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NSSSA Minutes from:
Provincial Cabinet Meeting
Location: Mount St. Vincent University
Time of Commencement: 2:39
Time of Adjournment: 5:22
Duration: 2hr 43 min
Attendance and Regrets:
Present voting members: Aidan MacFarlane, Amy Oickle, Beth O'Connell, Brooke Kattenbusch, Camryn Smith, Chloe Dean-Moore Christina Nickerson, Connor Poirier, Eliza Nobes, Emma Hogenbom, Gabrielle Torrealba, Kassandra Kelbratowski, Katelyn Libbus, Liam Haliburton, Mitchell Archibald, Molly Anderson, Molly Somers, Patrick Wallace, Selena Landry, Tatum Arcon, Zac Foran
Present non-voting members: Dereck Thibault, Lorne Abramson
Regrets: Gordon Burns, Haeley Langlois, Maggie MacNeil, Meagan Kettley, Kayla Jenkin
No Show:
President: Since the previous meeting, Molly has participated on a finance call regarding the coming year and has spoken with regions about conference logistics as well as held continued conversations with Mount St. Vincent. She is currently in the process of working on finalizing everything to do with outstanding memorandum and helped to update the corporate package with Liam. Molly would like to remind everyone to CC her in all emails to ensure she is receiving all necessary information.
A possible alteration to conference logistics is to hold a higher consideration of the gender spectrum. This could come in play by replacing the 'blue and red' metaphor when speaking on the three D's, continuing to avoid cheers that could be offensive (Co-Premiers should discuss this with their Wendys), and the potential of co-ed sleeping arrangement. The latter could be the most difficult to obtain, but also one of the most beneficial. People may be uncomfortable being sorted by physical appearance and assumed gender, the anxiety of which being taken away by having everyone sleep in the same spot. School board and parental consent would act as a barrier to this idea, but there will be research done on the stance of the schools regarding this. A potential answer to keeping both parents and students happy and comfortable could be to provide options for sleeping on the registration form. (ie: a girls room, boys room, and co-ed). This topic can be discussed further at a later date.
VP External: Liam has been using the time since retreat to catch up on what happened at the event. He has also sent out a corporate package and donation letter to all who need it, and has began working on a yearly plan for social media.
VP Internal: Katelyn has organized check-ins with members of Provincial Cabinet and sent out emails reminding everyone to send updates at least three days prior to cabinet meetings. She has also started to create a check-in schedule to make the phone calls easier and more efficient. Co-Premiers and Co-Chairs should keep in mind that check-ins with Katelyn will become more frequent as conference season gets closer. There will be a general conference checklist sent to Co-Premiers within the coming week to aid them in planning and organization. Katelyn received her financial signing rights Saturday morning as well as attended the Conference Committee meeting prior to Provincial Cabinet's.
Provincial Advisor: There are mailbox keys available for Metro, Inclusion, and Conference Committee 3-Tions. At the end of the year these people are to return their keys to their Co-Premier or Co-Chair, who will then give it to Abe. Any lost keys have a $250 replacement fee.
There are a few pieces of information still missing from the full cabinet and committee database, but people will be contacted individually regarding this.
Abe has a couple of boxes of conference spirit wear at his house that will be passed along and potentially sold throughout the year. These items could be advertised within the regions and brought to different events after having orders and payments previous to them. This is the responsibility of the PC Secretary.
Treasurers: Eliza, Chloe and Jason met with Chris on Monday and learned a lot more regarding quickbooks in order to increase efficiency as well as claim HST on gas money. It is still being recommended that the organization decreases its number of active bank accounts as it will save the NSSSA banking fees and make bookkeeping simpler.
Last year's profit margins have been received from each cabinet;
Chig: 10% – $218.72
CC: 14% – $12,888.84 (a note should be submitted in the finances to indicate the fact this would be higher minus the free registration for CC and PC members)
Gala: 7% – $204.78
Metro: 31% – $7,474.24
Sou'West: Not Confirmed
Strait: 31% – $3,370.64
Valley: 10% – $162.23
Organization: 7% – $11,079.27
During the meeting, finance guides were given to all Co-Chairs and Co-Premiers including who is in charge of their finances and can help with any questions. The package also includes tips from the treasurers, tips, stickers (for simplified mailing – all deposit slips must be mailed to Chloe and Eliza), and a budget template (plus an example sent by Katelyn).
Profit Margin – The 20% profit margin that each cabinet should be striving for, is not to be calculated or deducted from every dollar, but for each event held by the cabinet (total income). Profit margin is calculated with profit divided by revenue.
Revenue – all the money collected. For example, if you collect $75, divide by 1.15 to attribute to taxes, and the remaining is your revenue. You don't receive any revenue from delegates on Regional Cabinet, advisors, or chaps, but keep in mind that their food must still be budgeted (more people will be eating than there is paying for conference).
Budget – Budget must be updated every time numbers, prices, costs, etc. are changed. Every time a budget is updated, it must be sent to Chloe and Eliza to analyze in order to assist with complications.
Deductions – Deductions from income can be from taxes, Alumni fees, etc. Expenses are not deducted from conference fees, but are taken directly from a cabinet's budget per registration. Receipts – When 3-Tions receive money from schools, they are required to issue receipts. Before being given out, these should be copied and given to Chloe and Eliza (preferably in paper not digitally). There is a template to assist 3-Tions with creating these receipts. 3-Tions will only be in charge of issuing receipts and not making deposits of cheques when they receive them is for the Co-Chairs/Premiers to keep as close of an eye as possible on their banking. This way they know exactly where everything is instead of relying on the actions of someone else.
Deposits – All deposits made by Co-Premiers/Co-Chairs must be done at an RBC. Deposit books and stamps were distributed at this time. It is recommended that a list is made of all cheques received as well as their status (deposited, pending, etc.). All cheques expire after six months, but waiting that long is not advised. When physically depositing a cheque, using the aid of a bank teller is strongly encouraged. They will happily assist and make sure everything is done correctly. Make sure the deposit slip includes who the cheque was issued from, the subtotal, and a stamp mark. Everything written on the deposit slip will be transferred to two other copies (three sheets in total) . Two of these will be left at the bank, and the remaining should be copied to send the original to Finance and the copy to be kept for Cabinet records.
After conference, the treasurers will require both a final database and final budget to make ensure all information is accurate and consistent.
Secretary: Minutes from the past two meetings are now posted on the website. Molly has also posted a vote on the PC Facebook page regarding spirit wear, with quarter-zips being the winners. More on this in New Business. A second poll was made regarding head-wear with a tie between visors and baseball caps. Either these two need to be decided between, or we can order both with people receiving which one they prefer.
CC Co-Chairs: Aidan and Kassandra are currently working on potential ways of reincorporating How-Tos into Provincial Conference. How-To's are known to sometimes be a low point of conference and difficult to organize, so would only be brought back under ensurity that they will be engaging and consistent. Conference Committee held a meeting with nearly full attendance, discussing what aspects of conference are the most enjoyable as well as what could be improved. The cabinet have also decided on crewnecks for cabinet spirit wear and have begun creating timelines. Conference Committee has also started looking into potential speakers and what kind of messages they want to be spoken on at conference. An idea for this year is to keep a connection between the messages of keynote speakers, How-To sessions, and conference as a whole.
IC Co-Chairs: After taking part in the August training retreat, Christina and Micci have been speaking with finance and considering the possibility of looking for venues outside of Mount St. Vincent. The move would be based on the need of a more inclusively accessible location and set up (ie: one floor, wheelchair accessible, etc.) in order for groups to stay together and for activities to be run more efficiently and effectively. Discussion of alternate venues focuses mainly on Metro locations and could potentially be held at a local high school (potentially Citadel or Lockview). Inclusion has found a 3-tion and now officially has a full committee, holding their first meeting Sunday, September 18th.
Gala Co-Chairs: Gordon and Meagan have both agreed that the best way to proceed in finding a venue for Gala is to contact their first choices rather than waiting for businesses to contact them. A meeting has been arranged with NSSSA CBV alumni, Lyle Quinn (acting sales manager for Dalhousie) to discuss hosting Gala at Sheriff Hall and potentially have a tour of the location and a testing of the food. Contacts for speakers are being searched out by Ian Kent.
Chignecto Co-Premiers: Since retreat, the location for Jr. Conference has been finalized for December 3rd at Northumberland Regional High School. École Acadienne de Truro has been contacted for a regional conference date of November 26th and 27th who agree to holding conference there if there are French students in attendance. Dates for future Regional Cabinet meetings have been set by the Co-Premiers (the next of which being Sunday, September 18th) and spirit wear is in the process of being ordered. Chignecto is still looking for a regional advisor, but there is a possibility of Camryn's mother filling the role. Action Required: Co-Premiers send Abe full contact information for potential advisor.
CBV Co-Premiers: Dates for regional conference have been confirmed for November 26th and 27th at Cape Breton University and registration forms will be released on September 30th. CBV has held a bottle drive for fundraising and hope to get Head School Reps into some local schools some time in the coming week.It is unknown whether or not CBV will be holding a junior conference.
Metro Co-Premiers: Timelines have been created for regional cabinet members and spirit wear has been confirmed. Fundraisers were discussed with the cabinet to potentially raise enough money for scholarships. A meeting will be held with Mount St. Vincent on September 18th to confirm tentative regional conference dates as November 12th and 13th with registration forms to be released October 26th. This meeting will be followed with talking to potential keynote speakers. A Head School Rep retreat is confirmed to be at Auburn high.
Sou'West Co-Premiers: First Regional Cabinet meeting was held September 11th and included discussions of the 8 key concepts, emailing (signatures, active gmail, quick replies, etc.), and personal/team goals both short and long term. Conference names and dates have been confirmed as Nebula for Junior conference and Super Nova for Regional Conference on November 12th (7:30 am to 10:00 pm). A Skillbuilding retreat has been booked for October 30th in Liverpool.
Junior Conference venue has been booked at Shelburne Regional High School with an estimated price of $178. Cabinets should keep in mind that Junior Conferences will likely be less expensive than Regional due to less time needing the venue, not needing overnight security, and there likely being less cleanup.
Strait Co-Premiers: Strait has held two Regional Cabinet meetings since retreat, creating a timeline for all cabinet members, selecting a conference logo, and forming itineraries for both grade 9 event and Regional Conference. Patrick and Zac have contacted Principal Janice Gough to form a contract with Town of Port Hawkesbury Recreation, and booked rooms for the region's grade 9 event. If the contract is signed in the coming week forms for grade 9 will be released the following day and registration will be open from the 22nd of September to the 7th of October. The event will be held on October 15th. A meeting with the venue for Regional Conference will be held Monday as well as a phone call with the conference's keynote speaker.
Valley Co-Premiers: Valley had their first Regional Cabinet meeting Sunday, September 11th at the Lion's Hall in Kingston. Everyone but one was in attendance and discussion surrounded the outcome of retreat, general rules, and getting to know one another. The cabinet now has a regional advisor and two First-Aids who will be added to the database and sent out within the week. Dates for both Junior Conference and Regional Conference have been determined as the 5th of November and the 4th/5th of February. Cabinet will begin to contact school in the coming week for presentation opportunities.
Media Relations: Selena has been working with Dereck and Public Relations to figure out the organization's social media accounts and who is running them. As well, she will be working on an NSSSA newsletter and organizing a subscription option on the website.
Action Required: Selena asks that all Co-Premiers have information submitted to her by September 24th regarding local media opportunities (newspapers, radio stations, etc.).
Webmaster: In the past few weeks, Dereck has sorted out Basecamp and created the project for Provincial Cabinet, having only one person who has not yet accepted the invitation to join. The NSSSA website has been updated to include media links for Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook, as well as Twitter feeds on each cabinet page. Each of these pages will also include conference information, logos, forms, etc. and can also show profile images of Co-Premiers/Chairs and cabinet executive. Keep in mind that it would look best for these pictures to be taken with similar lighting and backgrounds taken horizontally. Any information cabinets want on their page can be sent to Dereck now if it is complete and be put live at a later date when everything is confirmed, just make sure any forms or information is sent at least a week in advance from when it needs to be available to the public, and send it as a pdf. Any forms that need to be updated from what was originally posted will be indicated (possibly with a date) in order to ensure people are aware and haven't already printed off an outdated application.
Head School Rep Coordinator: Head School Reps who were absent for training retreat have been caught up and had a session with Mitchell. He has received updates and questions from all the Head School Reps and is helping them in any way possible, but also directing them towards their Co-Premiers/Chairs to reinforce the team aspect of cabinets. During retreat the Head School Reps had time to brainstorm definitions and descriptors of the NSSSA and Mitchell plans to use these as a guideline to help create a list of common elements to incorporate into all presentations.
The Nova Scotia School Database is still in progress, and Mitchell will be asking Co-Premiers and Co-Chairs for information on school based conference attendance to aid in the promotional process. It is hopeful that Mitchell will be attending Principal's meetings as soon as possible. Mitchell should be attending each Principal's meeting with the appropriate Co-Premiers.
New Business:
Corporate Package: As well as a donation letter, the corporate package was sent out by Katelyn to all who will be needing it. Everything typed in red must be changed to make it region specific, just remember to change the colour when completed. Anyone wishing to make changes to the document should first consult Molly, Katelyn, or Liam to be sure it is an appropriate edit.
The corporate package should be used when contacting larger businesses, and the donation letter should be used when requesting smaller contributions.
Basecamp: There is still one person who has not yet accepted their invitation to join Basecamp and it is recommended that they do so. Some cabinet members have been creating their own timelines and to-do lists, but there are already sections created for each position, and making new ones will only clutter the page. That being said, everyone is encouraged to explore Basecamp and what it can do – anything can be deleted later.
Co-Premiers and Co-Chairs should be using Basecamp and be accountable for everyone on their cabinet by assigning tasks and due dates to them and keeping up on what is being completed.
Conference Related Questions and Answers: Although grade seven students are not technically secondary school students, they will be permitted to attend Junior Conferences for regions that have included them in past years.
Grade nines will be allowed to attend Regional Conference if they attend Junior Conference first in regions where this is applicable.
Spirit Wear: With the majority of cabinets having officially chosen their spirit wear, some Provincial Cabinet members are unhappy with their original votes. Because of the high demand of quarter zips from all the other cabinets, PC has decided to hold a revote between Quarter-Zips, Jackets, and Cardigans. This vote will take place following the meeting.
Motion to adjourn: Gabrielle, Selena seconds
Date for Next Meeting: October 22, Acadia University


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Risk & Insurance Programs Business Analyst
At Justworks, you'll enjoy a welcoming and casual environment, great benefits, Diversity + Inclusion and wellness program offerings, company retreats, and the ability to interact with and learn from leaders in the startup community. We work hard and care about our most prized asset - our people.
We're helping businesses get off the ground by enabling them to focus on running their business. We solve HR issues. We're data driven and never stop iterating. If you'd like to work in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment, are interested in building something meaningful and having fun while doing it, we'd love to hear from you.The job
Justworks is seeking a seasoned analyst to join the Risk & Insurance Program team. You are someone with a passion for solving problems through technology that free up people to do higher order work. The Risk & Insurance Program team connects to Sales, Customer Success, Business Intelligence, Finance, Product, and Engineering. You will be our team's representative to interface with each of these departments. Reporting to the VP of Risk & Insurance Programs, and partnering with our managers, you will build and maintain the systems that our team uses to gain speed, accuracy, and efficiency in our day-to-day processes.What you'll do
- Act as subject matter expert (SME) for key internal systems and processes
- Identify and execute process improvement opportunities including but not limited to the construction of workflow charts, writing specifications and designing modifications
- Develop, manage, and publish cross department key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Act as project manager for Risk & Insurance team. Define project requirements, monitor progress, resolve problems, publish progress reports, etc.
- Understand and communicate the financial and operational impact of the Risk & Insurance team on Justworks
- Conduct insightful, ad hoc analyses to investigate ongoing or one-time operational issues
- At least 2 years of investment banking or consulting experience
- Bachelor's degree with strong academic performance
- Strong excel and SQL skills
- Impeccable organizational skills, with the ability to self-motivate and successfully work on multiple projects independently
- Experience leading projects is a plus
- Experience building dashboards in Tableau is a plus
- Experience with Jira is a plus
- Experience with Salesforce is a plus
- Working knowledge of insurance products is a plus
- MBA is helpful but not required
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills
- Must maintain a positive attitude, believes that "feedback is a gift"
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced changing environment
Visa sponsorship for this role is currently not available.
Diversity at Justworks
Justworks' vision is for all identities, backgrounds and expressions to be represented in the workplace. We're building the foundation for long-term success and intend to cultivate a safe, collaborative and inclusive space and company culture.
We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer open to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, Veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

subset: commoncrawl


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Happy first week of summer! Boy is it a hot one. It's time to officially break out the bathing suits and flip-flops (if you don't already live in a tropical environment) and go sans on the rain boots. If you're still working on getting your beach body it's not too late. Summer is a great time to start back up on those resolutions you made back in January, remember those? Just think of the Summer Solstice as your New Year's Resolutions 2.0.
I've decided to jump start my fitness by ringing in the Summer Solstice as many in New York City's Times Square did this past weekend by doing 108 Sun Salutations. That's 108 push-ups, 108 namaskarams, 108 upward-facing dogs, 108 downward-facing dogs, and warrior ones in 2 hours. Before my detox thanks to my joints, I could barely get past 25. So initially, I was probably a little crazy for thinking I could do 108, but I've always liked a good challenge. Surprisingly I got through the first 60 without needing to take a break and in total I finished about 90 with the rest of my yogi peers. I may have been about 18 short of the 108, but it was still 65 more than I could've done 2 months ago.
Baby steps. That's all it is. Whatever your goals are for this summer, for the rest of this year, for the rest of your life, know that every accomplishment starts with the decision to at least try, because as Confucius once said (Cliché quote alert): "Every journey starts with a single step."
Good luck and Follow Your Bliss!
What are goals for this summer and what are you doing to stay motivated/what obstacles are keeping you from attaining them?
Feel free to leave a response in the comments below, I love receiving feedback:)


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Latest MedicineNet News
Aldosterone Antagonists Improve Heart Failure Survival, but Only 1 in 3 Get Them
Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News
Reviewed By Elizabeth Klodas, MD, FACC
Oct. 20, 2009 -- More than two-thirds of patients hospitalized with serious heart failure aren't prescribed an aldosterone antagonist, a recommended therapy that increases the odds of survival.
Aldosterone is a hormone that is released in the setting of heart failure. It causes salt and water retention, which can lead to worsening symptoms (such as shortness of breath and leg swelling). Aldosterone antagonists block the action of aldosterone and are a well-recognized part of heart failure treatment.
Published guidelines specifically recommend aldosterone antagonists for patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure. Aldactone and Inspira are the two aldosterone antagonists (AAs) available on the market. They're not for every patient. But the present study shows that far too many patients who should be getting AAs are not.
The finding comes from a survey by Cleveland Clinic researcher Nancy M. Albert, PhD, RN, and colleagues, who followed up on 43,625 AA-eligible heart failure patients released from 241 U.S. hospitals from 2005 through 2007.
"Less than one-third of eligible patients hospitalized for heart failure ... received heart failure guideline-recommended aldosterone antagonist therapy," Albert and colleagues write in the study.
What's going on?
Old guidelines, in effect during the study period and only updated in 2009, said the treatment "should be considered" rather than saying it "is recommended."
Also, in some published studies there "may have been an overestimation of harm" because of the drug's potential to negatively affect kidney function, Albert and colleagues suggest.
Another problem is that AAs are well-known diuretics (water pills), which may have confused some doctors as to their more extensive mechanism of action in heart failure.
And it is possible that institution of AA therapy did not occur until patients' other medications had been optimized in the outpatient setting.
But failure to adhere to recommended treatment algorithms by physicians may be a major reason for low rates of AA therapy. A recent survey of European doctors showed the three main reasons they did not adhere to treatment guidelines were patient compliance, long and complexly written treatment guidelines, and time needed to get patients on all the recommended treatments.
"Given the substantial morbidity and mortality risk faced by patients hospitalized with heart failure and the established efficacy of aldosterone antagonist prescription in heart failure, a stronger uptake of [AA] therapy may be warranted," Albert and colleagues conclude.
The findings appear in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
QUESTIONSee Answer
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Pitt, B. New England Journal of Medicine, Sept. 2, 1999; vol 341: pp 709-717.
©2009 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


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'This is The End' Premiere Photos
We don't always cover premieres but some of these photos are absolutely amazing, so here we go. This is The End opens on June 14 June 12 and the stars of the film and their friends were out to celebrate the film. Paul Rudd appeared without facial hair, which might indicate that filming of Anchorman 2 has been completed. And speaking of Rudd, how does this guy still look younger than Seth Rogen?
Notably absent from the premiere were Jonah Hill and James Franco, both of which can be seen on the cover of Rolling Stone with Rogen and McBride (sorry Craig Robinson and Jay Baruchel). Hill seems well on his way to getting in shape for the 21 Jump Street sequel.


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Find local professionals, businesses, and other resources to help you make better decisions for your children.
From Hempstead to the Hamptons, use the NYMetroParents directories to guide your parenting decisions. Whether you're looking for pediatricians, special-needs therapists, mommy and me classes, or sports programs, you'll find accurate, up-to-date information, with descriptions and contact information for each listing on Long Island.


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Time flies in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
This made me feel really old and really emotional because I miss Harry, Ron and Hermione so much. 15 years ago today the casting team for the Harry Potter films made an incredible decision to hire these three adorable friends, changing their lives and mine. To celebrate the amazing franchise these three helped create, I'm gonna look back at their earliest (and cutest) moments.
When Rupert Grint was kind of a smart ass like Ron and we all fell in love with an eleven year old.
When Hermione wore this all green everything outfit to the Sorcerer's Stone premiere. I can't even make fun of her because it's too cute!
When Rupert Grint talks about how similar he is to Ron and your heart melts everywhere because he's so cute and has a tiny British accent.
When Daniel Radcliffe is still learning how to do an interview and answers questions in the most adorably innocent way ever.
And of course....this photo. UGH Ron's face my heart is breaking.
Thanks Harry Potter, I never knew one series could change my life, but this one truly did.


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|André Kertesz, Montmatre, 1927
The Hungarian photographer André Kertész is not usually associated with place. However, coming away from the wonderful retrospective of his work at the Jeu de Paume, my resounding impression was one of just how dependent on Paris he was for inspiration. His dependence on Paris becomes painfully evident when Kertész goes to New York and he tries to find in New York what brought his frames alive in Paris. The lines, the light, the stillness, melancholy and nostalgia of an historical moment as it unfolds, none of these are the trademarks even characteristics he can find through his viewfinder in New York City.
|André Kertész, Mondrian's Glasses and Pipe, 1926
Perhaps the most striking thing about Kertesz's Paris is the absence of people. On the streets, in the courtyards and apartments of the famous and not so famous alike, people are never the focus of his images. That said, human life, even if in its absence, can be traced across these exquisitely composed frames. People are shadows in a landscape of lines, textures, light and angles. The often reproduced photograph of Mondrian's glasses, or the Autoportrait from 1927 are now icons of Kertesz's creativity. Like these photographs, across his life's work, the human form is reduced to another compositional element that nevertheless adds to the substance and emotion of his vision. In an image such as that at Place Gambetta or the Place de la Concorde, for example, the presence of the human, although minimized, is identifiable such that it creates a deep felt sense of absence. The single emotion that glimmers on these rain-soaked squares and pavements: melancholy. Empty, deserted streets taken in the powerful light of sunrise, at times at night, brim with a sadness and nostalgia as if for a Paris long gone.
|André Kerész, Place Gambetta, 1928
For other photographers, modernity and the modern city were articulated and envisioned in the hustle and bustle of life, in the thronging crowds on their way to work, the dazzle of night life entertainment, and the excitement and possibility of industrialization. Kertész's vision of modernity is different. City, or rather, Parisian life, most notably in the 1920s, is typified by the emptiness and the desertion of streets shown through conflicting and chaotic angles that nevertheless come together in perfectly coherent images. Kertész's picture of the emotional life of the city did not set new standards. Rather, it is the angles, so canted they are sometimes vertical, his eye for perspectives and lines, the patterns and rhythms of the built environment, and above all, his use of light as the subject, and structuring device of the frame, that revolutionizes photography.
|André Kertész, Place de la Concorde, 1927
Kertész and photographers such as Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray among others made their success on the back of their experiments with artificial light, experiments that so re-visioned the composition and substance of photography in the 1920s, that their influence extended to the film frames of the great German expressionist filmmakers. In the works of Fritz Lang, Karl Grüne, F.W. Murnau, the loneliness and emptiness of city life is transformed into a different kind of foreboding. While this historical aspect of Kertesz's photographs is not on display at the Jeu de Paume, their historical import is: the age of these images, primarily because their objectness, is emphasized by the use of contact prints in the early part of the exhibition. Moreover, the layering of light, the perfection of the angles and the delicate balance of the composition remain every bit as breathtaking as they were in their time.
|André Kertész, Chez Mondrian, 1926
Take for example, a photograph such as Chez Mondrian, 1926, in which Kertesz's follows the line of the stairs up the length of the image. Despite the fact that the image is dissected by the door frame, the line of the banister extends into the room in the foreground in the for of the shadow of the perfectly lit vase on the table. Or an image such as one of the Eiffel Tower, where the shadow of one arm of the base of the tower creates a circularity to the ground below that is otherwise rectangulated by the form of the grass and the elongated shadows of the people who cross it. For all their obsessive construction and intricate structural design, the lines are angular, canted and multiple and they conflict such that there is, at this level an imbalance. And the mastery of Kertesz's frame appears at that moment when we recognize this chaos somehow, impossible, adds up to a perfectly balanced composition.
|André Kertész, Eiffel Tower, 1929
Lastly, a quick word about the polaroids that Kertesz made in the 1970s with the new medium. They are magnificent, not only because of the color and their brush with abstraction, but because, as if carrying on the tension between chaos and coherence in the earlier images, the polaroids witness an impossible marriage of snap photography and intricate, meticulous construction. Towards the end of an oeuvre which has been dominated by an obvious obsession with camera set up and frame composition, as well as the processing of the image, the polaroids are thowaway snapshots rendered strange and beautiful by the eye that precedes their execution.
|André Kertész, August 16, 1979.
All images thanks to Jeu de Paume


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- Phone:
- 303-465-4444
Managed by a passionate and seasoned team of operators, Azitra of Broomfield awakens the inner soul through colorful ambiance, rich Indian palate, and complex tastes. With a seductive dining room, fashionable bar, intimate private lounge, and outdoor seating, we continually strive to create memorable dining experiences day after day. Guests can sample the vibrant flavors…


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February 6, 2013
Policy Briefing Recap: ChildSuccessNYC: Improving Stability, Permanency and Well-being for Foster Children
On January 29, 2013, CCC held a Policy Briefing on ChildSuccessNYC, the City's new model aimed at improving the outcomes for children in foster care. The Policy Briefing brought together Deputy Commissioners from the Administration for Children's Services and Foster Care Agency Executive Staff from three of the five participating foster care agencies to talk about the new model, the planning process and how implementation has been going so far.
ChildSuccessNYC is the Administration for Children's Services' (ACS) new model for family-based foster care. ChildSuccessNYC links evidence-based or evidence-informed practices with the goal of expediting permanency, reducing placement moves, and reducing caseworker caseloads. ACS is testing and evaluating the model with five foster care agencies this fiscal year and seeking a federal waiver with the intention of going system-wide. The model includes reduced caseloads and a higher administrative rate in the first years of implementation. You can learn more about ChildSuccessNYC here.
The participating agencies talked about the challenges of implementation, the experiences of their caseworkers, as well as the successes they have seen in terms of staff commitment to the model and the parents' participation in the group processes. CCC looks forward to continuing to follow the implementation and the evaluation of the models.
Speakers included:
commentsPlease keep all comments civil and on-topic. CCC reserves the right to remove any comments deemed inappropriate.
Reader Interactions
New York City Children Services decided on Evidence Based Models that do not utilize Parent Advocates; and the models do not give families the opportunity to use their voice in the process. Families are not given the choice to decide where they would like to receive their services. I do not believe this is strength based. NYC Children Services currently has a pilot in Brooklyn Engaging Child Welfare Families: A Solution-Based Approach to Child Welfare Practice by Dr. Dana N. Christensen & Dr. Becky Antle which I would suggest CCC inquire about. It's a family centered model of practice which takes in account family life challenges, tracks family life tasks incorporates collaborative teams which fuel the search for solutions. Furthermore, solution based casework is effective for engaging families in child welfare and the positive outcomes for their families. This would also be in line with the pilot in Queens on Family Assessment Response. Solution based casework is more likely to increase partnership between the families and the caseworker which will result in better outcomes. Soluction based casework can significantly lessen the possibility of children being removed from their families, which is what I believe we want, prevention and long lasting changes in the families life with more positive outcomes. Strength perspective from families, caseworkers actively involved and families involved in the development of their case plans which would be in line with family team conference and working with other parent advocates. Family, Parents and Community input=Prevention! More kids can remain with their families.


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Perhaps taking a page out of their parent company Toyota, or even avoiding their debacles altogether, Subaru is already recalling their newest offering, the 2014 Forester. In all, about 10,000 crossover utility vehicles were affected.
The vehicles are being recalled for the carpeted floor mats that may curl up, due to the heat inside of the vehicle (which can usually be hotter than the exterior, especially with black interiors). This is due to the resin compound that was used in the floor mat backing, which was not made properly, according to a filing by Subaru with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
If the floor mats curl up, they could cause interference with the accelerator, brake, and possible clutch (on Foresters equipped with the manual transmission), increasing the risk of the vehicle being involved in an accident. Vehicles affected by the recall will have all four carpeted floor mats replaced at no charge to the owner. If you would like to contact your local dealership to verify whether or not your Forester was involved in the latest Subaru recall, you may do so ahead of time…just be sure to have your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) handy. This is located either at the bottom right hand corner of the windshield, or on the driver's side doorjamb. Another place that it might be is on your insurance policy card.
Subaru is a division of Fuji Heavy Industries, with Toyota Motor Company as major shareholder, owning approximately twenty percent of the Japanese automaker.
Source: Chicago Tribune


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Staunton Area
DHHSC – Staunton
Caitlyn Kraft, Telecommunication Assistance Program Specialist
Regular Mailing Address: PO Box 103, Staunton, VA 24402
Packages Shipping Address: 100 New Hope Rd, Staunton, VA 24401
Voice: 540-885-0822
Videophone: 540-416-0099
Fax: 484-924-0031
For the following Planning Districts:
PD 6 (Staunton Area)
Cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro
Counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge, and Rockingham
PD 10 (Charlottesville Area)
City of Charlottesville
Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Nelson
Staunton Office – BY APPOINTMENT
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind (VSDB)
Byrd Hall, Room 2-2
301 Lewellyn Lane**
Staunton, VA 24401
Voice: 540-885-0822
Videophone: 540-416-0099
Directions to Staunton Office at VSDB
** Official address of Byrd Hall noted. GPS/online maps, use 103 VSDB Drive instead to avoid using the service (back) entrance roads.
Charlottesville Visiting Office – BY APPOINTMENT
Department of Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
2211 Hydraulic Road, Suite 101
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434-296-5621 (Voice), 434-951-6393 (TTY)
Directions to Charlottesville Visiting Office
Harrisonburg Visiting Office – BY APPOINTMENT
Department of Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
1909 B East Market Street
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
540-434-5981 (Voice)
Directions to Harrisonburg Visiting Office


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We galvanize companies' futures…
By finding high-performing sales professionals, innovative marketing specialists and elite technical experts for your business.
Are you looking to grow your team with the best talent out there? We have strong candidate networks within: - Software, specifically AdTech, MarTech, FinTech and Cyber Security - IT Services - BI & Big Data - and Digital.
We are best known for senior Technology Sales recruitment but we also have specialist teams who place complementary roles including Marketing, Technical, Professional Services and Inside Sales.
We provide a consultative service to our clients. Rather than just sending CVs over to our clients, we prefer to discuss a potential employee's background and strengths with you; saving you the time and hassle of sifting through numerous CVs.
We are a member of and regulated by APSCo which demonstrates our commitment to quality standards and providing an exceptional service.
Submit your vacancy
Send us the details of your vacancy


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Why Ario?
What is Ario?
Ario is a new way to work. It's a productivity platform that increases safety and efficiency. Using augmented reality, teams can create and share real-time spatial information, leveraging real-world data in the real world.
Who is it for?
Organizations that aim to: enhance training, reduce downtime in manufacturing; increase safety in industrial environments; and provide remote expert assistance in real-time gain immediate value from the Ario platform.
Why you'll love it
Simply put, we make augmented reality easy for you. With Ario's user-friendly interface and continually-evolving features, you'll benefit immediately by built-in, easy-to-use tools. This means you can reuse your existing assets and integrate with your workflow. We built Ario with scalability and unlimited deployment in mind.
Simple, Powerful & So Useful.
What if we told you that you could hire one person that could achieve a 5-10x return for what you pay them? What if that same person could work 24 hours a day ensuring your organization had information when and where it's needed most?
You'd probably say, tell me more.
Augmented Reality Platform
New technologies can be intimidating to get started with, but, with Ario, we make adoption easy. Ario is an end-to-end platform that includes a web dashboard and mobile application that gives your organization the ability to get up and running in a matter of minutes—all with zero coding.
Mobile Application
Let's face it, your organization is on the move and information is constantly changing. We don't live in a flat, 2D, paper-based world and Industry 4.0 is where we're headed—so you need to be ready.
Our mobile application runs on the phones and tablets that you already have in your hands, making spatial documentation and maintenance procedures second nature.
Web Dashboard
The Ario web dashboard provides easy management of organization users, roles & permissions, creating and assigning tasks and drag-and-drop functionality for managing augmented reality content.
Partnership Programs
Join our mailing list to receive updates on our platform


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Predictable scheduling laws that protect the rights of hourly workers vary everywhere you operate. Manually trying to comply with them is time consuming and often incurs unnecessary fines and high labor costs.
Legion's AI-powered labor platform automatically creates labor schedules which are fully compliant with all state and city predictable scheduling laws pertinent to each location you operate. Always.


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Number 1 is symbolic of the sun,the star which controls life on the planet earth and it is the source of life.1 is the first natural number and represents the leader and individuals who are creative and have a positive bent of mind. Person with date of birth on 1st, 10th, 19th, or 28th of any month bear the qualities of a Number 1 person.
What makes you distinct from others: You have a penchant of trying new ideas which makes you look above the crowd.
Precautions: You are too shy and impulsive.Avoid too much of dominating nature.
General Characteristics:
• Honour,Name, Fame.
• Consistency in activities
• An independent life
• Original ideas
• Involved with medicines, hospitals and energy
• Creativity
• Royal and decent status and helping nature
• Great administrative abilities
• Relations with the government
• Demanding and Commanding nature
• An elderly behavior
Read More >>
Number 2 ; Number 3 ; Number 4 ; Number 5 ; Number 6 ; Number 7 ; Number 8 ; Number 9 ;


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Here's another Blog from a Mississauga Chiropractor…
Do you experience pain in your hands or wrists? Do you have difficulty gripping?
Are you experiencing numbness or tingling of your fingers?
If so, you may be experiencing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a condition where a nerve in the wrist that supplies feeling and movement to parts of the hand becomes compressed. The area where the nerve enters the hand is called the Carpal Tunnel. Compression of the nerve within the Carpal Tunnel is called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Compression of this nerve can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage in the hand and fingers.
Symptoms are commonly seen at night and with repetitive use of the hands.
Symptoms include:
- Numbness, tingling or burning sensation in the thumb and next two or three fingers
- Pain or weakness in wrist or hand in one or both hands
- Wasting away of the muscle under the thumb (in advanced or long-term cases)
Common Causes:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is common in people who perform repetitive motions of the hand and wrist and is most often seen in individuals who type. Other causes include: sewing, driving, assembly line work, painting, writing, use of tools (especially hand tools or tools that vibrate) and sports such as racquetball or handball.
Chiropractic Treatment, Acupuncture and Prescription Stretches/Exercises.
Chiropractic Care:
Chiropractors can diagnose and treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other wrist/hand related conditions. Various treatment options (ie: soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, stretches, exercises) may be used to help to decrease pain and restore movement. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is very amendable with conservative treatment. Chiropractic Care can help you get back to your daily activities with less pain and improved function. Don't let your pain stop you from engaging in your daily activities.
Visit our website at: www.dynamicchirohwc.com
Like us on facebook (click)


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Open Season on Malware and Ransomware!
When we celebrate innovation and rejoice in the democratization of technology, we often forget this also benefits the malicious actors on the network. Despite advances in antivirus software, launching malware or ransomware has never been easier. For a year and a half OVH has contributed, at its level, to make the web safer by trapping malicious programs and when possible, their authors and discourage them from using the OVH network. Frank Denis, security expert within OVH's Security Operation Center (SOC), which is made up of a 20 member team spread over three continents, provides us with some insight.
Malware a more widespread problem than DDoS attacks
We regularly report on DDoS attacks, which are occurring with increased frequency and growing intensity. However, today these denial of service attacks are well controlled through the use of equipment put in place by OVH that detect and mitigate (lessening the consequences of an attack by vacuuming illegitimate traffic) such attacks. This protection of course has a significant cost, and moreover OVH must add enough additional network capacity to be able to absorb monstrous volumes of requests without affecting all other users. But overall, DDoS attacks can be contained as long as the proper means are in place: equipment and humans – because to combat these requires vigilance, in order to identify new types attacks and response by updating the algorithms that govern the equipment providing the protection (a real and notable challenge when it comes to anti-DDoS Game).
The problem which the OVH SOC team has decided to tackle for the past year and a half is more devious. It has been working to put the brakes on the proliferation of malware and ransomware with the latter being especially in vogue for the past three years [see sidebar]. These malicious programs infect computers and servers, encrypting their data and ransoming it from their owners or sending it to third parties through an array of complexity comparable to that of offshore financing. Also, they sometimes take control of machines with the goal of creating a botnet to carry out Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS). To catch the authors of these programs, a majority of which come from Eastern European countries (notably Russia and Ukraine), Frank must be clever and his techniques borrow as much from computer science, with reverse engineering as good old fashioned police work.
Malware traps and spam nets
Based on the principal of a mouse trap, baiting undesirable rodents with a piece of cheese, OVH intentionally places on its network machines that are very easy to hack. "These machines record all activity and allow us to better understand how our users' servers are compromised and what purpose they serve afterwards." Additionally, OVH has created and released on the web (forums, mailing-lists…) thousands of valid email address (even entire domains), so that, they are available to spammers. All that remains is to raise the nets regularly: "The emails received are analyzed. Those that contain interesting attachments are stored, grouped and dissected. This allows us to recognize current campaigns and identify those involving servers present on OVH infrastructures.
Frank explains he has developed a sandbox environment, based on virtual machines, which makes it possible to observer malware without contaminating the local network or actually infecting any machines. Many tasks are automated, but analysis is largely entrusted to humans. "Machine learning does not yet work well enough to automate the process of blocking malware, which continues to evolve to limit the risks of it being detected."
Ongoing investigations
Once evidence has been collected, an investigation can begin. The investigation is complicated, because in almost all cases, the mice that take the cheese offered by OVH have done so unwittingly. "Most often, it's a server that has been infected and reconfigured to act in a malicious manner. For example, by becoming the host of a phishing page designed to collect banking information, before sending the stolen data to another server. The network of machines is vast and complex, with servers which diffuse malware and control infected machines, others recuperate information and play the role of proxies by relaying the connection to a third machine via a VPN, then to a fourth via the Tor network… And of course, servers are spread out among different hosting providers, datacenters, geographical regions and jurisdictions.
When an OVH machine appears to display the characteristics of a server involved in the distribution of malware, control of infected machines or data exfiltration – whether it be a top level botnet–the ability to intervene directly is very limited. In fact, OVH does not have access to data stored on the hard disks of its customers' servers. Frank informs the authorities, who may initiate a criminal investigation. This consist, firstly, to identify the server administrator through a police request, to determine their level of involvement (victim, negligence or part of a criminal network). Then, if they judge it necessary, the authorities proceed to seize the hard drives and/or take legal action. Operations are carried out in a strictly regulated manner, under the control of a magistrate and the OVH legal department. "Through forensic analysis and international cooperation agreements, police services attempt to track down botnet operators to dismantle criminal networks which are at the source and derive substantial profits, which often finance other criminal activity outside of cyberspace…" OVH's actions and those of legal authorities are complimentary: "Our expertise consists of identifying, in accordance to technical characteristics, the machines situated at the top of cybercriminal networks which are the source of malware campaigns, whereas the police hold the power to investigate. Our cooperation allows authorities to focus on the most interesting machines.
Reverse-engineering to spot hacks as quickly as possible
"On our side, except in cases where the authorities ask us not to act, servers distributing certain ransomware are permitted to continue to operate temporarily in order to collect evidence. We take all measure necessary to stop the propagation of malicious software and the theft and sale of data through machines which are under our authority."
So when the server of an OVH customer appears to have been hacked, the owner is alerted and encouraged to take corrective action by cleaning or reinstalling the machine, otherwise, OVH suspends their server. The same goes for reoccurrences. "When a WordPress instance, for example, is hacked, we provide the customer concerned with a list of the pages added by the hacker and we identify the modifications made to their system's code that is used to create backdoors through which hackers operate."
Sometimes it happens that OVH does not know the identity of the end user administering the compromised server. This happens in cases where the server is rented by an intermediary who resales to their own customers. "We get in touch with the reseller, so that they can alert the administrator of the server. If there is no response on the part of the reseller and upon further review we find that the reseller has an accumulation of machines involved in a cybercriminal network, we do not hesitate to terminate any contracts binding us to the customer. From experience, we know that 99% of cybercriminals do not directly rent servers from a hosting provider but rather through intermediaries. Therefore, we are especially adamant in this type of situation."
Tracking cybercriminals is necessary, but it's a lengthy process. Interventions are only carried out when an alert has been made – this is the policy of most ISPs – and is often ineffective: the URLs sent are already no longer valid, the servers involved have been returned and for the most part the malware campaign over (this is without counting false positives!). "Therefore, two actions must be taken: educate our customers and discourage cybercriminals from using the OVH network." This is where Frank takes off his detectives cap and puts on his computer engineer's. "The other part of my job consist of reverse engineering the malware that we've captured in out traps or has been sent to us by other security researchers." The goal is to adopt a proactive approach, capturing weak signals to identify new operating methods and cut the ground from under the cybercriminals, "without resorting to intrusive methods and automating the maximum amount of out process to increases our efficiency," says Frank. "At the end of 2015, banking malware started to propagate from some servers of which a majority were hosted at OVH. We had managed to understand how the hacked servers were configured to do harm and we were able to cut them off before they were used. The result was that we never saw this malware return here. If we detect malware before it can take action, it can be a bit discouraging to cybercriminals."
Educate users to minimize the human factor
On the education front, there is also work to be done. Often the cause of infection is the fault of a human – or at least a lack of vigilance. Regarding personal computers, e-mail still proves to be an effective contamination vector, through malicious banner ads (malvertising) and by the exploitation of software vulnerabilities (exploit kits). Regarding the servers, we can distinguish two categories of offending administrators: those who leave the key in the door, using very simple passwords and those which leave the windows open, forgetting to update their WordPress or Joomla installations to the latest versions. "It is not that the code for these applications is poorly developed, rather it is the massive deployment of these applications that arouses the appetite of hackers, with more people looking for security vulnerabilities there are more to be found. Hackers are people like everyone else, they are concerned about efficiency."
Obviously, the most exploited security vulnerabilities are known quickly, but it is impossible to perform a network scan, it is illegal in France, not to mention such an action would not be in line with OVH's own data security policies, nor the customers' expectations to privacy. It is therefore very difficult to take precautionary measures… "Nevertheless we do the maximum. For example, if we become aware of a leak of usernames and passwords being broadcast on specialized forums or contained within servers collecting stolen information, we contact any OVH customers which may be effected with an alert."
OVH could resort to passive network analysis, that is to say observe network traffic without interfering with it (unlike a scan that queries all machines one by one). "Passive analysis is relatively simple to put in place on a small network, but on a network of the size of OVH's, it is a different story. It is not impossible, just complicated." Another track: detect hacks and alert server owners immediately, this time using the monitoring tools installed by default on the dedicated servers. Effective, but not foolproof: malware can be coded to deactivate these tools or modify what they examine… Also, Frank advises to use sandboxes, which permit the execution of questionable files within an isolated environment, to observe what an application actually does. This is not always the panacea: "In order to alter behavior, malware is capable of detecting sandboxes. There are constantly new techniques emerging to detect security measures…"
Is this a useless fight? "Not really," adds Frank. "We will always be at the mercy of targeted attacks, for which, by definition, there does not exist a model of detection, and the attacks exploit human flaws. That said, through our work, OVH makes these criminal activities a bit more difficult and more expensive. Since they know they are hunted down and that we can find and suspend some of the servers and domains involved in any illegal activity, criminals are forced to update their infrastructures. This certainly does not create an obstacle for those who derive their income exclusively from such activity. They go elsewhere. But it put the brake on others." What this means for OVH, the European leader of the cloud with 250,000 servers and a million customers, is that the proportion of its customers involved in illegal or questionable activities has been greatly reduced with the vast majority of customers using its services for acceptable and legitimate projects.
Machine learning used to discriminate against hackers that order a server
If it is very difficult to model patterns to detect malware before it acts (this is due to its diversity and constant evolution). But OVH is set on using machine learning to develop a robot-portrait of a hacker and block a large portion of users wishing to employ OVH services to host malware or engage in other illicit activities. Through big data, OVH studies, posteriorly, the characteristics of user accounts which have been linked to illicit activities, comparing them to legitimate user accounts. This makes it possible to detect common points, similar behaviors and makes the machines taking new orders more intelligent, soliciting human analysis when suspicion arises.


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As a part of my job at EDEO, I design adverts for our products. These adverts are placed into numerous campaigns published by companies including Facebook, Chartboost, and Apple. Reaching billions of viewers, these adverts are designed using both company and original graphics and branding. Each set of designs are different depending on the target audience, including their gender, country, age, and interests. Each design is incorporated into various image sizes corresponding to different viewport sizes and resolutions.
Graphic Images
Here are some image designs I created b translating real-life objects into digital vector graphics.


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My site has everything you'll need for your 86, TRUST ME! or go check it out!!!
Rick's TI 86 Page has everything for the newly released TI-86 calculator, from games to apps to ASM stuff. It also has the largest TI-86 game archive on the net. Updated very frequently.
This is an awesome 86 site with tons of games and programs. Also info about links. Updated everyday!
Site on Ti-89 with a lot of engineering and maths programs. Also games and hard-software informations. Murphy's law in italian (sic!!)
Your source for Ti-82 games and utilities not found elsewhere on the web!


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1702 Connecticut Ave. NW, #2
Washington , DC 20009
Washington , DC 20009
Monday-Tuesday 11AM-6PM
Monday-Tuesday 11AM-6PM
Wednesday-Friday 11AM-7PM
Saturday 11AM-6PM
Sunday 1PM-5PM
A designer consignment shop for women, carrying both the latest trends and most sought-after classics in excellent condition, Secondi has something for everyone.
Other Places You Might Like
For the Adventurers and Storytellers
This is a guide for local pioneers and traveling trailblazers who are in search for something different. It was created to help you discover innovative makers that are the soul of the city and movers who are shifting the way we think and do.


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By early 2016, a key Aksarben Village intersection will be occupied by an eight-story, $35 million office and retail building and an adjacent $15 million parking garage.
The $50 million Waitt Plaza, with construction starting next summer at the vacant northeast corner of 67th and Frances Streets, will add new retailers, restaurants and office tenants.
The project will bring total spending at Aksarben Village, University of Nebraska at Omaha's south campus, corporate offices and other improvements on the former horse-racing property to about $650 million since First Data Corp. constructed an office building there in 1997.
Waitt Plaza, to be built by Kiewit Corp., will house about a dozen retailers and restaurants on the first and second levels, with 125,000 square feet of offices above. The 1,500-stall, five-level garage will serve not only Waitt Plaza but also the public and office buildings and apartments to be added to the eight-acre site later.
Construction of some of those additional buildings may be under way by 2016, said Dana Bradford, CEO of Waitt Co.
On Aksarben Village projects, Waitt cooperates with Ak-Sar-Ben Future Trust and four Omaha development companies: Broadmoor, Alchemy, Magnum and Noddle. The trust was formed in 1996 to oversee the redevelopment of the former horse-racing property.
"We've worked very closely together," Bradford told The World-Herald. "We will be very patient and not build too much, too fast, but build enough to keep the momentum going.
"We're collectively building a great enterprise in the form of Aksarben Village."
Waitt Co., an Omaha-based holding company formed by billionaire Norman Waitt Jr. of Sioux City, Iowa, will move its 15-person headquarters from One Pacific Place to the new building, along with its Active Brands sports equipment division.
Developer Jay Noddle is recruiting additional tenants.
HDR Inc. architect Thomas Trenolone said Waitt Plaza will be Aksarben Village's signature building, with pedestrian pathways on all four sides and curving sides coming together in a knife-edge that points directly south.
A cascade stairway from the parking deck will open onto a plaza that serves as a gateway to the other parts of the Village, he said. "This is probably the cornerstone that holds all that together."
Ak-Sar-Ben Future Trust gave its approval to the Waitt Plaza plan at a private meeting Thursday.
"It's another great step in bringing to fruition the plan that we've had from the beginning for the Aksarben property," said Trust Chairman Ken Stinson. "I think it's a commentary on the strength of the Omaha community and the Omaha economy."
Waitt Plaza could signal a return to speculative office projects, with the owners announcing the building before it's fully leased. "Spec" projects have been scarce since the 2008-10 Great Recession made them difficult to finance.
"It's something of a conservative risk to spec a good portion of the space there, office or retail," Noddle said. But he said his leasing experience at Aksarben Village and Omaha's healthy office market are in the project's favor.
Office and retail space in the Village is 100 percent leased, he said, and the headquarters building for Omaha-based retailer Gordmans — also a Waitt-Noddle project — will be full, too, when it opens next spring.
"I'm very comfortable that this building will be significantly leased prior to completion," Noddle said. "The office market in Omaha has been as active in the last 24 months as I've ever seen it in my career," which began in the 1980s.
He said the city's office market is growing. Omaha's conservative spending habits, educated workforce and affordable prices make it "a pretty efficient place to do business, and consequently the office market's pretty good," Noddle said.
But he said Waitt Co. is "the real magic. They've got the mental and financial resources to advance this project at a time when others might not be able to move as definitively."
Waitt Co. had owned about 14 acres of the 80-acre Village project and sold some for residential development and some for the Marriott Residence Inn Hotel, now under construction. Remaining building sites in the Village include land owned by Magnum Development on the north side of Mercy Road and Stinson Park.
The Waitt project will have some references to Aksarben's history: The pedestrian space east of the building is to be named "the Inner Rail," like the inside rail of a racetrack. Its address, 1919 S. 67th St., refers to the start of horse racing nearby in 1919.
Bradford envisions restaurants and shops, plus the occasional food truck, lining the Inner Rail, with outdoor seating for customers in good weather and an open feeling that encourages strolling.
Noddle said the garage will have express ramps so cars can go directly to the right floors without driving around inside the structure. Like the Village's existing parking garage, public parking will be free, with reserved spots for Waitt Plaza tenants.
Waitt Co. still owns a small lot at 67th and Shirley Streets to be developed later. Noddle said such small pieces can be special projects, "like really cool restaurants or living spaces."
The Omaha investment and management company owns some projects, companies and brands, and in other cases is part-owner through investments.
Real estate
>> Eight acres in Aksarben Village, including Gordmans headquarters and planned Waitt Plaza
>> Tenaska Inc. headquarters under construction near 140th Street and West Dodge Road
>> Office buildings and development projects in Denver, Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Ariz.
>> Prince Global Sports LLC, Prince Tennis, Prince Squash
>> Active Brands Co, Battle Sports Science (safety equipment), Ektelon (racquetball), Viking (platform tennis), TapouT (equipment), Nutty Buddy (equipment)
>> Jones Global Sports, Bobby Jones (apparel)
Service Businesses
>> Customer Service Profiles LLC
>> Election Systems & Software
Consumer goods
>> Vornado
>> Authentic Brands Group
>> Taryn Rose
>> Adrienne Vittadini
>> Judith Leiber
>> Gold Circle Films
>> Waitt Outdoor
>> Waitt principals own part of Premier Bank of Omaha


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Article by: Danielle Limcaoco
Enter Mr. Hall's room, and observe the group of 20 young boys in crisp, white shirts, munching on Christmas tree sugar cookies –their grinning mouths covered with rainbows sprinkles. These children from SPECS's Home for Boys participated in this year's SPECS ICARE. This ICARE site lasted for two days, and in each day seniors collaborated to create meaningful workshops that the kids would enjoy such as activities ranging from dancing, karaoke-ing, indoor competitions, sports, art, to board games.
In the dance station, the children ocho-ochoed, jumped along to Pitbull's "Timber," and swirled in graceful circles with Frozen's "Let it Go", playing in the background. After following these steps choreographed by Kesina Kum and Lillian Chong, the children rested by playing a relaxed game of Musical Chairs.
In the karaoke station, Janna Santos and Rom Villarica helped the children find their individual voices to belt out the classic Filipino love songs. Although their harmonies were continually disrupted by their bursts of laughter, the SPECS children were always quick to recover and pick up from where they left off.
In the Loft House, Sean Myers created his own version of Duck Duck Goose, titled "Itlog Itlog Balut" – this quirky twist ensured that the children would enjoy themselves whilst running around in the spacious room.
At the gym, Catherine Kelly, Matt Sicat, and Mavie Cruz spearheaded many games such as basketball and volleyball with the children. Mavie said, "Watching the children's faces light up as they stepped into the gym was a revelation for me – they played with our tennis balls, dodge balls, like they were spheres of gold."
In the art stations, Christina Park, Bianca Cartera, and Erin O'Reilly honed the children's creative abilities by helping them spread glitter, cut out shapes, and doodle with markers on plain white tube socks. Each child left the station with a colorful and personalized sock puppet from the unique and festive activity that perfectly matched the synergy of the ICARE site!
In the board game station, Aaron Sobel scattered "Make 'n' Break" blocks on the plastic white table, dotted scrabble tiles all around, and laid pencils flat on Pictionary Notebooks. According to him, "These children collaborated actively and engaged deeply with each game."
SPECS ICARE was an enthralling experience for both the ISM students and the SPECS children not only for the various donations that ISM was able to give them – books, toys, clothes, water bottles, and even cans of coke – but also for the resonating passion everyone invested into each workshop. Although it may be months before we are able to see these children again, the experiences and bonds we formed helped to strengthen the inextricable bond between ISM and SPECS.


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Great Quiet Location with panoramic view, 2 story with fully finished top to bottom walk-out. Throughout the home with 6 bedrooms and 3.5 bath in the heart of HAMPTONS backs on to GREEN SPACE & MOUNTAIN VIEWS & only few stapes away from Schools, Shopping malls, play ground & on quiet close street. Completed by vaulted ceilings, visible windows, the open concept living/dining room is perfect for your formal entertaining, spacious family room with fireplace. Beside the eating area the door for fantastic balcony where you can enjoy the sunshine all day long. Master bedroom offers a good sized jetted tub & separate shower. Three additional full size bedrooms up plus 4 piece main bath. Lower level is fully finished illegal suited basement with two bedrooms, family/living room, full kitchen , excellent eating space, full washroom, laundry and easy excess to fully developed garden with fruits and flower trees. Basement's Washer & Dryer also included.
Balcony, No Animal Home, No Smoking Home, Patio, Porch, Swirlpool Bath (Jacuzzi), Wall Unit-Built-In
Double Garage Attached, Front Drive Access, Insulated
Fully Finished, SUITE - Illegal
Cross Fenced, Cul-De-Sac, Fenced, Vegetable Garden, Golf Nearby, Landscaped, No Back Lane, No Through Road, Playground Nearby, Private Setting, Schools, Shopping Nearby, Treed Lot, View City, View
Disclaimer: Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed by CREB®.
Listing information last updated on December 12th, 2019 at 10:00pm MST.


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1994 Disney Version
- Al the Boss Angel (Christopher Lloyd) gets everybody to sing the classic, "Take me Out to the Ball Game".
- Maggie Nelson give a really good What the Hell, Hero? speech near the end of the film.Maggie: Um, excuse me. I'd like to say something on behalf of George Knox.Hank Murphy: What's your name? What's your business here?Maggie: My name is Maggie Nelson. I take care of foster kids. One of these boys is the child who can see angels. He could stand up right now and tell you what's going on and I'd know you'd just laugh at him. But, when a professional football player drops to one knee to thank God for making a touchdown, nobody laughs at that. Or when a pitcher crosses himself before going to the mound, no one laughs at that either. It's like you're saying it's okay to believe in God, but it's not okay to believe in angels. Now, I thought that they were on the same team.Hank Murphy: Is it your belief, ma'am, that angels play baseball?Maggie: Since the All-Star break, yes. We all need someone to believe in. Every child I have ever looked after has someone: an angel. You've got to have faith. You've got to believe. You have to look inside yourself. The footprints of an angel are love, and where there is love, miraculous things can happen. I've seen it. (then she calmly and quitely sits back down)Mel: I'd also like to say something. I don't know if there are any angels here other than the twenty-five of us in uniform. But I know there is one thing I won't do: I won't play for anyone but George Knox. I believe in him.Messmer: That goes for me, too.
- Then the rest of Angels baseball team, Roger, and J.P. all stand and nod in agreement.
- The Combined Energy Attack to will a fatigued Mel Clark into getting one more out.
- Though it hedges into Tear Jerker territory at first, Roger turning down Knox's offer to adopt him, despite being ecstatic over having a father again, because "I can't leave J.P.". Knox responds, in a tone that implies it should be obvious, "I could never leave J.P.! He's coming too!"
- Mel Clark's comeback after having been on the bench all season and considered washed up.
- A grateful George Knox, after being told by Roger to start Mel, promises Roger and JP that they can have anything they want. Scene cuts to George Knox playing baseball with all the neighborhood kids.


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Several studies suggest that having a sense of control over work plays a central role in workers' health. Employees, who are given more autonomy and challenge, have nearly half the number of stress-related illnesses such as high blood pressure compared to workers who have little challenge and control over work.
Are you in control of your work?
Answer "yes" or "no."
Scoring: One point for each "yes." The higher you score, the more control you have over your work. Five or less suggests you have little control. If you want to strengthen autonomy, read on.
Strengthening autonomy
- Review your work history with the company. Do you presently have a sense of control over your work? Did you ever? What made you feel you had control? Is there anything you can do to gain control?
- Identify co-workers who feel they have control over their work. What are they doing? Are they taking the initiative? Volunteering for new assignments? Assertive at meetings? Politically astute? Are you the only one who feels a lack of control? If so, what does this tell you?
- Restructure your job. What can you do to give yourself more control over your work and work more efficiently? Write these down. Then propose suggestions to your boss including examples of ways you can work more efficiently and also contribute to the company's bottom line.
- Take the initiative. Look for jobs that need to be done in your company. Identify the project manager, research ways you can enhance the project, offer assistance and suggestions.
Volunteer for special projects. Find small things to do that will give you a sense of autonomy. This will bring more variety and challenge to your work. Offer to take charge of a newsletter, a social activity, or a community relations project.
- Become a team member. Work towards the success of the project. Help the company meet deadlines and bottom lines. What can you do to help your superior become successful? Offer recommendations for making the product or service better. Show that you're committed to your team's success.
- Network. Know what's happening in the company. Communicate regularly with superiors and colleagues. Attend meetings, participate in social activities, and read newsletters.
- Continue to learn. Attend seminars, read professional journals, and go to professional meetings. Share your knowledge and skills. Create a demand for your expertise.
- Manage stress. Get involved in non-work activities. Make family and leisure time fun. Engage in hobbies or volunteer for a community project that will provide challenge and autonomy. Meditate, exercise, and eat healthily.
- Consider changing jobs. If the foregoing suggestions don't help, consider moving to a new department, a different employer, another occupation, or take a time-out.
Since most of us spend one-third to half of our waking lives working, commuting, or thinking about work, these hours should be filled with challenge, enthusiasm and growth, rather than with frustration, discouragement and boredom. Take an active role in controlling or reshaping your work environment.
Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life gives additional tips for strengthening autonomy. https://www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963
Dr. Carole Kanchier, career and personal growth expert, is a registered psychologist, coach, speaker and author of the award-winning, best seller, Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life.
http://www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963 www.questersdaretochange.com


text: Share: Comments Print September 15, 2014 at 9:52 AM Man wanted for bank robbery arrested at Oregon Frisbee tourney Posted by John de Leon The Associated Press EUGENE, Ore. — A man wanted for an armed bank robbery in New York eluded authorities for four years until they caught up with him while he played at an ultimate Frisbee tournament in Oregon. KVAL-TV says police in Eugene, Ore., arrested Jahson Marryshow around 5 p.m. Sunday. The Ulster County sheriff's office in New York says the 32-year-old, formerly of Woodstock, New York, was indicted in late 2010 on charges of robbing a Bank of America there. Marryshow is also accused of stealing a car and setting a barn on fire as a diversion. The U.S. Marshals Service and local police got a tip that he was living in Eugene. Police say Marryshow didn't try to flee Sunday. He's being held in the Lane County Jail, pending extradition. It wasn't immediately clear if Marryshow had a lawyer yet. Comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: arrest, Bank robbery, fugitive


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Entries for tag "directx", ordered from most recent. Entry count: 71.
# Direct3D 12 - Watch out for non-uniform resource index!
Sep 2015
DirectX 12 allows us to use arrays of resources (descriptor tables) and refer to them from a shader code by an index. The index can be constant or variable. But there is a big trap waiting for shader developers doing that! Microsoft just updated their public documentation in this regard (see Resource Binding in HLSL), so now I can talk about it.
In D3D12, resource index is expected to be uniform (convergent) by default. It means the index, even if dynamic, should be the same across whole draw call (all vertices/pixels/etc.). For example, it can be a result of some calculations, which depend on parameters coming from a constant buffer. Example code:
Texture2D<float4> textures[16] : register(t0);
SamplerState samp : register(s0);
struct SConstantBuffer
uint MaterialId;
ConstantBuffer<SConstantBuffer> cb : register(b0);
float4 PS(
in float2 texCoords : TEXCOORD0 ) : SV_Target
uint materialId = cb.MaterialId;
return textures[materialId].Sample(samp, texCoords);
Why is it this way? That is because on low level, GPU-s are made of SIMD processors. Each of its small processors executes shader instructions over multiple "SIMD threads" (or "warps", or "wavefronts", however you call them), not a single (scalar) value. Because of that, knowing that the resource index will always be the same on all SIMD threads can result in some optimizations and more efficient execution.
Resource indices in Direct3D 12 actually can be non-uniform (divergent) - different in every vertex/pixel/etc., like when they are result of some calculations based on vertex attributes or pixel position. But they must be then surrounded by a special, "pseudo"-function in HLSL, called NonUniformResourceIndex. For example:
Texture2D<float4> textures[16] : register(t0);
SamplerState samp : register(s0);
float4 PS(
in float2 texCoords : TEXCOORD0,
in uint materialId : MATERIAL_ID ) : SV_Target
return textures[NonUniformResourceIndex(materialId)].Sample(samp, texCoords);
This may look a bit unintuitive, so I expect many developers will make the mistake and omit this function. If you use a non-uniform value as resource index, but forget to mark it with NonUniformResourceIndex, HLSL compiler probably won't warn you about it. It may even work in some cases and on some GPU-s, while it will give invalid (undefined) results on others. So similarly to the issue with reduced precision in normalize/length operations in GLSL, this is a thing to be careful with when coding your shaders in HLSL using new Shader Model 5.1.
# Adventures with Porting Code to Visual Studio 2015 and No DirectX SDK
Aug 2015
I just installed new Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition and ported my personal project to it. At the same time, I uninstalled old DirectX SDK Jun 2010 and started using new DirectX headers bundled with Windows SDK, which is installed together with Visual Studio. These two transitions are not connected - I could already switch to new DX headers years ago, but I decided to do it now. While transition to VS 2015 was smooth, abandoning DirectX SDK caused some problems, because new DirectX doesn't contain D3DX library. Here is a dump of the problems and solutions that I encountered during this effort:
1. I uninstalled DirectX SDK Jun 2010, Visual Studio 2013 Community Edition and all other components that seemed related to it, like Microsoft SQL. I left all "Microsoft Visual C++ XX Redistributable" though, because these are required by many applications and intended to be installed on target machine, not necessarily as a part of development environment.
Next, I downloaded and installed new Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition. During this long process, I was thinking what should I expect from the new IDE... Whether Microsoft did a good job this time? On one hand, it is suprising that C++ is now an optional installation component, so it seems like native code is in shadow comparing to all these new and trendy cloud/web/mobile/managed technologies. On the other hand, table: C++11/14/17 Features In VS 2015 RTM shows that the new C++ compiler caught up with many features of new C++11/14/17 language, which gives hope that authors still treat native code development seriously.
2. The looks of new IDE is so similar to the previous version it is hard to notice any differences. After launching it, I had to first recompile static libraries that my project depends on. That was zlib 1.2.8 and my CommonLib. Converting project to new version, as well as the build itself went smoothly, without any problems - which is unusual with C/C++ libraries :) Just as in previous version, headers and libs of standard C library, standard C++ library (STL) and WinAPI are already bundled with the Visual Studio, so there is no need to install or configure anything additional before you can use them.
Read full entry | Comments | #visual studio #directx #c++ Share
# Lower-Level Graphics API - What Does It Mean?
Jun 2015
They say that the new, upcoming generation of graphics API-s (like DirectX 12 and Vulkan) will be lower-level, closer to the GPU. You may wonder what does it exactly mean or what is the purpose of it? Let me explain that with a picture that I have made few months ago and already shown on my two presentations.
Row 1: Back in the early days of computer graphics (like on Atari, Commodore 64), there were only applications (green rectangle), communicating directly with graphics hardware (e.g. by setting hardware registers).
Row 2: Hardware and software became more complicated. Operating systems started to separate applications from direct access to hardware. To make applications working on variety of devices available on the market, some standards had to be defined. Device drivers appeared as a separate layer (red rectangle).
Graphics API (Application Programming Interface), like every interface, is just the means of communication - standardized, documented definition of functions and other stuff that is used on the application's side and implemented by the driver. Driver translates these calls to commands specific to particular hardware.
Row 3: As games became more complex, it was no longer convenient to call graphics API directly from game logic code. Another layer appeared, called game engine (yellow rectangle). It is essentially a comprehensive library that provides some higher-level objects (like an entity, asset, material, camera, light) and implements them (in its graphical part) using lower-level commands of graphics API (like mesh, texture, shader).
Row 4: This is where we are now. Games, as well as game engines constantly become more complex and expensive to make. Less and less game development studios make their own engine technology, more prefer to use existing, universal engines (like Unity, Unreal Engine) and just focus on gameplay. These engines recently became available for free and on very attractive licenses, so this trend affects both AAA, as well as indie and amateur game developers.
Graphics drivers became incredibly complex programs as well. You may not see it directly, but just take a look at the size of their installers. They are not games - they don't contain tons of graphics and music assets. So guess what is inside? That is a lot of code! They have to implement all API-s (DirectX 9, 10, 11, OpenGL). In addition to that, these API-s have to backward compatible and not necessarily reflect how modern GPU-s work, so additional logic needed for that can introduce some performance overhead or contain some bugs.
Row 5: The future, with new generation of graphics API-s. Note that the sum width of the bars is not smaller than in the previous row. (Maybe it should be a bit smaller - see comment below.) That is because according to the concept of accidental complexity and essential complexity from famous book No Silver Bullet, stuff that is really necessary has to be done somewhere anyway. So lower-level API means just that driver could be smaller and simpler, while upper layers will have more responsibility of manually managing stuff instead of automatic facilities provided by the driver (for example, there is no more DISCARD or NOOVERWRITE flag when mapping a resource in DirectX 12). It also means API is again closer to the actual hardware. Thanks to all that, the usage of GPU can be optimized better by knowing all higher-level details about specific application on the engine level.
Question is: Will that make graphics programming more difficult? Yes, it will, but these days it will affect mostly a small group of programmers working directly on game engines or just passionate about this stuff (like myself) and not the rest of game developers. Similarly, there may be a concern about potential fragmentation. Time will show which API-s will be more successful than the others, but in case none of them will become standard across all platforms (Vulkan is a good candidate) and GPU/OS vendors succeed in convincing developers to use their platform-specific ones, it will also complicate life only for these engine developers. Successful games have to be multiplatform anyway and modern game engines do good job in hiding many of differences between platforms, so they can do the same with graphics.
Comments | #gpu #rendering #directx Share
# DirectX 12: What We Already Know?
Jun 2015
I am very excited about the upcoming DirectX 12. I have always been standing on the side of PC, Windows and DirectX. Currently I code in DirectX 11 on Windows 7 at home. Upcoming Windows 10 with free upgrade from version 7 and 8 (and the Start menu back on its place) looks like a good system. Together with it, a new version of DirectX will be released. Let us summarize general information about this new graphics API that are publicly available at the moment.
Here are some interesting links:
First and foremost: Direct3D 12 Graphics @ msdn.microsoft.com. Microsoft says "these information relate to pre-released product and may be substantially modified before it's commercially released", but you can already find there all Direct3D 12 Programming Guide and Reference, so basically the whole API is already public and you can start learning it.
Social Media:
General information:
Slides and videos from conferences:
Videos and screenshots from some working applications already shown:
Comments | #windows #directx Share
# Nothing Renders - Why?
May 2015
"I have a blank screen" or "nothing is rendered" is probably the most frequent bug in graphics programming. It's also quite hard to debug because there are many possible causes. Graphics pipeline is compilated, so there are multiple things that can be wrong at each stage. Few years ago I've written a short article about this, in Polish, titled Nic nie widać. This is translation of that article. It provides a list of questions you should ask yourself while considering the most frequent reasons for why nothing appears on the screen. It is dedicated for Direct3D 9, but it can also be applied to OpenGL (only some things are named differently) and, to some degree, to newer graphics API-s.
It's black
First of all, please clear your background to some color other than black, e.g. gray or blue. Maybe your geometry is rendered, but it is black. It is a frequent bug, especially if you have lighting enabled (and it is enabled by default) while you didn't setup any lights.
Are you sure you correctly setup all matrices - world, view and projection? Did you create them using correct functions? Is the camera located in the right place and looks in the desired direction? Maybe your object is in the same position as camera or behind the camera, which is pointing backward?
Is the size and position of your object correct? Is your object too close or too far from the camera, relative to the minimum and maximum Z value set in projection matrix? Isn't it too small to be visible?
Do all the calls to DirectX functions return a value meaning success? Do you even check that value? Please also launch "DirectX Control Panel", enable Debug Layer for your application and analyze Output for any error or warning messages.
Vertex Format
Do you use correct vertex format? Did you define a structure describing your vertex correctly and compatible with the FVF/vertex declaration that you use? Are all the fields in the correct order and of the right type? Do you tell DirectX what vertex format you want to use by calling SetFVF/SetVertexDeclaration before rendering?
Draw Call
Do you pass correct parameters to the rendering function? In the most basic case, all offsets should be 0 and "stride" is the size of your vertex structure, in bytes, like sizeof(SMyVertex). Do you pass correct number of primitives to render?
Do you fill your vertex and (optional) index buffer correctly? Do they have correct number of elements? Do you fill all of them? If you use transformed coordinates XYZRHW, the RHW component should be set to 1.0 and never to 0.0.
Alpha Channel
Maybe your geometry is totally transparent. Is the alpha channel set to maxium (1.0 or 0xFF, depending on type) and not to minimum in all of these: vertices, texture, material (only if you use lighting)?
Backface Culling
Maybe the triangles you want to render are ignored as "back facing" the camera, because they have wrong winding (clockwise or counterclockwise)? Try to disable backface culling to check that.
Did you setup blending on all texture stages correctly? Did you correctly setup all rest of the states of graphics pipeline? Maybe the problem appears only when you render some objects in a specific order? That means states set before rendering one object remain in the pipeline and break rendering of the next one.
Advanced Effects
If you use some advanced rendering features, your graphics card may not support them. Set reference software rasterizer during creation of the device object (D3DDEVTYPE_REF instead of HAL). Your program will run very slowly, but everything should be drawn as expected. Query device object for capabilities of your GPU (device caps).
If you use depth buffer, remember to clear it as well, together with backbuffer. In 3rd parameter of Clear function bitwise OR following flag: D3DCLEAR_ZBUFFER. Without it, you won't see anything on the screen or you will see artifacts. Value to clear Z-buffer to is 1.0f (not 0.0f).
Finally, there are ways you can actually debug how data and state look like on subsequent stages of the graphics pipeline while this bugged draw call is executed, using Graphics Diagnostics in Visual Sudio or other GPU debugging tool.
See also: How not to render 3D graphics: 40 ways to get a blank black screen
Comments | #directx #rendering Share
# DirectX 11 CheatSheet
Aug 2014
I've created several cheatsheets: about DXGI Formats, XNA Math, floats, color names in .NET and Direct3D 9. You can see it in Download/Misc. Today I discovered that I didn't publish my DirectX 11 CheatSheet that I've prepared 3 years ago! So here it is:
On 15 pages, you will find:
# Book Review: DirectX 11.1 Game Programming
Sep 2013
"DirectX 11.1 Game Programming" is a new book published by Packt Publishing, written by Pooya Eimandar. It introduces new features of DirectX 11.1 and some other technologies available for game developers when writing Metro-style apps for Windows 8. The book uses C++/CX - a new language based on C++, with the syntax somewhat similar to C++/CLI (the language is extended by managed pointer operator ^). But while C++/CLI is a .NET language (like C#), C++/CX is compiled to native code and the ^ pointer is just a convenient syntax for reference-counting smart pointer to a COM object. Math is done with DirectXMath library (the successor of XNA Math).
Each of the chapters describes several loosely coupled topics. Their flattened list looks like this:
I have mixed feelings about this book. Contrary to what title suggests and what the author claims inside ("By the end of this chapter, we are going to have a multithreaded game engine"), you obviously cannot learn game programming by reading just 146 pages. Especially as the book covers so many different topics. It looks like the author wanted to include everything what's fresh and sexy in Microsoft Windows 8 API-s. As a result, each example is kind of "Hello World" - the simplest possible application of the described technology.
But at the same time, the book is also not teaching 3D games programming from the start. It explains some selected basic concepts in more details (e.g. describes what vertex shader does, shows how rotation matrices look like, how to use constant, vertex and index buffer or shows a diagram of the graphics pipeline - 3 times actually :) but generally you should already know C++ and preferably DirectX 10/11 to make use of the knowledge from this book. It is more like an overview of "What's New" in Windows 8, DirectX 11-11.1 and new Visual Studio.
I think the biggest value of this book is the attached source code. Each chapter is accompanied by a complete C++/CX project that shows an application of the described technology and the text in the book is an overview of this code. So if you already know some game programming in C++ and DirectX 10/11, this book can be a good tutorial which will help you to start using latest Microsoft technologies and develop Windows 8 Metro-style games. Preface says "This book will help you easily create your own framework and build your first game for Metro Style all by yourself in order to publish it on the Windows Store." and that is true.
But whether this is worth doing, that's another question. Surely you can use DX 11 on 9- or 10-compatible hardware, using Feature Level, but you cannot use most of what this book describes below Windows 8, and many of these things also without buying Visual Studio Professional or higher. According to Steam Hardware & Software Survey: Auguest 2013, while 64.78% of gamers already have DirectX 11 capable system and GPU, only 15.41% of them have Windows 8 installed (and it's already a year since its release).
Now it's time for a contest. Packt has proposed to offer 3 digital copies of the book. All you need to do is head on over to the book page, look through the product description of the book and then drop a line via the comments below this post to let us know what interests you the most about this book. 3 best comments win!!! Deadline: The contest will close in 1 weeks time. Winners will be contacted by email, so be sure to use your real email address when you comment.
Comments | #books #competitions #reviews #directx Share
# CConstantBuffer, CTypedConstantBuffer
Jan 2013
DirectX 10 and 11 have new, redesigned API that has its pros and cons. One can say that it is now more clean and well organized, but on the other hand it requires more (or as those who code in higher-level languages than C++ or use existing game engines would say - *even more*) lines of code than old Direct3D 9. So I created classes that encapsulate some most typical boilerplate D3D11 code. Here is first one - CConstantBuffer, which handles constant buffer, required now to pass any uniform parameters to a shader.
class CConstantBuffer {
size_t bytesLength,
const void* initialData = nullptr,
bool immutable = false );
ID3D11Buffer* Buffer() { return m_Buffer.get(); }
void Update(const void* src);
void SetForVS(UINT slot);
// ...and so on for HS, DS, GS, PS, CS.
size_t m_Length;
unique_ptr<ID3D11Buffer, ReleaseDeleter> m_Buffer;


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My wife recounted to me a recent news story she had seen about a man in Daytona Beach, FL, who looked out the window and spotted a black bear in the hammock swing in the back yard! Here's a picture of the bear:
That news story and another one the other day about Smokey the Bear turning 70 this year made me think I ought to do a blog post about bears. First, there's a fun, short YouTube video about his birthday, and then I've posted two jokes that have bears in them.
Those of you reading this post in e-mail or in a blog reader might have to go to this blog post itself to see the video.
Click here to continue reading this post ⇒
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