text:
The Screwed Millennial Generation Gets Smart
This article first appeared at The Daily Beast.
It turns out that kids today want the same thing their parents did—a home of their own that they can afford to raise a family in.
It's been seven years since I wrote about "the screwed generation." The story told has since become familiar: Millennials, then largely in their twenties, faced a future of limited economic opportunity, lower incomes, and too few permanent, high-paying jobs; of soaring college debt and structural insecurity (PDF). The Census Bureau estimates that, even when working full-time, they earn $2000 less than the same age group made in 1980 (PDF). More than 20 percent of people 18 to 34 live in poverty, up from 14 percent in 1980 (PDF).
Incredibly, many pundits applauded these conditions and credited millennials, forced by economic circumstances into difficult choices, for fulfilling the old boomer dreams that the boomers themselves had long since abandoned of a less materialistic, greener future in dense and heavily planned urban environments.
The environmental magazine Grist envisioned "a hero generation" that will escape the material trap of suburban living and work that engulfed their parents. "We know the financial odds are stacked against us, and instead of trying to beat them, we'd rather give the finger to the whole rigged system," the millennial author concludes. An editor at the same magazine declared herself a part of the GINK generation (as in "green inclinations, no kids") that she said meant not only a relatively care-free and low-cost adult life, but also "a lot of green good that comes from bringing fewer beings onto a polluted and crowded planet."
It has been often asserted that millennials (defined as the generation born between 1982 and 2002) do not want to buy homes or live in suburbia; Fast Company, saw this as "an evolution of consciousness." The Guardian declares that millennials are refusing to accept "the economic status quo" while Wall Street looked forward to profiting from the idea that millennials will be satisfied to live within a "rentership society" (PDF).
But millennials, as noted in a new paper from Anne Snyder and Alicia Kurimska, aren't embracing downward mobility but rather are increasingly creating their own aspirational strategies (PDF). Some are doing this consciously by ignoring the wise planners and establishing homes for themselves in suburban and Sun Belt locales once considered insufficiently hip.
Despite the hype from the press and urban planners, millennials are following in the footsteps of previous generations by locating on the periphery major metropolitan areas and Sun Belt cities, most of which are simply agglomerations of suburbs.
This pattern seems certain to accelerate as millennials enter their thirties, the age when contemporary populations tend to marry, settle down, and have children. To be sure, notes Pew, more 18- to 34-year-olds now live with their parents than with spouses or significant others for the first time since the question was first asked in the 1880s. But when they do leave the nest, albeit later than in previous generations, they are becoming adults whose collective decisions are not so different from those of their parents.
Their searches for homeownership and procreation reflect this trend. It turns out that millennials did not reject homeownership because of their enhanced social consciousness, but because of high prices and low incomes. In survey after survey, the clear majority of millennials—roughly 80 percent, including the vast majority of renters—express interest in acquiring a home of their own. A Fannie Mae survey of people under 40 found that the vast majority thought owning made more financial sense, a sentiment shared by an even larger share of owners (PDF). They cited such things as asset appreciation, control over the living environment, and a hedge against rent increases.
"Homes and families will change many millennials, much as they changed previous generations."
As generational researchers Morley Winograd and Mike Hais have long pointed out, millennial attitudes about family and their preferred future remained fundamentally mammalian and surprisingly conventional, albeit with a greater emphasis on gender equality. The vast majority of millennials, according to Gallup and others, want to get married and have children. Their top priority, according to Pew, is to be "good parents."
The average millennial is now in their late twenties, and will be well into their thirties by the end of the decade. Already, 16 million millennials have had children, up from barely 6 million a decade ago, a number that is likely to soar in coming years, particularly if this group continues the recent trend of more women, and especially better educated ones, having children in their forties.
Despite endless talk about millennials as the group triggering a "back to the city" movement, census data shows that their populations in many core cities are stagnating or declining. In April 2016, the real estate website Trulia found that millennials were rushing out of expensive cities, with the group making up roughly a quarter of the population in New York and Washington, D.C., but accounting for half of all departures from them.
Its report concludes: "To summarize, those who earn very little income, those who work in unstable, less urban-based, and low-paying industries, and younger generation households that have not yet established a stable career have moved away from these pricey cities at much greater rates than the rest of the population."
Between 2013 and 2014, only 2,662 people between the ages of 25 and 34 migrated to D.C., according to census data, roughly a quarter of the 10,430 people in that age bracket who arrived between 2010 and 2011.
Since 2010, the 20 to 29 populations have declined in the core areas of much celebrated youth magnets including Chicago (-0.6 percent) and Portland (-2.5 percent). Other areas, like Los Angeles and Boston, have lost millennials since 2015.
"In New York, incomes for young adults have dropped since 2000, even as rents have shot up by 75%."
Costs appear to be key here. According to Zillow, for workers between the ages of 22 and 34, rent costs claim upwards of 45 percent of income in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Miami, compared to closer to 30 percent of income in metropolitan areas like Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. The costs of purchasing a house are even more lopsided. In Los Angeles and the Bay Area, a monthly mortgage takes, on average, close to 40 percent of income, compared to 15 percent nationally. In many cities millennials seem destined to live as renters, without gaining any equity in property. In San Francisco, 18- to 24-year-olds now make up one of the fastest-growing homeless populations.
A recent survey by the UCLA Luskin School suggests that 18- to 29-year-olds were the age group least satisfied with life in Los Angeles (PDF), perhaps something reflected in the overbuilt and increasingly vacant downtown market. Similarly a recent USC study found that high prices made attracting talent increasingly difficult. In the Bay Area, according to ULI, 74 percent of millennials are considering an exit, largely due to high housing prices.
In New York, incomes for people aged 18 to 29 have dropped in real terms since 2000, despite considerably higher education levels among millennials (PDF). At the same time, rents have shot up by 75 percent.
Meanwhile, the much mocked suburbs have continued to dominate population trends, including among millennials. As people age, they tend, economist Jed Kolko notes, to move out of core cities to suburban locations. Although younger millennials have tended toward core cities more than previous generations had, the website FiveThirtyEight notes that as they age they actually move to suburban locations at a still higher clip than those their age have in the past. We have already passed, in the words of USC demographer Dowell Myers, "peak millennial," and are seeing the birth of a new suburban wave (PDF).
To some extent, the meme about millennials and cities never quite fit reality outside of that observed by journalists in media centers like New York, D.C., and San Francisco. More than 80 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in major metropolitan areas already live in suburbs and exurbs, according to the latest data—a share that is little changed from 2010 or 2000.
Suburban tastes remain predominant with 4 in 5 people under 45 preferring the single-family detached houses most often in suburban locales (PDF). Surveys such as those from the Conference Board and Neilson consistently find that most millennials see suburbs as the ideal place to live in the long run (PDF). According to a recent National Homebuilders Association report, more than 2 in 3 millennials, including most of those living in cities, would prefer a house in the suburbs.
"As millennials grow up, they are moving to the 'burbs at an even faster pace than previous generations did at the same age."
In the process, note authors Snyder and Kurimska, their generation is also changing suburbia. "These transplants value high social cohesion and want neighborhoods with walking trails and other community features like fitness centers, local shops and manmade lakes," they observe. They may also initially at least choose smaller homes, according to Zillow, and often in places closer to work and with more things close by to do. The good news for them: The majority of new jobs continue to be created in suburbs, along with most theaters, ethnic restaurants, and music venues.
At the same time, millennials are shifting to different regions. Much of this has to do with housing costs. The income required to buy a home in Silicon Valley ($216,000), San Francisco ($171,000), Los Angeles ($115,000), or New York City ($100,000) dwarfs what is required in places like Orlando ($54,000), San Antonio ($54,000), or Nashville ($47,000).
Not coincidentally, those more affordable places are growing their millennial populations far more quickly. The Millennial homeownership rates is 37 percent in Nashville, 29 percent in San Antonio and 27 percent in Orlando, compared to under 20 percent in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
To be sure, some millennials are moving into downtowns in these places, at least for a few years, but many more remain in what Grist called "sprawling car dependent cities." Among the 10 major metropolitan areas whose 25- to 34-year-old populations grew most rapidly between 2010 and 2016, seven have more than 95 percent of their population in suburban or exurban settings.
In fact, most of the places with the biggest growth among millennials are highly suburban, sprawling cities. The top 10 regions with the fastest growth in their 25- to 34-year-old populations since 2000 include nontraditional urban areas such as Austin, Orlando, San Antonio, San Bernardino-Riverside, Las Vegas, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Jacksonville. In contrast, Boston ranks 40th out of 53 metro regions, New York 44th, San Jose 47th, Los Angeles 48th, and Chicago 51st.
So perhaps there is hope, after all, of millennials as a "hero generation." As more of them follow their parents' path to homes of their own in the suburbs and the Sun Belt's sprawling metros, they will surely be changed by their environment and they will surely change it. Parenting, as well as homeownership, tends to make people more conservative.
While the strongest population growth now takes place in what Jed Kolko calls "the suburbiest" suburbs, those on the outer fringes, even there millennials are drawn to locations with town centers—whether restored or created—and prefer things such as bike trails and parks over golf and malls. The millennial suburb, as MIT's Alan Berger has noted, will be different—more walkable, more environmentally sustainable, and likely more connected eventually by autonomous technologies.
While millennials may push back against the efforts of progressives, evident in California particularly, to limit suburban development that thus closes off their housing options, they will also oppose the culturally conservative agendas that long dominated many suburbs. This will be particularly true in areas attracting young minorities, such as northern Virginia, Ft. Bend County, outside of Houston, and Orange County, California.
In this sense, the millennials may be our best hope for a more reasoned future. They are unlikely—particularly as they raise families—to embrace planners' fantasies of a high-density future. What they can accomplish is to shift the debate about how we live toward a more reasoned, collaborative, tolerant but also family-friendly direction.
That alone would make them smarter than their parents.
Homepage photo credit: Financial Resource Center.


text:
Of Smells
It has been reported of some, as of Alexander the Great, that their sweat exhaled an odoriferous smell, occasioned by some rare and extraordinary constitution, of which Plutarch and others have been inquisitive into the cause. But the ordinary constitution of human bodies is quite otherwise, and their best and chiefest excellency is to be exempt from smell. Nay, the sweetness even of the purest breath has nothing in it of greater perfection than to be without any offensive smell, like those of healthful children, which made Plautus say of a woman:
"Mulier tum bene olet, ubi nihil olet."
["She smells sweetest, who smells not at all."
–Plautus, Mostel, i. 3, 116.]
And such as make use of fine exotic perfumes are with good reason to be suspected of some natural imperfection which they endeavour by these odours to conceal. To smell, though well, is to stink:
"Rides nos, Coracine, nil olentes
Malo, quam bene olere, nil olere."
["You laugh at us, Coracinus, because we are not scented;
I would, rather than smell well, not smell at all."
–Martial, vi. 55, 4.]
And elsewhere:
"Posthume, non bene olet, qui bene semper olet."
["Posthumus, he who ever smells well does not smell well."
–Idem, ii. 12, 14.]
I am nevertheless a great lover of good smells, and as much abominate the ill ones, which also I scent at a greater distance, I think, than other men:
"Namque sagacius unus odoror,
Polypus, an gravis hirsutis cubet hircus in aliis
Quam canis acer, ubi latest sus."
["My nose is quicker to scent a fetid sore or a rank armpit, than a dog to smell out the hidden sow."–Horace, Epod., xii. 4.]
Of smells, the simple and natural seem to me the most pleasing. Let the ladies look to that, for 'tis chiefly their concern: amid the most profound barbarism, the Scythian women, after bathing, were wont to powder and crust their faces and all their bodies with a certain odoriferous drug growing in their country, which being cleansed off, when they came to have familiarity with men they were found perfumed and sleek. 'Tis not to be believed how strangely all sorts of odours cleave to me, and how apt my skin is to imbibe them. He that complains of nature that she has not furnished mankind with a vehicle to convey smells to the nose had no reason; for they will do it themselves, especially to me; my very mustachios, which are full, perform that office; for if I stroke them but with my gloves or handkerchief, the smell will not out a whole day; they manifest where I have been, and the close, luscious, devouring, viscid melting kisses of youthful ardour in my wanton age left a sweetness upon my lips for several hours after. And yet I have ever found myself little subject to epidemic diseases, that are caught, either by conversing with the sick or bred by the contagion of the air, and have escaped from those of my time, of which there have been several sorts in our cities and armies. We read of Socrates, that though he never departed from Athens during the frequent plagues that infested the city, he only was never infected.
Physicians might, I believe, extract greater utility from odours than they do, for I have often observed that they cause an alteration in me and work upon my spirits according to their several virtues; which makes me approve of what is said, that the use of incense and perfumes in churches, so ancient and so universally received in all nations and religions, was intended to cheer us, and to rouse and purify the senses, the better to fit us for contemplation.
I could have been glad, the better to judge of it, to have tasted the culinary art of those cooks who had so rare a way of seasoning exotic odours with the relish of meats; as it was particularly observed in the service of the king of Tunis, who in our days–[Muley-Hassam, in 1543.] –landed at Naples to have an interview with Charles the Emperor. His dishes were larded with odoriferous drugs, to that degree of expense that the cookery of one peacock and two pheasants amounted to a hundred ducats to dress them after their fashion; and when the carver came to cut them up, not only the dining-room, but all the apartments of his palace and the adjoining streets were filled with an aromatic vapour which did not presently vanish.
My chiefest care in choosing my lodgings is always to avoid a thick and stinking air; and those beautiful cities, Venice and Paris, very much lessen the kindness I have for them, the one by the offensive smell of her marshes, and the other of her dirt.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Monmouth Coffee Company
Apparently the best coffee in Borough Market. There's a long queue to get your coffee and seats are limited.
If you can't wait, there are many other small coffee kiosks around the market.
One of them is Flat Cap Borough.
I find Monmouth okay but loads of people like it judging from their queue. I find their latte a bit milky. Perhaps I should have ordered a piccolo or a machiato.
They have an interesting long table concept with bread and other condiments freely available for patrons.
Monmouth Coffee Company
2 Park Street
London SE1 9AB
Shoryu Ramen
Long, long queue to get in. Tables are small and it's quite difficult to sit a large crowd. Notwithstanding that, their ramen and hirata bun (char siu with bun) are awesome. Met Sow here for dinner.
Shoryu Ramen
9 Regent St,
London SW1Y 4LR,
Nearest tube station: Picaddily Circus
Burger and Lobster
Only 3 things in the menu, burger, lobster or roe! We ordered burger and roe. Roe, in a form of a sandwich, is exceptionally good. Burger was tender and juicy but I should have ordered the lobster 🙁
There's also a long queue to get in. We were there at 530pm and there was no queue. But the waiter and waitresses gave us dirty looks for sitting there too long.
Burger and Lobster
36 Dean street,
London W1D 4PS
The Elgin
My favourite cafe so far in London. Strategically located – just few doors from my apartment. Friendly service and great coffee (they serve piccolo here!). There's no queue nor it is crowded.
Food is great. Pancakes and mushrooms on toasts are highly recommended.
The Elgin
225 Elgin Avenue
London W9 N1J
Nearest tube station: Maida Vale


text:
"to acquire knowledge is to become aware of experience as structured, organised and made meaningful in some quite specific way, and the varieties of human knowledge constitute the highly developed forms in which man has found this possible. To acquire knowledge is to learn to see, to experience the world in a way otherwise unknown, and thereby to come to have a mind in a fuller sense"In rejecting various forms of mentalism and behaviourism, he asserts that
"to have a mind basically involves coming to have experience articulated by means of various conceptual schemata. It is only because man has over millenia objectified and progressively developed these that he has achieved the forms of human knowledge, and the possibility of the development of mind as we know it is open to us today"In attempting to identify the 'forms of knowledge', Hirst sets about identifying 'distinguising features:
- They each involve certain central concepts that are peculiar in character to the form. For example, those of gravity, acceleration, hydrogen and photo-synthesis characteristic of the sciences; number, integral and matrix in mathematics; God, sin and predestination in religion; ought, good and wrong in moral knowledge.
- In a given form of knowledge these and other concepts that denote, if perhaps in a very complex way, certain aspects of experience, form a network of possible relationships in which experience can be understood. As a result the form has a distinctive logical structure. For example, the terms and statements of mechanics can be meaningfully related in certain strictly limited ways only, and the same is true of historical explanation.
- The form, by virtue of its particular terms and logic, has expressions or statements (possibly answering a distinctive type of question) that in some way or other, however indirect it may be, are testable against experience. This is the case in scientific knowledge, moral knowledge, and in the arts, though in the arts no questions are explicit and the criteria for the tests are only partially expressible in words. Each form, then, has distinctive expressions that are testable against experience in accordance with particular criteria that are peculiar to the form
- The forms have developed particular techniques and skills for exploring experience and testing their distinctive expressions, for instance the techniques of the sciences and those of the various literary arts. The result has been the amassing of all the symbolically expressed knowledge that we now have in the art and the sciences.
- Distinct disciplines or forms of knowledge (subdivisible): mathematics, physical sciences, human sciences, history, religion, literature and the fine arts, philosophy.
- Fields of knowledge: theoretical, practical (these may or may not include elements of moral knowledge)
- biological mechanisms
- psychological mechanisms
- social mechanisms
I think (and have argued: see http://dailyimprovisation.blogspot.com/2011/01/analysing-knowledge-performances-in-oer.html) that these differences are detected in four principal areas when encountering a teacher:
- In the causal effects of knowledge on the way of being of the knower (personal form of knowledge)
- In the causal effects of the esteem and moral judgement of the knower (purpose form of knowledge)
- In the causal effects of the presentation of what is known on others (content form of knowledge)
- In the causal effects of practices with tools and techniques (tool form of knowledge)
"As civilised human beings, we are inheritors, neither of an inquiry about ourselves and the world, nor of an accumulating body of information, but of a conversation, begun in the primeval forests and extended and made more articulate in the course of centuries. It is a conversation which goes on both in public and within each of ourselves.Of course there is argument and inquiry and information, but wherever these are profitable they are to be recognised as passages in this conversation, and perhaps they are not the most captivating of the passages... Conversation is not an enterprise designed to yield an extrinsic profit, a contest where a winner gets a prize, nor is it an activity of exegesis; it is an unrehearsed intellectual adventure... Education, properly speaking, is an initiation into the skills and partnership of this conversation in which we learn to recognise the voices, to distinguish the proper occasions of utterance, and in which we acquire the intellectual and moral habits appropriate to conversation. And it is this conversation which, in the end, gives place and character to every human activity and utterance." (Oakeshott: Rationalism in Politics and other essays, 1962, pp 198-9)
For more recent thoughts on this topic, see http://dailyimprovisation.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/teleodynamics-and-forms-of-knowledge.html


text:
Jiří Jiroutek is a Czech furniture and interior designer whose renown culls from his midcentury tenure at Interier Praha, during which he orchestrated the firm's famed U-450 series of modular sideboards—today, perhaps the leading exemplar of Czech "Brussels Style" furniture.
Born sometime around 1912 or 1913 (his specific birth date remains unpublished), Jiroutek spent his adolescence in the provincial Bohemia town of Chrudim, where he attended secondary school. Like seminal Czech industrial designer Jindrich Halabala, Jiroutek completed his professional studies at Prague's Academy of Applied Arts (today, the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design). In 1951, Jiroutek began his career at the just-born Interier Praha. In contrast to Halabala and the other midcentury Czech modernists, Jiroutek, it seems, never worked for the other prominent national furniture manufacturers like TON, and UP Závody.
On the heels of early successes, Jiroutek became the head of design at Interier Praha in 1958 and soon after began work on the U-450 series. The designs were heavily inspired by the watershed '58 Expo in Brussels, which moved Czech postwar design generally toward a "softer" modernism—one characterized by pastel colors, new geometries, and the use of modern materials like engineered composites, glass, and concrete. Jiroutek became know especially for the simple morphologies of oak-veneered sideboards and cabinets with sleekly color-blocked sliding doors and drawers.
Immensely popular, the U-450 series pushed Jiroutek and, subsequently, Interier Praha to focus mainly on the large-scale production of modular furniture. Onward into the 1970s—even after the design-stunting Prague Spring in 1968—Jiroutek continued to add new editions to his already robust oeuvre, contributing opaline glass tables, and armchairs, as well as entire kitchen suites (his KU-550 series) and living room suites (his U-550 series) sets to Interier Praha's catalogue.


text:
Time is Ticking, the Tension is High,
and the Ultimate Showdown Between Good and Evil is About to Explode
On Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, and On-Demand December 17, 2013
Synopsis: Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer star in The Lone Ranger, from Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Director Gore Verbinski. It's a wild ride of high velocity action, explosions and gunfights that brings the famed maskedlegend to life through brand-new eyes. The Lone Ranger (Hammer), the last ofhis kind, teams with Tonto (Depp), a dark and mysterious vigilante, to seekvengeance after justice has failed them. It's a runaway train of epicsurprises, as these two unlikely heroes must learn to work together before the ultimate showdown between good and evil explodes.
Cast: Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Alice in Wonderland) as Tonto, Armie Hammer (The Social Network, Mirror Mirror) as John Reid/Lone Ranger, Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club, The Kings Speech) as Red Harrington, Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins, Michael Clayton) as Latham Cole, Ruth Wilson (Anna Karenina, Capturing Mary) as Rebecca Reid, William Fichtner (Black Hawk Down, The Dark Knight) as Butch Cavendish
Director: Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise)
Screenplay: Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road, Snitch), Ted Elliott (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) & Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise)
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise)
Release Date: December 17, 2013 (Direct Pre-book: 10/22/13; Distributor Pre-book: 11/5/13)
Bonus Features:
(BD, DVD, Select Digital retailers)
Blooper Reel (RT 4:12) – BD, DVD & Select Digital Retailers Only
Deleted Scene - BD & Select Digital Retailers Only
Riding The Rails Of The Lone Ranger (RT: 10:36) – BD & Select Digital Retailers Only
For the production of the movie, director Gore Verbinski had a five mile oval track built along with multiple engines and cars. See the incredible effortthat went into crafting such a detailed and important part of The Lone Ranger.
Armies's Western Road Trip (RT: 14:28) – BD & Select Digital Retailers Only
Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) takes viewers on a tour of the scenic locations the production shot in as we see and learn more about the amazing places hewent to become The Lone Ranger.
Becoming A Cowboy (RT: 8:02) – BD & Select Digital Retailers Only
Before the cast began shooting the film, they had to learn how to shoot a gun…and ride a horse. In this piece we follow the cowboy (and cowgirl) cast to boot camp, where they got a chance to experience what their characters would really be living like in the Wild West.
Ratings: PG-13 For Sequences Of Intense Action and Violence, and Some Suggestive Material
Feature Run Time: 2 hrs. 29 min.
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Dolby DigitalSurround Sound
Languages: English, French & Spanish
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish


text:
Robert Plant Says He Sometimes 'Missed the Mark' in Led Zeppelin
Robert Plant admitted he sometimes "missed the mark" with the material he wrote with Led Zeppelin, noting that he was moving in a different direction from other writers of the era.
He also revealed that his thinking about the band's one-off 2007 reunion was inspired in part by Pink Floyd's final gathering two years earlier.
"My peer group were writing substantial pieces of social commentary, and I was willowing along the Welsh borders thinking about Gollum," Plant told Planet Rock magazine in a new interview. "I liked what I did, but now I look at it and go, 'Wooh, that was a bit iffy.' But I do like 'Stairway to Heaven.' I can look at it objectively. I can't always get my head around it, but it does do something substantial."
Led Zeppelin staged their return to mark the achievements of late Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun. Even though his colleagues hoped to perform more shows, Plant insisted he was never interested in the idea. "I liked what Floyd did at Live 8 [in 2005]," he said. "[A] quick one-off and let's leave it at that. They did it for a good cause."
He noted that "it was the same when Zeppelin did the charity show for Ahmet. We had a prolonged affinity with Ahmet, so if there was ever a reason for [a reunion] to happen, that was it. But the idea of doing it next summer and summer after that and so on is enough to break me out in hives."


text:
NAN: What is your current occupation?
SHEA: Web applications developer with the Center for Distributed Learning at the University of Central Florida (UCF).
NAN: Why and when did you decide to start your blog?
SHEA: I've been blogging on and off for years, but I could never keep to a schedule or really commit myself to writing. After I started working on side projects, I realized I needed a place to store tips and tricks I had figured out. I installed WordPress, posted some PhoneGap tips, and within a day got a comment from someone who had the same issue, and my tips helped them out. I have been blogging ever since. I make sure to post every Friday night.
NAN: Tell us about PiPlay, the Raspberry Pi OS. Why did you start the OS? What new developments, if any, are you working on?
SHEA: PiPlay is a gaming and emulation distribution for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. It is built on top of the Raspbian OS, and tries to make it as easy as possible to play games on your Raspberry Pi. My blog got really popular after I started posting binaries and tutorials on how to compile different emulators to the Raspberry Pi, but I kept getting asked the same questions and saw users struggling with the same consistent issues.
I decided I would release a disk image with everything preconfigured and ready to be loaded onto an SD card. I've been adding new emulators, games, and tools to it ever since.
I just recently completed a Kickstarter that is funding the next release, which includes a much nicer front end, a web GUI, and a better controller configuration system.
NAN: You wrote Instant Raspberry Pi Gaming. Do you consider this book introductory or is it written for the more experienced engineer?
SHEA: Instant Raspberry Pi Gaming is written like a cookbook with recipes for doing various tasks. Some of them are very simple, and they build up to some more advanced recipes. One of the easier tasks is creating your user account on the Pi Store, while the more advanced recipes have you working with Python and using an API to interact with Minecraft.
Readers will learn how to setup a Raspberry Pi, install and use various emulators and games, a bit about the Minecraft API, and common troubleshooting tips.
NAN: You are a member of FamiLAB, an Orlando, FL-based community lab/hackerspace. What types of projects have you worked on at the lab?
SHEA: I spend a lot of time at the lab using the laser cutter. Creating a 2-D vector in Inkscape, and then watching it be cut out on a piece of wood or acrylic is really inspiring. My favorite project was making a little arcade machine featuring Fix It Felix Jr. from Wreck It Ralph. A marketing person from Disney was able to get it into the hands of the director Rich Moore. He sent me a bunch of pictures of himself holding my little arcade machine next to the full size version.
NAN: Give us a little background information. How did you become interested in technology?
SHEA: My mom always likes to remind me that I've been using computers since I was 2. My parents were very interested in technology and encouraged my curiosity when it came to computers. I always liked to take something apart and see how it worked, and then try to put it back together. As the years went on, I've devoted more and more time to making technology a major part of my life.
NAN: Tell us about the first embedded system you designed.
SHEA: I have a lot of designs, but I don't think I've ever finished one. I'll be halfway into a project, learn about something new, then cannibalize what I was working on and repurpose it for my new idea. One of the first embedded projects I worked on was a paintball board made out of a PICAXE microcontroller. I never got it small enough to fit inside the paintball marker, but it was really cool to see everything in action. The best part was when I finally had that "ah-ha!" moment, and everything I was learning finally clicked.
NAN: What was the last electronics-design related product you purchased and what type of project did you use it with?
SHEA: At UCF, one of our teams utilizes a ticket system for dealing with requests. Our department does a hack day each semester, so my coworker and I decided to rig up a system that changes the color of the lights in the office depending on the urgency of requests in the box. We coded up an API and had a Raspberry Pi ping the API every few minutes for updates. We then hooked up two Arduinos to the Raspberry Pi and color-changing LED strips to the Arduinos. We set it up and it's been working for the past year and a half, alerting the team with different colors when there is work to do.
NAN: Are you currently working on or planning any projects?
SHEA: My Kickstarter for PiPlay just finished at 400% funding. So right now I'm busy working on fulfilling the rewards, and writing the latest version of PiPlay.
NAN: What do you consider to be the "next big thing" in the industry?
SHEA: Wearable computing. Google Glass, the Pebble smart watch, Galaxy Gear—I think these are all great indicators of where our technology is heading. We currently have very powerful computers in our pockets with all kinds of sensors and gadgets built in, but very limited ways to physically interact with them (via the screen, or a keypad). If we can make the input devices modular, be it your watch, a heads-up display, or something else, I think that is going to spark a new revolution in user experiences.


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16th November 2020 - 2020.2.12
- Fixed Messenger code widget sometimes not working on external domains
5th November 2020 - 2020.2.11
- Fixed input sanitization on a public portal API
30th October 2020 - 2020.2.10
- Fixed CSRF errors for non-https helpdesks.
21st October 2020 - 2020.2.9
- [Messenger] Chat messages covering up user info in agent interface
- [Messenger] Agent 'display name' not being used
- [Messenger] A prompt to submit a new ticket might appear in the middle of an active chat
- [Messenger] Added "DeskProMessenger.loaded" event that the parent page can listen on to be otified of when messenger widget is loaded
- [Messenger] Added "window.DeskProMessenger" object to the parent page with methods: open, penChat, openNewTicket, and toggle.
- [Messenger] Added messenger option "disableButton" that may be set to false in the widget code to hide the default button (normally would be used in conjunction with custom code to pen the widget on some other custon event).
- [Messenger] Numerous tweaks to messenger task router and locking mechanism to fix possible onflicts or lag with locks
- CH-17997 - Fix deleting ticket blobs via mass actions
- Multiple fixes and tweaks to Guides
19th October 2020 - 2020.2.8
- Security fix: Fixed an issue that could allow a specially crafted URL to trick some Windows hosts into serving files that reside outside the web root if the path on the filesystem was known and the file ended with a common user file extension (html, js, css, txt, log, pdf, doc, yml, ini, json etc. but NOT .php).
- DPLEG-20 - Fixed issue with News subscriptions not sending on categories that only had "Registered" usergroup permission
- Fixed issue with Guides helpcenter API returning too-big payloads
5th October 2020 - 2020.2.7
- Fix Estonian flag
- CH-18005: 'Undefined index: token' for some customers using Exchange email account type
29th September 2020 - 2020.2.6
- CH-17842-OAuth 2.0 support for Office365 (you can read more about this in our news post) .
Bug Fixes:
- CH-17813 - Error saving Messenger settings if Knowledgebase is disabled.
- CH-15671 - Unable to change permissions in Messenger for non-default brands.
- CH-17709 - Problem creating new chats in Messenger from widget.
- CH-15285 - Knowledgebase search showing on Messenger when it is disabled.
- CH-15420 - Category and product fields showing incorrectly on the user form if no options are available for the user.
- CH-17851- Some agents are unable to accept incoming phone calls.
- CH-17668 - Certain changes to the Helpcenter theme can cause an issue with CSS and styles.
- CH-11941 - Some images are not loading correctly when they were added to the Helpdesk via copy/paste method.
- CH-17944 - Embedded ticket form fails on Chrome with CSRF error
1st September 2020 - 2020.2.5
Bug Fixes:
- CH-17482 - Escalation criteria sometimes won't save.
- CH-17447 - Ensure the portal templates fallback mechanism is working if there is an issue flagged by the sandbox feature.
- CH-17177 - When custom logic is applying to a field in a department layout, the field cannot be set/edited.
- CH-16250 - Ensure the correct default email addresses are being used for each brand.
- CH-17452 - Email Templates editor is broken when Deskpro is installed in a subfolder.
- CH-16979 - The 'Ticket New Reminder' email template preview displays a 500 server error.
- CH-4240 - Ensure the new email templates editor detects all phrases and displays them in a blue box appropriately.
- CH-16517 - The wrong timezone conversion is being used for datetime fields in reports.
- CH-17482 - Fix the missing ticket deflection translation strings on the Help Center.
- CH-14512 - Calendar widget used for the date field on the Help Center doesn't update when the user manually types in a date.
- CH-14886 - Fix Facebook authentication on Help Center.
- CH-17381 - When an organization field is being used in a ticket form layout, the ticket properties cannot be edited via the portal for an existing ticket.
- CH-16980 - Attempt to limit user-supplied host names from using internal services.
- CH-17506 - Fix typo in table name which can cause a helpdesk reset to fail.
- CH-16842 and CH-15783 - Unable to save rate limits on API keys.
- CH-14661 - Distinguish between a negative and no rating for Chat satisfaction in API V2.
- CH-17210 - RuntimeException:0 Failed to send Pusher events.
- CH-17234 - The form's view data is expected to be an instance of class Application/DeskPRO/Entity/Blob, but is a(n) string.
- CH-17382 - Fix error: Call to a member function getId() on null (/app/src/Application/AgentBundle/Controller/NewsController.php:514.
- CH-17316 - Fix error: [EXCEPTION] Exception:0 DateInterval::__construct(): Unknown or bad format (P900S).
- CH-17209 - Fix error: [EXCEPTION] InvalidArgumentException:0 Attempt to save a blob without authcode (/app/src/Application/DeskPRO/Entity/Blob.php:935) - count()=1.0 .
- CH-17135 - Fix error: [EXCEPTION] Symfony\Component\Debug\Exception\FatalThrowableError:0 Call to a member function getId() on null (/app/src/Application/AgentBundle/Controller/KbController.php:1168) - count()=3.0 .
- CH-17107 - Fix error: [EXCEPTION] Application\DeskPRO\RefGenerator\RefGeneratorException:0 Cannot find unique ref after 101 attempts with pattern DISX-<###>. Aborting. (/app/src/Application/DeskPRO/RefGenerator/CustomRef.php:182)
- CH-17123 - Promote a read-only filesystem.
- CH-16869 - Prevent memory exhaustion when resizing images.
14th August 2020 - 2020.2.4
Bug Fixes:
- CH-17028: Possible error during sending of custom new email template
- Several improvements to template sandbox to allow more callable methods on custom temlpates
30th July 2020 - 2020.2.3
Bug Fixes:
- CH-16805: Instances with thousands of custom templates might break during upgrade due to a memory error during re-compiling step
- CH-16821: An agent could craft a special news article such that raw HTML got output in the News carousel, even if that agent did not have permission to use "any html".
- CH-16942: Fix cascading dropdown menu in helpcenter
28th July 2020 - 2020.2.2
Bug Fixes:
- CH-16734 - Agents with login alert email notifications would see an error after login due to new email template sandboxing.
27th July 2020 - 2020.2.1
Bug Fixes:
- CH-16740 - Relative time criteria in Filters has stopped working.
20th July 2020 - 2020.2
New Features:
The following features have been automatically available for new customers and available for existing customers to test for a few months, however, we are officially launching these today:
- New Help Center Theme for the portal.
- New Messenger widget.
- Improved Email Templates (including a new template editor).
Additionally, we have some other exciting new features available from today:
- Control whether Pending status is counted in SLAs and ticket waiting times. Find out more here.
- Report on user waiting time and first reply time within working hours. Find out more here.
- Trigger criteria for custom date fields now support selecting a relative time in the future (e.g 2 days/months/years from now).
Bug Fixes:
- CH-15792 - Intermittent error caused when a user approves/rejects an Approval request via the portal.
- CH-6074 - Prevent Agent permissions from causing an error when an Admin tries to add an Approval type.
- CH-14658 - Ensure the default values for built-in fields (e.g. Category or Product) are displayed in the contact form when a parent/child hierarchy is being used.
- CH-14823 - If you apply a Macro from the reply button which should send a reply and unassign the ticket, the ticket is not changed to 'unassigned'.
- CH-15662 - The toggle to enable/disable Guides for the portal isn't working.
- CH-11022 - The Snippet manager closed automatically after clicking the 'Languages' menu when a language pack has been uninstalled.
- CH-15431 - Don't display the shortcut code for snippets that are removed when a language pack is uninstalled.
- CH-13738 - Fixed the "Requested unknown parameter" error which occurred when adding particular built-in stats as widgets to a dashboard.
- CH-15452 - Unable to successfully drag an attachment from a ticket to desktop.
- CH-15672 - When a cron job fails, don't retry until the next interval.
- CH-15441 - Add CSRF token on profile/emails?remove_email
- CH-15680 - InvalidArgumentException:0 (/app/src/Application/DeskPRO/Entity/Ticket.php line 4675): 50147 is not an agent.
- CH-15205 - Fixed the error "Call to a member function setDateExpire() on null".
- CH-16055 - Missing unique key in user chat queue targets.
- CH-15720, CH-15024, CH-15233, CH-15502, CH-15062 - Security enhancements and fixes.


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New study confirms water vapor as global warming amplifier
A new study from scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and colleagues confirms rising levels of water vapor in the upper troposphere – a key amplifier of global warming – will intensify climate change impacts over the next decades. The new study is the first to show that increased water vapor concentrations in the atmosphere are a direct result of human activities.
"The study is the first to confirm that human activities have increased water vapor in the upper troposphere," said Brian Soden, professor of atmospheric sciences at the UM Rosenstiel School and co-author of the study.
To investigate the potential causes of a 30-year moistening trend in the upper troposphere, a region 3-7 miles above Earth's surface, Soden, UM Rosenstiel School researcher Eui-Seok Chung and colleagues measured water vapor in the upper troposphere collected by NOAA satellites and compared them to climate model predictions of water circulation between the ocean and atmosphere to determine whether observed changes in atmospheric water vapor could be explained by natural or man-made causes. Using the set of climate model experiments, the researchers showed that rising water vapor in the upper troposphere cannot be explained by natural forces, such as volcanoes and changes in solar activity, but can be explained by increased greenhouse gases, such as CO2.
Greenhouse gases raise temperatures by trapping the Earth's radiant heat inside the atmosphere. This warming also increases the accumulation of atmospheric water vapor, the most abundant greenhouse gas. The atmospheric moistening traps additional radiant heat and further increases temperatures.
Climate models predict that as the climate warms from the burning of fossil fuels, the concentrations of water vapor will also increase in response to that warming. This moistening of the atmosphere, in turn, absorbs more heat and further raises the Earth's temperature.
More information: PNAS. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1409659111
Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Provided by University of Miami


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Real-time product selection app accelerates ROI for cement producers
In 2019, we focused on finding new ways to help cement producers meet key challenges, including reducing your carbon footprint through the use of cement additives. We are also investing in technology to make your work easier.
To that end, we recognise that identifying the right cement additive to meet specific plant needs can be a time-consuming process, and we're pleased to share that we have developed GCP DASHSM real-time product selection application with additive intelligence to make this process more efficient for you. Built on proprietary algorithms developed in partnership with our cement formulation experts, the app provides a faster, more predictable way to match your needs with the right cement additive products.
The next time your GCP rep visits your plant, they can show you the product selection app on their iPad.
They can simply enter data such as your business and technical needs, and they're able to produce product recommendations on the spot. Your rep can then show you a live model that predicts how your cement will perform with each recommended additive, showing anticipated strengths and other characteristics.
This streamlined process will enable you to:
- Select optimal formulations, resulting in a better cost/value ratio
- Accelerate the product validation process, allowing better use of your plant's resources and faster ROI
- Enhance the ability to use supplementary cementitious materials for increased operational savings and a reduced carbon footprint
We're very excited about these new capabilities, and hope you will find them beneficial.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your GCP rep.
- Cement production
- Consultant
- Contractor
- Distributor
- Engineer
- Field support
- Owner
- Producer
- Subcontractor


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Episode-1088- Patrick Barron from DefiningTheMachine.com
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.5MB)
Pat Barron is a former Independent candidate for congress in 2010,with over 25 years of experience working within both public and private mental health settings.
Currently, Pat works for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. Pat's experience as a trained clinician, has helped to not only treat the symptoms of a problem, but to identify/understand the complex causes of the problem, and then find the straightest path to both stability and success.
In the 2010 congressional election Pat Barron was an Independent candidate in the 3rd district against incumbent James McGovern and Republican Marty Lamb. Pat ran as a true outsider to Washington D.C. and political partisanship.
Pat believes reform in Washington DC is the only solution to all our issues ranging from healthcare to infrastructure, to national defense. The current climate of partisanship, gridlock, national debt and congressional approval ratings in the teens substantiate this belief.
Since the last election Pat Barron has been hard at work researching and developing a seminar he is now offering called "Defining the Machine"
Join Pat and I Today as We Discuss…
- Partisanship and political gridlock, why it occurs and how this influences policy and fund-raising
- The history of congressional committee term limits and does this help
- The Bipartisan Congressional Reform Act of 2002
- The RNC, DNC, what and where is K Street and why this matters
- The difference between PACs, leadership PACs, and Super PACs
- Control by the political parties through the Party Dues System.
- Where your money goes when you donate to a candidate
- Why change can't happen with the current system
- The fact that there is a published price list for committee seats
- A new congressman's first job is basically the same as a 9 dollar and hour telemarketers
- Sponsorships and Co-sponsorships of bills are for sale on the House Floor
- Congressman can legally bribe each other in their own office based on a law they passed
- The only solution to this is education
Resources for today's show…
- Members Support Brigade
- Join Our Forum
- Members Support Brigade
- 13Skills.com
- Join Our Forum
- Walking To Freedom
- TSP Mint
- TSP Gear
- Back Yard Food Production – (sponsor of the day)
- Survival Gear Bags – (sponsor of the day)
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man's opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.


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Hari Kondabolu is a very funny and incisive stand-up comedian who hails from Queens, New York. He has written for shows like Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, and John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show among others. Earlier this year, Kill Rock Stars released his highly acclaimed and hilarious stand-up album, Waiting for 2042, which is out on vinyl December 2. On Friday December 5, he headlines a show at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver and here, Hari and I discuss Queens New York not Seattle Washington, how Canada's not so great, cowardly Americans, indigenous eradication and white demonry, fighting not fleeing, agreeable Canadians, how Stephen Harper might be slicker than George W. Bush, the downfall and terrible truth of Jian Ghomeshi, being on Q, knowing Jian and how he used to always call me 'buddy,' Jian's aggressive egotism, comedy and show biz power dynamics, Hari's mom doesn't think he listens anymore, people who think I should have a shot at hosting Q, people who think brown people can replace other brown people, Hari's #vishonQ campaign, accusations of race obsession in observational comedy, Aziz Ansari's take on mining one's cultural heritage in their work versus someone like Russell Peters who does accents in his act, how Peters has galvanized South Asian communities, whitewashed accents and losing our parents' voices, the situation in Ferguson and what it says about our social progress, white demonry, the remorseless Darren Wilson, people who actually listen, the Terry Gross interview might've been a little too great, #vishonQ, Back to the Future and the way forward to politely colonizing Mars, CIA seed money, Weezer's decline and my lapsed membership (#1234) in their fan club, the Pixies have also been a let-down, more empathy for artistic evolution, really obsessing over Weezer's trajectory, how and why we measure artists' creative output, Radiohead, Fugazi, Shellac, the Beatles and others who have created an interesting, nearly flawless body of work, Weezer's time and place post-Kurt Cobain/at the dawn of widespread internet use in the mid-90s, Pinkerton is messed up, "El Scorcho" and "Across the Sea" are both racist, taking online flak, how Hari's completion of a B.A. in Comparative Politics and a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics somehow led him to comedy, Paul Mooney, following his passion, you have to laugh when you want to cry, addressing the diaspora and telling his parents' stories, my dad came here with nothing and now I'm an asshole, coming to Canada more, Sled Island, Northwest Canada and Vancouver, Todd Barry's Crowd Work movie is great, #toddbarryonQ, Waiting for 2042 is on vinyl via Kill Rock Stars, and pandering to white people, not appreciating our parents' cooking until white people tell us it's good, "What's that smell?," thanks mom and dad, google.com, the comedy bit "Moving to Canada," and also #vishonQ.
Related links: harikondabolu.com killrockstars.com vishkhanna.com
Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.
Podcast: Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS


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Model E-1V
Easy and safe to operate, the Model E-1V allows the secure, precise positioning of weight loss coupons in pressurized systems. This innovative coupon holder mounts on existing valves and does not require special access fittings or special tools to operate.
The E-1V's exclusive vent and locking cap nut system creates easy venting. The E-1V is designed with a secondary vent for additional safety in high solids systems.
The E-1V includes a precision locking system that makes it possible to insert 24″ length, 1/4 OD insertion rod easily in a pressurized system. To secure flat mounted coupons, simply position the coupon alignment with the pipe wall to the measured depth and tighten the locking cap nut.
Model E-1VSubscribe to download
Check out our extensive product line complete with: Gaslock Products, Solid Control Systems, Corrosion Monitoring and Hard Coatings.
Learn more about our current systems: Five Star, Solution Valve, EVAC, High Flow, Cyclone and Optimizer.
We have distributors throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Romania and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Select the product literature you would like to download and review for more detailed information on any of our products.


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The toll of anti-Asian incidents during this pandemic goes beyond physical attacks. For many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders— or AAPIs — it could also lead to sleep troubles, depression and PTSD.
That's because, psychologists we spoke to say anti-Asian hate impacts not only the victims — it can also have mental health impacts on those indirectly exposed through watching viral videos or doom scrolling online.
"Racialized distrust or trauma can lead to very detrimental health complications. So in addition to disturbed sleep and eating, you can also develop bad habits that lead to things like hypertension and diabetes," said psychologist Michi Fu.
And one factor that makes the mental health impacts even more notable? Several studies of differentAAPI groups suggest lower rates of seeking mental health treatment than other races.
"It's largely because they've been taught to keep their heads down and to work hard and try and work out their differences among themselves," said Fu. "It's different than with other groups because there's implications for your entire clan, not just the person... When you out yourself as having an issue, this could have implications for the rest of your family."
But why do we feel a psychological impact in the first place? Let's break down two different types of trauma here. After the Atlanta shooting that left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women, many were fearful.
"The reality is that this could have been me or my sister or my family," said Umi Akiyoshi, who attended a New York City vigil honoring the victims of anti-Asian hate.
Psychologist Kevin Nadal says deeply relating to the victims or to the survivors is part of a collective trauma.
"Collective trauma is the notion that people of any given group may have a response to a traumatic event. This is a collective sense of pain, hurt, suffering," said Kevin Nadal. "Asian American women may be experiencing even more of a specific type of collective trauma because of their sense of connection to the people who were killed."
"As a Korean American, what breaks my heart the most is that. I think about my grandmother. And just can't imagine her being in that situation," said Sung Yeon Chiomorrow, executive director of National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF).
There's alsohistorical trauma,a theory that a population's agonizing experience of physical or psychological stress can be passed to future generations.
"Jewish people will experience the historical trauma of the Holocaust. Black people experience the historical trauma of slavery," said Nadal.
"Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment camps in World War II, that basically swept up over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans simply because of their heritage," said Fu.
So let's talk about solutions. What can members of communities facing hate do to deal with the psychological impacts? Our experts say talk to a friend, family or a professional about your feelings or any physical pain. Do things that make you feel safe, like walking in pairs. And lastly, solutions shouldn't rely on the shoulders of those in the AAPI community alone.
"I think it's important to acknowledge the systemic role of racism in our society, because we can't just rely on the survivors of violence or the survivors of discrimination to to develop strategies," said Nadal.
Nadal says acknowledging that anti-Asian racism exists is the first step, then education, like teaching AAPI history in classrooms to combat bias.
This story was originally published by Cat Sandoval at Newsy.


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The spiritual successor to B1FF and the archetype of script kiddies. Jeff K. is a sixteen-year-old suburbanite who fancies himself a "l33t haX0r", although his knowledge of computers seems to be limited to the procedure for getting Quake up and running. His Web page http://www.somethingawful.com/jeffk/ features a number of hopelessly naive articles, essays, and rants, all filled with the kind of misspellings, studlycaps, and number-for-letter substitutions endemic to the script kiddie and warez d00dz communities. Jeff's offerings, among other things, include hardware advice (such as "AMD VERSIS PENTIUM" and "HOW TO OVARCLOAK YOUR COMPUTAR"), his own Quake clan (Clan 40 OUNSCE), and his own comic strip (Wacky Fun Computar Comic Jokes).
Like B1FF, Jeff K. is (fortunately) a hoax. Jeff K. was created by internet game journalist Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka, whose web site Something Awful (http://www.somethingawful.com) highlights unintentionally humorous news items and Web sites, as a parody of the kind of teenage luser who infests Quake servers, chat rooms, and other places where computer enthusiasts congregate. He is well-recognized in the PC game community and his influence has spread to hacker fora like Slashdot as well.


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Dining in Hong Kong is an experience you might not find elsewhere in the world. Foodies can revel in the broad scope of international fare within such a compact island. Visitors from overseas can feel right at home, thanks to the countless restaurants serving delicacies from just about every continent, but don't skip out on Hong Kong's native cuisine.
Distinctly different from Szechuan and Shanghai taste, Cantonese fare reflects the traditionally health-conscious culture. Tonics and soups are prepared using carefully combined and measured ingredients to achieve the balance that is so important to the Chinese — the balance of yin (female or cool energy) and yang (male or warm energy), said to determine a person's overall well-being. Hong Kong is also popular for dim sum – bite-sized dishes you should enjoy for breakfast during your holiday.


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Standard Edition
From legendary game creator Hideo Kojima comes a genre-defying experience, now expanded and remastered for PS5 in this definitive DIRECTOR'S CUT.
In the future, a mysterious event known as the DEATH STRANDING has opened a doorway between the living and the dead, leading to grotesque creatures from the afterlife roaming the fallen world marred by a desolate society.
As Sam Bridges, your mission is to deliver hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America.
Can you reunite the shattered world, one step at a time?
Take on the trials of Sam Bridges with advanced combat, more character actions and a competitive ranking system for special player challenges* in this definitive DEATH STRANDING experience.
Experience an extended storyline through new missions in an expanded area. Make use of additional weapons and vehicles, take on new enemy types and explore new locations such as the Firing Range and Racetrack, featuring extra missions and minigames.
Stay connected with other players from around the globe.* Donate valuable resources to rebuild structures in your world and others', and offer likes in support of player structures that appear in yours to reward them for their contributions.
*Internet and account for PlayStation™Network required.
If you already own the PS4 version of DEATH STRANDING, you can get the PS5 DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT Digital Deluxe Edition Upgrade for only [HKD 70]. This option will be available at launch. Owners of a PS4 disc copy must insert it into the PS5 every time they want to download or play the PS5 digital version. PS4 game disc owners who buy the PS5 Digital Edition disc-free console will not be able to get the PS5 version for the discounted price.
*Upgrade price has been updated on 27 Sep 2021.
Backpack Patches
*4K and HDR require a 4K & HDR compatible TV or display.
Get to know the story behind DEATH STRANDING and go inside the mind of Hideo Kojima.
If you already own a PS4™ version of DEATH STRANDING, you can get the PS5™ DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT Digital Deluxe Edition for a discounted price and you do not need to purchase this product. Owners of a PS4 disc copy must insert it into the PS5 every time they want to download or play the PS5 digital version. PS4 game disc owners who buy the PS5 Digital Edition disc-free console will not be able to get the PS5 version for the discounted price.
*Please note that the following in-game conditions need to be met before you can use the "Export Save Data": You must open the cuff links in front of a delivery terminal at a facility. You cannot export your save data if there are any Orders for Sam currently active. If there are active Orders for Sam, you must first complete the orders before exporting the save data.
** In order to load exported DEATH STRANDING save data, you must be launch DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT using the same PlayStation Network account that was used to create the save data.
The above information is subject to change without prior notice.
This game/content may not be available in some countries and regions and in some languages.
Enter your date of birth.


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Ahhh summer. Sunny days, warm nights, and most importantly – it's grilling season! Cooking on the grill is great for people who hate cleaning up the kitchen – like me! You can cook almost anything on the grill – including cakes and muffins, but I'm not that advanced yet. Today's recipe is cheap, quick, and delicious: Cilantro Lime Pork Chops! Let's get to it! (more…)
What I Learned in 2014
Hello! It's been a long time, folks. I admit, keeping up with this blog hasn't been a priority lately, but since I got a schnazzy new laptop for Christmas I might as well give it a go.
I know these reflective posts pop up everywhere from Buzzfeed to the New Yorker, but even if no one reads this, I'll know that it's been said, expressed, put out into the universe.
So without further ado, here's my obligatory 2014 reflective list. (more…)
Monday Morning Affirmations
Because it feels good! (more…)
Monday Morning Affirmations
Because it feels good! (more…)
Monday Morning Affirmations
Because it feels good!
Monday Morning Affirmations
Because it feels good! Happy Monday! 🙂
Paleo-Friendly Meals: Chevy's Salsa (PERFECTION)
Sometimes, it's a sad, sad day living in Central New Jersey. Why? NO CHEVY's for MILES. NOT ONE. The last time I ate at a Chevy's was in Orlando, Florida. What's so special about Chevy's? Aside from their BOSS steak taco salad and chicken flautas, Chevy's has the absolute best salsa I've ever tasted. I'm not sure if it's the smokey spice or how deliciously cold it's served, but at the end of the day it's FREAKING DELICIOUS. When I came across this recipe I actually squealed with happiness. Read on for the recipe!
Monday Morning Affirmations
Because it feels good! 🙂 Have a beautiful Monday and a positive week!
Paleo-Friendly Meals: Sausage and Egg Muffins
Let's be honest. Most mornings look like this: get up late, jump in the shower, do half your makeup, throw on clothes, and run out the door. Then what? Stop at Starbucks and order a coffee and a bagel or breakfast sandwich. Why? Because it's quick and easy. Who has time to actually get up early and make breakfast? That's definitely not me. So in an effort to straighten out this Paleo lifestyle, I began prepping weekday breakfast on Sunday! Read on for the recipe. (more…)
Monday Morning Affirmations
Because it gives you all the good feels.


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Subscribe to our blog and stay up to date what is
happening in Translation World
Translation blog - US based translation company news
If you are interested in finding out more about the translation industry or about how to get a translation, how to ask for a quote and how to differentiate between different services offered to you then you're in luck. Our translation blog provides answers to all those questions, and much more.
We provide what you need
You spend a lot of time on the internet these days and whenever you come across a text in another language, you use a search engine to translate it in English or your native language.
As long as it is limited to the internet, you are fine. But when the university for which you have been longing to get admission calls you, and they want your credentials to be translated in English, what would you do?
If on the other hand you are a business looking to expand your reach, or trying to enter a local market, you'll need translations for your website, your marketing materials and any legal documents. What would you do?
For matters like these, you must use professional translation services. And when you want a translation, you want it to be top quality, but you also want it fast and at an affordable price. We can help you with that whenever you need it.
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The Himalayan Persian
by Linda Berg
The Himalayan Persian cat is one of the most beloved of pedigreed cats. Enjoyed and appreciated by judges, pet owners and breeders, over 343,000 Himalayans have been registered since 1957. In 1998 there were 2,428 Himalayans shown; that is an average of 5.6 entries per show in kittens, championship and premiership. Himalayans have achieved over 41 national awards since 1981 and over 175 regional awards since 1992.
The Persian is a widely recognized and popular breed and formed the basis of the early hybridizations that resulted in the development of the Himalayan cat. The early evolution of the Persian most likely occurred on the high, cold plateaus of Persia (now Iran and Iraq). When these cats with a longer, silky coat were brought to Europe by the Phoenicians and the Romans, the Europeans were impressed. Over the years the Persian cat has been purposely bred to perpetuate and accentuate the longhair trait. . Work to develop the colorpoint Persian, or Himalayan, began in the U.S. around 1950. The genetics of the Siamese color were known to involve a single recessive color factor which produced both blue eye color and the colorpoint pattern. The colorpoint pattern (also referred to as the Himalayan or Siamese pattern) is caused by the Siamese gene, one of the genes in the albino series. All of the albino genes influence whether and where pigment will be deposited in an animal's hair and skin. The effect of the Siamese gene is also impacted by the temperature of the skin. Pigment (color and pattern) is deposited in the hair at the coolest parts of the body, the parts that receive the least circulation: the extremities of the body feet, face, ears and tail.
The first step in working toward a colorpoint Persian was to cross the Siamese and the Persian. This early work was followed by years of breeding the offspring to obtain a group of cats with long hair and the colorpoint pattern. The colorpoint longhairs were bred back to Persians, and their offspring were interbred. After many years breeders had cats with many of the basic Persian characteristics and colorpoint coloring. At this point, the next step in the work began – that of obtaining breed recognition from bona fide registry organizations.
In England, Brian Sterling-Webb perfected his long-haired colorpoint over a period of 10 years. In 1955 he approached the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) and requested recognition for this new variety of longhaired cat. Since he and other breeders were prepared to describe and defend the work that had gone into the development of this new color, recognition was granted and the Longhaired Colourpoint was accepted as a breed in England.
In North America, Mrs. Goforth applied for breed recognition at the CFA Annual Meeting held in Washington, DC on December 18, 1957. Mrs Goforth contended that although the Himalayan standard was identical to the Persian standard, the cat was not a Persian, but a new breed of longhair. With this philosophy as a basis for the Himalayan, these cats received recognition and were granted foundation record registration with CFA. The rules governing the acceptance of new breeds and colors at the time required breeders to show three generations of pure Himalayan colorpoint breedings in order to be eligible for championship competition.
Over the next ten years the Himalayan grew rapidly in popularity. The vast majority of Himalayans, however, failed to meet the breed standard, which called for Persian type. Many breeders had stopped using regular crossings to solid color Persians in their breeding programs. Instead, they were breeding existing colorpoint to colorpoint and as a result, the advancement of the Himalayan as a breed that met the Persian standard was small and, in many cases, not measureable. The Himalayan was becoming a long-nosed, colorpoint longhair.
In the 1970s Himalayan breeders began to look at and evaluate the goals that they were attempting to achieve. It was apparent to many that they needed to begin to work in earnest toward breeding cats that had better Persian type. To accomplish this, they began to outcross to Persians on a regular basis, and kept the best of the offspring to be used in their breeding programs. After a time, colorpoint longhairs with better Persian type began to appear in the show ring. These cats looked more like Persians, and as a result, were able to compete with Persians for those coveted final awards.
The next logical question to follow was: If our cats look like Persians, and are now competitive in type with Persians, why are they competing as a separate breed? Many breeders began to discuss the possibility of creating a place for the Himalayans within the Persian division system. Even so, there were still a number of Himalayan breeders who enjoyed the "old" Himalayan style and whose cats could no longer compete in the show ring with the typier colorpoints. Some of these breeders began a movement away from the Persian type toward a standard that was based on the way the cats looked in the '60s. One glance at the Himalayans in the show ring today tells you that this vision was not achieved. In 1984 the Persian Breed Council had the following question on their ballot: "Should the current Himalayan Breed be accepted as a Division of the Persian?"
The question presented on the Himalayan Breed Council ballot, on the same subject was:
"The Himalayan Breed should: A) Remain as is B) Become a new division of the Persian Breed."
Both breed councils voted against the proposed change, and yet the CFA Board of Directors elected to move the Himalayan into a division of the Persian breed. The rationale for this highly controversial determination was that the decision added consistency to the breed structure. Bi-Color Persians had shorthairs behind their pedigrees and were considered hybrids, and yet they were accepted to championship in 1970; therefore, the fact that Himalayans had Siamese behind them should make no difference to this transition of acceptance as a division of the Persian breed.
For the last 14 years Himalayans have been consistently winning in the show ring. Overall type has dramatically improved, and many fine examples of the breed have gone on to achieve regional and national wins. As with any breed, the Himalayan is still a masterpiece in the making, but early and contemporary colorpoint Persian breeders can be very proud of where we are today.
The Himalayan has made enormous progress in type over the past 20 years. Much of this is related to the devotion and the hard work of the breeders and some of it is related to the merging of the Himalayan breed into the division structure of the Persians. The Himalayan of today is a vastly different cat from what it was at its conception.
In 1957 the Himalayan was recognized in CFA in seal, blue, chocolate and lilac point. These colors were followed by the flame and tortie points in 1964, blue-cream points in 1972, cream points in 1979, and lynx points in 1982. While seal, blue, chocolate and lilac points have been recognized the longest, it has only been recently that the chocolate and lilac point Himalayans have become competitive. Since 1992 we have seen a large increase in the number of chocolates and lilacs achieving grand champion status. The genetics of chocolate and lilac are complex. As a result, there have been only a few breeders willing to work with those colors. The improvement in type is a direct result of the dedication of these few breeders.
Chocolate is a recessive and in its homozygous state produces chocolate and lilac. In other words, both parents must carry the recessive allele for chocolate in order for any of their progeny to show the color. If the recessive color factor is inherited from both parents, the cat will show chocolate. If the recessive color factor is inherited from only one parent, the cat will be heterozygous for chocolate, carrying the chocolate factor invisibly and showing the colors of the dominant genes. These cats are known as chocolate "carriers."
The flame points and the tortie points have always been the darlings of the Himalayan world. With the contrast between the blue eyes and stark white coat of the flame point and the wonderful mottled patterns that can be presented in the tortie point, these are VERY striking colors. In addition, the tortie and flame points are known for their "special" personalities which we blame on the "red" factor in their genetic makeup.
The cream points and the blue-cream points are the dilute versions of the flames and torties. The cream points and the blue-cream points can be very striking with their softness of color, and often have a much clearer coat than their dominant relatives.
Last, but not least, come the lynx points, which are currently the most sought-after colors. The lynx points have striped or tabby points which separate them from other colorpoints. These colors are the result of the combination of the dominant agouti (tabby) gene and the recessive melanin-inhibiting gene of the Himalayan color pattern. Documentation of breedings between tabbies or silvers to Himalayans started showing up in the 1970s.
For the most part the Himalayan is not a hyperactive cat; that is to say, they are not moving all the time. They like to play and they are active, but they like their lap time and prefer to be doing whatever you are doing! The best way to describe colorpoint Persians is to say they are "people oriented." As I sit here writing this article I have a Himmy on my lap and another on my desk. They like their people! Himalayans will often attempt to "help" you do whatever it is that you are doing, whether it is reading the paper, making the bed or reading blueprints. (My husband just loves it when they help him read blueprints from work!) They ARE in the middle of all of your activities, and they express themselves with a wonderful melodious voice. All they ask of us is our complete devotion!
As with any longhair cat, the Himalayan requires grooming maintenance. The Himmy should be groomed on a daily basis, and weekly baths are not uncommon in many catteries. If you are thinking of entering a cat show, then the Himalayan requires a much more rigorous grooming schedule. (When I say rigorous, depending on the coat, it could mean a bath every other day! It all depends on the coat your Himmy is wearing.) For the most part Himalayans have been groomed and bathed since they were young kittens so they agree to the process without too much complaining. Breeders of the colorpoint Persian are sometimes criticized for breeding "extreme" cats with "pushed in faces" and "running eyes." Responsible breeders pay close attention to the overall beauty of expression no matter how short the nose. It IS possible to breed a beautiful Persian with a very short nose that breathes and tears normally. They are not PRONE to respiratory problems – they are generally healthy, vigorous cats.
As popular as the Himalayan is, it is hard to believe that its fashionableness might diminish over the years ahead. Since there is not a specific disease or genetic fault that plagues the Himmy, we can expect that the breed will remain healthy well into the next century. As responsible breeders we do, however, owe the future breeders of the Himalayan cat a legacy of health, diversity and harmony. This means we need to face our health issues, such as PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) or PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy), head on and work to eradicate them from the breed so our Himalayans can remain healthy for the next generation of breeders.
Which brings us to an important challenge facing us as breeders – the mentoring of new breeders. The cat fancy in general needs new breeders and new breeders need mentors. As you place your kittens with their new owners/breeders, take the time to use your expertise to teach them so that they can continue the breed in the same positive way that you have. We all know how easily one can be discouraged when there is no one with whom to talk over problems or questions. Take the time with a new breeder; it will pay off with healthy, happy Himalayans well into the future.
- Newton, N., "The Himalayan – The Impossible Dream." 1980 CFA Yearbook.
- Lamb, B., "Celebrating The Legacy – Renewing The Dream." 1987 CFA Yearbook.
- Lamb, B., "The Himalayan Persian…And the Dream Goes On!" 1998 CFA Yearbook.
- Jacobberger, P., CFA Judge.