The longest serving staff member in the John Miller Burnam Classics Library, Michael Braunlin, has been with the library for 42 years – starting in March 1976. The kind of institutional history and perspective that that brings has prompted me to ask Mike to share some of his experiences with those of us new to UC. Besides being much loved by classics staff, students and faculty alike, Mike has a wonderful sense of dry and even dark humor and a gift for story telling that makes him the perfect interview subject. He is also a true bibliophile and in spite of not being a spinster with cats, glasses and a hair bun, he rather perfectly epitomizes the image of the traditional librarian.
Mike looking at German dissertations in the John Miller Burnam Classics Library stacks. Picture by UC Photography.
Mike, where are you from originally?
I'm local, or as my detractors put it, loco. With apologies to Virgil's well-known epitaph, "Miamisburg me genuit", my hometown, Miamisburg, is a sleepy community just south of Dayton, Ohio. It might now be regarded as a bedroom community, but it'll always be a sleepy community to me. While it is arguably most famous for being the place where I grew up, it is also known as the former base of Mound Laboratories, which has the dubious distinction of being declared a Superfund site and put on the National Priorities List in 1989. If you are unfamiliar with the National Priorities List, or NPL, as I now know, this is a list of "hotspots" of known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States and its territories.
Also figuring prominently in my youth is one of the two largest conical mounds in Eastern North America, the Miamisburg Mound. A reminder of the ages, it sits majestically across the road from the now abandoned Mound Laboratories. Late one Christmas Eve I climbed to the top of the mound and in the dark, cold silence stared across at the sprawling structure that probably put my little town in the center of a Soviet missile's bull's eye during the Cold War. It was a moving juxtaposition of the timeless and the contemporary.
The third focal point of my childhood is the Hamburger Wagon. Serving the downtown since 1913, this originally horse drawn contraption still sits on the same corner it has occupied during the 60 years I have known of it. When I was in high school, we used to joke that they still fried the burgers in the same grease they used in 1913, and I bet they still haven't cleaned out the original pan, still in use after all these years. My older brother used to buy them for me for a nickel. They now tell me they are $1.75.
When and how did you come to UC?
After taking a BA in Classics from Miami University in 1973, my advisors strongly suggested I apply to UC because it had the best Classics Library in the country. So I applied for the graduate program, and got a Semple Scholarship.
Why did you choose to study Classics?
In this I am probably one dimensional, and quite a bore to most people. But that's OK; most people don't particularly interest me either. But my equally shy wife (who also studied Greek and Latin here at UC, specifically choosing "dead" languages because she wouldn't be expected to actually talk to people in them) puts up with me, actually likes me, I think, even if she considers my viewing Byzantine coins as aesthetically pleasing objects somewhat queer.
When did you start working in the Classics Library?
I could never imagine myself as doing anything that wasn't in some way involved with ancient Greece or Rome. After I graduated from Miami University with a B. A. in Classics in 1973, I came to Cincinnati to enter the graduate program. I was married at the time, and our daughter was to come as a (welcome) surprise in April 1976. At the time, we had little money, no insurance, so I left the Classics PhD program (I thought temporarily, just to pay off the bills) when the vacancy opened for Assistant Head in the Classics Library. Little did I know that gig was to last until I die or retire. I am currently on the fence about which I prefer to come first.
You must have seen many changes throughout the years both in the Classics Library and at UC. Can you recall some of them?
42 years haven proven to me that UC stands for "Under Construction".
RAUCHEN VERBOTEN – thank God! Students and faculty actually smoked in classrooms when I first came here. It was horrid. One of the positive changes to the place.
CELLULAR PHONES — and people on them all the time. I first noticed this phenomenon on the Tube in London in the spring and summer of 2001. People were holding these gizmos all the time and silently staring at them as the train hurled itself through the bowels under the City, just as I would meditate upon a miniature portrait of a loved one. It is an aspect of modern life with which I find myself most at odds. I do indeed carry a flip phone, I believe it is called, but I do so to placate my wife, who worries that without it, if I am kicked by my horse at the barn, or shoot myself in the foot at the firing range, I will die alone and un-helped.
I used to think that my father's generation, (he was born in 1890, became a physician in 1911, and died in 1968), witnessed the greatest changes of anyone in history. Dad was born into a world lacking mass communication, automobiles, airplanes, wonder drugs, and over his life was privileged to experience the development of telephones as a common tool, radio, television, air travel, and the wonders of superhighways, penicillin, and atomic warheads. But these were infrastructural advances. I think we have seen more fundamental changes than these in the years since 1970 – changes in the way people learn, think, and communicate with one another.
And it is in relation to this last, that I find the greatest disconnect between my interests and that of today's campus generation. Everywhere I walk on campus, nearly everyone is on a cellular phone – 2 people walking together are at the same time communicating with other parties via the things they hold in their hand. This is like being on a dinner date with one girl, while holding the hand of the young woman at the adjacent table. While this may be fine for some, it is not my way. It seems as if everyone has a phone attached to the palm of their hand by superglue. I walk across campus to my office at 6:50 AM of a weekday; the person walking in front of me is on the phone, talking animatedly to someone. To whom at that hour? At that time of the morning, everyone I know is either asleep, as I too should be, driving to work, or getting kids off to school. And so it goes, everywhere I go. I (and I would capitalize "I" for emphasis, were not the first person personal pronoun in English already capitalized) eschew the notion of being connected all the time. When my cellular phone rings, I cringe. While at work, I must talk with people all day. When I am home, I am grateful to hear little of human voices, save that of my wife, which I must include. I prefer a book on the table to my left, my dog Tetris on my lap, and one of my other 2 dogs in the chair to my right; WE communicate by constant eye contact and smiles. And such communication is enough.
COMPUTERS! We had a card catalog in my first years at UC. Many of my contemporaries will also remember them. And a Shelf List – oh, how I miss our Shelf List. The day it went away, I thought our Librarian, Jean Wellington, was going to throw herself between the beloved SL and the movers. When automation began to rear its head in the library – when was it, the early 80s? I no longer remember – what I do remember is attending multiple series of workshops dedicated to ever-changing computer systems having seemingly benign acronyms such as BLIS. There were many others, although this is the only one I can remember. My memory of these events is vague, but I do recall that I would exit the sessions full of despair at having sat through 90 minutes of hearing my native language English being spoken, but at the end of it, not having the faintest understanding of what had been said.
I remember my first encounter with a computer mouse. It was not at UC, but occurred while I was visiting a friend one weekend at Indiana University. She showed me a mouse attached to a computer, and I recall my total astonishment of moving this little object which in some way caused things to happen on the computer screen. Younger readers will probably not be able to relate to the impression this made upon me at the time, but I can imagine that the reaction of a pre-Columbian Indian upon seeing the first mounted conquistador could not have been too dissimilar. I do recall that when UC Libraries staff first got computers with mice, we were allowed to play card games to familiarize ourselves with the equipment.
There was a time that the Catalog Department must have had 30 full time staff. Acquisitions had 7 or 8. The serials department occupied a huge room full of staff on the third floor of the Blegen building. Over the years, the numbers have dwindled precipitously.
STUDENTS AND FACULTY. Initially, the students I served were my contemporaries, or very nearly so. But, mirabile dictu, over the years they have gotten younger and younger. How does this happen? And the same mystery applies to the faculty, which is really weird.
When I first arrived here as a grad student and during my few first years as staff, the Blegen building housed not only the Classics Library, but UC's Main Library. The library's circulation desk, as I recall, occupied the space where now the Albino Gorno Memorial (CCM) Library circulation desk stands.
McBEE CARDS. We used these 3/5" yellow punch cards to circulate books. The borrower wrote the call number, the author/title of the book, and their name and address on the card, which was stamped with the date due. Each card had a series of numbers corresponding to calendar dates that ran along the edge. The appropriate date was punched to correspond to the date due. The card was then filed by call number. To identify overdue books, a thin metal rod was inserted in the appropriate date's hole, and any cards so punched would drop out of the pile. The call numbers were then searched in the stacks, and any books not found were overdue and notices were mailed to the patron.
What about the people – faculty, students, and staff? Who have been some of the more memorable individuals here?
As in any story, I suppose, there are the good, the bad, and the ugly. Shall we pass over in silence the latter two? Fortunately, there are very few in the latter two categories. In my years here, many, many people have come and gone, and I am sad to admit that in some cases, I don't even remember their names. But perhaps at the top of my list I should note possibly the kindest man I have ever met. I'm not even sure of his surname – it may have been Cook, for we all knew him as "Cookie". Forty years ago he was the building custodian. Cookie was illiterate, the only adult I ever met who had never learned to read. (Although I know some who prefer not to. Shame on them.) But Cookie was a gentleman, a real prince, and I count myself fortunate to have known him.
For 40 years I've done my best to serve ALL of our patrons. Sort of like that slogan for the Hard Rock Cafe – "Love all, serve all". My understanding of my Lord Christ's commands is to love and to serve one another. But service doesn't come naturally to me. Left to my own devices, I prefer to hang back in the shadows and remove myself from others as much as I can. For the time that I'm in the library each day, I try to push aside this natural tendency, but it goes against the grain, à rebours, perhaps.
And the student assistants. In the early days they were nearly the same age as I. We teased each other as contemporaries. Once, in the olden times of typewriters, the students switched my Roman alphabet ball with a Greek one. Because I was not a good typist, I had to watch my fingers on the keyboard, rather than the page being typed. Consequently, I made it through nearly 2 pages before I looked up and saw the mess I had made. My own form of English Karamanlidika!
I even married one of them 15 years later. Imagine the scandal that would cause nowadays! But now, I feel for them as if they were my surrogate children. I try to look out for them as I would want someone to do for my own child if she were away at college.
Jack Caskey used to keep a pile of Roman and Greek coins in a wooden cigar box in his office desk. We would look through them together during lunch. There were many wonderful coins, most of which were from the Troad and struck during the Roman period. We spent many happy hours discussing coins, an interest we shared. In Dec. 1981, Prof. Caskey died of Lou Gehrig's disease. He was very ill in the last months of his life, so I would come to visit him at his Clifton house, where we discussed life and coins. I had planned to come see him on a Friday night the first week of December. Late that afternoon, his wife Miriam phoned me to say we would have to postpone our visit because he was going to the hospital. I found him at the ER. As he was being wheeled down the hall, Miriam and I walked beside him on opposite sides of the gurney. He and I held hands as we walked. I told him to rest and get some sleep, and that I would visit him tomorrow. He smiled and replied "If I am here tomorrow". He died that night.
It wasn't until many years after Caskey's death that I learned of his WW II exploits as Susan Heuck Allen details in her 2011 book Classical spies: American archaeologists with the OSS in World War II Greece (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press). The only war story Caskey told me was that in WW II Athens he saved the life of a dog. He was friends with a group of German soldiers who staffed a guard post. They were going to shoot their German shepherd guard dog because it was too aggressive. They were afraid it might get loose and kill a child. Caskey persuaded them to give him the dog; he told me he kept it for 6-7 years and it was the best dog he'd ever had. As he told me, "the best thing I did in WW II was to save a dog's life".
All in all, over the decades I have come to accept the Classics Department as family. If it is at times, a large, and only rarely, but slightly, dysfunctional, family, like that of the 1980s American television show "Dallas", nevertheless it is MY family. And I am, perhaps, the poor step-child who is permitted to hang on at the end of the table and who is suffered to sleep in the small room in the attic.
Some of the stories you have told me are in my mind too colorful to put into print, but can you recall some interesting anecdotes that can be told?
Ghosts – local lore is that the Blegen building has some of them. In the Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Department on the 8th floor, an apparition has been seen over the years. I read once that the Classics Department had its offices in that space years ago, and that the entity might be one of the professors of that time. I can add nothing to this story, but for years I became very uneasy whenever I had to visit our rare books in ARB and I am not usually bothered by such things. In later years, what used to invariably scare me when I retrieved a rare book was the life size photographic image of former UC president Nancy Zimpher that was placed in ARB's stacks. My reaction to it was very weird. They never moved it (something I would have done regularly), so I knew exactly where I would walk past it; but every time I did, it scared the s**t out of me anew. But the image is now gone, and as I am also entering an age where I may soon number ghosts as my companions, I no longer fear those stacks.
Over the years, however, student assistants have told me they are uncomfortable working in stacks 4. No one has ever reported anything extraordinary, but some have told me that something there made them fearful. And when we have had Indian student assistants in the past, many of them would go to great lengths to avoid working in stacks 4. I thought that strange, but an ARB colleague and friend who was from Northern Ireland was not at all surprised. In her view, India and the UK/Ireland were two of the most haunted countries on earth. So I guess they had some experience in these matters.
I only experienced one unusual incident and I offer the bare telling of it; I put forth no conclusions. In the late 1970s, an inability to stay asleep often led me to go to the office early – sometimes I was at my desk by 5 AM. One winter morning (some would call it late-middle of the night) I entered the north stairwell to walk down to the second floor, home of the Classics Library in those days. All was dark in the stairwell; the only light was the moonlight that entered the windows. As I was descending in the darkened silence, the entire stairwell suddenly filled with the noise of dozens of people talking and laughing all together. There was no one there, but I was surrounded by sounds of animated conversation. It was as if a cocktail party was going on in full force, spread out up and down through the stairwell. A few moments passed before I realized that what I was experiencing was impossible, but once the reality hit me, I ran up the stairs and continued running out the front door. I went over to the apartment of two of our student assistants, woke them up, and asked if I could stay on their couch until 8 AM. One can make of that what one will; I have no explanation.
And then there was the time I was nearly arrested in a case of mistaken identity when trying to catch a The Ohio State University (OSU) student who had stolen some of our books. In the pre-OHIOLINK days, non UC members could not check out our materials. One day a student came to our library to check out books he needed for his class at OSU. We explained he was welcome to read them here, but he could not check them out. So he did the obvious (?) thing – he decided to steal them. He was observed dropping the books out of a window in the stacks (in those days the book stacks had windows to the outside). He then went outside to retrieve the books; the police were called, and Prof. Boulter, who had seen all from his window called me into his office so I could climb out his window to intercept the culprit. By the time I had managed exiting the window and was outside, the visitor was gone, but the police had showed up as I was climbing out of Prof. Boulter's window and they started to question me. Prof. Boulter called out to the police that I was the good guy, so they let me go, but the bad guy was gone. But not for long. Fortunately he left his syllabus with his name on it behind in the library. Fortunately also he was not too bright. He soon called to say that he was that OSU student who had been using the library and wondered whether he had left his syllabus there. I said, why, yes, I had it safely. Would he want to come back for it? I set up a time for him to come back, when I would give it to him (with the police waiting for him). They got him, and we got our books back.
What would you say are some highlights from your professional career?
While my non-faculty status never qualified me for a sabbatical, our former Librarian, Jean Wellington, with whom I worked for 30 years, in 2001 arranged with the University of London's Institute of Classical Studies Library a job switch between one of their staff members and me. Sue Willetts of the ICS staff came to Cincinnati to do my job and live at my house in Madeira. Her perks included the care of our dog Pokie and our pet pig, Georgi. One of my perks was being able to visit the British Museum on my lunch hour. I hope she had fun. I sure did. I will never forget that experience and will always be grateful to Jean for bringing it about.
After my return from the UK and a month following that in Greece on holiday, Jean and our Dept. Chair, Brian Rose, then arranged to send me to Greece in 2003 for what we all intended would be the first of an annual book buying trip. For a while I was on cloud nine – an annual Greek book buying trip made my job the best in the world. The succeeding librarian, however, chose not to continue the practice. A LARGE part of my joy in my job died from that time on. Yes, it was a dream come true ended, but dreams, like old men, both eventually die.
The chief highlight of my professional career was connected only tangentially with UC. In the early 1980s, the curator of Ancient Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum introduced me to a local businessman and major museum donor, Charles Fleischmann. CF, or Skip, as he was also known, was looking for a curator for his collection of late Roman and Byzantine coins. In 1950 CF was a student at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. While on a trip to Istanbul (I prefer Constantinople), he missed his return boat, and spent days wandering around the Grand Bazaar where he began buying Byzantine coins. In those days, common Byzantine gold coins could be gotten for $10 or less, while copper coins went for pennies each. Once CF returned to Cincinnati and became settled in the family business he began to purchase important coins from the major dealers of his day.
Two images of Rome's foundation myth of the wolf with Romulus and Remus, the first, from a coin of the 2nd. c. B. C.
His collection started with the coinage of Constantine I (306-337 A. D.) and continued through the 4th and 5th centuries. With Roman coinage in the west coming to an end with the collapse of the Roman West in the late 5th century, CF concentrated upon his main passion, the coinage and history of the Eastern Roman Empire, now, perhaps less accurately known as the Byzantine Empire. Once we began our collaboration, we early on decided to discontinue and jettison his 4th and 5th century coins. Instead, we made the new beginning of the Braunlin/Fleischmann Collection, as he always preferred to call it, coincident with the reign of the Eastern Roman emperor Anastasius I (491-518 A. D.). In 498, Anastasius initiated a major currency reform of the copper coinage which formed the basis of "Byzantine" coinage for centuries to come.
Prior to my becoming involved with his collection, CF had acquired what coins were available in his day – many examples of the plentiful gold coinage, the occasional silver coin (in the Byzantine series, far scarcer than the gold), and copper coins, readily available, but usually in very poor condition. Although price was of no concern to him, CF's intent was not to form a spectacular collection of rare coins; education was always his chief goal, and he wanted his collection to be a teaching tool. Because gold coinage would only have circulated to the elite classes, or formed army payments or incentives/bribes to foreign rulers, CF chose to center his interests on the coins that would most have been handled by the common people: the copper issues. Because well preserved Byzantine base metal coins have always been rarer than the gold issues, we set our sights over the years at buying the highest quality copper coins available. Also, because many collections are relatively weak in representation of silver coins, which are also scarcer than their gold counterparts, we chose to strengthen his collection in this regard. As I have done over the decades in selecting books for the Classics Library, CF and I spent 3 fruitful decades building strength upon strength.
A representation of the same image from a Roman coin of the 4th c. A. D.
As we began to look for a permanent home for his collection, which would utilize it according to his wishes as an aid to research, our thoughts gravitated to Dumbarton Oaks (DO), located in the Georgetown district of Washington, DC. DO is a premier center for Byzantine Studies, which already possessed one of the world's finest institutional collections of Byzantine coins. I already had ties to DO through my wife, who had done editorial work for them for years, and through the more family based connection of my step-daughter's father, who had been a DO fellow. Closer connections were sought; friendships were made, and when my dear friend died in 2011, his Foundation began gifting the collection to DO.
I miss CF as I would my own father. He was a dear friend, and his family remains close to me to this day. I was blessed to know him and treasure the many years of memories and our adventures together – both numismatically and bibliographically.
What about after working hours? What do you like to do?
I like to sleep. A lot. I don't get much during the week, because I'm always fretting about getting up at 6 AM the next morning. Consequently, I sleep fitfully Sunday – Thursday nights, but relax blissfully until Saturday night, when I start to worry about Sunday night.
I read as much as I can. One of my hobbies is reading Chaucer and more recently, the Paston Letters. These are the collected correspondence to and from various members of the Pastons, a Norfolk family, who became prominent as lawyers in 15th England. I've no academic training in Middle English, but I'm making headway. One of my favorite authors for a number of years has been A. Edward Newton (1863-1940), who owned an electronic manufacturing concern, but was an avid book collector and who wrote a number of delightful books about his passion for print. I read a lot of scholarship on late Roman and Byzantine coins, but not as much as I should. Several books I hold as "evergreen" – that is, I read them again and again. Some of Chaucer's tales fall into this category, as do several A. E. Newton books; I also re-read every four or so years Bram Stoker's Dracula and Steven King's 'Salem's Lot. Although I've read no other King save for a few of his short stories, 'Salem's Lot abounds in lyrical beauty, and I dig up additional prose gems whenever I dip into it. I also stick my nose into a German translation that reads very well.
Guns. I enjoy them, and have a few. But let it be said up front: I DO NOT HUNT. I could NEVER take the life of an animal for fun or sport. Old tin cans, water filled soda bottles, these are wonderful things to shoot at. One of the most cathartic experiences of my life was emptying 50 rounds with one of my assault rifles equipped with a bump stock into an old computer. That took about four seconds to accomplish and the result was quicker and cheaper than an hour in therapy. But I also enjoy old fashioned guns. I have a working reproduction of a 15th c. "handgonne", examples of which I first saw in a 15th c. Burgundian illuminated manuscript. This gun is so primitive it has no trigger. After black powder and a lead ball are rammed down the barrel the piece is fired by touching a lighted end of rope to a touch hole which sets off the charge. If the bump stock allows 50 rounds to be fired in four seconds, I can get one shot off on the handgonne every three to four minutes! But when we shoot outside at a private range in the woods, we don't want to scare the animals, so we use silencers.
How did your interest in numismatics get started?
As a child, I collected Indian Head pennies, but I loved ancient Rome and Greece. Once I went into a coin shop and saw an ancient Roman coin priced at 25 cents. I bought it. The rest is history. However, I am acutely aware of the problems looting and trade in non-provenanced antiquities and coins cause. So just as the smart consumer only buys comestibles that are sustainably and ethically (INTERVIEWERS COMMENT: animal derived and not tested on animals) sourced, so have I added to my modest collection only those objects that have a long pedigree of past ownership. I have a particular delight in the silver coinage of the final decades of the Byzantine Empire, the plentiful, but abysmally struck stavrata of the emperors John V – Constantine XI (1367 – 1453). My wife thinks I am nuts for this, but I find these crude coins, with their near incomprehensible inscriptions and portraiture that a kindergartner could improve upon on a bad day, hauntingly beautiful. Moreover, to behold a diminutive silver coin of Constantine XI, the last Roman emperor, is to survey the transience and vanity of all human endeavor.
You have already indicated that you are fond of animals. Could you tell us something about the animals currently in your life and some from your past?
I believe God has brought together two disparate species, canids and human primates, to offer us an ongoing example of the love He has for us. Dogs love us unconditionally, with all of our faults. There are no strings attached to their love; they simply love us – warts and all. I believe God's love for us is the same. It is freely given, limitless, and unconditional – all we need do is accept it. My three family members who are dogs are named Tetris, Sadie and Daisy. We formerly had a Vietnamese Pot Belly pig named Georgi for 18 years. She was much better house broken than any dog could be. I love them all, but Tetris holds my heart. She is nearing 13 and experiencing the aches and pains of her age – something we increasingly have in common. My selfish hope is that God calls me home before He does her.
We also have a sweet horse named Alex. He is a Halflinger, a small draft horse. He is short, only 13.3 hands tall, but is all muscle. I didn't start riding until I was in my fifties, which is perfectly ridiculous. I have only fallen off once, and that is enough. There is a story to that. As I was starting to fall from Alex, actually it was more like a gentle, uncontrolled slide, my horse desperately tried to adjust his position to keep me in the saddle, but his best efforts were in vain. Down I went, and Homer would have added something about my eating the dust and my armor falling about me. Susan rushed me to the closest hospital, and as the admitting ER nurse was told what had happened, she asked me archly, "Aren't WE a little old for that sort of thing?" HONEST – THIS IS WHAT SHE SAID! I replied sweetly, and with a restraint as could be expected from a future Elder of the Madeira-Silverwood Presbyterian Church: "A little old? My dear young woman, when I permanently check out of this world, it's not going to be by any fu**ing boring old person's accident, like falling in the bath-tub. I want visitors at my funeral whispering in awed tones: 'Really, he died when the pipe bomb he was making went off too soon?'" The nurse realized she had struck a raw nerve at that point, and why should she not have done? Everything else was raw and aching at that moment. And she left me alone, which was probably best for both parties. I learned from that day that any ride without falling off is a great ride. And last, but by no means least, until our middle daughter Kate recently moved out, we have always had a series of pet rats to complement our household. Rats suffer an entirely undeserved bad reputation. They are wonderful little critters. They are affectionate, inquisitive, playful, a real joy.
You are a big Rolling Stones fan. When and how did that start?
Although I dearly love Keith Richards, in the early days, it was Brian Jones who received most of the adulation. Brian was a beautiful "cat." He formed the band that ultimately discarded him. He selected its members. In the early days, he chose the music they played. His prowess as a multi-instrumentalist was unmatched in the rock world. He was an ethereally brilliant star that burned brightly for too short a time. Once called "the dandiest heterosexual of the 20th century", if he gave nothing else to the world, Brian was the first heterosexual male to start wearing costume jewelry from Saks Fifth Avenue. Today he sleeps in his native Cheltenham. If I live to summer 2019, my daughter Kate and I want to travel to Cheltenham to visit his grave there on the 50th anniversary of his death.
What about the future? Dreams and plans you would like to share?
The future is in God's hands. My best friend (apart from my wife Susan, who is REALLY my BEST friend – how blessed it is to be married to one's best friend) is currently struggling to remain alive long enough be put on a waiting list for a liver transplant. It has not yet been determined whether he is a viable candidate for such a list and I am afraid he may not be. Seeing John's steady decline has made me aware of how uncertain the future for any of us is. In 1994 this fact also slapped me out of my complacency when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. A year of chemotherapy followed by several years of recovery from said chemotherapy taught me many valuable facts about the fragility of life and the utter waste of any life that is not motivated by love for others and for God.
Yet one must anticipate and plan for the future. Just this morning, my daughter bought tickets for her, my granddaughter, and me to see Paul McCartney in June of 2019! And I earlier mentioned that my other daughter wants to visit Brian Jones' grave in England with me in July 2019.
I would also like to visit Greece one last time before I die. There is a lovely village called Limni on Evvia, where we have stayed. It would be wonderful to visit the island again. And I would also like to visit Mystra, which witnessed the last flowering of Byzantine intellectual life in the 14th – 15th centuries.
I would also like to spend more time at home, where there are many books yet calling me to read them, tortured Palaeologan coin inscriptions waiting to be deciphered, and dogs who long to sit beside me and stare into my eyes. And also, Susan.
Do you have any final thoughts or pieces of advice you would like to share with those new to UC?
Only a generalized thought. Work is what one makes of it. I've been here for over 40 years because I've loved the books, the Classics field, and because I've come to love many of my co-workers and patrons. My advice would be: Be kind to one another. That which we all have in common is greater than any differences we perceive separate us. Treat each person you come into contact with as you would want them to treat you. Do that and it'll all work out.


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Thomas Brent "Boo" Weekley (* 23. Juli 1973 in Milton, Florida) ist ein US-amerikanischer Profigolfer der PGA TOUR.

Werdegang
Weekley wurde im Jahr 1997 Berufsgolfer und spielte zunächst auf kleineren Turnierserien. 2002 qualifizierte er sich für die PGA TOUR, konnte sich aber nicht behaupten und bespielte von 2003 bis 2006 die zweitgereihte Nationwide Tour. 2007 erreichte er wieder die Spielberechtigung für die PGA TOUR und seither gelangen Weekley drei Turniersiege. Er gewann die Verizon Heritage sowohl 2007 als auch 2008 und stieß damit vorübergehend in die Top 50 der Golfweltrangliste vor, was ihm die Startberechtigung bei Majors und den hochdotierten Events der World-Golf-Championships-Turnierserie zusicherte.

Weekley vertrat die Vereinigten Staaten gemeinsam mit Heath Slocum beim World Cup 2007 im Mission Hills Golf Club. Die beiden scheiterten erst im Stechen an Schottland und belegten den zweiten Platz. 2008 spielte er erstmals im Ryder Cup Team der USA, welches den ersten Pokalgewinn seit 1999 verbuchen konnte.

Seinen Spitznamen Boo verdankt er der Zeichentrickfigur Boo Boo, einem Bären aus der TV-Serie Yogi Bär.

PGA Tour Siege
2007 Verizon Heritage
2008 Verizon Heritage
2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

Andere Turniersiege
2010 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (mit Dustin Johnson und Bubba Watson)

Ergebnisse bei Major Championships

WD = aufgegeben
DNP = nicht teilgenommen
CUT = Cut nicht geschafft
"T" geteilte Platzierung
Grüner Hintergrund für Sieg
Gelber Hintergrund für Top 10

Teilnahmen an Mannschaftsbewerben
World Cup: 2007
Ryder Cup: 2008 (Sieger)

Weblinks
Spielerprofil bei der PGA Tour (englisch)

Golfer (Vereinigte Staaten)
US-Amerikaner
Geboren 1973
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The exact year Jesus was crucified is unknown. It is generally acknowledged that it took place between 30 and 33 A.D. Within a generation (40 years), Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed as foretold in God's Word.
Within a generation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Temple and city of Jerusalem were destroyed, exactly as prophesied.
How is it that prophecy after prophecy has been fulfilled as God's Word said, yet there are many that still do not believe the Bible?
All of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that survive the Battle of Armageddon shall be gathered to the Land of Israel during the Millennium. However, there have been smaller migrations in the past. The following are some Jewish migrations that took place during the 20th century (dates and figures are approximate).
1881-1900 30,000 Jews returned from Russia.
1904-1914 32,000 Russian Jews returned.
In November 1917, the Balfour Declaration was made public. Great Britain gave their approval for a Jewish homeland.
1924-1931 78,000 Polish Jews returned.
1933-1939 230,000 German Jews fled to Palestine from Central Europe.
1940-1948 95,000 Jews returned from Central Europe.
Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. At that time, there were an estimated 650,000 Jews in the Land.
25,000 European Jews arrived from Cyprus.
75,000 European Jews from the camps of Germany and Austria.
33,000 Turkish Jews arrived in Israel.
20,000 Jews per year from Czechoslovakia.
35,000 from Morocco, Tunis, and Algiers.
3,000 Jews per month from Hungary; also a considerable number from Persia.
121,000 Jews from Iraq were airlifted to Israel within a 12 month period.
48,000 Jews from Yemen were airlifted to Israel.
The number should continue to grow up to the time of the Rapture.
It should be noted that hundreds of thousands of Jews were prevented by the British from immigrating to Palestine, during the years prior to Israel's independence in 1948.
The entire house of Israel is portrayed in the following two ways. One is through the dry bones, the other is through the graves. Israel is pictured as being spiritually dead—as being scattered and not in their own land.
They are cut off and without hope. Though their "bones are dry," God will bring them "out of their graves" and give them life. The people of Israel are scattered, but God will gather them. He will put His Spirit in them and bring them to their own land.
The Scriptures reveal that God will make a new covenant with them; He will remember their sin no more.
This is summarized in these portions of Scripture. Ezek 37:1-8 portrays the entire house of Israel as many dry bones in an open valley, having no life. The question is asked, "Can these bones live?" In other words, "Can Israel live? Can Israel be restored or resurrected?" The answer that follows shows that indeed they shall live, and when they do they will know that I AM THE LORD.
This national restoration of Israel occurs in stages, as described in verses 1-14. It covers Israel being scattered throughout the world, returning to their homeland, and receiving God's Spirit; they shall know the Lord and flourish during the Millennium.
1. The open valley that was full of many dry bones represents the whole house of Israel as being dead. Some may say, this means they had no homeland; they were scattered throughout the world and were also spiritually dead. Others may say, this means that Israel had been reborn as a nation, but spiritually they were dead.
2. The Word of the Lord is heard by the dry bones. Next, breath enters into them, and they live. This occurs in stages.
First, the bones come together, bone to bone. God lays sinews (or tendons) upon the bones; then flesh appears, and then skin, but there is no breath in them for a time.
Next, they are breathed upon, receive breath, and live. They are very many. The entire house of Israel shall know that "I AM THE LORD."
Verses 12-14, portray Israel as being in closed graves and not in their own land. Then the graves are opened, and the people of Israel are brought up out of their graves and into the Land.
God puts His Spirit in them. God places them in their own land, the Land of Israel.
Ezek 37:1-6-THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS UPON ME, AND CARRIED ME OUT IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD, AND SET ME DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE VALLEY WHICH WAS FULL OF BONES, AND CAUSED ME TO PASS BY THEM ROUND ABOUT: AND, BEHOLD, THERE WERE VERY MANY IN THE OPEN VALLEY; AND, LO, THEY WERE VERY DRY. AND HE SAID UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? AND I ANSWERED, O LORD GOD, THOU KNOWEST. AGAIN HE SAID UNTO ME, PROPHESY UPON THESE BONES, AND SAY UNTO THEM, O YE DRY BONES, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD. THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD UNTO THESE BONES; BEHOLD, I WILL CAUSE BREATH TO ENTER INTO YOU, AND YE SHALL LIVE: AND I WILL LAY SINEWS (or tendons) UPON YOU, AND WILL BRING UP FLESH UPON YOU, AND COVER YOU WITH SKIN, AND PUT BREATH IN YOU, AND YE SHALL LIVE; AND YE SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.
Ezek 37:7,8-SO I PROPHESIED AS I WAS COMMANDED: AND AS I PROPHESIED, THERE WAS A NOISE, AND BEHOLD A SHAKING, AND THE BONES CAME TOGETHER, BONE TO HIS BONE. AND WHEN I BEHELD, LO, THE SINEWS AND THE FLESH CAME UP UPON THEM, AND THE SKIN COVERED THEM ABOVE: BUT THERE WAS NO BREATH IN THEM.
Ezek 37:9-11-THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, PROPHESY UNTO THE WIND, PROPHESY, SON OF MAN, AND SAY TO THE WIND, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; COME FROM THE FOUR WINDS, O BREATH, AND BREATHE UPON THESE SLAIN, THAT THEY MAY LIVE. SO I PROPHESIED AS HE COMMANDED ME, AND THE BREATH CAME INTO THEM, AND THEY LIVED, AND STOOD UP UPON THEIR FEET, AN EXCEEDING GREAT ARMY. THEN HE SAID UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, THESE BONES ARE THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL: BEHOLD, THEY SAY, OUR BONES ARE DRIED, AND OUR HOPE IS LOST: WE ARE CUT OFF FOR OUR PARTS.
Ezek 37:12-14-THEREFORE PROPHESY AND SAY UNTO THEM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, O MY PEOPLE, I WILL OPEN YOUR GRAVES, AND CAUSE YOU TO COME UP OUT OF YOUR GRAVES, AND BRING YOU INTO "THE LAND" OF ISRAEL. Thus, the closed graves portray the people of Israel, not yet in the Jewish homeland. AND YE SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHEN I HAVE OPENED YOUR GRAVES, O MY PEOPLE, AND BROUGHT YOU UP OUT OF YOUR GRAVES, AND SHALL PUT MY SPIRIT IN YOU, AND YE SHALL LIVE, AND I SHALL PLACE YOU IN YOUR "OWN LAND": THEN SHALL YE KNOW THAT I THE LORD HAVE SPOKEN IT, AND PERFORMED IT, SAITH THE LORD.
In many of the prophecies that follow, the term "in this last generation" may be used. This term pertains to the period from the rebirth of Israel in 1948, to the time that the Rapture of the church takes place.
The destruction of Israel and Judah was foretold by God, and it came to pass. For example, the Lord had warned Israel, MY GOD WILL CAST THEM AWAY, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HEARKEN UNTO HIM: AND THEY SHALL BE WANDERERS AMONG THE NATIONS-Hos 9:17. Indeed, this has been fulfilled as well as many other such verses. The prophecies that Jesus gave before He died, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, all came to pass after His death exactly as He said. But God's Word foretold that Israel would once again in the future become a nation.
It is written, WHO HATH HEARD SUCH A THING? WHO HATH SEEN SUCH THINGS? SHALL THE EARTH (or land) BE MADE TO BRING FORTH (or can a country be born-NIV)?...OR SHALL A NATION BE BORN (or brought forth)?-Isa 66:8. THE TIME THAT SHE WHICH TRAVAILETH (or is in labor) HATH BROUGHT FORTH (or gives birth)-Mic 5:3.
Israel greatly travailed in pain after Jesus was born as many of her children were slaughtered.
Israel greatly travailed in pain to be reborn into a nation as approximately six million Jews were slaughtered. But, afterward, came forth the rebirth of Israel.
Israel will also greatly travail in pain during the Tribulation as two-thirds of Israel will be cut off and die. One-third will survive. And then will come forth the glorious Israel as the Messiah shall return and set up His Kingdom. Israel will indeed be the blessed nation. As it is written, THEIR SINS AND INIQUITIES WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE-Heb 10:17.


text:
Q: How do you SAFELY make a flash:notice html_safe? For example, Say I want to add – in my notice message:
. . .
  format.html { redirect_to root_path, notice: "Success – Email sent to: #{@learn_more.email}" }

Is it safe?... or is it a security risk to do notice.html_safe in my view?

A: If @learn_more.email comes from a user of your site, then you should sanitize it first.
"Success – Email sent to: #{ERB::Util.h(@learn_more.email)}".html_safe

The above calls the html_escape method.
Basically, make sure a string is guaranteed to be non-malicious before marking it as safe. Otherwise, malicious input can make it into your site. Malicious input would be something like a user entering a javascript tag in as their email, or anything like that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Join us at our Union City location on Saturday, October 13th, 2018 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm for Barb's Pink Party, a family oriented breast cancer fundraiser in memory of Barbara Nicholson. Mark your calendars and read more about the upcoming event!
Mark your calendars for the Annual Halloween Family Carnival! Enjoy games, free play in the gym and a Halloween costume parade. Bring a bag to collect all of the yummy candy and giveaways.
News & Events around town is brought you you by Macaroni Kid Fremont.


text:
/**
 * The interfaces provided are listed below, along with usage samples.
 *
 *
======================= WorkflowsServiceV2BetaClient =======================
 *
 *
Service Description: A service for running workflows, such as pipelines consisting of Docker
 * containers.
 *
 *
Sample for WorkflowsServiceV2BetaClient:
 *
 *
{@code
 * // This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only.
 * // It will require modifications to work:
 * // - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization.
 * // - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in
 * // https://cloud.google.com/java/docs/setup#configure_endpoints_for_the_client_library
 * try (WorkflowsServiceV2BetaClient workflowsServiceV2BetaClient =
 *     WorkflowsServiceV2BetaClient.create()) {
 *   RunPipelineRequest request =
 *       RunPipelineRequest.newBuilder()
 *           .setParent("parent-995424086")
 *           .setPipeline(Pipeline.newBuilder().build())
 *           .putAllLabels(new HashMap<String, String>())
 *           .setPubSubTopic("pubSubTopic320524524")
 *           .build();
 *   RunPipelineResponse response = workflowsServiceV2BetaClient.runPipelineAsync(request).get();
 * }
 * }

 */
@Generated("by gapic-generator-java")
package com.google.cloud.lifesciences.v2beta;

import javax.annotation.Generated;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
UM-Flint Names New Director of Public Safety
UM-Flint Theatre Project Spotlights Downtown Rock Club "Flint Local 432"
UM-Flint Joins Study to Help Reduce Treatment Costs for Certain Breast Cancers
By UM-Flint News On February 13, 2012 5:01 pm
The study found that early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer-related lymphedema by a physical therapist can significantly reduce costs and the need for intensive rehabilitation.
Research done by three physical therapy specialists from different institutions around the country holds the promise of helping to lower treatment costs for some cancer patients.
The study, by researchers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Clinical Center and the University of Michigan-Flint, found that early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer-related lymphedema by a physical therapist can significantly reduce costs and the need for intensive rehabilitation.
Led by American Physical Therapy Association member and spokesperson Nicole Stout, PT, MPT, CLT-LANA, the study compared a prospective surveillance model with a traditional model of impairment-based care and examined the direct treatment costs associated with each program. Treatment and supply costs were estimated based on the Medicare 2009 physician fee schedule. Researchers estimated that treatment for breast cancer-related lymphedema costs $636 per year when the prospective surveillance model was used, versus $3,125 for traditional treatment of advanced lymphedema.
"This study begins to paint a picture of evidence showing that prevention of chronic conditions such as lymphedema—using rehabilitation models of care—may result in significant cost savings," said Stout.
Professor Cindy Pfalzer, UM-Flint Physical Therapy Department's associate director of research, was a co-investigator of the study. She wrote the research protocol while a clinical research fellow at NIH, and she continues to contribute to data analysis, database updating, and manuscript generation.
"I am pleased to have collaborated with my colleagues from the federal health care system including the Breast Care Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the Clinical Center in the National Institutes of Health to provide findings that will help in the recovery and reduce impairments and their costs in breast cancer survivors," said Pfalzer. "Physical Therapists collaborating on a variety of research projects can make a difference in our healthcare system."
The goal of a prospective surveillance model for cancer rehabilitation is to identify impairment at the earliest onset to alleviate impairment or prevent it from progressing. Soon after diagnosis, a physical therapist will perform a preoperative examination to establish a baseline level of function. Follow-up examinations are then conducted postoperatively at one month and then three-month intervals for up to one year. By contrast, a traditional model focuses on treating lymphedema once it has progressed and patients already have functional limitations.
The other co-primary investigator for the study was Ellen Levy, the PT from the NIH.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
<?php

namespace Concrete\Controller\SinglePage\Dashboard\System\Seo;
use \Concrete\Core\Page\Controller\DashboardPageController;
use Loader;
use Config;
class Urls extends DashboardPageController {
	/**
	* Returns the mod_rewrite rules
	*
	* @return string
	*/
	public function getRewriteRules(){
		$strRules = '
		<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
		RewriteEngine On
		RewriteBase ' . DIR_REL . '/
		RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
		RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}/index.html !-f
		RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}/index.php !-f
		RewriteRule . ' . DISPATCHER_FILENAME .' [L]
		</IfModule>';

		return preg_replace('/\t/', '', $strRules);
	}

	/**
	* Returns the .htaccess text to be copied/inserted
	*
	* @return string
	*/
	public function getHtaccessText(){
		$strHt = '
		# -- concrete5 urls start --'
		. $this->getRewriteRules() . '
		# -- concrete5 urls end --
		';

		return preg_replace('/\t/', '', $strHt);
	}

	/**
	* Dasboard page view
	*
	* @param string $strStatus - Result of attempting to update rewrite rules
	* @param boolean $blnHtu - Flag denoting if the .htaccess file was writable or not
	* @return void
	*/
	public function view($strStatus = false, $blnHtu = false){
		$strStatus = (string) $strStatus;
		$blnHtu = (bool) $blnHtu;
		$intRewriting = Config::get('concrete.seo.url_rewriting') == 1 ? 1 : 0;

		$this->set('fh', Loader::helper('form'));
		$this->set('strRules', $this->getRewriteRules());
		$this->set('intRewriting', $intRewriting);

		if($strStatus == 'rewriting_saved'){
			if(Config::get('concrete.seo.url_rewriting') && !$blnHtu){
				$this->set('message', t('URL rewriting enabled. You need to update .htaccess by hand.'));
			}elseif(Config::get('concrete.seo.url_rewriting') && $blnHtu){
				$this->set('message', t('URL rewriting enabled. We were able to automatically update .htaccess file.'));
			}else{
				$this->set('message', t('URL rewriting disabled.'));
			}
		}
	}

	/**
	* Updates the .htaccess file (if writable)
	*
	* @return void
	*/
	public function update_rewriting(){
		if($this->token->validate('update_rewriting')){
			$strHtText = (string) $this->getHtaccessText();
			$blnHtu = 0;

			if($this->isPost()){
				$intCurrent = Config::get('concrete.seo.url_rewriting') == 1 ? 1 : 0;
				$intPosted = $this->post('URL_REWRITING') == 1 ? 1 : 0;

				// If there was no change we don't attempt to edit/create the .htaccess file
				if($intCurrent == $intPosted){
					$this->redirect('/dashboard/system/seo/urls');
				}

				Config::save('concrete.seo.url_rewriting', $intPosted);

				if($this->post('URL_REWRITING') == 1){
					if(file_exists(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess') && is_writable(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess')){
						if(file_put_contents(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess', $strHtText, FILE_APPEND)){
							$blnHtu = 1;
						}
					}elseif(!file_exists(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess') && is_writable(DIR_BASE)){
						if(file_put_contents(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess', $strHtText)){
							$blnHtu = 1;
						}
					}
				}else{
					if(file_exists(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess') && is_writable(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess')){
						$fh = Loader::helper('file');
						$contents = $fh->getContents(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess');

						if(file_put_contents(DIR_BASE . '/.htaccess', str_replace($strHtText, '', $contents))){
							$blnHtu = 1;
						}
					}
				}

				$this->redirect('/dashboard/system/seo/urls', 'rewriting_saved', $blnHtu);
			}
		}else{
			$this->set('error', array($this->token->getErrorMessage()));
		}
	}
}
?>


I can do everything #inmyergo! Two new beautiful #KeithHaring patterns in #Adapt, #360 and #dollcarrier models are coming soon to Malta PM us on Facebook or send us an email on liza@maltamum.com and reserve your very own Keith Haring, limited edition Ergo carrier!
« NEW Adapt cool mesh, with super breathable fabric, and gifts!


In Part I of this study, the social organisation and cormnunicative behaviour of the striped field-mouse Rhabdomys pumilio was studied in a large outdoor cage. It was found that the social organisation was based on a male dominance hierarchy, with the development of territory in the dominant male and breeding females. The level of testosterone in males was found to be a reliable index of social status. Analysis of spatial relationships and behavioural interactions among individuals showed these factors to be closely related to social status. Rhabdomys was found to have a well-developed repertoire of visual displays, to use ultrasonic calls in social interactions, and to be dependent, to a certain extent, on chemical communication. In Part II, an attempt was made to confirm these findings in the field. Home ranges on the Cape Flats were determined by tracking; testosterone was used as an index of. social statua. Similarly structured hierarchies were found, as well as indications of territoriality. Home range sizes, distribution and spatial relationships of individuals were determined. Rhabdomys was found to prefer habitats of good ground cover.
Johnson, A. 1980. The social organisation and behaviour of the striped field-mouse Rhabdomys Pumilio (Sparrman 1784) : studies in captivity and in the field. University of Cape Town.
Includes bibliography at end of thesis.


Well, in the couple of months that I've been listening to Nightwish, it's overtaken Queen to the number one slot on my most played list at Last.fm. Which is quite impressive.
Since I wrote about Rhapsody of Fire a while back, I've been growing ever more fond of it. While in that post I considered some of the problems with concept albums, it must be said that Rhapsody's music, with its epic fantasy sagas, is unique among concept albums. Yes, it is a different kind of experience compared to, say, Nightwish, but no less wonderful. Particularly to a fantasy geek like me.
Having received a little money from translation work, I went on a bit of a shopping spree. I now own all the studio albums by Nightwish and Lordi, and all but the latest by Rhapsody of Fire (which I'll try to obtain soon). My income being what it is, I've favoured libraries, friends and the Internet as sources for music for a long time, but some albums you just need to own in physical form, because the listening experience just isn't complete without the additional aesthetic and informative content provided by the covers and booklets. This is especially true for Rhapsody of Fire, as the booklets contain not only artwork, but also additional narrative, maps etc. vital to the story.
I hope to receive my next paycheck soon. This one will be spent on the new guitar. I'm kinda excited about that. And rather impatient.


text:
TITO'S TAX ON E-CIGARETTES WILL SAVE LIVES
The National Council of Smoking (NCAS) welcomes the decision to tax e-cigarettes from 2021. The bold move announcing taxation will reduce youth use of e-cigarettes and prevent them from becoming addicted to nicotine and later switching to cigarettes. This will reduce disease and save lives. For more than a decade, e-cigarette usage has been unregulated and untaxed in the country. An estimated one million South Africans now use e-cigarettes, a worrying number that continues to
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni should announce a tax on e-cigarettes in Budget Speech
During his SONA speech the president painted a bleak picture of an economy in distress. Public finances are under severe pressure, youth unemployment is unacceptably high and continues to rise - and SOEs like SAA and Eskom continue to be a drain on the public purse. In October 2019 the Minister of Finance spoke of tax deficits, with Treasury collecting R53 billion less than it had projected. In his much anticipated Budget Speech, Tito Mboweni is expected to outline measures t
Groups urge govt to enforce tobacco control regulations
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and a host of civil society groups have urged the Nigerian government to commence immediate enforcement of the National Tobacco Control (NTC) Regulations 2019 following its gazette in January 2020. At a press briefing jointly organised by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), the groups also recommended the implementation of the ban of sale of cigarettes to minors, ban of sale in single sticks and
Philip Morris in breach of SA's tobacco law with sponsored campaign
Business Day recently published an article sponsored by Philip Morris SA (PMSA), "Unsmoke SA: it's time for a new conversation to reduce smoking rates" and BusinessTech also published a similar article. In both PMSA advertises and promotes the heat-not-burn tobacco product IQOS. Heat-not-burn products, including Philip Morris International's (PMI's) IQOS device, are tobacco products and should not be advertised or promoted in terms of the Tobacco Control Act of 1993. This act
Implementing the Tobacco Bill will give the NHI extra muscle
Tobacco-related diseases kill 115 people in South Africa every day and the economic costs of tobacco to the country are R59bn a year. Tobacco adds to the economic and human resources costs of the National Health Insurance — costs that are subsidised by the taxpayer while the industry takes the profit. South Africans need no reminder that we are the most unequal country in the world, with our lived experiences telling the story of this inequality and a Gini coefficient of 0.63
Brazil gives big tobacco companies 30 days notice in smoking lawsuit
7 February 2020, @SABCNewsOnline The lawsuit was heralded as historic by groups advocating for reduced tobacco consumption, such as the Alliance to Control Smoking (ACT), which said this week's ruling put the lawsuit back on track. The world's largest cigarette makers, British American Tobacco Plc and Philip Morris International, will have until early March to defend themselves in a lawsuit in Brazil over compensation for tobacco-related diseases. Since last year, the compani
LETTER: Philip Morris's reinvention as crusader for public health is disingenuous
What exactly is PMI recommending if products they deem 'appropriate for the protection of the public health' should be regulated differently to cigarettes? 05 February 2020 - 15:53 Picture: CHONESCHONES/123RF Although tobacco advertising has been banned in SA since 1999, the tobacco industry still finds ways to advertise its products. Philip Morris SA's (PMSA's) sponsored article heavily promoted its so called "smoke-free" products and stated that they want to "replace cigare


Dhadak, the Hindi language adaptation of the super hit Marathi film, Sairat is going to be released on 2018. The movie stars, Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar, and is directed by Sashank Khaitan. Both of them have film background, Janhvi is the daughter of Sridevi and Ishaan is related to Shahid Kapoor. His father is actor Rajesh Khattar. The casting of these two had been frowned upon by people, especially because the original had actors who didn't come from any previlieged background. Karan Johar is launching them both, and he has been accused of nepotism before, because he usually favors to cast more unknown actors than audition for roles.
Still, the movie is being highly anticipated from many people because the original is now considered one of the best love stories of the decade, with exceptional performances from the leads. There will surely be pressure for Janhvi and Ishaan to prove themselves to so many people, which is something all star kids have to face. But they should be given a chance, since there have been reports that both were chosen based on their talents and not on the name of their families.
It will be interesting to see how the film turns out, because according to some reports, there have been quite a few changes in the story line. Everyone is excited to see new talent, and both of the leads will surely be facing a lot of scrutiny for their performances. Hopefully, the movie will prove that the new comers are really good actors and not just posers, and all the backlash will come to a close.


Australian trained acupuncturist & herbalist. Offering Acupuncture, Chinese medicine, cupping, relaxation exercises and more.
Common conditions: pain, low back pain, stiff neck, headaches, migraines, pregnancy support, chronic fatigue (CFS), fertility, PMS, stress, anxiety, eczema, tennis elbow, allergies, digestive issues, irregular periods, IBS, gout, TMJ, sciatica, labor induction.
Distal Needling away from the problem area. Gentle methods from China, Taiwan, Korea as well as modern electroacupuncture.
Chinese Herbal Medicine, Compounded for you and your health.
Easily taken as powder or capsules. You'll receive the highest grade herbs available.
Cupping is a method using suction cups on the skin to draw toxins to the surface. Ask about cupping when you book in for your initial acupuncture appointment.
Used as a part of Acupuncture Appointment. Book an initial Acupuncture session to discuss the best treatment options for you.
Aims to enhance natural beauty while balancing the body. Book a cosmetic acupuncture and see for yourself.
Further, optimize health via adjusting diet, exercise, relaxation and more.
The aim of Chinese Medicine Philosophy is to restore health back to the whole body.
For adults, couples, families, children, elderly, athletes, students. For health concerns, pain relief, relaxation, performance, energy and maintenance.
Call the clinic or email Paul Today.
See latest Chinese medicine blog posts. Find articles and videos on acupuncture, Chinese herbs, research, pain, allergies, fertility and much more.


Coffee Table Metal Legs Wood Top have 40 picture of decorating ideas, it's including Coffee Table Metal Legs Wood Top Impressive Kaedar Com Decorating Ideas 1. Coffee Table Metal Legs Wood Top Marvelous Foter My New Place Pinterest Decorating Ideas 2. Coffee Table Metal Legs Wood Top Remarkable Incredible Steel With Decorating Ideas 3. Coffee Table Metal Legs Wood Top Awe Amazon Com Olee Sleep 46 Cocktail Decorating Ideas 4. Coffee Table Metal Legs Wood Top Astonishing Thorald With Brown Project 62 Decorating Ideas 5.


Brief Pauses (up to one hour) - In general, these are planned (e.g. lunchtime breaks), and they last from a few minutes to up to one hour. Safety-related functions are retained and protected. When production restarts, the system activates the ECUs in a pre-defined switch-on sequence and checks that they all have started correctly. The system then restarts the production process.
Longer Pauses (a range of hours or days) - This is similar to the first one, the difference being the duration - a pause can lasts for hours (e.g. overnight) or even days (e.g. weekends and holidays). Additional ECUs can be put into standby, or switched off completely, or the same ones can be put in a more energy saving state. PROFIenergy allows for intermediate energy-saving modes to be triggered.
Unscheduled Pauses (typically caused by equipment failures) – This is also similar to the ones above, but the user doesn't know when the interrupt will occur, nor how long it will last. Initially, the ECU is put into a 'stop' condition to reduce energy consumption as if for a brief pause. Once the pause duration is known, the equipment can be put into an even more energy-saving state if appropriate.
Measuring the Load – Energy demand data is acquired from the ECU for display and visualization. This can lead to more effective energy management strategies. Demand-led energy management also becomes possible.
The first version of the PROFIenergy Profile focuses on electrical energy. However, other energy resources are consumed by manufacturing lines (e.g. gas, steam, compressed air and water). The consumption of energy in these types of system may be added to a future PROFIenergy specification.


I am probably the most unlikely person to be here, as I have not studied to be an engineer. I am currently studying Physics at the Open University while working for a wonderful new company (we are only one year old). The thing about studying is, I don't have to, but I do it because I love it and I want to learn more about it.
In my free time, I love playing my guitar and I am learning to play the piano. Another passion of mine is writing, so I am trying to write my own songs (not yet very successful) and I am learning how to write for the theatre (which is great fun).
And when I am not doing that, I am volunteering at a local charity, help them with their finances and organise their website.
So, at work, we are currently exploring how we can use AI (Artificial Intelligence). We are a technology company that is building software for financial institutions. In Finance clients usually ask lots of questions, for example, they would like to know how much money they have or what they can do with it. We would like to use AI and build a chatbot. This chatbot can then answer those questions.
The great advantage is, that a chatbot can answer questions day and night and on weekends and holidays, and you don't have to pay it! 🙂 But even better, it can get smarter and learn from each conversation, the more our clients will interact with it, the better it will get.
Another thing people really like to know: When I save, say £50 a month, how much will I have after 5 or 10 years? We can use AI to make this like a fun and interactive game where we ask a few questions and can then show you what could happen with your money. Also, we will have some lovely plots and graphs, probably have some nice colours, too.
Most likely it will be different. You never know, it could even be better. If it is not exactly as I imagined, I have to talk to the Developers and work with them so we build a castle that we both agree with.
At my company, we are doing something called Sprints. Sounds strange, I believe. So what does it mean?
Every two weeks we set ourselves goals, tasks we would like to do and finish. And then we have those two weeks to complete them. That means how and when I do mine, is very much up to me. We usually have meeting days: Mondays and Wednesdays, where we catch up and talk about our homework, the other days are up to me.
I usually like to work at home 1 or 2 days, the other days I am in the office. I will try and work out the details for what I would like the developers to build. Then I will ask the other team members to read it as well. They might read my ideas and might not understand it. That is a bad sign, it means I might not have described what I need very well.
We will then discuss it together and with the developers. If they are happy, then they can start working on it.
I would love to get more kids excited about coding and building their own programs, so I would like to use the money to sponsor a couple of events/workshops and hopefully get kids engaged that would usually not go.
Johnny Cash (can't help myself - he was and is awesome) - Google him!
If you are interested in engineering what would you recommend studying or researching?
Was there a point in your education when you thought that you wouldn't get good enough grades?
Is your job what you expected it would be? If different, then how is it different?
What has been difficult in your career so far and how did you overcome it?
Who is your biggest role-model?
do you think its important that women should be engineers, why?
What GCSEs did you take?
Do you have any advice if i want to become and engineer? any specific gcse's or a levels?


They claim that the most obvious change is that you get to the right content much faster than before because you don't have to finish typing your full search term, or even press "search." Another shift is that seeing results as you type helps you formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. You can now adapt your search on the fly until the results match exactly what you want.
"Without the psychological full stop of pressing return, and with users able to see points of interest as they type and consequently refine as they go, it's plausible that searches will get longer and more specific (feeding, not starving, the Long Tail). It's also likely that ranking in the hallowed top 3 or 4 positions will become even more important, given that users probably won't look further down the page while typing. If your result appears in those 3 and it answers the query, it's going to get a very high Click Through Rate (CTR).
Check out Google Instant, and let me know if you agree with Google's statement that "in time, we may wonder how search ever worked in any other way".
More details are available at the Official Google Instant Webpage.


text:
The Guardians of Islam's Holiest Sites ban the world's Largest Islamic Group
December 13, 2021 by TMO
by Dr. Aslam Abdullah
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs declared the Tablighi Jamat a gate to terrorism and banned it in the Kingdom. The Muhammad Bin Salman dictatorial regime relied on information offered by CIA, RAW, MI-5, and the French DGSE to take this unprecedented decision. Earlier, the anti-thesis of Islam, the Saudi monarchy had declared Ikhwan ul Muslimeen a terrorist group.
The Tablighi Jamat emerged in the 1920s to respond to the Shuddhi movement started by Swami Shardhananad to convert non-Hindus to Hinduism under the banner of Araya Samaj. Shuddhi is Sanskrit for purification. Araya Samaj considers Sikhs, Dalits, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians impure.
Gandhi commenting on the movement wrote the following in the May 29, 1922, issue of Young India.
"Swami Shraddhananda has also become a character of disbelief. I know that his speeches are often provocative. Just as most Muslims think that every non-Muslim will one day convert to Islam, Shraddhananda also believes that every Muslim can become part of the Aryan religion. Shraddhananda Ji is fearless. He alone has built a great Brahmacharya Ashram (Gurukul) in the holy Ganges. But they are in a hurry, and it will move soon. He inherited it from the Aryan society."
Tablighi Jamat focused on areas where Araya Samaj had forcibly converted many Muslims belonging to Rajputs. Its message was simple. Every Muslim should be well versed in the meaning of the first article of faith, the Kalima, or the assertion that there is no god but one God and Muhammad is his messenger. They should live their life according to the Quran and the practice of the Prophet.
Prayer is the essence of faith, and Muslims should not neglect five daily prayers. In addition to Salat, Muslims should aspire to increase their knowledge to remember God and His bounties. Moreover, Muslims should honor fell Muslims by showing compassion. Generosity and solidarity. Their intentions should be pure, and they should devote time to relay the above message to other Muslims.
Over the years, the Tablighi Jamat grew as one of the most disciplined and organized apolitical religious movements without the structure of an organization. Every day millions of its volunteers are active in almost every part of the world, staying in mosques and sharing their passion with other Muslims.
However, the lack of proper organization and the reliance only on volunteers made the Tablighi Jamat a recruiting ground for various intelligence organizations and political groups.
Saudi religious groups in the 1980s worked closely with the Tablighi Jamat and, at the behest of the CIA-controlled leaders, obtained crucial information on East European countries where the Tablighis often visited. Likewise, the ISI of Pakistan and the RAW of India always had their recruits in the Tablighi Jamat to collect information on Mosques and Muslims in the area where the groups visited. One of the programs of the Tablighis is to see people's homes to invite them to the mosque and persuade them to spare days and months for missionary work.
Intelligence agencies and other groups, such as white and Hindu supremacists, also had their trained members posing as Tablighis.
Because of its prominent position in the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia was the leading nation to use Muslim organizations to justify its undemocratic and despotic regime in the name of Islam. Perhaps, there is not a single Muslim organization of leader of the prominence that did not receive funding from Saudi sources during the last five decades. Saudi monarchy was a proxy for Washington, London, and Paris.
Under the present de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, India, with the Hindu nationalist, has assumed a significant position in the Kingdom. The two countries share important decisions. Regular meetings between their intelligence agencies occur in which the members of the Hindu militant organizations, the RSS are present. Over the years, the Saudis have donated vast amounts of money to several Muslim outfits in India. The information the Saudi intelligence shares that information with the government of India.
The ban on the Tablighi Jamat is the outcome of the intelligence network. Saudi authorities fear that anti-monarchy elements have become part of the Tablighi movement. Therefore, during their visits to various Saudi cities, they recruit dissidents to organize a movement for change in the future. After ruling the country ruthlessly for more than eight decades, the ban is part of the royal family's insecurities.
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A Syrian-born airman accused of spying at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp where he worked as a translator was arraigned Tuesday at Travis Air Force Base on charges that could send him to prison for life.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi, 24, was arraigned in a court-martial on 17 counts of espionage, making false official statements, disobeying orders, mishandling classified documents and lying on a credit application.
Al Halabi did not enter a plea, said Capt. Angela Smith, a Travis spokeswoman. The trial is scheduled to begin April 27. If convicted of the most serious charges, Al Halabi could face life in prison without parole, Smith said.
Al Halabi is accused of trying deliver nearly 200 messages, stored on a laptop computer, from detainees at Guantanamo Bay to Syria.
He is also accused of trying to deliver secret documents about prison camp operations and other personal information about detainees to Syria with "reason to believe it would be used to the injury of the United States," according to court documents.
The government says Al Halabi also failed to report his contacts with the Syrian Embassy, and repeatedly lied to Air Force investigators.
Al Halabi was arrested July 23 at the start of a leave from Guantanamo as he was headed to Syria to be married.
He originally faced 30 charges, including "aiding the enemy," which carries the death penalty. The most serious charges against Al Halabi were dropped by the government last month. Ten other counts were dropped in November.
Col. Barbara Brand, the military judge in the case, scheduled the next hearing for March 24, when Al Halabi is expected to enter a plea and tell the court whether he would prefer a trial before a judge or a jury panel. Until then, Smith said, he will be held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
At Tuesday's hearing, Brand also set a Feb. 25 deadline for the government to turn over classified documents to Al Halabi's civilian attorney, Donald G. Rehkopf Jr., of Rochester, N.Y. Al Halabi is also represented by two military attorneys.
Rehkopf, who did not attend Tuesday's hearing, said by phone that he has been frustrated at the government's delay in turning over the paperwork, and is pleased the judge set a firm deadline.
"They've been stalling, there's no question about it. I've been doing this kind of work for 27 years and it's never taken this long." Rehkopf said. "I've seen nothing as far as any evidence."
Al Halabi worked as an Arabic translator for nine months at the prison camp in Cuba, where some 660 suspected al Qaeda or Taliban members are imprisoned. He was previously stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, where he was a supply clerk.
Al Halabi was the first of four Guantanamo Bay workers arrested after a government probe into possible security breaches there.
Rehkopf said Al Halabi was engaged to be married to his Syrian fiancee before he was transferred to the camp. The 90-day assignment was extended several times, Rehkopf said. That forced Al Halabi to postpone his wedding three times, Rehkopf said, and to repeatedly contact the Syrian Embassy to extend his 30-day visa to travel there.
"From the time he was down there he told them he had these marriage plans, " Rehkopf said.


text:
Q: Questions about storage performance I would be glad guys, if you can answer me some of my questions about the performance of our storage. The setup

*

*HP P2000 SAS with 2GB cache

*8x 1TB SATA 7200 RPM storage

*RAID6

*3x hosts with SAS HBA adapter

*VMWare vSphere 4.1

Basically, the main reason why I had to look at our storage was the transfer of the monitoring VM from local disks of one of hosts to the storage. So before doing any migration, I setup a new VM with iometer and ran the tests during the night, when there were no important jobs running in the cluster. There was only 1 dynamo worker thread from this VM.
Access Specification Name   IOps    Read IOps   Write IOps  MBps    Read MBps Write MBps    Transactions per Second Average Response Time   Average Read Response Time
512B; 100% Read; 0% random  5617.191059 5617.191059 0.000000    2.742769    2.742769    0.000000    5617.191059 0.176979    0.176979
512B; 75% Read; 0% random   3190.524306 2369.761725 820.762581  1.557873    1.157110    0.400763    3190.524306 0.312244    0.321925
512B; 50% Read; 0% random   1055.807449 524.819993  530.987456  0.515531    0.256260    0.259271    1055.807449 0.946000    0.421600
512B; 25% Read; 0% random   1006.956966 239.414257  767.542709  0.491678    0.116901    0.374777    1006.956966 0.853556    0.687116
512B; 0% Read; 0% random    35.123065   0.000000    35.123065   0.017150    0.000000    0.017150    35.123065   28.349538   0.000000
4K; 75% Read; 0% random 3034.296095 2247.847150 786.448945  11.852719   8.780653    3.072066    3034.296095 0.328614    0.333793
4K; 25% Read; 0% random 2237.793260 587.671309  1650.121951 8.741380    2.295591    6.445789    2237.793260 0.445755    0.636275
16K; 75% Read; 0% random    627.852712  474.796322  153.056389  9.810199    7.418693    2.391506    627.852712  1.591288    1.840213
16K; 25% Read; 0% random    478.619741  116.666329  361.953412  7.478433    1.822911    5.655522    478.619741  2.086953    1.281547
32K; 75% Read; 0% random    848.266506  649.372846  198.893660  26.508328   20.292901   6.215427    848.266506  1.176316    1.334378
32K; 25% Read; 0% random    443.441341  117.275291  326.166050  13.857542   3.664853    10.192689   443.441341  2.253707    7.158792

hdparm read tests (with hdparm -t /dev/sda) gave 300MB/s.
Our monitoring system gets information from +- 40 VMs and 30 devices, every host has at least 10 services, but actually that is cacti which generates the majority of IOPS. It massively updates the RRD data simultaneously every minute. Despite this fact, I decided to migrate the VM to the storage. After the migration, I measured the IOPS generated from monitoring - the average value was 800, but the response time after any read operation on every VM was horrible - 5-10 secs, the monitoring actually killed some VMs as the kernel timed out on some IO operations. hdparm gave 1,4MB/sec. I turned off the cacti RRD processing and it runs well, but we have no graphs.
My questions:
1) What do you think about the iometer performance on this setup? It should be better, it is ok, or should I search for some misconfiguration?
2) Do you recommend to have separate physical host with monitoring software and do not "bother" the storage with this kind of IOPS?
3) This question is more general. After the storage test we can get IOPS/mbps for different block sizes. But how can I assess the block size an application is mostly using? For example the databases system is often using 75% read operations, but what is the block size so that I could compare it with my results ? Without knowing this information, my iometer tests are simply just numbers.
UPDATE 1:
Thank you for answers.
So what we did, is that we created ramdisk for rrd processing, and all rrds are synced every hour to the monitoring disk. Everything works quite fast, but we will think about creating another RAID group with RAID 10 for this kind of IOPS that need good write performance.

A: I'll be honest, while I'm reasonably sure that this kind of setup is supported I've never seen a >2 host direct-attach SAS VMWare cluster before. I know it works just fine with 2 hosts but 3 or more is outside my area of expertise using this method.
That said your stats look ok to me, ultimately you have some very slow disks in a R6 array so there's a limit to how fast that'll ever be - and 443 IOPS is there or thereabouts the kind of performance I'd expect.
As for your second question, if the load is that bad then you could consider creating another logical disk on the P2000 with a pair of dedicated disks in R1 and put the VM on that, or maybe move it to local DAS if you can live without the vMotion/DRS/HA functionality.
Third question - maybe iotop?

A: The setup described isn't as fast as it could potentially be. This is a supported arrangement, as you can have a maximum of four hosts attached to the setup (if you forego SAS multipathing).
To your points:

*

*The performance is not good, but appropriate for what you have configured. I'll reference the Server Fault canonical RAID post, which basically states that RAID 6 is poor for random-write workloads. Virtual machines and monitoring systems are notorious for this access pattern. RAID 1+0 is a better option if possible.

*I do virtualize my monitoring hosts, but build the storage to accommodate that (bias towards a larger write cache, set appropriate I/O elevator options in the VM). This is for other RRD-based tools (orca and OpenNMS), but definitely applies to Cacti.

*As far as testing, I don't think tracking the average transaction/block sizes is that important since the larger architectural issue can yield a bigger gain across the board. You can trace the applications, though. Also, consider examining VM storage performance through vCenter or esxtop/resxtop.


Illustration of outer space object headed for Earth impact.
January 29, 2009 Eugene, Oregon - 14,000 years ago, the last Ice Age was ending at the close of the Pleistocene. The Earth was warming up, forests began to grow back and large animals such as the Irish Elk and the Woolly Mammoth flourished in Europe and North America. In fact, temperatures were even warmer than they are today. North America was teeming with very large animals such as giant sloths, American lions and camels, saber-toothed tigers, mammoths and mastodons.


While we all may know that keeping kids reading through the Summer months is a great way to beat the Summer slide and minimize screen time, it's not always the easiest thing to do.
Especially as they start to get a little bit older. By the time they hit elementary school, they've, for the most part, lost interest in many of the short, simple stories they read or listened to when they were younger but, at the same time, may not yet know what they're interested in as far as chapter books go.
The key is to find something that makes your child love reading, a book they just can't put down.
Well, fortunately, there are hundreds of book lists available online to give you a few ideas and with this list made specifically for 7-9 year olds, you're bound to find something that'll spark your child's interest. You might even find a whole new series of books that will keep your child reading all Summer long!