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Java Scripts
Developing Java Test Scripts
1. Introduction
2. Setting Up Development Environment
3. Java Test Script Basics
4. Script Body Development
5. Optional Capabilities
6. Important Test Framework Objects
7. Java Test Scripts And TPR
8. Integration with 3rd Party Apps
1. Introduction
T-Plan Robot Enterprise features a programable Java API allowing to write test scripts in the Java language. Compared to the TPR scripting language this approach has numerous advantages such as:
- Enhanced scripting capabilities. Java syntax is much more complex and allows constructions which are not possible with the limited TPR scripting language.
- Ability to leverage functionality delivered by third-party Java libraries in the test code, for example, test data I/O with external sources such as relational DB (via JDBC), XML (using JAXP) or SAP (SAP JCo).
- Customization. As the API provides interfaces to T-Plan Robot internal components such as the remote desktop connection or scripting engine, it is possible to customize the tool behaviour.
- Easy integration with other test frameworks through Java native APIs and third-party libraries.
- Ability to design test scripts through integrated development environments (IDE) such as NetBeans or Eclipse. These tools are much more sophisticated in terms of helping the programmer to create Java code in an efficient manner.
Version 2.1 and 2.2 delivered additional functionality which allows integrating Java test scripts with the TPR scripting language in order to build hybrid test suites. This includes:
- Java test scripts may be embedded directly into regular test scripts in form of Java code blocks (since v2.1). This is intended to provide quick access to Java to create simple tasks where the scripting language lacks or is inefficient.
- Java test script classes may be instantiated and executed directly from regular test scripts using the Run command (since v.2.2). There's even a mechanism allowing to pass parameters to the Java code. This is a convenient way of extending the standard scripting language with custom functionality and/or integrating it with third-party applications and data sources.
This document is intended to provide basic information on how to write and execute Java test scripts and where to look for detailed information in the T-Plan Robot documentation.
2. Setting Up Development Environment
Though the Robot's script editor allows modifying the Java source code there's no advanced development functionality such as method hinting and debugging. That's why it is highly recommended to use a Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as NetBeans or Eclipse for Java development. Robot 3.0 supports work with these environments as follows:
- Robot's project folder is compatible with most IDEs. As the Java classes are placed into the src/ folder it is possible to create a project folder shared by Robot and the IDE.
- Robot automatically detects external script file updates on the GUI window activation (focus) and reloads the script editor unless there are unsaved code changes. This behaviour allows working on the same Java class or classes both in the IDE and in Robot.
- Java test scripts may be executed both from Robot (using the GUI controls or through the -r CLI option) or from the IDE (through the main() method).
- It is recommended to use Robot to create new Java test scripts and to generate the testing code through the GUI tools (Script Recorder, Code Templates, Command Wizard, ...). Use NetBeans for development of any other Java code.
The following instructions show how to set up a project shared between T-Plan Robot and NetBeans 6.9.
A. NetBeans Set Up
- Download and install NetBeans if you haven't done so.
- Start NetBeans.
- Create the project in NetBeans first. It will create a path like <project_home>/<project_name> which contains the src/ folder and the build.xml file.
- Select File->New Project in the menu.
- Highlight Java Application and click Next
- Enter a project name and select a folder to store the project to. You may optionally use the default Robot's project path (name=MyAutomation, folder=<user home>).
- Select Finish to create the project structure and configuration files.
- Right-click the MyAutomation node in the project tree and select Properties in the pop-up menu to open project configuration.
- Select Libraries in the configuration tree.
- Check that the Java Platform is JDK 1.6 or higher.
- Make sure that the Compile tab is selected and select the Add JAR/Folder button (note that the dialogue may be too wide and you may have to scroll to the right to make the button visible).
- Navigate to the T-Plan Robot installation folder and add all the JAR files listed in the Release Notes file table to the compile-time library list.
- Add any 3rd party libraries you are going to use.
- Select Libraries in the configuration tree.
- Select OK to save the changes.
NOTE: When using Eclipse and exporting a runnable jar file make sure to choose the "Extract required libraries into generated JAR" option under Library Handling. The Robot's plugin functionality will fail otherwise.
B. Robot Set-Up
- Start Robot.
- Make sure that Robot was either started with the java executable from a JDK installation or it is configured properly with the path to the JDK. See the Release Notes for instructions. A failure to configure the JDK access will make Robot to refuse support of Java test scripts later.
- To create a shared project:
- To create a new Robot project select File->New Project in the Robot GUI and choose the same project home and project name.
- To merge the NetBeans project with an already existing Robot project simply copy the project contents into the NetBeans project folder and then open the project through File->Open Project.
- Put any 3rd party Java libraries you are going to use on the Robot's classpath (into the -classpath option in the start command) or copy them to the plugins/ directory under the Robot install folder.
- Create a Java test script (see below). Open the same class in NetBeans and start developing the test code in both environments as needed.
3. Java Test Script Basics
A Java test script is a Java class which implements the com.tplan.robot.scripting.JavaTestScript interface. Most Java test scripts simply extend the com.tplan.robot.scripting.DefaultJavaTestScript class which implements the interface and provides a huge framework of automation methods. A new Java test script can be created in several ways:
- Through the New Test Script window in the Robot GUI (File->New Test Script).
- Through the conversion of a TPR test script into Java. See the Java Converter help topic. This way is suitable for those who migrate from the TPR format to Java.
- Manual creation in the IDE.
The most common way is to create test scripts in the New Test Script window. To open it select File->New Test Script in the Robot GUI or press Ctrl+N.
- Set the Test Script Type value to Java test script (*.java)
- Set the Test Script Name field to the desired Java class name. The window will suggest a unique default name such as Script<number>.
- Customize the Java Package in the Advanced Options if needed.
- It is recommended to leave on the Create the main() method flag because the method has to be added manually otherwise. Existence of the main() method allows executing the test script from the IDE.
- Leave the Script Paths options on the default values. These can be changed through the Paths tab any time later.
Closing the window with OK will create a test script as follows:
package scripts;
import com.tplan.robot.scripting.*;
import com.tplan.robot.*;
import java.io.*;
public class Script1 extends DefaultJavaTestScript {
public void test() {
try {
setTemplateDir(getVariableAsString( "_PROJECT_TEMPLATE_DIR" ));
setOutputDir(getVariableAsString( "_PROJECT_REPORT_UNIQUE_DIR" ));
report( new File( "results.xml" ), "" );
// Develop the automation code in here
} catch (StopRequestException ex) {
throw ex;
} catch (IOException ex) {
throw new IllegalStateException(ex);
public static void main(String args[]) {
Script1 script = new Script1();
ApplicationSupport robot = new ApplicationSupport();
AutomatedRunnable runnable = robot.createAutomatedRunnable(
script, "Script1@" + Integer.toHexString(script.hashCode()), args, System.out, false );
new Thread(runnable).start();
The following rules apply:
- The test() method serves as the test script entry point and it gets called when the script is executed. That's why the main script body must be placed inside the try-catch block of the test() method right after the report() method call. The class may, of course, define other methods or instantiate other classes and use them inside the test() method.
- As most DefaultJavaTestScript methods may throw an IOException the main script body must be enclosed in a try-catch block. It is recommended to rethrow any such exception wrapped in a RuntimeException instance, such as for example the IllegalStateException one. This makes Robot report the test script as failed and the exception is logged to the execution log. An alternative to this approach is to catch the exceptions and handle them in the script directly, for example, log an error through the log() method and exit() with an exit code > 0 when an exception is caught.
- The com.tplan.robot.scripting.StopRequestException is thrown by the DefaultJavaTestScript methods when the script stop is requested. That is why it should not be caught by the try-catch block to ensure that the script can be properly stopped. The class example above shows an alternative where the exception is caught and rethrown.
- The main() method is optional and may be removed. Java test scripts without this method can be executed just through the Robot CLI and GUI but not from the IDE.
If you for some reason can't extend the DefaultJavaTestScript class, an alternative approach is to make your class implement the JavaTestScript interface. Though this is sufficient for T-Plan Robot to execute such a test script, you won't have direct access to the DefaultJavaTestScript automation methods. A workaround is to create an instance of this class and call its methods from your code as follows:
import com.tplan.robot.scripting.*;
import com.tplan.robot.scripting.interpret.TestScriptInterpret;
import java.io.IOException;
public class MyCustomTest implements JavaTestScript {
ScriptingContext context;
TestScriptInterpret interpret;
public void setContext(ScriptingContext context) {
this.context = context;
public void setInterpret(TestScriptInterpret interpret) {
this.interpret = interpret;
public void test() {
try {
DefaultJavaTestScript defaultScript = new DefaultJavaTestScript();
setTemplateDir(getVariableAsString( "_PROJECT_TEMPLATE_DIR" ));
setOutputDir(getVariableAsString( "_PROJECT_REPORT_UNIQUE_DIR" ));
report( new File( "results.xml" ), "" );
// Develop the automation code in here
} catch (StopRequestException ex) {
throw ex;
} catch (IOException ex) {
throw new IllegalStateException(ex);
This principle can be used to instantiate and call any other test script. The only requirement is to initialize the test script instance context through setContext() before you start calling its methods. A Java test script can be executed in several ways:
- From the T-Plan Robot GUI. See the Executing Test Scripts help topic.
- Through the T-Plan Robot CLI. The Java source code (a .java file) can be specified as argument of the -r option.
- Through a call of the Run command from a TPR test script. This mechanism is described in the Java Test Scripts And TPR chapter.
- Test scripts having the main() method can be also executed as standalone Java programs either from the command line or from the IDE. It is required that the method creates automation runnable from a script instance through createAutomationRunnable() and runs it through a call of its run() method or starts it as a thread within a Thread class instance.
- The code employed by the main() method can be used to start Robot automated processes from any 3rd party Java applications. It can be also reused to start multiple automated processes in parallel, in a sequence or in a combination of both. For an example see the Program Level Execution And Load Testing topic in our online tutorial.
4. Script Body Development
To develop the test script body take advantage of the Robot's GUI tools described in the Script Editor help topic. Release 3.0 has made most of the GUI features to support Java the same way as the TPR format except for the ones listed below. These will be addressed gradually in the 3.x and 3.0.x update releases.
Not yet supported for Java test scripts.
Execute Selection (the ability to select a block of code and execute it)
Supported since the 3.1 release.
Supported since the 3.0.1 release.
There are no GUI components (property windows) allowing to create Java equivalents of the Var/Eval commands. One has to code them manually as getContext().setVariable() or one of the getContext().setVariableAs...() methods.
View Script Images(the ability to view component images used by a script in the Project View)
Not yet supported for Java test scripts.
5. Optional Capabilities
Java test scripts may optionally implement two listener interfaces compatible with the Fallback Procedures known from the TPR language:
Listener Interface
Declares methods to be called when a connection to the desktop is unexpectedly interrupted during script execution. This allows to set up a central point of I/O error handling and/or eventual custom connection recovery where the standard Connection Recovery mechanism can't be used.
Declares methods to be called when an image comparison performed through the compareTo(), waitFor() or screenshot() method fails. This allows to set up a central point of handling of comparison errors. For example, the script may rely on a large number of image comparison operations used to locate components on the screen to work with. Instead of testing the result of each comparison for failure the script may set up a central point of failure through this interface.
There's no need to register the class as a listener anywhere. A mere implementation of these interfaces by the test script class is sufficient to receive the specified events. Java test scripts may receive further information (events) through implementation of various listener interfaces across the test framework. The most important ones are:
Listener Interface
Receive events of the test script life cycle such as the execution start, stop, pause and regular completion.Test scripts implementing this interface may register from inside the test() method through getContext().getScriptManager().addScriptListener().
Test scripts implementing this interface may register through getContext().getVariables().addPropertyChangeListener() for events of context variable changes.
Receive events of actions performed by the local desktop client, such as sending of mouse and keyboard events to the desktop.Test scripts implementing this interface may register from inside the test() method through getContext().getClient().addClientListener().
Receive events from the remote desktop, such as desktop screen updates and changes of the remote clipboard.Test scripts implementing this interface may register from inside the test() method through getContext().getClient().addServerListener().
Receive events about the total/used/available number of licensed seats. This information can be used by test script schedulers to avoid starting of excessiveparallel scripts.Any Java class may register at any time through a call of the com.tplan.robot.ApplicationSupport.addLicenseListener() method.
Unlike TPR test scripts the Java ones may modify user preference values through the com.tplan.robot.preferences.UserConfiguration class. The following rules apply:
- Preferences may be modified from any place in the test script class. If the modification is performed in the main() method it must be after the ApplicationSupport is instantiated.
- As the user configuration is a shared object, a preference change will affect all existing test processes (executed scripts) as well as all test processes that will be started within the same Java instance after the change.
- To modify a preference you need to find out the preference key (name) and the expected value type. Preference keys and their default values are listed in the DefaultConfiguration.properties file. The preference keys and their expected values may be also obtained in a more user-friendly way through the Show Preference Details feature of the Preferences window.
- Null preference keys or values are not permitted. All the preference values are internally stored as String instances and non-String values are converted to strings using the US English formatting. The set- and get- methods perform the conversion automatically. For example, setString("preferenceName", "2") and setInteger("preferenceName", 2) are equivalent and set the preference to the value of 2.
- The framework does not check the preference value against the expected type in any way. If for example set a number preference to a value which is not a number, the preference will save correctly but the object relying on the value is likely to crash or throw an error. Make sure to understand what the value may be like; the Preferences window is the best way to find out.
There are two ways of setting a preference value:
- Direct setting through one of the UserConfiguration.getInstance().set...() methods. This way is persistent and the change may get saved to the user configuration file on the hard drive if any other process calls the UserConfiguration.saveConfiguration() method. As there is no synchronization mechanism preventing two independent Robot processes at the OS level from rewriting the user configuration file, setting of preference values in this way is not recommended for environments where there may be multiple Robot instances running under the same user account.
- Override setting. The preference framework maintains an override preference key-value map available through UserConfiguration.getInstance().getOverrideTable() which has higher priority than the preferences loaded from the configuration file. This map is valid just withing the single Java process and its values are not saved anywhere. This is a preferred way for test scripts.
The following example shows a test script executed through the main() method which wishes to maximize the Robot's GUI window on startup. The corresponding ui.mainframe.maximize preference can be found in the Menu & Tool Bar panel of the Preferences window labelled as "Maximize the GUI on startup".
import com.tplan.robot.preferences.UserConfiguration;
public class Script1 extends DefaultJavaTestScript {
public void test() {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Script1 script = new Script1();
ApplicationSupport robot = new ApplicationSupport();
UserConfiguration.getInstance().getOverrideTable().put( "ui.mainframe.maximize" , "true" );
AutomatedRunnable runnable = robot.createAutomatedRunnable(script, "javatest" , args, System.out, false );
new Thread(runnable).start();
The ability to modify preferences allows the test script to control many preference-driven features such as for example:
- Connection Recovery, Connection Pooling and Refresh Daemon described in the Desktop Viewer help topic,
- VNC session parameters such as the protocol version, pixel format, encodings or log level. See the RFB (VNC) 3.x Client panel in the Preferences window.
6. Important Test Framework Objects
T-Plan Robot Enterprise testing framework consists of a set of Java classes concentrated mostly under the com.tplan.robot.scripting package. Understanding their role will help you to develop better test scripts and customize the automation process. Test scripts are files consisting of automation command calls. Each command is handled through its own command handler. It is a class implementing the CommandHandler interface which defines the command syntax and what is to be done when the command is compiled or executed. Map of available command handlers is maintained by the script manager (see below). As command handlers are shared by the TPR language as well as the Java test scripts, adding of a command handler through the Plugin API will make it available for both script formats (in case of Java one has to call such custom commands using the generic runScriptCommand() method of DefaultJavaTestScript). As command handlers are in fact plugins, it is very easy to add new commands to the language without having to rebuild the whole product from the source code. Each test script is encapsulated in a test interpret. It is a class implementing the TestScriptInterpret interface which defines:
- How to display the test script code in the test script editor. As the interpret creates a StyledDocument for the editor, it may create any custom code styles and implement syntax highlighting.
- How to compile the test script code. Java test script interpret compiles the code through the javac Java compiler. The TPR script interpret on contrary doesn't really compile the code and it only checks that the code meets the required syntax.
- How to execute the test script code. When a user selects to execute a test script, the test framework in fact just calls the execute() method of the associated script interpret. There are also methods allowing to stop or pause script execution.
Test script interprets are pluggable objects implementing the TestScriptInterpret interface. This makes it eventually possible to implement a custom interpret and make T-Plan Robot support another language. Every time a script is compiled or executed, it gets associated with a unique instance of a script context. It is a map which serves as a storage for all necessary data related to the compilation or execution. It contains many important objects, such as the map of script variables, list of output objects (screenshots, warnings, logs, script/step results etc.), list of compilation errors and references to all important objects such as the test script interpret, desktop client, script manager, script parser and many more. For details see the ScriptingContext interface which defines keys to all objects which may appear in the context, as well as many convenient get- methods for the most frequently accessed ones. The Script Manager acts as the major hub for all objects participating in the testing framework. There's one script manager instance per each automated testing thread. The manager keeps track of all instantiated test script interprets and it also maintains the map of command handlers. It creates all scripting context instances and populates them with the default data (references to important objects and applicable default/implicit variables). Methods like addCommandListener() and addScriptListener() allow to register for various events fired during the test script life cycle. See the ScriptManager interface for more information. Desktop clients handle communication between T-Plan Robot and the connected desktop. Client classes implement the RemoteDesktopClient interface. Though they don't form part of the scripting framework, they play an important role in script execution. Clients are selected depending on the protocol specified in the connection URL. References to the currently used client are available through the context and script manager objects (getClient() method). If a script gets executed while a connection to a client already exists, the method provides access to the client. Otherwise, it returns null until a connection is established through the connect() method call.
7. Java Test Scripts And TPR
Java test scripts may be easily called from a script in the TPR format. Java test scripts belonging to the same project can be called from the TPR code right away through the Run command. Java classes bundled in a JAR file or located in another folder than the project Java home of <projectHome>/src must be first imported through the Include command. Let's imagine a simple project consisting of two test scripts, a Java one called Verify.java and a TPR one called TestFile.tpr:
The Java test script Verify.java verifies the existence of the file referenced by the "file" and sets the "exists" context variable to either "true" (file exists) or "false" (file doesn't exist):
package scripts;
import com.tplan.robot.scripting.*;
import com.tplan.robot.*;
import java.io.*;
public class Verify extends DefaultJavaTestScript {
public void test() {
try {
setVariable("exists", new File(getVariableAsString("file")).exists());
} catch (StopRequestException ex) {
throw ex;
} catch (Exception ex) {
throw new IllegalStateException(ex);
The TPR test script TestFile.tpr then calls the scripts. Verify class to check the existence of the C:\mydata.xls file and populates the report with the passed or failed test step depending on the result:
Var _REPORT_DIR="{_PROJECT_REPORT_UNIQUE_DIR}"
Var _TEMPLATE_DIR="{_PROJECT_TEMPLATE_DIR}"
Report "results.xml"
Var file="C:\mydata.xls"
Run scripts.Verify
if ("{exists}" == "true") {
Step "File existence" pass
} else {
Step "File existence" fail
Exit 1
The Run command call can be easily created and modified through its property dialogue. To open it simply right-click an empty line in the script editor and select Create a Command->Run in the context menu or right-click an existing Run command and select Properties.
The example also demonstrates how Java and TPR scripts can exchange data. The TPR script sets the "file" variable to the target file name and the Java code picks it up later. All variables visible to the TPR script are available to the Java code through the getVariableAs...() methods provided by the DefaultJavaTestScript class. The Java script may also create and/or rewrite the variables through the setVariable() method. Java test scripts which are not subclassing the DefaultJavaTestScript class may manipulate with variables through the same methods provided by the context object (context.getVariableAs...() and context.setVariable()).
There are two additional ways how a TPR script can pass parameters to a Java one:
- Undeclared Parameters,
- Declared Parameters.
To create an example with undeclared parameters simply replace
Var file="C:\mydata.xls"
Run scripts.Verify
Run scripts.Verify
The Run command accepts any number of
"name=value" parameters after the Java class name argument. As these values are internally converted to local variables there's no need to modify our Java test script. The only difference is that while the "file" variable used in the original example is global and it exists until the end of the script, the local variables exist just for the time of the Java test script execution and they are removed after the Run command finishes.
The Run property window supports editing of undeclared parameters through the dynamic parameter list at the bottom:
These parameters are called undeclared because they are not enforced or checked in any way. It is up to the user to specify the correct set of parameters and their values expected by the Java code. This approach has naturally many disadvantages. It is easy to make a mistake and omit a parameter or specify a wrong parameter value. It also requires the programmer to write good documentation of the parameters for each Java test script, especially where the target user is another person or team.
To address these disadvantages the Java test script may declare its parameters. This is done entirely on the Java test script side through the implementation of the ParametrizedTestScript interface (or eventually its parent ExtendedParamsObjectone). The interface methods make the test script expose its description (in short and long forms), the list of accepted parameter names and the list of Preference objects which encapsulate and describe each parameter. Don't get confused by the Preference class name - the support of test script parameters was built on top of the Preferences framework where a user preference value is in fact a parameter.
To make our
Verify.java example declares the
"file" parameter update the class in the IDE as follows:
package scripts;
import com.tplan.robot.preferences.Preference;
import com.tplan.robot.scripting.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
public class Verify extends DefaultJavaTestScript implements ParametrizedTestScript {
public void test() {
try {
setVariable("exists", new File(getVariableAsString("file")).exists());
} catch (StopRequestException ex) {
throw ex;
} catch (Exception ex) {
throw new IllegalStateException(ex);
public String getShortDescription() {
return "Verify existence of a file." ;
public String getLongDescription() {
return "Verify existence of a file in the local file system.\n"
+ "The file must be passed as the \"file\" parameter and must be absolute.";
// Return the "file" parameter name
public List getParameters() {
return Arrays.asList(new String[]{"file"});
// The "file" parameter is not "one of" -> return null
public List getParameterValues(String parameterName) {
return null ;
// For releases 3.5.1 and older this method is not used and may be left empty.
// Starting with release 3.5.2 it gets called with parameters retrieved
// from the property window when it is being closed with the OK button.
// This allows to post-process the parameters and
tweak them or even reject
// them before the command gets created.
public void setParameters(Map paramsAndValues) {
public List getVisualParameters() {
List l = new ArrayList();
Preference p = new Preference("file", Preference.TYPE_FILE, "File to verify", null);
// Make the parameter refuse empty value
// Make the parameter mandatory (the editor will refuse to close if it is empty)
return l;
The Run property window for such a test script then displays with the "file" parameter in the specified format and the GUI chooses the best editor component for its value depending on the declared parameter type. The
Preference.TYPE_FILE type is for example represented by an editable text field which may be optionally populated with a file from the local file system selected through the "..." button. As the parameter is declared as mandatory and it is set not to accept an empty value the property window will refuse to close unless the File to verify field is populated.
The Preference class supports the most common value types. There are also optional mechanisms allowing to check the values or customize the value editor component. For example, a number value may be checked against a minimum, a maximum or both.
This framework allows building well-encapsulated libraries of Java scripts that can be called both from Java and TPR test scripts. The scripts are not limited to automation tasks and the test() method may implement any custom feature such as for example database I/O through JDBC. From this point of view, the Java test scripts can be considered to be an alternative plugin interface for T-Plan Robot.
8. Integration With 3rd Party Apps
To integrate Robot with your Java application you may take advantage of the following Java system properties:
Set location of the librobot.dylib native library for Mac OS X. Set the property before the ApplicationSupport class gets instantiated.
Set the path or semicolon-separated paths of the license key(s). Set the property before the ApplicationSupport class gets instantiated.
Ignore the existing user configuration file at <userHome>/tplanrobot.cfg. Only the license key location will be extracted and applied.Set the property before the ApplicationSupport class gets instantiated.
Set the Robot's window size. It is typically used to prepare the window for the recording of demos. Set the property before the GUI is opened.


text:
About the Event - Cosmoprof Asia, the largest international beauty trade fair in Asia, is the ultimate annual destination in the Asia-Pacific for businesses and professionals in the beauty and personal care industry.
Event Details - Cosmoprof Asia 2016November 16-18, 2016Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
We'll be at Booth #3E-H3A - Stop by our booth and find out how the right spa and salon software can help your business thrive. Interested in a one-on-one session? Contact us to schedule a time to meet during the event.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
by Mark Nobes, chief editor
"Dirty Diana" was the fifth single to be lifted from the Jackson's Bad album and reached No.1 in the U.S. In the UK, the single entered the singles chart at No.14 on 10th July 1988, climbing to No.4 the following week for two weeks. During this time, Glenn Medeiros was at No.1 with Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You.
"Dirty Diana" was the album's fifth consecutive single to peak at number one on the U.S. Hot 100. Despite it's commercial success, I distinctly remember that the reviews from the critics of the day were rather mixed.
Billy Idol's guitarist Steve Stevens was hired by Jackson to play on the track.
The B-side of the 7 inch and 12 inch vinyl singles featured an instrumental version of the A-side. A 3 inch CD single was also released (remember them?) which also included a third track, the album version of "Dirty Diana". A CD maxi single was also released which featured "Bad" (Dance Extended Mix Includes False Fade) as track three instead.
The Bad album sold 500,000 units within the first five days in the UK and eventually sold 3.9 million units, achieving an incredible 13x Platinum.
It was originally thought that lyrics were written by Michael Jackson to make fun of his close friend Diana Ross. However, this was later denied, as were rumours that the song was about Princess Diana.
Guitarist Steve Stevens with Jackson on the rear sleeve. Stevens is still performing (as I write in 2022) and played on Billy Idol's The Roadside EP in 2021.
This video features Jackson performing "Dirty Diana" live in 1988


text:
CheetahBack to Villains Main > Cheetah
Real Identity: Barbara Ann Minerva
Affiliation(s): Injustice Gang I and Legion of Doom
Appearances: Injustice for all Part One, Part Two, Only a Dream Part One, Initiation, Kid's Stuff, I am Legion, Dead Reckoning, the Great Brain Robbery, Alive! and Destroyer
Powers: Half Human, half Cheetah, has the abilities of a Cheetah
Voiced By: Sheryl Lee Ralph
Cheetah was formally known as Barbara Ann Minerva, a genetic scientist. When she discovered she had a lack of funding for her projects, she used herself as a test subject and inherited the appearance and abilities of a Cheetah.
Barbara was seen as an outcast for her cat-like appearance. Assuming the identity of 'Cheetah', she turned to crime. Cheetah is a feline femme fatale who is scratching for a fight although inside she feels lonely.


text:
Times are increasingly tough right now, but we're finding music a small consolation as we isolate. It seems post-black metal collective Agvirre are doing the same, and we're thrilled that they reached out to us with this two-act playlist designed to inspire hope. Over to them…
"In these tough and bleak times, we have been feeling the lack of creativity and routine affecting our lives. Like many other musicians and artists out there, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay creative as we tumble further into uncertainty. Many people out there will be finding themselves struggling even more with their mental health, so it is important that we look after ourselves and each other, whilst maintaining government guidelines.
"Stay home, stay in touch with your friends and loved ones, and try and keep your brain active by finding little challenges throughout the day; exercise daily from home or within the government guidelines to keep the body and mind invigorated. It is also important that we find little ways to treat ourselves; indulging in those records, films and video games that we just didn't have the time to squeeze in before, perhaps even taking this opportunity to learn a new language, pick up an instrument or try out new recipes. Though we are limited physically by what we can do, our minds are still capable of achieving anything.
"Though undoubtedly some people are in worse situations than others right now, it is vital to take comfort in the fact that we are all in this together. Even on those days where we feel unable to do anything and feel useless, it's important that we don't feel bad about ourselves and stay hopeful that we can make it through this and someday soon see a brighter outlook and be able to go on new adventures.
Ant, Badger, Chris, Dan, David, Frenchie, Ricardo, Rich, Robin, Agvirre."
Life On Pause: Songs of Hope In Isolation
Act I – Isolation
American Football – Stay Home
Sufjan Stevens – Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)
Svalbard – Perspective
Opeth – Isolation Years
Dystopian Future Movies – Rules
Moby – Mistake
Oceansize – Music For a Nurse
Nothing – (Hope) is Just Another Word With a Hole in It
Cloud Nothings – Stay Useless
Smashing Pumpkins – Hummer
Emma Ruth Rundle – Real Big Sky
Radiohead – How to Disappear Completely
Nine Inch Nails – Every Day is Exactly the Same
Act II – Hope
Nine Inch Nails – We're in This Together
Hidden Mothers – The Longest Journey Yet
Common – The Light
Jesu – Lifeline
Nick Drake – One of These Things First
Deftones – Minerva
Jurassic 5 – Concrete Schoolyard
Fatboy Slim – Praise You
Mark Kozelek – Right Back Where We Started From
Bjork – All is Full of Love
Elliott Smith – Pretty (Ugly Before)
We Lost the Sea – A Gallant Gentleman
Lana Del Rey – Hope is a Dangerous Thing For a Woman Like Me to Have – But I Have It


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Yuji Naka interview by Nintendo Power (May 4, 2009)
From Sonic Retro
This is an interview conducted by Nintendo Power, with Yuji Naka. The scans of the interview can be found here.
The Interview
Nintendo Power: How did you first become involved in the video game industry?
Yuji Naka: I started at Sega. When I was a high school student, I worked for the company part time. I was porting games from one platform to another. Going back further, the reason I first got interested in computers was because my favorite musician was using them to make music. From there, I started coding games.
I really enjoyed porting games to new systems because I learned a lot that way. For a programmer, it was really challenging to port a game from a high-quality arcade machine to a lower-quality home console. I worked on [the Genesis version] of Ghouls n Ghosts, for instance, and I feel that prepared me to make Sonic the Hedgehog. The skills I developed working on ports are what enabled me to create new games. Probably the most difficult port I ever did, by the way, was the Master System version of Space Harrier. I remember that one being really tough. [Laughs]
Back then I was working on about three games per year. Now, it takes a lot more time than that to make just one game. [Laughs] In the 8-bit era, a developer could create a game in three months. I wish it were still like that. It allowed us to tackle a lot of different challengers. But now it takes about a year and a half. That equates to a much greater investment from the publisher, so you can't try as many different things. They'd rather play it safe with lots of sequels. Even when new hardware is introduced, you still see the same games. That's kind of boring to me. These days, before I even open the package, I already know what to expect from a game. That's why I wanted to make something like Let's Tap. When I was a child, I was always so excited to get a new game because I never knew I would find. I wanted to give that kind of feeling to players today.
Nintendo Power: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Yuji Naka: Hmmm...I don't really remember! [Laughs] Probably an astronaut. I really wanted to go into space. I wish I had known back then that if I entered NASA, I could realize that dream. My parents should have told me! Had I known, I might have studied harder. [Laughs]
Nintendo Power: You addressed this a little bit already regarding the longer development cycles, but how whould you say the video game industry has changed during the time you've been involved with it?
Yuji Naka: Previously, games didn't need to be realistic. Now a big part of a game's marketing is how realistic it is. Think of it like the difference between a novel and a movie. Games used to be like novels in that there was a lot of room for the player's imagination. With current games, everything is laid out for the player.
The biggest change for me, personally, over the past 25 years is that I'm no longer involved in hardware development. I used to work on the hardware side, and in those days, I was battling Nintendo! [Laughs] That's no longer the case, obviously. But for me, I think those hardware battles were more fun. [Laughs]
Nintendo Power: Why did you originally choose to work at Sega rather than some other publisher?
Yuji Naka: I wanted to go to Namco. [Laughs] But I didn't get very good grades in high school. That's why I didn't go to university. Back then, Sega and Taito were the only companies that would hire people without a university degree. So I chose Sega. [Laughs]
Nintendo Power: How are things different now that you're running your own independent studio? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages?
Yuji Naka: I don't really see any disadvantages. Initially, it was really hard putting together the team. That took a long time. But there are a lot of advantages. I feel a lot more freedom than I did recently at Sega. The way Prope is now feels really close to the old Sonic Team, when it was more independent. I really like that.
Nintendo Power: So it's sort of comparable to when Sonic Team was working on a lot of original properties like NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, etc.?
Yuji Naka: Yes. Back then we could develop those new intellectual properties with relatively small teams. But to create a Sonic game on the next-gen consoles, for instance, you need more and more developers. I wanted to get back to trying new ideas with smaller teams.
Nintendo Power: Quite a few developers in Japan have been setting up independent studios recently. Why do you think that is, and do you foresee that trend continuing?
Yuji Naka: I think a lot of famous creators have been doing it because they have had bad relationships with their previous company. But that wasn't my motivation. I still have a good relationship with Sega. I think what happens is that a lot of those famous creators get promoted until they can no longer actively work on whatever they want. I talked to Sega about this many times, and they offered me the opportunity to created a new company and work on new ideas independently. So I still have close ties with Sega. When I left the company, it was more like I graduated. The student received his diploma. [Laughs] The head of Sega told me that I could list "Sega Creative Fellow" on my business card.
Nintendo Power: What aspect of creating a video game do you enjoy the most?
Yuji Naka: After the concept stage, when you've actually solved the big problems and started working visually, that's the most exciting part for me. Also at that point, there's usually lots of really goofy-looking stuff in the game. I'd love to show it to players in that condition-it's usually really funny.
Nintendo Power: You've worked in many different roles in the game-development process over the course of your career-programmer, director, producer, etc. Which is your favorite?
Yuji Naka: I like programmer best. Even now, I would love to do more programming. But if I focused on that, people might think I'm neglecting the other aspects of my job. They'll ask, "What the heck are you doing?" [Laughs] But yeah, I definitely still get the itch to program. Actually, last year, Sega was working on porting Fist of the North Star from Master System to Virtual Console in Japan. The producer on the project came across a bug that he couldn't fix, so he asked me to help since I originally programmed that game. I was able to find the bug just by looking at the code onscreen. [Laughs] I really enjoyed that!
Nintendo: When you're stumped by a particularly difficult problem while developing a game, what's your process for working through it?
Yuji Naka: I'll try to do something different; maybe take a little time to enjoy one of my hobbies. My main hobby is circuit racing. I've been doing that for about 10 years. Most people play golf, but I like to race. [Laughs]
Nintendo: What kind of car do you race?
Yuji Naka: A Lotus Elise and a Ferrari 360 Spider. I've done about 20 Ferarri races this year. I think I'm the person who knows the most about cars in the games industry. [Laughs] When I look at a racing game, I usually have a lot of comments that I'd like to make. [Laughs] Most of the time, the way the cars handle isn't very realistic. I want developers who create racing games to spend a lot of time at the circuits.
Nintendo Power: Looking back at your career, which of your games are you most proud of?
Yuji Naka: Sonic the Hedgehog.
Nintendo Power: When you were working on the original Sonic, did you and your fellow team members have any idea that the character would go on to become such a huge phenomenon?
Yuji Naka: Actually, I did have a good feeling about it. But at the time, Sega of Japan wasn't so confident. There was one important person at Sega of America who was really interested in the game, though, so SoA worked pretty hard on the marketing campaign. That helped the game a lot. After that, I moved to Sega of America for a while.
Nintendo Power: Why do you think Sonic has struck a chord with so many gamers for so long?
Yuji Naka: I don't really know. That's why I was able to keep making Sonic games for such a long time, though, so I really appreciate it. And even though I'm at Prope now, I still get letters from kids about Sonic. That really motivates me to create better and better games.
Nintendo Power: How do you feel about long time rivals Mario and Sonic finally teaming up in a couple of recent titles? And have you taken the opportunity to lay the smackdown on Mario with Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl?
Yuji Naka: Actually, I was the person who asked Sakurai-san to include Sonic [in Super Smash Bros. Brawl]. I wanted to have Sonic in the previous Smash Bros., but there wasn't enough time. But yeah, I'm really happy about having both of gaming's leading characters together in one game. It's kind of like a movie in which the villian and the hero finally team up at the end. In Japan, there's a saying: "Yesterday's enemy, today's friend."
Nintendo Power: What other game or game creators do you admire or respect?
Yuji Naka: Miyamoto-san. I think he's the best developer in the world. His imagination and his way of thinking are amazing. I've learned a lot from him.
Nintendo Power: Whose works in other forms of media, such as film or literature, do you most admire or enjoy?
Yuji Naka: I love movies and stage shows. I particularly like Cirque du Soleil. As for my favorite directors, I would probably say Steven Spielberg. George Lucas, and Hayao Miyazaki.
Nintendo Power: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Yuji Naka: I would want to be a wizard. That way, I don't have to choose just one power! [Laughs] Sorry, I'm greedy.


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Men Untitled by Carolyn Drake, presents a new series of photographs exploring her relationship to myths of masculinity in American culture.
Following Knit Club (2012–2020), a subversive work about a community of women in rural Mississippi, Drake shifts her gaze in Men Untitled. In contrast to her previous work, her subjects are uprooted from their geographies. Erasing nearly all signs of place, Drake invites the viewer to look directly at the male bodies in front of her camera.
The subjects in Men Untitled appear nude or half-dressed, frozen in awkward poses, torsos twisted and bent, backward facing, wearing furniture, and even hung upside down. But they also appear to be at ease with—possibly even acting in collusion with—the artist.
Still-lives punctuate the portraits: an anatomical model of male genitalia perches on a velvet chair, a charred board of nails stands erect, and a formidable snake wraps itself around an empty window frame.
Playful on its surface, the work's underlying levity is brought to the fore in Drake's epilogue, which recounts a sequence of personal experiences that motivated the work.
Carolyn Drake was awarded the 2021 HCB Award by the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson to produce this series of photographs.
Printed in a limited edition of 1,500 copies. Signed copy.


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|Image Source
When it comes to her 10th, 16th, 18th, or 21st birthday, most parents will want to give their daughter something extra special. In a lot of cases, this will come in the form of grand gifts, signifying their passage onto the next stage of life. Of course, though, this time in their life isn't just about presents. Along with this, they are also building some very important memories, and you have a great chance to shape the way they play out. So, to help you out with this, this post will be exploring the elements you need to get your girl's ball off the ground.
The Venue: The location for your event will be one of the most important aspects of this project. Most little princesses will be too good to spend their birthday at home, and this will mean finding somewhere more suitable for their high standards. A castle, hall, or other grand building can be perfect. To do this correctly, though, you'll need to figure out the theme that your party will be following, too.
The Event Theme: The theme for your party will be very dependent on the person you're throwing it for. For example, if you have a daughter with a love for reading, a book-themed birthday could be perfect for them. Most kids will make it very easy to tell what they do and don't enjoy. Using this knowledge, you should be able to come up with a theme which not only inspires joy but also captures what your princess loves the most.
The Food & Drinks: With an event in mind and the location booked, you'll be ready to start tackling the food and drinks for the party. Like the theme, this should be based on what your daughter likes the most, but you also have to consider the other kids at the event. In most cases, it will be best to arrange a range of options, enabling everyone to choose what they'd like before they RSVP.
The People & Invites: Making sure that people are at your kid's birthday will take a little bit more planning. You will need to compile a list of the friends you child has, taking special efforts to include children who have invited your kid to their own special days. Normal paper won't be enough for a day like this, and some embossed cards or fancy digital invites can be used to make it more exciting. When you're doing this, you have to be very careful not to overbook the event your organizing.
As the last area to consider, a lot of people will struggle to have fun at their kid's birthday event. Of course, though, this doesn't matter, as this day for is for your daughter, and not for you. Keeping this in mind will make it a lot easier to create the perfect event for your little one. Along with this, you should make sure that they are able to get as much input into this part of their life as possible.


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The Elemental Planes of Order have been thrown into chaos! Thrust in the middle of a mystery of Celestial proportions, you must return to the Planes of Power to help restore balance to the Planes of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Accomplishing this will be no small feat, and you will need to make new allies such as Maelin Starpyre, the Grand Librarian of Myrist, who resides within the Plane of Knowledge, as well as learn the fate of infamous characters from Norrath's past by traveling to the Plane of Justice.
Along the way, you will gain new strengths and new abilities necessary for battling the ceaseless denizens of the Elemental Planes and the puppet master behind them! Will you defeat the gods who sit upon the Elemental Thrones? The future of the Planes depends upon you in Chaos Descending, EverQuest II's 15th expansion!
- Face the trials of the Elemental Planes with all new adventure, tradeskill, and public quests!
- Get ahead with new achievements, collections, and more.
- Conquer all new Solo, Heroic and Raid challenges, including a new contested Raid Dungeon!
- Mount Gear – Mounts can now be equipped with gear to bolster their rider's power!
- Mount Levels – For the first time your mounts can now level! They can level to 10.
- Ascension Levels – Ascend 5 levels to 20.
- Mercenary Levels – Gain another 10 levels, for a maximum of 20!


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Common Line Cutting
Common Line Cutting (CLC) is a nesting feature that can significantly increase your productivity without requiring changes to your hardware. This smart function allows several parts on a sheet to share a common cutting path to save processing time and material.
Whether it is for processing flat sheet metal or tubes and profiles: CLC is a standard that we supply with all our nesting software versions to help you get the most out of your innovative laser cutting system.
The increase in productivity is enormous and can be seen here.


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Another well-publicised case which allowed Joseph Rayner Stephens to pour more accusations of infamy on John S Stanley was that of Harriet Lang the wife of John Lang mechanic of Stalybridge. I have tried to summarise a very long letter below from Harriet Lang to the "Ashton Chronicle" in the 13 January 1849 edition.
She begins by describing that her widowed mother Ann Flinders had had to be admitted to the Workhouse on 31 December 1847, because Harriet could no longer afford to keep taking time off work to look after her sick mother, particularly since her husband had also been unemployed for quite a long time. She goes on to say that the staff at the Workhouse were very kind to her at first, allowing her to visit once a week and to wash and dress her mother's back. Harriet spoke particularly well of a Mrs Smith, the governess, but then describes how things changed very much for the worse when her mother had to be removed to the hospital. Apparently her mother had to be tied down because she was very restless and Mrs Ellis did not approve of Harriet visiting her mother. She was turned away several times and also refused permission to take her mother some tobacco. Her mother had smoked all her life and Harriet thought that being allowed to smoke might make her less restless, but Dr Wood and Mr Smith refused to allow it.
On Sunday 26th November 1848 Esther Lodge came from the hospital to tell Harriet that her mother had died and to hasten to the hospital because the body 'would not keep for long'. The following morning she went to the hospital with Beatrice Wood and Samuel Stansfield to measure the body for a coffin. Mrs Ellis refused to let them in saying that if they were going to bury the body themselves Harriet would also have to pay for her mother's upkeep at the hospital out of the burial club money she had been saving for her mother's funeral. Mrs Ellis became very rude and there was no moving her until the question of maintenance had been resolved. Apparently the hospital's preferred choice would have been to give Ann Flinders a pauper's burial and to keep the rest of the money for her keep during her stay. No progress was made and they were turned away promising to return when Mr Ellis was in.
They then went to see a Mr McCulloch? He agreed that they should have been let in to measure and remove the body, and that Mrs Ellis could at least have been civil to them. He gave Harriet a note to take back to the hospital. They went back in the evening and made the same request to Mr Ellis. He again said that if they were to bury the body themselves they would also have to pay for her upkeep at the rate of five shillings and threepence per week. Harriet insisted that this was impossible, but Mr Ellis then refused to issue a death certificate so Harriet would not be able to claim the burial money. Again they were turned away.
They went back later again in the evening when they knew that the Guardians sub-committee would be meeting and again requested Ann Flinder's body. This time they were refused by Mr Stanley, who insisted that the burial money was theirs and that they would make her pay. Harriet insisted that the burial club money had been saved solely for the purpose of meeting burial costs and not for payment of debts. Dr Wood tried to intervene and advised Harriet to come to some sort of terms reminding her of how very ill her mother had been (and by inference how very expensive). Harriet said she was perfectly aware of how ill her mother had been because she had nursed her herself for nine months until she could no longer do so. Again there was an impasse and Harriet had no alternative but to leave.
The next day, not knowing what to do she went to visit Mr Stephens to explain her plight who offered to help and intervene on her behalf. Later that evening at dusk they took a cart to the hospital to remove the body in accordance with a promise extracted from Mrs Ellis by Mr Stephens and Mr Corry. They struggled to remove the body not helped by anyone there. Just as they were leaving, with the body barely strapped down to the cart Mr Ellis was spotted coming up the street furious and stating that if he'd have been in it would have been a different story, but he knew he had lost. The neighbours shouted to them to keep the cart to the main street in case Mr Ellis showed his face again and tried to follow them.
Harriet Lang and Beatrice Wood were advised by Mr McCulloch to attend the next Guardian's meeting to advise them that her mother's body had been buried, but I don't think they had the courage for this since they went to Mr Corry's house to tell him instead.
Next I turned to the Minutes of that Guardians meeting on Thursday 14th December 1848. After the normal business of the meeting there was an item on the agenda to discuss the alleged cruelty of Mr Stanley in refusing to release Ann Flinder's body, and how to act in future if met with similar circumstances. There followed a letter from Mr Stanley where he expressed his sorrow for causing unneccessary grief to Mrs Lang and saying that he had never had the intention of refusing to release the body, but had only had the intention of delaying its release until Mr Ellis could establish the circumstances the following day.
At the second request the body had been allowed to be measured and Frank Higginbottom had been sent to Stalybridge to find out how much money was in the burial club and to see if the cost of the burial could be recouped by the Parish chargeable with the maintenance of the deceased. It transpired that the daughter was correct in asserting that she was entitled to the funds, since she had been paying into the fund on her mother's behalf.
The letter continued by saying that Mr Stanley had not allowed the corpse to be taken away before Tuesday evening because he did not think it fitting for it to be removed before a coffin had been prepared.
The Guardians also looked into Poor Law regulations to establish the facts:-
As to whether Mr Stanly had the power to refuse the body and whether he acted on his own or on behalf of the Committee. It was decided that any member when visting the Workhouse or Hospital only possessed the delegated authority of the Committee subject at all times to revision. No action of any official or member is legal unless sanctioned by the Committee as a whole.
Despite the above, John Strongitharm Stanley was re-elected to serve as a Guardian in the April 1849 elections for the Towns Division, West Ward with 692 votes. And, despite a further scathing article in "The Ashton Chronicle" in January 1849, he was also re-elected to serve as a Councillor at Ashton-under-Lyne's 1849 elections.
Gay J Oliver © 2002 - all rights reserved


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From Dapper To Lucid, Four Years Of Ubuntu Benchmarks
Last week we shared that we were benchmarking Ubuntu's current and past LTS releases and began by running graphics benchmarks looking at how the proprietary drivers from the past compare to open-source drivers from the present, but now we have our assortment of system benchmarks to publish from the Long-Term Support releases of Ubuntu 6.06.1, Ubuntu 8.04.4, and an Ubuntu 10.04 development snapshot. In this article, we are looking at how Ubuntu's performance has evolved over the past four years.
Like with our LTS graphics tests, we used an aging Lenovo ThinkPad T60 notebook with an Intel Core Duo T2400 processor, 1GB of system memory, an 80GB Hitachi HTS541080G9SA00, and a Mobility Radeon X1400 128MB graphics processor. Our assortment of benchmarks provided by the Phoronix Test Suite for comparing the three Ubuntu LTS releases to date included Apache, PostgreSQL, LZMA Compression, 7-Zip compression, Parallel BZIP2 compression, LAME MP3 encoding, FFmpeg, GnuPG, Gcrypt, OpenSSL, C-Ray, MAFFT, IOzone, Dbench, FS-Mark, GraphicsMagick, and Himeno.
To recap some important package versions for each of the Long-Term Support releases, Ubuntu 6.06 "Dapper Drake" shipped with the Linux 2.6.15 kernel, X.Org Server 7.0.0, xf86-video-vesa 1.0.1, Mesa 6.4.1, GCC 4.0.3, and ran atop an EXT3 file-system. The Linux 2.6.24 kernel, X.Org Server 18.104.22.168, xf86-video-ati 6.8.0, Mesa 7.0.3-rc2, GCC 4.2.4, and an EXT3 file-system powered Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron". For our Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" testing we were running the beta release with the Linux 2.6.32 kernel, X.Org Server 1.7.6, xf86-video-radeon 6.13.0, GCC 4.4.3, and an EXT4 file-system. Like is standard practice for these comparisons, each Ubuntu release was left with its default settings and packages. A clean installation was carried out for each release. The 32-bit versions of Ubuntu were used in each scenario as the original Core Duo is not 64-bit capable.
For those not familiar with Ubuntu's LTS releases, these Long-Term Support builds come every two years and are backed by Canonical with a longer period of support than the normal six-month Ubuntu releases. The LTS versions of Ubuntu receive three years of support on the desktop and five years for servers. In other words, once Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" is officially let go into the wild later this month, it will continue receiving maintenance / security updates on the desktop side until 2013 and for server installations all the way to 2015. Canonical also occasionally releases new re-spins of LTS versions, to incorporate these fixes, such as with Ubuntu 8.04.4 from earlier this year.


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Update: Jan. 22, 2015 - Knoxville-based Angel Capital Group announced it made an investment of undisclosed nature and magnitude in Fiveworx.-Ed.
FIVEWORX, the Knoxville-based spinout that helps Energy providers engage their customers in consuming less energy, now considers a capital raise among its options for financing growth, said CEO Patrick Hunt.
"We've bootstrapped it so far, but we have recently been in conversations exploring all financing options, including venture capital," Hunt said during an interview for this story, last week.
Fiveworx has "aggressive" near-term growth plans, including spending to develop more intellectual property, said Hunt, without elaborating.
Growth prospects are enhanced by the fact that its primary customers are energy providers, Hunt said. Also, the business gets a lift from the fact that Utilities in 31 states are mandated by their states' governments to help customers save energy, said Hunt.
Hunt offered no timeline or target for a capital raise or other financing. VTC research shows the company is chartered as a Delaware company and its profile has been established in CrunchBase.
Hunt confirmed that Fiveworx's advisors include attorneys with D.C.-based Squire Patton Boggs, and accountants with Hines and Company, of Knoxville.
Hunt declined to discuss the company's current ownership structure, revenue or related matters.
The chairman of the Fiveworx board of directors is Suzanne Shelton, who in 1991 founded Shelton Group. She has become a thought-leader in the sector and is the founder of Knoxville-based marketing communications, polling and analytical services provider Shelton Group, founded in 1991, according to information online.
Lee Ann Head, the Shelton Group's VP-research is a Fiveworx co-founder and board member, along with Suzanne Shelton and Hunt, he confirmed. Fiveworx currently has four fulltime employees and several part-time employees or contractors. Fiveworx became self-funding in January, after offering its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform nearly a year from within Shelton Group. Hunt was previously a VP with Shelton Group, according to his LinkedIn.
On Friday, Hunt participated in a Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) panel discussion on the state of Knoxville entrepreneurship.
There has been enormous entrepreneurial progress in the Knoxville, Hunt told the KEC audience, noting that "in the last ten years it's like night and day."
Even so, Hunt said Friday, raising capital is typically challenging for early-stage companies, anywhere. "There are always a hundred reasons not to invest, but only a few reasons to invest," he added.
One of Hunt's fellow panelists, Mary Shaffer Gill, a VP with renewable energy-oriented ARiES Energy, added that she believes the Knoxville investor community remains excessively risk-averse. In addition, among his other comments, panelist Tom Ballard of PYA Analytics cautioned that Knoxville companies hoping to get funding from venture capital firms and others in Nashville will find that Music City venture capital firms and others are similarly challenged in pursuing that city's own investment opportunities, said Ballard. Related stories here.
Fiveworx's platform offering incorporates CoNNECT citizen-engagement technology that it has licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
In a joint release with ORNL last summer, the parties said, in part, "Fiveworx will use CoNNECT to power its business intelligence platform, allowing utility program administrators and business analysts to make better decisions about resource allocation and marketing of energy efficiency, demand-side management, and demand response programs. Additionally, Fiveworx will use the technology to enhance its existing customer-facing application to include new features such as peer comparisons and to integrate data from CoNNECT into its marketing automation platform."
The Fiveworx brand was derived from analysis of Shelton Group research findings showing that consumers typically must engage in five or more energy-saving behavioral changes or intentional actions to generate a critical mass of savings that will, in turn, encourage continual use of such improvements.
Fiveworx is participating in the 2014-15 LaunchTN master-accelerator program, The TENN. It was previously chosen to present in this year's Southland startup conference in Nashville. And, in 2013, it was a Southeast regional semifinalist in the CleanTech Open pitch competition.
The KEC panel on Friday was moderated by Carly Harrington, a journalist with the Knoxville News Sentinel. The panel also included Chuck Morris of Morris Creative Group. VTC
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Beware harsh court filing deadlines
Beware harsh court filing deadlines
Court filing deadlines often can be harsh and inflexible, including for filing criminal and civil notices of appeal.
It is best to meet court deadlines well ahead of time to avoid cold sweats when the court is closed due to inclement weather on the last day to file an appeal notice, over whether a court will agree to extend a deadline, and over damage to a client when the deadline is not extended.
What should a lawyer do if s/he has only been hired for the trial and not for an appeal, and where the client calls the lawyer one hour before the deadline to file an appeal notice? What about when, in addition, the client has not provided the court's appeal notice filing fee?
At minimum, it is a good idea to get the client, shortly after trial, a detailed letter about the client's appeal rights, and a fully completed notice of appeal (with instructions for filing and completing it) that leaves a signature line for the client, with a confirmation (where appropriate) that providing the appeal notice form does not mean one way or the other whether the lawyer is advising appealing.
Today, the D.C. Circuit confirmed — as do many courts over time — the landmines of missing appeal notice deadlines, even, in this instance, where the case was sealed and thus was without easy case status updates to the parties. In re Sealed Case (Bowles), ___ F.3d ___ (D.C. Cir., Oct. 22, 2010).


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Herewith, my humble contribution to a wonderful cinephilia-friendly cause, the third For The Love Of Film Blogathon, proceeds from which will help finance a restoration of a worthy film in which the maestro had an early-career involvement. Please see the bloggers cited in the logo below, and/or look at today's piece by my friend Self Styled Siren. And click here to make what will be a much appreciated and worthwhile donation.
I cannot find the exact citation, unfortunately, but I recall reading back in the '90s a magazine story chronicling the making of director Gus Van Sant's ostensibly shot-by-shot recreation of Psycho, and said piece containing many quotes from the participating actors in which they justified/rationalized their participation in the project, which, depending on who you were talking to was either a senseless kockamamie scheme or some kind of conceptual coup. And I remember William H. Macy, who was playing the part of Arbogast that had been originated by Martin Balsam, opining that one good reason, for him, to get on board with what many might consider a desecration was to get some kind of payback with respect to Hitchcock, because Macy didn't like that thing Hitchcock said about actors, that they were "cattle." And I read this, and I sighed. Because Macy is a soulful and not unintelligent man, and his misbegotten notion that Hitchcock was somehow the enemy of actors is unfortunate. And, I guess, very hard to kill.
The Hitchcock of 1939, anticipating a trip from Great Britain to Hollywood, in an interview in Film Weekly (reprinted in the invaluable Sidney Gottlieb-edited compilation Hitchcock on Hitchcock), revealed not just a great enthusiasm for American stars, but (and this shouldn't really come as a surprise) an acute sensitivity with respect to both particular abilities and potential. On Gary Cooper: "[He] has that rare faculty of being able to rivet the attention of an audience while he does nothing." Andre De Toth saw this in Cooper too, although he did not articulate it in quite the same way. On Carole Lombard: "I should like to cast [her] not in the type of superficial comedy which she so often plays but in a much more meaty comedy-drama,giving her plenty of scope for characterization." Once in Hollywood, Hitchcock and Lombard became friends. And they collaborated, on Mr. And Mrs. Smith, a 1941 divorce comedy that Hitchcock, in one of his legendary interviews with François Truffaut, kind of pooh-poohed: "That picture was done as a friendly gesture to [...] Lombard...I didn't really understand the type of people portrayed in the film, all I did was photograph the scenes as written." It was on the set of this picture that Lombard played the famous practical joke in which she built a mini-corral on the set and stocked it with three pieces of livestock tagged with the names of the film's three principal players.
Hitchcock's retrospective disconnection from Mr. And Mrs. Smith, juxtaposed with his previously stated eagerness to push Carole Lombard's performance envelope, suggests several questions, the most obvious being "What happened?" Well, it's entirely possible that nothing happened. That while Hitchcock's observations concerning the various actors were sharp and truly meant, his stated desire to remold them in certain ways was little more than public-relations bluster/diplomacy.On the other hand, the fact is that Hitchcock did approach Gary Cooper for the lead in Foreign Correspondent, and Cooper turned it down, which he (Cooper) later regretted. But whether or not Hitchcock's creative struggles with David O. Selznick during the making of Rebecca made the director subsequently dig in his heels harder with respect to hermetically sealing his creative process in the future, it's difficult to argue against the notion that the actor had a very specific and kind of immovable secondary place in Hitchcock's creative process. But it's also incorrect to translate this into an attitude of actual hostility. In his autobiography, Elia Kazan goes over the ways that different directors handle/respond to actors. His view: "Hitchcock told his screen stories as much as possible without help from his actors' performances. When Cary Grant, going into a film, asked him how he should play his part, Hitchcock answered, 'Just do what you always do.' Hitchcock relied on his camera angles and his montage [...] to do what on stage we relied on the actors for." Note the neutrality of Kazan's description; recall also Hitchcock's observation on Gary Cooper's ability to resonate while doing "nothing;" juxtapose with the theory behind the Kuleshov effect; and there's all the more reason to regret that Cooper and Hitchcock never got together.
Of course, Hitchcock made no bones or apologies for the fact that he considered shooting to be the most boring part of making a film. His pre-production work was the process by which he developed the movie in his head and assembled the means by which it could be materialized. So the actual shooting became a mechanical process, not unlike stuffing sausage casings. You could understand why an actor who was savvy to this attitude might build a resentment toward this. You can also understand how one actor might take "Just do what you always do" as a compliment and sign of respect, or as an insult. Until the period when he was getting all weird with his leading ladies, Hitchcock's expectation of a performer was that he or she would bring their best abilities and have whatever homework they felt they needed to do, done. Various acting methods and the work of directors like, well, Kazan, brought a notion of a more active collaboration between actor and director to the fore. The actor would not be playing a role in someone else's motion picture but creating a character/characterization, and hence the actor's notion of what was proper for the picture was to be taken rather seriously. This kind of idea, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say, was anathema to Hitchcock, who was only concerned with filming what HE saw. Here's how he describes (to Truffaut) his difficulty with Paul Newman during the filming of 1966's Torn Curtain, discussing a scene that was ultimately cut from the film: "As you know, he's a 'method' actor, and he found it hard to just give me one of those neutral looks I needed to cut from his point of view. Instead of looking toward Gromek's brother, toward the knife or the sausage, he played the scene in the 'method' style, with emotion, and he was always turning away." If we look at the camera as a pen, then here we can see Newman as runny ink. Martin Scorsese can be seen as having, in some ways, synthesizing Kazan's sympathy for actors with Hitchcock's plastic storytelling style. Talking about working with Newman some twenty years after Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, for 1986's The Color of Money, he recalls (in the Faber and Faber book Scorsese on Scorsese): "Paul [is the] kind of actor who doesn't like to improvise that much on the set, so [...] everything was rehearsed beforehand. We did it the way he suggested, which was to take two complete weeks and just work out with the actors in a loft. I was really nervous, because it was like the theater [...] So when he said, 'What you do is take a tape and mark out an area for a chair; then you tape out an area for a bed,' I could foresee those terrible theater things when people pretend a door is there, which I hate. I said, 'What if we use a real chair?' 'A chair is good,' he said, to my relief."
While we cannot imagine Hitchcock in such a situation getting anywhere near to, let alone beyond "just work out with the actors in a loft," we shouldn't, by the same token, beat his ghost or his films over the head with some conception that he, and they, are anti-human-performer. That's a rap more applicable to, say, Michael Bay.


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Chemical Peel Myths Part 2
Myth #4 If you don't feel it, it's not working
Everyone's skin is different, some will feel a lot of activity when the solution is applied while others will feel nothing. Sensation is not an indicator of the product working but rather how your skin uniquely responds to the peel solution. The amount of visible skin shedding also differs from treatment to treatment. Sometimes peeling will not be visible to the naked eye but cell turn over is still occurring. Depending on factors such as the amount of dead skin, skin thickness or acid type peeling can look like light peeling after a sunburn or like a pencil eraser.
Myth #5 One peel will fix all my skin's problems
While you will notice your skin looks brighter and more hydrated immediately after a peel, to receive the best results it is suggested that you come in for regular peels spaced 2-4 weeks apart. Peels are amazing for correcting texture, scarring, acne, and hyperpigmentation but they are not a one and done treatment. It took time for your skin to develop these conditions, it will take time to correct them as well. Using the right products for your skin at home will accelerate the benefits of your professional treatments.
Myth #6 People with dark skin can't get peels
Those with dark skin can absolutely benefit from the brightening, healing and anti-aging benefits of chemical peels, however, there are more precautions taken with darker skin types because of the possibility of worsening hyperpigmentation or creating areas of hypopigmentation. With dark skin it is imperative that the skin is prepped for weeks before the treatment, conditioning the skin with professional products at home increases the opportunity for great results. As with every chemical peel service, a good esthetician closely monitors activity level, redness and other signs of irritation during the treatment. The only time when chemical peels would not be recommended for those with dark skin is if they have a history of keloid scarring. As a chemical peel is creating a controlled wound to stimulate cell renewal there is an increased risk of keloid scarring in those who are prone to raised scars.


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Near the sparkling waters of Clear Lake lies the golf course community of South Shore Harbour. Home to more than 750 houses and town homes, this gated community has a resort-style, high quality-of-life environment that boasts a 27-hole golf course, local marina, fitness center, hotel and convention center, and numerous recreational activities.
The South Shore Harbour Community Association (SSHCA) is the homeowners corporation governing the shared assets of the community, including landscaping, pool, park with playground equipment, tennis and basketball courts, an event pavilion, and more. The community association holds its public meetings on the second Tuesday of the each month.


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Bitcoin surges to new highs, analysts warn about price sustainability
Bitcoin soared to yet another record high on Wednesday, a day after the virtual currency vaulted to the $50,000 hurdle, even as analysts warned against the sustainability of such prices amid elevated volatility.
New York
The world's biggest digital currency, which has a market capitalization of over $900 billion, hit a record $51,721.15, fueled by signs that it is winning acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, such as Tesla, Mastercard and BNY Mellon.
Bitcoin was last up 3.68% at $50,990.6. Despite the flurry of mainstream acceptance this year, some analysts warned that bitcoin was still far from becoming a widely used form of payment.
"Bitcoin presently is not an efficient manner for high-volume transacting, and it is certainly not a store of value as its price volatility at 80% is a dozen times higher than the euro and sevenfold of the Russian rouble," said Harley Bassman, managing partner at Simplify Asset Management. "That said, it is a perfectly legitimate speculative asset, quite similar to Dutch tulips in 1636. Will it meet the same fate? That is unclear. As such, size your risk appropriately."
Dutch tulips in the 1600s reached extraordinarily high levels before dramatically collapsing in 1637. Bitcoin has risen eightfold since last March and has added more than $700 billion in market value since September. JPMorgan questioned the "magnitude" of the jump on the back of a total flow of just $11 billion from institutional investors.
Bitcoin's limited supply - based on "miners" producing a set number of new coins - has led to holders charging a premium on bitcoin coming to market, JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Retail flows may have also magnified institutional flows, they said. "We've closely watched the clear supply-demand imbalance over the past couple of months as there has been a significant uptick in institutional interest," said Brian Melville, director of strategy at Cumberland, the crypto arm of Chicago trading firm DRW.
BlackRock's chief of global fixed income, Rick Rieder, told CNBC on Wednesday the world's largest asset manager has started to "dabble a bit" in bitcoin. Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of hedge fund SkyBridge Capital and former communications director under the Donald Trump administration, also told CNBC in Wednesday he sees bitcoin hitting $100,000 per unit before the year ends, citing supply and demand. SkyBridge is also invested in bitcoin.
Currently, around 78% of issued bitcoins are either lost or being held with very little intent to sell. This leaves less than 4 million bitcoins to be shared among future market entrants - including large institutional investors such as PayPal, Square, S&P 500 companies, and exchange traded funds, blockchain data provider Glassnode said. Still, bitcoin's prices aren't sustainable unless its volatile price swings cool down quickly, said the JPMorgan analysts, who last month flagged bitcoin's emergence as digital gold.
"Bitcoin, at current market prices, has already more than doubled relative to gold in risk capital terms," they said, pointing to the digital coin's three-month realized volatility, at 87% versus 16% for gold. Separately, U.S. broker Wedbush said it sees less than 5% of public companies heading down the bitcoin investment path in the next 12 to 18 months.
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Visible from I-526 on Leeds Avenue. Above busy Dorchester Road. Tucked into trees just off College Park. The face of Gayle McCaffrey is now on eight electronic billboards throughout the Lowcountry as a reminder that the West Ashley mother of two is still missing.
The search for McCaffrey is now getting help from a missing persons organization that has been utilized in other high profile disappearances in South Carolina in the past.
Officials from Community United Effort (CUE) said they will be assisting the Charleston County Sheriff's Office on the case.
"She's been missing now for five months and you've got to keep her name out there," said Vicki Porter, who is a representative with CUE.
Porter says the more people make a visual connection to McCaffrey on the billboards, donated by Adams Outdoors, the better the chances someone may remember something important to the case.
"We're hoping to get new leads," said Porter. "Somebody knows something. Somebody knows where Gayle is located. We're just looking for more information to help bring awareness and her family resolution in this case."
Porter was assigned to McCaffrey's case last month and has been in constant contact with McCaffrey's sister, Helen Banach, to get the billboards up.
"It's such a boost to know that there's someone else out there that's willing to help," said Banach.
Banach says McCaffrey's daughter has now permanently moved into her home and is enrolled in a new school. The missing woman's sister says everyday Gayle isn't found it gets harder to explain her disappearance to her children.
"The police keep telling us that there's no such thing as a perfect murder which means somebody out there knows something," said Banach.
The CUE organization and the Charleston County Sheriff's Office have worked together on searches for Brittanee Drexel, who disappeared from the Myrtle Beach strip in 2009, and Crystal Gail Soles, who went missing in Andrews in 2005.
Volunteers from the CUE organization searched for both women on horseback, ATVs and on foot in areas near their disappearances. Porter says after talking to the CCSO, they are prepared to do the same in Charleston.
However as of now, Deputies say there are "no additional searches are currently planned as a result of the meeting with CUE representatives. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office and CUE will continue to evaluate the case and will work collectively should additional information develop in the search for Gayle McCaffrey."
McCaffrey has been missing since March 18. Deputies have named her husband, Bob McCaffrey, as the prime suspect in her disappearance.
EDITOR'S NOTE: CUE is working to correct inacurracies on the billboards regarding a local phone number for tips and the mispelling of McCaffrey's last name. The correct local number to dial for tips is 202-1700.
Source: http://www.live5news.com/story/19313021/high-profile-missing-persons-organization-to-join-mccaffrey-case If you, or someone you know, have any information regarding any crime, you are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers. You could earn a reward up to $1,000.
Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 554-1111, toll free at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or online at www.5541111.com. Texters can send anonymous tips to CRIMES (274637), and mark the beginning of the message with "TIPCSL". Text STOP to 274637 to cancel. Text HELP to 274637 for help. Msg&Data Rates May Apply.


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Turkey on the Run draws 700 participants
By Steve Maher
WENATCHEE — About 700 runners and walkers laced up their shoes Thursday morning for Turkey on the Run, and in the process easily set a new participation record for the annual Thanksgiving Day event.
The previous mark was established a year ago when 400 participants finished the event's 5K and 12K races.
There were plenty of reasons to take part in the fifth-annual running of the race, chief among them nice late fall weather and the chance to support a good cause, the Women's Resource Center of NCW.
Shortly after the start at Rotary Park, a steady stream of runners could be seen stretching for blocks along Western Avenue.
"Things went way beyond our expectations," said Joel Rhyner, race director and a partner in RunWenatchee, which organizes the race. "We knew going in that registration numbers were way up, but we had no idea we would get this sort of turnout. The weather was fantastic, and people like helping out a charity. I think they also really enjoy this course and the variety it offers — the terrain, the views, the neighborhood feel. It's become a holiday tradition in Wenatchee."
Marcell McArthur, 38, of Wenatchee, cruised to the men's 12K championship in a time of 45:23, with Drew VanPolen, 17, second in 46:28. Leavenworth's Marlene Farrell, 37, captured the women's 12K in 47.34. Selina Danko, 43, came in second in 51.29.
In the 5K race, Wenatchee's John Dunley, 18, collected the men's title in 19:33, edging out Cole Christman, 16, 19:34, and Austen Lane, 15, 19:35. On the women's side, Wenatchee's Emily Nordt, 18, clocked 20.55 to come out on top. Meghan Johnson, 16, was second in 24:06.
From Rotary Park, 12K runners traverse Western Avenue, Springwater Avenue, Woodward Drive, Fifth Street, before reaching the end of Number One Canyon Road, and then returning to the park. The 5K course follows the 12K course except participants turn around at Woodward and Fifth and return to the park.
For complete results, please click here.
This year's race drew participants from around the state — many here in town for the holiday — and as far away as Texas.
Turkey on the Run had just 100 runners and walkers its first year. But it has grown significantly the past couple years, from 220 in 2010 to 400 in 2011 and finally to the 700 who showed up Thursday. That was the number who participated. The number who registered was slightly higher.
"We want to continue to get better," Rhyner said. "We had great weather this year but we've had cold years and people still showed up. It's really a reflection of the people in the valley here. People love getting out here. And they love raising money for a great cause."
This year's event also showcased 25 local elementary school girls who are part of the national Girls on the Run program, which aims to boost the self-esteem and fitness level of girls. Each of the girls were accompanied by an adult running buddy and each successfully completed their first-ever 5K. The program is overseen by Marlen Mendez of Columbia Valley Community Health in Wenatchee.
Along the course, spectators were spotted cheering the girls on.
"They had a ball," said Michele Rhyner, who also helps organize Turkey on the Run.
Presenting sponsors this year were Black Diamond Sports Therapy and SET Coaching. Team Reliv also served as a sponsor, providing energy drink. Two other local businesses, Wenatchee Valley Medical Center and Libke Insurance, helped pick up the costs of the Girls on the Run program.
Steve Maher is a partner in RunWenatchee, along with Joel and Michele Rhyner.


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By BRIAN POND Scenario: You are tasked with teaching an emergency medical services (EMS) drill on splinting to your crew. As you attempt to devise scenarios for the training, you ask yourself, "How am I going to get the crew to take this seriously? What if they get bored? Will the training be effective?" These thoughts can be intimidating for any instructor; it's a challenge all instructors face. However, there are ways you can increase the effectiveness of EMS training. Sometimes, all it takes is a little thinking outside the box. (1-6) Crews from Standish (ME) Fire/EMS perform the traction splinting drill. (Photos courtesy of author.)
Wheeled Coach Appoints Feld Fire as Authorized Dealer for KS
Wheeled Coach® announces that Feld Fire will represent Wheeled Coach in Kansas for sales, service and warranty.


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Pittsburgh 360: Second Chance, Fancy Cats & Past 360 Highlights
In this episode, Pittsburgh 360 takes a look at the Shelton Trade Center, a school that is teaching the masonry trade and building skills for both the workforce and life. Also, contributor Dave Crawley visits the Western Pennsylvania Cat Fanciers show in Canonsburg and viewers will see their favorite stories featured in a look back at some of the best stories featured on Pittsburgh 360.
Pittsburgh 360: Second Chance, Fancy Cats & Past 360 Highlights aired on Mar 10, 2011.
View more from WQED
Series: Pittsburgh 360
We celebrate 45 years of dance and history with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and travel back to the 50's to do some duck pin bowling. We'll also join the Bricolage Production Company for their 10th installment of Bricolage Urban Scrawl before meeting a young African American man who is looking to make his mark in the world of dance by starting his own dance company.
Original airdate: Apr 21, 2015
The animal kingdom is the focus of this episode. We'll introduce you to a doctor at the National Aviary who is using human medical techniques to develop treatments for birds, a veterinarian who's made a safe haven for big cats and a group of volunteers who have made looking after the regions feral cat population their mission.
Original airdate: Apr 02, 2015
In this episode we bring you stories of organ donors and the people whose lives they saved. First, the story of a young man whose tragic passing saved the life of five others. Then a story on the need for African American bone marrow donors, followed by the efforts by a group of Transplant Guardian Angels at UPMC who help ease the anxiety of transplant patients and their families.
Original airdate: Mar 19, 2015
We focus on the contributions of African Americans to our history and our future. Find out what people in the region are doing to celebrate the work of playwright August Wilson, then learn more about those who marched for their right to vote. We'll meet a man who crossed racial lines in sports in 1950 and how he's making a difference in Pittsburgh today before getting a look at an exhibit at the City-County Building aimed at honoring those who are paving the way for future generations.
Original airdate: Feb 26, 2015
In this episode, we focus on artists. First, we'll meet a man who is using his passion for art to pay tribute to his hometown of Braddock. Then we'll hear the soulful sound of local singer and songwriter Bridgette Perdue before getting a lesson in improvisational dance from Gia Cacalano. We'll introduce you to this gifted dancer who now heads not one but two local dance companies.
Original airdate: Feb 19, 2015
This episode of Pittsburgh 360 is all about education and the inventive ways in which educators are using technology to change the way students are learning. We begin at Elizabeth Forward Middle School where students are using tools like laser engravers and 3D printers in the classroom. Then we'll go to a school in Butler County where students are advancing their skills in math, science and more through gaming. Finally, we get the look at the learning trend of digital badging.
Original airdate: Jan 29, 2015


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