text:
The new Rockland fire station on Laurier Street is finished and occupied and local fire fighters are happy to have more room for their equipment and also some new facilities to help them with their training and maintenance needs. The link for the virtual tour of Rockland Station 3 is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53TXg1Zq3-M.
2020-09-02 @ 11:41 12:53
Home sweet new home for firefighters
Gregg Chamberlain
It's bigger, it's better, it's the new Rockland fire station and the firefighters there are more than happy with their new home.
"It's very spacious and modern," said Deputy Chief Mario Villeneuve, regarding the main impression that he and other firefighters have about their new station.Construction work on the new Station 3 for the Clarence-Rockland Fire Department occupied the past couple of years after final design and budget approval for the project. The building design also includes an annex for the new Rockland ambulance station.
CONSULTEZ LA VERSION FRANÇAISE DE CET ARTICLE
À LA PAGE 4 DU JOURNAL VISION DE CETTE SEMAINE
Deputy Chief Villeneuve noted that moving into their new quarters actually began in mid-February, or "just pre-COVID" as he puts it, with immediate relocation of all the trucks and the main firefighting gear into the truck area while final touches on the meeting rooms and such were winding up.
"It was cramped quarters for awhile," he said. "But it was still better than being in the old hall."
The four-bay vehicle area of the new caserne was spacious enough for all of the trucks and the emergency van and still leave plenty of storage space for the firefighters' "bunker gear", as they refer to their work garb, boots and helmets, along with other equipment. The fire department's administration offices and meeting room remained in the basement area of the Clarence Creek municipal office until the remaining interior office work at the new station was done.
Then it was just a matter of setting aside a week for moving all of the desks, file cabinets, and other office equipment over to the new station. That took place during the late spring/early summer.
Virtual visit of the new fire station
New station features
Besides the larger and more spacious vehicle bay area, the new fire station has several other features that local firefighters have dreamed about for years.
"Each firefighter now has a separate locker where he can keep a clean change of clothes," said Deputy Chief Villeneuve.
In the past, when the Rockland station firefighters answered a call, they would bring a change of clothes in a duffle bag. Most of them also had to wait until they went back home before they could shower down after dealing with a fire call.
The new station has a fully-equipped shower facility, where volunteers and full-time firefighters can enjoy a relaxing, cleansing hot shower after they've spent sometimes hours in a smoke-filled building. There is also a separate laundry system at the new station for cleaning their bunker gear to remove any carcinogens. Before, the fire department had to budget every year for sending bunker gear out to a special cleaning facility.
Another welcome feature of the new station is all the office space available, both for administration needs and also for meetings and classroom training sessions for firefighters. There is also an emergency generator for the building to make sure that station operations can continue even during a power failure.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, local firefighters are unable to invite the general public for a tour of their new facility, and they had to forego the idea of an official Open House event. But they are able to offer a virtual tour of their new home for anyone interested.
Poursuite à haute vitesse à Brownsburg-Chatham et Lachute
Slight drop in case rate on first stay-at-home weekend
La demande de sursis de la Ville est rejetée par la cour
Les doses de vaccin du BSEO atteignent près de 500
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Services d'impression / Printing services
Services de distribution et livraison / Distribution & delivery services
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


the Global Real Estate Summit NYC will be held on Monday, October 22 at the New York Marriott Marquis in midtown Manhattan. Embracing the theme of "Mapping the Global Future," the daylong event will feature noted real estate strategist Stefan Swanepoel, along with more than 20 other presenters and panelists.
The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR) and the Staten Island Board of REALTORS® (SIBOR) will again co-present this event that expects to attract more than 600 international stakeholders from the real estate, development, investment, lending, technology, and legal industries.
· Dealing with foreign nationals when doing business in different international markets and in the U.S.
· Different rules of engagement, cultures, finances, currencies, immigration policies, politics, variable consumer requirements, and much more.
· What will be the best strategies for building cities in this globalized world?
· What will urban life be like in 2030 or 2050?
· What will be the potential risks to Globalization?
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and SVP Research for NAR and Jessica Edgerton, Executive VP, Operations and Corporate Counsel, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® will also be featured speakers. Panelists will include:Scott Durkin, President and COO, Douglas Elliman Real Estate; Michael Cobb, Chairman and CEO, ECI Development; Leonard Steinberg, Chief Evangelist, Compass; as well as professionals from Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, The Jills® Group, Purplebricks, American Homes Group, members of the NYC media and many others.
Additional summit sponsors include a variety of distinguished organizations such as Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Flexmls, GeoData Plus, Dolgetta Law, PLLC, RE/MAX, A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp, HSBC, Emigrant Mortgage, National Tenant Network, Popular Mortgage, ShowingTime, and Virtual APT.
For tickets, exhibitor or sponsorship registration, or to learn more about 2018 Global Real Estate Summit NYC, log onto http://www.globalrealestatenyc.com, or contact Gary Connolly, HGAR's director of Multiple Listing Service and Information Systems, at 914- 681-0833, or via email:Gary.Connolly@HGAR.com.


text:
Vice Presidential Contenders Largely Unknown by Voters
Kaine is not well-known nationally. (Rob Kunzig/Morning Consult)
By Eli Yokley May 10, 2016 at 5:13 pm ET
Many of the names being bandied about publicly for vice presidential spots are largely unknown by the American public, a new national survey by Morning Consult has found.
While well-known presidential aspirants from the 2016 election cycle are identifiable by voters, most respondents have not heard of the other frequently mooted options.
The gap is most stark on the Democratic side of the aisle, where only Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has led a long campaign against front-runner Hillary Clinton, is a household name. The independent firebrand is viewed favorably by 53 percent of voters, while 34 percent take an unfavorable view. At 26 percent, he is by far the first choice for Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.
Democratic VP Picks Largely Unknown
Never Heard Of
Heard Of, No Opinion
Sen. Mark Warner 38 23 21 18
Sen. Al Franken 30 25 28 16
Sec. Anthony Foxx 40 18 20 22
Gov. Deval Patrick 40 19 20 21
Sen. Amy Klobuchar 48 18 19 15
Sec. Julian Castro 34 20 22 23
Sen. Elizabeth Warren 24 32 28 17
Sen. Tim Kaine 45 18 19 18
Sen. Sherrod Brown 43 19 21 16
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen 45 15 21 18
Janet Napolitano 31 22 27 21
Sec. Tom Perez 34 21 21 24
Sen. Bernie Sanders 4 53 34 9
One of the most oft-mentioned Democratic VP options, Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and the Obama administration's current Housing and Urban Development secretary, is unknown by about one-third of voters (34 percent).
But with Trump's rise, the talk about Castro as a potential running mate for Clinton has quieted slightly. Democrats are considering whether they should find a vice presidential candidate who specifically appeals to economically struggling white voters who have rallied behind populist rhetoric frequently invoked by Trump and Sanders during the campaign.
One man who might be able to do that – Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a union favorite from the Rust Belt – is unknown by 43 percent of voters. Among the other Senate Democrats being discussed – such as Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar, New Hampshire's Jeanne Shaheen, or Virgina's Tim Kaine and Mark Warner – none are very broadly known.
Even Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of the Democratic Party's progressive base, is unknown by nearly one-fourth of voters. Among voters who do know her, 32 percent of them have a favorable opinion compared with 28 percent who do not.
The Favorability of Potential GOP VP Picks
Gov. Mary Fallin 46 15 18 14
Sen. Joni Ernst 45 16 22 21
Sen. Jeff Sessions 41 18 24 11
Gov. Scott Walker 29 24 30 12
Carly Fiorina 19 28 39 12
Gov. John Kasich 15 38 32 16
Ben Carson 13 40 36 13
Gov. Chris Christie 12 30 46 17
Sen. Marco Rubio 10 36 41 9
Gov. Sarah Palin 7 32 52 17
Sen. Ted Cruz 6 33 49 17
Compared to the list of potential Democratic contenders, former Republican presidential candidates have benefited by having taken part in the Trump frenzy, and as such are better known. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is viewed most favorably by 40 percent of voters, compared with 36 percent of voters who view him unfavorably.
But GOP voters polled by Morning Consult have also said it's most important for Trump to choose a running mate who has government experience, and the front-runner and his advisers appear to be taking that into account. On Tuesday, Trump told The Associated Press he had narrowed his potential picks to five or six experienced politicians and that he had not ruled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie out of the running.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is viewed favorably by 38 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, while 32 percent view him unfavorably. He is Republican voters' first choice from Morning Consult's field of 11 candidates for vice president, at 11 percent, followed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) at 7 percent each.
Cruz is the best known, but also the least favored: 49 percent of voters have an unfavorable view of him, while 32 percent view him positively. The spread is similar for Christie and Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor turned conservative celebrity who was the party's vice presidential nominee in 2008. Both Christie and Palin were the first choice for 6 percent of GOP voters.
Still, some of the Republican senators mentioned most prominently as Republican vice presidential picks – such as Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst or Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama – are unknown by roughly 40 percent of voters.
The Morning Consult survey polled 2,003 registered voters from May 5-9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. See the toplines and crosstabs.
A previous version of this report misstated in which city Castro served as mayor.
Eli Yokley
Eli is a reporter at Morning Consult covering politics and campaigns.


text:
Recap: Season 4, Episode 5
Sep4 by Rysler
Kelinswriter (@worddancer21) and I welcome you back to Venice: The Series recaps. This episode was full on Brogno, and devoted to the pinnacle painful of our love story entanglements.
We start where we left off. Gina striding into Malbec like she belongs there, in this morass of Venice Beach irregulars and Ani/Lara.
Kelinswriter: Oh dear. Gina swaggering into the awkward party crash of awkward is still so…awkward.
Jamie tries to stop her, but who stops Gina? There's Jaws-shark-like music playing that's great.
"Ani?" Gina asks. As if to wake herself up.
"Are you even watching this?" Owen asks. So he's watching his sister's life unhappily unfold. Interesting.
Kelinswriter: Owen is getting bored with sitting around all day doing nothing but watch his soaps…uh…sister.
Joel Brooks tries to convince him it's the natural order of things, which makes Owen sad. "Life's a bitch."
"Then you die."
Back in hell earth, Van is there. He's fixed the fan, trying to appease his mother. His mother is trying to appease him by showing him he didn't really hate Owen, not at six years old.
None of this is helping anyone's self-esteem, even before Brandon shows up to be a buzzkill. Van quickly gets out of his way.
Kelinswriter: Guya needs to stop blaming herself for Van being such a little shit.
Guya tries to convince Brandon that Van is not a supervillain, even though she totally knows he is. But he's her son.
Kelinswriter: It feels like we're missing a scene here. I would have liked to have seen Guya find out about Brandon's suspicions that Van might be involved in Owen's death.
"He's a lot of things but he's not a killer," she says. Spoken like a true mother. "Leave my son alone." It's like she's begging. Because she's standing on quicksand.
Meanwhile, Sarah is still stuck with the Colonel. They're going to have dinner together.
Kelinswriter: Sarah busting the Colonel's chops will never get old. These two have a lovely understated chemistry.
They banter about hipster Richard and make sad about Owen, but Sarah's more interested in her mother.
The Colonel offers up, "She's stubborn, but she's not stupid." (Uh huh.) (Kelinswriter: Well…)
Back at the party, it's still awkward silence and jaws music good times. I could watch this all day.
"I'm so stupid," Gina says.
Jake starts babbling, to fill the silence, to progress the story along a little bit. Is Jake really saving the day? Or is he driving the nails in as hard as he can? A little both, and that's why Jake is the best cokehead in town. As we'll learn later, we have no idea whether or not he likes his sister, or finds Lara interesting, but he fucking HATES Gina Brogno. You should have met Sami, Jake.
Kelinswriter: Jake has just proven he's the sort of person who likes to pull the wings off of flies.
Gina wishes them well.
Lara says they're happy. For some reason I get this vision of really awkward summer camp whenever Lara speaks. She's won, and she's a lousy winner, gloating and sticking pins in Gina's flesh.
Kelinswriter: Katherine and Jamie are trying to fix the awkward, Logan is thinking about how to get in Gina's pants, and Lara is rubbing salt in the wound. And Ani just sits there like she's under a magic spell. She can't even move until Gina leaves the room, and then all she wants to do is run after her. These people, I swear.
Ani is frustratingly Ani.
"She's upset because of me."
"Are you fucking kidding?"
Even I'm with Lara there.
Drew gets lines! He speaks! And Patrick looks fabulous. This really is the best party.
Back on the meditation porch, Guya's still trying to save her son. Guya, you suck at saving people. The world will be a better place when you realize. She's changed tactics, though. She tells Brandon, "I'm going to get you drunk and hot and convince you."
Um. That would sure convince me.
Kelinswriter: Guya, you are not built for sexing the principles out of a righteous cop. And you're also scared to death of the truth. Looks like those psychic skills might be coming back after all…
Brandon is a better man than I. He stands up for principle, for ethics, for cop code. Guya's annoyed.
"I want to protect who I have left."
Okay, that does stab me in the heart. (Like Sami stabbed Owen, amirite?)
Jake has kind of kidnapped Lara, and is giving her a pep talk. He seems sincere. Given his later confession to Alan, he might kinda be. Need moar backstory.
He tells Lara, "She'll come home to you. She just doesn't want to hurt your feelings. She doesn't want to hurt Gina's feelings. She doesn't want to hurt the feelings of the person who parked her car."
Kelinswriter: Jake gives us some very cynical insight into how Ani operates, and though I want to smack him, I think he's right on the nose. Lara really doesn't like hearing that she's fixable. I think it may have just occurred to her that a fixer will always need something to fix (and what better place to focus that attention than on a "lost cause" like Gina).
Richard has showed up at the Colonel's for dinner, so that Sarah can get a glimpse of Gina's awkward childhood.
Sarah asks if Gina hates parental responsibility because Owen and Colonel.
Kelinswriter: Even the Colonel gets that he should stay away from that question.
"She's pretty busy tonight," The Colonel tells Richard. I wonder what the Colonel will do when he finds out about the red wedding plans. I mean, he's the guy that mailed the letter.
Gina's being morose on the beach, which is one of my favorite Ginas. And remember, Venice takes place in Alaska, so it just LOOKS like daytime. Ani shows up, as she does in Gina's morose beach scenes, which is probably why I always love them. Anyway, they argue. Gina says lots of things she wouldn't say if she weren't so heartbroken. What if Gina had proposed? Gina postulates.
"You would never ask me that."
My first reaction? Jesus fuck!
Gina gets histrionic about how long it's been since Owen died, but Kelinswriter points out that his funeral was only yesterday, according to her wardrobe. But she has a lot going on right now.
Kelinswriter: There is so much unspoken in this conversation. It's like they're talking to their constructs of each other rather than to each other. I think Gina realizes this after the toothbrush comment. She realizes she's piled up too much debris for Ani to ever actually see her as she is. Maybe if she'd ASK ABOUT THE FRICKING LETTER she'd realize that Ani is missing a key piece of information, but I digress.
It's Ani who lays it all down for Gina to pick up: "I am enough for her."
Kelinswriter: Ani uses the phrase "And I am enough for her" and betrays that she is settling with Lara. But instead of calling her on it, Gina just blows her off and walks away. It doesn't seem very Gina-like, but I think the combination of grief and humiliation have just gotten to be too much for her. She's lost the will to fight.
It's so painful and yet I want to watch it over and over. I'm thinking there's more to come, letter-wise.
Back at the now sadder party (and oddly daylighty–maybe she waited all night?), Lara waits by the door, waiting for Ani to return to her.
Kelinswriter: This season, Ani seems to be emulating the "disappearing alcoholic" behavior that Lara had cultivated to such a fine art in seasons 2 and 3. Lara does not like how it feels to be on the other side of this one bit.
Alan praises Jake for sinisterness and inquires as to his hating Gina so frickin' much.
"That's a story for a later date," Jake says. Tell me now. Tell me nooow!
Oh god Alan said "Bless her heart." Makes my life.
Kelinswriter: Jake and Alan need mustaches to twirl.
Rysler: So much this.
Ani wanders along the beach, looking beautiful, crying out to God.
Kelinswriter: Ani may take forever to make a decision, but when she does, it's a powerful thing. There was something formidable in her face the moment after she took that ring off.
I'm starting to think she's the one who needs all the fixing.
Gina has stumbled home to get drunk, but she left her keys in the door. Tsk, tsk. Someone could get in.
Kelinswriter: I've done that "leaving the keys in the door" thing. Never actually had someone come in though.
Footsteps. "It's you," Gina says.
Kelinswriter: I have my suspicions who this "you" is, and I have a feeling it won't be one of Gina's finest life choices.
Visit our poll and we'll see you next week for Venice: The Series!
This entry was posted in Venice Season Four, Venice: The Series.
← Recap: Season 4, Episode 4
Recap: Season 4, Episode 6 →
4 comments on "Recap: Season 4, Episode 5"
Tricia on September 4, 2013 at 6:34 pm said:
Thoughts on this episode: Loved Joel Brooks knitting in heaven.SO glad Wes is back! He is VERY good.He delivered that"still sharing" line so well.I really like Shawn Christian this season.He's been getting better each year but this season he's in the zone.The whole party scene at Malbec's was so well done in every aspect,especially pulling all the storylines together.As always I love your recaps!
gayparis on September 4, 2013 at 7:59 pm said:
Again, thanks for a snarky, yet insightful recap.
I think it will be the colonel who will seek out Ani once he hears what happened to Gina. Only two people know that he mailed the letter – Gina and him! I don't Gina has the fortitude right now to think straight about anything (memories back to Natalia telling Olivia she can't think straight when Phillip came back, so she'll think for the both of them) Sigh. Those were the days, but I digress.
I do hope the colonel is the one who asks Ani about the letter.
What did Gina do to the entire western world that everyone seems out for blood? Alan? Jake? Granted she's a successful interior designer, but her company can't be worth that much for them to be lusting after it…hmmm.
And Ani, well I don't know where to start with her.
WishingWell on September 7, 2013 at 11:56 pm said:
I love reading your recaps…
They are spot on.
That toothbrush line was quite the opening for Gina, and she just let the opportunity pass her by. She has to realize that Ani is 'settling' for Lara at some point and be the brave woman we think of her as… Hell, she might need to beg 'cause after all she's the one who made Ani feel unwanted. Which is another reason I'm surprised Gina hasn't mentioned the letter. Everything Ani just mentioned contradicts what Gina wrote.
Dammit!!!
And thanks so much for mentioning the day/night thing. I thought I might've been the only one to catch that… That and the fact that the funeral was yesterday. I don't know why, but those little things annoy the heck out of me.
nldreamer on September 22, 2013 at 9:21 pm said:
Have typed this 3 times. not sure what
I am doing wrong……
Love you recaps and the comments.
Would like to play along with the group.
How can Ani talk to and make out with
Lara and not know she drinks??? Even
vodka still smells/tastes.. And why
doesn't Gina or the Colonel ask Ani
about the letter???????
Look forward to next episode. Love
CC and JL together regardless what they are doing (or not doing).


Wow, some awesome writing gains at the end of this week. This weekend alone I wrote nearly 7,000 words (nearly 10,000 for the week if I cheat and include today 5/1). When you're hot, you're hot. And the best part is I LOVE what I've written so far.
Finished my book too, so I can / will get on my beta reads again. I did a few crits on Friday night / Sat AM, so I'm at least starting to work that debt off some.
ETA: Corrected my stat. In my zeal to gloat about my weekend's output, I included some of the weekdays' writings too.
10k! That's much better than my 0 word count for the week 🙂 And a book completed! What a great ROW80 week.
I think I might have written my post poorly. I meant to say I completed reading a book. If I'd finished writing one, it would have been a headliner, in 20 pt font with pictures of fireworks. LOL Thank you. I'm really proud of my word count this week. Some weeks you're on and some you're off. I've had my fair share of "off" weeks too. Cheers.
10K is fabulous! I hope you have another wonderful week.
Hey, way to go Claire! 🙂 My poor little WIP and I have been struggling against the Inner Editor lately. If only she'd quiet down and let me write!
Also wanted to mention I stopped by Iris's blog and checked out the snippets of Don't Ask… and I *really* liked it. Can't wait to read more!
Turn off that inner editor, girl!!! Just catch the wave and ride (and write)!! But you're writing…editing or not…so good on you!


Blush Paperie: Our family holiday cards and a winner!
Our family holiday cards and a winner!
I L.O.V.E this year's holiday card.
All of the recipes looked SO YUMMY!
I love knowing your "go to" recipe...they are always the best.
I'm so excited, thank you!! Emailing you back right now.
LOVE your Christmas card, you did such a great job on that!


Trump could falsely claim that Obama was born abroad, but that wasn't enough to disqualify him. He could call Mexican immigrants "rapists," but that wasn't enough to disqualify him. He could lie repeatedly — about, for example, whether or not he had met Vladimir Putin and whether he had opposed the Iraq War — but that wasn't enough to disqualify him. He could call for a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States, but that wasn't enough to disqualify him. He could make degrading comments about women and mock people with disabilities, but that wasn't enough to disqualify him.
So what really set off the crisis in the Republican Party this week? Trump suddenly became unacceptable because, in an interview with Philip Rucker of the Washington Post, he refused to endorse Ryan and John McCain in their Republican primaries.
No matter what Trump said, Reince Priebus, the Republican national chairman, was willing to bow and scrape before Trump for months in trying to pull the party together behind him. Now, and only now, is Priebus reported to be "furious" and "apoplectic" at Trump. The message: Trump can say anything he wants about women, the disabled, Mexicans and Muslims, but how dare The Donald cause any trouble for Priebus' friend Paul Ryan?
The corruption of a once great political party is now complete.
The sense of emergency is so profound that there is now talk of how the Republican National Committee might replace Trump as the nominee. Given how discombobulated and degraded GOP politics has become, anything is possible — though it's a little late. There was active, organized resistance to Trump before the Cleveland convention. But Priebus, Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put down the Never Trump insurgency. And their reasons for doing so are instructive.
Ryan — unlike Republicans such as Meg Whitman and Rep. Richard Hanna of New York, both of whom endorsed Clinton on Tuesday — will have to live with those words, whatever happens to Trump.
Of course, all of us have our philosophical leanings, and I freely acknowledge that mine are different from Ryan's. But many other conservatives and many other Republicans saw early on that Trump would be the least appropriate nominee in their party's history: a walking moral disaster, a ticking psychological time bomb, a torrent of prejudices, and a man of bottomless vindictiveness. They refused to submit to the intolerable and were willing to accept four years of Clinton to save their party.
But most of the GOP's leaders thought they could domesticate Trump and use him for their ideological purposes. They are now confronting the consequences of being so profoundly wrong.


The members of Hrvatski Običaj would like to thank all of those who have supported us since we started in March 2007. The commitment, dedication, desire, sheer joy and passion each of us holds in our hearts is what connects us forever in this journey. As this CD was a labor of love we hope that you enjoy it, continue to support our endeavors and may you carry the spirit of Croatia all around the world with you as you listen to our music!
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← US Oil Bomb Trains Threaten Communities, and More!
Is it time to stop eating CA almonds? and More!
Google Weather around the world month year to get latest update from Jon Plotkin; ck the summary.
How unusual has the weather been? No one event is "caused" by climate change, but global warming, which is predicted to increase unusual, extreme weather, is having a daily effect on weather, worldwide.
Looking above at recent temperature anomalies, much of the US and the waters surrounding it are experiencing warmer than normal temperatures: the eastern Pacific warm spot continues to prevent much rain from reaching California, sending it into further drought.
Much of the areas surrounding the North Pole are experiencing much warmer than normal temperatures – not good news for our Arctic thermal shield of ice. Hotter than usual temperatures continue to dominate human habitats.
OO Climate Change And The California Drought – there are two supported links: climbing temperatures and a Pacific high pressure zone over unusually warm ocean water that is diverting storms away from California.
By Depleting Free Groundwater Now – nothing regulates taking water from finite underground aquifers, which, when emptied, could be crushed by the land above, permanently depriving future inhabitants of a possible rechargeable store of water.
Is it time to stop eating CA almonds?
Join the swelling numbers of voters TELLING Congress they'll vote for Clean Energy candidates here. This is an ongoing campaign (the next Congressional election is in 2016!) so please, spread the word. It's our way of telling Congress that a strong clean energy voting bloc is out there. This is how YOU can make a difference.
Find this interesting? Please re-post it!
Mel (Mary Ellen) Harte is a biologist (PhD) and climate change educator. She co-authored the free online book, COOL THE EARTH, SAVE THE ECONOMY, available at www.CoolTheEarth.US, and writes the CLIMATE CHANGE THIS WEEK column at the HuffingtonPost. Living summers in the alpine Rockies, she is on the frontlines of watching what climate change can do. Her diagnostic digital photographs of wildflowers have appeared in numerous publications.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged almonds, California, climate change, drought, fish, fishing, global warming, heat record, water. Bookmark the permalink.
2 Responses to Is it time to stop eating CA almonds? and More!
melharte… we love your posts… but suggesting it's time to stop eating almonds? Get real. It's time to limit the number of babies we bring into this world. The root of All of this is overpopulation. Join us in educating people to that fact!
I do join you, in fact — my weekly huff column has a section called population matters, and I've written about population before… and really, overpopulation is the driver behind everything. Have written a population essay for which I'm trying to find a venue that reaches a wider, more religious yet "unconverted" audience. Let me know if you have any ideas.
Re the smaller problem of nuts: found out that we export over half our almonds (it takes 1 gallon of water to make one almond, or almost any nut, for that matter, the way we water them), so a local "boycott" of almonds won't work. What the state must do is outlaw sprinklers for orchards, forcing them to drip irrigate. And do a tiered rate system for energy usage, so when farmers pump groundwater, it becomes very expensive to do so. Given that the groundwater is a finite resource, we should be outlawing pumping it altogether at this point, since we have already greatly diminished it, and risk crushing the storage structure once it gets too empty.


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Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol
Laci S. Lawrence
From the journal Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law
https://doi.org/10.1515/2154-3186.1009
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is the premier global organization to monitor and protect global health, while the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) functions as an international nucleus for assistance in crime prevention and detection. In the event of a deliberate act of bioterrorism, the inevitable question is whether or not a jurisdictional "tug of war" would occur between WHO and Interpol. The following paper addresses the power, initiatives, and protocol regarding bioterrorism of both Interpol and WHO, recent collaborations between the two organizations, and a jurisdictional analysis of what may occur when the two organization work together in the aftermath of an act of bioterrorism.
Keywords: WHO; Interpol; health; alert; terrorism
Published Online: 2012-3-7
©2012 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Article Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol
Laci S. Lawrence 2012
Lawrence, Laci S.. "Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol" Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law, vol. 2, no. 1, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1515/2154-3186.1009
Lawrence, L. (2012). Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol. Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/2154-3186.1009
Lawrence, L. (2012) Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol. Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law, Vol. 2 (Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.1515/2154-3186.1009
Lawrence, Laci S.. "Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol" Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law 2, no. 1 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1515/2154-3186.1009
Lawrence L. Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol. Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law. 2012;2(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/2154-3186.1009
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Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law
Journal and Issue
Articles in the same Issue
International Health and Intelligence Gathering: One in the Same or Rival Factions?
A Survey of Priorities and Impediments for a Biosecurity Code of Conduct as a Confidence Building Measure for the Biological Weapons and Toxins Convention
BioIntel: Leveraging Information to Prevent Biological Weapons Attacks
Endemic Disease in Afghanistan: How an Improved Biosecurity Framework Could Alleviate the Threat to U.S. Troops
Cold Cooperation: Biodevelopment and The Legal Landscape
International Food Regulations: Susceptibility to Deliberate Contamination
Introduction: Volume 2 of the Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety & Biodefense Law
Public Water Supplies in the United States and the European Union: International Security Procedures and Vulnerabilities
International Bioterrorism Search and Seizure Issues: A Comparative Analysis of American and French Search and Seizure Law as it Relates to the Global War on Terror
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Category: PR Miracles
The Night The Wall Came Tumbling Down
Filed under: Civility, Crisis Communications, Germany, International Public Relations, Mortality, Out of the Box Thinking, Politics, PR Miracles — Leave a comment
During the course of your author's life there have been four seminal events, each prompting the question: 'Where were you when you heard … ?'
For Baby Boomer Almost DailyBrett, these were the four history changing news stories of a lifetime: JFK's assassination (1963), Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon (1969), the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the September 11 attacks (2001).
Ironically, it was a fatal PR mistake 30 years ago that triggered the final inevitable fall of the Wall, and with it the ultimate demise of Soviet Union-style Communism.
East Germany's Günter Schabowski was tasked with announcing the planned travel policy easing of the so-called German Democratic Republic's (Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR). When he was asked if the changes applied immediately … his assumed "as far as I know" response without reading the policy paper … was affirmative.
Unintentionally he ignited the storming of the DDR's borders, and most of all the toppling of the Berlin Wall.
Today ein Stück der Mauer prominently sits beside the elbow of your author, accompanying the futile search for the appropriate English words to recapture the global significance of this epochal event.
Tomorrow will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the monstrous Berlin Wall (1961-1989), leading directly to the reunification of Germany and the end of the Communist menace in Russia and Eastern Europe. The world is a safer place as result of overjoyed Ossies walking and driving with their sputtering Trabants across East Germany's borders to freedom, one of them being a woman by the name of … Angela Merkel.
She started the evening consuming a beer in a sauna east of the wall, and ended the evening drinking a celebratory brew from a bottle with a label she had never seen before on the west side of the wall. Today, she is the Chancellor of the reunified (Wiedervereinigung) Federal Republic of Germany.
Giving Proper Credit For The End Of Communism
"Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." — President Ronald Reagan speaking before the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall
If you ever travel to Berlin to touch the remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall, be sure to take the time to check out The Checkpoint Charlie Museum. The visitor can stand without fear on the very spot on the Friedrichstrasse in which American and Soviet tanks went eyeball to eyeball with each other. A critical miscalculation could have triggered a nuclear World War III.
Former Wall Street Journal Berlin bureau chief Frederick Kempe's "Berlin 1961, Kennedy, Khrushchev And The Most Dangerous Place On Earth" vividly recounts the tension of the superpower standoff. The museum also recounts these days, and the ingenious plots to escape East Germany and its hideous wall.
A separate wing of the museum is devoted to Reagan, his Tear Down This Wall speech on continuous loop, and his pivotal role in ending the Cold War.
And yet there is a debate to this day about who should take the lion's share of the credit for putting together the plan, which led to the demise of the wall and the end of Communism.
The names in alphabetical order of Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, Pope Paul II and Margaret Thatcher all played a role in this transformation, and each should take a bow.
For Almost DailyBrett and those who despise historical revisionism for purely political purposes, Ronald Reagan will always take center stage in the eyes of history. He rejected detente or merely accepting Communist domination from Berlin to Vladivostok. Instead his policy was simple: "We win, they lose."
The USSR lost.
Another winner was Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1930-2017), who skillfully linked and achieved feared German reunification with the success of the European Union. "German and European Unification are two sides of the same coin." ("Deutsche und europäische Einigung sind zwei Seiten einer Medaille.")
Today, Germany along with France are the de-facto leaders of Europe … regardless of when Britain leaves the EU. Germany has acknowledged, addressed and atoned its dark past (Vergangenheitsbewältigung), particularly the 12 horrid years of Hitler, the Nazis and the Holocaust.
"The thought that a great nation (Germany) that had run amok should repent its crimes to the world. What other country has ever done such as thing?" — The character "Ed" quoting himself in John le Carré's Agent Running in the Field
And "Ed" speaking about yesterday leading to today:
"Germany was the cat's whiskers. It's citizens were simply the best Europeans ever. No other nation holds a candle to Germans, not when it comes to understanding what the European union is all about."
Naturally, the point of emphasis is made by literary master John le Carré.
And it all started The Night The Wall Came Tumbling Down.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/angela-merkel/#71bd54c022dd
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/morning-in-germany/
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2019/06/06/cool-calm-and-collected-germany/
Tags: Agent Running In The Field, Almost DailyBrett, Angela Merkel, Berlin 1961, Berlin Wall, DDR, East Germany, EU, European Unification, European Union, Fall of Communism, Frederick Kempe, Günter Schabowski, GDR, German Unification, Helmut Kohl, JFK, John F. Kennedy, John le Carré, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mr. Gorbachev Tear Down This Wall, Nikita Khrushchev, Ossies, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, The Most Dangerous Place On Earth, Trabants, Two Sides Of The Same Coin, USSR
In Search Of First Person Plural: We, Us And Our
Filed under: 21st Century Life, Civility, Conventional/Digital Media, Crisis Communications, Entrepreneurs, International Public Relations, Lifestyle, Media Relations, Mortality, Personal Public Relations, Politics, PR Miracles, PR Train Wrecks, Silicon Valley, Social Media, Wall Street — Leave a comment
"Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: 'We the People.'"
"We did it. We weren't just marking time, we made a difference. We made the (shining) city (on the hill) stronger – we made the city freer – and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad. Not bad at all." — President Ronald Reagan Farewell Address, January 11, 1989
President Ronald Reagan was not a first-person singular leader: I, Me, Myself.
Even though he was completing one of the most successful presidencies in American history and was justifiably entitled to take a bow, he still for the most part gravitated toward first-person plural even in his farewell address: We, Us, Our.
These vital pronouns salute the team that makes it happen, the linemen who protect the quarterback, the pit crew changing the tires in less than three-seconds, the people who write the emails, send the letters and form the coalition that makes a politician and a movement successful.
Donald Trump is an über first person singular type of guy, and that is his greatest weakness. He could learn from Heisman Trophy Winner Marcus Mariota, Five-Time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and most of all from Ronald Reagan.
Almost DailyBrett was privileged to devote two decades of his career, directly serving two first-person plural leaders: Former California Governor George Deukmejian and LSI Logic founder, chairman and chief executive officer Wilf Corrigan.
Did both of these overachievers have healthy opinions of themselves? Of course.
Did they have big egos based upon their proven records of self-made success? Naturally.
One was the most popular governor of California in the modern era; the other was a successful entrepreneur immigrant worth, $432 million.
But when push came to shove, it was about the people around them, the citizens and customers they served, the investors and their shares … we, us and our.
"I Have Returned"
Did you note MacArthur's first-person singular is his most remembered quote, and his follow-up in first-person plural is forgotten?
Didn't the collective strength of the U.S. Army and Navy facilitate MacArthur's return to the Philippines?
MacArthur was later fired by President Harry S. Truman. Surprised?
Will Donald Trump be fired by the American people in 13 months time, despite a robust economy, no new military involvements in the Middle East (or elsewhere) and way too-far-to-the-socialist-left potential opponents? It can happen, but will it?
Under similar circumstances Reagan crushed Walter Mondale in 1984. Reagan won 49 states worth 525 electoral votes, capturing 58.8 percent of the vote. Mondale recorded his home state of Minnesota and DC for a total of 13 electoral votes, 40.6 percent of the vote.
Almost DailyBrett can state with impunity that incumbent presidents have decided advantages heading into re-election years (i.e., Obama, George W., Clinton, Reagan), but not certainty (i.e., Carter, H.W. Bush). Recent presidents with the tailwind of economic prosperity … "It's the economy, stupid" … all were re-elected.
Your Enemies Will Always Be Your Enemies; Your Friends … ?
Having said that, Trump is his own worst enemy, and that is magnified by his first-person singular devotion on steroids.
Why couldn't his own campaign quietly conduct opposition research when it comes to Hunter Biden being selected for the board of directors for Ukraine's natural gas supplier – Burisma Holdings — while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president of the United States? This question is particularly magnified considering Hunter's well-chronicled repeated problems with cocaine, and zero experience in energy.
For some reason, Trump decides that he … and only he … can conduct this oppo research directly with the leader of Ukraine … and as a result an impeachment proceeding was born. Will he join the ranks of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton as impeached presidents, but not convicted in the Senate (if it goes that far)?
The larger question is whether he pulls defeat out of the jaws of victory when his friends (e.g., high propensity Republican fidelity) are still his friends? Will his personal embrace of first-person singular (I, Me, Myself) trigger mistake-after-mistake, and his friends stop being his … friends?
Maybe a little more Reaganesque first-person plural … we, us, our … and some good old fashioned humility would do the trick.
Don't count on it with this president.
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/551270
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/the-governor-who-changed-my-life/
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/farewell-lsi-logic/
Tags: Almost DailyBrett, Bill Clinton, Burisma Holdings, Donald Trump, Douglas MacArthur, George Deukmejian, Harry Truman, Hunter Biden, I Have Returned, Impeachment, Joe Biden, Lewis Hamilton, LSI Logic, Marcus Mariota, Ronald Reagan, State of California, Ukraine, Walter Mondale, We The People, Wilf Corrigan
Revitalizing A Nation Brand By Softening It
Filed under: 21st Century Life, Civility, Germany, International Public Relations, Lifestyle, Mortality, Out of the Box Thinking, Personal Public Relations, Politics, PR Miracles, PR Train Wrecks — Leave a comment
Has the global image of Germany changed for the better?
Is the Feminization of the Fatherland, complete?
Has the nation's brand been revitalized through softening?
And is Germany's image stronger as a result?
Consider the remarkable optics of new Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer sitting with incoming European Union President Ursula von der Leyen and Kanzlerin Angela Merkel. The modern image of Deutschland above may indeed constitute the pinnacle of Germany's 1945-2019 Public Relations Miracle (Öffentlichkeitsarbeirtswunder).
These three Frauen hail from Germany's moderate-conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with its strong emphasis on free market capitalism and memberships in the European Union (EU) and NATO.
Compare the perception of these women, leading today's Germany with three muscular populists in America, Britain and Russia with Messrs. Boris, Donald and Vladimir.
Which image inspires stability, confidence and security and which precipitates concern and worry?
Is Almost DailyBrett openly suggesting that a nation's brand is benefited by simply putting women in charge?
Your author mentioned on more than one occasion that he is proud that his lifelong voting record is and will always be Clinton-free, both Bill and Hillary.
America's Mother in Law Hillary will never be favorably compared with Germany's "Mutti" (Angela Merkel).
Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher certainly did not soften the U.K.'s brand in the 1970s/1980s, but she was the right woman at the right time.
Thatcher was not warm and fuzzy, and certainly recorded low scores on the "likeable" scale. The "likeable" question was posed with Hillary candidacies, and now with Elizabeth Warren. Drinking a beer on a poorly shot video probably will not solve this issue.
In contrast Angela Merkel in her portrayal as a solid reassuring leader, ran a re-election campaign based upon the concept of Germany safely in "Mutti's" hands.
Does Image Softening Lead To Brand Weakening?
Some may be tempted to equate feminization and softening with brand weakness. Almost DailyBrett couldn't disagree more.
Angela Merkel has learned and demonstrated her ability to parry the rhetorical thrusts of über competitive males, particularly Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and soon Brexiteer Boris Johnson. Far friendlier are her relations with France's ambitious Emmanuel Macron, who is attempting to pull France even with Germany when it comes to the European Union's governing duopoly.
Is there a nation on this planet that has placed its national defense of not just one talented woman, but two? Before leaving for her new post as president of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen served as Germany's Verteidigungsministerin (defense minister). Her successor? The aforementioned CDU party leader and heir-apparent to Angela Merkel as Chancellor, Annegret Karrenbauer-Kramp.
The images of these two women reviewing a military honor guard are striking, coupled with the knowledge that Germany's Sicherheit is as certain as ever.
As discussed by Almost DailyBrett, a nation can demonstrate "hard power" by the traditional means of its economy and military. Germany's 4th largest GDP of $4.14 trillion and its greatly reduced military for obvious reasons, still matter.
Germany's "soft power" represents the projection of a country's culture, language and elements in demand by all countries (e.g., image, success, brand names). For Germany, these elements include its engineering prowess, four World Cup wins in Fussball, and legendary names such as Daimler Benz, BMW, Siemens and Bayer.
Can the Feminization of the Fatherland also be included in the elements of Germany's soft power? There is zero doubt the presence of confident, measured, competent and talented women at the helm of its leadership represents a new way to approach the German brand and image.
What can other nations learn from Germany's softening and strengthened global brand?
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/feminizing-the-fatherland/
https://countryeconomy.com/gdp/germany
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/does-the-usa-need-its-own-soft-power-goethe-institut/
Tags: America's Mother in Law, Angela Merkel, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexiteer, CDU, Christian Democrats, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Fatherland, Feminization of the Fatherland, Germany, Hard Power, Image, Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, Mutti, Nation Branding, Optics, Soft Power, Ursula von der Leyen, Vaterland, Vladimir Putin
The Sounds of Silence?
Filed under: 21st Century Life, Big Markets Small Markets, Civility, Communications Choreography, Communications Technology, Crisis Communications, CSR, Digital Business, Employee Communications, Germany, International Public Relations, Lifestyle, Out of the Box Thinking, Politics, PR Miracles, PR Train Wrecks, Wall Street — Leave a comment
"In the darkness, we found the light. Introducing a new era of electronic driving." – Volkswagen's new advertising campaign tagline
"Hello, darkness, my old friend; I've come to talk to you again …" – Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's, "The Sounds of Silence"
Is the best defense a good offense?
Is the most effective present-day defense utilizing a Baby Boomer anthem and harkening back to the 1960s with its brightly colored Volkswagen Beetles and (Hippie) Microvans?
After being rightfully bashed and bloodied starting in the autumn of 2015 for deploying defeat software to deceive anti-pollution testing of its vehicles (Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche), heads rightfully started to roll at Volkswagen AG corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
On the line with "Dieselgate" was Volkswagen's brand, but also the reputation of Germany's legendary designers and engineers. Consider, there is probably no nation on earth that prides itself more than Germany for its commitment to the environment (note the recent electoral successes of die Grünen).
The Volkswagen cheating scandal was akin to catching a falling knife. Using another well-worn metaphor, the shocking story has legs and has been running unabated for nearly four years.
The scandal started in September, 2015 when the U.S. EPA charged Volkswagen with using illegal (air quality testing) manipulation devices. A related Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation was launched. Volkswagen's chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn was fired.
A continuous chorus of charges, fines, lawsuits, increased governmental regulation, falling stock prices and recalls mounted against Volkswagen and its Audi and Porsche subsidiaries. Last year, German authorities indicted Winterkorn on aggravated fraud charges.
Almost DailyBrett noted that Volkswagen did not follow to the letter the four basic tenets of Crisis Communications: Tell The Truth, Tell It All, Tell It Fast and Move On. In many ways Volkswagen management was just hoping this mess would simply subside.
Volkswagen management, employees, shareholders and even Kanzlerin Merkel and the German government had to confront the metaphorical Scheisse-Sandwich … you don't nibble.
At some point, the world's largest automobile designer/manufacturer would have to go back on offense.
In doing so, Volkswagen realized it could not assume a business-as-usual approach.
Ultimately, Volkswagen appreciated that it has to acknowledge its wrongdoing, beg for forgiveness, and somehow, someway commence the hard work of rebranding … essentially moving on.
Volkswagen of America hired New York's Johannes Leonardo advertising agency, and secured the rights to "The Sounds of Silence."
The question posed to VW management: Can a major ad buy (part of a reported $2 billion campaign) for its 1:45 second spot featuring a Baby Boomer/Yuppie anthem make everything right in the world for Volkswagen?
In and of itself, the answer is obviously: no.
Almost DailyBrett has always believed that Volkswagen is engaged in a marathon, not a sprint. Volkswagen's story, which began in 1937, deserves another chapter.
Americans are credited for being an understanding people. They will not forget, but are they willing to forgive and give … even a corporate entity … another chance?
The Johannes Leonardo creative, which debuted with the NBA Finals and the NHL's Stanley Cup last week, is edgy as it literally starts in the darkness with a news announcer directly referencing the Volkswagen scandal.
One suspects that securing VW's management approval for an open acknowledgement of moral failure was easier said than done. As Chairman Mao found out, the long-march back starts with the first step.
In our world of advertising bombast and overkill, it's the extremely clever advertisement that stops the viewer in his or her tracks and commands attention.
The dark Sounds of Silence images convey going back to the drawing board. The result is the coming resurrection of the VW microvan … a concept vehicle for now … with the message the company's environmentally friendly electric vehicle does not contribute to climate change. Volkswagen envisions 22 EVs (electric vehicles) by 2028, and becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Volkswagen has stumbled for nearly four torturous years. The questions are with its new ad campaign and beyond: Has the company finally learned its lesson, and are we as consumers willing to forgive, while certainly not forgetting?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEvNL6oEr0U
https://www.fastcompany.com/90359361/volkswagen-aims-for-feel-good-redemption-in-new-major-ad-campaign
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a27784322/vw-hello-light-commercial-column/
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/dieselgate-timeline-germanys-car-emissions-fraud-scandal
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/business/winterkorn-volkswagen-emissions-scandal.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2019/06/06/vw-goes-back-to-the-future-in-new-ad-campaign-to-put-dieselgate-in-rear-view/#1026a00d3aa5
https://www.vw.com/
http://johannesleonardo.com/
Tags: Almost DailyBrett, Angela Merkel, Art Garfunkel, Audi, Brand Management, Chairman Mao, Corporate Image. Corporate Reputation, Crisis Communications, die Grünen, Dieselgate, DOJ, EPA, EV, Four Tenets of Crisis Communications, German Engineering, Germany, Johannes Leonardo, Long March, Martin Winterkorn, NBA Finals, Paul Simon, Porsche, Rebranding, Simon and Garfunkel, Stanley Cup, The Sounds of Silence, Volkswagen, Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen of America, Wolfsburg
Cool, Calm and Collected … Germany
Filed under: 21st Century Life, Civility, Germany, International Public Relations, Lifestyle, Mortality, Out of the Box Thinking, Personal Public Relations, Politics, PR Miracles — Leave a comment
"Poor old Germany. Too big for Europe, too small for the world." – Henry Kissinger
"It is for the rising German generation … unanimously announcing their desire: not for a German Europe, but for a European Germany." — Thomas Mann
Germany is not a chill place.
Don't get Almost DailyBrett wrong, you certainly can have a great time in Germany (e.g., beer gardens in München, wine in castles along the Rhine).
Having said that: There is no que será, será; in Deutschland.
Since 1945, the Germans have transformed their once-devastated, occupied and divided land and through their legendary industriousness into the #4 GDP ($3.68 trillion) in the world, and the nation with the second largest trade surplus at $274 billion.
The question for today's discussion: Why is today's Germany cool, calm and collected compared to its once three Western occupying allies: United States, United Kingdom and, France?
Watching ARD's Tagesschau night-after-night, your author is struck by the absence of angry talking Teutonic heads. Certainly, Germany has its share of weighty issues and political power pontificators, but there are no discussions of glorious defeat impeachment, broken down Brexit negotiations or roaming gilets jaunes (yellow vests) in the streets.
Emmanuel Macron's En Marche promised to reform France. He quickly found out the reality of how difficult it is to change the nation that has turned defending the status quo into an art form.
Some have questioned whether the United States will ever have a woman president, three years after the stunning defeat of Hillary Clinton. Almost DailyBrett is confident the answer will eventually be "yes,' just not Madam Secretary or any reasonable facsimile.
Theresa May serves as the U.K.'s second woman prime minister for another week, but she was eventually beaten down by as The Economist's cover proclaimed, "The Mother of All Messes."
Moving one time-zone to the east, one finds Kanzlerin Angela Merkel finishing her fourth term … no later than 2021 … as the first woman leader … and most likely not the last for das Vaterland.
Even though her decision to allow 1 million or more asylum seekers into Germany in 2015 was obviously too much, too fast and … let's face it … a mistake, she will nonetheless go down in history as one of the country's best chancellors.
Feminizing The Fatherland
Merkel has turned down the temperature in Germany. The nation even in the face of its horrific recent history (e.g., 1933-1945) has seemingly completed its Vergangenheitsbewältigung or dealing with the past.
Germany has finally become a normal country, and serves as the rock in the middle of the wobbly European Union. Britain may eventually leave the EU, but Almost DailyBrett expects the German-French leadership duopoly to endure.
Your author was amazed about the Tagesschau (Daily Show) news coverage of the resignation of the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) Andrea Nahles in the wake of the party's poor results in the European Commission and Bremen election.
BERLIN, GERMANY – DECEMBER 07: Malu Dreyer (L) and Manuela Schwesing (R), vice-chairwomen of the of the German Social Democrats (SPD), attend the federal party congress on December 7, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
She was replaced for now by two women: Manuela Schwesig, Malu Dreyer and one hombre Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel.
Germany's other parties were quick to offer commentary and respect to Nahles, and their leaders were for the most part women: Merkel and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Christian Democrats: Annalena Baerbock, The Greens; Linda Teuteberg, Free Democrats; Katja Kipping, The Left and Beatrix von Storch, Alternative for Germany.
Other than Baby Boomer Merkel, 64, these women for the most part are Gen Xers or Millennials. The baton is being passed to the next generations of German leadership.
Almost DailyBrett is treading cautiously in suggesting the obvious (and desperately needed) softening of Germany's scorched earth image has been greatly assisted by the presence of calm, confident women (e.g., Merkel).
After the world's worst disastrous explosion of testosterone fueled über-nationalism, Germany needed to turn down the temperature and start the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding its brand.
However history judges Angela Merkel, there is zero doubt that she has bolstered the country's image by softening it.
Today's headlines reported The Greens within one percentage point of Merkel's Christian Democrats. At some point there will be a new chancellor.
Almost DailyBrett is betting that Deutschland's next leader will be another strong Frau with Merkel's competence and calmness.
https://www.investopedia.com/insights/worlds-top-economies/
http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/trade-surplus-by-country.html
https://www.politico.eu/article/german-social-democrats-nominate-trio-for-interim-party-leadership-manuela-schwesig-malu-dreyer-thorsten-schaefer-guembel/
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1137200/angela-Merkel-news-latest-poll-popularity-results-cdu-spd-coalition-germany-politics
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2017/09/24/the-right-leader-for-the-fatherlandeurope-just-happens-to-be-a-woman/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/06/06/why-angela-merkel-wouldnt-feel-awkward-d-day-celebrations/?utm_term=.ad3708e74e7d
Tags: AfD, Almost DailyBrett, Alternative for Germany, Andrea Nahles, Angela Merkel, Annalena Baerbock, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, ARD, Beatrix von Storch, Brexit, Emmanuel Macron, En Marche, FDP, Free Democrats, Germany, Gilets Jaunes, Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, Julia Klockner, Katja Kipping, Linda Teuteberg, Malu Dreyer, Manuela Schwesig, Social Democrats, SPD, Tagesschau, The Greens, The Left, Theresa May, Thomas Mann, Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Ursula von der Leyen, Vergangenheitsbewältigung
The Coolest Cat On The Track
Filed under: 21st Century Life, Big Markets Small Markets, Civility, Entrepreneurs, Lifestyle, Mortality, Out of the Box Thinking, Personal Public Relations, PR Miracles — Leave a comment
Almost DailyBrett has always fretted about the plight of the "boat people" of Monaco.
After all, who can blame them for seeking a better life?
They always seem to be able to guide their respective yachts into the right slip.
There each of them floats, reminding one of a can of expensive sardines.
Who has the biggest yacht? The most expensive bubbly? The cutest "niece?" The best view of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix?
Never was terribly concerned about ultra-cool Brit Lewis Hamilton and his Formula 1 Mercedes.
This past Sunday, Hamilton was always in the lead right in front of Holland's frustrated-for-78-laps Max Verstappen of the Red Bull team.
Hamilton, the reigning five-time Formula 1 (F1) champion, always appears to have everything under control.
He even told Ellen that he never "goes" in his racing suit during the course of a two-hour race.
Consider that it only takes two-seconds for his 22-member Mercedes crew to change his four tires.
During the one-and-only caution this past Sunday on lap 11 in Monaco, Lewis' team affixed four medium compound "tyres" (as the Brits spell it) to his super high-tech Mercedes.
Soon it became apparent that Hamilton was driving on the wrong "tyres," and it seemed like an eternity to the checkered flag.
During this tense, nerve-wracking endurance contest around the 19-turn, two-mile through-the-streets course, Mr. Hamilton was not amused.
The Wrong Tyres; The Right Driver
"Bono … he's right on my arse. Can you not see, that? " – Lewis Hamilton on the radio to Mercedes race engineer, Peter Bonnington
Talk about the infamous British stiff upper lip, quivering just a tad.
The closest it ever seemed for Lewis Hamilton "losing it" was his complaining to "Bono" (not the U2 singer) about Verstappen's tailgating while racing lap-after-lap on the wrong tires.
Who would win the dispute? The driver asking to come into the pits to change tyres or the Mercedes team reassuring him – hope against hope – that his obviously failing medium compounds would make it to the checked flag.
Back in 2015 under similar conditions, Hamilton came into the Monaco pits to change tires. He lost the race.
Somehow, someway Hamilton fought off Verstappen … even through their respective tires actually came in contract (it was indeed that close) during one of the last laps. In the end, Hamilton was the one accepting the Monaco Grand Prix award from Prince Albert II and his bride, Princess Charlene.
Considering that Mercedes devotes an estimated $300 million annually and employs 1,300 talented souls to assemble, maintain and steady improve two high-precision cars (e.g., Hamilton and Valteri Bottas of Finland), one can easily conclude that F1 is not a sport of the people.
But for Hamilton, it has not always been this way.
"Cool Runnings"
Even though he lives in tony Monaco, Hamilton directly relates to the Disney movie about Jamaica's 1988 Olympics bobsled team.
Hamilton was the first black to drive on the 21-race Formula 1 circuit. He said his arrival triggered a similar "Cool Runnings" reaction that eventually ended with acceptance.
He was born into very modest circumstances in England, living in Stevenage, Hertfordshire just north of London. Very early, Lewis demonstrated his superb hand-eye coordination and started go-cart racing.
His father, Anthony, worked as many as four jobs to provide enough funds for Hamilton to pursue his hobby and his passion. His younger brother, Nicolas, was born with cerebral palsy and yet he exhibits no jealousy to his famous brother.
One reason is the two brothers are very close.
Almost DailyBrett has always been a huge fan of rags-to-riches stories. Lewis Hamilton is reportedly worth $285 million. And yet, it has not always been that way.
From a Cool Runnings start to an amazing Monaco on severely worn tyres, Lewis Hamilton has risen from humble beginnings to become without any doubt: The Coolest Cat on the Track, and the best Formula 1 driver in the world.
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/26825854/lewis-hamilton-flustered-monaco-grand-prix-radio-messages-full
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/26832734/the-story-hamilton-monaco-masterclass
https://www.formula1.com/en/drivers/lewis-hamilton.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvcVvuPPnqI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZREYYxEcfx4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei4uWo5B_9U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZVMTuSsEX4
https://www.formula1.com/
https://www.palais.mc/en/princely-family/h-s-h-prince-albert-ii/biography-1-5.html
Tags: Almost DailyBrett, Anthony Lewis, Bono, Cool Runnings, Ellen Degeneres, F1, Formula 1, Jamaican Bobsled Team, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Mercedes, Monaco, Nicolas Lewis, Peter Bonnington, Prince Albert II, Princess Charlene, Red Bull Team, U2, Valteri Bottas


text:
Continuities » Sandboxes » a dath ilani matchmaker in King Randale's court
a dath ilani matchmaker in King Randale's court
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I didn't think anthropics worked like that
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Thellim
out-of-equilibrium
Iarwain
She wasn't ever supposed to die. Her society goes rather far out of its way to avoid it.
But there are cost-benefit tradeoffs even against soul-destruction. You could try to put enough parachutes on an airplane for every passenger, in case something goes wrong in midair in a way that makes safe landing impossible but allows enough time for people to put on parachutes and file out the doors. But parachutes have weight, weight costs money to transport, and the exact scenario where all the plane's passengers could evacuate in midair and should evacuate in midair - somebody must have argued it was very very unlikely.
There's enough time before the predictable crash for the passengers to sit and talk and try to come up with some ridiculous way to survive. They're passing over a rocky zone like a shattered mountain range; flat spots for a landing approximately don't exist. The area isn't cold enough for their brains to stay cold and be retrieved, even if they had some way to protect just their own heads from the impact. Five people are frantically working to tie together enough clothing to make an ad-hoc parachute for somebody's four-year-old. It's not going to work, but it's a dignified way to die.
Thellim doesn't consider herself to be either among the few people who should fit into working on the ad-hoc parachute, or the engineers in the far back trying to come up with an impossibly good idea in an impossibly short time. The best she can do is not distract them while they work. Being still and quiet has never been an important part of her private-tradeoff-Virtue before this, but rapid adaptation to altered circumstances is a public-universal-Virtue. She keeps herself still and quiet up until the plane loses enough speed to start diving. She only starts screaming after enough other people are screaming that her screaming won't make any important marginal difference.
The pain is very brief, and then it ends. That's as expected. The part where she's able to note this successful prediction is not as expected.
Posted Apr 30, 2021 8:53 PM | Updated Apr 30, 2021 9:01 PM | See History
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Vanyel Ashkevron
no-laid-course
Swimmer963
:It's fine, I'm not the one steering: The man seems faintly amused, and to the extent there's any hint that the interruption bothers him, it's just because he's clearly exhausted. :I'm taking you back to my camp, for now – I can bring you to Horn tomorrow, I was just recalled anyway so perfect timing, but it's too far for tonight:
From the connotations, Horn is a place, probably a town or village.
:I don't know why you aren't dead, since I still don't really understand how you got here. And I don't know exactly what'll happen in Horn, but we aren't going to hurt you - honestly you're lucky you landed on this side of the Border. What's going on in general... I'm a Herald of Valdemar. Oh, and my name is Vanyel; this is Yfandes:
'Herald' bundles in some similar associations to his early mention of 'Companions', but leaning more heavily on the 'duty', and also there's a background sense that he has very mixed feelings about it.
:We're at war with Karse, the neighbouring kingdom. And I'm afraid I don't really have answers for you - I've never heard of this happening either:
So this world doesn't get a lot of should-be-dead visitors, at least not publicly known ones, which matches up to the fantasy novel premise of 'more portal-destination worlds than portal-origin worlds'. Thellim wonders if that's pure coincidence, or if the Keepers of Harmful Truths know something infohazardous that they've quietly communicated to fantasy-novel authors in an effort to mentally prepare people like her for situations like these.
:You seem tired. Should I not be psionicizing at you? I have - a LOT of questions - but I don't know your capacity for answers.:
He sighs. :I am tired. Can't blame you for having questions, though, and I've got some of my own, too:
(Or he will once he's had some sleep, at least. This is...probably a big deal? But the flat grey exhaustion of months on the Border makes it hard to really feel that way.)
:- Have you had any actual Mindspeech training, by the way? You're, er, a bit sloppy: from the overtones, he is trying to be diplomatic and in fact it's worse than a 'a bit sloppy', :and I don't want you to leak and let anyone know we're here:
:Mindspeech is not a thing where I come from, or if it is, it's supremely not-public knowledge. It doesn't fit with the character of reality where I'm from. I know nothing about it except what I picked up from the overtones of the word when you thought it. Be warned: my intuitive guesses about anything remotely near this subject matter may be incredibly surprisingly wrong from your standpoint, because it has such a different type signature from all phenomena in my prior experience. So, um, how do I not leak?:
This situation has officially passed the level of confusing-inexplicable-details where Vanyel's brain is no longer even managing to register the ones that don't yet fit into a coherent picture. Which is most of them. Fortunately, Yfandes is a Companion and has an eidetic memory, and she's listening in on his thoughts.
:I guess I need to teach you to shield? I can put my own shield on you while we're riding, if that's all right, and walk you through it once we're settled in for the night. ...Oh, and just to let you know, Yfandes is listening in on this too, um, I hope that's all right:
It's nice, actually, having her in his mind again and NOT having a stupid fight about anything. He's spent most of the last few months evicting her for the crimes of nagging him and getting on his nerves. It's been a wearisome stint on the Border, for both of them.
:Does putting a shield on me while we're riding - or me giving my consent for you to do that - have any kind of big consequences I should know about, like destroying all of my childhood memories or inverting my utility function? Hi Yfandes, I have infinity plus one questions for you if you're in a mood to answer those.:
Yfandes
never-walk-away
:Hi! It's lovely to meet you, but I am kind of busy right now: And they leaaaaaaap over an impressively large rock.
:I - what - no! It shouldn't do anything to inside your head at all, it's more like - hmm, I don't know, like putting a raincoat on or something. What does 'inverting your utility function' even mean?:
Right she will not distract the Fast Alien then! And - have they not worked out utility functions here? Wow that's really low math. She's specialized in a field with very little specialized math but she knows the universal basics. If they name theorems after people here, she will get all of the theorems named after her.
:Put the psionic raincoat on me, then, I guess! And, uh, inverting your utility function is a colloquialism, it's like - imagine that you wanted things coherently - and then suddenly you wanted all of the opposite things instead. It's more or less among the obvious worst things that for all I know could happen by accident if somebody started doing weird things to my brain, reversing everything I thought was good or bad. Also, if nobody here knows what a 'utility function' is - and it's really the sort of thing where, once one person figures it out, everybody ends up knowing it - then I have a lot of super valuable basic mathematical knowledge to give you all. Like, the kind of knowledge where a 0.1% patentgratuity means I end up personally owning 0.01% of this whole world's economy.:
Posted May 01, 2021 12:48 AM | Updated May 01, 2021 12:52 AM | See History
Vanyel spends a long moment not saying anything. It's a very loud-and-marked sort of not saying anything.
(He's quickly running through his mental list of every single math-related book recommended to him by a particular immortal mage who's personally responsible for at least one in five of the scholarly treatises he's read in the last decade, but also this isn't something he especially wants to tell Thellim yet.)
:That does sound really awful!: he acknowledges finally. :And - I'm curious, but while we're on the Karsite border isn't the right time to ask you about math:
:I'm guessing you mean that it's the wrong time because things are busy and dangerous, and not because thinking about math doesn't work on the 'Karsite border', but I'm going to mention that I'm not actually sure just to emphasize how very little I know and how easy it would be for me to make a mistake. But I can also just deduce things quietly to myself if you'd rather wait to hand me over to... the largest universitorial truth-inquisition commission and/or venture-capital syndicate in the history of time? That's not how things would go if this were a story, but it's probably how people ought to handle things in real life, right... I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be asking you all this. I have no idea what's going to happen to me and this has not been my least exciting day ever, but you come across in Mindspeech as deeply tired. I do understand that in all principle-of-mediocrity probability I just landed on some average random typical resident of this world who isn't specialized for handling my situation.:
Posted May 01, 2021 1:10 AM
:No, no, this seems - really important. Maybe even more important than the war:
There's a burst of complicated emotion behind those words; it's tangled-up and doesn't all make it across, but there's hope - on some level it seems Vanyel is desperately hoping that this is, in fact, more important than that - and more important than some other thing that he isn't saying...?
Also he has some sort of strong, messy, mostly negative reaction to 'random typical resident', but Mindspeech overtones don't make the content of it clear.
:Er, what is 'venture-capital'?:
She is going to end up with a LOT more than math theorems named after her.
:Venture capital is professionally-specialized investing for creating new businesses! I don't know whether the laws of physics are the same between our worlds and I am unfortunately not specialized myself in things like knowing How To Build Mechanical Clocks, but going on the sheer lack of overlap between our concept bases, I should have knowledge enabling the creation of lots of new businesses and wealth that didn't exist before! Except that... uh... somebody's going to have to put wealth into the process in order for lots of wealth to come out. And while I'd expected my manufactured clothing and the theorems I know to establish the basic truth of what I'm claiming, having to also create the business of venture capital is beginning to make me worry a little bit about... exactly where I'll end up having to start. Do you already have 'money', 'debt', 'equity', and 'stock markets'?:
Posted May 01, 2021 1:25 AM | Updated May 01, 2021 1:25 AM | See History
Vanyel chuckles slightly. :We have money! And debt is a concept I'm familiar with. 'Equity' and 'stock markets' are...well, I'm not sure it maps to anything we really have in Valdemar, but I think I mostly recognize what you're talking about. The Eastern Empire has some similar practices. They're, er, more advanced than this region in a lot of ways:
And worse in some other unclear way, or at least the overtones hint at that.
(Also Vanyel is trying very hard to be curious and enthusiastic, this seems important - possibly the most important thing that has ever happened - he's pretty sure that's what Leareth would say, anyway, though at this point it's unclear whether that's a recommendation...)
:If you're not too tired, can I ask about the dire doomy hints of mass global coordination breakdown? Is the world ending?: It would be ending if this were a story.
:- Hmm? I, er, I don't know what your world is like, and things are definitely...pretty bad right now. But, I mean, this isn't the first time my Kingdom's been at war with a neighbouring one. Not sure how much it changes the big picture, two countries fighting, out of dozens on this continent...:
He definitely feels doomy about the situation. The world could well be ending right now; it would suit his mood. But probably that's mostly the tiredness talking.
(Also this would be a relevant time to mention the IMMORTAL MAGE who is raising an army north of the mountains to conquer Valdemar, but it doesn't seem like he can justify trusting her that far, yet, and also it feels hard and awkward to explain, and so he doesn't.)
:Why is everything bad? Why are interactions between individuals and groups settling at a point so far off the Pareto frontier? Is there a known reason why everything is going much worse than theory indicates it should, or should I be on the lookout for some anomaly on the order of alien parasites infesting your Very Serious People?:
Thellim is still feeling unsure how far she should infer from the marked resemblance between this situation and the situation a lot of fantasy protagonists end up in. Quietly influencing authors of fantasy novels to reflect forbidden knowledge in a helpful way is exactly the sort of thing that the Keepers of Harmful Truths are supposed to be doing.
Vanyel takes a long time to answer.
:I don't know why things are bad:
(SOMEONE he knows has a lot of opinions on the matter. He has no idea whether any of them are trustworthy.)
:It seems - complicated. And I don't know the 'theory' you're talking about, so I think I'm missing a lot of what you're even trying to ask:
Is this world falling to ruins because nobody knows what a Pareto-optimal outcome is, and all she has to do to fix the entire place is tell them? Nobody would buy that fantasy novel but, Thellim has to keep reminding herself, this is real life. If she can just fix this whole world very easily, and then live happily ever after collecting 0.1% patentgratuities on all Pareto-optimal transactions after people find out what those are, she should just do that. It doesn't matter how much her brain is going 'Nooooo, that can't be right.' She should check.
:One foundational concept in the analysis of human interactions - sorry, Yfandes, I should've said agent interactions - is getting to an outcome that can't simultaneously be made better for all parties. Let's say you have an orange and I have an apple, and I really like oranges, and you really like apples. If we trade my apple for your orange, we're both better off. It's not that one of us lost and the other gained, we're both better off. Every time a potential 'Pareto improvement' like that exists, it's like a path of - lower potential energy? I don't know if that idea made it across, if you know about that part of physics or if that part of physics even exists here. It's like water flowing downhill, to puddle at the bottom. Everybody has an incentive to move in the direction of an outcome that's better for everyone. If they can't agree on which of the better outcomes to aim for, they all have an incentive to form an agreed-on group process for dividing the gains; the incentive is reproduced at the meta-level to universally incentivize creating a coordination process. If I'm understanding you right, you're talking about massive groups of people who've decided that other groups form hindrances to them, who try to destroy and injure and hurt those other groups as much as possible. I have the approximate concept because of very shameful events where individuals or even small groups start relating like that to each other without caring about how it looks. I have the approximate concept because I've read stories about very alien aliens who don't care at all about the same things we do, who try to trick us into destroying ourselves so they can consume our whole world and its resources. But why does that much water flow uphill in real life? What happens if you sketch out on paper a situation with the factions not at war, present it to the factions, and note that all factions would be better off if they simultaneously adopted the new arrangement? I'm not saying everybody would necessarily accept the first offer, of course, but why wouldn't they look at that and go, 'Oh, gosh, let's figure out a protocol to pick up all this free wealth'?:
(Thellim does not, of course, think 'out loud' about her private suspicions that if emotions like 'hatred' have been baked into the human brain, the analogous situation between individuals must have arisen much more often in humanity's environment of evolutionary adaptedness, sometime back before the obscuring curtain of deleted prehistory. Obviously nobody ever publicly speculates about why dath ilan's pre-modern history has been deleted or hidden to the best possible extent, but it's presumably an infohazard; one doesn't talk about infohazards with non-Keepers, and Vanyel doesn't act like one. But individual situations in the ancestral environment don't seem obviously relevant to the question of how larger and better-resourced groups could end up failing in the same way.)
:...The concept makes sense. I think:
Again, there's a definite sense that Vanyel is holding back quite a lot of what he's thinking and feeling.
After a very long pause:
:I don't think it'd - work. I'm not sure I have any logical argument for why not, just...it wouldn't. Not here:
He's never thought to feel embarrassed about that fact before.
(He wonders how Leareth would feel about it, and then shoves that entire train of thought aside.)
And then Yfandes slows to a stop, in a clearing. It's nearly dark now.
:Er, we're here now. I need to set up camp, get us something to eat - here, I'll help you get down...:
From the overtones, Vanyel is not especially in the mood to continue their discussion.
Thellim is very grateful for help in this regard.
After she's down, she forces a smile, and tries to summon up some of the verve of her favorite fictional protagonists to animate her Mindspeech. :Well, for what it's worth, now that I'm here, I'll fix up this world I've found myself in. Any dath ilani would. Uh, you don't need to answer that.:
It's way too embarrassing now that she's actually gone and thought that out loud. How do fictional protagonists pull off lines like that? Right, because the author rules by fiat that nobody laughs at them.
He doesn't laugh.
He just goes still, gives her a piercing look, and then smiles a tired, sad little smile. :I know you'll try:
Then he turns and hefts down the packs strapped to Yfandes' back. :I'm guessing you haven't camped much before. I, er, sorry, sleeping arrangements won't be as nice as you're used to: He seems sheepish about this fact.
That sad "I know you'll try" would be ominous as a line of dialogue in a story, and would indicate either a convoluted time-travel plot, or that the speaker was secretly an immortal who'd already lived 144 lives failing to fix his broken world.
Thellim wants to ask about this, because she doesn't know it can't be true. But she has a feeling like she might be babbling too much already. One ought to be compassionate to oneself as one is compassionate to others, and her situation would make it very sympathetic and understandable if somebody else in it asked a lot of questions. But Vanyel feels tired. He feels like he's not doing as well mentally as her, even taking into account what her day has been like. He looks like he's eaten a lot less food over the last year. Thellim's private conception of her Virtue, in respect to those Virtues that people can't all have simultaneously because there are tradeoffs, leans less to the side of 'prioritize sharing burdens with others and being stronger together', and more towards 'prioritize not being a burden to those who seem to have it worse than you'.
So instead Thellim replies, :I'll try to show due-gratitude-and-reciprocation for whatever marginal-added-utility-interval -: Wait, if they don't know about utility functions, that's probably a much longer sentence in Vanyel's native language than it is in hers. :Er, rephrase. I'll be grateful for any improvement of sleeping arrangements over lying huddled to myself on a cold rock, waiting to be eaten by predators if I fall asleep. If you have any tasks that can be safely done by somebody with sub-zero skill, like standing very still holding up a pole for ten minutes, or my acting as a passive thermal source, don't hesitate to ask me.:
Posted May 01, 2021 12:46 PM


In antiquity they were known as the Pityusa islands, listed in Claudius Ptolemy's Geography, under the names Ophiusis and Ebyssus, which had a town of the same name. The islands were used by Cilician pirates as a base. The Roman general Annius drove them out with a large fleet and with them the Roman renegade general Quintus Sertorius, who was seeking refuge there.
The Pine Islands are sometimes grouped together as part of the Balearic Islands, or else considered separate with the Balearics proper being Majorca and Minorca (which together with their islets, are forming the Gymnesian Islands). Politically, they are part of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands.


#588 - Rain! Moping! Powerrrr!
Submitted by sonicdh on October 15, 2012 - 1:15am.
"Tasked to save the world with the all mighty powers of engineering... Super Magical Kawaii Angela-sama, GO!"
Submitted by IcyMidnight on October 15, 2012 - 1:30am.
Are those your winter glasses?
Submitted by Jam on October 23, 2012 - 10:48am.
Submitted by Fuseblower on October 15, 2012 - 1:47am.
Well now I don't think you need a cat - you seem to have turned into some sort of supercharged kitten!
Submitted by Andrew on October 16, 2012 - 12:46pm.
If "Winter Mode" only has to deal with Rain, then I think I'm going to like living in the Pacific Northwest.
Submitted by Bruceski on October 17, 2012 - 12:55am.
I'm down in Portland, the rain has just started here as well. That's mainly what we worry about, but about once a winter or two we get a few days where it dips below freezing and the rain turns into ice. Usually pretty clear warning but it's a good idea to have a bit extra food and a plan if you can't drive. Down here main streets get cleared pretty quickly and the bus system's running the next day (even if a bit slow) but some side streets can stay iced over for a week if the sun doesn't cooperate.
I love the rain this time of year, it's wet but not cold yet, so I can soak it all up. I'm a desert rat by birth, everything comes alive when the monsoons start down there so rain's always cheered me up even though we never get a good scour-the-earth thunderstorm up here. I miss those.
Submitted by Andrew on October 20, 2012 - 12:44am.
And with the Pacific Northwest's winter forecast is suppose to be drier than normal this winter, we might see less chances of icy weather.
Submitted by Bruceski on October 23, 2012 - 1:16am.
That's good. Ice doesn't shut us down as much as it did ten years ago, but when it hits the city it hits ALL of the city. I remember one 10 years or so ago that left half an inch of ice on every surface. Incredibly beautiful if you didn't need to leave your room for anything.
Submitted by Kati W on October 19, 2012 - 3:00am.


Each year the Communications Industry continues to make rapid technological advances in multiple growth areas, including network infrastructure, mobile broadband, cloud computing, IoT (internet of things), Internet Protocol (IP) networks, Over the-Top services (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP)), and even SDNs...all having significant amounts of valuable equipment (inventory) to account for, replace and or upgrade regularly. Additionally, the growth of the communications market for end-users seems to change daily, with new innovations in device technologies (inventory) like smartphones, tablets, computers, and many associated mobile support products makes seems to add more confusion. Overall, this industry and its supporting sub-markets (products) are all struggling to keep up with monitoring and tracking of not only their own infrastructure and support equipment, but the myriad of manufactured and sold hardware and components to consumers! Many commercial communications businesses are looking toward TRXio as an easy-to-use solution for reducing the their effort to find, organize and account for inventory!
- Online capable devices increased 31% from 2016 to a total of 8.4 billion devices in 2017.
- Estimated that the "IoT" will consist of approximately 30 billion objects by 2020.
- Estimated that the global market value of "IoT" alone, will reach approximately $7.1 trillion by 2020.
Within the commercial communications industry, TRXio is helping manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and installers alike to track, trace and monitor their internal hardware and equipment, as well as sold consumer goods. Furthermore, TRXio offers a full reporting suite that integrates with others systems and software to streamline or replace manual and outdated record keeping processes, giving user instant access to valuable data from anywhere!


text:
Q: Architecture design, how to setup our development infrastructure to support multiple apps and app types? We are trying to setup the infrastructure for all our developments...
We will be building web apps, mobile apps, other plugins for outlook and so on
All these apps will be using the same "data"...
We were thinking for web apps we would use single-page angular apps that talk to an API... Some of these apps are external and some internal i.e. inside/outside firewall...
The question is do we build ONE API that every single app talks to (internal and external)?
If we do that, what is this API talking to? Should it talk to the database directly or talk to internal web services that talk to the database directly?
Or in other words...
Design 1 = apps > API > web services > database
Design 2 = apps > API > database
The next question is that my boss wants an API for each app which is puzzling me a little and we have been arguing it back and forth...
Does it make sense to have
app 1 > API for app 1 > web services > database
mobile app 1 > API for mobile app 1 > web services > database
Personally, I am leaning towards:
app 1 > API > database
app 2 > API > database etc...
What are your thoughts?

A: As per given scenario apps > API > web services > database is better because...
In "app 1 > API > database" approach APIs would be having business logic which would duplicate in each API....obviously it is not so good to put business logic in app itself or in DB.
In "apps > API > web services > database" we can put a lot of common business logic and other infrastructure related stuff under shared  web services which can be used by all APIs.
Since web services can be consumed by heterogeneous web or windows applications...it is always good to put shared functionality in such a way.

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