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6 Best Hotels and Resorts in Scottsdale, Arizona For Your Next Indulgence
Arizona makes a great getaway any time of the year.
Lounging around a languid pool with an icy cocktail in hand or teeing off on a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course with a crazy mix of grass—the deepest green you've ever seen—and stark red mountains in the background, there are more than enough activities—including chill time—to take up a week or more.
But figuring out how to fill your time is easier than choosing the hotel that will best fit the bill during your stay. One of the most popular getaway cities, Scottsdale, has a plethora of accommodations to choose from. So how do you know which is the one for you and your fellow pool buffs, spa lovers, greens-loving golfers, cuisine connoisseurs and cocktail aficionados? Well, look no further, fellow travelers. We've done our homework and have picked the best hotels to suit your style from A-Z.
Best spa retreat: Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North
Set on the site of the former Crescent Moon Ranch, a finishing school for wealthy debutantes run by a member of the Kellogg family, the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale is a pleasantly meandering home-away-from-home for those looking for some serious R+R+R—rest, relaxation and a good recharge.
After checking in, you'll be whisked away by golf cart to your pueblo-style casita while your driver fills you in on the lay of the land. Pay attention because with three dining options, one lounge, two pro tennis courts, and a bi-level pool, spread out over 40 acres, it's easy to get lost. If you have nowhere to be, though, it can be like walking along a calming labyrinth. (The resort is laid out in a circular pattern so you'll eventually make it back to point A.)
Wellness is the name of the game at this resort. Guided hikes up Pinnacle Peak, yoga on the outdoor Troon Lawn, mountain biking trips, nighttime stargazing sessions, Tai Chi classes, even the complimentary sunscreen offered at the pool—all of the resort's activities and not-so-active doings are focused on wellbeing and are meant to cajole your overworked mind into finding peace.
Aside from offering yoga and fitness classes, the Spa at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale helps you find and hold onto your bliss with signature treatments that include a Golfer's Massage which incorporates warm golf balls to work out the kinks you get from swinging at the links all day, a Healing Hiker's Massage that utilizes mountain arnica and sage to help reduce inflammation and soreness, or an invigorating Jojoba and Prickly Pear Polish. (Be sure to pick up the complimentary prickly pear iced tea at Proof, the American-style restaurant, or outside the lobby on your way back to your casita to stay hydrated.)
A personal favorite spa experience is the 'Four Seasons in One' signature sensory treatment that takes you through summer, fall, winter and spring in the desert. You'll be treated to a nourishing summer-rich cocoa and vanilla shea butter massage, a brisk exfoliation, wintry wintergreen body lotion application and a soothing scalp massage using ylang-ylang, pink grapefruit, and sage. Afterward, you can relax in the seasonally-scented steam rooms before a leisurely stroll back to your room. Once there, laze on your private patio or terrace and gaze at the landscaped grounds with 100-old saguaro cacti.
Excellent Cleanliness 9.5 / 10
Best pool scene: Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch
The recently renovated, 493-room Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch may have an ungainly name, but it has a perfectly sized pool playground within its edges. This chic resort has an astonishing 2.5 acres dedicated to water fun and includes 10 pools, a 30-foot 3-story heart-lurching waterslide, 45 waterfalls, 20 fountains and a man-made sand beach—which just makes sense when you consider the desert landscape outside of the resort. You'll even find gondola rides traversing the resort's many waterways.
Plenty of loungers are placed around this watery oasis and, as a special treat, you can rent pool cabanas that have seating inside and out, internet access, a TV sporting DirectTV, a phone, ceiling fan and a fridge to store some water and ice for a hot-weather cool down when you're too relaxed to move. There's even a dedicated cabana attendant to grab you a towel or some iced tea.
With swaying palm trees, bright wildflowers and lush greenery surrounding each pool, and the McDowell Mountains in the background, all you need to do is find your favorite spot and order a Prickly Pear Margarita.
Once pool playtime is over, head back to your Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired room to freshen up and then feel the heat of southwestern flavors at SWB—complete with tequila pairing—or try one of the other restaurants on site, in particular, Noh, serving Japanese or Alto ristorante e bar, with award-winning Italian fare.
Before calling it a night. listen to live music at Center Stage Bar — a delightful lounge with open-air indoor seating where the scene is smart casual and hosts a mix of well-heeled guests so relaxed you can feel the chill in the air.
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch
Scottsdale, 5.2 miles to Old Town Scottsdale
Best golf: JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa
Bill Marriott, the hospitality guru responsible for making Marriott International one of the world's largest lodging companies, has often said that the JW Marriott at Camelback Inn, the oldest resort in the brand's portfolio, is his favorite. If you're a golfer, it certainly may become yours.
Aside from the eight dining and drinking options, a spacious spa, pretty pool, and casitas with terraces looking out over landscaped grounds, the resort has two championship golf courses spread out on its 125-acres. While many, if not most of the top Arizona resorts have excellent courses, these are two of the best-looking. Rolling greens, lush plants, low-rise desert architecture and stark cacti set against scrubby Camelback Mountain all set the scene for a great few days of golf.
Both of the 18-holers—Ambiente and Padre—are par 72 courses and offer challenges for golfers at all levels, but each one has a specific feel to it. Ambiente, designed by the well-known golf architect Jason Straka is a true desert course. Wild grasses and flowers dot the landscape, a clay-colored mountain rises against the blue sky and a plethora of sandpits make you feel like you are truly in the desert. Padre, on the other hand, is a verdant, undulating course with towering trees and numerous lakes. Designed by big-name golf guru Arthur Hills, the 18th hole at Padre was, in fact, voted to be the best water hole in the state by Arizona Golf Magazine.
Camelback Inn will shuttle you to and from your chosen course for the day and, onsite, you'll also find the Camelback Clubhouse, with a well-equipped pro shop and Acacia restaurant, where you can have a bite and reminisce about what could have been if the sun hadn't been in your eyes on that 13th hole. You might want to look into hiring one of the resort's golf instructors the next day to work on that full swing or short game. Or you can always stick to the miniature golf course at the resort.
JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa
Best restaurant: Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is the big dog when it comes to Arizona resorts. Before it finished its renovation in 2016, it had 648 rooms. Now it has a staggering 750 rooms, suites, and casitas spread out over 65 acres of Sonoran Desert land. The resort's chic, contemporary southwestern style is seen in all of its rooms and public areas, including restaurants, with a color palette of sandy creams, golden-hued yellows and burnt oranges, simple ironwork and rich, dark woods.
La Hacienda is spearheaded by celebrity chef Richard Sandoval, said to be the "father of modern Mexican cuisine." This restaurant and lounge offer updated Mexican classics that make you want to throw any diet out the window, at least for one evening. Dishes such as the freshly made pear and pomegranate guacamole, costilla de res (braised short rib with ancho chile mashed potatoes, baby carrots and herbed heirloom tomatoes, accompanied by cherry chipotle mole sauce) and the carnitas enchiladas with slow-braised pork, plantain and mole are a delicious mix of rich, smoky flavors lightened by equally rich but a zingy flavorsome fruitiness.
The warmly decorated restaurant with its flagstone floors and wood-beamed ceiling, extends outside, giving you the best seats in the house after dark. Outdoor fireplaces, live music, friendly servers and great food are all good reasons to make an evening out of it, but there's more. If you're a fan of tequila, La Hacienda has no less than 240 different types. Katie Schnurr, the tequila sommelier for both the restaurant and lounge will help you choose, and then sip and savor tequilas ranging in price from $9 to $450 per shot. Or go with one of her recommended tequila flights categorized as sweet, sipping, anejo and elite (for a pretty price tag). If you're bold, do choose the Snakebite flight: three Mexican-made spirits—tequila, mezcal and sotol, the up-and-coming spirit with origins in Chihuahua—served on a platter decorated with a rattlesnake head and tail to prove, perhaps, that nothing bites back like a tequila hangover. Caution encouraged!
Scottsdale, 10.6 miles to Old Town Scottsdale
Best cocktails: The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician
Canyon Suites is the luxe, 60-room boutique hotel found within The Phoenician's hotel grounds. Against the grand handsomeness of The Phoenician Resort, it's the smaller, more elegant cousin to the much larger property. The private building has a discreet entrance way that leads to the quiet lobby before opening to The Canyon Lounge. This refined lounge is where the magic happens.
Along with a nice selection of wines by the bottle or glass, anything but plain-Jane brews and a fine list of whiskeys predominantly from the U.S., Scotland, Ireland, and Japan, it's the cocktail creations that should tempt you to go to the lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail.
The bartenders create liquid libations based on the season. In summer, for instance, you'll find a tasty cucumber and thyme beverage made with vodka, Limoncello, muddled cucumber, fresh thyme, lemon juice and simple syrup. But it's the 2704 that will keep you coming back for more and, maybe, settle in for dinner. Created with the hotel's specially-made bourbon, Phoenician Woodford Reserve, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, house-made rosemary-infused mesquite honey, lemon juice, lemon bitters and a rosemary sprig to top it off, this cocktail is then lightly smoked under glass before being presented in a swirl of smoke and burning wood. Yes, it's trendy, but it truly is one of the most delightful cocktails around.
Canyon Suites reopened in 2016 and rooms are both spacious and stylish, with Bali beds on the private terraces that look out over the hotel's pool or grounds and lagoon. In fact, those beds are so comfy you may just want to order in room service and settle in your room for the night instead.
If you're staying in the main hotel and not the Suites, never fear: The Phoenician has eight other dining and drinking options where you can whet your whistle.
Canyon Suites at the Phoenician
Best room design: Hotel Valley Ho
In the 1950s and 60s, Hotel Valley Ho was all the rage, providing refuge for stars like Ingrid Bergman, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis, and Bing Crosby. It was even the secret wedding reception locale for Hollywood lovebirds, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. Cocktails in the Arabian Lounge and poolside fashion shows were de rigeur at this Edward Varney-designed celeb hideaway. Then in 2002, this mid-century modern classic shut its doors, needing some serious love and repair.
With the arrival of new owners in 2006 came renovations and, now, this iconic property is once again the cool kid on the block, attracting stars like Hugh Jackman and Katy Perry, who like to stay here during their own getaways.
The 239 rooms that make up this urban resort represent the modern version of 1956 design, playing with vibrant colors and geometric shapes. Outrageous teal, mustard yellow, moss green and tomato red dominate the color palette. Furnishings that prove everything old is new again can be found in each room, such as the classic Barcelona chairs.
All rooms come with floor-to-ceiling windows that lead to a private patio or balcony, a Cuisinart coffee maker for your morning, noon and night coffee fix and a separate bathtub and shower in the terrazzo-tiled bathroom.
If you have a true love for this design aesthetic, concierge Ace Bailey is an expert in the subject. She will tell you everything you need to know about mid-century design and architecture and will even take you on a guided tour around the hotel and its grounds to show you the highlights, demonstrating how design theory can be brought into stunning practice.
Hotel Valley Ho


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Q: Why can't I upgrade chocolatey by using the command line "choco upgrade chocolatey"? I tried to run this command line in Powershell in administrator mode:
choco upgrade chocolatey

But it returned:
Chocolatey v1.1.0
Upgrading the following packages:
chocolatey
By upgrading, you accept licenses for the packages.
chocolatey v1.1.0 is the latest version available based on your source(s).

Chocolatey upgraded 0/1 packages.
 See the log for details (C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\logs\chocolatey.log).

And upgraded 0/1 packages means it upgraded failed.
When I check the log for further reasons, it says:
2022-08-19 03:18:28,329 19084 [DEBUG] - _ Chocolatey:ChocolateyUpgradeCommand - Normal Run Mode _
2022-08-19 03:18:28,332 19084 [INFO ] - Upgrading the following packages:
2022-08-19 03:18:28,332 19084 [INFO ] - chocolatey
2022-08-19 03:18:28,332 19084 [INFO ] - By upgrading, you accept licenses for the packages.
2022-08-19 03:18:28,425 19084 [DEBUG] - Using 'https://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/'.
2022-08-19 03:18:29,753 19084 [DEBUG] - - Supports prereleases? 'True'.
2022-08-19 03:18:29,763 19084 [DEBUG] - - Is ServiceBased? 'True'.
2022-08-19 03:18:30,331 19084 [DEBUG] - Package 'chocolatey' found on source 'https://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/'
2022-08-19 03:18:30,335 19084 [INFO ] - chocolatey v1.1.0 is the latest version available based on your source(s).
2022-08-19 03:18:30,343 19084 [WARN ] -
Chocolatey upgraded 0/1 packages.
 See the log for details (C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\logs\chocolatey.log).
2022-08-19 03:18:30,350 19084 [WARN ] -
Enjoy using Chocolatey? Explore more amazing features to take your
experience to the next level at
 https://chocolatey.org/compare
2022-08-19 03:18:30,352 19084 [DEBUG] - Sending message 'PostRunMessage' out if there are subscribers...
2022-08-19 03:18:30,355 19084 [DEBUG] - Exiting with 0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Mersey Waves
Produced by Liverpool City Council, each episode will dive in to a variety of topics – from music and film, culture and climate change right though to history, heritage and health. Through conversations with those in the know, we'll shine a spotlight on different aspects of Liverpool life and explore subjects that matter to you.
Talking Culture and what we can look forward to in 2022
When you think about Liverpool, something cultural will surely come to mind – music, football, events, shopping... So, it's not surprising to find out that the leisure, creative and cultural sector makes up 38% of the city's economy and brings in around a massive £270 million to the council which is then invested in core services such as social care, health and education. With the exceptional challenges the pandemic has posed over the past 24 months, how has the city's cultural sector fared and is it business as usual once again? In this episode we chat to Director of Culture Claire McColgan MBE and Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy Councillor Harry Doyle, and we reflect on the past two years and find out what events we can look forward to in 2022. And we even throw some questions from you, our listeners, at them – covering everything from fireworks to Giants. Presenter: Sarah Latcham Panellists: Claire McColgan and Councillor Harry Doyle Editor: Niall Walsh Recording Locations: Zoom
Scousers in Hollywood: Movie composer John Murphy
He may not be a household name but local lad John Murphy is a major player in the Hollywood film world. After beginning his career playing guitar in local bands John moved into making music for film and is now amongst the most respected film composers in the world. In this fascinating podcast Kevin McManus (Culture Liverpool) and Olly Cooke (Liverpool Film Office) catch up with John in his LA studio to talk about his Liverpool roots, his path to Hollywood, and his work on blockbuster films like Suicide Squad.
Talking theatres
Liverpool has a proud theatre history dating back over 150 years. The Playhouse is the oldest repertory theatre in England while the Everyman has a huge history helping launch the careers of the likes of Julie Walters, Jonathan Pryce, Pete Postlethwaite and Alison Steadman through to the likes of Bill Nighy, Alan Bleasdale, Willy Russell, David Morrissey and Stephen Graham. The city is also home to other much loved venues ranging from the Royal Court through to the Empire and the Unity. For this edition of Merseywaves, we brought together actress Josie Lawrence - who is currently in the city playing the role of Sylvie in 'Our Lady of Blundellsands' at the Everyman, and Councillor Harry Doyle, Cabinet member for culture at Liverpool City Council to discuss why theatres are so important to the lifeblood of the city and the fabric of the nation. Guests: Josie Lawrence and Cllr Harry Doyle Presenter: Paul Johnston Producer: Niall Walsh Location: Zoom
Liverpool announces world leading end-to-end pandemic institute
Liverpool is to headquarter the Pandemic Institute, committed to helping the world prevent, prepare, and respond more effectively to pandemics. The Pandemic Institute is a medical, academic and civic partnership between the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool). The partners have an unrivalled breadth of world-leading clinical, academic, public health and data-driven expertise, all co-located on one campus. The Institute will have significant global reach with collaborations and hubs located across the world. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Liverpool has pioneered innovative approaches including a https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/coronavirus/research-and-analysis/covid-smart-pilot/ (whole city community testing pilot) which cut transmission rates by a fifth, as well as https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/events-research-programme-phase-i-findings/events-research-programme-phase-i-findings (hosting large-scale pilot events on behalf of the Government) that provided evidence of how to safely reopen important sectors of the economy – developing Liverpool's reputation as a leader in pandemic management and resilience. Initially funded by a £10 million gift from https://innovamedgroup.com/ (Innova Medical Group), a global health innovator and the world's largest provider of rapid antigen tests, the Pandemic Institute will be headquartered in The Spine, at Paddington Village. The Spine is soon to be designated one of the world's healthiest buildings and the newest addition to KQ Liverpool's impressive Health and Life Science campus. The Pandemic Institute will offer world-leading clinical and research expertise across all stages of the pandemic lifecycle. It will have global reach, working across the world to deliver new science and build preparedness for future pandemics. The outputs of its work will be rapidly translated into tangible policy, solutions and activity, ensuring real world impact for governments, businesses and individuals across the globe. The overall aim is to accelerate the global response to pandemics, unify global intelligence and increase the reach and impact of pandemic research.
Is Liverpool's World Heritage status worth saving?
A draft recommendation has been made to UNESCO's annual World Heritage committee to delete Liverpool of its World Heritage status. The committee will make its decision next month in mid-July, with the focus on proposed plans around the £5bn Liverpool Waters scheme. Listen to this podcast where Cllr Sarah Doyle, Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Development; Ian Wray, vice chair of World Heritage UK; and Pete Swift, co-founder of place-making consultancy firm Planit-IE, which advises on the masterplan for Liverpool Waters, talk about the journey Liverpool has been on since it achieved the status in 2004. The trio also discuss the merits of Liverpool Waters, the value of World Heritage status and what steps could be taken to retain it.
Time with Jimmy McGovern
We sat down with legendary award-winning TV writer Jimmy McGovern who talked openly about what inspired him to write his latest drama, Time, and what fuels his creative process. With Tom Sherry producer of the show. The Liverpool writer also reveals how much of his personal life he brought to the script, and goes on to talk about his views on law and justice, Hillsborough and his award-winning dramatisation of the 1989 tragedy, as well as his take on diversity in TV and his hopes for the city's new pop-up film studios currently being built on Edge Lane. Jimmy and Tom also talk about the trials and tribulations the cast and crew faced to make Time during the second wave of Covid, and the role Liverpool Film Office played in helping to bring the hard hitting BBC ONE drama to our screens. Tom Sherry is the Executive Producer of Time and Head of Drama North and Scotland – BBC Studios Presenter: Michael Doran Guests: Jimmy McGovern and Tom Sherry Editor: Niall Walsh Recording Location: Cunard Building, Liverpool
The Irregulars
Liverpool is no stranger to being the star of major motion pictures and television shows; Netflix's THE IRREGULARS is the latest production that was made in Liverpool. The show follows a gang of troubled street teens, solving crimes for the sinister Doctor Watson & his mysterious business partner. We sat down with the shows creator and writer Tom Bidwell to discuss making the series and why they chose to film in Liverpool.
Covid-19 : On the frontline
Scott Beeland, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, was recently reconnected with Graham Smith, a patient he helped save from Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic and a member of our Liverpool Street Scene Services team. Graham surprised Scott when he gave him an army medal for services in Bosnia to say thank you.
Liverpool's role in the vaccine
Liverpool played a key role in the trials of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca jab through the city's world-famous School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).
Anorexia - Regaining control
In our latest episode, we talk to Ashleigh about her teenage battle with anorexia and body dysmorphia, and how she overcame her issues and is strong enough now to help others.
Wendy Simon, Acting Mayor of Liverpool
We talk to Cllr Wendy Simon who was made Acting Mayor of Liverpool in December 2020, to find out more about the woman leading Liverpool.
Tin Star: Liverpool
Liverpool is no stranger to being the star of major motion pictures and television shows and this December we're taking centre stage in the Sky original drama, Tin Star: Liverpool - We sat down with Alison Jackson, who is the Executive Producer for Tin Star, to talk about why they choose move to Liverpool for series 3 and how they found it.
Surviving Covid-19
Graham's been to some scary places, but this is the scariest place he's ever been.
Mayoral Q&A - Liverpool enters tier-3 coronavirus restrictions
Liverpool has entered tier-3 of the new coronavirus restrictions. Mayor Anderson was joined by health experts and business leaders in a special live Q&A to find out what the new restrictions will mean for residents and businesses in Liverpool ahead of the restrictions kicking in.
Roger and out!
After 42 years at Radio Merseyside, legendary phone-in presenter Roger Phillips turned off his mic for the last time on 28 August. In this episode, Roger shares his memorable guests, explains how the phone-in works behind the scenes, and tells us how he felt about the reaction to this retirement announcement.
Around 10 million workers in the UK have been unable to do their jobs because of covid-19 and they have so far benefited from the furlough scheme, which essentially means the government is paying the majority of their wages and redundancies can be avoided but with the scheme set to end on the 31st of October, what does that mean for workers? And what does it mean for employers who have real concerns about covering the costs when it's anything but business as usual at the moment.
We talk to two fitness professionals who embraced lockdown and went virtual with their classes. Leading Liverpool personal trainer Richie Swan and Natalie Butler who spotted a gap in the market and opened the city's first over barre studio talk about how it has changed their profession, how physical and mental wellbeing go hand in hand and whether gyms reopening signal the end of this new normal.
As lockdown restrictions continue to be eased, the latest relaxation means parts of the hospitality sector can reopen their doors. We caught up with two award winning restaurant and deli owners who talk frankly about their lockdown experience and the stark reality they now face as a result of the health pandemic.
Racism – Why History Matters
In this episode Liverpool's first black Lord Mayor, Councillor Anna Rothery, joins Bristol City Council's Deputy Mayor Councillor Asher Craig to talk about the response their respective cities have shown to the Black Lives Matter campaign, their own personal experiences of racism and what plans are in place for each city to tackle racial inequality.
Liverpool's Year of Reading
In this episode, we speak to Cllr Barbara Murray, Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for education employment and skills, and the driving force behind #Liverpoolreads.
It's been ten weeks since the UK went in to full lockdown, but with the easing of restrictions there is a glimmer of light at the end of the long Covid-19 tunnel....
View from the Frontline
This episode gives you the inside story from those on the frontline of fighting Covid-19. We hear from two nurses who have been caring for coronavirus patients as the pandemic reached Liverpool and the dark, difficult days that followed.
Liverpool life after lockdown
We talk to Professor Michael Parkinson who has chartered Liverpool's history to find out how he thinks a post-coronavirus Liverpool will look like for residents and businesses.
Joining up with Roger McGough
2020 is also Liverpool's Year of Reading so as well as speaking to Roger about reading and writing he gives us advice on how to get reluctant readers to pick up a book.
Liverpool's Coronavirus Community Spirit
Liverpool's community spirit is in full force with 3,000 volunteers committed to tackling the coronavirus challenge but who is doing all the work behind the scenes? What will the volunteers really do for our communities and does this new initiative contradict national guidance to stay at home?
Coronavirus (COVID-19): Liverpool update
Following the Government's announcement that the country is now in the delay phase, we look at the updated guidance and what people should do to keep themselves safe.
Coronavirus (COVID-19): Liverpool Prepares
This episode looks at what it really means for the city, what plans are being put in place to keep people healthy and how organisations are working together to keep the city running.
China in Our Hands
Liverpool is home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe, dating back to 1834 when Chinese immigrants arrived at the port but what does it mean today and is the relationship standing the test of time?
What has Europe ever done for Liverpool?
As a city that decisively voted to remain in the EU, Liverpool is coming to terms with being part of a post-Brexit UK. What does this new era mean for the city, and was Liverpool ever really that reliant on Europe and the EU in the first place?
It's a new year and the time when we set our intentions for the year ahead. But should our main resolutions be to look after and be kinder to ourselves?
It's a time of year we associate with happiness, over-indulgence, family and friends. But for a large number of people, it's anything but a magical time, and can feel like the loneliest time of the year.
Who runs the world?
Latest reports show just six female CEOs run the UK's largest companies but when it comes to Liverpool's cultural organisations - the majority of them are run by women. We talk to three of those women to try and find out why Liverpool's culture scene is bucking the trend.
ADHD –or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to give it its full name - is a medical condition which affects many people. In recent years it has become better understood, but how far have we really come?
Homelessness - The story of our streets
The city council is fiercely proud of how it tackles the problem – investing more than £20m a year to support people and families in crisis - ut the city council needs support - both homelessness and rough sleeping in the city are on the rise.
Hatches, matches and dispatches
In this episode we're going to chat to a team that play a part in some of the most important moments in people's lives, the Registrar's team.
Littlewoods Building - The past, present and future
The Littlewoods Building has a bright future ahead as the Hollywood studios of the north, but it's own history is worthy of a star-turn on the silver screen.
Mersey Waves Budget Special
Sometimes it can seem as a city council we send out mixed messages. We talk about savings and austerity but then on the other hand we announce major investment projects or cultural events. Does it really add up?
Libraries - Are they on 'borrowed' time?
We're living in a time when the tide of austerity has not turned. This means we need to think differently about libraries and the service they offer to residents and visitors.
Is the Liverpool music scene too Beatles - centric?
Is Liverpool a one-trick pony when it comes to its music scene and is the city too Beatles-centric?
Welcome to the Mersey Waves podcast
Through conversations with those in the know, we'll shine a spotlight on different aspects of Liverpool life and explore subjects that matter to you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Poplatek
I'm interested about:
AWS-kickstart
Software-kickstart
From theory to practice
How does the new AWS data center in Stockholm impact Finns?
The new Amazon Web Services data center opens up in Stockholm region and brings the Amazon's cloud services closer to us both physically and mentally. This gives us a great opportunity to discuss what it means in practice.
Over a year ago, in April 2017, AWS announced it will expand to the nordics with the new Stockholm region. Darren Mowry, CEO of AWS Nordic, stated that this investment will mean creating a new Nordic hub to support the customers in Norway, Denmark, and Finland. In addition, he mentioned a possibility for a data center in Finland some day.
During 2018 we saw no progress reports of the data center in the media. There was only an estimation from 2017 that the AWS data center will be ready sometime during 2018. Hence, the launch announcement of the Stockholm region in 12th of December was a very pleasant surprise!
Location in Stockholm reduces latencies
Before Stockholm, Finland's nearest AWS data center was located in Frankfurt, Germany. When the geographical distance grows along with the amount of intermediary network devices, the latency increases. That's why the location in Stockholm may well reduce the experienced latencies in Finland – especially when more than one round-trips to the cloud are required.
The term latency can refer to either network latency or the total processing lag of the software. It's often also referred to as the ping, which stands for the round-trip network latency. For clarity I'll use the term network latency when referring to network delays in general, and ping only to refer to the round-trip network latency.
Hybrid cloud solutions increase latencies
Cloud-adopting enterprises often leave some of their software to private data centers and set up a so-called hybrid cloud system. This allows applications in the cloud to communicate with the applications still located in the private data center. Unfortunately the network latency doubles when a user in Finland sends a request to an application in the cloud, and the cloud application requests data from the private data center in Finland.
Of course it's quite normal for the data to travel around, especially when using microservices. Yet if network latency is introduced, and there are many rounds between AWS and Finland, the service becomes slow.
But we're still only talking about tens of milliseconds per round-trip between Finland and a European AWS data center. The ping from Finland to Europe's biggest AWS data center in Ireland is 44 milliseconds. Sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal?
When the network latency doubles in a hybrid cloud system, the time adds up to 88 milliseconds. If one request causes multiple rounds between Ireland and Finland, each round will add 44 milliseconds to the latency.
The network latency also gets a hit from the SSL/TLS handshake protocol, which is required to initiate a secure point-to-point connection. At minimum the handshake adds two extra rounds between Finland and Ireland when opening up the connection. In hybrid cloud setups the TLS handshake might also impact the latencies between AWS and the private data center, unless this can be mitigated with TLS keepalive.
Adding up, the result might be something like six round-trips. With 44ms ping it means 264ms of total network latency – that's ¼ of a second. The figure still doesn't include the time spent in processing and behind-the-scenes calls to other systems.
At the end of the day, even a fourth of a second doesn't sound much – not even when doubled up to half a second with some processing time and hidden delays. But this exceeds the magical 250 millisecond limit. At that time an average person has noticed that nothing happened and is possibly preparing to push the button again.
For public web services I would aim to minimize the latency to improve the user experience. For background services and in-house software it shouldn't matter as much. On the other hand, some of the background services do end up being called by the public facing web services.
Other ways to decrease latencies
Before moving your AWS resources from Ireland to Stockholm, you should measure the latencies and figure out how much of it is something else than network latency. In addition to hard measurements, you should also measure the experienced latencies for your users. Now that you have a setup for measuring latencies, you can first try to reduce them by other means than switching the AWS region.
First, I would recommend to decrease the amount of round-trips, and taking advantage of the TLS keepalive settings to prevent the handshake from happening on every request. This is something we are currently doing with my team. After giving it a try, we will consider moving the operations from Ireland closer to Finland.
The ping to AWS Stockholm from Finland is 14 milliseconds, which would turn the 264 ms of the presented hybrid could example into 84 ms. The ping to AWS Frankfurt is 26 milliseconds, which would make the same amount of round-trips cause a network latency of 156 ms.
Yet, it is important to remember that for a single round-trip the difference between 14, 26 and 44 milliseconds network latency is rather meaningless. Unless you are building a background service for the Fortnite game.
The proximity of the data center has a soothing effect
In addition to latencies, some companies are interested in the geographical location of their data. Security breaches (though usually not cloud related) are constantly in the headlines, and cause fears for the safety of data. It's also unclear what the changes in the political climate, like the Brexit, mean for the regional data centers. Worries of storing information on NSA's area of impact also sometimes pops up in the cloud discussions.
Now, thanks to the new AWS Stockholm region, Finnish customers can choose to store their data in Sweden – this way the data will at least not leave the Nordics. If it brings you peace, you can even go and check out the physical data centers.
Stockholm is the last to get the new AWS services
If you're planning on using the latest AWS services, the Stockholm Region is not the best choice. In Europe, the new services, as well as updates to existing services, appear first in Ireland. Gradually, after months or even a year, other Regions are updated as well.
According to the AWS service list Stockholm seems to be lacking some basic services like the managed Docker platform Fargate and the authentication service Cognito. Amazon's CI/CD tools CodeBuild and CodePipeline are also missing. Lambda and API Gateway are, however, already available in Stockholm, which means it's possible to launch serverless applications.
There are three Availability Zones in the Stockholm Region – that means three geographically separated data centers. This ensures service availability even if one of the data centers is disconnected, suffers a power outage, or is completely destroyed. The amount of Availability Zones in Stockholm is the same as in all European Regions.
So would Poplatek recommend Finnish customers to build new services to Stockholm and transfer old ones as well? No we don't. It is more important to benefit from the full potential of Amazon's service catalog, and optimize the latencies only when it brings real benefits to the users. And even when optimizing, you should first try to reduce other suspects than the network ping.
Anyways, we welcome the new AWS Stockholm Region, as it potentially enables the use of cloud services to a new crowd of Finnish companies. Some like it since it's close, some need it because of regulations and some fancy it for political reasons – and maybe some actually need it to reduce the network latency.
If you need help in reducing latencies or setting up your application in AWS, contact us to learn more!
Did you know that Poplatek runs the whole transaction system of Veikkaus? Read more about it here.
Jaakko Sipari
jaakko.sipari@poplatek.fi
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text:
James McEnaney: The guilty silence which leaves blood on all of our hands
CommonSpace columnist James McEnaney says it's time to confront the 'guilty silence' which descends when a light is shone on the desperation of refugees and asylum seekers
ON Monday Amnesty International offered its contribution to Refugee Week by publishing a scathing report entitled 'The Global Refugee Crisis: a conspiracy of neglect'.
The entire document (click here to read it) is a searing indictment of the response to the "growing refugee crisis", with 35 pages laying bare the abject failure of the so-called international community.
The report outlines, in devastating detail, the scale of suffering being experienced by human beings across the world, but perhaps the most shocking point is made in the opening lines of the executive summary: the number of people 'forcibly displaced from their homes' has, for the first time since the Second World War, risen to more than 50 million people.
Fifty. Million. People.
Across Africa, the Middle East and south-east Asia millions of men, women and children endure daily suffering which, to us, is utterly unimaginable.
To put that figure into some sort of context it is higher than the populations of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania combined.
There are more refugees in the world than there are people living in Spain, Argentina or Canada. Of the nearly 200 countries on earth only 26 have more residents than the number of people that Amnesty International argues have 'been abandoned to an unbearable existence'.
In the Andaman Sea Rohingya Muslims make a desperate attempt to escape persecution in Burma. Their journey, which includes prison camps, forced marches, beatings and weeks crammed into boats with minimal supplies was briefly highlighted several weeks ago; in truth, the Rohingya's plight has been common knowledge for many years.
In the Middle East half of Syria's population is currently to be found in refugee camps, having fled first the forces of President Assad and now the death, torture and sexual slavery meted out by Islamic State militants.
Last year the United Nations High Commission for Refugees assisted half a million internally displaced persons in Iraq, while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency recognises the rights of around five million Palestinian refugees – denied the right to return to Palestine by the West's main ally in the region – to access its services.
In sub-Saharan Africa the Dadaab refugee camp is currently home to 350,000 people (more than the total population of North Lanarkshire), with around 3.4 million refugees in the region as a whole.
In sub-Saharan Africa the Dadaab refugee camp is currently home to 350,000 people – more than the total population of North Lanarkshire.
Conflicts in Somalia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic have ensured the continuation of what may be the longest-standing refugee crisis in the world.
Meanwhile, on the continent's Mediterranean shores, human traffickers exploit thousands upon thousands of people so desperate that they are willing to undertake a voyage which they know will possibly be their last.
So far this year almost two thousand have drowned trying to reach Europe and, despite the eventual reintroduction of the 'search and rescue' campaign which includes the HMS Bulwark (at least for now), it should never be forgotten that innocent human beings were initially to be abandoned because Europe's political leaders calculated that they were of more value dead than alive.
In a world with 24-hour news services and ever-expanding social-media platforms it is a wonder that any of us sleep at night.
And yet sleep we do.
Of course we are affected – to varying degrees – by the snapshots of agony which appear on our television screens: we mumble that our leaders should be ashamed of themselves as we eat dinner; our 'eyeballs prick with tears between bath and pre-lunch beers'; we might even donate a few pounds a month to Oxfam or hand over an annual tenner to Children in Need.
But still we sleep – soundly, every night, safe in the knowledge that our birth certificates are also winning lottery tickets.
But we know all of this. We know about the terrible events happening in the world. We have seen the photographs and the videos; we have watched the news reports; we have read the adverts for Unicef and MSF appeals. How, then, are we able to detach ourselves so completely from the unspeakable suffering of fellow human beings?
In a world with 24-hour news services and ever-expanding social-media platforms it is a wonder that any of us sleep at night. And yet sleep we do.
On the one hand such detachment is absolutely necessary – we simply could not function if we were to be emotionally affected by every single unnecessary death, and it is entirely reasonable that the loss of someone close to us has a far greater impact than the end of a stranger's life – but this does not even come close to telling the whole story.
In reality, when terrible crises occur beyond the boundaries of 'Fortress Europe' our responses are all too often driven not by a sense of shared humanity, or a belief that we all belong to the 'same human family'; instead, we separate ourselves from the suffering on the basis that it is not our problem. Worse still, we are able to do this because those suffering simply do not look like us.
This phenomenon is perhaps most easily understood through the overlapping prisms of the Rwandan Genocide – where up to a million people were hacked to death in full view of the international community – and the Bosnian Civil War.
As Stephen R Haynes points out in 'Death was everywhere, even in front of the Church', Rwanda and Bosnia were "different stories" because in the latter, despite "the difficult-to-pronounce names and the unfamiliar traditions, we were able to identify victims who 'look like us'."
David Livingstone Smith goes still further in his book 'The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War' when he argues, correctly, that "we feel that people who resemble us are more valuable than those who do not".
Consider this: if the sort of outrages to which we have become shockingly accustomed were affecting Europeans or North Americans would our response – both individual and collective – be different?
If the faces staring at us from our smartphone screens and newspaper pages were white would we care enough to act? If we could see ourselves in those 50 million refugees would we, as a nation, still largely turn our backs on them?
If the faces staring at us from our smartphone screens and newspaper pages were white would we care enough to act?
In the extraordinarily powerful 'Spiritual Damage' – a short reflective essay exploring the impact of reporting on the Rwandan Genocide – Fergal Keane makes clear why this apathy is so dangerous when he argues that "if we ignore evil we become the authors of a guilty silence".
When faced with terrible injustices inaction becomes complicity and, by that measure, we all bear responsibility for the suffering of refugees around the world.
We are citizens of a country which has provided refuge for just 187 people fleeing a living hell in Syria, which refuses to accept a Europe-wide approach to helping those "in clear need of international protection" (click here to read more), and which, just last week, deported a Pakistani asylum-seeker who is now feared dead.
The UK – as one of the world's wealthiest nations – should be leading the way in developing the 'global response' to the refugee crisis called for by Amnesty International.
Their recommendations, such as the establishment of a global refugee fund, fulfillment of resettlement needs as identified by UNHCR and, most importantly, "an absolute commitment to saving lives" should underpin the foreign policy of any compassionate nation. The UK should be throwing its full weight behind these demands, but it won't.
Instead, politicians subtly, but persistently, encourage the electorate to blame the ongoing economic crisis on groups of poor and powerless human beings including – though not limited to – asylum seekers and refugees; newspapers boost their circulation figures with articles invoking the dehumanising language of genocide; and, according to a recent YouGov poll, nearly half of Britons believe that our country should not be "a place of refuge for people who have fled from conflict and persecution overseas". (Click here to read more).
We could and should do so much more, but the truth is that, as a nation, we simply sit back and look on, happy to benefit from the consequences of a globalised world (we have the world's sixth-largest economy and are also one of the top international arms dealers) but unwilling to share our privilege with those left with nothing but the hope of a better life.
The challenge for all of us lies in facing up to our collective complicity in this ongoing act of evil, particularly when our lifestyles so often directly depend upon the inequalities and conflicts which are driving so much of the horror experienced on a daily basis by innocent men, women and children across the globe.
Our 'guilty silence' is written by our refusal to acknowledge that the very structures of our specific society and broader world order put politics and profits before people.
Despite our occasional protestations, the actions of our government – carried out in our name, for our benefit, and ultimately with our consent – coupled with our understandable yet inexcusable apathy leaves blood on all of our hands.
Picture courtesy of Creative Commons


If our problem on earth is global warming, the solution has to be Global Cooling!
This game is about utilizing the renewable energy sources on earth so that we can continue to drive around, use electricity and keep warm. We're rewarded for replacing four-wheelers with electric cars, for investing in solar and wind energy, and for planting forests on our own land. And as in all other games, it's all about winning! This all takes place in a rush to get the most global wind turbines on the world's seven continents. Through the game, we'll enjoy social media and casino games. We'll draw Global Cards that change the game order. If we're lucky, we'll receive a grant from the Change Our Globe Foundation.
In Global Cooling, money is a good thing to have at the right time, but it's not always the one with the most money who wins the game.


text:
package tf.gpx.edit.algorithms;

import java.util.List;
import tf.gpx.edit.items.GPXWaypoint;

/**
 * Various algorithms to inspect & transform a list of waypoints.
 */
public class GarminCrapFilter {
    private final static GarminCrapFilter INSTANCE = new GarminCrapFilter();

    private GarminCrapFilter() {
        super();
        // Exists only to defeat instantiation.
    }

    public static GarminCrapFilter getInstance() {
        return INSTANCE;
    }

    /**
     * Find points from the "Garmin issue":
     * Whenever the Garmin GPS is booted it sets its initial point to the first one of current.gpx
     * AND NOT to the last point of that list. As a result you will have major jumps in the track e.g. after travelling
     * to another location far away.
     *
     * IDEA: look for points where
     *   1) prev and next point are "far awy"
     *   2) the distance between prev and next is small
     * This finds "long" triangles as you would expect for one far outlying point
     *
     * @param track points of the track
     * @param parameter tolerance, in meters
     * @return the points to keep from the original track
     */
    public static boolean[] applyFilter(final List<GPXWaypoint> track, final double parameter) {
        return fixSingleTooFarAway(track, parameter);
    }

    private static boolean[] fixSingleTooFarAway(List<GPXWaypoint> track, double maxDistance) {
        final boolean[] keep = new boolean[track.size()];

        if (track.isEmpty()) {
            // nothing to do
            return keep;
        } else if (track.size() < 3) {
            // need at least 3 points for algorithm to work
            for (int index = 0; index < track.size(); index++) {
                keep[index] = true;
            }
            return keep;
        }

        GPXWaypoint checkPt;
        GPXWaypoint prevPt;
        GPXWaypoint prevprevPt;
        GPXWaypoint nextPt;
        GPXWaypoint nextnextPt;
        double distance1;
        double distance2;

        // point is too far away when
        // 1) further away from previous than maxDistance AND
        // 2) prev and next closer than maxDistance
        // this way "step" in waypoints isn't counted as one point too far away

        int startIndex = 0;
        int endIndex = track.size()-1;

        // first point is tricky, since we don't have prev point, so use next and next-next in that case
        // so go forward from start til we have valid point
        // System.out.println("Finding valid first point");
        while(startIndex < endIndex-2) {
            checkPt = track.get(startIndex);
            nextPt = track.get(startIndex+1);
            nextnextPt = track.get(startIndex+2);
            distance1 = EarthGeometry.distance(checkPt, nextPt);
            distance2 = EarthGeometry.distance(nextPt, nextnextPt);
            if ((distance1 > maxDistance) && (distance2 <= maxDistance)) {
                // startIndex point is garbage, take next one
                // System.out.println("  discarding startIndex: " + startIndex + " distance1: " + distance1 + " distance2: " + distance2);
                keep[startIndex] = false;
                startIndex++;
            } else {
                // System.out.println("  using startIndex: " + startIndex + " distance1: " + distance1 + " distance2: " + distance2);
                keep[startIndex] = true;
                break;
            }
        }

        // last point is tricky, since we don't have next point, so use prev and prev-prev in that case
        // so go backward from end til we have valid point
        // System.out.println("Finding valid last point");
        while(endIndex > startIndex+2) {
            checkPt = track.get(endIndex);
            prevPt = track.get(endIndex-1);
            prevprevPt = track.get(endIndex-2);
            distance1 = EarthGeometry.distance(checkPt, prevPt);
            distance2 = EarthGeometry.distance(prevPt, prevprevPt);
            if ((distance1 > maxDistance) && (distance2 <= maxDistance)) {
                // endIndex point is garbage, take prev one
                // System.out.println("  discarding endIndex: " + endIndex + " distance1: " + distance1 + " distance2: " + distance2);
                keep[endIndex] = false;
                endIndex--;
            } else {
                // System.out.println("  using endIndex: " + endIndex + " distance1: " + distance1 + " distance2: " + distance2);
                keep[endIndex] = true;
                break;
            }
        }

        // TFE, 20211222: don't do that anymore with this crude approach
        // we will use a Savitzky Golay Filter with a Hampel Filter as preprocessor from now on...
        // how nice to use so many fancy words in one comment :-)
        for (int index = startIndex+1; index < endIndex; index++) {
            keep[index] = true;
        }
        return keep;

//        // anything left todo? we need 3 remaining points!
//        if (startIndex > endIndex-2) {
//            for (int index = startIndex+1; index < endIndex; index++) {
//                keep[index] = true;
//            }
//            return keep;
//        }
//
//        // System.out.println("Iterate between start and end");
//        for (int index = startIndex+1; index < endIndex; index++) {
//            checkPt = track.get(index);
//            prevPt = track.get(index-1);
//            nextPt = track.get(index+1);
//
//            distance1 = EarthGeometry.distance(checkPt, prevPt);
//            distance2 = EarthGeometry.distance(prevPt, nextPt);
//            if ((distance1 > maxDistance) && (distance2 <= maxDistance)) {
//                // this point is garbage
//                // System.out.println("  discarding index: " + index + " distance1: " + distance1 + " distance2: " + distance2);
//                keep[index] = false;
//                // TODO: also not valid prev point
//            } else {
//                // System.out.println("  keeping index: " + index + " distance1: " + distance1 + " distance2: " + distance2);
//                keep[index] = true;
//            }
//        }
//
//        return keep;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Modern cityscape art prints and architecture scenery by contemporary artists from FineartKing Studio. Vibrant cityscape, famous landmarks, city building and urban architecture - in wall art prints on canvas for home or office interior.
Gallery quality giclée reproduction of original cityscape artist's paintings.
Our author's landscape wall art prints is most atmospheric with a european cities, rivers, churches, roofs, arches, attractions, gothic buildings and ancient towers.
Discover your lovely place in our amazing handmade art prints!
Unique artworks provided colorful and economical solutions for any contemporary business or home rooms.
All our landscape wall art prints made in Varna, Bulgaria.


Gardener.co.nz is the Place to Find Plants, Seeds and Products for Sale. List Gardening Services, Shops and Connect with your local Gardening Community.
Gardener.co.nz™ is New Zealand's Gardening Auction Classifieds website.
BECOME A GARDENER MEMBER TODAY - FREE!
Do you Love Gardening? Share your Tips, Photos and Stories - Join 'Community Gardener' (our other site) It's FREE!
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Gardener.co.nz™ is the place to Advertise Plants, Seeds and Gardening Products for Sale online (list Plants, Seeds, Products). Join as a private seller or business. Add your Gardening Shop and Gardening Services - Sell your New and Secondhand items valued under $50 for FREE! Become a Gardener.co.nz™ Member Today!


Hey guys, I'd like to thank everyone for participating on EF over the years. It has been my pride to be able to host and maintain this community.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like it is longer needed seeing that there are just a few new posts since the beginning of the year. It costs money to operate this page and I can't justify ruining if it is no longer needed.
Unless I hear a strong objection to this post, we will be going offline next time domain renewal comes up in the upcoming months.
Love you all, and happy knob fiddling!
Re: Time to shut her down?
This is the reason why there are only a few posts here. It really is sad since I just signed-up. I am wishing you all the best.
A web analyst at PetStreetMall, a place to find quality and affordable pet supplies.
I'm not sure how you think any of what was posted has anything to do with why there are only a few posts recently and not the other way around.
But, I have good news. The service was renewed for another couple of years before I went in to cancel it so we're staying online.
Hello I am not a regular member of this site but I signed up just to submit a request if it is possible. I never owned an Electribe but I'm trying to get one. This site would be an immense resource later on. I hate seeing older websites disappear because they still have a value even if that value is to a smaller number of people.
If there is any way to archive the forum like through the Wayback Machine that would preserve the info at least. It looks like the Wayback Machine crawled through the site a number of times over the years but never any further than past the front page so all forum threads would be lost.


text:
criticalrant.com Alexandra Bonifield
Theater Reviews & Perspectives: Reflect, Intersect, Inspire
Writer's Reality
DCT: Pocket Full of Dragon Luck
This entry was posted on 10 July 2009, in Theatre Reviews and tagged americans for the arts, Dallas Childrens Theatre, daniel s. craig, kathy burks, michael ende, national endowment for the arts, seattle childrens theatre. Bookmark the permalink.	Leave a comment
The good folks who run the show at Dallas Children's Theatre must have their very own Luck Dragon. Americans for the Arts, the national non-profit that advocates for the arts in Washington DC, just announced the 2009 recipients of National Endowment for the Arts grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Close to $30 million in awards (a miniscule sum compared to bank bail-out or military funds) has been designated to support 631 local arts entities nationwide, all affected adversely by the economic recession inherited from the GW Bush administration. Twenty grants went to arts organizations in Texas. Dallas Children's Theatre has the singular honor of being the only theatre company in the North Texas region selected for inclusion. Rated by TIME Magazine as one of the top five theater companies in the nation performing for youth, the company website says, "Dallas Children's Theater serves more than 270,000 young people and their families through its main stage productions, national touring company, and education and outreach programs." A worthy entity to endow with stimulus funds.
Everyone should have a personal Luck Dragon: a fantastic creature with all the beneficial attributes of a unicorn, ET, Tinker Belle and a magic carpet rolled into one. Falkor the Luck Dragon, as created by regional equity actor Gregory Lush, energizes the show in Dallas Children's Theatre's current production of German author Michael Ende's beloved 1979 fantasy hero's journey tale The Neverending Story. Lush's Luck Dragon feels real, brims over with such playful enthusiasm and genuine caring; most audience members (adult and child alike) would love to tuck him in a pocket and take him home. Fantasy tales are hard to bring to life on stage, when cinema can do much more with special effects. DCT's production is so engaging you forget it isn't a movie. Balancing colorful visuals as screen projected settings with Kathy Burks' life-sized Taymor-like multi-cultural puppet magic, DCT Associate Artistic Director and play Director Artie Olaisen creates a believable yet entrancing fantasy reality. His human actors develop interesting characters both easy to relate to and follow. It can be a challenge to hold the attention of today's youth audience; the rustling and oohing and whispers I heard reflected an audience quite wrapped up in the stage action.
Appropriate for ages seven and up, the tale revolves around life dilemmas faced by a lonely, timid boy named Bastian Bux, played with Harry Potter-like charm and sincerity by Alex Heika, a sophomore at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Bastian loves books and acquires a strange story "with no end". As he turns the pages and lives the tale, roaming across the Swamps of Sadness and the Silver Mountains in the world Fantastica, he meets all kinds of creatures of the imagination with lessons to teach. He encounters sorcerers and bats, witches and night hobs, gnomes and spiders, a Childlike Empress (ethereal Heather Pratt), a young earnest hero Atreyu (debut performance by SMU graduate and Dallas Theatre Center associate Andres Ortiz) accompanied by his lovable, loyal horse Artax (Karl Schaeffer) and the scheming, evil Gmork (played with dastardly menace by David Lugo). The 1985 Hollywood film version may have popularized this saga, but the stage adaptation by Canadian playwright David S. Craig and DCT's production do equal justice in faithful and breath-taking realization. There's something really special about seeing a fantasy world come flesh and blood alive. Gregory Lush's brave, winsome, sparkling, ever playful, ever watchful Luck Dragon, with a splendid costume that could rival anything Michael Jackson ever dreamed up, seals the deal.
Celebrate the National Endowment for the Arts' stimulus grant to Dallas Children's Theatre by attending this lyrical, imaginative production of a stunning children's fantasy tale. Maybe you'll find a Luck Dragon in your pocket? Catch it before it fades away.
Cast includes: Alex Heika, Andrés Ortiz, David Lugo, Douglass Burks, Gregory Lush, Rhianna Mack, Karl Schaeffer, Heather Pratt, Anastasia Munoz, Sally Fiorello
Artistic team: Director – Artie Olaisen; scenic design – Randel Wright; lighting – Linda Blase; costumes – Aaron Patrick Turner; sound – Marco Salinas; puppet design – Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts
Tickets: 214-740-0051; http://www.dct.org
The Neverending Story runs through July 12 with an evening performance on Friday July 10 and matinees July 11 and 12.
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text:
void parse_utf8_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_integer_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_float_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_long_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_double_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_class_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_string_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_fieldref_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_methodref_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_interfacemethodref_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);
void parse_nameandtype_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp);

void parse_constant_pool(FILE *fp,struct ClassFile *cfp)
{
    uint16_t constant_pool_count;
    fread(&constant_pool_count, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    constant_pool_count = isBigEndian() ? constant_pool_count : BigLittleSwap16(constant_pool_count);
    cfp->constant_pool_count = constant_pool_count;

    struct Cp_info *info =(struct Cp_info *)malloc(sizeof(struct Cp_info));
    cfp->constant_pool = info;
    cfp->constant_pool =(struct Cp_info *)malloc(constant_pool_count * sizeof(struct Cp_info));

    uint8_t tag;
    for(uint16_t i = 1; i < constant_pool_count; i++) {
        fread(&tag, sizeof(uint8_t), 1, fp);
	switch(tag){
	    case 1:
                parse_utf8_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 3:
                parse_integer_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 4:
                parse_float_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 5:
                parse_long_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
		i++;
	        break;
	    case 6:
                parse_double_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
		i++;
	        break;
	    case 7:
                parse_class_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 8:
                parse_string_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 9:
                parse_fieldref_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 10:
	        parse_methodref_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 11:
	        parse_interfacemethodref_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 12:
	        parse_nameandtype_info(i, tag, fp, cfp);
	        break;
	    case 15:
	        break;
	    case 16:
	        break;
	    case 18:
	        break;
            default:printf("unkonw tag %u\n", tag);
        }
    }
}

void parse_utf8_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t length;
    fread(&length, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    length = isBigEndian() ? length : BigLittleSwap16(length);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.utf8_info.length = length;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.utf8_info.bytes = (uint8_t *)malloc(length * sizeof(uint8_t));
    fread(cfp->constant_pool[index].info.utf8_info.bytes, sizeof(uint8_t), length, fp);
}

void parse_integer_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint32_t bytes;
    fread(&bytes, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fp);
    bytes = isBigEndian() ? bytes : BigLittleSwap32(bytes);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.integer_info.bytes = bytes;
}

void parse_float_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint32_t bytes;
    fread(&bytes, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fp);
    bytes = isBigEndian() ? bytes : BigLittleSwap32(bytes);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.float_info.bytes = bytes;
}

void parse_long_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint32_t high_bytes, low_bytes;
    fread(&high_bytes, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fp);
    high_bytes = isBigEndian() ? high_bytes : BigLittleSwap32(high_bytes);
    fread(&low_bytes, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fp);
    low_bytes = isBigEndian() ? low_bytes : BigLittleSwap32(low_bytes);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.long_info.high_bytes = high_bytes;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.long_info.low_bytes = low_bytes;
}

void parse_double_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint32_t high_bytes, low_bytes;
    fread(&high_bytes, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fp);
    high_bytes = isBigEndian() ? high_bytes : BigLittleSwap32(high_bytes);
    fread(&low_bytes, sizeof(uint32_t), 1, fp);
    low_bytes = isBigEndian() ? low_bytes : BigLittleSwap32(low_bytes);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.double_info.high_bytes = high_bytes;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.double_info.low_bytes = low_bytes;
}

void parse_class_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t name_index;
    fread(&name_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    name_index = isBigEndian() ? name_index : BigLittleSwap16(name_index);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.class_info.name_index = name_index;
}

void parse_string_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t string_index;
    fread(&string_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    string_index = isBigEndian() ? string_index : BigLittleSwap16(string_index);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.string_info.string_index = string_index;
}

void parse_fieldref_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t class_index, name_and_type_index;
    fread(&class_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    class_index = isBigEndian() ? class_index : BigLittleSwap16(class_index);
    fread(&name_and_type_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    name_and_type_index = isBigEndian() ? name_and_type_index : BigLittleSwap16(name_and_type_index);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.fieldref_info.class_index = class_index;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.fieldref_info.name_and_type_index = name_and_type_index;
}

void parse_methodref_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t class_index, name_and_type_index;
    fread(&class_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    class_index = isBigEndian() ? class_index : BigLittleSwap16(class_index);
    fread(&name_and_type_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    name_and_type_index = isBigEndian() ? name_and_type_index : BigLittleSwap16(name_and_type_index);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.methodref_info.class_index = class_index;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.methodref_info.name_and_type_index = name_and_type_index;
}

void parse_interfacemethodref_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t class_index, name_and_type_index;
    fread(&class_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    class_index = isBigEndian() ? class_index : BigLittleSwap16(class_index);
    fread(&name_and_type_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    name_and_type_index = isBigEndian() ? name_and_type_index : BigLittleSwap16(name_and_type_index);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.interfaceMethodref_info.class_index = class_index;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.interfaceMethodref_info.name_and_type_index = name_and_type_index;
}

void parse_nameandtype_info(uint16_t index, uint8_t tag, FILE *fp, struct ClassFile *cfp){
    uint16_t name_index, descriptor_index;
    fread(&name_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    name_index = isBigEndian() ? name_index : BigLittleSwap16(name_index);
    fread(&descriptor_index, sizeof(uint16_t), 1, fp);
    descriptor_index = isBigEndian() ? descriptor_index : BigLittleSwap16(descriptor_index);
    cfp->constant_pool[index].tag = tag;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.nameAndType_info.name_index = name_index;
    cfp->constant_pool[index].info.nameAndType_info.descriptor_index = descriptor_index;
}


Three weeks ago I left Facebook.
I've been on Facebook ever since my sophomore year of college. Back then it was for college students only. Facebook slowly added one college at a time to access the network. I mean, the social network lollll. We celebrated the day Facebook finally added our college.
We excitedly added the high school people we hadn't thought about for three whole years and our new college friends.
Before all of the privacy settings you could totally stalk your ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend or you could poke people. Statuses were limited to "[Insert name] name is ________." We also wore ties as belts, bra straps as head bands, and blazers over graphic tees. It was a strange time.
I'm doing one of those "Currently. . . " posts because I want to and it feels good.
Currently, like right this second, I am on PTO.
This is no resting vacation, this is a working vacation. We've got a list of DIY projects that can't wait another winter.
Like my friend once said, maintaining an old home is like keeping an old person alive. Jake and I aren't particularly handy and we don't come from handy lineages. These projects are knocking the wind out of us.
The man we bought this house from completed a lot of his own DIY projects that we're having to redo. For example, he painted our deck with some type of strange, interior paint. Trying to figure out how to re-stain it has been our latest adventure.


Hello, readers. It has been many months since last we spoke, so I wanted to update you all on where I am these days. I am in California on a gap year and am taking full advantage of the chance to move freely about my home state, which is home to one of the largest contingents of Sikhs in North America. The pictured billboard is southbound Highway 99 about 45 minutes past Fresno. The text in Punjabi reads, "Trucking insurance, good sir!" (Bhai ji translates more accurately to "bro" or "man," but "good sir" seemed more appropriate to me.) I took this photo while en route to Los Angeles two days ago, and there was no such billboard on that route when last I went to LA in 2010. Highway 99 today has a fair share of Sidhus, Gills, Khalsas, and Manns painted on its freight trucks, and this sign is testament to their integration in the industry.
As I did in Toronto, I will use this blog to paint a picture of Punjab in California, from the annual Sikh Festival in Yuba City, to roadside signs like the above, to Punjab as it appears on television (e.g. Alpha ETC Punjab, TV84, and Jus Broadcasting). This is an older community than that of Toronto, and it does not pledge the same allegiance to the Indian tricolor that Canadian Punjabi does. Californian Punjab is elders who have renounced India to make America their home and youth who know little of their grandparents' culture beyond bhangra and graphic tees of lions and warriors.
Since last we spoke, I studied abroad in India, graduated from Northwestern with honors ("Rappa Dappa Dappa," as my mom calls it), and held a job in New Delhi. Parminder Singh, much to his eventual relief, did not get the Liberal Party nod for Member of Parliament in Brampton, and he and his wife welcomed their second child into the family earlier in the year. My grandfather, the great writer Mohinder Singh Ghag, just returned from Punjab on his first visit to India in over 30 years, where literary figures honored him for his contributions to Punjabi literature.
I return to this blog to do my small part to give voice to the Punjabi-Sikh experience in America, as we are a people too often conflated with the radical Islamist terrorist. In this time of renewed Islamophobia, it is crucial to celebrate every facet of America's tapestry, regardless of race, religion, gender, creed, politics, or sports team.


text:
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to host 2021 Golden Globes
The date of the 78th Golden Globes will be announced at a later time.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 12, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif.Paul Drinkwater / AP file
By Minyvonne Burke
Comedic duo Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will be back as hosts of the annual Golden Globes next year, it was announced Saturday at NBCUniversal's Television Critics Association's press tour.
"NBC has long been the home to two of the funniest people on the planet — Tina Fey and Amy Poehler — and we didn't want to wait any longer to share the great news that they'll be hosting the Globes once again," said Paul Telegdy, chairman of NBC Entertainment, in a statement.
Poehler and Fey last hosted the awards show together in 2015. They were also the hosts in 2014 and 2013.
Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, said he was thrilled they will be back on stage.
"There's no denying that Tina and Amy's comedic chemistry is infectious," he said in a statement.
"Tina and Amy have provided Golden Globes viewers with some of the most memorable moments the show has ever seen," said Amy Thurlow, president of Dick Clark Productions. "We're thrilled to welcome them back in 2021."
Fey and Poehler have starred in a number of movies together including "Mean Girls," "Baby Mama," and "Sisters." They also starred together on "Saturday Night Live." Fey is a two-time Golden Globes winner for her role in "30 Rock." Poehler won a Golden Globe for "Parks and Recreation."
Comedian Ricky Gervais hosted the 2020 Golden Globes earlier this month and caused a stir with his opening monologue — which took jabs at actress Felicity Huffman and her brief stint in prison and the suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. A joke about Judi Dench's "Cats" character licking herself in the movie was bleeped out.
"You'll be pleased to know this is the last time I'm hosting these awards, so I don't care anymore," Gervais said before launching into his scorching wisecracks. It was his fifth time as host.
The date of the 78th Golden Globes with Fey and Poehler will be announced at a later time.
Minyvonne Burke
Minyvonne Burke is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.


Yeah i guess today it is problem for everybody here. Nothing helps.
Nope been gone since last night. Logged in and out, cleared cache nowt works.
You are right Melissa - I too have cleared everything and tried everything - still no admission.
Yep !!! My bubble has burst too !!!
who popped my bubble ? my page also says that the site is not secure - anyone else see that ?
Went for me dinner, returned and its gone, tried all the cache clearing etc...nada !
well it worked,,,now it doesn't,,,joke really isn't it!
Dosn't always work Suzanne. If I use Chrome the bubble appears but dosn't pop out when you click on it and on Chromium it dosn't appear at all. Also tried IE and Edge....!!!!
Favourite hosiery brand or style:Classic brands like Hanes, Alberts, Berkshire RH&T/15 denier that swish when you crisscross your legs while wearing them!
Same problem - all the previous ways to get it back have failed this time!
Thank you David for continuing to host the chat room!
It's gone thank you Lord.
Sorry, I spoke too soon, the bloody things back.
I see the bubble but the window won't open!
How do I get rid of this? So annoying and I am not interested in using chat.
You can't get rid of it, Straight Seams. It's a bit like Stockingsadmirer68 and Robbies in that we have to put up with them.


text:
Suncare History – Dr Dorney OAM
Suncare has more than fifty years of dedicated service to the community. We are proud of our history and providing genuine solutions for making people's lives better. Here we celebrate Dr Dorney OAM.
Did you know? In 1983, Dr Dorney OAM was an Australian surgeon who became President of the Sunshine Coast Committee on the Ageing which later became known as Suncare Community Services.
Dr Dorney worked tirelessly to bring accessible healthcare to older Australians living independently and respite for their carers. In honour of Dr Dorney, Suncare's respite facility in Sugar Road, Maroochydore was named after him, Dorney House. Dr Dorney passed away in 2007 after a life of serving others.
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Hampton Inn & Suites Savannah Historic District is conveniently located just 1.5 miles from King Tisdell Cottage. Relax in the comfortable indoor pool as you let all your cares wash away.
You will be able to work off the stress of the day in the hotel's modern fitness room. Refuel and start your day off on the right foot with a delicious complimentary hot breakfast. Later in the day, you can ;inger in the lounge as you enjoy complimentary beverages.
Other amenities offered at this magnificent hotel include: A Business Center where you can access phone service, fax machine, printer, meeting rooms and audio/visual equipment rental. This hotel also caters to families. Items you can utilize include: cribs, high chairs, complimentary beverage area, coin laundry, gift shop, cable television, pool, in room coffee makers, irons, hair dryers, room service, local transportation and laundry valet services. You will definitely enjoy the southern charm of this hotel and the employees who work in it. The hotel staff is helpful and will make sure all your needs and accommodations are taken care of.
Restaurants nearby include Garibaldi's Café, which is less than one minute from the Hampton Inn & Suites, Clary's, which is only 3 miles away. Additionally, a family favorite restaurant is Spanky's Pizza Galley, just a little over 6 miles away.
The room we stayed in didn't meet our expectations after checking in and seeing the beautiful lobby. It was still nice though. The breakfast good and it's in a decent location in the historic district of savannah.
Walking distance from historic district savannah. Good hot breakfast each morning. Hot coffee always available. Each time we came into the lobby someone greeted us. Down side hotel still offers smoking rooms, which we got, and our room wasn't cleaned everyday.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court pick, on Friday appeared on track for Senate confirmation after a contentious four-day hearing in which he avoided any major stumbles even as Democrats tried to derail his nomination.
Trump's fellow Republicans control the Senate by a narrow margin. With no sign of any Republicans planning to vote against Kavanaugh, he seemed poised to win confirmation despite Democratic opposition.
"I think he made a very compelling case that he is one of the most qualified nominees, if not the most qualified, that we've seen for the Supreme Court of the United States, and I think I've seen 15 of them," said Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who oversaw the hearing and has served in the Senate since 1981.
Among those testifying were two representatives of the American Bar Association, the leading U.S. professional group for lawyers, who said a panel that rates judicial nominees gave Kavanaugh a "well qualified" rating, the highest possible.
Democratic senators expressed concern about what they saw as Kavanaugh's expansive view of president powers.
Kavanaugh signalled respect for the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion nationwide, calling it an important legal precedent that had been reaffirmed by the justices over the decades.
Democrats painted Kavanaugh as a threat to abortion rights. Under questioning by Democratic Senator Kamala Harris, New York University School of Law professor Melissa Murray said that even if he does not back overturning Roe, if Kavanaugh joins fellow conservatives on the high court in upholding a succession of restrictive state laws it could mean "death by a thousand cuts" to a woman's right to an abortion.
In refusing to engage on Trump, Kavanaugh declined even to condemn the president's persistent criticism of the federal judiciary.
The president's first appointee to the high court, Neil Gorsuch, last year told senators Trump's remarks on the judiciary were "disheartening" and "demoralizing." The Washington Post reported in December that Gorsuch's comments had angered Trump and that he had privately considered yanking the nomination.


There is very little support around for Queensland Premier Campbell Newman's latest legal moves, which critics say are designed to spare his government the embarrassment hitting the LNP in New South Wales.
The Queensland Government enacted changes last week to remove the need for bipartisan support on the appointment of the CMC chairman, which the Premier says would somehow reduce the risk of political tampering.
The amendments also raised the threshold for defining which matters fall within the realm of "official misconduct", which may mean the CMC does not deal with behaviours currently considered to be corrupt.
The CMC has also been renamed the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
The recent changes come alongside the "Electoral Reform Amendment Bill", which seeks to remove caps on political donations. The Bill will also substantially increase the threshold before a donation must be publicly disclosed, moving it up to $12,400.
Combined, all three of these moves will allow the Queensland Government to operate in heavier secrecy, for more money from unknown sources and in a way that would not previously have been tolerated, critics say.
Doug Drummond QC, a special prosecutor behind the convictions of dozens of political figures after the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry and later a CMC commissioner, says the door to corrupt behaviour has been flung enthusiastically wide.
"It's quite obviously not intended to encourage corruption, but it's equally clearly intended not to impede the Government in its many activities, including its fund-raising activities," Mr Drummond told the ABC this week.
He said it creates "the real risk of money, moneyed interests acquiring benefits which they shouldn't legitimately acquire" in Queensland.
The Queensland Government has even moved to extend the term of the LNP-appointed acting CCC chairman Ken Levy, who is under police investigation for allegedly lying to State Parliament.
"What the Dr Levy episode suggests to me is here we have a government that will behave with complete ruthlessness when its perceived interests are at stake or challenged," Mr Drummond said.
Former Queensland corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald has unleashed on the changes too.
"This debacle will adversely affect Queenslanders and ultimately end in tears for the Government, which has staked our future and its future on the whims of a few inexperienced, arrogant fools who seem unaware of the extent of their own ignorance," Mr Fitzgerald wrote in an email to Australian media outlets.
Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk says it is a simple erosion of power by those who seek to exploit more of it.
"I now hold grave concerns for the future of our corruption watchdog in Queensland," she said recently.
"This is watering down our CMC [now the CCC] - we demand that the chair of the CMC must have the bipartisan support.
"This LNP Government is trying to control everything it can get its hands on," Ms Palaszczuk said.