Repost @jiganbabaoja by @media.repost: Breaking news ! On Jiganbaboja FM ! Ojediran Fathia new act to watch out for 2019 ! So talented wow we are glad to have you on JiganbabaOja FM ! Please kindly follow her on @officialphatiah and download her song titled (Education) bring your buisness and advert to us ! Up and coming artist contact us for your music promotions !
New year 2019 starting from where 2018 stopped with Achievements, milestones, Laurels, accolades and breaking barriers the order of the day. Continue your good works and surely the sky is just the beginning.


All-American Records was a tiny Chicago-based label that was active between 1968 and 1971. It was owned by Bill Holmes, who was also the manager and producer of Strawberry Alarm Clock. All-American was specialized in psychedelic and progressive rock. All of the label's handful of albums are now highly sought after items as original pressings were reportedly very small with 500 to max. 1000 copies.


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text:
Most Android Apps Make Almost No Money
By Erik Sherman
Updated on: May 27, 2011 / 2:47 PM / MoneyWatch
Last summer, it became clear that most paid Apple (AAPL) iPhone apps will lose money. Now a new report from app market research firm Distimo suggests that developers writing for Google (GOOG) Android make even less.
This new report paints a grim picture for the vast majority of app developers who hope to make money from the platform. As the graph below shows, only a tiny portion of paid apps have significant sales (click to enlarge):
Of all free apps, 41.6 percent get downloaded between 1,000 and 50,000 times. However, only 4.5 percent of paid apps hit the same download figures. According to Distimo numbers from last year, the average paid Android app cost $3.27. Round up to $3.30, and you see that 4.5 percent of paid apps will gross, after Google's 30 percent cut, between $2,310 and $115,500 during their lifetime. (The low end is probably a little higher because new apps that hadn't enough time to sell in higher volume would disproportionately drag it down.)
The median price would be $58,805. That's considerably more than the $8,300 per iPhone app that I estimated last year. But there's one big difference: the bigger number for Android is for the top apps.
About 95.4 percent of Android apps sell fewer than 1,000 copies. That means the top money almost any app will make is $2,310, and 79.3 percent of the paid apps don't even make $330 for the developer. Furthermore, top apps change over more quickly for Android than for iPhones, according to Distimo.
This is probably why app developers for Android lean more heavily toward free models, presumably with advertising, than for iPhone. For some time, it's been clear that Android is the king of free apps. Rovio, as an example, uses advertising to monetize the Android versions of its Angry Birds titles:
But, again, is that any better for the vast majority of developers? Here are the download stats for free Android apps (click graph to enlarge):
When 73.8 percent of free apps get downloaded fewer than 50,000 times, you have to ask about the average advertising revenue per user. On an ad views basis, where sales were by the thousand, the total views amount would be 50 times however many views the average single user provided. Even at 100, that would be 5,000 times maybe a few dollars, so still in the tens of thousands for revenue.
The reality is that only a few will see apps make enough money to provide a reasonable return on their investment of time. That should concern everyone in mobile, given how much faith most put into apps as the reason platforms thrive.
If that's true, then the entire industry rests on the labor of people who essentially donate their services creating enough bulk content to catch popular attention. What happens if the un-moneyed masses decide to walk away and do something profitable with their time? Will platform owners have to start a subsidy model to make sure they continue to hold the interest of third party developers?
Apple Leads Google in Mobile Apps -- but Maybe Not for Long
Most Apps in the Apple App Store Will Probably Lose Money
Image: Flickr user danielmoyle, CC 2.0.
First published on May 27, 2011 / 2:48 PM
Erik Sherman
Erik Sherman is a widely published writer and editor who also does select ghosting and corporate work. The views expressed in this column belong to Sherman and do not represent the views of CBS Interactive. Follow him on Twitter at @ErikSherman or on Facebook.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Blake Graves is familiar with franchising. The second-generation businessman is part of a family that operates more than 100 Domino's locations throughout the country. Now he has decided to step out on his own to bring multiple locations of the upstart Crisp & Green restaurant brand to the state of Minnesota. The Minnesota-based brand is a wellness-driven restaurant chain that offers salads, grain bowls, soups, and smoothies.
Graves will join former NBA and University of Minnesota basketball player Kris Humphries in building out the state for Crisp & Green. Humphries is already operating his first of 6 locations on the University of Minnesota campus in Dinkytown. Together they will grow the brand to 14 locations throughout Minnesota. Plans call for both Graves and Humphries to build multiple stores during 2019.
Crisp & Green is a concept that prepares and serves fresh, healthy food while also offering free community fitness and wellness events to help promote a healthy lifestyle beyond the kitchen.


Philips will provide the medical device requirements at RCI's upcoming Williams Outpatient Surgical Center, a 6-storey state-of-the-art medical facility in Mandaluyong City that will offer diagnostic and interventional procedures. RCI's joint venture with Asian Eye Institute is set to be the first medical service to be launched at Williams in the first quarter of 2019. Also set to open are a renal center, a cardiac arrest center, and a centralised lab also in early 2019.
"We're very happy that Philips has partnered with us in our endeavor to bring affordable high quality healthcare closer to all Filipinos. The brand's clinical depth and breadth, innovative solutions, and commercial viability, allow us to operate outpatient facilities that are highly cost-efficient, while maintaining hospital grade standards," said David San Pedro, General Manager for RelianceCARE Inc.
Diederik Zeven, General Manager, Healthcare Systems, Philips ASEAN Pacific added that, "The synergy between Philips and RCI is anchored in our holistic vision that goes beyond the delivery of care. In today's health continuum, we not only continue to innovate with healthcare providers such as RelianceCARE, but also provide propositions for healthy living and connected care in the home for better patient outcomes."
RCI will also explore the possibility of offering Philips sleep therapy solutions at its clinics and will incorporate Philip's latest health technology solutions on wearable sensors, patient monitoring, ultrasound, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
RCI and Philips Philippines only has the best intentions when it comes to providing quality and affordable healthcare here in the country. "Bringing in quality health equipment is just one element to the equation in this collaboration. What we are poised to deliver are solutions to work across the whole patient journey from home to hospital- and back home," said Ashwin Chari, Country Manager, Philips Philippines.


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Tag: gender security
How Does Nocturnal Animals Highlight Gender Security?
Ananda Narasimhan, Film Reviews May 24, 2017May 24, 2017 Ananda Narasimhan
Nocturnal Animals is a movie which reveals the problem of gender violence and harassment. One of NATO's missions to address this issue is to promote gender security.
A Culture of Shame: Exploring LGBT Abuses in Chechnya
Farah Bogani, Women in Security April 13, 2017May 9, 2017 Farah Bogani
Farah Bogani explores the severity of LGBT abuses in Chechnya and whether Russia will launch an effective investigation.
Gender in Modern Peacekeeping: How to enhance effectiveness and accountability
Jenny Yang, Women in Security September 28, 2016September 26, 2016 Jenny Yang
Earlier this month, defence ministers from 80 countries gathered in London for the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial. Topics on the agenda included: inclusion of more women in military and police contingents of peacekeeping operations, a zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, and building rapid-deployment capabilities for contingents. Unfortunately, of the 80 […]
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text:
Q: How do I type for arrays with ordered types of unknown length? I'm using Paths (arrays of alternating numbers and strings) to specify the location of a specific Object within a structure of nested Arrays and Objects.
In each case a Path will always start and end with a number, and have any number of alternating string, number pairs between.
(i.e [number, string, number] | [number, string, number, string, number] | [number, string, number, string, number, string, number])
I know that tuples allow for ordered types, but I don't know how long my array will be, as I don't know how deep the nested structure is.

A: Be warned that TypeScript can't directly represent such a type with accuracy.  It can be represented indirectly as a generic constraint that you can use helper functions to require, but it adds complexity.  The best you can hope for is a type that constrains users of your functions to passing in concrete values that match this type, and then inside any implementation you widen the type to something the compiler can actually reason about easily, like Array<string | number>.
As a compromise, you say you don't know how long of a tuple you need, but I bet there's a reasonable maximum, right?  Do you expect these tuples to need to be dozens of elements long?  If you can think of a reasonable maximum then you can compromise with something like your example type:
type PickAReasonableMaximum =
  [number, string, number] |
  [number, string, number, string, number] |
  [number, string, number, string, number, string, number] |
  [number, string, number, string, number, string, number, string, number] |
  [number, string, number, string, number, string, number, string, number, string, number]
// ... etc

But, because I like crazy type juggling, I will try to represent this by a generic constraint.  When we're done, we'll have a type like VerifyAlternator<T> where if T is a valid path type then T will be assignable to it, and if T is not a valid path type, then T will not be assignable to it (and in fact, VerifyAlternator<T> will represent a type which is either valid or closer to valid, so the user gets an error on the "bad" part).  Then you'd have a helper function like function asAlternator<T>(x: T & VerifyAlternatorT): T; which just returns its input, but throws up compiler warnings if the input does not validate.
First, let's come up with some type-manipulation aliases:
Tail<T> will takes a tuple type T and returns a tuple with the first element removed.  So Tail<[1,2,3]> should be [2,3]:
type Tail<T extends any[], D = never> =
  ((...args: T) => never) extends ((a: any, ...args: infer R) => never)
  ? R
  : D;

Cons<H, T> prepends a type H onto the tuple type T, so Cons<1,[2,3]> should be [1,2,3]:
type Cons<H, T extends any[]> =
  ((h: H, ...t: T) => any) extends ((...x: infer X) => any) ? X : never;

Lookup<T, K> is the lookup type T[K] in cases where the compiler doesn't know for sure if K is a key of T.  So Lookup<{a: string}, "a"> is string, and Lookup<{a: string}, "b"> is never:
type Lookup<T, K> = K extends keyof T ? T[K] : never;

WidenToStringOrNumberTuple<T> takes an array or tuple type T containing only string | number elements and widens any literals like "a" or 1 to string or number.  So WidenToStringOrNumberTuple<[string, number, "a", 1]> is [string, number, string, number].
type WidenToStringOrNumberTuple<T extends (string | number)[]> = { [I in keyof T]:
  T[I] extends string ? string : T[I] extends number ? number : never
};

Presenting the main attraction, VerifyAlternator<T>.  This takes a tuple type of strings and numbers, and returns a valid (or closer-to-valid) alternating path version of T.  The constraints are (as I understand from your question) that the tuple must begin and end with a number type, it must alternate between number and string, and the tuple must have at least three elements in it (you didn't indicate that [number] would be okay).  Well, here goes:
type VerifyAlternator<T extends (string | number)[]> =
  T['length'] extends 0 | 1 ? [number, string, number] :
  { [I in keyof T]: Lookup<Cons<number, Cons<string, WidenToStringOrNumberTuple<T>>>, I> &
    (I extends keyof Tail<T> ? unknown : number)
  }

The first bit takes care of [] and [number] being unacceptable.  The meat of the calculation is the mapped type.  We get the I'th element of Cons<number, Cons<string, WidenToStringOrNumberTuple<T>>>.  Consider that type... it sticks an extra [number, string, ...] onto the beginning of the widened-to-string-or-number version of T.  If T is ["a", 1, "b", "c"], then it becomes [number, string, string, number, string, string].  So the Ith element of that will be: number for I is "0"; string for I is "1", and then something like T[I - 2] otherwise (you can't do type level arithmetic like that).  If I extends keyof Tail<T> it means that I is not the last index and intersecting with unknown doesn't do anything (X & unknown is just X)... but if it is the last index, we intersect with number... to guarantee that a valid path ends with a number.
Simple, right?  Okay, maybe not.  Let's look at what happens in a few test cases:
type Test1 = VerifyAlternator<[1, "a", 2]>;
// type Test1 = [number, string, number]; // matches
type Test2 = VerifyAlternator<[1, "a", "b"]>;
// type Test2 = [number, string, number]; // doesn't match
type Test3 = VerifyAlternator<[1, "a", 2, 3]>;
// type Test3 = [number, string, number, string & number]; // doesn't match
type Test4 = VerifyAlternator<[1, "a", 2, "b", 3]>;
// type Test4 = [number, string, number, string, number]; // matches

As you can see, for Test1 and Test4, the VerifyAlternator version returns a compatible type to what was passed in.  But for Test2 and Test3 it doesn't.
So, let's use it.  Here's a helper function:
const asAlternator = <T extends (string | number)[]>(
  alternator: T & VerifyAlternator<T>): T => alternator;

And here are test cases that work and that don't work:
// works
const okay1 = asAlternator([1, "a", 2]);
const okay2 = asAlternator([1, "a", 2, "b", 3]);
const okay3 = asAlternator([1, "a", 2, "b", 3, "c", 4, "d", 5, "e", 6,
  "f", 7, "g", 8, "h", 9, "i", 10, "j", 11, "k", 12, "l", 13, "m", 14, "n", 15,
  "o", 16, "p", 17, "q", 18, "r", 19, "s", 20, "t", 21, "u", 22, "v", 23,
  "w", 24, "x", 25, "y", 26, "z", 27]);

// errors
const bad1 = asAlternator("a"); // error!
//                        ~~~ <-- "a" is not (string | number)[]
const bad2 = asAlternator([]); // error!
//                        ~~ <-- [] is not [number, string, number]
const bad3 = asAlternator(["a"]); // error!
//                         ~~~ <-- "a" is not number
const bad4 = asAlternator([1]); // error!
//                        ~~~ <-- [number] is not [number, string, number]
const bad5 = asAlternator([1, "a", true]); // error!
//  true is not string | number -> ~~~~
const bad6 = asAlternator([1, "a", "b", 2]); // error!
// "b" is not number ------------> ~~~
const bad7 = asAlternator([1, "a", 2, "b"]); // error!
//  "b" is not number --------------> ~~~

As you can see, it supports very long valid paths and rejects invalid paths.

So, there you go.  Type juggling success!  Is the complexity worth it to you?  If so, great.  If not, the compromises of a finite union of tuples or even just an undifferentiated array could work for you.  You'll likely have to do runtime checks or compile time assertions anyway, since the compiler only understands VerifyAlternator<T> for concrete values of T, not for generic ones, like you use inside function implementation:
function cannotReason<T extends (string | number)[]>(path: T & VerifyAlternator<T>) {
  path[2].toFixed(); // error!
  // YOU know path[2] is a number, but the compiler still thinks of it as (string | number);
  // you'll need to do this:
  (path [2] as number).toFixed(); // okay
  // or even this:
  if (typeof path[2] === "string") throw new Error();
  path[2].toFixed(); // okay
}

Link to code

A: You could use a union type, e.g.
type PathMember = string | number;
type Path = PathMember[];
let myPath: Path = [0, "left", 2, "alleyway"];

However, this doesn't enforce the start and end members to be numbers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


What is Captain Nice about?
Carter Nash was a chemist in a police department who discovered a liquid which could turn him into Captain Nice, an odd sort of superhero: very shy and dominated by his mother. Captain Nice flew (he feared heights) in his tattered leotards, fighting badguys because his mother told him to do so.
Episode 2: How Sheik Can You Get?
Episode 6: Is Big Town Burning?
Episode 10: Who's Afraid of Amanda Woolf?
Episode 13: May I Have the Last Dance?


text:
package auth

import (
	"net/http"

	"github.com/aodin/volta/config"

	db "github.com/aodin/listofthings/db"
)

func SetCookie(w http.ResponseWriter, c config.CookieConfig, session db.Session) {
	cookie := &http.Cookie{
		Name:     c.Name,
		Value:    session.Key,
		Path:     c.Path,
		Domain:   c.Domain,
		Expires:  session.Expires,
		HttpOnly: c.HttpOnly,
		Secure:   c.Secure,
	}
	http.SetCookie(w, cookie)
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Neuropsychiatric Electrophysiology
LORETA predicts electromagnetic sensitivity and "hearing voices" in a predictable, increasingly prevalent subpopulation: possible QEEG-based differential diagnosis
Michael A Persinger1,2,3,4,
Linda S St-Pierre1,2 &
Kevin S Saroka1,4
Neuropsychiatric Electrophysiology volume 1, Article number: 7 (2015) Cite this article
Since 1980 we have assessed individuals who report electromagnetic sensitivity and "hearing voices" who do not display formal thought disorder but are clearly distressed by their experiences. Their intellectual levels and memory scores are average to above average with no neuropsychological impairment although right prefrontal deficits have been discernable. They exhibit experimentally verifiable sensitivity to physiologically-patterned magnetic fields at intensities they could encounter in their habitats.
Presentation of Hypothesis
Considering the previous evidence that the parahippocampal region in the right hemisphere is sensitive to geomagnetic and experimentally generated weak, physiologically-patterned magnetic fields, these individual should display anomalous activity within the temporal lobes according to classic electroencephalographic measurements but with specific enhancements of current source density as measured by Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) in the right parahippocampal region.
Testing of Hypothesis
A middle-aged woman who displayed characteristics typical of this population exhibited persistent and conspicuous enhanced power in the low beta-range over the temporal lobes and specific changes in current source densities within the left inferior temporal gyrus and right parahippocampal region.
Implications of Hypothesis
This configuration could be helpful to differentiate this population. Given the increasing density and complexity of electromagnetic fields generated by commercial and private sources the prevalence of this subpopulation is expected to increase during the next decades.
Over the last 35 years we have assessed clinically approximately twenty adult men and women who have reported they "heard voices" and were sensitive to electromagnetic fields that the patients attributed to the cause of these voices. Although such symptoms are often considered classic Schneiderian indicators of formal thought disorders, none of the individuals we assessed met the criteria of the various DSM variants over the years. Most of these individuals were well educated (Bachelors, Masters or Doctoral Degrees), articulate, logical, and stable. Psychometric indicators, such as the MMPI (Multiphasic Minnesota Personality Inventory), indicated elevated scores for eccentric thinking (typical of creative writers) but the general profile was not sufficient for a psychiatric-level diagnosis.
Because a focus of our clinical laboratory (Persinger, 2001; 2003; St-Pierre and Persinger, 2006) is experimentally eliciting the "sense of a presence" (the feeling that a "Sentient Being" is proximal to the experient) by physiologically-patterned magnetic fields over the right temporal lobe at intensities that could be encountered in the modern habitat, we have been able to test the "electromagnetic sensitivity" directly. In most cases transcerebral applications of weak physiologically patterned magnetic fields generated from computer software across the temporal lobes while the patient sits blindfolded within a comfortable chair within a darkened quiet room (an acoustic chamber) encourage the feeling of "others" or the "sensed presence" in sensitive subjects as indicated by their electroencephalographic (EEG) responsiveness (Saroka and Persinger, 2013). Normal individuals with elevated complex partial epileptic-like indicators (Persinger and Makarec, 1993) are more responsive according to both strip chart electroencephalographic and subjective measures. The maximum strength of the magnetic fields within the space occupied by the brain is about 1 microTesla (10 milliGauss) which is within the range to which the brain is exposed near computers and a variety of modern electronic technologies including audio sources inserted over or within the outer ears.
For those patients who are actively experiencing, according to their verbal reports, inner voices application of these physiologically patterned fields with equal intensities across both temporal lobes markedly attenuates the numbers of "different voices" or eliminates their occurrence. Asymmetrical application with greater intensity over the right hemisphere enhances or initiates the experiences. The required duration of exposure is about 15 min to 30 min. Cognitive interruption of the patient during this period markedly attenuates the effectiveness of the treatment. For both the induction of the sensed presence, the feeling of thought intrusion, and depersonalization ("out of body experiences") the optimal point duration of the serial voltages that produce the current through the solenoids (small reed switches) that generate the magnetic fields applied over the temporal lobes is 3 ms (see Saroka and Persinger, 2013 for details). This duration has been experimentally demonstrated to induce analgesic effects in rodents and is equivalent to about 4 mg per kg of morphine (Martin et al. 2004). Recently Karbowski et al. (2012) found that applications of these types of fields to malignant cell cultures diminished their growth rates but did not affect non-malignant cell activity.
Within both psychiatric and non-psychiatric populations the report of a sensed presence has been associated with the transient occurrence of coherence between the right and left temporal lobes (Saroka and Persinger, 2013). Our metaphor for this effect is that the right hemispheric equivalence of the left hemispheric sense of self "intrudes" into or intercalates with awareness. Strip-chart and more recently quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) measurements have supported this general hypothesis (Persinger and Tiller, 2008; Persinger et al., 2009). The availability of s_LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography) has allowed the visualization of changes in source current density within the cerebral volume as a function of discrete 1 Hz frequency bands between 1 and 40 Hz.
Presentation of the Hypothesis
Mulligan et al. (2010) while replicating the innovative measurements of Babayev and Allahverdiyeva (2007), showed that quantitative shifts in gamma and theta activity over the right (frontal) hemisphere were strongly correlated with both geomagnetic activity and ionospheric power density. The sensitivity of the right hemisphere was demonstrated during whole body exposure to experimentally-generated, weak 7 to 8 Hz magnetic fields (Mulligan and Persinger, 2012). The stratum stellare of Stephan (Layer II) of the entorhinal cortices of the human parahippocampal gyrus contains star-shaped cells that are organized into small elevations (verrucae gyri hippocampi) on the cortical surface that can be recognized visually (Gloor, 1997) . These cells exhibit intrinsic oscillations within the 8 Hz range with amplitudes whose energies approach that associated with the loss or gain (Lindauer Threshold) of 1 bit of information. This is the fundamental frequency for the Schumann Resonance (7–8 Hz with increasing harmonics every ~6 Hz, i.e., 13–15 Hz, 19–21 Hz, 25–27 Hz) that is generated within the biosphere between the earth's surface and ionosphere.
Decades ago Koenig et al. (1981) emphasized the marked similarity between delta, alpha, and beta patterns in the human EEG and similar patterns generated within the natural environment. That resonance interactions could occur has been reported by Booth et al. (2005, 2008). Persinger and Saroka (2014), employing standardized LORETA inferences, measured marked enhancements of power within the 4 Hz to 10 Hz band within the right caudal hemisphere for only a narrow range of applied intensities. Although the experimental field strengths of a physiologically-patterned magnetic field applied across the temporal lobes ranged from <1 nT to 7,000 nT, only the 5 to 20 nT increment produced these cerebral effects. Persinger and Saroka (2014) calculated that the likely energetic values represented within the cerebral volume indicated the potential role of Schumann-related frequencies.
Integration of these data in conjunction with that measured for special individuals who report frequent intrusive but benign experiences (Persinger and Saroka, 2012), suggested that this sub-population of people with this constellation of symptoms and experiences should display enhanced power within the higher harmonics (20 to 24 Hz range) of the Schumann band over the temporal lobes compared to other regions according to standard QEEG measures. This enhancement would be relatively continuous and reliably evident by repeated EEG measurements. In addition LORETA should demonstrate enhanced current density particularly within the alpha-beta transition (about 10 Hz to 15 Hz) within the region of the right parahippocampus.
Testing the Hypothesis
A middle age female reported a history of multiple voices that were interpreted by her as "calls for help" from people trapped within a facility controlled by an intelligence system. The "voices" were also associated with "hearing-knowing" sequences of numbers that were organized in clusters typical of cell phone addresses. These number sequences, which she recorded, would be "received" for several minutes to an hour during any given episode. We randomly selected about 20 of these from hundreds of numbers and found most of them were or had been operational cell phone numbers (some were land lines).
She was formally tested over a three day period. Thorough neuropsychological assessment of this subject, like other subjects who presented with this profile, indicated an average level of intelligence and above average general memory and verbal fluency scores. Standardized scores from approximately 80 subtests (see Tiller et al. 2013) were within the average range. The only below normal scores were associated with tests by which right prefrontal function is inferred, such as the delayed (30 min) recall of the Rey-Ostereith Figure and the Conditioned Spatial Association Task. This cerebral region has been a major focus of our research because it is centrally involved with processing of the sense of "self" (Keenan et al., 2000). There was no formal Halstead-Reitan-type neuropsychological impairment. Her standardized scores for the MMPI were within the normal range.
During each QEEG recording the patient sat alone in a comfortable chair that was housed within a dimly lit acoustic chamber (13 m3). The computer displaying the brain activity was outside of the closed chamber. The patient wore a lapel microphone by which she interacted with the clinicians outside the chamber. All comments were tape-recorded. Brain electrical activity was monitored using a Mitsar 201 amplifier equipped with a 19-channel Electro-Cap International with 19 AgCl sensors. For the type of analyses we pursue, which is primarily spectral density and microstates, we find this resolution to exhibit sufficient clinical information with such large effects. Measurements from 19 sites (Fp1, Fp2, F7, F3, Fz, F4, F8, T3, C3, Cz, C4, T4, T5, P3, Pz, P4, T6, O1, O2) consistent with the International Standard of Electrode Placement were obtained. Impedance for all measurements was maintained below 5 kOhms. The data recorded from the amplifier was delivered to a Dell laptop (outside of the chamber) equipped with WinEEG v.2.8 that produced a digital copy of the recorded voltages. The sample rate was 250 Hz.
Two basic analyses were performed on the data. One analysis was conducted in order to discern if regional differences in current source density occurred when referenced to an age-matched BRL database readily available within the sLORETA platform. For this analysis, 50x3-second segments of data were extracted and processed according to the specifications of recommended practices of the software. In brief this included 1) resampling the data to 100 Hz with 256 data points (approx. 2.56 seconds) 2) computing the average cross-spectra across all 50 samples, 3) computing current source density from this cross-spectral file and 4) comparing the results against the BRL normative database.
The second analysis was performed in order to discern if functional differences within the right, left or bilateral parahippocampal regions were apparent while the patient was relaxing with eyes closed, talking normally or "receiving transmissions" in light of the hypothesis and because of a connection between activity within the parahippocampus and naturally-occurring geomagnetic activity (Saroka and Persinger 2013, 2014) and its prominent role as an intermodal integrator of experience before the initiation of long-term memory processes within the hippocampus. For this analysis 8x4-second baseline segments as well as 8x4-second 'receiving' segments were collected approximately 1–1.5 minutes before an "end of transmission" and were entered into sLORETA (Pasqual-Marquis, 2002) for computation of current source density (μA/mm2) within the right and left parahippocampal regions for the classical frequency bands used in more conventional electroencephalographic studies [i.e. delta (1.5-4Hz); theta (4-7Hz); low-alpha (7-10Hz); high-alpha (10-13Hz); beta-1 (13-20Hz); beta-2 (20-25Hz); beta-3 (25-30Hz); gamma (>30Hz)]. The methods employed were identical to those reported by Saroka et al., 2013. These data were then entered into SPSS for statistical analysis.
The patient had some control over the occurrence of the intrusive voices, although at times they could occur spontaneously. When she "heard" these voices her verbal behaviour would become more monotonic ("machine-like") and her pronoun usage shifted from "I" to "we". QEEG indicated a persistent (measured on different days) 21–23 Hz higher amplitude (~70 μV) activity over T3 and T7 when she referred to "I" at which times she exhibited normal prosody.
When the "we state" was reported there was marked fast, high amplitude 17–23 Hz activity from both T3 and T4 as shown in Figure 1. In addition she reported "transmissions" which usually involved more complex information from these voices as well as series of numbers. When this occurred there was a "normalization" of the EEG (Figure 2). When the "transmissions ended", the unusual profile of T3 and T4 enhancements returned. There was additional similar activity over F7 and F8 which was transient. She was not talking during this period (after panel 1623).
High amplitude fast activity while the patient was sitting quietly in a comfortable arm chair, not talking, within a darkened chamber. This pattern was evident during the multiple measurements completed during three days of examination.
During some periods when she was reporting multiple "voices" and series of numbers that patient described as "transmissions", the EEG normalized. When the "transmission terminated" (panel 1623) to employ her phraseology, there was the return of the T3 and T4 activity with additional frontal contributions.
However standardized scores for the current source densities for LORETA BRL comparison indicated below normal (z < −3.00; based on software norms) delta "power" within the left inferior temporal gyrus, above normal (z > 3.00) alpha power within the left inferior and middle frontal gyri, and marked abnormally elevated (z >4.00) power within the 17 to 23 Hz range within the right parahippocamapal and insular region. Figure 3 shows the results of the comparison between baseline and 'receiving' QEEG profiles using one-way analysis of variance and highlights the enhancement of 13–20 Hz activity within the right parahippocampal region. The F statistic indicates category differences. The omega-squared estimate (94%) refers to the amount of variance explained in the change of current source density between intervals when she was in the "I state" vs the "we state" when "information" was being received according to her reports. During the experiences that would be classically labeled as "intrusions" the activation score for the low beta power within the right parahippocampal region more than doubled. This area and related hemispheric discrepancy are similar to that associated with "panics" that can occur suddenly in this group of patients.
Sample LORETA source localization showing increase of source current density within the right parahippocampal region when the person experienced "voices" attributed to electromagnetic field effects compared to baseline conditions.
One of the positive reports by the patient was that simply sitting in the closed acoustic chamber (which is also a Faraday room) attenuated the loudness of the annoying "ringing" that she has experienced for years. On several occasions, while sitting quietly in the chamber for "baseline" measurements and while wearing the apparatus by which we have experimentally induced the "sense of presence" in most normal volunteers over the last two decades (Persinger, 2003; Saroka and Persinger, 2013; St-Pierre and Persinger, 2006), the frequency-modulated magnetic fields (Booth et al., 2005) were activated over the temporoparietal regions without the subject's knowledge. We selected two patterns, one with an accelerating frequency modulation ("burst-x") and one with a decelerating frequency modulation ("Thomas pulse") which are the major components of our protocols for eliciting the sensed presence. When she was exposed to the latter temporal pattern she experienced an almost immediate oppression in her chest and a headache. When the burst-x fields were applied she felt "fine" within about 10 s. During the presence of the fields the spontaneous narratives referring to the "we state" stopped. The prosody of her voice was typical of normal speech.
Implications of the Hypothesis
These cerebral patterns have been so consistent, at least in the population that we have assessed over the years with increasingly more quantitative technology, that they might also be apparent to other clinicians who have access to and expertise with QEEG and LORETA. Our interpretation is that the lowered base power within the delta range (upon which higher frequencies can be strongly dependent) within the left temporal lobe facilitates the conditions for inter-temporal lobe coherence and the experiences of "others" (Booth and Persinger, 2009). The enhancement of power within the left inferior frontal region, traditionally associated with expression of overt language (Petkov et al., 2009), could encourage the amplification of the person's own array of "articulemes". They are the neurocognitive patterns accompanying discrete neural activity that initiate sequences of stylopharyngeal and laryngeal muscle contractions. Anomalous organizations within the right prefrontal (Keenan et al., 2000) could increase the probability that the reconstruction of experiences would be attributed to non-self sources.
However what is very different about these individuals is their sensitivity to ambient electromagnetic fields. More than fifty years ago Frey (1962) demonstrated that GHz range transmitted fields pulsed within the EEG-frequency band could induce auditory experiences. We have measured GHz power densities in the 10 mW · m−2 range frequently within modern habitats. Across the width of neuronal soma the energy would be about 1 picoJoule per second which is the magnitude of energy provided per second by glucose metabolism. The energies from a single action potential or from the force between the potassium ions that contribute to the resting membrane potential are almost a billion times smaller (Persinger, 2010). With the increasing myriad of communication transmissions novel "beats" (the subtraction of two frequencies) will emerge that are within the extremely low frequency range that could directly resonate (at least transiently) with the electrophysiology of the human brain.
Both the magnetic field intensity and potential differences generated by the human brain and by the Schumann Resonance (Nickolaenko and Hayakawa, 2014) are within the same order of magnitude. Although the amplitudes are considered by some researchers to be "too small" to be biologically relevant, Saroka and Persinger (2014) have shown real-time coherence between QEEG measurements and Schumann power densities can be measured directly. These coherences across the Schumann harmonics, such as the ones displayed by the patient, occur for about 300 ms once every approximately 30 s, the typical decay time for short-term memory processes (Duff and Brown-Schmidt, 2012). The LORETA profiles and the most recent technology suggest that patients who present with "hearing voices"" attributed to electromagnetic fields but without formal thought disorder or neuropsychological deficits should be assessed by this quantitative method. We predict they should show the profile described here and would demonstrate fluctuations in their reports and symptoms when either the appropriate, weak physiologically-patterned magnetic fields are applied across the temporal lobes or specific intensities of geomagnetic activity occur. Recently the third author recorded a significant "displacement" (decreased by about 2 Hz) in the third harmonic (19–21 Hz) during a particularly energetic (K > 6) geomagnetic storm.
We predict an increase in prevalence of this population whose incidence will likely occur as sporadic spatial-temporal clusters that reflect critical environmental conditions. We cannot discern at present whether the increased prevalence will be caused by the increased electromagnetic complexity within the 21st century environment (Whissell and Persinger, 2007) or if the environment is emerging that is congruent with the sensitivity of a more or less fixed proportion of the population that has always been present. There are no a priori means at this time that would allow discernment of the validity of the patient's experiences or their origin. However if the initial neuroelectrical disruptions are correlated with direct changes from the artificial electromagnetic fields within the environment, sporadic geomagnetic activity or enhancements of Schumann parameters, the more optimal treatment would involve lower dosages of antiepileptic compounds rather than traditional antipsychotic pharmacology (Hines, et al., 1995; Roberts and Franzen 2001; Persinger, 2000). In our clinical experience the latter can exacerbate the symptoms in this particular population.
Babayev E, Allahverdiyeva A (2007) Effects of geomagnetic activity variations on the physiological and psychological state of functionally healthy humans: some results of Azerbaijani studies. Adv Space Res 40:1941–1951
Booth J, Persinger M (2009) Discrete shifts within theta band between the frontal and parietal regions of the right hemisphere and the experiences of a sensed presence. J. Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 21:279–283
Booth J, Koren S, Persinger M (2005) Increased feelings of sensed presence and increased geomagnetic activity at the time of the experience during exposures to transcerebral weak complex magnetic fields
Booth J, Koren S, Persinger M (2008) Increased theta activity in quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) measurements during exposure to complex weak magnetic fields. Electromag Biol Med 27:426–436
Duff C, Brown-Schmidt S (2012) The hippocampus and the flexible use and processing of language. Front Human Neurosci 6: article 69.
Frey A (1962) Human auditory systems response to modulated electromagnetic energy. J App Physiol 17:689–692
Gloor P (1997) The temporal lobe and the limbic system. London, Oxford
Hines M, Kubu C, Roberts R, Varney N (1995) Characteristics and mechanism of epilepsy spectrum disorder: an explanatory model. Appl Neuropsychol 2:1–6
Karbowski L, Harribance S, Buckner C, Mulligan B, Koren S, Lafrenie PM (2012) Digitized quantitative electroencephalographic patterns applied as magnetic fields inhibit melanoma cell proliferation in culture. Neurosci Lett 523:131–134
Keenan J, Wheeler M, Gallup G, Pascual-Leone A (2000) Self-recognition and the right prefrontal cortex. Trends Cog Sci 4:338–334
Koenig H, Krueger A, Lang S, Sonning W (1981) Biologic effects of environmental electromagnetism. Springer, N.Y.
Martin J, Koren S, Persinger M (2004) Thermal analgesic effects from weak, complex magnetic fields and pharmacological interactions. Pharm Biochem Behav 78:217–227
Mulligan B, Persinger M (2012) Experimental simulation of the effects of sudden increases in geomagnetic activity upon quantitative measures of brain activity: validation of correlational studies. Neurosci Lett 513:151–154
Mulligan B, Hunter M, Persinger M (2010) Effects of geomagnetic activity and atmospheric power variations on quantitative measures of brain activity: replication of the Azerbaijani studies. Adv Space Res 45:940–948
Nickolaenko A, Hayakawa M (2014) Schumann resonance for Tyros. Springer, Heidelberg
Pasqual-Marquis R (2002) Standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA): technical details, methods and findings. Exp Pharmacol 34:D5–D12
Persinger M (2000) Subjective improvement following treatment with carbamazeine (Tegretrol) for a subpopulation of patients with traumatic brain injuries. Percep Mot Skil 90:37–40
Persinger M (2001) The neuropsychiatry of paranormal experiences. J Neuropsychiat Clin Neurosci 13:515–524
Persinger M (2003) The sensed presence within experimental settings: implications for the male and female concept of self. J Psychol 137:5–16
Persinger M (2010) 10−20 J as a neurmolecular quantum in medicinal chemistry: an alternative approach to myriad molecular pathways. Cur Med Chem 17:3094–3098
Persinger M, Makarec K (1993) Complex partial epileptic-like signs as a continuum from normals to epileptics: normative data and clinical populations. J Clin Psych 49:33–45
Persinger M, Saroka K (2012) Protracted parahippocampal activity associated with Sean Harribance. Int J Yoga 5:140–145
Persinger M, Saroka K (2014) Quantitative support for convergence of intrinsic frequencies from applied magnetic fields and "noise" fluctuations of Newton's gravitational value within the human brain. Int Lett Chem Phys Astron 19:181–190
Persinger M, Tiller S (2008) A prototypical spontaneous "sensed presence" of a Sentient Being and concomitant electroencephalographic activity in the clinical laboratory. Neurocase 14:425–430
Persinger M, Hoang V, Baker-Price L (2009) Entrainment of Stage 2 sleep spindles by weak transcererbal magnetic stimulation of an "epileptic" woman. Electromag Biol Med 28:374–382
Petkov C, Logothetis N, Obleser J (2009) Where are the human speech and voice regions, and do other animals have anything like them? Neuroscientist 15:419–429
Roberts R, Franzen VN (2001) Theta bursts, closed head injury, and partial seizure-like symptoms. A retrospective study. App Neuropsychol 8:140–147
Saroka K, Persinger M (2013) Potential production of Hughlings Jackson's "parasitic consciousness" by physiologically-patterned weak transcerebral magnetic fields: QEEG and source localization. Epilep Behav 28:395–407
Saroka K, Persinger M (2014) Quantitative evidence for direct effects between earth-ionosphere Schumann resonances and human cerebral cortical activity. Int Lett Chem Phys Astron 20(2):166–194
Saroka K, Caswell J, Lapointe A, Persinger M (2013) Greater encephalographic coherence between the left and right temporal lobe structures during increased geomagnetic activity. Neurosci Lett 7:126–130
St-Pierre L, Persinger M (2006) Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence is predicted by specific patterns of applied magnetic fields not suggestibility: re-analysis of 19 experiments. Int J Neurosci 16:1–18
Tiller S, St-Pierre L, Persinger M (2013) Absence of quantitative improvement in neuropsychological profiles in patients who exhibit moderate brain impairment: comparisons of cross-sectional and longitudinal data (1 through 4 years post injury). J Behav Brain Sci 3:225–238
Whissell P, Persinger M (2007) Emerging synergisms between drugs and physiologically-patterned weak magnetic fields: implications for neuropharmacology and the human population in the twenty-first century. Cur Neuropharm 5:278–288
We thank the many patients, participants, and volunteers who had the courage to report their experiences and to pursue, vigorously, realistic solutions for their dilemmas. The technical contributions over the years of Dr. Kate Makarec, Sandra G. Tiller, Professor Stanley Koren, and Dr. Blake T. Dotta are acknowledged.
Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
Michael A Persinger
, Linda S St-Pierre
& Kevin S Saroka
Behavioural Neuroscience, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
& Linda S St-Pierre
Biomolecular Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
Interdisciplinary Human Studies Programs, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
Search for Michael A Persinger in:
Search for Linda S St-Pierre in:
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Correspondence to Michael A Persinger.
There are no competing interests by any of the authors.
All authors contributed equally to the content of this manuscript. All author read and approved the final manuscript.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Persinger, M.A., St-Pierre, L.S. & Saroka, K.S. LORETA predicts electromagnetic sensitivity and "hearing voices" in a predictable, increasingly prevalent subpopulation: possible QEEG-based differential diagnosis. Neuropsychiatr Electrophysiol 1, 7 (2015) doi:10.1186/s40810-015-0007-7
LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography)
Ambient Electromagnetic Sensitivity
"Schizophrenic" Presentations
Quantitative EEG
Right Parahippocampal Current Density Anomalies


text:
Q: withUnsafePointer in Swift 2 I'm trying to check if the user has internet connection, and part of the process involves invoking withUnsafePointer. In Swift 1.x, I was able to use:
var zeroAddress = sockaddr_in(sin_len: 0, sin_family: 0, sin_port: 0, sin_addr: in_addr(s_addr: 0), sin_zero: (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0))
zeroAddress.sin_len = UInt8(sizeofValue(zeroAddress))
zeroAddress.sin_family = sa_family_t(AF_INET)

let defaultRouteReachability = withUnsafePointer(&zeroAddress){
    SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress(nil, UnsafePointer($0)).takeRetainedValue()
}

But now with Swift 2, I'm getting an error saying

Cannot invoke 'withUnsafePointer' with an argument list of type '(inout sockaddr_in, (_) -> _)'

I looked Xcode's usage, which is:

So I tried using
withUnsafePointer(&zeroAddress) {(pointer: UnsafePointer<sockaddr_in>) -> sockaddr_in in
    SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress(nil, pointer).takeRetainedValue()
}

as well as
withUnsafePointer(&zeroAddress) {(pointer: UnsafePointer<sockaddr_in>) -> AnyObject in
    SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress(nil, pointer).takeRetainedValue()
}

And they both give a cannot invoke... compile-time error. What is the correct way to use withUnsafePointer in Swift 2.x?

A: The error message is misleading, the problem is that
SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress() does not return an
unmanaged object anymore, so you must not call
takeRetainedValue():
var zeroAddress = sockaddr_in()
zeroAddress.sin_len = UInt8(sizeofValue(zeroAddress))
zeroAddress.sin_family = sa_family_t(AF_INET)

let defaultRouteReachability = withUnsafePointer(&zeroAddress) {
    SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress(nil, UnsafePointer($0))
}

Note also the simplified creation of C structs like struct sockaddr_in which was
introduced with Swift 1.2 (if I remember correctly).

A: Swift 3:
var zeroAddress = sockaddr_in()
zeroAddress.sin_len = UInt8(MemoryLayout.size(ofValue: zeroAddress))
zeroAddress.sin_family = sa_family_t(AF_INET)

let defaultRouteReachability = withUnsafePointer(to: &zeroAddress, {
    _ = $0.withMemoryRebound(to: sockaddr.self, capacity: 1) { zeroSockAddress in
        SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress(nil, zeroSockAddress)
    }
})

A: Swift3  use this
         var zeroAddress = sockaddr_in(sin_len: 0, sin_family: 0, sin_port: 0, sin_addr: in_addr(s_addr: 0), sin_zero: (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0))
         zeroAddress.sin_len = UInt8(MemoryLayout.size(ofValue: zeroAddress))
         zeroAddress.sin_family = sa_family_t(AF_INET)

         let defaultRouteReachability = withUnsafePointer(to: &zeroAddress) {
            $0.withMemoryRebound(to: sockaddr.self, capacity: 1) {zeroSockAddress in
                SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithAddress(nil, zeroSockAddress)
            }
        }

        var flags: SCNetworkReachabilityFlags = SCNetworkReachabilityFlags(rawValue: 0)
        if SCNetworkReachabilityGetFlags(defaultRouteReachability!, &flags) == false {
            return false
        }


text:
Corneal Transplant Enables Local Artist to Continue Making Art
Thanks to a cornea transplant, Anne is able to keep working at her home art studio.
Anne is an artist who resides in Gladstone, Missouri, a municipality in the Kansas City area. Now retired, she focuses on creating artwork for her friends and acquaintances, and she is active in her community as the planning commissioner. In 1980, however, Anne was diagnosed with a hereditary eye disease that causes vision to get worse as an inner layer of the cornea deteriorates. "I went to see my doctor for my yearly exam," Anne said, "and I was diagnosed with Fuchs' corneal dystrophy, which, if left untreated, would have blinded me in the left eye."
For some time, Anne was able to continue her work, both as a teacher and an artist, by keeping routine appointments with her doctor. Together, they could retain her vision by regularly updating the prescription of her glasses. By 2007, however, her doctor finally recommended her to a corneal transplant specialist to fix her vision once and for all. Dr. Tim Cavanaugh of the Cavanaugh Eye Center conducted the operation, replacing the diseased portion of her cornea with corneal tissue donated by a generous donor and their family.
The transplant was a success. "I had to stay still for a day or two after surgery, but my vision in the left eye was 20/30 afterward," Anne said. "It was a very easy procedure to go through." Furthermore, the benefits of the surgery have continued for Anne. "I ordered new glasses after the surgery, and I am still wearing those glasses," she said. "My sight has changed so little in seven years that new lenses are not necessary."
Today, Anne continues to make art, including creating the cover art for Saving Sight's 2014 holiday card. She is very thankful for the opportunity the transplant has afforded her, both personally and professionally. "I owe so much to the donor, my doctors, and Saving Sight," she said. "Thanks to the cornea transplant, I can not only see but also continue as an artist."
To join the millions of Americans who have signed up for the donor registry, register online at Donate Life America or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. And be sure to share your decision with your family and friends.


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A computer plug connector fastening mechanism comprising two rectangular frames formed in the outer shell of a computer plug connector at two opposite sides with two clamp holders respectively fastened therein to hold two clamping devices which are inserted therethrough for clamping the computer plug connector to a computer plug socket, wherein said clamp holders each has a front edge stopped at an inward flange on either of said rectangular frames and two hooked portions respectively engaged into two elongated grooves on the inner wall surface of either of said rectangular frames; said clamping devices each is comprised of a metal clamping plate coupled with a plastic knob for convenient finger operation, which metal clamping plate has a unitary hook hooked in a rectangular hole on either of said clamp holder when inserted through either of said rectangular frames. The plastic knob of each clamping device has a curved leaf spring attached thereto and stopped against the peripheral wall surface of the computer plug connector so that the two clamping devices can be squeezed and released so as to secure the computer plug connector to a computer plug socket or release it therefrom.
The present invention relates to a computer plug connector fastening mechanism and relates more particularly to such a computer plug connector fastening mechanism for securing a computer plug connector to a computer socket connector.
FIG. 1 illustrates a computer plug connector fastening mechanism which was invented by the present inventor and is comprised of two unitary clamp holders made on the metal casing of the connector, which is covered within a plastic outer shell, and two clamping elements fastened in said two clamp holders. Squeezing the two clamp holders inwards causes the two clamping elements to relatively extend outward, and therefore, the clamping elements on the computer plug connector can be hooked up with the clamping elements on the computer socket connector to which the computer plug connector is connected. The main disadvantage of this structure of computer plug connector fastening mechanism is its expensive manufacturing cost. FIG. 2 illustrates another structure of computer plug connector fastening mechanism which was also invented by the present inventor. In this structure of computer plug connector fastening mechanism, there are provided two clamping devices respectively attached to the plastic outer shell which is directly molded on the metal casing of the plug connector. The two clamping devices each has a unitary tubular portion transversely made at the middle of the metal clamping plate thereof through the process of punching for securing to a groove on the plastic outer shell. The main disadvantage of this structure of computer plug connector fastening mechanism is that the two clamping devices may get loosened easily causing fastening problem. Another disadvantage of this structure of computer plug connector fastening mechanism is that the clamping devices provide less spring force for clamping operation because they are attached to the plastic outer shell but not the metal casing of the computer plug connector. Further, while squeezing the clamping devices for fastening the computer plug connector to a computer socket connector, the plastic outer shell may be damaged easily.
The present invention has been accomplished to eliminate the aforesaid disadvantages. According to one aspect of the present invention, a computer plug connector fastening mechanism is generally comprised of two rectangular frames formed in the plastic outer shell of a computer plug connector during the forming process of the plastic outer shell, two metal clamp holders fastened in said two rectangular frames through plug-in connection for holding two clamping devices. According to another aspect of the present invention, the clamping devices each has a hook on a projecting strip which when inserted into either of the two rectangular frames on the plastic outer shell of the computer plug connector automatically hooks in a rectangular hole on either metal clamp holder. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the clamping devices each has a curved leaf spring on the plastic knob thereof stopped against the peripheral wall surface of the computer plug connector so that the clamping operation of the clamping devices can be effectively operated.
FIG. 7 is an elevational assembly view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 3, a computer plug connector as constructed in accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a connector 1, two clamp holders 2, 2', and two clamping devices 3, 3', wherein the connector 1 is comprised of a plastic outer shell directly molded on a casing defining therein two hollow, rectangular frames 11, 11' at two opposite lateral sides. The rectangular frames 11, 11' each defines therein a rectangular slot 111 or 111' and has an inward flange 112 or 112' around said rectangular slot 111 or 111' at the front end and two elongated grooves 113, one of which is shown in the bottom surface of the slot, a similar groove being provided in the top surface of the slot. Each clamp holder 2 or 2' is of similar construction and as seen in FIG. 5 has a cross-sectional configuration including opposite end portions 3 and 4 and a connecting portion 5 which forms a generally right angle with end portion 3 and an obtuse angle with end portion 4. The clamp holders include parallel side walls 21a, 21b or 21a', 21b' extending substantially perpendicular to one end portion thereof, these side walls having toothed portions 211a and 211b or 211a' and 211b' on the edges thereof. The side walls also have hooked portions 212a and 212b or 212a' and 212b' extending obliquely therfrom and formed by a punching process. The clamp holders also include at said one end portion thereof rectangular raised portions 22, 22' disposed between the side walls thereof. Raised portions 22, 22' have rectagular holes 222 and 222' forward therethrough, and plug holes 221 and 221' are formed in said one end portion of the clamps holders and are in communication with holes 222 and 222' respectively. Each clamping device 3 or 3' comprises a plastic knob 31 or 31' having a metal clamping plate 32 or 32' at one end and a curved leaf spring 33 or 33' at an opposite end, wherein the metal clamping plate 32 or 32' has two unitary hooks 321, 322 or, 321', 322' at the front end thereof and a unitary L-shaped projecting strip 323 or 323' at the middle formed through the process of punching, which L-shaped projecting strip 323 or 323' has a unitary hook 324 or 324 formed thereon at an outer side through the process of punching (see also FIG. 4).
The assembly process of the present invention is quite simple. The two clamp holders 2, 2' are respectively inserted into the two rectangular slots 111, 111' in the connector 1 with each front end respectively stopped against the inward flange 112 or 112' permitting the hooked portions 212a, 212b, 212a', 212b' to be respectively engaged into the elongated grooves 113. At the same time, the toothed portions 211a, 211b, 211a', 211b' are respectively engaged into the inner wall surfaces of the rectangular frames 11, 11'. Therefore, the two clamp holders 2, 2' are firmly fastened in the rectangular slots 111, 111' and prohibited from moving forward or backward. After the two clamp holders 2, 2' have been fastened in the connector 1, the metal plates 32, 32' of the two clamping devices 3, 3' are respectively inserted into the rectangular slots 111, 111' with the L-shaped projecting strips 323, 323' respectively inserted into the plug holes 221, 221' on the raised portions 22, 22' permitting the hooks 324, 324' of the L-shaped projecting strips 323, 323' to respectively insert into the rectangular holes 222, 222' and hook therein (see FIG. 6), and therefore, the clamping devices 3, 3' become respectively secured to the two clamp holders 2, 2' inside the two opposite rectangular frames 11, 11' of the connector 1 (see FIG. 6).
two clamping devices respectively inserted through said slots in the rectangular frames and retained by said clamp holders, said clamping devices each having opposite ends and including a metal clamping plate at one end extending through one of said slots, each clamping device also including a leaf spring at the opposite end thereof engaging the opposite end portion of one of said clamp holders, each of said clamping plates having a generally L-shaped projecting strip thereon inserted into the plug hole of one of said clamp holders, each clamping device also having a hooked portion thereon and disposed within the raised portion of one of said clamp holders.


What is a spine road?
Tobiwan also apologizes for the fingers in the frame. He was operating on the sly.
Why apologize for fingers in the frame? His hand on the camera is the only thing that's where it's supposed to be.
Or, in other words, one main road with a lot of smaller roads branching off of it.


text:
Tag: mother goddess
June 21, 2019 Martini Fisher History, mythology
Burning like a silver flame: The Mother of Rome and the Patroness of ancient Wine Festivals
A medallion painting from the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus in Pompeii, Italy, depicting the Greco-Roman goddess Venus; it is dated to the 1st century BC.
Originally the early Latin goddess of vegetation, a patroness of vineyards and gardens, Venus became deliberately associated with the Greek Goddess Aphrodite and assumed many of her aspects. The name of Venus then became interchangeable with Aphrodite as most of the tales of these two goddesses are identical. However, like every Roman gods with their Greek counterparts, there were differences. Venus arguably became more popular in ancient Rome, and became more ingrained in the city life. She took on the aspect of a gracious Mother Goddess full of pure love as well as assuming the divine responsibility for domestic bliss and procreation.
" Venus and Mars Bathing ", by Giulio Romano (1499 – 1546)
"Venus Genitrix", Roman Imperial copy (late first-early second century AD)
Venus was also the ancestress of the Julian family of Rome which included great men such as Julius and Augustus Caesar. Anchises, a prince from Dardania and ally to Troy, was seduced by Venus who disguised herself as a Phrygian princess, only revealing her divine identity nine months later as she presented Anchises with their son Aeneas. Guided by his divine mother, Aeneas was fated to found Rome. Aeneas' son Ascanius was credited as the ancestor of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus along with the Julian family.
In 217 BCE, the Sibyline oracle suggested that if Rome, which at that time was losing the Second Punic War, could persuade Venus Eyrcina (Venus of Eryx) to change her allegiance from the Carthagian Silician allies to the Romans, the war would be won. Rome then laid siege to Eryx, offered the goddess a magnificent temple and took her image back to Rome. It was this foreign image that eventually became Rome's Venus Genetrix (Venus the Mother).
" Triumph of Venus ", by Francesco del Cossa (1436 – 1477)
At the end of the Roman Republic, some Romans laid claim to Venus' favor and competed for it. Sulla adopted the name Felix ("lucky") and accredited Venus Felix to his divine favor, Pompey dedicated a temple to Venus Victris ("Venus of Victory") in 55 BCE and Hadrian dedicated a temple to Venus in 139 CE, making her the protective mother of the Roman state.
Roman theology presents Venus as the yielding, watery female principle which is essential to the generation and balance of life. Balanced by the more active and fiery Vulcan and Mars, Venus absorbs and tempers the male essence, thus uniting the opposites of male and female in mutual affection. She embraces several otherwise quite disparate functions such as military victory, sexual prowess, good fortune and general prosperity.
"Juno Borrowing the Girdle of Venus", by Guy Head painted c.1771
In April 1, Veneralia was held in honour of Venus Verticordia ("Venus the Changer of Hearts") and Fortuna Virilis (Virile Good Fortune) whose cult was probably by far the older of the two. Venus Verticordia was invented in 220 BC, in response to advice from a Sibylline oracle during Rome's Punic Wars when a series of prodigies was taken to signify divine displeasure at sexual offenses among Romans of every category and class, including several men and three Vestal Virgins. Her statue was dedicated by a young woman, chosen as the most pudica (sexually pure) in Rome by a committee of Roman matrons. At first, this statue was probably housed in the temple of Fortuna Virilis, perhaps as divine reinforcement against the perceived moral and religious failings of its cult. Venus Verticordia was given her own temple in 114 BCE. She was meant to persuade Romans of both sexes and every class, whether married or unmarried, to cherish the traditional sexual proprieties and morality known to please the gods and benefit the State. During her rites, her image was taken from her temple to the men's baths, where it was undressed and washed in warm water by her female attendants, then garlanded with myrtle. Women and men asked Venus Verticordia's help in affairs of the heart, sex, betrothal and marriage.
A little of what is left from the temple of Venus, Pompei 2015
In April 23, the ancient Romans celebrated vinalia urbana, a wine festival shared by Venus and Jupiter, the king of the gods himself. While Venus was patron of "profane" wine, for everyday human use. Jupiter was patron of the strongest, purest, sacrificial grade wine, and controlled the weather on which the autumn grape-harvest would depend. At this festival, men and women alike drank the new vintage of ordinary, non-sacral wine in honour of Venus, whose powers had provided humankind with this gift. Upper-class women gathered at Venus's Capitoline temple, where a libation of the previous year's vintage, sacred to Jupiter, was poured into a nearby ditch. Common girls (vulgares puellae) and prostitutes gathered at Venus' temple just outside the Colline gate, where they offered her myrtle, mint, and rushes concealed in rose-bunches and asked her for "beauty and popular favour", and to be made "charming and witty".
The Forum of Caesar (built near the Forum Romanum in Rome in 46 BC) and the Temple of Venus Genetrix, Imperial Forums, Rome
In August 19, they celebrated another wine festival called vinalia rustica, a rustic Latin festival of wine, vegetable growth and fertility. This was almost certainly Venus' oldest festival and was associated with her earliest known form, Venus Obsequens. Kitchen and market-gardens, as well as vineyards were dedicated to her.
The circular temple dedicated to the Venus of Cnidus, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli
A festival of Venus Genetrix (September 26) was held under state auspices from 46 BCE at her temple in the Forum of Caesar in fulfillment of a vow by Julius Caesar who claimed her personal favour as his divine patron and ancestral goddess of the Julian clan. Caesar dedicated the temple during his quadruple triumph. At the same time, he was pontifex maximus and Rome's senior magistrate; the festival is thought to mark the unprecedented promotion of a personal, family cult to one of the Roman state. Caesar's heir, Augustus, made much of these personal and family associations with Venus as an Imperial deity.
December 3, 2017 Martini Fisher author, Book, History, New Release
New Release – Time Maps: Matriarchy and the Goddess Culture
What happened when women ruled the world?
There are many questions about the Old Culture – a culture even before history was written. Whatever happened to the Great Goddess? When did patriarchy start? How did women become objectified? This book is about the Journey of ancient women with their many glories and challenges. It talks about the gender partitioning which still survived in some cultures today, women as warriors, advisers, goddesses and properties.
Chapters included are:
•The Goddess Paradigm
•Women Warrior
•Dethroning the Queen of Heaven
•The Queen in Exile
Written with a Mathematician's precision and a Historian's curiosity, Time Maps covers over millennia worth of developments & impacts of civilizations, migrations, leaders and continents. Illuminating concepts of societies, dynasties, heroes, kings and eras through incisive and thorough research, looking at ideas, theories & world views with a sense of wonder and delight.
Set to publish on 1 January 2018
Now available for pre-order here
July 29, 2017 Martini Fisher author, legend, mythology, World
She Survived … and Still Very Much the Queen: Java's Ratu Kidul and the Tradition of Ocean Goddesses
I am at the moment still pressing on with my side of the research into the goddess culture for the upcoming Time Maps: Matriarchy and the Goddess Culture, and I am at the stage now where we break down and analyse the elements of the Mother Goddess, for example her close association with snakes, fertility, the moon and the sea. Seeing just those four elements alone has already led us to many goddesses all over the world that we can say are "descended" from the Great Goddess herself.
Ratu Kidul
One of those goddesses is the ancient Javanese Sea Goddess Nyai Loro Kidul, or Ratu Kidul. In 2003 an internet search found more than 2600 sites or pages, in more than six languages, referencing Ratu Kidul. This is more than some popular celebrities have, and the number continues to increase, with more sites being added every month. However, one would usually find very little historical information beyond the oral tradition which has been passed down through generations and gets less informative over time.
Ratu Kidul's qualities and personality fits nicely into the Mother Goddess paradigm – she is both beautiful and terrifying, she represents the three phases of the moon, as well as her close association to the sea (wild and untamable) and the snake (immortal and fertile). Another important aspect of the Ratu Kidul mythology is that it so closely parallels the mythology of the Great Mother Goddesses of ancient times. Via the Indian goddesses Durga and Sri Devi, to the Buddhist goddess Tara, and the Indonesian fertility spirit Dewi Sri, plus other associations with China, Cambodia and Vietnam, Ratu Kidul acquired all of the characteristics of the Mother Goddess, albeit in reduced form.
Parang Tritis – Yogyakarta
The island of Java has a population of about 120 million people, and over 90% of them are Muslims. Although Arab and Iranian traders reached Java in the seventh century, Islam only became dominant at the end of the fifteenth century, shortly before Vasco da Gama reached India. Before that the religious culture was a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism. There were trade links between India and Indonesia around 1400BCE but Hinduism only became dominant in the main islands of Indonesia (Java, Bali, Sumatra and Borneo/Kalimantan) in 78CE, with the introduction of the Saka calendar from India. The earliest forms of Ratu Kidul come from that preHindu period, and over the last two thousand years they have been overlayed and augmented with Hindu and Islamic elements.
The kingdom of Ratu Kidul, the Queen of the South Seas ('ratu' = queen, and 'kidul' = south), is called Karaton Bale Sokodhomas, and the center of the kingdom is in the Java Trench, which runs parallel to the south coast of Java and is the deepest part of the Indian Ocean (seven kilometers deep). Her palace is there, below the ocean, directly south from Merapi Mountain and the city of Yogyakarta in Central Java, but her influence covers all of Bali, Java and the southern part of Sumatra. In particular the volcano, Krakatoa, lies within her domain.
The beach at Parang Tritis, south of Yogyakarta, is said to face directly towards the queen's palace, and many people have reported seeing the queen there, usually emerging from the sea. It is forbidden to wear the color green on the beach, since that is the queen's favorite color – and there are many stories of people who have worn that color being washed away by unexpectedly large waves. Green, by the way, was also the color of the goddess Tara.
The queen rules a kingdom, and a kingdom needs government officials. Nyi Blorong, who is the queen's daughter, is the minister of foreign affairs and commander of the armed forces. The queen's armed forces are all spiritual entities such as djins, ghouls, elves, and others, and most of them are female (matriarchy). Nyi Blorong is strongly linked with snakes, and can be considered as a snake goddess. Most of the stories about her show only her terrifying aspect. Indonesian film makers have produced several horror movies with Nyi Blorong as the main character.
In a tradition that goes back at least five hundred years, the Javanese kings are spiritually "married" to Ratu Kidul, and through this marriage link the queen becomes also the protector of the Mataram kingdom and dynasty. (The kingdom is part of the Republic of Indonesia, but it still retains some special privileges.) The kingdom now has two main rulers and two minor rulers, two each in Yogyakarta and Solo. Both of the major rulers are considered to be married to Ratu Kidul.
This tradition of spiritual marriage is not unique. A precisely parallel tradition existed in which the Doges of Venice married a sea goddess to ensure the protection of the city-state. In Java it began with the early kings in Solo, but with the king Paku Buwana X, it changed into something stranger. The story is that Paku Buwana had been with the queen on the top floor of Panggung Sangga Buwana and started to slip on the steep stairs as they were descending. The queen reached out and saved him, crying out in shock, "Oh, … My child!". Since it was the word of the queen, it had the force of law, so in Solo the ruler is considered as the son and husband of the queen. This is an interesting reversion to one of the most ancient traditions of the Mother Goddess – that of the holy family as represented by Isis, her husband Osiris and her son Horus, who will become Osiris.
Gate of Ankor Thom
Javanese Animism, Islam and Hinduism are not the only sources of elements of the Ratu Kidul mythology. In China, one can still find temples or shrines dedicated to Kuan-Yin, who was once a deity of fishermen, who would call on her to protect them at sea and give them good catches. One of her ancient titles was "Queen of the Southern Ocean". The meetings of the rulers of Solo and Yogyakarta with the Queen were also paralleled by the meetings of the Khmer kings in the Angkor Thom complex, in Cambodia, with a being described as a snake goddess, who could appear as a beautiful woman.
Hinduism and Buddhism declined after Islam achieved political dominance and the goddesses were forgotten, but Ratu Kidul remained – a descendant of the Great Mother Goddess, still alive and well in a strictly monotheistic Islamic culture. She survived and still very much the queen.
I am developing a little collection of goddess images on Instagram that I update regularly to help me think. Please do come and say hello sometime.
"Time Maps: Matriarchy and the Goddess Culture" is coming soon. Meanwhile, other volumes of "Time Maps" can be found through this link.


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UQ Student China Experience opens new study pathways
Returning in late July from a 4 week study tour based at China's Tianjin University, 18 UQ students had their own story to tell by engaging in language and cultural courses as well as a practical study experience during their travels.
Run annually, the UQ Research, Study and Experience Tour is designed to provide a multi-faceted China experience, including placements at partner university Tianjin University, class and research opportunities as well as cultural offerings and travel excursions in Beijing and Tianjin.
This year, 18 undergraduate students from economics, humanities, civil and mechanical engineering, biotechnology, molecular biology, law, maths and education visited China through this study tour experience, developing their language skills and understanding of university life and Chinese culture along the way.
Conversing in Mandarin, sharing a meal or a basketball game with local students, exploring local markets and neighbourhoods were examples of experiences that many of the participating students felt captured the essence of local life, and in doing so overcoming communication barriers and cultural differences.
Receiving support from key faculties and offices at UQ, the tour again offered a unique study experience for participating students, as well as open doors to new study pathways and ultimately career opportunities spanning into international markets.
Professor Ping Chen, Director of the Confucius Institute at The University of Queensland said "the tour was again a great opportunity to broaden horizons for UQ students internationally, and a key part of its success comes from ongoing support from UQ faculties and offices such as BEL, HASS, EAIT and Science as well as the UQ Employability office and the ATSIS unit who again contributed significantly to the 2019 program".
With an aim each year of linking the China study experience with subjects being studied at UQ, there has been an ongoing effort to connect academics from both universities to develop a practical study experience for UQ students in partnership with Tianjin University teachers, supervisors and students that enriches skills and knowledge.
"For our Science students, they used their study time to work in the labs at Tianjin University alongside their PHD students, exchanging knowledge, views and ideas that I think will serve them well in their future studies as well as their careers beyond UQ" UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience Professor Luke Guddat said after visiting the students during their studies at Tianjin University.
Professor Guddat also noted the value in Science students forming friendships during the tour with other UQ students studying courses as diverse engineering and humanities, and offered special thanks to colleagues at Tianjin University's School of Pharmaceutical Science who were instrumental in helping many of the students settle into Tianjin life.
The 2020 study tour will look to expand upon connections between the two universities, encouraging any UQ academics keen to explore Tianjin University projects and supervise study and research groups to get in touch.
Applications for the next tour will open in February, 2020.
UQ CI support for Chinese language proficiency writing contest highlights students' achievements
2020 HSK and HSKK Proficiency Test dates announced
Local high school tour to China broadens students' horizons
UQ CI sponsors university Translating and Interpreting Forum
UQ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students embrace Ch...
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Hard Floor Cleaners Domestic & Commercial North London BR | Quality Property Care Ltd.
Make sure you write down this phone number in your notebook 020 3746 4287! Give our professional hard floor cleaning customer support representatives a call to get more information about our service or get a free offer! We will reply to you as soon as possible. Attention: we work 365 days per year, so we will suit anyone`s personal or expert schedule!
Slate and stone floors are very resilient to dirt, damage and in general are a very good choice for a more active residence. However, the thing about these floor types is that they hold more dirt than you can tell. The moment you start to notice the grime and dirt on a slate floor, is the moment of no return. For the dirt to be visible means that it has built up to a critical point and its removal will require specialised techniques and equipment which most consumers don't have. We deal with cases like this by using our emulsification, heat and pressure cleaning methods which allow us to effectively capture the dirt and waste. Regular methods work on smaller scales, however, once dirt has started to build up to a point where it's visible, is the moment where regular washing detergents cannot help.
As we send a one man team, the moving of heavy furniture is impossible. A vacuum is used to clean the floor from dust, hairs and other debris that might interfere with the cleaning. A cleaning solution is chosen based on the type of filth we are dealing with as well as the type of floor. To make sure we've chosen right a little spot of the floor is tested to see how it reacts, if it's a safe reaction we can proceed. The solution is then applied on the floor and is scrubbed deep into the floor so it can lift the filth from inside. If the floor is wood made we use drive pads which pick up surface filth from wooden surfaces. The floor is rinsed to remove the solution and grime, and it is dried and mopped with a cloth or paper. If the floor type you have requires it we apply a protective coating, a seal, a polish or a wax. Drying time for such coatings is thirty minutes, with a second coating taking up to 2 hours to solidify and fully dry.
When the standard floor cleaning solutions are not enough to recover your floor from damages, dullness or slipping effect, we will continue with new approaches to make it look like a new again. The best solution for us, when it comes to residential and commercial hard floor maintenance that combines natural approaches and extra powerful machinery. We have all of these, so you are not even supposed to provide our North London BR Quality Property Care Ltd. floor polishing experts anything. The reason why our floor polishing company in North London BR has always success in reducing the dullness of floors and making them clean and shiny again is hidden in our precise work.
The even greater news is that booking the service you want will take up only a couple of minutes of your time, and can be done right away! The customer care service can be contacted at any time by calling 020 3746 4287 or by filling out the online booking form. The great news is that absolutely no deposit is required for booking the services of Quality Property Care Ltd.. So, pick up that phone, or send the online booking form right away! You will receive a written confirmation by e-mail and text message as soon as your booking is processed and confirmed. You will be asked to pay a fixed price only after the cleaning job has been completed.


Here at Après, we believe in one thing, and one thing only; working hard and playing hard. Ok maybe that's two things, but as we see it, you can't have one without the other. We are for those who raise their heart rate before their glass – and hold both high and mighty. We are the pat on your back, and the flare on your front. We are the reminder that after day comes night. We are Après.


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Using Sir and Mam — In Correspondence and Conversation
December Wedding Guest Dress Code in Florida at 4:30PM
Dinner Party No-Shows — Entertaining — Weddings
Spreading Illness — Sick Etiquette
My question is about using Sir and Mam —
When writing a letter or message and I don't know the name or gender of the person, do I write Dear Sir or Madame:? Or do I just write Dear Sir:?
–Allison, Madrid, Spain
When using Sir and Mam ---
The politically correct greeting in an email or letter when you haven't a clue as to the recipient's gender -- let alone their name -- may not sound warm and friendly, but it certainly won't offend anybody. Absolutely nobody would ever be displeased or insulted when you use: To Whom It May Concern
Otherwise, it is perfectly correct to use Dear Sir/Madame, when you don't know the name of the recipient. Although every effort should be made to find out their name.
Of course it is always much better to address the person by name: Dear Mr. Brown or Dear Ms. Greene. So if you are writing to the personnel director, for instance, discover his or her first and last name on the company website and address the email or letter to him or her. If her first name is Olivia and you don't know if she likes to be addressed as Ms. or Mrs., use Ms.
When you're already familiar with the person, use their first name only, e.g. "Dear Vanessa."
When in doubt, follow how the person signed off in previous correspondence. But be careful to observe that even though his name appears as Robert J. Adams on his letterhead, he may have used Rob -- and not Bob or Bobby -- in the closing of a letter to you.
Otherwise, opt for the formality of Mrs., Ms., or Mr. until you assertion what first name to use.
One last word about Sir and Mam:
In conversation, when you don't know the their first and last name you wouldn't say, "Hey, boy" or "Hey, Miss," you would say "Sir" or "Mam" to grab someone's attention or express your appreciation.
Sir and Mam are both general-purpose words of respect used in polite conversation when you don't know the stranger's name.
You wouldn't use the title Mr., Ms., or Mrs. unless the title is in conjunction with the person's last name: Mr. Brown or Ms. Greene.
Don't forget to:
Use a subject line when possible.
The tone of the sign-off, or closing, depends on the salvation. So if' you've addressed the letter Dear Ms. Greene, then the sign-off is Sincerely yours, or Kindest regards.
But if you've addressed the email to Dear Sir/Madame, then close with Yours faithfully, or Yours truly.
Addressing The Honorable — Elected and Appointed Officials
Good Guests Bad Guests
Why Valentine's Day Matters
When addressing a letter to the secretary of state of your home state, do you address them as the Honorable ….?
–HB, Torrington, WY
When addressing a letter, message, or thank-you note to an elected or appointed official: You would address the secretary of state of your home state as The Honorable. Whenever you use the honorific The Honorable always make the T in The Honorable upper case.
Addressing the envelope
For official business:
The Honorable Ed Murray Secretary of the State of Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming (the capital of your state)
Socially, a personal thank-you note:
The Honorable The Secretary of State of Wyoming
Mr. Murray
Complimentary Close
Using Ms. or Mrs. — Addressing
Bragging on Social Media
Dress Code National Awards Ceremony
Groom's family wants in on the wedding
My question is about addressing and whether to use Ms. or Mrs.
I work at a real estate agency and I'm writing to the owner of a house I am contracting to sell for her. She is married, but I don't know the status of her marriage. The house is in her name. How do I address her, as Mrs. Jane Jones or Ms. Jane Jones? She is 65 and rather conservative.
–BM, Newport, RI
Thank you for your question about addressing and whether to use Ms. or Mrs. You got me at the fact that she is "rather conservative." Ordinarily I would recommend that you address the letter to Ms. Jane Jones, because Ms. is universally correct. But since your client is "rather" traditional and this is a business letter, to be safe address the letter to Mrs. Jane Jones.
I always thought I should be treated like a star. ~Modonna


INTRODUCTION: Day by day automobiles are becoming more accessible, but they also increase the problems like shortage of fuel and pollution. Multiple companies are working on it and trying to solve this problem.
PHENOMENA: This is a type of electrical car, which produce electrical supply to run a car by faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. Faraday's law of induction is a basic law of electromagnetism predicting how a magnetic field will interact with an electric circuit to produce an electromotive force (EMF)—a phenomenon called electromagnetic induction".
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING: Neodymium magnet one of the strongest magnet ever will be used in round shape.Rigid round coil of copper will be adjust parallel to magnet and coil should be attached with circular disk.Which will moving by the motor and potential will be given by battery. When this process start, EMF will be induced and the further process will just like other electrical car.
ALTERNATIVE WAY: The another way of electrical is using solar plates on the roof of car then store electric supply in battery, rectifier which converts AC current to DC current. and further process will just like other electric car.
BENEFITS OF ELECTRICAL CAR: Replacement of fuel cars to electrical gives us less of pollution, more luxury, negligible fuel consumption eventually it will be economical car and one of the biggest advantage is that i will become easily robotic car that can be run with auto drive, and control by cell phone.


Do you ever wonder what others think about you? Not in the comparison or I need to be perfect kind of way, but more the self-improvement kind of way. Like, you want to make sure you're being a good friend, but it can be kind of awkward to out of nowhere ask one of your girlfriends, "Hey, am I a good friend?" Plus, if your friend has feedback, all the sudden you're taking criticism you might not be prepared for and things can just SPIRAL.
Whenever I find myself wondering this kind of thing, I like to do a little self-assessment which I share about here! Instead of putting it on others to tell me what I might be doing wrong, I ask myself, what characteristics do really likable people have in common and am I exemplifying these qualities? The list below is what I came up with the last time I checked in with myself in this way and I thought y'all might be interested in it, too.
It's not about trying to be the perfect friend, girlfriend, roommate, etc, but that's not realistic. But more so just trying to be a good human. And who doesn't want to be better at that? Plus, being likable (while still being YOURSELF, which is key), can honestly make life easier. From doing better at networking or in interviews to getting along better with others, and so on, being likable is a good thing as long as you're finding that balance between being YOU and not caring too much about what others think.
Here's what I came up with when thinking about likable traits. Eager to hear what y'all think about this post – and whether you disagree, agree, or have more to add to the list.
When I find myself in a conversation with a friend (or even one of my sisters or mom) and I realize I've done more talking than listening, I try to course correct pretty quickly. Sometimes it's appropriate to talk more, like if you're telling a specific story or maybe in an emotional situation, but I think it's SO important to simply listen and then respond without talking about yourself.
The people I find super likable always seem to have mastered this perfect balance of being confident but not arrogant. They also don't talk bad about themselves, which makes them more fun to be around because they're always focusing on the positive. Bottom line, they feel GOOD hanging out with them. We all know those people who just bring joy and good things, good conversations, into our life.
Speaking of focusing on the positive. I don't think anyone wants to be around a negative Nancy, so this is something I've been working on lately (not that I think I'm negative, but trying to improve). Whenever I'm tempted to complain about something silly or think something negative about myself or a situation, I ask myself, "What is being negative right now going to accomplish?" I'll tell you one thing, so far, every time I've paused to ask myself this, the answer is always NOTHING. No, but really, being positive makes such a difference!
My body language wasn't really something I was very aware of until my mid to late twenties. Things like eye contact, posture, smiling, facial expression, etc. are all very important when trying to make connections with people. If you're missing the mark with these things, it can put people off before even talking to you. Even if it feels awkward, look people in the eye when shaking their hand, give a smile and be sure you're standing up straight. Your first impression points will skyrocket and you'll make people feel more comfortable.
This is one of the most important characteristics of a likable person, in my opinion. Nobody likes it when someone comes at them with all the reasons they couldn't follow through on something. Don't overthink it and just be honest here. Don't bail all the time or always be that person with some random excuse why you didn't follow through or show up. Instead, commit or don't (and of course, when life does get in the way, people will understand!). I promise life will be so much easier and your friends slash family will appreciate it.
Remember what I said above about just being a good human? That's where this one comes in. I always want my friends (or anyone) to be able to come to me without fear that I would judge them. The best people I know always make me feel comfortable and heard whenever I have something to share – not judged.
I think not taking life or yourself too seriously is key to not only being a likable person but to life in general. I learned to laugh at myself a long time ago and I'd say it has served me really well. Probably one of my best personality traits, if I'm being honest. Learning to laugh at the small stuff will save you a TON of stress in the long run, trust me. Now if only I could bring these ease into being a perfectionist…but I'm workin' on it.
K I'd love to hear what y'all think about this! Do you ever check in with yourself in this way? Are there other things to add to the list? Let me know in the comments!


The press secretary hasn't lost his sense of humor.
To his credit, Spicer has always taken his SNL alter ego in stride, calling McCarthy's shtick "funny." Not so much for his boss: The president had a sad when he found out his press secretary was portrayed by a woman.