people, and recognize their distinctive health needs.
Indigenous people in remote communities have lower participation in paid employment than any other group in Australia. This is attributed to prioritization of family and community responsibilities over paid employment, and remoteness . From the perspective of Indigenous people, many employment options require them to separate commitments to work from their community relationships, in exchange for monetary income. None of the participants in the Interplay project mentioned income as a benefit of employment or ILM, pointing to a low priority of financial incentives. However participation in ILM provides employment that can strengthen relationships, build cultural knowledge and skills, and enable people to remain in communities considered by government to be remote .
With increasing recognition of the rights of Indigenous Australians to their Country, Indigenous people now manage over half of Australia's total land area, and over 70% of the land protected for conservation . Thus ILM is of growing importance to Australia's international commitments to biodiversity protection and sustainable development. Relationships between environmental sustainability and the wellbeing of Indigenous people, through ILM, have been under-recognised in Australia's policy development, reflecting the separation of government departments .
Interplay research participants described how their languages provide a source of identity and wellbeing and their disappointment that their languages are not recognised. Lack of Indigenous language training and use of interpreters by health care service providers appears widespread . Indigenous language use itself is an important determinant of health, which is promoted by ILM . These finding suggest that greater recognition of the need for communication in Indigenous languages would improve health service accessibility for Indigenous Australians. Indigenous language translation or knowledge as a performance indicator for health care services for Indigenous Australian could drive increases in this critical element of health care .
Indigenous experts have called for a transformation in health care for Indigenous Australians because of the unacceptable costs of current vertical, disease-focused approaches, and noted that this will require reshaping policies, reinventing organizations, and working across sectors .
Considering ILM as health care overcomes the tension between promoting the healthy lifestyle conceptualized by non-Indigenous Australians, which may themselves contribute to on-going colonisation, and the Indigenous disadvantage that is attributable to unhealthy behaviours . ILM involvement improves lifestyle contributors to health, through providing access to traditional foods and physical activity. Indigenous knowledge maintains an holistic perspective on the country including its people, in which people's health depends on the health of the country [48, 49]. Community gardens, like ILM, have also been identified as a source of comprehensive primary health care for Australians . This suggest a broader primary health care movement towards outdoor, productive, collaborative activities may provide health benefits to complement clinical health services.
Re-conceptualising service provision based on the needs of Indigenous people and communities in remote regions could have benefits in many sectors. Interplay project participants provide and receive services through separate government sectors, reflecting decisions about resource allocation based on non-Indigenous priorities . For Indigenous people these decisions can appear arbitrary. The Interplay project showed how government service priorities of education, employment and health work together with people's priorities in community, culture and empowerment .
Interplay research project participants, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, highlighted the importance of Country to the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people, which suggests the opportunity to conceptualize ILM as a health service. This emphasizes the importance of sectors other than health to people's wellbeing, recognized since primary health care was described in the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 . ILM is of great value because it provides services in several sectors, including land management, employment, education and health.
The importance of Country for Indigenous people, and caring for Country as a source of economic development provide an alternative basis for service development. Social analysis of four ILM programs that showed a return of $96.5 million for $35.2 million investment over 6 years, or 29% per year. This analysis included benefits of skill development, work satisfaction, employment income and ability to better provide for families, which facilitate economic and community development . Scaling up these interventions to enhance the wellbeing of Indigenous people throughout remote Australia would have widespread benefits.
Interplay project participants drew attention to current relationships between services based on competition and to restrictive employment practices, which appear inefficient in remote communities. Research participants' dislike of competition reflects their values of kinship and community relationships as priorities, rather than cost-effectiveness that is imposed by government funding agencies.
Other researchers have suggested that Australian governments should encourage Indigenous people to leave remote regions, because of the challenges of providing access to services in remote regions and the impacts of limited service access on health . This would not be supported by findings from the Interplay project that Indigenous people derive of health and wellbeing benefits from ILM in remote regions. Longitudinal census and social survey data also show that individual Indigenous people's employment prospects do not improve when they leave remote communities [53, 54]. The Interplay research showed that ILM provides health and wellbeing benefits, which complement environmental and social benefits of participation in ILM. The wellbeing that Indigenous people derive from ILM may explain their attachment to their ancestral lands despite limited employment and educational opportunities in remote regions.
Health for indigenous peoples globally has distinctive features, reflecting the distinctive relationships between indigenous peoples and their lands . While each indigenous group is unique, close relationships with their lands are a characteristic of indigenous peoples . Thus findings about the value of land management for Indigenous Australians may be relevant for health and wellbeing of other indigenous populations. Indigenous peoples' expertise is important globally in ensuring that ecosystems are maintained to ensure sustainable development for all of humanity. Thus both lands and peoples benefit from ILM [41, 57].
Indigenous people in remote regions were the focus of this research, and represent about 21% of Indigenous Australians. Nonetheless, 73% of all Indigenous Australians recognize a homeland or traditional Country, and half visit their Country at least yearly . Furthermore, ILM programs have been established throughout Australia including in urban regions, following models from remote regions . Key barriers to urban Indigenous people participating in ILM are limited respect and practical support for Indigenous knowledge and worldviews and limited access to lands and waters, rather than the fact that people are not in remote regions .
The research team was led by women, leading to potential bias towards female perspectives and participation. However there was a high representation of male participants particularly in the ILM programs.
For Indigenous Australians, ILM provides opportunities for promoting both individual and community health and wellbeing through empowerment, healthier behaviours, use of Indigenous languages and knowledge transmission across generations. ILM integrates the aims of different services, including education, employment and health, enabling sectors to work together rather than in competition. Collaboration of services through ILM will enhance service productivity and aligns with worldviews of Indigenous people. ILM is unconventional as health care but contributes to the comprehensive primary health care needs of Indigenous Australians.
We acknowledge the support and involvement of our key organisational stakeholders: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Centre for Remote Health (Flinders University and Charles Darwin University), Flinders NT-Katherine, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Northern Territory, Banatjarl Strongbala Wumin Grup, Central Desert Native Title Services, Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, Kalano Community Association, Katherine Stolen Generations Group, Layhnapuy Homelands Aboriginal Corporation, Marthakal Homelands Resource Centre, Martu Rangers (Wiluna), Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation, Muntjiltjarra Wurrgumu Group, Northern Star Resources, Ngangganawili Aboriginal Health Service Community, StrongBala Men's Health Program, Wurli-Wurlinjang Health Service, Yalu Marŋgithinyaraw Aboriginal Corporation, and Yolngu Business Enterprises.
The Interplay project was supported by funding from the Australian Government Cooperative Research Centre Program through the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP, hosted by Ninti One Limited). The funding body played no role in any aspect of the research design, data collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or writing of the manuscript.
Rosalie Schultz is supported by a scholarship from Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, through the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are hosted by Ninti One Ltd. on behalf of participating Indigenous people and communities, and are therefore not publicly available without consent of these organisations and approval of the ethics committees involved. Further analysis and data visualisation are available online: https://old.crc-rep.com/interplay https://old.crc-rep.com/wellbeingframework/.
Jessica Yamaguchi is an Advisor working for the Australian Government. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Australian Government and or any State or Territory Governments.
SC (non-Indigenous), TA (Indigenous) and JY (Indigenous) collaborated in the design, implementation of the research. SC conceptualised, designed and ensured cultural and scientific integrity, and coordination of the project. TA was responsible for Indigenous cultural integrity, fieldwork coordination and management of Indigenous community researchers. JY mediated the involvement of the Australian Government and policy implications. RS (non-Indigenous) collated, transcribed, analysed and interpreted the data, and led writing of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
SC is a Neuroscientist at the Centre for Remote Health, Flinders University (Alice Springs) and was Principal Research Leader of the Interplay project with the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP). TA is from the Western Arrernte and Luritja/Pintupi peoples of Central Australia and works as a Senior Research Officer with Ninti One and the CRC-REP. JY is a Gangalidda and Waanyi woman from the Gulf of Carpentaria Queensland who works as an Advisor for the Australian Government's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet – Indigenous Affairs. RS is a PhD student on the Interplay project, with background as medical officer in Indigenous communities in remote regions.
This research underwent formal ethical approval from Northern Territory Department of Health/ Menzies School of Health Research Ethics Committee (Reference 2013–2125), and the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (Reference 549), in addition to being supported by the Indigenous organisations involved. All participants provided written consent, and guardians provided additional consent for participants under 16 years of age, consistent with Australia's National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research .
World Health Organisation. The world health report 2008: Primary health care now more than ever. Geneva: World Health Organisation. p. 2008. http://www.who.int/whr/2008/whr08_en.pdf. Accessed 27 Feb 2018.
Australian Government Department of Health. Online Services Report and National Key Performance Indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care data framework. Canberra: Department of Health; 2015. http://www.health.gov.au/indigenous-hpf. Accessed 27 Aug 2017.
Burgess C, Berry H, Gunthorpe W, Bailie R. Development and preliminary validation of the 'Caring for Country' questionnaire: measurement of an indigenous Australian health determinant. Int J Equity Health. 2008;7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-7-26.
Mitchell AG, Belton S, Johnston V, Wopurruwuy G, Ralph AP. "That heart sickness": young aboriginal People's understanding of rheumatic fever. Med Anthropol: Cross-Cultural Studies in Health and Illness. 2018: doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2018.1482549.
Social Ventures Australia. Consolidated report on indigenous protected areas following social return on investment analyses: Social Ventures Australia consulting; 2016. https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/SROI-Consolidated-Report-IPA_1.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2018.
Biddle N, Crawford H. The changing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population: Evidence from the 2006–11 Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset. Canberra: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research; 2015. http://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/changing-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-population-evidence-2006-11. Accessed 21 Feb 2018.
National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, Universities Australia. National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated 2018). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. https://nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/national-statement-ethical-conduct-human-research-2007-updated-2018. Accessed 15 Nov 2018.


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Editor's PicksEntertainmentListRace
8 Black Celebrities Who Denied Being African-American
Posted byBy ABS Contributor	| October 13, 2014 CommentsComments (0)
Raven-Symone
Raven-Symoné has a lot of talents. She's an actress, singer, songwriter, model, television personality, dancer, rapper and producer. She first appeared on television in 1989 on The Cosby Show as Olivia Kendall and stole Black America's heart.
However, the former Cosby Show star shocked her fans when she told Oprah Winfrey during an interview that she didn't want to be labeled "gay" or "African-American": "I'm tired of being labeled. I'm an American. I'm not an African-American; I'm an American … I'm a colorless person."
Devyn Abdullah
Devyn Abdullah told talk show host Wendy Williams, "I don't really consider myself as a Black girl model. I know what my ethnicity is, but I'm fair-skinned, and I feel like I have an international look." She not only took the audience by surprise, but her mentor, supermodel Naomi Campbell, was shocked as well. She famously quipped, "What the f*ck does she mean? That's a disgrace! She's a Black girl."
Shemar Moore says that he doesn't consider himself a "Black actor": "I'm just Shemar Moore the actor. I'm very proud to be Black, but I'm just as much Black as I am white."
Actress Zoe Saldana has said that she thinks "there's no such thing as people of color."
TagsAfrican AmericanBill Cosbyblack celebsDevyn AbdullahKeyshia ColeRaceRace MattersRashida JonesRaven Symoneshemar mooreTiger Woodszoe saldana
'He Talks Too Much': Bow Wow Reveals That He Dated Keyshia Cole and Blac Chyna, Will Talk About It on New Album
Fans Slam 'Verzuz' After it Releases a Statement Seemingly Postponing Ashanti vs. Keyshia Cole Battle Again
'Now We Ready': Ashanti Reveals She's COVID-19-Free Ahead of Her 'Verzuz' Battle with Keyshia Cole, Fans Are Overjoyed

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Everyone's heard of Wonga; but how many people know where their nearest credit union is?
"Jumping the Shark", a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says ministers should provide a capital injection to support the credit union sector.
Published today, the document calls for a £450 million levy on the UK's £180 billion consumer credit industry ("That's 0.25%: doesn't sound too draconian" – Ed.) to create a new generation of not-for-profit affordable lenders based on credit unions, with enough capital to compete with the established payday lenders.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby previously said he wanted to "compete Wonga out of business", saying that the credit union sector should be expanded to provide an ethical and affordable alternative. And now the Church of Scotland has come out with the same message. According to Kate Devlin writing in the Herald Scotland today, 'the Kirk' supports the IPPR's call for an expansion financed by a windfall levy.
These not-for-profit lenders could be partnered with church parishes, said the Church of Scotland. Alternatively they could be hosted in Post Office branches.
Providing UK credit unions with £450m of capital could help them support over one and a half million loans. The "new generation of lenders" should charge a maximum of 3% interest a month, or 42.6% APR, the IPPR recommends. This would allow customers to pay just £3 to borrow £100 for one month. A similar loan with Wonga, whose APR is 5853%, currently costs more than £30.
The IPPR also says the expanded network of affordable lenders should cap the maximum loan at £250 (the average size of current payday loans), limit customers to one loan at a time and stop lenders "rolling over" loans.
Mat Lawrence, IPPR Research Fellow, said of the recent economic good news: "A return to rising living standards will reduce households' reliance on debt, but it will not eliminate their need for it. The payday lending industry has grown in large part because of a gap in the credit market that mainstream banks are unwilling to fill.
"Regulation can reduce the harm done by payday lenders but it alone cannot ensure that the public interest is properly served in the provision of affordable credit.
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BBT SE CEO Dr. Ing. Raffaele Zurlo has officially handed over the new areas for the disposal of recyclable materials to the mayor of Naz-Sciaves, Dr. Ing. Alexander Überbacher. Members of the local government and the council, as well as representatives of the local service provider ASM Bressanone and the construction company Passler Tiefbau, participated at the ceremony.
Fourteen new recycling facilities were installed on the territory of Naz-Sciaves, each of them composed of several partly underground containers with 5 m3 capacity. The new recycling areas, designed by ASM Bressanone in cooperation with the local administration and built by the construction company Passler Tiefbau from Millan-Bressanone, enable a more accessible and efficient disposal of recyclable materials. Furthermore, the increased capacity of the new containers for paper, glass and cans reduces the number of trips necessary to empty them.
The recycling facilities are part of the so called "environmental compensation measures" within the Brenner Base Tunnel project. The cost of this specific measure was approx. 318.000 Euro. Examples for further compensation measures, planned or already in execution in the region, are works for noise reduction along the existing railroad, restoring of natural fluvial environments, water supply lines or village enhancement.


Luther did all of its damage in the final 10 minutes of play and defeated Simpson College 2-1 tonight.
Simpson's Baraka Ellie gave the Storm and early 1-0 lead scoring his fourth goal of the season at 23:41.
In the second half, Luther put constant pressure on the Simpson end of the field, out shooting the Storm 12-3. Ben Keller then produced his sixth and seventh goals of the season at 80:35 and 84:54 that secured the come-from-behind victory. Aidan O'Driscoll (2) assisted on the first goal and Andrew Avram (4) assisted on the game winner. Keller's game winner was his fourth of the season.
Carson Davenport went the distance in front of the nets and was credited with two saves while recording his sixth win of the year against three losses.
The victory gives Luther an American Rivers Conference record of 3-1, 10-3 overall. Simpson slipped to 3-1-1 in league play, 8-4-2 overall.
Luther travels to Wartburg College (4-1) this Saturday. Start time in Waverly is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.


Deborah Barak, one of the most seasoned and respected TV business affairs executives, is expanding her responsibilities. As she marks her 30th anniversary at CBS, Barak has been named President of Business Operations.
the entertainment operations at both the network and the studio since 2004, will now also oversee business affairs for CBS News. She also will report directly to Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation, having previously reported jointly to outgoing CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler and CBS TV Studios president David Stapf. In addition to her business affairs duties, Barak, who has signed a new contract, will continue to represent CBS on the board that oversees The CW.
During her tenure at CBS, Barak has led the network's and studio's highest-profile negotiations, most recently the talent and production agreements for CBS's new late-night franchises with Stephen Colbert and James Corden, the first late-night shows to be produced by CBS Television Studios.
Barak also helped create the business template for CBS' new model for summer original scripted series via lower network license fees and an in-season SVOD window. It has been used for Under The Dome, Extant, Zoo and the upcoming BrainDead.
Barak has handled license renewals for the network's series, including the high-profile renegotiations for The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men and The Late Show With David Letterman. In 2000, she drafted the original Survivor cast contract, which became a template for reality talent agreements.
Before being named EVP, Business Operations, CBS Network Television Entertainment Group, Barak served as EVP, Business Affairs, CBS Network Television Entertainment Group since 2004 and SVP, Business Affairs, CBS Entertainment from February 2002 through October 2004. Previously, she worked as SVP, Business Planning and Special Projects, VP, Associate General Counsel at CBS and Deputy West Coast Counsel, supervising the Network's in-house productions.. Barak joined CBS in 1985 as Broadcast Counsel in the Network's West Coast law department.


text:
Q: Add button backend of custom post I want to add a new button at the backend of a custom post type where a user can edit the post. I found the great hook called edit_form_after_title but it is not working. This is my code in functions.php:
    function update_my_data( $post ) {
    if( 'item' == $post->post_type )
            echo 'Update Data';
}
add_action( 'edit_form_after_title', 'update_my_data');

I tried edit_form_top but it is the same issue

A: If you're using the new Gutenberg block editor it won't work.
I tried adding a callback to the 'edit_form_after_title' using the old WordPress editor and it works fine. I'm using WordPress version 5.2.15.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Download the report "Financing the Hinkley Point C project" by Steve Thomas here
The recent report by Steve Thomas, Emeritus Professor of Energy Policy which questions the viability of completing the nuclear development at Hinkley Point in Somerset without public support through the regulated asset base 'nuclear tax' on consumers, demonstrates clearly that EdF is massively in debt and unable to proceed with its new nuclear build programme with credibility. Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) supports the call by opponents to Hinkley C to abandon the project before a financial mess descends into farce.
EdF is financially compromised. Its income is far outweighed by its liabilities. Delays and cost over-runs on the three EPRs in China, Finland and France, huge refurbishment cost commitments on its existing domestic nuclear fleet, spiralling decommissioning costs and over-runs on the Hinkley project have changed the healthy financial picture in 2013 into a financial quagmire for EdF. The company now has to throw itself on the mercy of the hard-pressed UK energy consumers for a bail-out under the 'regulated asset base' (RAB) nuclear tax system whereby a levy on electricity bills is proposed to bankroll the company's new build aspirations. Government has yet to reveal the results of the consultation on RAB. In December, the then Sizewell C Project Development Director, Jim Crawford, admitted to a Suffolk Community Forum that "if the RAB model or something similar is proposed which will fall outside an acceptable price range for the government, then the project probably won't go ahead. It's as simple as that."
Pete Wilkinson, TASC Chairman, said today, 'Recent calls by a raft of nuclear cheerleaders arguing for government to press the 'go' button on new build are signs of the level of desperation those waiting to capitalise on the destruction of sensitive areas of the environment for the short-term benefits of huge and damaging construction projects which are redundant to our electricity needs.
TASC COMMITTEE MEMBER SEEKS A JUDICIAL REVIEW
Update: As of 7th January, over £9,600 had been pledged towards our ultimate goal of £22,000.
This is a fantastic response, so thanks to all those who have donated, and please consider letting friends, family and colleagues know about the fund raiser to give them a chance to join the fight against Sizewell C
www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-coronation-wood/
TOGETHER AGAINST SIZEWELL C (TASC) COMMITTEE MEMBER SEEKS A JUDICIAL REVIEW OF EAST SUFFOLK COUNCIL'S PLANNING APPROVAL FOR EDF TO FELL CORONATION WOOD FOR SIZEWELL C PURPOSES
On 23rd December TASC member Joan Girling issued proceedings against East Suffolk Council's decision granting planning permission to EDF for the development of a nuclear power site in Suffolk. This decision allows for the felling of Coronation Wood to accommodate the relocation of Sizewell B facilities. EDF have proposed moving a car park and visitors' centre from Sizewell B land to EDF-owned Coronation Wood, which they say would create additional space for the Sizewell C development. This is at the cost of destroying the 100 year-old mature wood, which is a treasured landscape feature in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and appreciated by residents and tourists alike.
TASC are fully supportive of this action as it is concerned that a large area of historic woodland, at present a visual landscape barrier to the light and noise from the existing nuclear complex, could needlessly be lost should future plans by EDF relating to the development of Sizewell C fall through. EDF must apply in the future for a Sizewell C Development Consent Order (DCO) and there is a risk that the Secretary of State will not grant Planning Consent. Equally, EDF may decide not to make such an application. The development of Sizewell B is thus 'jumping the gun' on an application process for Sizewell C that is yet to even begin.
We have set up a crowd funding page to provide funds to support Joan's legal challenge against the Council, details of which can be accessed at:
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-coronation-wood/
The wood, created to celebrate the coronation of George V, is home to many species of wildlife, including badgers, bats and many birds, both native and migratory. Organisations such as RSPB also have concerns that biodiversity surveys, undertaken of species using the wood, are out of date, incomplete or have not been carried out at all. TASC share Joan's concerns that proper investigations have not been carried out into the potential scale of the environmental damage that could result from the loss of this wood, which is in a sensitive location bordered by a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
TASC Chairman Pete Wilkinson said today, "Taking this action is right and we fully support it. East Suffolk Council has acted in an ill-considered, cavalier manner, without the necessary facts at their fingertips. The council ignored the 125 letters of objection to this application and have ridden roughshod over the needs and opinions of local people who appreciate the part the wood plays in the AONB and its role as a buffer to the nuclear complex and as a sanctuary for wildlife. Moreover, they have ignored the policy restrictions on the use of an AONB and failed to recognise the limitations of the IROPI initiative. Coronation Wood is an important part of the Leiston and Suffolk environment. If it is to be sacrificed for what we say is an unnecessary nuclear power station, it should at least be granted a proper, legal process. The relocation of Sizewell B facilities to accommodate a future Sizewell C development should form part of the development consent order for the new plant, not as a separate and apparently unconnected issue under the banner of Sizewell B. TASC will do everything in our power to stop Sizewell C.
We have set up a crowd funding page to provide funds to support Joan's legal challenge against the Council, details of which can be accessed at https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-coronation-wood/
Rosa Curling, solicitor at law firm Leigh Day, who represents Joan Girling said: "Wild and green spaces are of importance in the current climate catastrophe and the retention of established woodland must be a priority. The National Planning Policy Framework clearly recognises the importance of our natural spaces, requiring local authorities to refuse any major development in our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty other than in exceptional circumstances. Our client believes the exceptional circumstances have not been met in this case."
The legal team acting in this matter are Rosa Curling and Erin Alcock of Leigh Day, David Wolfe QC of Matrix Chambers and Ashley Bowes of Cornerstone Barristers.
Pete Wilkinson, TASC Chairman - 07940 524831
Joan Girling, TASC Secretary - 01728 830965
Chris Wilson, TASC Press & Legal Liaison – 07976 820524
Coronation Wood lies in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The planning permission sought by EDF was granted by East Suffolk Council (ESC) on the 9th September. The application also allowed for a large area of acidic grassland known as Pillbox Field to be used for a 576 space car park for use by outage workers.
ESC received 125 letters of objections and concern demanding that the application should be refused as EDF has not yet applied for Planning Consent for SZC and neither have they applied for any licences which may be needed.
ESC has signed up to the declaration of Climate Emergency. It is therefore illogical for it now to grant planning permission to remove a 100 year old wood on the assumption that because it is old and mismanaged by the owners, it should be felled, disregarding all the wildlife and ecological attributes it has in the AONB and for which all Owners, Councils and Councillors have a Duty of Regard.
TASC also submits the massive buildings which would replace this sensitive area are not needed for the safe running of SZB or SZC if it is ever built. This pre-emptive Planning Application under the Town and Country Planning Act and ESC's decision to agree to its Planning Permission is wrong and piecemeal, and should only be considered when EDF submit their DCO application for SZC to the Planning Inspectorate and subsequently to the Secretary of State.
Merry Christmas From TASC
Members and Supporters
Best Wishes and Seasons Greetings
Wishing you all a Happy and Peaceful 2020
Next Committee meeting is on 6th Jan 2020 at 7-00pm at Leiston Community Centre
Thank you for all the support over the past year.
Joan Girling on behalf of TASC Committee.
TASC is Concerned About the Competancy of EDF
TASC'S CONCERNS ABOUT THE COMPETENCE AND SUITABILITY OF EDF TO BUILD SIZEWELL C CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED DURING SCREENING OF "THE FRENCH NUCLEAR TRAP"
Together Against Sizewell C'S (TASC) grave concerns about the financial stability of EDF and the safety of their nuclear reactors, are clearly demonstrated in Patrick Benquet's film "The French Nuclear Trap" which TASC screened at Leiston Film Theatre at the weekend to an audience of 140 local residents.
TASC's concerns continue to increase as last month it was announced that more welding problems had been identified in EDF's nuclear reactor components and last week EDF disclosed that the budget for their EPR nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point C has been increased by a further £3billion to £22.5billion and there are likely to be further time delays of fifteen months. EDF recently suggested that, under a scheme called Regulated Asset Base or RAB, all UK billpayers should pay £6 per year from start of the 10/12 year construction of Sizewell C and indefinitely thereafter and that UK taxpayers would share in the risk of cost overruns and time delays. TASC see this as an expensive subsidy of French government-owned EDF who will take all the profit and will also result in an unacceptable transfer of very real, potentially substantial and unquantifiable risk to tax payers. This reinforces why all our decision-makers need to see this film.
TASC thank everyone who attended the screening, particularly the three district councillors and two from Leiston Town Council (representing Labour, Green and an Independent). Despite all Suffolk County Councillors, East Suffolk Councillors and Parish Councils having been invited to see the film, TASC were disappointed that there were no elected representatives from the ruling Tory party. The resounding message TASC received from those attending, including Councillors present, was that this film must be viewed by as many as possible, especially Suffolk's elected representatives and the media. We are sending out repeat invites to Suffolk County Council via leader Matthew Hicks and Sizewell representative Richard Smith, East Suffolk Council via leader Steve Gallant and Sizewell representative Craig Rivett as well as MP Therese Coffey offering to show this film again at a time and venue convenient to them. We will keep the public updated with their responses.
TASC would also like to thank our guest speaker Peter Banks who was representing campaign group Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group who commented on the RAB funding proposal, ''Why should UK residents and businesses fund this "Ridiculous Atomic Bailout?"
Pete Wilkinson, TASC's Chairman, said today, 'It is now beyond credible that EDF can be given the responsibility to build EPRs in the UK. EDF appear financially incompetent and the entire EPR programme – and hence the government's nuclear energy component of its so-called energy policy – is in tatters. They face unresolved waste management problems, growing concerns about the health effect of routine radioactive waste discharges and mounting opposition in the east Suffolk area which faces devastation should Sizewell C be given approval. Time to dump nuclear and EDF along with it.'
Further information can be found on our website www.tasizewellc.org.uk or on twitter @SayNo2SizewellC
"unacceptable" failings at EDF.
copied from the Times 30th Sept 2019
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2a8ccefa-e2e8-11e9-bc3e-661ff0438ed9
President Macron's economy minister has accused the French state-owned company building Britain's new nuclear plant of "unacceptable" failings as he threatened sweeping change at the group. Bruno Le Maire said yesterday that the French nuclear sector was like "a state within a state" and he denounced cost overruns and delays in the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor in Somerset and similar projects in Flamanville in Normandy and Olkiluoto in Finland.
"We will not accept this drift month after month, year after year," Mr Le Maire said. His words appeared to weaken the position of Jean-Bernard Lévy, 64, who was given a second four-year term as chief executive of EDF by Mr Macron in February. Mr Le Maire said that he had ordered an independent audit into the French nuclear industry, which provides about 75 per cent of nation's electricity, and into the decision to build a new generation of the increasingly questioned European pressurised reactors in Britain, France, Finland and China. The conclusions will be delivered on October 31, he said.
The audit will interest Whitehall, given that the EPRs being built in Somerset are supposed to supply 7 per cent of Britain's electricity. EDF said last week that Hinkley Point C would cost £3 billion more than expected and may not meet its latest launch date of 2025, which is already eight years late. The glitches at Hinkley Point C come after setbacks at Flamanville, which initially was due to come on stream in 2012 at a cost of €3.3 billion, but which will not now be linked to the grid until 2022 at the earliest at a cost of at least $10.9 billion. The Finnish plant was scheduled to be operational in 2009, but is still not complete.
The glitches at Hinkley Point C come after setbacks at Flamanville, which initially was due to come on stream in 2012 at a cost of €3.3 billion, but which will not now be linked to the grid until 2022 at the earliest at a cost of at least $10.9 billion. The Finnish plant was scheduled to be operational in 2009, but is still not complete.
Noting the lastest delays at Flamanville, Mr Le Maire said: "Now we learn that the costs of the nuclear reactor in Britain have drifted. All this drifting is unacceptable."
The French state owns 83.7 per cent of EDF. Mr Macron wants to split the group in two, placing its nuclear activities in a wholly state-owned unit and floating the rest.
EDF's Sizewell B Application approved - Press Release
TASC Astonished at East Suffolk Council Planning Officers' Recommendation to Approve EDF's Plans
"Sizewell C? - No!" Banner Drop
Growing concerns over 2,000,000 litres of fresh water per day for Sizewell C


text:
The Texan gunslinger
By Sergio Ariza
On December 13, 1968, Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper gave a concert at the Fillmore East in New York. They had a record among the bestsellers, Super Session, and Bloomfield was considered, rightly so, to be the best white blues guitarist in the USA, but he was a nice guy, and was always more attentive to the new talented guitarists, just 2 months before he had given one a young Carlos Santana one of his first opportunities , so on this day he decided to invite a Texan guitarist that had impressed him a lot. They didn't rehearse, Kooper hadn't even met the guy personally, but Bloomfield was set on jamming with him, despite a 40º fever. On the second song, he took the mike and introduced a "guy who plays fucking great". Who came on stage was a stranger, looking like a wild gunslinger, dressed completely in black which contrasted with his pale skin and an almost white long mane. Bloomfield begins the countdown to a slow Chicago blues riff and when the rhythm sections joins in, he launches into a heartfelt solo, when he finished, the gunslinger took the mike and sang the first verse of It's My Own Fault by B.B. King. None of the thousands of people who filled the room could believe their ears , that powerful bluesman's voice coming out of that fragile pale body. But the Texan albino hadn't played his best card just yet, so when he started to play the guitar more than one jaw in the crowd dropped. By the time they had finished the show, some executives at Columbia Records, which released Super Session, were about to make an offer , which, just like Vito Corleone's, couldn't refuse, . And the big question on everyone's mind was: Where did you find this guy?
John Dawson Winter III was born in Beaumont Texas on 23rd of February, 1944, and had been playing professionally since he was 15, in '59 he recorded his first single (School Day Blues, inspired by his idol Chuck Berry) under the name Johnny & The Jammers. However his love for original rock & roll went very well with his obsession for the electric blues by folks like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King. It was precisely King that he had some great episodes with during his learning stage. In 1962, alongside his brother Edgar (also albino) and two other members of his band went to see King live. They were the only whites in the room, and despite Texas being a segregated state at the time, Winter and his band had made a name for themselves and were allowed in. Johnny wasn't daunted and decided to get up on stage to play but King was reluctant. After some coaxing by some for the master to let him play, King called him onstage and gave him his guitar. Minutes later the whole venue was applauding. Winter wasn't yet 17 and he had left unscathed after playing with the King, so it's quite normal that 6 years of experience later, he didn't flinch when Bloomfield gave him a shot.
But before getting there, Winter was still making good money on a career in Texas and the rest of the south, recording as the leader of his own groups ( with names like The Crystaliers, It and Them and Black Plaque, usually with his younger brother Edgar) or as a session player (with people like Roy Head and the Traits). In 1968, together with bassman Tommy Shannon (who later played with Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble) and drummer John Turner , The Progressive Blues Experiment, he recorded his first record, which was released across the country by Imperial. It included his version of It's My Own Fault (BB King) that was going to bring fame and Tribute to Muddy where he pays his respects to the great Muddy Waters, without knowing that in a few years the father of Chicago blues himself would take him under his wing, like a son. The record wasn't a success, but got the experts' attention. On December 17 Rolling Stone magazine published an article on the Texas scene where they praised him to the max, calling him " the hottest thing to ever come out of there, except for Janis Joplin". Around the same time he signed Steve Paul as manager and they went to New York to play in his club, The Scene, a place where various rock stars like Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison or Joplin herself, would often go. But it was his meeting Bloomfield that would be his big break.
The concert was on Friday the 13th of December, and Winter signed with Columbia on Monday the 16th, and $600,000 up front, breaking the previous record reached by Jimmy Page a short while before, when he signed with his new group Led Zeppelin, for an up-front $200,000 at Atlantic. Overnight Winter went from being practically unknown to becoming the new white hope of blues/rock. He wouldn't let them down and 1969 would be the most important year of his career.
From the get-go his presence at The Scene made him a regular in jam sessions set up by Hendrix. Winter was amazed by the left-handed guitarist and even got to go to the recording studio with him where they recorded a demo on May 9, 1969, The Things That I Used to Do where he lets rip on the slide. His way of playing slide (with a piece of drainpipe) would become one of the traits of his identity. In April, 1969 he released Johnny Winter, his first album at Columbia, which opens with one of his best songs I'm Yours & I'm Hers, where he shows off his playing style and a much more rock sound than usual, although on this record he didn't yet use his iconic Firebird but a 6-string '66 Fender XII . He also had time to play a magnificent rural blues on acoustic with his own Dallas. Another treat on this album is Be Careful With a Fool, by B.B. King. It's one of the greatest blues/rock albums in the decade, and Winter himself thinks it's his best.
Suddenly Winter was the new sensation, through his friendship with Hendrix he got together with Joplin, and got her to come on stage with him (the two 'hottest' Texans), in July the Rolling Stones opened a tribute concert to Brian Jones in Hyde Park playing I'm Yours & I'm Hers, and in August of the same year Winter would play at the mythic rock festival in Woodstock, the night of the 17th to the morning of the 18th. By that time, the trio, formed by Shannon and Turner, added his brother Edgar on keyboards, sax, and vocals. At Woodstock he gave an amazing performance with an incredible solo in Mean Town Blues and closed with Johnny B. Goode, a song that would appear on his next record. The fact that his manager decided not to include a part of his show in the movie always hit a nerve with him.
The year ended with a bang with the release of Second Winter, possibly his best studio work, where his passion for 50's rock & roll and the blues would go hand in hand to produce a magical style. His most remembered song is his cover of Dylan's Highway 61, a song originally played by Bloomfield, where he's back and outstanding on slide. The demand for Winter was so big that his old work began to flood the market with his pre-Columbia recordings.
In 1970 his Brother Edgar started his own solo career and his band broke up. But Winter saw an opportunity in this and formed a new band with what was left of the McCoys, a group that enjoyed enormous success in 1964 with Hang On Snoopy. On it was the guitarist Rick Derringer who would give him one of his most emblematic songs, Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, which would appear on the next record Johnny Winter And. It's the most 'rock' record of his career, almost a hard rock record with a blues feeling, as you can see on another one of the greats written by Winter, Guess I'll Go Away. The following year, at the commercial peak of his career, he put out Johnny Winter and Live, with yet one more version of It's My Own fault and a wink to the Rolling Stones with Jumpin' Jack Flash. It was on this tour when he started using the Firebird as his main axe, especially, a Firebird V from '63. Winter had found the guitar that would be with him the rest of his run, but his golden age was coming to an end. His heroin addiction put him aside in his finest moment.
He came back in 1973 with Still Alive and Well, a very fitting title indeed. Winter had recuperated and was still playing spectacularly, but he would never have the same magic as in those early years. Yet, the happiest moment of his career was still to come. In 1977 Chess Records folded, which left Muddy Waters without a label. Winter had always recognised Waters as his biggest idol and just like that decided to sign him on his own new label, Blue Sky Records. That's where he produced the marvelous Hard Again, where he also plays guitar, a job among the best discography of the legendary bluesman. Together they would record 2 more studio records and one live. Waters would end up calling him his son.
Winter kept playing and recording non-stop all through the 80s, 90s, and 2000, although his fragile health and past excesses led to him having to play seated, and he had trouble with digitisation technology. Still, every time he put that piece of drainpipe on his finger and started to play his Firebird, anyone present knew that he was one of the chosen. On his last studio record, there are also appearances by Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Brian Setzer, Ben Harper, and Joe Perry, paying tribute to Winter who died on July 16, 2014. The gunslinger who never shied away from a duel, little wonder then, his career took off with a memorable night with Mike Bloomfield.
(Images: ©CordonPress)
Johnny Winter - Medley - Rockpalast 1979 (live)
JOHNNY WINTER - Jumpin' Jack Flash (1974 UK TV Appearance) ~ HIGH QUALITY HQ ~
Johnny & The Jammers - School Day Blues
Johnny Winter, Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper "It's My Own Fault"
Johnny Winter Johnny B. Good 1984
Muddy Waters And Johnny Winter - With - Blues Band - Going Down Slow (Live)
Johnny Winter Blues Lesson
Johnny Winter's awesome speed in 'Sound the Bell' 1987 Sweden in a tv studio
Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter (1969)
Muddy Waters, the original Rollin' Stone
Blackberry Smoke - Homecoming:Live In Atlanta (2019)


Urban Joe: A Milwaukee, WI Bar.
At Urban Joe Cafe, food takes just as much priority as coffee. A wide selection of salads, wraps, paninis and sandwiches (with freshly baked artisan bread) can be found here in this West Allis favorite ( try a Crazy Chipotle Wrap with an iced latte or a Steak and Ale panini with a mocha). Prepare to get comfortable — this place has plenty of seating for you and your laptop so you don't have to worry about getting rushed in and out the door.


text:
Q: NASM GNU/Linux elf: cannot read a floating point number via scanf I am learning NASM and do not have any experience. I have decided to write an app that reads integer and floating point numbers from user input and prints them.
;;; File test.asm
;;;
;;; Required packages: nasm, gcc
;;; compile commands:
;;;     nasm -f elf test.asm
;;;     gcc -m32 -o test test.o

%define SYSCALL_EXIT 1 ; system call sys_exit
%define INT32_BYTES_SIZE 4
%define FLOAT32_BYTES_SIZE 4

section .data
    questionInt32 db "Please enter any integer number.", 0xa, 0x0
    questionFloat32 db "Please enter any decimal number.", 0xa, 0x0

    prompt db "> ", 0x0

    resultMessage db "Entered: int %d, float %e", 0xa, 0x0

    scanAgeFmt db "%d", 0x0
    scanFloatFmt db "%e", 0x0

section .bss
    inum resb INT32_BYTES_SIZE
    fnum resb FLOAT32_BYTES_SIZE

section .text
    extern scanf
    extern printf
    global main

main:
    call printInt32Prompt
    call scanInt32
    call printFloat32Prompt
    call scanFloat32
    call printMessage

    mov eax, SYSCALL_EXIT
    mov ebx, 0
    int 0x80

    ret

scanInt32:
    push inum
    push scanAgeFmt
    call scanf
    add esp, 8

    ret

scanFloat32:
    push fnum
    push scanFloatFmt
    call scanf
    add esp, 8

    ret

printMessage:
    push DWORD [fnum]
    push DWORD [inum]
    push resultMessage
    call printf
    add esp, 12

    ret

printInt32Prompt:
    push questionInt32
    call printf
    add esp, 4

    push prompt
    call printf
    add esp, 4

    ret

printFloat32Prompt:
    push questionFloat32
    call printf
    add esp, 4

    push prompt
    call printf
    add esp, 4

    ret

Reading of integer number works correctly, but I have a problem with floating point one. As you see below, entered value and value from output are different, and I do not have an idea what I have done wrong.
$ ./test
Please enter any integer number.
> 3
Please enter any decimal number.
> 3.4
Entered: int 3, float 8.104613e+107


text:
Wisdom Of The Crowd: Residents Shape Neighborhoods Via Participatory Budgeting
Photo: Doug Belshaw/Flickr
Tue. December 12, 2017, 4:27pm
by Shane Downing
@SCdowning
Bayview, Castro, Diamond Heights, Duboce Triangle, Forest Hill, Glen Park, Hunters Point, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks
This year, residents of Districts 7, 8 and 10 have an opportunity to partake in participatory budgeting, a process that lets supervisors set aside a pot of public money for local improvements that are selected by neighbors.
"That means that instead of the supervisor identifying projects he thinks would be beneficial," said Erica Maybaum, District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee's legislative aide, "he secures funding and lets the residents come up with proposals and vote on the ideas."
Yee has made participatory budgeting a priority—in each of the five years he's served on the Board of Supervisors, he's offered District 7 residents over the age of 16 a chance to shape their environment. Past winning projects include traffic-calming measures, crime reduction efforts and mural grants.
This year, Yee's office will distribute $550,000 to District 7 projects.
Projects must fall within one of the following categories: neighborhood services (for youth, senior, non-English speakers, etc.), culture (art, beautification, greening, etc.), small businesses, schools/education/youth, pedestrian safety, and "bold and innovative ideas."
According to Maybaum, $250,000 of this year's participatory budgeting dollars in District 7 have been allocated for projects pertaining to the city's Vision Zero initiative, something that neighbors feel is important.
Last year, more than 2,400 residents cast nearly 18,000 votes on different civic improvement projects (neighbors can vote for more than one project).
Projects relating to Vision Zero are important to District 7 residents. | Photo: Diane Yee/Flickr
"We believe this is an amazing opportunity for civic engagement," Maybaum said. "It's completely community driven, and more and more people vote every year."
Yee's office received 46 applications in FY 2016-2017, and Maybaum said she expects more applications this year.
District 7 and District 8 applications are due by tomorrow at 11:59pm; however, District 10 applications are due on December 23rd.
In District 7, a neighborhood council made up of seven to eight community members will review submitted applications and narrow the pool down to the top 20 projects.
The Controller's office—with input from agencies like SFMTA, Public Works, Rec and Parks and the Arts Commission—will then review the projects to assess their feasibility and anticipated cost. At this time, proposals that share similarities will often be combined.
The review process will last from December to mid-March.
Participatory budgeting is a popular practice in New York City. | Photo: Daniel Latorre/Flickr
At that point, the most feasible project descriptions will be translated, and during two weeks in the spring, the community will vote on projects, either online or, depending on the district, in person.
Winners will be announced soon thereafter, with funds distributed in the summer of 2018. Winning projects are assigned to a corresponding city agency and a project manager who will oversee implementation.
"Last year, we had 18 projects across nine city departments," Maybaum said, adding that she keeps tabs on each one. In general, projects are meant to be completed within the fiscal year; however, others, like mural installations, which require a Request for Proposal (RFP), often take more time.
Projects can range in cost from $5,000 to $25,000. | Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin/Flickr
Supervisor Sheehy's office is also preparing to allocate participatory budgeting funds to projects in District 8. This is the first time District 8 residents will get to try their hands at Participatory Budgeting.
So far, approximately 20 applications have been submitted, according to Justin Jones, an aide in Supervisor Sheehy's office.
Supervisor Sheehy is allocating $250,000 for District 8 projects, and the budget for a single project will be a minimum of $5,000 and a maximum of $25,000.
According to the online application, the supervisor's office is strongly considering projects that address neighborhood equity.
"This is really putting the budget process in the people's hands," Jones said. "It's an example of people working together and voting on proposals that add to the community."
Innovative and creative project applications that benefit the community are encouraged. | Photo: GPS/Flickr
District 10 Supervisor Cohen's office shared a similar sentiment.
"Participatory Budgeting … provides a public forum for constituents to weigh in on their spending priorities," wrote Cohen in an email.
This is the third year her office is conducting this Participatory Budgeting process, which will invest $250,000 in local projects by the middle of next year.
Last year, her office received 45 applications, and more than 1,000 votes were cast.
"It is a form of direct democracy that positively impacts our community," she wrote.
If you live in District 7 or District 8 and would like to submit a project application, initial proposals are due tomorrow by 11:59pm. If you live in District 10, you have until December 23rd.


Is there anyway to track how many cycles are ran of a certain program and the time it was run? We have 3 model 67 machines with XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 7.
Topic: Axis 5 calibration is "creeping"
Re: Axis 5 calibration is "creeping"
Sorry I didn't see this earlier could have added that along time ago.
Pulleys, belts, or worm gear I would say we run into this from time to time also. When this starts happening we replace all of these. We are also doing a lot of sweeping rotaries with everything we do.
Does thermwood have a machine file for a model 67 that will work in the machine simulator for mastercam X6?
Replaced the tool door switch also.
Is anybody out there running composites on their model 67 5 axis machines? What is the frequency of having to change bearings, ballnuts, etc...? Is there anything you are doing to minimize the downtime caused from machining composites on these machines?
Anybody running bull nose cutters to surface machine patterns out there. Wanting to try something different. What are you guys using and where are you getting them. Hopefully going to get tighter radius in the patterns without changing to another cutter.
Does anybody out there use a dust collection system for a 5 axis model 67 machine. I cut a lot of huge 3d patterns and the machine produces a huge amount of dust and chips. Looking for solution to dusty enviroment not sure if there is a way to attach something to the head or not.
Hey Ryan can I get that list of files that would be helpful thanks.


text:
Q: Appcelerator App Conversion iOS to Android. One of our developer developed an app in appcelerator using alloy framework for iOS which works fine. Now we want to run the same app in Android, since the appcelerator is a cross platform tool, we wish to make the Android version of the App. I tried searching about it and explored the applcelerator ide for options but couldn't find it. Can some one please guide me into the right direction?

A: First of all have a look at this link : http://docs.appcelerator.com/platform/latest/#!/guide/Supporting_Multiple_Platforms_in_a_Single_Codebase this will guide you to update the application for multiple platforms.
Their are basically two different ways to port any application from android to iOS or vise-versa, but before that just let me clear one more thing to you about tiapp.xml.
In the tiapp.xml of your project you need to updated the Development Target by checking for which platform you are developing the application for (iPhone, iPad, android, Mobile Web).
Option 1 :
Cross Platform is build to make code re-usable (i.e. re-use  same code for all the platforms), but we have exceptions with many things. Their are lot of components that work fine in iOS but when you use them in android then you will face errors. So in that case you just need to apply conditions for android and iOS like below :
if(OS_ANDROID)
    // do something
else if(OS_IOS)
    // do something

What you need to do is that you need run the application in android simulator and test the application for these changes and then apply the changes accordingly.
Basically a developer has to target the UI for both the platforms, as their will not be any logical differences between the two. Also their will be UI changes between the same components, like for example a picker in iOS will not look the same as it will when you look it in an android application.
Option 2 :
Now in the project you have assets folder with the platform that you have selected in the tiapp.xml (i.e. iPhone, android etc).
You can create similar structure in the style and view folder, create two folders iOS and android in both the directory (i.e. style and view).
First, move .tss of style folder (except app.tss and index.tss) in the iOS folder, then copy the files in the android folder also.
Repeat the similar process with the View folder also.
Now you have two different structures (i.e. view and styles) according to their platform. Now you can run the application in android simulators and resolve the error that you face.
Hope this small information helps the cause, you can also have look at the documentation of all the components from below link :
http://docs.appcelerator.com/platform/latest/#!/api/Titanium.UI.TableView


Meet the mead maker for Grimfrost!
Bilberry shrub covers as much as 17% of Sweden's landscape. It's an essential part of the Scandinavian bear's diet in their preparation for winter hibernation. The Bear's Feast Brew consists out of bilberry juice, fermented together with another favourite among bears, Honey, into a dry beverage that resembles red wine. Serve it at room temperature to be consumed with main course meat dishes. The slight taste of forest, makes it especially good with game. Just the way a bear would love it.
• Ingredients: Bilberry, Honey, Water and Yeast.
In Norse mythology it was Kvasir's blood that was mixed with honey in the creation of the divine Mead of Poetry.
Grimfrost is a Swedish Company dedicated to making and selling authentic Viking products. Grimfrost's Mead has been developed together with Mjödhamnen. With it, we would like to invite you on a journey back to a time when mead was considered to originate from the gods.
A pure, sweet honey mead with a rich taste of Viking Age Sweden.
Swedish honey predominantly comes from wildflowers, such as white clover, raspberry blossom and lingonberry blossom. The Jarl's Brew uses raspberry blossom honey, as well as the much rarer linden honey. In comparison with a dry mead, it contains twice the amount of honey. The mead has also matured up to two years before bottling, allowing it to find its prime. The Jarl's Brew is a sweet mead that fits to be enjoyed after a meal, with dessert or on its own.
• Ingredients: Honey, Water and Yeast.
Honey has always been a rare and luxurious commodity. Jarl's Brew holds enough honey for a jarl, a king or even a god.


text:
Opinion: Remembering Pete Hamill, The Tabloid Man Whose Greatest Story Was His Own
By Scott Simon
Published August 8, 2020 at 5:55 AM MDT
Author Pete Hamill attends the Tribeca & ESPN Present the premiere Of "Muhammad And Larry" at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on October 19, 2009 in New York City.
TAB RAG SCRIBE MAKES LAST DEADLINE!
Pete Hamill was a tabloid man: a columnist and top name on the masthead, mostly for the New York Post and Daily News, who wrote punchy, passionate, lyrical chronicles of city life, often for people who had to read them while they held onto a strap, standing on the Number 7 train from Queens.
Pete Hamill became tabloid-celebrity on his own, switching in a New York second from rolled-up sleeves and loosened tie on his beat, to black tie for evenings-out, where he squired—that's a good tabloid verb—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Shirley MacLaine, Linda Ronstadt, and other women of achievement.
But those years in the 1960s and early '70s in which Pete Hamill was making his name and telling stories from neighborhoods the more polite and laureled New York newspapers often overlooked, he also spent too many hours on a bar stool in the kind of places tabloids called "watering holes;" and with glitterati literati; and not enough time with his children.
One night Pete put down a drink, and never picked one up again. Some of you may know how hard that is, every day, every hour.
Pete Hamill left high school when he was fifteen, which is when he began to drink. But in sobriety he discovered, as he put it, "I had gained the time I once spent drinking and the time I needed for recovery. And I began writing as never before."
He wrote novels, biographies, and screenplays, and his column, and a 1994 memoir, A Drinking Life, which is tough, telling, unrelenting—and true.
"The culture of drink endures because it offers so many rewards," Pete Hamill wrote: "[C]onfidence for the shy, clarity for the uncertain, solace to the wounded and lonely, and above all, the elusive promises of friendship and love...In the snug darkness of saloons, I learned much about being human and about mastering a craft. I had, as they say, a million laughs. But those grand times also caused great moral, physical, or psychological damage to myself and others...I started writing this book when some of my friends from the drinking life began to die. They were decent, talented, generous, and humane. But as they approached the end, physically ruined by decades of drinking, I remembered more of their good times than they did. In a way, this book is about them, too."
Pete Hamill died this week, clean, sober, and beloved, at the age of 85. He put down a drink, and found what lasts.
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.
See stories by Scott Simon


The new Kuota Khan is probably the most performance focused frame in the world today. Developed with new 1K HM carbon fibre and new innovative moulding techniques, it provides unrivalled performance.
This new project, with its clever fork and rear triangle design, improve road vibration damping whilst maintaining excellent torsional stiffness.
It has proven extremely popular with the Italian Pro team, Androni, who helped to develop and test the product.
Watch out for the French Cofidis team in this season's top pro races, where the Khan will be put to test in the demanding events like Paris Roubaix and the gruelling Tour De France.


text:
Feds Seek Scientific Info About the Safety and Effectiveness of Antibacterial Soap
Earlier this month, the FDA revisited the issue of growing resistance of microbes to antibiotics by announcing a plan to minimize their use in livestock. Last week, the federal agency continued to raise awareness of antibiotic resistance by requiring manufacturers of nonprescription antibacterial soap to prove that their products are safe for long-term daily use and are more effective than plain soap in stopping the spread of infections.
The proposed rule doesn't apply to hand sanitizers and wipes – which are alcohol-based and aren't used with water – or to antibacterial products used in a health-care setting.
Soap that not only cleans but seems to protect against germs seems like a good idea, but as is often the case, more is not necessarily better. The consistent use of antibacterial agents that haven't been thoroughly tested might cause harm, and using them for purposes other than preventing dire illness only makes the germy invaders stronger, as they evolve to resist the threat.
"New data suggest that the systemic exposure to these active ingredients is higher than previously thought, and new information about the potential risks from systemic absorption and long-term exposure have become available," says the FDA document. "New safety information also suggests that widespread antiseptic use can have an impact on the development of bacterial resistance." (See our blog, "Antibacterial Soaps Few Clear Benefits, Many Murky Questions About Safety.")
As summarized on MedPageToday.com, the FDA wants to amend a 1994 declaration that nearly all antiseptic active ingredients currently in use are as "generally recognized as safe and effective" (GRAS/GRAE). The feds have been analyzing antibacterial active ingredients for several years.
Companies that fail to show that their soaps and body washes are safe and effective would have to remove the antiseptic ingredients from over-the-counter products, or they would have to eliminate antibacterial claims from product labels.
More than 2,200 antibacterial hand soaps and body washes are on the consumer market. And there's no scientific evidence to prove that they are any more effective at preventing illness than plain soap and water.
"Antibacterial soaps and body washes are used widely and frequently by consumers in everyday home, work, school, and public settings, where the risk of infection is relatively low," Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), said in a statement. "Due to consumers' extensive exposure to the ingredients in antibacterial soaps, we believe there should be a clearly demonstrated benefit from using antibacterial soap to balance any potential risk."
Among those potential risks is a hormonal effect. Some animal research has shown that daily exposure to ingredients such as triclosan in liquid soap and triclocarban in bar soap can affect estrogen, testosterone and thyroid hormones, although these effects on human safety have not been established.
That's why manufacturers should conduct clinical trials to determine if they can be considered as generally recognized as effective, and safe.
It has not been proved that these ingredients promote microbial resistance to antibiotics, but it is known that triclosan is a long-lived chemical. Dr. Nicole Bouvier, an infectious disease specialist, told MedPageToday that it's found in soil, water and human urine, where it has been associated, with elevated body mass index and with environmental and food allergies.
Until the FDA takes further action, which won't happen before the end of next year, by which time manufacturers are expected to submit data, FDA officials say consumers should know what's in their soap. Washing with plain soap and running water is a basic step to avoid getting sick and preventing the spread of germs. Hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol are a good choice if soap and water aren't available.
Posted in: Infections and Product Safety
Updated: December 26, 2013 4:00 pm


I decided to move away from TextAmerica with all the recent events going on over there. If you want some background on what I am speaking of, go to the following site: extamerica. I have the overwhelming feeling they won't be around for long. An old contact (Shawn Honnick) who used to work at TextAmerica told me to look at Flickr and their API. I have been a Flickr user ever since their service started. The reason I uses TextAmerica primarily is because I could customize my template to mimic my own site so when users jumped off it flowed like my own site. So after doing some research and seeing that it will be a bear to code the site with the Flickr API so the photos show up on my site. I decide to take the easy road to start. What's the easy road you may ask? Setting up a sub-domain and installing WordPress. WordPress has a plug-in call FAlbum that does everything I need it to do to flow as part of my site and give me complete design control. But as luck would have it Flickr had a major storage crash which took their site down as I was getting ready to apply for the API module. They kind of lost 20 Terabytes of photos but are actively recovering that data from another Data Center. They are bringing the site back up shortly with a lot of images showing as unavailable. The images will come back on their own as the files are recovered. So as soon as they are back up I will start experimenting with FAlbum and Flickr integration into my site.
I took a ride out to Jersey today to meet up with some people from the clan I belong too. The clan is Evil Smurfs and Gad is one of the founders and he threw the shindig. It was a good time had by all. I posted pictures on my Gallery section, you can find the link is below, enjoy.
I just moved all of my domains from my old hosting company Vizaweb to 1&1 and so far I am very happy with what they are offering me compared to what I got from Vizaweb. The biggest bonus thus far is that I am not timing out every 10 minutes or so. When I first went to Vizaweb everything was great, however over time their service just got worse and worse and support was non-existent. If you're looking for a hosting company give 1&1 a try.
I often wonder how our elected officials can write laws to protect us concerning technological matters, when they seem so out of touch with technology. Two recent events amplify my feelings in the matter. Recently Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" poked at little fun at Congress during hearings concerning videogame violence. Several congressmen considered themselves gamers for playing pong and solitaire, that's a joke right? Congressman Joe Pitts made remarks that poorer kids would be more influenced by these video games than their well to do suburban counterparts. My jaw dropped when I heard those remarks. The video below is an excerpt from the show in question and is quite humorous to watch.
Now on to the Net Neutrality issue. The net neutrality legislation which is trying to make its way through is in essence trying to protect the consumers and business alike from being charged a tiered level to have content delivered to them. AT&T started the matter off by saying that Google and other companies like them were getting a free ride off the ISPs backs to deliver their content to the consumers requesting it. This is far from the truth since companies like Google pay for their Internet access and bandwidth which I would have to assume is quite sizeable. Telcos are getting worried since they see their customers moving away from conventional telephone service to cheaper VOIP solutions. In essence they want any content not coming from their own services charged extra to get to their customers. This is just short of extortion. Ted Stevens recently gave a speech concerning the matter in front of his peers and is one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard. Below is a clip of his speech. When you hear comments and speeches like this, you fully realize that probably most of our elected officials have no clue about technology and the Internet. If you are going to talk about or even vote on legislation you obliviously know nothing about, shouldn't you learn about it first so you can make a sensible logical decision or statement?
Well keeping true to my word, it's Friday night and out come the bottles. Going to sit down and play some Counterstrike Source with my clan mates tonight. I should be in a good singing mood this evening. After I took this picture I realized what was playing on my Sirius Radio. Pretty fitting for what's about to go down on the server tonight, don't you think so my ]ES[ brethren?
BTW, if you're a CSS player, come join us. You can find out more information about our clan and game servers at the Evil Smurf's website.
I decided to take some time this week and update my site design. It was long overdue and very much needed. I am quite pleased with the finished product and also set up a photo gallery within my CMS (Content Management Software). As usual the coding fried me, especially tweaking my Text America account to mimic my site design when I link out to it. I am going to take it easy this weekend and have a couple of drinks and relax. At least that is what I am telling myself. I know I am going to have to log into some clients network remotely and fix some problem that arises. That is usually what happens when you plan some time off.


Edpnet blocks the possibility to call international numbers by default in order to avoid excessive invoices.
You are wondering why? It may be not clear to you but the EU regulation 'Roam like at home' does not include calls to international numbers.
Roaming means using another network operator when you are abroad or outside your normal operator's coverage area. 'Roam like at home' applies to your usage abroad.