Three attorneys have come up with a way for consumers to lend to their favorite small biz and have a real stake in their community.
Smallknot connects shoppers with local mom-and-pops in need of a smallish loan using a model that's part crowdfunding à la Kickstarter and microfinancing used on Kiva.
It's social lending, but with a twist: Whereas most donations typically end with a check and a handshake, on Smallknot consumers dole out loans which are fully repaid within a time frame agreed upon by Smallknot and the small biz asking for cash.
Even better, participating businesses can sweeten the deal by trotting out fun perks, such as a free wine tasting, cooking class and whatever else the company dreams up.
And to ensure the businesses will make good on repaying the loan, Smallknot pre-screens each company top-to-bottom to get a general sense of their credit standing, cash flow and whether they personally own the business. The latter is a must, co-founder Jay Lee told Your Money, as Smallknot "wants to make sure they have a vested interest in what they're doing; it provides accountability."
The idea came at the height of the recession when the lawyers, who relished living in Manhattan's eclectic East Village, got fed up with seeing their favorite small businesses close down while hum-drum chains continued to flourish.
Knowing banks were wary to lend to small biz, especially in smaller amounts ($5,000 to $10,000), they came up with a clever solution to get consumers and small biz to connect on a meaningful level and work together to build their community.
"As a neighbor, you get to see the money put to work (by using Smallknot)," said Lee. "If you have a favorite restaurant that wants to, say, build a back patio, now you have the chance to see your money bring that to life. You can enjoy the patio tables, and really take part in their projects."
For now, the site is focused on New York because, as Lee put it, "this is what we know, and where we live." Smallknot launched on Wednesday, and so far its first business, Egg, a restaurant in the trendy Williamsburg area, has already raised $950 to put toward buying new chairs.


Every day you hear stories about well-meaning people getting ripped off through clever scams and believe it will never happen to them. Well, it happened to me.
As I writer, I occasionally check Craigslist for leads and have actually gotten a few jigs through it. The few people I've worked with were locals who I had the opportunity to personally meet.
My Name is Joe Arave , am glad that you replied to my post on Craigslist, I need a writer who can write me an Article as i do present this to some Orphanage homes every Week. Please do let me know if you can do this while i will need you to make the Article on 4-6 pages. Am willing to offer you $400 weekly as you will always write this for me Every week. I need you to write me an Article on FOOD / NUTRITION and if you have any other interesting topic, please do let me know. I hope to read from you soon.
"Joe's" contact info was in the UK and he claimed to be on a business assignment. Clearly, the guy needed help with his writing and I thought I could make a little money and learn more about a subject that I didn't really know a lot about.
We had a couple of further exchanges about more professional issues like copyright, target audience (adults or children), thesis or belief he wanted to express and subjects for articles. He also claimed that his parents had once written similar articles. "Joe's" replies were always very vague and didn't feel legit.
How are you today? Am really very sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I got a message from my Financier in the State that the check has been issued and mailed which will be deliver or have been delivered to your address Via FedEx Courier Service today.
Also my Financier issued out a check for the sum of $1,950 whereby your fee has been included with the fee for the Publishing of the article which is the Publisher fee, So here us what you will be doing for me now by reading and follow the following instructions am giving below.
I want you to proceed to you bank and get the Check cashed or you deposit the Check in your Bank Account as soon as the funds is available for withdrawal which should not be more than 24-48 hrs or if you can request for cash immediately you can do that after that You will have to deduct your fee for writing the First Article which is $400 weekly and have the rest funds will be for the Publisher as soon as the Check is cashed.
Please make sure the Article is ready in the PDF Format. I will wait to read from you with the confirmation that you receive the Check so that i can tell you how to get the funds to the Publisher.
I hope you understand all this and please do Email me back with the confirmation that you receive the Check.
Sounded a little weird to me, especially with regard to paying a publisher for an article. But as I am unaware how the "orphanage" sector operates and that there might be specialty publications targeted to it, I figured it was worth seeing how things played out.
A day or so later, I received a FedEx with a check for $1,950.00 from an insurance company based in Arkansas and I deposited it in my bank account.
As soon as the funds is transfer to her i want you to get back to me with the transfer details.
The contact info made the exchange ever weirder, as it was not a publishing company. I'm a cynic and don't start paid work until the check clears. But I thought, in for a dime, in for a dollar, willing to let things keep playing out.
"Joe" kept emailing me repeatedly over the next couple of days, checking if I'd sent payment to his Miami contact. I replied that I was waiting to see if the check cleared. Guess what happened?
I checked my bank and found that "Joe's" check had bounced and my bank informed me that it was drawn to a fraudulent account.
Checking Google, I found that the check was drawn from an established insurance company and the listed sender of the FedEx mailing is an identified company employee. In addition, the Miami address is an actual place.
I've notified Craigslist; sadly, many of their postings seem scams. I've also sent copies of the relevant documentation to the FBI.
I really enjoyed Steven Spielberg's 2002 film, "Catch Me If You Can," about Frank Abagnale, Jr., who conned millions of dollars through check kiting schemes. But "Joe Arave" is no Frank Abagnale!
I'm not sure how "Joe" thought his scam would work. He probably assumed that I would either (i) front the $1,550 and send it to his Miami contact before the check bounced or (ii) that the bank from which the fraudulent check was drawn would clear it and only later come back to claim the money from me or take it as a loss. Obviously, neither work.
I can only assume that "Joe" played this scam with every schmuck who replied to his Craigslist post. And I bet that someone, or maybe more than one someone, did front the $1,550 and got burned.
The moral of this tale: Anyone can be the victim of a scam. Everyone should keep their eyes open to something that smells dubious and also keep their sense of humor as the game plays out.
From all appearances, "Joe" is not as smart as Abagnale and, one day, "Joe," like Abagnale, will get caught. If he's caught, I'm sure that "Joe's" fate won't be as charming as Frank's.


text:
Legendary dancer Archie Burnett strikes a pose for Jacob's Pillow
Tresca Weinstein
Archie Burnett (photo by Marcus Koppen)
Marcus KoppenShow MoreShow Less
Archie Burnett at an April 2019 dance event in Yonkers. (Getty Images)
Getty ImagesShow MoreShow Less
Abdiel Jacobsen, a former member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, began taking Archie Burnett's classes as part of expressing their gender-fluid identity.. (Provided)
Dancer Dejiavu Ferguson vogues. (Provided)
Princess Lockeroo, who learned a ballroom offshoot called waacking from Archie Burnett, has developed her own training program in the form. vogues (Provided)
Dancer Ephrat Asherie. Veteran dancer and teacher Archie Burnett brings the story of "voguing" back to the stage at Jacob's Pillow. (photo: Christopher Duggan)
Christopher DugganShow MoreShow Less
Jacob's Pillow's Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage (Courtesy Jacob's Pillow)
Jacob's PillowShow MoreShow Less
A conversation with Archie Burnett, first Father of the legendary voguing collective House of Ninja, is an education in the art and evolution of the New York City ballroom and club dance scene. He can trace the form back to its origins, describe what it felt like to be at its white-hot center, and pinpoint the essence of a culture that emerged from the longing of marginalized populations to feel worthy, beautiful and loved.
"I am good enough, and I'm going to be comfortable in my own skin — that's what vogue is about, and how we embody that is what we're giving the audience," Burnett said in a recent interview. "Vogue allows a person to be who they've always wanted to be, without ridicule or violence."
The 62-year-old dancer, teacher and revered mentor brings his stories and his moves to the stage at Jacob's Pillow this week with the premiere of "Life Encounters: Archie Burnett." The show runs through Sunday on the Pillow's Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage, and an online version will be available for streaming next month.
Not counting his pre-teen years of ballet and tap while growing up in Brooklyn (he quit at age 12 when he got teased for wearing bright red tights in class), Burnett is self-trained. He found vogue "by accident," he says, when he was walking through Washington Square Park in Manhattan in 1981, and was captivated by a young dancer executing moves he'd never seen before.
"This kid was doing this Egyptian-like thing, done to metered time, and I thought wow, I don't know what this is, but it is dope," he recalled. "The physicality, the geometric shapes, that's what turned me on to it—how to make your body do something that's not natural, but make it look like it is."
What he saw that day was the first iteration of voguing, which later became known as the Old Way—built around sharp angles and static poses, and influenced culturally and aesthetically, Burnett explained, by martial arts, the military and hieroglyphics. By the late '80s, a New Way had emerged, characterized by rigid movements and joint contortions, performed with jaw-dropping flexibility.
Burnett was at the center of this world, which fused competition, in the form of dance battles, with a potent sense of community. Many of the young Black and Latino dancers in the underground ballroom scene in Harlem, most of whom identified as LGBTQ, had been rejected by their families and were seeking refuge and connection. Burnett, at the ripe old age of 20, became a nurturing father figure within the voguing collective founded by his best friend, Willi Ninja.
"We would go from club to club to club, and we were basically all searching for the music and the freedom," Burnett said. "It was an amazing time."
Over the years, he moved from the club to the classroom, raising hundreds of dance "children," some of whom will be joining him this week for "Life Encounters." Abdiel Jacobsen, a former member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, began taking Burnett's classes as part of expressing their gender-fluid identity. Harlem native Dejiavu Ferguson and Bessie Award winner Ephrat Asherie come from the hip-hop lineage. Princess Lockeroo, who learned a ballroom offshoot called waacking from Burnett, has developed her own training program in the form.
Burnett is onstage throughout the show, dancing and narrating—it's a workout, he says. The piece is structured as five vignettes marking the milestones along his journey and paying homage to those he's met along the way. During his four decades in dance, he brought voguing to Europe and South America, helped take ballroom and its related forms mainstream and starred in "Check Your Body at the Door," Sally Sommer's 2012 film about the underground house scene. And he's judged battles around the world, while always reminding his progeny of what really matters.
"I tell kids, if you're going to get involved in ballroom, and have people judging you on how pretty you are or how musical you are or how well you can dance, you have to maintain a certain sense of self," he said. "And you have to respect the lineage of the dance form, and understand the culture and how it was created for a specific need."
As an elder of that culture, he believes his job is to remind his students that these forms aren't just ways of moving on a stage, they are ways of moving through the world. He's optimistic that this genre founded in empowerment and self-expression can open not only eyes but also hearts and minds.
"I've been doing this work for 40 years and vogue, ballroom, that's social work," he said. "The way I see it is, if you bring a diaspora together under the simple guise of entertainment, their guard is taken down. That inquiry leads to investigation, and investigation leads to understanding, and understanding may then lead to empathy — and empathy is the thing that leads to change."
"Life Encounters: Archie Burnett"
When: 2 and 6 p.m. Wednesday–Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; streaming online free Aug. 12–26
Where: Jacob's Pillow, 358 George Carter Rd., Becket, Mass.
Tickets: $45
Info: (413) 243-0745 or https://www.jacobspillow.org
Reach Tresca on
Tresca Weinstein writes about dance, visual art, and culture for the Times Union. She also writes, edits, and manages content for national corporations and organizations, with a focus on the arts, yoga, health and wellness, and positive psychology. Her favorite part of her job is talking to people who are passionate about making the world a better and more awe-inspiring place, whether that means creating beautiful things, researching the science of happiness, or doing eight pirouettes in a row.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Holy crap! It's Friday, which is awesome but it's the last weekend before Thanksgiving and a house full of guests!!! Guess I have some work to do this weekend! But, before I do, I have a handful of outfit selfies to tide you over for the weekend! Let's get started!
Now that the temps are consistently cooling off, I've been reaching for my wedge bootie + fleece tight combo over and over. They are perfect with dresses and skirts in the fall and winter because they make my 5'-2" self feel like I have mile long legs. You can see proper photos of this tights + booties combo in last week's post here.
I accumulated 3 of these jackets in different colors over the years and I was afraid to put them on for the season and see that they were too big. Thankfully, I am still happy with the fit, and I'm also thankful that my past self sized down a couple of sizes before, which certainly helped with them still looking acceptable on me now! I would be heartbroken if I had to give them up because they do add instant structure but edge to an outfit that a cardigan, denim jacket, or utility jacket couldn't necessarily do.
I realized I hadn't worn my flares to work since I wore them in this post here. I was actually surprised because I thought the handful of people that normally made smart remarks about my outfits would certainly say something about the flares since they're such a statement and different than my skinnies that I normally wear on the daily. But I survived the day unscathed! Ha! Not that I necessarily let them dictate what I wear or not wear, but I usually can predict when something will generate a lot of dumb comments. I will admit that I struggled with the silhouette of this outfit for a bit. I wanted something fitted up top to offset the volume of the flares. But I also wanted the length of my top to hit right at mid hip. These boatneck tops from Gap are perfect for this - I have it in several colors. And since these jeans are pull-on, I'm completely seamless with no buttons or pockets bulging in front, which I love.
And last but not least is this layered look with one of the few blazers that I actually own. Every time I wear a blazer, I wonder why I don't have more. The sweater gives me the pop of color I love and the embellishment detail makes the outfit feel like me and not stuffy. And of course, pointy toe pumps for good measure!!
I have all the J.Crew Boatneck how did I not know Gap made them as well and they are 50% of right. Thank you! Loving all these cute outfit, specially the camo dress.
I couldn't agree with you more on the textured knit moto jacket! I love mine (wore them twice in the past two weeks but haven't managed to get them posted yet) and would definitely add more to my collection in a heartbeat if they re-issued or I found something similar!
Love the last outfit especially with the sweater and blazer. That is my go-to Friday outfit formula!


Hiring a caterer is a great way to simplify the planning of your special event. A scrumptious meal can make any event a success. Whether you're planning a sit-down formal reception dinner or a buffet-style company picnic or banquet, GigSalad will connect you with local caterers and catering companies to help create an appetizing indoor or outdoor menu for your wedding, party, picnic or special event. Search for Caterers in Hot Springs, Arkansas above.
Please note that these Caterers may also travel to Hot Springs National Park, Mountain Pine, Piney, Hot Springs Village, Jones Mill, Pearcy, Lonsdale, Royal, Bismarck, Malvern, Jessieville, Friendship, Bonnerdale, Donaldson, and Alpine.


text:
Q: How do I replace table cell values from a dropdown? I need to "massage" a HTML table.
On the page there is a dropdown:
<SELECT CLASS='slctor' size='1' NAME='KEYVAL' ID='KEYVAL' >
                  <OPTION VALUE='{*}'>*
                  </OPTION>
                  <OPTION value='10'>green
                  </OPTION>
                  <OPTION value='20'>green
                  </OPTION>
                  <OPTION value='30'>green
                  </OPTION>
                  <OPTION value='40'>yellow
                  </OPTION>
                  <OPTION value='90'>red
                  </OPTION>
                </SELECT>

I also have a table with Person/year and a value for each pair:

  2001
  2002
  2003

  JOE
  10
  30
  90

  BETTY
  20
  20
  40

I want to use jQuery to "resolve" each cell value from the dropdowns value, return the label, and replace the cell content (or the background color).
I am able to do the basics, as in the actual DOM manipulation, but I need help actually doing the lookup in a efficient manner.

A: Try this:

$(".slctor").change(function(){
    var selectedVal=$(this).val();
    $('table').find('td').filter(function(){return $(this).text() ==selectedVal}).css("background-color","red");
   //or
      $('table').find('td').filter(function(){return $(this).text() ==selectedVal}).text("New Text");
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Multiple instances of Snap.svg causes corruption I wish to display several SVG's on a single web page, each within a separate DOM element, which I am loading and then manipulating with Snap.svg (v0.5.1). The SVG's are created in Illustrator.
A single svg on the page loads and animates as expected. However when attempting to load multiple, small corruptions appear in at least one of the SVG's. I suspect I am using Snap incorrectly, but cannot find examples of loading it into separate DOM elements on the same page.
   var s=Snap(".dom-element");
   Snap.load("my-pic1.svg", onSVGLoaded );
   function onSVGLoaded( data ){
      s.append( data );
      //do something
   }

   var s2=Snap(".dom-element2");
   Snap.load("my-pic2.svg", onSVGLoaded2 );
   function onSVGLoaded2( data ){
       s2.append( data );
       //do something
    }

    var s3=Snap(".dom-element3");
    Snap.load("my-pic3.svg", onSVGLoaded3 );
    function onSVGLoaded3( data ){
        s3.append( data );
        //do something
    }

Is there another way of loading multiple svg's into individal elements without calling a new instance of Snap each time (if that is the issue here)?


text:
Q: How to create multiple series on dx-Chartjs I am trying to visualise some ratings based on their type however I am having difficulty finding how to group the series based on the types.
the chart options are as follow:
$scope.chartOptions = {
            dataSource: data,
            commonSeriesSettings: {
                argumentField: "ratingDate"
            },
            series: [
                { valueField: "score", group: "Recommend", color: '#66cc33' },
                { valueField: "score", group: "Service", color: '#35a2f4' },
                { valueField: "score", group: "Product", color: '#ef4e3a' },
                { valueField: "score", group: "Experience", color: '#fea000' }
            ],
            argumentAxis: {
                grid: {
                    visible: true
                },
                argumentType: 'datetime'
            },...

the series option has no group option, its what I wish I had as I would like to see one series being about the scores of Service over time, one about Product score overtime etc.
Currently I get 4 duplicated series with different colours. Here is a fiddle
The documentation has no information about grouping like this so I was wondering if anyone has come across this and solved an issue similar to this?
Maybe a grouping function that I can return truMetric == "Recommend" in?
My sample data looks like this:
var data =
            [
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 7.0, "percentageRating": 7.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-01T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 7.0, "percentageRating": 7.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-02T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 1.6666666666666667, "percentageRating": 1.6666666666666667, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-04T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 6.0, "percentageRating": 6.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-05T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 5.333333333333333, "percentageRating": 5.333333333333333, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-06T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 0.66666666666666663, "percentageRating": 0.66666666666666663, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-08T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 2.6, "percentageRating": 2.6, "totalNumberOfRatings": 20, "ratingDate": "2014-04-09T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10000, "description": null, "truMetric": "Recommend", "questionCategory": "Recommend", "score": 3.0, "percentageRating": 3.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-10T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10000},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 5.0, "percentageRating": 5.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-01T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 7.0, "percentageRating": 7.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-02T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 3.8, "percentageRating": 3.8, "totalNumberOfRatings": 20, "ratingDate": "2014-04-03T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 4.0, "percentageRating": 4.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-04T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 5.666666666666667, "percentageRating": 5.666666666666667, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-06T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 3.6666666666666665, "percentageRating": 3.6666666666666665, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-09T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10001, "description": null, "truMetric": "Service", "questionCategory": "Service", "score": 9.0, "percentageRating": 9.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-10T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10001},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 4.5, "percentageRating": 4.5, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-01T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 3.0, "percentageRating": 3.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-02T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 5.333333333333333, "percentageRating": 5.333333333333333, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-03T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 7.5, "percentageRating": 7.5, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-04T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 5.5, "percentageRating": 5.5, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-05T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 0.5, "percentageRating": 0.5, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-07T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 5.666666666666667, "percentageRating": 5.666666666666667, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-08T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10002, "description": null, "truMetric": "Experience", "questionCategory": "Experience", "score": 2.0, "percentageRating": 2.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-10T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10002},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 8.0, "percentageRating": 8.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-01T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 6.25, "percentageRating": 6.25, "totalNumberOfRatings": 16, "ratingDate": "2014-04-02T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 3.0, "percentageRating": 3.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-03T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 0.0, "percentageRating": 0.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-04T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 3.25, "percentageRating": 3.25, "totalNumberOfRatings": 16, "ratingDate": "2014-04-05T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 1.0, "percentageRating": 1.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-06T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 6.0, "percentageRating": 6.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 16, "ratingDate": "2014-04-07T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 2.5, "percentageRating": 2.5, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-08T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10003, "description": null, "truMetric": "Product", "questionCategory": "Product", "score": 3.5, "percentageRating": 3.5, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-10T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10003},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 2.0, "percentageRating": 2.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-01T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 5.0, "percentageRating": 5.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 8, "ratingDate": "2014-04-02T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 8.0, "percentageRating": 8.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-04T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 4.666666666666667, "percentageRating": 4.666666666666667, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-05T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 5.0, "percentageRating": 5.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-07T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 1.0, "percentageRating": 1.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 4, "ratingDate": "2014-04-09T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 10004, "description": null, "truMetric": "Value", "questionCategory": "Value", "score": 3.3333333333333335, "percentageRating": 3.3333333333333335, "totalNumberOfRatings": 12, "ratingDate": "2014-04-10T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 10004},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 5.0, "percentageRating": 5.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 48, "ratingDate": "2014-04-01T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 5.9, "percentageRating": 5.9, "totalNumberOfRatings": 40, "ratingDate": "2014-04-02T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 4.2222222222222223, "percentageRating": 4.2222222222222223, "totalNumberOfRatings": 36, "ratingDate": "2014-04-03T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 4.0, "percentageRating": 4.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 36, "ratingDate": "2014-04-04T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 4.666666666666667, "percentageRating": 4.666666666666667, "totalNumberOfRatings": 48, "ratingDate": "2014-04-05T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 4.375, "percentageRating": 4.375, "totalNumberOfRatings": 32, "ratingDate": "2014-04-06T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 4.2857142857142856, "percentageRating": 4.2857142857142856, "totalNumberOfRatings": 28, "ratingDate": "2014-04-07T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 3.0, "percentageRating": 3.0, "totalNumberOfRatings": 32, "ratingDate": "2014-04-08T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 2.7777777777777777, "percentageRating": 2.7777777777777777, "totalNumberOfRatings": 36, "ratingDate": "2014-04-09T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99},
                {"clientId": 100052, "questionId": 99, "description": null, "truMetric": "truRating", "questionCategory": "truRating", "score": 3.875, "percentageRating": 3.875, "totalNumberOfRatings": 32, "ratingDate": "2014-04-10T00:00:00Z", "categoryId": 99}
            ];

A: You can use this: http://phonejs.devexpress.com/Documentation/Howto/Data_Layer?version=13_2#Data_Layer_Reading_Data_Grouping
var dataSource = new DevExpress.data.DataSource(data);
dataSource.group("ratingDate","truMetric" );
dataSource.load().done(function(result) {
    var chart_data=[];
    for(var i=0;i<result.length;i++){
        var d={ratingDate:result[i].key};
        for(var j=0;j<result[i].items.length;j++){
            d[result[i].items[j].key]=result[i].items[j].items[0].score;
        }
        chart_data.push(d);
    }
$("#chartContainer").dxChart({
    dataSource:chart_data,
    // rest of your code

        series: [
            { valueField: "Recommend", name:"Recommend",  color: '#66cc33' },
            { valueField: "Service", name:"Service",  color: '#35a2f4' },
            { valueField: "Product", name:"Product", color: '#ef4e3a' },
            { valueField: "Experience", name:"Experience",  color: '#fea000' }
        ],

//rest of your code

Full fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/2Bq9k/1/


text:
Announcing the Microsoft SharePoint Administration Toolkit
The Microsoft SharePoint Administration Toolkit contains functionality to help administer and manage Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services version 3.0.
This tool pack is oriented towards helping SharePoint administrators with complex or demanding tasks—and we will have updated releases several times each year. Each release of this kit will include new or improved functionality to make managing SharePoint easier and less time consuming.
This first release contains two very useful tools which are both supported on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The first tool, called "Batch Site Manager", adds new functionality through Central Administration. From the new "Move, Lock, and Delete Site Collections" page on Applications Management you can schedule bulk operations against site collections in the farm—including moving site collections between content databases! The second tool is actually a new command in STSADM called "updatealert". This command will refresh all alert URLs in a specific site collection, which is extremely important should you change the URL of a web application or after an upgrade.
x64 Architecture
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F8EEA8F0-FA30-4C10-ABC9-217EEACEC9CE&displaylang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=263CD480-F6EB-4FA3-9F2E-2D47618505F2&displaylang=en
Announcement (Sharepoint Team Blog)
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/04/30/announcing-the-first-release-of-the-microsoft-sharepoint-administration-toolkit.aspx
Detailed Whitepaper (MSDN)
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=117212&clcid=0x409


Home Advantage - Weekly Meal Planner Pad with Tear Off Grocery List and Magnet (Kraft) Made in the U.S.A.
Simplify food scheduling and meal planning with this kitchen weekly meal planner and tear off shopping grocery list notepad. The 6 inch x 9 inch pad is perforated down the center with the left side dedicated for the weekly menu and the right side for the grocery list for the week. Easily tear the page down the perforated line to take the shopping list with you to the store. A cardboard backing and magnet allow for the list to conveniently be mounted on your refrigerator. Each pad contains 52 sheets so you are set for each week of the year.
QUALITY: Designed and Made in the U.S.A.
If you have any questions about this product by Home Advantage, contact us by completing and submitting the form below. If you are looking for a specif part number, please include it with your message.
Custom Scriptures Notebook Personalized Stationery - 50 lined pages- Durable cover and spiral bound. Size: 5.5x8. Made in the USA.


text:
The sweetest way to fight climate change? Send the otters
The sea otter is a predatory ecosystem engineer of the highest class. To stay warm and healthy, they eat a quarter of their body weight a day, repeatedly diving to the seabed to collect hedgehogs, crabs and bivalves like mussels. "Because they have to eat as much as they do to survive in the environment, they have a really drastic impact on these habitats and they are extremely positive," Fuji said. (Another program up the coast of California tried to bring back a different kind of "hedgehog killer" – divers.)
Maintaining the hedgehog population preserves algae, which are vital to the ecosystem in two main ways. First, the forest is a habitat for fish, which are a source of food for birds and other marine mammals, such as sea lions. Second, algae are part of what scientists call the "blue carbon" ecosystem, which means a coastal or marine area that captures carbon. (Other areas include wetlands and mangrove forests.)
But it is difficult to determine exactly how much carbon a healthy forest of algae absorbs. Redwood, for example, has been massive for hundreds of years, blocking a lot of carbon for long periods of time. (Unless it ignites, in this case the carbon is returned to the atmosphere.) Underwater, things change more. All species of creatures, including sea urchins, bite algae and release carbon. In addition, the raging sea tears pieces of the forest that fall to the seabed and decompose, releasing the accumulated carbon. So the algae forest is constantly falling apart and growing again, capturing and releasing carbon all the time.
It is difficult to say how long carbon remains trapped. "The fate of all these algae is not well understood," says Wilmers. "Imagine that everything that is released just sinks into the deep ocean and will not return again in about 1,000 years. This is a much more significant benefit of capturing carbon than simply releasing it and decomposing it immediately and returning it to the atmosphere. "
The WIRED Guide to Climate Change
The world is getting warmer, the weather is getting worse. Here's everything you need to know about what people can do to stop destroying the planet.
Given this uncertainty, Wilmers made some estimates of the potential benefits of carbon from healthy otter populations further north along the Pacific coast, between the Canadian border and the top of the Aleutian Islands. If the algae forest grows well and half of the carbon it absorbs is isolated in the deep sea, this would be equivalent to eliminating the emissions of 5 million cars. Even if only 1% of the carbon remained isolated at depths, this would be equivalent to the emissions of 100,000 cars.
In Monterey Bay, otters don't just protect algae. They also climb Elkhorn Slough, a large tidal swamp where they promote the growth of eelgrass, another coastal plant that captures carbon, although otters affect the plant in a more indirect way. Otters eat crabs, which in turn eat invertebrates like sea snails, which eat algae that grow on the grass of the snake. Reducing the number of crabs that prey on snails actually helps snails, because when snails remove algae, it keeps plants clean, allowing them to absorb more sunlight. Thanks to the return of otters, the amount of eel grass in Elkhorn Slough has jumped 600 percent in the last three decades.
Babies born in cities face an increased risk of death
The dark drug network led to 150 arrests
25 най-добри ранни оферти за Черен петък в Best Buy (2021 г., актуализиран)
Next LG UltraGear GP9 Review: Chat for games without headphones, bad sound
Previous Sugar drinks affect the behavior and math scores of preschool children, the study found


Our client is seeking a part-time receptionist to join their friendly team, to greet and assist patients in accessing the appropriate service or relevant healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way.
You will provide general administrative assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone.
You will have proven customer service experience gained either working on reception or within a customer service-based position and be able to multi task within an environment that is unpredictable. You will have a passion for providing excellent customer service when expectations can vary, whilst remaining calm, polite and professional.
· Handing completed repeat prescriptions to patient and checking names and address.
· Process appointment requests for today/future appointments from patients by telephone and in person.
· Tidy the waiting room in turn with other staff.
· Open up premises at the start of the day when first to arrive, de-activate alarm and make all necessary preparations to receive patients.
· When last to leave at the end of the day, ensure that the building is totally secured, internal lights are off and the alarm activated.


text:
Home › Cohorts › NLSY79 › Other Documentation › Codebook Supplement ›
NLSY79 Appendix 13: Intro to CAPI Questionnaires and Codebooks
This appendix details the development of the NLSY79 questionnaires and codebooks.
In 1992 (round 14) and prior survey years, interviews were conducted by Paper and Pencil Interviewing (PAPI). Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology was introduced in a small experiment in 1989 (round 11) and a larger experiment in 1990 (round 12). Round 15 (1993) marked the first round of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to be administered entirely using CAPI technology. Wherever possible, comparability was maintained between the 1993 data documentation and that of previous survey years. However, continuous innovations in technology and certain data collection procedures have resulted in considerable improvement in the format and content of electronic questionnaires and codebook documentation. A number of these transformations are outlined below.
Questionnaire Innovations
Technological advancements in CAPI survey software have facilitated efficiencies in the conduct of interviews that were not possible with the PAPI instruments. Some significant advancements that accompanied the transition to CAPI data collection have included:
the availability of specialized question types, allowing for more precision in data entry and processing.
automated accessing of information reported earlier in the survey, eliminating the need for interviewers to search back through the questionnaire or keep track of earlier responses to reference them in later questions;
automated text substitutions ranging from gender pronouns to large substantive texts that vary based on circumstance;
replacement of most hard-copy QxQ material with electronic help screens, linked to individual relevant questions;
imposition of minimums and maximums for many numeric questions, reducing the instances of erroneous outliers;
"bounded interviewing" - minimum/maximum values for dates, similar to those set for numeric questions; bounding of dates drastically reduces if not completely eliminates, anomalies such as job gap dates that precede the appropriate start date or exceed the appropriate stop dates, start dates that exceed interview dates, etc.
structured rostering of records pertaining to groups that are the subject of inquiry, such as employers, children, household members; the roster organizational structure provides more efficient storage of data related to the individual employers/children/etc., as well as clarity in presentation to the interviewer on the computer screen.
question loops: Loops are repeating sets of questions, asked about different subjects of inquiry. For example, series of similar or identical questions that need to be asked about each appropriate subject in a group (employer/child/household member/etc.) can be programmed in loops. The electronic instrument then cycles through these loops containing very similar or identical questions for each individual subject in the group. Loops reinforce the uniformity of data collection about each unit of observation in a group. Finally, question loops allow for expansion of the number of subjects or events in an event history that can be collected without adding potentially substantial volume or complication to a hard-copy questionnaire. In PAPI survey years, the number of columns available in the hard-copy questionnaires to collect information on subjects such as household members, children, gaps in employment, training programs, etc. were finite -- limited by space on the page. This limitation disappeared with the use of electronic questionnaires. This feature also allowed the expansion of the recipiency questions to a more extensive event history.
additional functionality of electronic questionnaires; Mechanical data checks that filter respondents into correct questions and the capability to sort individual subjects organized in a roster, combine with question loops to help ensure that questions are administered about the correct subjects in the correct order. For example, rostering and sorting ensure that the "current/most recent employer," referred to historically as the "CPS employer," is always asked about in the first loop of questions. Although this has always been the intention, recording and processing errors in PAPI years resulted in occasional cases for which the CPS employer was not entered as the first employer.
Data and Documentation Innovations
Continuing enhancements to CHRR's Designer CAPI software have made possible several more advancements in the presentation of data and documentation as well. These include:
increased uniformity in question naming conventions, improving the ability to identify comparable questions across survey rounds; In PAPI survey rounds (1979-1992) question names changed with each round. The evolution of Designer CAPI software also entailed several rounds of changes in question naming formats. CHRR personnel have been working as schedules and manpower allows, to eliminate question name inconsistencies resulting from these multiple transitions. This effort is on-going with additional progress reflected in each successive public release.
improvement in assignment of more precise areas of interest. Multiple areas of interest can be assigned to variables that make sense in more than one substantive category. In addition, areas of interest (particularly large and/or more generic ones) can be broken down into more precise and meaningful categorizations. Adjustments to area of interest assignments are part of an on-going effort, similar to that described above with respect to question naming.
greater ease in documentation capability. Vastly improved documentation features in the software have allowed sets of created variables of considerable size (Work History week-by-week arrays and the Employer History roster for example) to be incorporated into public release data sets relatively smoothly.
Continuing Data and Documentation Enhancements
As noted above, changes in interviewing modes and rapid technological innovation led to some inconsistencies in documentation over the history of the survey. Many of these inconsistencies have arisen because of modifications in the conventions for question naming, assignment of areas of interest and formatting of various documentation components. CHRR personnel are working continually on updating documentation to increase comparability of documentation through survey years, and increase user-friendliness of the data and codebook.
Comparability in Data Presentation: "Consolidated" Variables
An effort was been made in the 1979-1993 data release to maintain comparability with PAPI data releases in terms of data presentation. Toward this end, some sets of variables have been "consolidated." In other words, the responses for multiple variables are collapsed into a single created variable or set of variables. This has been done primarily for variables that in previous years were a single data item or set of data items, but are collected in more than one variable or set of variables in the CAPI questionnaires.
In each case, the variables being consolidated are mutually exclusive with respect to substantive responses. In other words, if variable A, variable B and variable C are consolidated, respondents will have given a response to only one of these - either variable A, or variable B or variable C.
Consolidation spares users from having to access a larger number of variables and use each separately or combine the responses themselves.
Geocode Codebook Supplement
Technical Sampling Report
School & Transcript Surveys Documentation


text:
JudithSamuels Kay
Saffola Goodman
The Spud Goodman Show celebrates the life of Judith Samuels Kay, the talented actress who for three decades portrayed Spud's ambitious but loving mother Saffola.
Judith was a pioneer broadcaster, who appeared in the CBS television series The Goldbergs in the late 1940s. She was an educator who taught broadcasting and acting, and turned around a failing broadcasting school in Seattle in the 1970s. And she was a talented musician who could play several instruments, taught music, and appeared in many musical stage shows.
She joined the cast of the Spud Goodman Show in the 1980s, and continued to play Spud's mom until the week before her passing last year. She was a friend and inspiration to all of us, and to a lucky few, the doting Jewish mother everyone deserves.
We're sure that wherever she is now, she's wowing 'em, just as she did us, and all fans of the Spud Goodman Show, as these clips will attest. Shalom, Judith and Saffola.
Copyright © 2016 Spud Goodman Productions | design from css3templates.co.uk


We might not have the space for a pig roast but that doesn't mean you can't pretend to be in the tropics. Have all of your friends bring their favorite island potluck dish. You can mix up some frosty, fruity beverages and have a Hawaiian shirt contest. If you slide some of the tables to the side, you'll even have room to do the limbo.
Thanks to indoor tabletop grills, there's no reason why you can't get some friends together to enjoy a pre-game party. Whether you're into hockey or basketball or even want to put on one of your favorite "vintage" games, we have the perfect space to gather. With two TVs, you can even have two games playing at once.
Nothing says summer like an old-fashioned game of tossing the bean bags. Grab the boards, bring the bags and show up in shorts. You can make as many brackets as you want. Pretend you're lakeside and pipe in some music through our audio bar. You can even have guests bring all of their favorite summer dishes to share: baked beans, brats, fruit salad. You'll be transported to days gone bay, at least for the afternoon.
Get a head start on your warm weather decor by hosting a summer craft workshop for your friends. If you'd like a pro to come in, we've got a few suggestions of companies we've hosted in the past, just send us an email. Otherwise, pick a project (a new front door wreath, a pallet sign, etc) and invite your friends to come to The Bonus Room and craft with you. We have plenty of table space and a whole kitchen to prep and serve your snacks.
Out with the old to make room for the new. If you've got spring/summer clothes and accessories you no longer wear, why not get your friends together to have a clothing/accessories swap? Rent out The Bonus Room and have your friends bring items that no longer spark joy for them. For every item they bring, they can take home something from someone else. Being surrounded by spring/summer items will surely summon warmer weather! Anything left over at the end of the night can be donated to a charity.
So which one of these gatherings are you ready to host? Click here to check availability at The Bonus Room and book your event today!


Search for clues around the museum to win an Easter prize. Fun for all the family and a chance to see this season's new display showing a Tribute to Wymondham's Firefighters.
Children free, if accompanied by an adult.
Easter prizes for all children who take part.
Search for clues around the museum to win a Halloween prize. Fun for all the family and a final chance to see this season's new display showing a Tribute to Wymondham's Firefighters.
Halloween prizes for all children who take part.
Museum closes on Saturday 9th November at the end of the 2019 season.
Click here for more details about Wymondham Heritage Society talks.


text:
Q: Adding data to returned Entities in Symfony Question really relates to best practice and whether what I have in my head is possible. I am querying for a collection of Member entities using a Repository function, for example (simplified)
    /**
     * @return Query
     */
    public function findAllMembersOrderedByNameResult()
    {
        return $this->createQueryBuilder('m')
            ->orderBy('m.lastName', 'ASC')
            ->getQuery()
            ->getResult()
            ;
    }

I am calling this in my Controller:
$members = $em->getRepository(Member::class)->findAllMembersOrderedByNameResult();

Now I am passing the result this to my twig template file and can loop through this and display information about each member as part of a foreach loop:
{% for member in members %}
{{member.firstName}}
{% endfor %}

This obviously works fine, however I have a need now to add some additional data to each member to pass to the twig template. So for example using the DateOfBirth in the Member entity I want to run this through a function to determine the age of the member to display in the Twig template. So at the moment I am making this call in the Controller, and then passing it over to the template by creating a MembersArray, looping through the returned $members Collection and adding in the new age and whole Member result as two separate values in the array, for example:
foreach($members as $member)
{
  $membersArray[] = array(
  'member' => $member,
  'age' => $age
  )
}

This does work, however in my Twig template I now have to use
{% for member in membersArray %}
{{member.member.firstName}}
{{member.age}
{% endfor %}

It would be much nicer to be able to just add age into the Collection without creating the array so I can just use member.firstName and member.age but for the life of me can't find a way how without having to loop through all values manually and set them to a new array, which seems a huge waste of code.
I will want to add more than just age, this is just a simplified example. Using Symfony 4.4 and PHP 7.3 in case anything that would help requires it

Edit: Entity structure as requested (cutdown):
namespace App\Entity;

use Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Collection;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;

/**
 * @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="App\Repository\MemberRepository")
 */
class Member
{
    /**
     * @ORM\Id()
     * @ORM\GeneratedValue()
     * @ORM\Column(type="integer")
     */
    private $id;

    /**
     * @ORM\Column(type="string", length=255, nullable=true)
     */
    private $firstName;

    /**
     * @ORM\Column(type="date", nullable=true)
     */
    private $dateOfBirth;

 ...

A: *

*The simplest way would be adding custom getter methods to an entity itself, like:
public function getAge()
{
    return (new DateTime())->diff($this->dateOfBirth)->y;
}

Then you can calculate the age in a twig template by calling member.age.
But usually, it's not recommended to have any logic in an entity itself.

*Another way is using twig itself to format data. I would say it is preferable with the age example. Because age looks more like the view format of the dataOfBirth field than extra data, you can use a twig filter to calculate that. The built-in like {{ date().diff(member.dateOfBirgth)).format('%y') }}, or define a custom one with a twig extension, so the syntax would be more straightforward, like {{ member.dateOfBirgth|age }} or even {{ member|age }}.

*In case you have to reuse formatting not only in twig but also in some services and don't want to put logic into an entity - you can decouple twig extension from the previous example to use the shared service that is responsible for formatting age. Other parts of the system can use the same formatting service.

*Also, it's a common practice to put new methods to work with an entity to a custom entity manager service, like MemberManager. Usually, we use entity manager to manipulate entities, but you can add there the method to format age, like MemberManager->getAge($member). This would violate the single responsibility principle, so I can't recommend it.

*If you are looking for extending doctrine entities with some extra methods with listeners or so, it's not possible by doctrine design. Anyway, it's the most, not obvious way.
To summarise, in most cases, when the custom function can be considered as a formatting one, I would recommend using the second option, with decoupling it to the third option whenever you have to reuse the formatting code. But if the project isn't complex, the first option also worth checking, as it's the simplest one.


text:
What Does Liu Bao Taste Like?
In the past, Liu Bao was mainly drunk for its medicinal properties and various health benefits. It's becoming more popular because people started enjoying this subtype of tea for its typical flavor profile. This article discusses the Liu Bao flavor profile and answers the question of what Liu Bao tastes like.
Traditionally, Liu Bao tastes like betel nut. It should be slightly fruity with a sweet aftertaste and faint hints of wood in combination with a slight bitterness. Most modern Liu Bao has characteristics of wet forest, damp earth, and might even have medicinal notes to it.
Where does the Liu Bao flavor profile come from?
Traditional Liu Bao taste
Forest flavors in Liu Bao
Earthy flavor profile of Liu Bao
Other flavors in Liu Bao
Liu Bao tea is a fermented type of tea because it goes through artificial fermentation during production. This is why it's classified as dark tea and why it has a typical flavor profile that you can immediately distinguish from non-fermented teas like green tea or white tea.
During fermentation, tea leaves are piled and sprayed with water in a hot and humid environment. This leads to an interesting combination of flavors when you brew a cup. This fermentation process gives the leaves a cooked flavor that is similar to shou pu-erh.
Don't know where to buy tea online? I made a list of over 300 online tea shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here
Keep in mind that this cooked flavor is not entirely the same because Liu Bao tea is made with tea leaves from Guangxi, while shou pu-erh is made with raw material from Yunnan province. The fermentation process is the most important step in the production process that gives the tea its distinct flavors. Storage is another factor that affects the flavor profile of the tea you're brewing.
Traditionally, Liu Bao is known for its betel nut characteristics. The flavor profile is described to be similar to dried seeds of the areca palm. Betel nut is the seed of the areca palm and has been used in Chinese culture and medicine for a long time.
It's said that all Liu Bao is supposed to have this betel nut flavor. It should be slightly fruity with a sweet aftertaste and faint hints of wood in combination with a slight bitterness. However, this is only in theory because there is much more Liu Bao available that has a different flavor profile.
If you're lucky and it has some 'golden flower' (Eurotium Cristatum), which is a healthy form of mold, the tea might be a lot sweeter. Some Liu Bao is stored in certain conditions because Liu Bao that has this yellow mold is usually seen as more valuable and even healthier.
Some Liu Bao has flavors that instantly remind you of a forest. It's usually a combination of different elements, but the general flavor profile feels as if comes straight out of the forest.
A general description of these flavors is mossy, woody, forest undergrowth, and wet leaves. Some older Liu bao might even have traces of camphor to it.
If your Liu Bao doesn't taste like betel nut and there are no notes of the forest present, it's highly likely that your Liu Bao has an earthy flavor profile.
If you brew a cup of an earthy Liu Bao, chances are high that you'll encounter notes of damp earth, wet caves, and maybe even some mossy flavors.
Some Liu Bao has flavor characteristics that don't really fit in the forest or earth categories. It's possible that your Liu Bao reminds you of red wine, that it has medicinal notes to it, and that you're getting some hints of pinewood smoke.
Traditionally, Liu Bao was fired using pinewood so that might explain why you're experiencing this when brewing a cup. It's definitely not always the case as some producers might choose to fire the leaves in a different way that is more cost-effective.


text:
Invest in New Silver Series from Perth with the Australian Wombat
The Perth Mint continues to add to its impressive catalog of silver bullion coins feature animal species native to the Australian continent. The pace of introduction for new designs has picked up in recent years, with introductions of coin collections such as the Emu and Quokka now joined by another of the continent's marsupials: the wombat. With the release of the new Australian Silver Wombat, those looking to invest in silver from other Perth Mint bullion collections have yet another option. This week's blog takes a peek at the new Silver Wombat release.
Impressive Reverse
On the reverse side of the new 2021 1 oz Australian Silver Wombat Coin is a depiction of the chunky marsupial. The wombat species is short-legged and muscular, with powerful front claws and sharp teeth that it uses for one primary reason: tunneling. In this clever design from the Perth Mint, you can see the wombat sitting on all fours inside a burrow it has dug underground. The seemingly-lovable creature is depicted looking right at the viewer as roots and vines from shrubs above ground have been gnawed through and moved aside as the wombat extends its tunnel complex.
Queen Elizabeth II Obverse
The obverse face of 2021 Australian Silver Wombat Coins comes with the popular sixth-generation Australian effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty is recognized as the monarch of Australia and holds the title as Queen of Australia as the nation is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. This right-profile bust of Elizabeth II debuted on Australian coins starting in 2018 and represents the sixth different effigy used during her nearly 60-year reign. The depiction shows the Queen wearing the George IV State Diadem Crown, a ceremonial crown worn on the way to the State Opening of Parliament. This design was created for the Royal Mint in 2015 by Jody Clark and adapted for use on Australian coins three years later.
As the latest silver bullion coin from the Perth Mint, the Australian Silver Wombat is available in Brilliant Uncirculated condition for investors. Individual coins will arrive inside of a protective plastic capsules. Multiples typically ship in sealed rolls of 20 coins or boxes of 100 coins. The box will have a total of five sealed rolls inside. Each coin in this release has 1 Troy oz of .9999 pure silver content and a face value of $1 (AUD). The design is limited to a mintage of only 25,000 coins.
About the Wombat
Wombats are one of a number of marsupials that call the Australian continent home. Scientific studies have identified three extant species of the wombat, with all three part of the Vombatidae family. The exact origins of the wombat remain murky as genetic studies of the wombat have failed to unlock the mysteries of the species' background. Most scientists believe that the wombat diverged from other species of marsupials on the Australian continent sometime in a wide span between 40 million and 25 million years ago.
Though the wombat is not considered vermin the eyes of most Australians, an original classification by European outsiders as a rodent caused many colonists of Australia to target the wombat for hunting and removal from colonized lands on the continent. To this day, farmers in Australia still view the wombat as a nuisance because of its burrowing activities that can prove particularly devastating on farmland.
Start Your Wombat Collection with JM Bullion
If you're looking for new Perth Mint silver to invest in, the Silver Wombat is a great choice in 2021! Please feel free to reach out to JM Bullion with your questions at 800-276-6508. You can also chat with us live online or simply send us an email with your inquiries. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and check our weekly blog posts for more information on some of our latest releases.
All Market Updates are provided as a third party analysis and do not necessarily reflect the explicit views of JM Bullion Inc. and should not be construed as financial advice.
Back to Our Blog List


text:
Tag: Modiphius
All Hail the StateEmpire…
Just released in the Modiphius store is the YuJing sourcebook for the Infinity RPG. I wrote the Yutang chapter in this book, which is all about the home planet of the YuJingese StateEmpire, and the seat of Imperial power. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope that any prospective players or GMs that read it, have just as much fun with the material, as I did.
As always, every book released for an RPG is usually the work of a large team of people, from writers to artists, from editors to layout artists, and everyone else. They are a big undertaking, and the end product is the culmination of many combined efforts. I am very proud to have been a part of the team that put this together, and if you get it, I hope you love it as much as we have done!
Yu Jing. The StateEmpire. Governed by the Party and policed by the Emperor, the balance of the two makes this powerful G5 nation greater than the sum of its parts. Late as they were to the great space race that led to humanity proliferating amongst the stars, the people of Yu Jing have worked doubly hard to ensure they step beyond the long shadow of their nearest rival and rise to eclipse it.
Viewed all too often with misunderstanding and mistrust from without, the Yu Jingese view themselves as a powerhouse nation that has the best interests of its citizens at heart. Wholly committed to spiritual and economic betterment so that they might serve as a beacon for the entire Human Sphere, the StateEmpire strives hard to be at the forefront of every arena it enters into. On the battllef eld, innovative servopowered armour designs are providing the StateEmpire Army with a superior advantage, while cutting-edge technology such as the Sù-Jiàn Immediate Action Unit is changing the face of Remote-led warfare.
Not all is as harmonious as the Party's propaganda would lead you to believe, however. Citizens slip through the cracks of society, instead turning to crime to boost their status. The fractured ninja clans, who of course do not exist, now fight a shadowy war for dominance in the wake of the Uprising. And the Emperor of Great Japan has torn his citizens free of an oppressive regime that treated his people as second-rate at best.
Offering never-before-seen insights on the Jade Empire, this sourcebook will take you far beyond the Yu Jing's veil of mystery.
Details on the two key planets that have become the foundation of the StateEmpire: Shentang and Yutang.
Focused Lifepaths that allow players to immerse themselves in the diversity and duality of the StateEmpire, including Imperial Agents, Ninjas, and Those Without Name.
Additional armour, equipment, and adversaries specifi c to Yu Jing, including the deadly Neokatana, the ground-breaking Sù-Jiàn Immediate Action Unit, and stats for several unique adversaries.
Various discourses on the far-reaching effects of the hard-fought Uprising that led to the recent secession of Great Japan, plus several Lifepaths that provide an opportunity to play an agent of Emperor Hiroshi's will.
You can get the YuJing sourcebook as a physical book, and as a PDF. You can also find it on DriveThruRPG.
Time has flown! last I checked it was the start of July, and I had just released The Hoppy Pops. A whirlwind has rushed by and suddenly it appears to be the start of August! I was remiss with my blog updates in July, many apologies, but life seems to have gotten in the way!
So what have I been doing this last month? Well, freelance writing has kept me rather busy. I have had the pleasure of working on the upcoming Legends of Middle-Earth (probably being renamed Tales from Middle-Earth), for Cubicle 7. As well as getting through a number of pieces for the Infinity: The Role Playing Game, for Modiphius. Lastly, I managed to start a few odds and ends for Devil's Run, for Red Scar Gaming. It's been quite a mix: a pinch of classic epic fantasy, a dash of post-human science fiction, and a smidgen of down-and-dirty post-apocalypse.
I have also been getting my next micro-RPG ready, it's called Owlbear Omelette, and sets you (the players), on a mad dungeon quest to secure an Owlbear Egg for omelette-making purposes. Is it just a drunk dare? Is it to strike a blow to the entrenched hierarchy? Is it just for kicks? You decide! In preparation I made a couple of illustrations for the cover, and have been mulling over which to use.
Option one…
Option two…
Not what anyone would call fine art, but will have to do…
Owlbear Omelette shoud be up and available within the next week or so for those of you who support my Patreon page (and with juicy extras), for everyone else, it will be available a week after that in all the usual places (namely DriveThruRPG and Itch.io).
This month my goals are to finish off the next micro-RPG, and round out some of the freelance work I have still on the docket. I need to get back to design work on Ashmerl, my full-sized fantasy RPG. I also have some fiction I need to get out of my system, for better or for worse, and I'm sure I'll be distracted by something else along the way. Last but not least, I need to make sure I get more than one blog post out there in August, July was… well, best not said!
Until the next post, happy gaming!
Bright heights and laser lights, busy days and pulsing nights…
-L-Ease, Maya Star
The PanOceania source book for the Infinity RPG has been released! I wrote the opening chapter and the background to the planet Acontecimento in this book, and as always it is a pleasure to see it after it's gone into layout and accompanied by art. The team at Modiphius do a fantastic job, and I am very proud to have had a small part to play in the creation of this book. The art work throughout is excellent, and there is plenty of stuff in there for die hard fans of the setting, and for those who want more, more, MORE for their game sessions!
I have had an absolute blast exploring the science fiction worlds created by Corvus Belli. In PanOceania I really hope that game masters and players alike find a mix of enjoyable background material, as well as plenty of ideas and seeds for adventure and mayhem!
PanOceania. The Hyperpower. Life at the top of the G5 nations ensures a certain amount of privilege and power. It also brings its fair share of enemies. Born from an intercontinental alliance on Old Earth that pioneered the race to the stars, PanOceania has led the transhuman revolution without ever once looking back.
Stewards of no less than three entire star systems and numerous colonies on several other worlds, the Hyperpower is also the largest proponent of ALEPH, the benevolent AI that oversees many of the functions that allow the vast PanOceanian empire to operate. Overseen by ALEPH, their policies set by lobbies, and their faith guided by the Church, most PanOceanians soak up glamorous holovids depicting the herculean might of the latest cutting-edge TAGs or the glorious charge of power-armoured Knights and bask in the sanctity of their technological superiority.
Scratch beneath the surface of the neon and chrome, however, and all is not as harmonious as the Mayacasts would have you believe. On the ocean planet of Varuna, Libertos fight ever more violently to free themselves from a subversive occupation, whilst all across PanOceania's territories, dispossessed Ateks struggle for recognition from an interstellar institution that refuses to acknowledge their existence. With new gear and fresh insights on the mightiest of Hyperpowers, this sourcebook will take you deep beneath the sparkling surface of PanOceania's dazzling exterior.
Details on the three key star systems that are home to the PanOceanian empire: Acontecimento, Neoterra, and Varuna.
Focused Lifepaths that allow players to immerse themselves in the diverse aspects of the Hyperpower, including Croc Men, Hexas Agents, and Knights.
Additional armour, equipment, and adversaries specific to PanOceania, including the innovative sensarecorder tech, the mighty Seraph TAGs, and stats for several unique adversaries.
A treatise on the Helots and their culture, plus several Lifepaths that provide an opportunity to play a member of this enigmatic amphibious race!
PanOceania is available in the Modiphius webstore here!
Satisfaction on Omned III
Earlier this year an adventure I wrote for the Star Trek Adventures line from Modiphius, Trouble on Omned III, was released for sale. The adventure puts the intrepid crew of *insert ship name here* in the middle of a social and medical crisis that could well spill over into armed conflict. I tried to write an adventure that was classically Star Trek, one where science and diplomacy could have as much chance, if not more, of solving the brewing conflict as any feat of arms. The other day I found a review on DrivethruRPG, by Megan R. of this adventure and it made me smile.
I won't quote the whole thing, which describes aspects of the adventure for anyone who might be interested in buying it (you can see it here), but the last line particularly gave me a thrill:
This is a nicely-constructed adventure that has a real Star Trek feel to it – it's easy to imagine it as an episode in the show. The party's actions will have a lasting effect on Omned III.
Review on DriveThruRPG by Megan R.
While it's satisfying to read that the reviewer thought the adventure was nicely constructed, reading that she believed it had a Star Trek feel to it, that it could be imagined as an episode, was exactly what I was aiming for. I know this adventure won't be for every group, and that adventures are, by their very nature, subjective, and dependent on the GM and play group. I also recognise that this would never have been released without the wonderful support and work of all those boffins at Modiphius who are part of the excellent Star Trek Adventures team. It is nonetheless nice to read that the feeling I was aiming for resonated with someone! Thanks Megan! I hope your playgroup had as much fun playing this as I did writing it!
The smile I felt as I read those words is a good reminder: I should do more to write about the games and game products I love, and why I love them. Putting those 'feels' out there helps share the smile I felt with the writers, creators, artists and team that put the games together.
So nice to see some of the books I've worked on getting released into the wild. The latest of these is the Haqqislam source book for the Infinity RPG. I know I've written it before, but it really is amazing to see all the work of so many talented people coming together into a final product. The Haqqislam source book looks fantastic, and I'm very proud to have been a part of the team that contributed to its creation.
I love the cover art work, but the book is also choc full of great information, background, rules and art.
I worked on the Bourak chapter, and had a lot of fun exploring the planetary home of the Haqqislamite empire. The Bourak chapter is only one part of the book however, many other writers contributed to make this a wonderful source book for the Infinity RPG.
The Haqqislamite movement found traction in a world riven by political turmoil and economic crises. Its greatest messenger, Farhad Khadivar, advocated a new ideology that wove together the many complex threads of the old into a New Islam. This philosophical and theological revision of long-standing interpretations, which shed intolerance and oppressive dogma in favour of humanism and a concept known as the Search for Knowledge, laid the foundations for a golden age of reforms and advancements that propelled a nation across the stars.
Since finding a home on Bourak, Haqqislam has experienced a rebirth of artistic and scientific pursuance that is the envy of their rivals. Gardeners refine terraforming techniques that have reshaped an arid world, doctors perform miracles with pioneering surgery, and biochemists cultivate new synthetic wonders with Silk. Though often considered one of the smallest of the G5 nations, Haqqislam remains unrivalled in several arenas.
A Silk monopoly and extensive trade routes have spawned a nation of traders that often draw the envy and ire of competitors, though the Sword of Allah stands ever ready to smite the enemies of the Word. With new insights into the New Islam and its proponents, this sourcebook will take you further into the Search for Knowledge than ever before!
Details on Bourak and its diverse regions — Al Medinat, Funduq, Iran Zhat Al Amat, Gabqar, Norouz, and Alamut.
Focused Lifepaths that allow players to tread the Search for Knowledge, including Akbar Doctors, Khawarij, and new Hassassin careers.
Additional armour, equipment, and adversaries specifi c to Haqqislam, including the famed Akrep TAGs of the Maghariba Guard, and stats for the enigmatic Husam Yasbir.
New rules and campaign guidance for plundering the space lanes as a corsair in the employ of Haqqislam.
The Cost of Greed
It's very exciting to see a project you have worked on getting closer to release, to see the amazing art work, maps and layout all making the thing pop. The latest update for the Infinity Role Playing Game Kickstarter dropped the other day, and along with it came a PDF for backers, of a campaign I wrote: The Cost of Greed.
Cover art by Francisco Rio
A chance discovery on Paradiso leads to the uncovering of a VoodooTech smuggling ring, with the clues pointing to an intelligence agency or corporation. Follow the rabbit hole, follow the money, and the trail of breadcrumbs may soon provide clues to a plot that could put the entire Human Sphere at risk.
The Cost of Greed is a mini-campaign of five non-linear adventures that provide the characters with a chance to meet, work alongside, and challenge the key characters from Corvus Belli's Dire Foes Mission Packs 1 to 5.
• First Domino: Follow the trail of a smuggling ring trafficking
VoodooTech from Paradiso to the crowded streets
of Yinquan. Will the tight-lipped Yănjīng be involved,
or perhaps the shady MagnaObra corporation?
• Ice and Fire: Seeking clues to the architect and purpose
of the smuggling ring, the characters will need to brave
the icy cold of Svarlarheima to find the answers they seek.
• Quantronic Noise: A hacking cell operating from
an enclave on Bakunin are a key factor to the operation.
Their ability to manipulate the characters' patinas,
however, may flip the Wilderness of Mirrors on its head,
creating enemies of both civilians and friends.
• Hot Sands: Chasing an executive for intel she's
hiding will lead the characters into a fight to survive
on the Silk Route, but her enemies could prove more
overwhelming than expected.
• The Black Box: With the very war on Paradiso under
threat and the safety of the Human Sphere at stake,
infiltrating the operational centre of the cabal
responsible could turn disaster into victory.
Key to these adventures was providing scope for the players to meet and interact with well-known characters from the Infinity universe. The missions in The Cost of Greed begin in parallel with the Dire Foes Mission Pack 1, and then spiral from there, drawing in the main characters from Mission Packs 1-5. I hope those GMs and players who manage to play through this campaign find a little of something for everyone. Each adventure aims to allow different player character's to shine, and hopefully offer some interesting challenges along the way!
I've written this before: it's one thing to see the words on a computer screen, and it's entirely another to see everything come together in layout, with art, style, maps and so on, in place. It reminds you that something like this is a team endeavor, a fact that is easy to forget when you're knocking away at the keyboard in the privacy of your own home. Scrolling through the PDF I am reminded how talented the pool of people at Modiphius is, and I for one am greatly impressed (though naturally, I'm biased)!
The Cost of Greed PDF is currently available to backers of the Kickstarter, but it won't be long before the files are off to the printers, and then the book, as a physical item, will see the light of day.
The PDF will soon be available to purchase from the Modiphius online store, followed in due course by the physical book.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing this campaign, and I hope anyone who reads or plays it gets as much fun from it as I did!
Trouble on Omned III
Trouble on Omned III is an adventure I penned for the Star Trek Adventures role playing game, published by Modiphius. I am thrilled to see it hit release!
You are called away from a routine science mission to intervene and mediate a dispute that has erupted on Omned III, on the border between Federation space and the Talarian Republic. Inhabited by the Shean, Omned III is teetering on the brink of civil conflict. While few in numbers, the Shean possess an insular and rigidly structured society, with the ruling and military classes living in a single large space station while the working classes live on the planet's surface.
The Shean of Omned III are infected with a subtle parasite that manifests as an apparent genetic disorder, which they call the 'Omned Curse' meaning that they age at a vastly accelerated rate.
A vaccine farmed on the surface of Omned III prevents this debilitating disorder from taking hold but in the last month, the vaccine shipped from the surface has failed to take effect. With unprotected newborns suffering, and recent cases of the disorder beginning to activate in adults, tensions between the upper and lower castes are at a breaking point.
As the situation deteriorates even further, can you find a way to avert Shean civil war and help find a cure for the Omned Curse?
While a plain Word document is nice enough, it can't match a nice LCARS layout!
(which was designed by Matthew Comben and laid out by Thomas Deeny).
Trouble on Omned III is the fourth adventure I have written that has made it to release, with another five, for the Infinity Role Playing Game, on the way. I hope those people who play it have at least half as much fun as I did writing it!
You can find Trouble at Omned III in the Modiphius online store, here. Or on DriveThru RPG, here.


text:
Looking ahead by looking back: A TAP year in review
Published by Dayna Del Val at January 2, 2020
FMCVB
West Acres
You may have read my arts sector wrap up in Monday's Forum, but I want to take some time to wrap up our fabulous 2019 from The Arts Partnership's standpoint, too. First of all, thank you to everyone who supported TAP in so many ways throughout this past year. We can't do what we do without your financial, moral, physical and emotional support, so thank you for all of that.
Here are only a very few of our highlights:
These last couple of years at TAP have seen tremendous growth in interest in the arts from the business sector. In 2019, we posted a record number of Calls for Artists from around the Metro. That means a growing number of artists are seeing their work on utility boxes, benches, Eames chairs, public murals, inside businesses and so much more. AND, artists are getting paid for this work—a point of particular interest to us as we work to help the community better understand that "exposure" doesn't put food on tables or pay bills. Artists are entrepreneurs and small businesses in their own right, and we are thrilled at all the paid opportunities that opened up last year.
What #holidaytravel stress? Dr. Earnest Lamb, Dean of the College of Arts, Media and Communication at @MSUMoorhead, played in this morning's #FlyFargo @Arts_TAP musical performances. See who may be playing when you're traveling: https://t.co/Soj597R62R #ArtWORKS #airportart pic.twitter.com/mBVudLaSG6
— Fargo Airport (@fargoairport) December 23, 2019
This week we had the opportunity to vinyl wrap city benches with designs from local artists to be displayed in the downtown community! 🤩
S/O to @FargoACC + @Arts_TAP + @DowntownFargo for making this collaboration possible!#WheresOSCWednesday #OfficeSignCompany #ILoveSigns pic.twitter.com/G7OviJOnNd
— Office Sign Company (@OfficeSigns) November 20, 2019
We hosted a series of Business Breakfasts with leaders from outside the community to engage the local business sector in understanding the value of the arts to their bottom lines. Thank you to the Consensus Council for a grant to support these programs. Thank you to Flint Communication and Microsoft for additional sponsorship.
We brought in Deborah Diamond, Director of Campus Philly, to discuss how to better attract and retain our college and university graduates to the Metro through a program called Campus FM. Thank you to Gate City Bank for sponsoring that program.
Dr. Benjamin Sung performs at A Salon pARTy
We launched Salon pARTy, a new way to engage in the arts from an intellectual and community-drive experience. Thank you to Dr Benjamin Sung and Emily Williams-Wheeler for being such excellent artists at our sold out first event.
We worked with West Acres to open *Aptitude, a 6,000 square-foot space incorporating 19 artist studios, a kiln room and opportunities for artistic engagement with the larger community. As the single largest gift in the history of The Arts Partnership, this newly opened space is being defined and redefined as we work in real time with the permanent studio artists and guest artists for various opportunities.
We grew our ArtWORKS program to 15 venues, including now providing live music at Hector International Airport in addition to the visual art. Thanks to Choice Financial, Office Sign Company, Vetter Dental, NDSU's Barry Hall, Block E Moorhead, Luna, Nichole's Fine Pastry, Regional Small Business Center and The Fargo Forum for also being locations for this exciting program.
Yesterday evening we got to see the fabulously creative staff at @OfficeSigns draw imaginative creatures with artist @markericelton through our ArtWORKS program. #SupportLocalArt pic.twitter.com/alIhJjOVa7
— The Arts Partnership (@Arts_TAP) August 16, 2019
We hosted a series of successful Holiday Art Markets leading up to Christmas. We learned so much about who this largely new-to-us audience of mall shoppers is, and we were delighted with the positive response we received from so many people who were thrilled with the prospect of meeting and purchasing from actual artists.
One aspect of Aptitude that has excited us from the initial conversations with West Acres was the idea that this space, inside this dynamic community gem, would be a gateway to the rest of the arts sector. We know that people from hundreds of miles away routinely travel to the Metro to enjoy all that West Acres has to offer. How might we use this new location to introduce all the arts in the community to guests of the mall?
Well, we couldn't love this any more! Thanks to @designknight and @firelineneon for taking Henri Matisse's words and bringing them to light in this most glorious way at #Aptitude to #support local art https://t.co/5kMlhNXBTv
— Dayna Del Val (@DaynaTAP) November 20, 2019
Aptitude has the intriguing mystery of the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Our long entryway could dissuade the casual shopper from making the trek down, but the inviting "Creativity Takes Courage" sign from Fireline Neon Company and Cereal, by way of Henri Matisse, draws people in despite their initial hesitation. Once they walk down the hallway, however, a whole new world of nearly two dozen charming artist studios opens up to them, and you almost always hear an, "Oh wow!" or an audible intake of breath at their surprise. We want that surprise to be experienced in both the actual space and for Aptitude to be the place that opens up to the rest of the arts in the community, too.
Going forward this year, we're envisioning Aptitude as an interpretive center for the arts, similar to any state or national park interpretive center. Aptitude will be an all-inclusive, immersive arts experience where people learn about how to even more deeply explore all of these artistic opportunities within and beyond our doors and out into the rest of the Metro. Already, Aptitude has art for sale made by local artists, many of whom are renting space and whom you can meet in person. We're working with West Acres to develop a First Fridays free concert series with local performers outside Aptitude's main entrance. We expect to start offering artist talks and art making opportunities for the public very soon in this new year as well.
Inside Rockgirl Studios, Dina Schulz balances workspace including a jeweler's bench and various tools with her jewelry and rock displays. Photo by Ethan Mickelson of The Arts Partnership
Aptitude will be most successful and serve its greatest purpose if it is a springboard to promote the entire arts sector. We have installed a massive 4k monitor to introduce and promote the more than 120 Partner organizations, artists and arts-related businesses in the community through calendar events, advertising, videos and more. We want to ensure that those who come to Aptitude have a better sense of all that this arts community has to offer them.
BEFORE: Brad Schlossman of West Acres Mall and Dayna Del Val of The Arts Partnership.
AFTER: Dayna Del Val, Brad Schlossman and artist Tara Fermoyle insider her brand new studio.
They say success begets success, so the ultimate barometer of absolute success for us will be if you, the public, move from wondering about what's going on in that corner space of the mall to walking in to Aptitude to experience the various opportunities that will be available. And then, will you take it even one step further and head East towards downtown and in to Moorhead to take advantage of the artistic opportunities we promote and the avenues to deepening your artistic engagement that are scattered all around this artistically-rich community?
This is an exciting time for the arts and The Arts Partnership, but more crucially, it's an exciting time for the community to participate more fully in the arts. That's why, in 2019, the Board of Directors of The Arts Partnership voted to change our mission statement from "cultivating the arts in the community" to "cultivating the community through the arts." We invite you to step inside the wardrobe and see what a glorious world exists down the hall and out into the Metro. Believe me, you will love what you discover.
*Special thank you to The Fargo Moorhead Convention and Visitor's Bureau, Office Sign Company, and private donors for additional funding to assist in our completion of Aptitude.