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Today we have our first guest post from San Sharma. San is a blogger and community manager for WorkSnug, a mobile app and website that helps you find the nearest and best laptop-friendly places near you. San works from home, in coffee shops, coworking spaces – and wherever else he can get a connection! He's always looking for smarter ways to work and shares his discoveries on the WorkSnug blog at blog.worksnug.com
There are a couple of buzzwords in the title above that'll either date this post when trends move on or establish it as a shining example of forward-thinking. In any case, I should explain what they are.
"Pop-up" events, shops and restaurants are all the rage at the moment. They usually take place in temporary structures, like London's Boxpark pop-up mall (made out of shipping containers), or they make use of abandoned spaces, like warehouses and factories (see Supper Club and Secret Cinema).
"Co-working" you may be more familiar with. It's a style of working that revolves around a shared workplace environment. Unlike a traditional office, co-workers aren't usually employed by the same organization. As such, it's popular with freelancers and location-independent professionals who miss the social interaction that's lacking in a work-from-home arrangement.
As a third space, between traditional and home offices, co-working spots are great. They attract communities of like-minded people with enough professional variety to make sparks and opportunities fly; organizers usually put on events for networking, training and exhibition, and you don't have to worry about your laptop when you use the bathroom or step outside.
But co-working spaces also work on a membership model (that ain't cheap), and you'll eventually get used to seeing the same faces like you would in a regular office, for better or worse.
Recently, I've discovered a compromise – and a good opportunity for another buzzword. Let's call it a "mash-up" of a pop-up event and a co-working space.
What you'll need
- One or two digital-nomad friends – location-independent workers or freelancers.
- A laptop or tablet each – or any connected device you can work on.
- A laptop-friendly public place – like a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi or…
A place with good cellular reception – you'll need a MiFi-like device or a Personal Hotspot.
- A cup of coffee – it always helps.
If you work from home and know someone else who does too, why not try working together? Similar to co-working spaces, you don't have to work on the same thing, but it's sometimes nice to have someone to work alongside. Unlike co-working spaces, however, you're not locked into one space and one community – you can choose where you work and who you work with.
And, as long as you can get online, you can get creative with your pop-up co-working space!
Have you set up your own pop-up co-working space with a friend? Where's the most creative place you've worked together? Have you been to regular pop-up co-working events, like Jelly? Let us know in the comments.
Photo credit: elod beregszaszi


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by Nora Shelly Before moving to Evanston seven years ago, Rev. Dr. Patricia Efiom raised her children in Bloomington, Indiana, where she said they were often the only children of color in their grade. "Our children had to exist in that community," she said. "I quickly learned the way to
photo by Katie Pach written by Allyson Chiu U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and local activists called on community members to stay united and keep "standing up for justice" during an event Sunday in Evanston. More than 300 people packed the cafeteria at the Pope John XXIII School, 1120 Washington
Open Communities Evanston Justice Team pens an open letter to Mayor Tisdahl, members of the City Council, and candidates for election for mayor and alderman in 2017 Submitted to Evanston Patch > We are very encouraged that the City of Evanston is in the process of hiring an Equity and
by Lee V. Gaines Brent Weiss is convinced that having to pay his workers more will have an impact on his outdoor and sporting goods business, he's just not sure how much his bottom line will be tapped. The full-time workers at his Uncle Dan's stores, which include four locations
Landlord-tenant relationships don't have to be contentious. When everyone is collaborative and respectful, they can become mutually beneficial. This is a story of how one landlord and his tenants worked together to solve a host of problems – and developed friendships in the process. In September 2015, Adriano Galvao bought
The Fight for $15 campaign is taking their call for a wage increase and better working conditions to the Chicago suburbs. The workers' rights campaign held a rally at Evanston's Fountain Square over the weekend. Emboldened by recent fight for 15 victories in New York and California, speakers called out
By Brian L. Cox Paydays tend to be depressing for McDonald's restaurant worker Kejioun Johnson. The 20-year-old earns ten dollars an hour, which he said is not nearly enough to cover his monthly bills. Johnson was one of more than two dozen fast food workers who turned out for a
By Mariana Alfaro Evanston workers, activists and community members marched to Burger King, 1740 Orrington Ave., Sunday afternoon as part of a demonstration against low wages and poor working conditions in fast food restaurants across the city. Fight for $15, an international movement that supports workers who are campaigning for
Open Communities appreciates your support!$20?
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subset: commoncrawl


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by Faith
The Wet Bandits from Home Alone Costume
Rate this costume:
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Happy Halloween ya filthy animals.
|Costume type:
|Costumes for Couples
This homemade costume for couples entered our 2013 Halloween Costume Contest,
A word from Ric, the 'The Wet Bandits' costume creator:
Very simple. For Marv: cut off black gloves, dark trench coat, button down shirt, hair mussed, iron mark drawn with Halloween makeup pencil. For Harry: black winter hat with the top cut off, tweed coat with feathers hands sewen on, M on hand in marker. Crow bar and spider for props.
Similar costumes:


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Beijing man ordered to demolish illegal rooftop mountain villa (Video)
For most people, building a bit of nature in the city might mean planting a garden or having some potted plants, or even a windowfarm. In Beijing however, a wealthy businessman has built an artificial mountain-style villa covering the roof of a 26-storey apartment building, and is now being ordered to remove it or have it forcibly demolished by city authorities.
Former government advisor and doctor Zhang Biqing apparently constructed the sprawling 1000-square-meter complex without permits, complete with pools, fake rocks and real trees during the last six years, despite numerous complaints from building residents concerned about continuous noise, structural damage, water leaks and declining property values.The South China Morning Post reports:
The bizarre two-storey structure, located in a high-end residential compound called Park View in Beijing's Haidian district, an area of government institutions and universities, has bothered the building's residents for years. Local newspapers have identified the owner as Zhang Biqing, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and former member of a district People's Political Consultative Conference who owns a national chain of acupunture clinics. [..]
Almost all add-on structures or alterations to residential buildings are illegal in China. However, this hasn't stopped thousands of owners of top-floor or ground-floor properties from adding rooms, and even floors, to their homes, or encroaching into public space by putting up additional walls or fences.
As Al Jazeera points out, do these structures express a "culture of impunity" where laws are not enforced with the rich and powerful? It may, however, finally be changing as incidents like these are increasingly being challenged online by Chinese netizens and via other outlets. More over at The South China Morning Post.


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As 2018 comes to a close many thoughts turn to increased health and fitness, so here are a few reminders from the past year to help with your New Year's resolutions.
Fitness column: Assistance for your fitness New Year's resolutions
As one year transitions to the next, better living lists saturate the media. Not to disappoint, here are a few reminders from the past year to help with your New Year's resolutions.
Don't: Buy a yoga mat
Namaste! Before a tirade of angry-yet-flexible blows rain down upon my head, hear me out.
Fitness has become much too commercial. Mats, water bottles, watches, supplements, books. All fluff, no action. According to the stats, our spandex-clad population is growing bigger by the minute… literally.
I've heard many excuses for exercise truancy — and not having a well stocked accoutrement of exercise regalia is right up there.
Do:Pick one behavior that you are going to change.
Make it easy, accessible and doable. Here's a novel idea, go for a walk.
For added resistance, sling a yoga mat over your shoulder, balancing a skinny, vente latte in the opposite hand while monitoring steps on your smart watch. How do people function without an integrated step management system? Medieval!
Don't: Join a gym
For gym owners, the perfect customer is the one that never shows up… like you! Just kidding, like 'your friend.' Its donors like 'your friend' who keep the really fit people outfitted in the most up-to-date exercise equipment:
'This is Chad. Without your generous donation he wouldn't be able to maintain the ripped physique to which he has become accustomed. Don't let Chad lose muscle mass. Give now!'
Do: Look into exercise alternatives
If you enjoy gyms, by all means, sign up. If the mere thought of free weights fires your flight response, think of something less intimidating. Home equipment and boutique studios have become a popular, less intimidating alternative.
Don't: Get a tattoo
Yes, you're a beast but the life-altering change you're looking for isn't a life-size image of your cat permanently etched on your thigh.
Do: Try eating healthy — even if it's just for a few weeks
Non-processed food clears your head and gives you a different perspective. Maybe the life change you're looking for is in the shape of lettuce — that's the green stuff you've been pulling off your hamburger.
Don't: Copy the "stars"
'You can look just like me in my new book entitled, Look Like Me! Scientists don't even know this stuff. What do scientists know? They don't even look good in beachwear! The introduction was written by my plastic surgeon — he's a real doctor! Follow me on Instagram.'
Do: Listen to that little voice in your head
You know this stuff is all hype, so stop falling for it!
Don't: Change your car's oil or get your hair coloured
At least not until you've addressed the things that make a real difference, like diet and exercise.
Do: Reassess your priorities
Religious about car and hair maintenance? Take a minute to examine priorities. Hopefully, you will be around a lot longer than your car or your original hair colour.
If you spare no expense on material things but refuse to spend a minute on your health give your head a shake.
Don't: Hire a Trainer
At least not without researching consumer ratings and credentials.
Do: Hire a Trainer
Once you've researched consumer ratings and credentials, of course. Fitness is as confusing as social media (can someone please explain hashtags in a way that makes sense!). Unless you're versed in the intricacies of human ergonomics, physiology, adult learning and psychology, you need a Sherpa to guide you through the fog.
Don't: Listen to what you think your doctor is saying.
What does she know anyway? All she does is prescribe pills.
Do: Remember all those times your doctor recommended losing weight, eating better and exercising.
You didn't heed her advice then and now you're stuck with pills that have a host of unwelcome side effects.
Research recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that exercise may be just as effective as drugs at lowering high blood pressure (and a host of other ailments). As a bonus, all side effects have positive consequences.
Hey, here's a novel idea — ask your doctor if exercise and healthy eating is right for you. After they pick themselves up off the ground you can discuss strategies.
When pondering your goals for 2019, go with common sense solutions. The best answers are often the simplest.
Paul Robinson has enjoyed 30 years as a personal trainer, executive, speaker and consultant in the fitness industry. He owns Kneifel Robinson (KR) Personal Training, with his partner Monica Kneifel Robinson, serving St. Albert & Edmonton. KR specializes in helping beginners, Boomers and gym-phobics achieve success in-studio and on-line. You can reach them at email@example.com; http://www.krpersonaltraining.com


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Software Engineer at Charles Schwab
August 2017 - Current
Technologies used:
Programmer Analyst I at Vitro
October 2016 - July 2017
After Vitro purchased my business unit from PPG, I gained divestiture experience and participated in the transfer of full systems and applications from one company to another while continuing to complete .NET development projects.
Programmer Analyst II & I at PPG Industries
June 2015 - October 2016
I worked both in small teams and individually to design/implement full stack .NET/SQL software solutions. In addition to developing new software to improve business functions, I also supported and maintained legacy applications, fixed bugs, and added features throughout. I had direct contact with customers both in external businesses and on the manufacturing plant floor. Development project highlights included a production planning module and an order file conversion application. I was also the system administrator and sole support for the business's CRM tool during a time when the company was beginning to adopt the system at a rapid pace. This meant meeting with users from all parts of the business to discuss and then implement projects with a wide array of business functions.
Technologies used:
Technology Captain at Penn State THON
Apr 2014 - Apr 2015
I developed and maintained PHP web applications and provided technical support for the largest student run philanthropy in the world. Projects included an inventory management and supply request system, as well as a participant medication entry system.
Technologies used:
IT Intern at PPG Industries
May 2014 - Aug 2014
I completed the transformation of a C# MVC web app into a fully responsive web app with several additional features. I then converted it into a standalone native application for all major phones using Cordova PhoneGap.
Technologies used:
I'm a 26 year old software engineer currently living in Denver, CO. I have a BS in Computer Science from Penn State University with a minor in Information Sciences and Technology.


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What Is the Dr. Stoker Difference?
Throughout our website, you'll find a feature on various pages that showcases the "Dr. Stoker Difference." There we outline the reasons why Dr. Stoker is considered one of the best plastic surgeons in Los Angeles, where some of the most accomplished cosmetic surgeons in the world practice. In this blog post, we want to expand on who Dr. Stoker is and what sets him apart from other plastic surgeons throughout Southern California. We'll also offer some tips about what to look for when choosing a plastic surgeon. Who Is Dr. Stoker? Many patients recognize Dr. Stoker from his appearances on … Continue reading


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I think it's time for a September themed shopping guide! Even for those of us who are beyond our education years and don't have kids I feel there will always be a nostalgic 'back to school' essence about September that you can never really shake. Perhaps as a business owner it's more prominent to me because it marks the end of Summer and therefore the approach of Christmas meaning I need to get organised and ready for markets for the festive season. However September makes you feel, it's a great excuse to treat yourself to some new stationary in order to get yourself organised during Autumn! Nothing makes me feel more like being productive than a fresh new notebook or a fancy pen so I'm doing a TOP 5 desk accessories feature this week. Stationary has also been on my mind a lot lately because I'm hoping to venture into selling more stationary products myself so this seemed the perfect way to expand my research. Enjoy!
1. Scandinavian Bison & Jaguar A6 Pocket Notebooks from Papio Press – These illustrated animal designs are just gorgeous and I love the colours! They come as a set; one plain, one lined, ideal!
2. Ceramic House Pencil Holders from Vsocks on Etsy – Discovered these quirky ceramic houses only today on Etsy and I'm absolutely delighted by them. What a fantastic way to store your pens, AND they can be used as candle or utensil holders too, whatever you desire!
3. Vintage 70s Wooden Ladybird Stapler from Sycamore Vintage on Etsy – Love an unusual vintage find like this amazing stained wood retro stapler! It even has little string antennae! I've also come across a vintage orange whale stapler before so there are a few of these treasures about if you keep your eyes peeled.
4. Jam Cuts Correspondence Card Set from Pirrip Press – These screen-printed notecards are each hand-printed with random compositions so no two are the same. Love the wonderful uniqueness of this and the bold mix of colours and shapes.
5. Captured Floral Pencil Pouch by Kari Herer for Anthropologie – These photographic floral prints are just beautiful. Keep your best pens and tools nice and safe in one of these lovely pouches featuring a leather zip-pull to boot!
There you have it. Let me know which is your fave?! Or if there are any stationary products in particular you would love to see Sky Siouki selling perhaps? Notebooks are definitely on the cards so stay tuned.


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Creating Site Definitions for Windows SharePoint Services
Patrick Tisseghem
March 2006
Applies to:
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 2)
Summary: Learn how to create a custom site definition for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services sites. This article provides an understanding of how Windows SharePoint Services V2 site definitions work internally and how the Collaborative Application Markup Language (CAML) defines the structure of lists and views. (18 printed pages)
Introduction to Creating Site Definitions
Creating the Seminar Site Definition
Creating the List Definition
Additional Resources
About the Author
Introduction to Creating Site Definitions
This article discusses how to create a custom site definition for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 2) team sites. The goal is to provide you with a good understanding of how Windows SharePoint Services V2 site definitions work internally and how the Collaborative Application Markup Language (CAML) defines the structure of lists and views.
You can follow along with this article as I walk you through a step-by-step example of creating a simple custom site definition for storing and delivering information associated with a training seminar. My goal is to keep the instructions simple but educative so that you can relate everything I discuss to your own types of team sites.
Creating the Seminar Site Definition
Several MSDN white papers (listed at the end of this article) discuss how to create your own custom site definition by making a copy of an existing default site definition supplied by Microsoft. A good one to use is the SharePoint team site definition, physically represented by the STS folder found at
drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033 on the server that is running Windows SharePoint Services. Your copy of that site definition has the same functionality and look and feel as the default SharePoint team site. You can modify this site definition to customize it. Before your custom site definition becomes active, you must create a copy of the Webtemp.xml file and modify its content. After you perform an
iisreset command, your site definition becomes visible in the template picker page. Find more information and step-by-step guides in the additional resources listed at the end of this article.
The site definition I show you how to create is very simple and has limited features. The goal of the article is to give you insight into how the different components that compose a site definition interact with each other and what CAML elements you need to understand to create more-complex site definitions. A copy of the complete STS default site definition is too much to accomplish in the space allowed for this article. I therefore create the necessary site definition infrastructure manually. I do copy some files, though, just to simplify the work.
The Minimal Site Definition Infrastructure
Site definitions are collections of physical files located in
drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE and in language-specific folders (such as 1033 for English-US) under it. You perform the initial work for the custom site definition in this folder.
Follow these steps to create the initial minimal site definition infrastructure. I expand the various components step-by-step later in the article.
- Create a new subfolder named SEMINAR under
drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033. The name of the folder must use all uppercase letters.
- Every team site has a home page typically represented by a physical file named default.aspx. The default.aspx page from the STS folder is a good candidate to start with. You customize it later for this project. So copy this default.aspx into your own SEMINAR folder.
- Also copy the XML subfolder from the STS folder. In it are three important XML files that Windows SharePoint Services uses to get your site up and running.
- Onet.xml provides Windows SharePoint Services with information about the navigation, lists, and document libraries that users can create; the templates for the document libraries; the base list types, and the possible site configurations.
- Stdview.xml is the configuration file containing the definition of the standard views upon which you can base your own custom views.
- Vwstyles.xml defines the various styles for creating new views.
- To conclude, create a second subfolder named LISTS and copy the subfolders CUSTLIST and WPLIB from the LISTS folder in the STS site definition folder.
Figure 1 shows the initial framework of the site definition.
Figure 1. Initial site definition framework
Modifying the Onet.xml file
The first file to examine in closer detail is Onet.xml. It is an extremely important file within your site definition. Figure 2 summarizes the six major sections within Onet.xml. The Project element encapsulates all of them; I simply modify the Title attribute of this element to store the title of the custom site definition.
<Project Title="Seminar SharePoint Site" ListDir="Lists"
xmlns:ows="Microsoft SharePoint">
Figure 2. Components of the Onet.xml file
Let's look at each section more closely.
The NavBars element defines the navigation infrastructure on the pages that compose the team site. The seminar site requires minimal navigation: a link to the home page, the agenda of the sessions, the speakers page, and the document library where the presentations and samples for download will be stored.
The Quick Launch navigation elements are not used for this example. So you can remove the definition of it in the Onet.xml file. The only navigation bar we need (represented by the NavBar element) is the horizontal one at the top of the page.
Three NavBarLink elements define the hyperlinks. You provide the NavBarLink element with a name and the URL for the page to display.
<NavBars> <NavBar Name="SharePoint Top Navbar" Separator="   " Body="#LABEL#" ID="1002"> <NavBarLink Name="Agenda Sessions" Url="Lists/Sessions/Agenda.aspx"> </NavBarLink> <NavBarLink Name="Speakers" Url="Lists/Speakers/AllItems.aspx"> </NavBarLink> <NavBarLink Name="Downloads" Url="Lists/Downloads/AllItems.aspx"> </NavBarLink> </NavBar> </NavBars>
The next block, the ListTemplates, defines all the lists and libraries you make available for your site definition. In the example, you create two custom lists (one to store session information and one for the speaker information) and one custom document library (to store the downloadable files). For now, remove all except the custom list, the document library, and the internal lists (the galleries for the Web Parts and templates) necessary for a top-level team site.
<ListTemplates> <ListTemplate Name="custlist" DisplayName="Custom List" ... <ListTemplate Name="doclib" DisplayName="Document Library" ... <ListTemplate Name="webtemp" DisplayName="Site Template Gallery" ... <ListTemplate Name="wplib" DisplayName="Web Part Gallery" ... <ListTemplate Name="datasrcs" DisplayName="DataSources" ... <ListTemplate Name="listtemp" DisplayName="List Template Gallery" ... </ListTemplates>
The DocumentTemplates, as you might expect, define the templates for the document libraries. For this example, delete everything except the minimum that the site requires. Keep only the definition for the document library that uses no templates.
<DocumentTemplates> <DocumentTemplate Name="" DisplayName="None" Type="100" Default="FALSE" Description="This document library will not use templates."> </DocumentTemplate> </DocumentTemplates>
The BaseTypes block defines the five different types of lists with which users can work on team sites. Do not change anything in this block; simply leave it as it is. Every BaseType definition includes the various field types and the ways they are rendered in the various modes (edit, new, and view mode).
<BaseTypes> <BaseType Title="Generic List" Image="_layouts/images/itgen.gif" Type="0"> ... </BaseType> <BaseType Title="Document Library" Image="_layouts/images/itdl.gif" Type="1"> </BaseType>
A site definition can have multiple configurations, each represented by the Configuration element. Examine the default STS site definition. You can see that the blank team site and the default team site already contain some instances of lists and Web Parts added to the home page. The seminar site definition has only one configuration. The internal lists will be created, and on the home page you will have an empty Content Editor Web Part that can be used by the administrator to provide a description of the seminar. An image Web Part shows a default image. In the configuration section, you point to the module where the Web Parts to be added will be defined.
<Configurations> <Configuration ID="0" Name="Default"> <Lists> <List Title="Site Template Gallery" Type="111" Url="_catalogs/wt" RootWebOnly="TRUE" /> <List Title="Web Part Gallery" Type="113" Url="_catalogs/wp" RootWebOnly="TRUE" /> <List Title="List Template Gallery" Type="114" Url="_catalogs/lt" RootWebOnly="TRUE" /> </Lists> <Modules> <Module Name="Default"/> <Module Name="WebPartPopulation"/> </Modules> </Configuration> </Configurations>
The Modules section is the last one to consider. Within the Configuration element, I defined a link to two modules: Default and WebPartPopulation. The first one defines what needs to be dropped at the start on the home page and the second one fills the internal Web Part gallery with the two Web Parts users can drop on the Web Part Pages. The Web Parts placed on default.aspx are defined by the AllUsersWebPart element.
<Modules> <Module Name="Default" Url="" Path=""> <File Url="default.aspx" NavBarHome="True"> <AllUsersWebPart WebPartZoneID="Left" WebPartOrder="1"> <![CDATA[ <WebPart xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WebPart/v2"> <Assembly>Microsoft.SharePoint, Version=22.214.171.124, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c</Assembly> <TypeName>Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages. ContentEditorWebPart</TypeName> <Title>Welcome to the conference site</Title> </WebPart> ]]> </AllUsersWebPart> <AllUsersWebPart WebPartZoneID="Right" WebPartOrder="1"> <![CDATA[ <WebPart xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WebPart/v2" xmlns:iwp="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WebPart/v2/Image"> <Assembly>Microsoft.SharePoint, Version=126.96.36.199, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c</Assembly> <TypeName>Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages. ImageWebPart</TypeName> <FrameType>None</FrameType> <Title>Site Image</Title> <iwp:ImageLink>/_layouts/images/homepage.gif </iwp:ImageLink> </WebPart> ]]> </AllUsersWebPart> <NavBarPage Name="Home" ID="1002" Position="Start"> </NavBarPage> </File> </Module> <Module Name="WebPartPopulation" List="113" Url="_catalogs/wp" Path="lists\wplib\dwp" RootWebOnly="TRUE"> <File Url="MSContentEditor.dwp" Type="GhostableInLibrary"/> <File Url="MSImage.dwp" Type="GhostableInLibrary"/> </Module> </Modules>
For now, that is everything you change in Onet.xml. Later we return to it to define the custom speaker list.
Making Changes to the Home Page
The home page (physically represented by default.aspx in your site definition folder) is a normal ASP.NET page filled with controls that are specific to Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft FrontPage components. Figure 3 depicts the elements that compose the home page.
Figure 3. The typical components of a SharePoint home page
The two navigation bars (the horizontal navigation bar and the Quick Launch) are defined within Onet.xml and rendered by a combination of a FrontPage component and a navigation server control specific to Windows SharePoint Services. Based on the ID value of NavBar or NavBarLink, the navigation bars are rendered appropriately.
  <SharePoint:Navigation LinkBarId="1002" />
Dynamic information is rendered on the page using ASP.NET server controls that are specific to Windows SharePoint Services.
- Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.ProjectProperty renders the title and the description of the team site.
- Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.ViewSearchForm renders the search box.
- Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.PortalConnection renders the link to the parent site, which can be either a portal or a team site.
- Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.AuthenticationButton renders a possible Sign In button when anonymous access is allowed.
- Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.SettingsLink renders the Modify Shared Page link for accessing the Web Part galleries and other settings.
In the Onet.xml file, the Configuration and the Module elements define the content of the page at the start. In the Quick Launch, you see a number of lists and libraries already available; on the page itself you find some Web Parts already presented. Containers for these Web Parts in default.aspx are provided through the Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPartZone server control.
You can make many kinds of modifications to this default.aspx page by opening it in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. For your site definition, I told you to remove the part that defines the Quick Launch area because the NavBarLink elements have been deleted from Onet.xml. In the source, look for the navigation comment and remove everything until just before the contents comment.
Activating the Site Definition
The new custom site definition you created is not yet active. Windows SharePoint Services does not yet know that a new site definition is available for users. A number of XML files whose names begin with the Webtemp prefix are loaded by Windows SharePoint Services when it starts. These XML files provide Windows SharePoint Services with the list of default and custom site definitions for the users who are creating new sites. The Webtemp file must be created within the
drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033\XML folder. I recommend that you begin with a copy of the default Webtemp.xml file and rename it to Webtempseminar.xml.
After opening the file in your XML editor, you modify it as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<Templates xmlns:ows="Microsoft SharePoint">
<Template Name="SEMINAR" ID="10100">
<Configuration ID="0" Title="Seminar Site" Hidden="FALSE"
Description="This template can be used to create a seminar site.">
The name of the template must match the name of the folder in which you store the site definition. Every site definition needs a unique identifier on your computer. The site definition allows for one configuration as you have defined it in Onet.xml.
You can test this by first restarting Internet Information Services (use the command
iisreset from your command line) and then creating a new team site based on your custom site definition. Figure 4 displays the TemplatePicker page with the new site definition template.
Figure 4. TemplatePicker displaying the Seminar Site definition you created
Figure 5 shows the resulting team site.
Figure 5. A new Seminar Site based on the custom site definition
Creating the List Definition
Now that you have your site definition infrastructure up and running, you can add more to it. You must make two lists available: One list stores the details of the speakers, and a second list stores the details of the sessions. This section shows you how to define the speakers list definition in CAML.
The Speakers List
The speakers list is a small custom list with the following custom fields:
- First Name (single line of text)
- Last Name (single line of text)
- E-mail (single line of text)
- Bio (multiple lines of text)
To define this list as part of the site definition, you must complete a few steps. Note that the Title field (an internal field you cannot remove) remains a column of the list and contains the full name of the speaker.
Copying the CUSTLIST
To start, you need to create a copy of the CUSTLIST folder. You can take the one that is already available in your site definition folder. Rename the CUSTLIST folder to SPEAKERS.
The folder contains four ASP.NET pages and one XML file:
Initial Modifications to Schema.xml
Modify Schema.xml slightly so that you can later determine whether the list appears on sites that are based on the site definition. Open the Schema.xml file in your favorite XML editor.
The root element is the List element. Here you must change the Name, Title, and URL attribute values.
<List xmlns:ows="Microsoft SharePoint" Name="Speakers" Title="Speaker List" Direction="0" Url="Lists/Speakers" BaseType="0" >
Windows SharePoint Services requires you to have a DefaultDescription element for a custom list. This element needs to be created as a child element of the MetaData element.
<DefaultDescription>List for storing information regarding the speakers.</DefaultDescription>
Activating the Speakers List
You must return to the Onet.xml file associated with the seminar site definition to activate the speakers list. In it, you register the new list within the ListTemplates section.
<ListTemplate Name="speakers" DisplayName="Speakers List" Type="500"
BaseType="0" OnQuickLaunch="TRUE" SecurityBits="11"
Description="Create a list to store speaker information for the seminar."
The list template must have a type number. The guideline here is to use a type number less than 1000.
You create one instance of this list during the creation process of the team site. A ListViewWebPart displaying the All Items view (that is, the default one in the custom list template) should be inserted on the home page.
For this, you need to edit the Configuration element within Onet.xml and add a List element as a child element to indicate that you want to create the instance.
<List Title="Speakers" Type="500" />
Next, in the Module element named "default," create another List element as a child element under the File element that represents default.aspx. You add the ListViewWebPart directly under the content editor Web Part you already have in the left Web Part zone. To indicate the order within the Web Part zone, use the WebPartOrder attribute.
<View List="500" BaseViewID="0" WebPartZoneID="Left" WebPartOrder="2"/>
Testing the Changes
After you make all the changes, you can test the modified site definition again by first restarting IIS (
iisreset) and then creating a new team site based on the seminar site definition, as displayed in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Seminar site with the speakers list
The Schema.xml File
Now take a closer look at Schema.xml. This important file contains the CAML elements that express the definition of the list. Like the Onet.xml file discussed earlier, Schema.xml comprises several XML sections. (See Figure 7.)
Figure 7. Components of the Schema.xml file
Open the Schema.xml file in your favorite XML editor because you must make a couple of changes.
The Fields section defines the fields that are included in the list inherited from the base type list (that is, the custom list). The definitions of these base type fields are done in Onet.xml under the BaseType element.
The speakers list has a few additional fields, each defined by a Field element. Most are simple text fields. For entering the bio information, define the field type Note so that the user can enter multiple lines of text. All the fields have the attribute Sealed set to True to disallow a user from removing them as columns from the list.
<Fields> <Field Type="Text" Name="FirstName" DisplayName="First Name" Required="TRUE" Sealed="TRUE" /> <Field Type="Text" Name="LastName" DisplayName="Last Name" Required="TRUE" Sealed="TRUE" /> <Field Type="Note" Name="Bio" DisplayName="Bio" Sealed="TRUE" /> <Field Type="Text" Name="Email" DisplayName="Email" Sealed="TRUE" /> </Fields>
The Views section contains the definitions of the different views that are immediately available when an instance of this list is created. The custom list has only two views: the default view displayed within the ListViewWebPart on the home page, and the All Items view. For now, simply ensure that the fields created in the previous step are displayed in both views. Later you create a complete new view. The ViewFields child element, one of the last child elements of the View element, defines the list of fields to be included in the view. Add a FieldRef element for each of them. Remove the two FieldRef elements that are already there. Repeat this for both of the views.
<ViewFields> <FieldRef Name="FirstName"></FieldRef> <FieldRef Name="LastName"></FieldRef> <FieldRef Name="Email"></FieldRef> <FieldRef Name="Bio"></FieldRef> </ViewFields>
The Forms section allows you to customize for each type of operation on the list (displaying, editing, or creating items) the dynamic part of the physical forms page. Use it, for example, to define additional actions or to add additional Web Parts to the pages.
The last section is the ToolBar section, which defines the actions displayed by hyperlinks in the Quick Launch. Examples are the Alert Me action and Modify Settings and Columns action. Again, you can add additional actions here.
After executing an
iisreset command and creating a new team site based on your custom site definition, you have a list populated with the new fields, as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Speakers list with custom fields
Creating a Custom View
The last topic I discuss in this article describes the steps to create a custom view using Schema.xml and CAML. Schema.xml contains one or more View elements, and each element defines one view. Every View element has at least six important sections:
- ViewHeader
- ViewBody
- ViewFooter
- ViewEmpty
- Query
- ViewFields
Remember that the goal of this article is to provide you with the basic techniques so that you build your own, more-powerful solutions. The example view basically displays the information of a speaker in the manner of a data list.
So how do you start? The bulk of your work occurs in Schema.xml. You currently have two views defined. You can create the third one directly under the second view. Views are defined by the View element. A number of attributes are important for the View element:
- Name is required; it defines the internal name for the view.
- DisplayName is the name of the view as the user sees it.
- BaseViewID is an identifier for the custom view.
- Url is the path to the ASP.NET page that is responsible for the rendering of the view. For this example, you make a copy of AllItems.aspx, already present in the SPEAKERS folder, and rename it to speakerssummary.aspx. Think of a scenario in which you start modifying this page to accommodate the view in a specific manner. This example will have the normal Windows SharePoint Services appearance.
- In the ASP.NET page, Windows SharePoint Services fills the WebPartZone specified by WebPartZoneID.
The next elements to consider are ViewHeader, ViewBody, and ViewFooter. For now, keep it simple and provide only the infrastructure for the table to be generated. More details follow later. Notice that the insertion of HTML always needs to be enclosed in a CDATA element so that your XML is well-formed.
Initially, when you create a new team site based on the site definition, the list is empty. You can use the ViewEmpty part of the View to define what the user will see. For now, leave ViewBody empty.
You can also define a CAML query for sorting and possibly filtering the items displayed in the view. The definition of the list of fields included within the view is defined within the ViewFields element.
<View Name="SpeakersSummary" DisplayName="Speakers Summary" BaseViewID="2"
WebPartZoneID="Main" Url="SpeakersSummary.aspx">
<![CDATA[

Speakers Summary View
]]>
<ViewFooter><![CDATA[
 ]]></ViewFooter>
<FieldRef Name="LinkTitle"></FieldRef>
<FieldRef Name="FirstName"></FieldRef>
<FieldRef Name="LastName"></FieldRef>
<FieldRef Name="Bio"></FieldRef>
<FieldRef Name="Email"></FieldRef>
It is time to test these changes. A new site based on your custom site definition now has a new view for the speakers list. It first displays the contents of the ViewEmpty elements and, after the insertion of a new speaker, the contents of ViewHeader, ViewBody, and ViewFooter.
You can finalize the view now by defining the contents of the ViewBody element.
<![CDATA[
 ]]>
<Field Name="LinkTitle"/>
<![CDATA[
 ]]>
<![CDATA[
 ]]>
<Field Name="Bio"/>
<![CDATA[
 ]]>
<![CDATA[
 ]]>
<Field Name="Email"/>
<![CDATA[
 ]]>
<![CDATA[
<![CDATA[;ctx.HttpPath = ]]>
<![CDATA[;ctx.HttpRoot = ]]>
<![CDATA[;ctx.imagesPath = ]]>
<![CDATA[;ctx.PortalUrl = ]]>

<![CDATA[;if (ctx.PortalUrl == "") ctx.PortalUrl =
null;ctx.displayFormUrl = ]]>

<![CDATA[;ctx.editFormUrl = ]]>

<![CDATA[;ctx.isWebEditorPreview = ]]>
<GetVar Name="WebEditorPreview"/>
<Case Value="TRUE">1</Case>
<![CDATA[;ctx.ctxId = ]]>
<Counter Type="View"/>
<Expr><ListProperty Select="ModeratedList"/></Expr>
<Case Value="0"/>
<Default>ctx.isModerated = true;</Default>
<Expr><GetVar Name="RecursiveView"/></Expr>
<Case Value="1">ctx.recursiveView = true;</Case>
<![CDATA[ ctx]]>
<Counter Type="View"/>
<![CDATA[ = ctx;</SCRIPT>]]>
The block of code is responsible for providing context information to the JavaScript functions that provide the actions to be performed on the list item (such as viewing and editing the properties). Figure 9 shows the final outcome of the custom view.
Figure 9. The custom view for the speakers list
In this article, you learned the basic steps required to create the infrastructure for a site definition and the CAML elements needed to create a custom list definition and a custom view. I hope that the material covered here has helped you better understand the various components that compose a site definition. Please contact me (email@example.com) if you have any remarks or questions regarding the content.
Additional Resources
- Adding a Custom View Style to Windows SharePoint Services
- Branding a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Site: Part 1, Understanding the Use of a Corporate Brand
- Branding a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Site: Part 2, How to Apply Your Own Corporate Brand
- Customizing List Item Forms in Windows SharePoint Services
- Customizing SharePoint Sites and Portals: Part 1
- Customizing SharePoint Sites and Portals: Using Templates and Site Definitions, Part 2
- Customizing SharePoint Sites and Portals: Style Sheet Class Reference Tables, Part 3
About the Author
Patrick Tisseghem is managing partner at U2U, a Microsoft .NET training services company based in Brussels. His main areas of expertise are the .NET Framework and all the products and technologies that relate to the information worker. In this role he is evangelizing SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Office development for Microsoft EMEA.
This article was developed in partnership with A23 Consulting.


text:
LIVE Hi-Lo from Playtech is one of the easiest table games to play in any LIVE dealer casino. Many land-based casinos do not offer the game, but players have been known to take full advantage of the rewards offered with online game options. Playtech has included a beautiful setup for the game, including a bright blue table and options that are easy to see. Betting takes place on the table, making it as realistic as can be while providing more options than virtual and land-based casino games.
The table is laid out in an easy to use manner with last results and various bet options available. As mentioned, betting takes place on the table, meaning no betting menu is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Instead, various coin values and other games options appear in the much smaller bar, allowing more of the game to fill the screen.
Players will find the high-quality video feed of the LIVE dealer is available on laptops and desktops with flash based gaming options that do not require any downloads. Mobile gaming has become the preferred gaming method with LIVE games as players can play the game from anywhere, at any time. Simply use an Android or iOS device to play via the app or connect to the HTML5 version with the internet browser of iOS and Android devices along with all other smartphones.
How Playtech Hi Lo Works
Once the table and video feed of the dealer has loaded, you will find the game is quite easy to figure out. The results of the last round in displayed in the light blue bar in front of the dealer 2 being the lowest value and Ace the highest.
The objective of LIVE Hi Lo is to determine whether or not the next card will be higher or lower than the last. For example, if a 6 appeared in the last round with a 7 to follow and you place a bet on higher, you will win. However, if a 6 showed in the previous round and a 2 follows with the same bet, you would lose.
The game is that simple, but Playtech has made it more enjoyable by including other bet options with higher payouts. Players can select card groups including 2 to 5, 6 to 9, or 10 to Ace. Placing a bet here and the next card appears within those brackets, you will win. Other betting options also include card colors, betting that the next card will be an Ace or King, or even just an Ace. There are many ways to hit impressive payouts, but also many ways to decrease the risk by playing the Hi-Lo game only on the left, which also includes a snap option that allows you to bet that the next card will consist of the same value.
Players will be able to choose from multiple bet values as various chip values are shown. This allows users to take advantage of progressive betting, which has proven very popular and rewarding with this type of game. Chip values range from $2.00 up to $20.00, but players can stack coins and reach total bets of $200.00 per bet.


text:
Norman McLean was haunted by waters. I'm haunted by iOS (s aapL) text editors. I usually switch between Pages, PlainText and Elements. Elements, recently updated to version 2, stands a chance at having the biggest impact on my writing workflow.
Plays better with others
Elements introduces a ton of exporting/publishing features with the latest update. Now you can send your files as e-mails (inline or as an attachment), publish directly to Tumblr and Facebook, and send to Evernote or iTunes. My personal site is hosted on Tumblr and I use Evernote a lot, so I love those features in particular, but all of those listed alleviate the pain of getting files off your iPad.
My only problem with exporting/sharing/publishing is that the new selections are limited, and buried under confusing menu choices. Choosing Export lets you send the file to Dropbox, Evernote, and iTunes, but only as an HTML or PDF (s adbe) file. I think Elements would be great in a classroom where the full-screen, no frills interface is perfect for capturing lecture notes, and Evernote is a great repository for class notes and materials. But being limited to exporting only HTML or PDF files is a hassle. The workaround to sending text to your Evernote account is to use Element's inline e-mail feature to send the note to your Evernote address.Sending files to other services needs to be consolidated. Instead of choosing export, PDF, and then Evernote within Elements, it would work better if I chose export, Evernote, and then the format (and create a text note needs to be there).
Element continues to support Markdown, however, making it an excellent general editor for blog posts. Also, the app developer is looking into support of Markdown formatting when you export a PDF file. If this feature is implemented, it may become best way to create a file with footnotes.
Final thoughts
Right now, I'm using Pages as my editor of choice for iOS and OS X because of the ease of using the same file on both platforms and because iCloud will allow me to seamlessly (I hope) sync files in the background. Am I going to change to Elements thanks to this major update? Pages is still likely to be my go-to tool for general use, but for Tumblr posts and Evernote entries, Elements gets the nod. This is also still a basic plain text editing tool. There are zero formatting features. No bold or italics, no paragraph styles. For my needs, this is fine. If you need to bold files without using Markdown, this is not the tool for you. Still, Elements looks like the easiest way to get text into a format I'm going to want to quickly get at on my desktop thanks to its new sharing features, which at least merits a spot on my primary home page.
Forced Dropbox usage for basic file systems remains a downside. I'd much prefer if the app stored files in its own sandbox first, and then integrated with Dropbox as an option. I'll have to suck it up with Dropbox, though, at least until Elements incorporates the upcoming iCloud document syncing feature. Elements looks like the easiest way to get text into a format I'm going to want to quickly get at on my desktop. I expect iCloud to have a huge impact on iOS text editors on the whole, so I can't wait to see what developers do with it when it arrives this fall.


text: On Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 4:03 PM, Alex G. <mr.nuke.me at gmail.com> wrote: > What are your thoughts? Do you think any action will be taken? > > Alex > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Microsoft Antitrust behaviour > Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:39:19 -0500 > From: Alex G. <mr.nuke.me at gmail.com> > To: antitrust.complaints at usdoj.gov > > To the United States Department of Justice, > > I would like to bring to your attention a matter of anticompetitive > behaviour, which, in my honest opinion, will have a deep negative impact > on the personal computer (PC) market. > > == What are the names of companies, individuals, or organizations that > are involved? == > > Microsoft Corporation > One Microsoft Way > Redmond, WA 98052-6399 > > == How do you believe they have violated the federal antitrust laws? > (For details on federal antitrust laws, see Antitrust Laws and You.) == > > Microsoft is using its market power in the PC operating system (OS) > market to coerce computer hardware manufacturers to include a technology > (SecureBoot) which, under its current form, will prevent consumers from > installing and using the OS of their choice on their computers. > > > == Can you give examples of the conduct that you believe violates the > antitrust laws? If so, please provide as much detail as possible. == > > Microsoft is including SecureBoot with its upcoming "Windows 8" OS, and > is requiring that hardware manufacturers support this feature. > SecureBoot requires that the computer's hardware initialization software > (firmware) performs a cryptographic check of the OS before starting the > OS. As part of SecureBoot, the OS loader (bootloader) must be signed > with a cryptographic key, and the firmware checks this signature before > loading the OS to ensure that it has not been modified by malicious > software (malware). > > Microsoft claims that SecureBoot is designed as a security feature > against malware. However, as part of its requirements for SecureBoot, > Microsoft only specifies that the bootloader must be verified against a > Microsoft key. It does not specify any of the following: > 1) The user being able to disable SecureBoot at his or her option > 2) The user being able to specify his or her key and boot the OS of his > or her choice > As we have seen in the past, most manufacturers will adhere only to the > minimum requirements set by Microsoft, and thus neither point (1) nor > point (2) will be implemented in an overwhelming majority of firmware. > This effectively prevents the user from using any other OS than > Microsoft's Window 8, strengthening Microsoft's artificial monopoly in > the OS market. Microsoft is well aware of the implications of not > addressing points (1) and (2), but has remained silent on the issue. > > > == What is the product or service affected by this conduct? Where is the > product manufactured or sold, or where is the service provided? == > > All future PC systems will be affected by this conduct. > > > == Who are the major competitors that sell the product or provide the > service? == > > Apple sells its MacOS operating system with its macintosh line of > computers. While Apple does not allow use of MacOS on non-Apple > computers, it allows any OS to be installed and used on its line of > computers. Since Apple computers are priced high, and are not as > configurable as a regular PC, buying a Macintosh in order to be able to > use the OS of their choice is not an option for the majority of users. > > RedHat and Novell both sell their flavor of the GNU/Linux operating > system. Their business relies on the user being able to install the OS > of his or her choice, and they will be negatively impacted by > Microsoft's conduct. > > > == What is your role in the situation in question? == > > I am a user of free and open source software (FOSS), including, but not > limited to linux, GNU, KDE, apache, etc. I am also a software developer > which has contributed to many of these projects (by improving their > source code). > > > == Who is harmed by the alleged violations? How are they harmed? == > > All users of FOSS are harmed. By not being able to install the OS of > their choice, they will be forced into using Microsoft's OS, or buying > computers which implement points (1) or (2). Considering the > proliferation of linux in the server and workstation segment, I do > expect some manufacturers to implement either (1) or (2) in their server > and/or workstation products; however, servers and workstations are > significantly more expensive than regular PC systems. Thusly, FOSS users > will be forced to either use Microsoft's OS, or spend a significantly > higher amount of money on PC hardware in order to be able to use the OS > and software of their choice. > > > I do believe that, if implemented ethically, SecureBoot has the > potential to be a great technology, and a very effective way to defend > against certain types of malware. However, in order for my previous > statement to have any value, the user must be given the choice to use > the OS of their choice on _any_ computer he or she chooses to buy. I > very strongly believe that, the best way to ensure the users' freedom > remains unaffected, is to have Microsoft modify its SecureBoot > specification such that both the following are mandated by the > specification: > 1) The user, should he or she chose to do so, must be able to specify > the cryptographic keys to use to use as part of the bootloader > verification process (including having the option to blacklist any > Microsoft keys installed at the factory). > 2) The user, at his or her option, must be able to disable the > cryptographic verification in his or her computer's firmware. > > > Sincerely, > Alexandru Gagniuc Hello! What anti-trust suit are you thinking of? The only one that I know of Alex, died an ugly death some years ago, and the Feds gave up on it. Especially since the company involved does not have a majority stake in running an operating system. That option in all probability will end up on higher end hardware, not necessarily desktops. But let's let the rest of the group offer an appropriate comment or complaint. ----- Gregg C Levine gregg.drwho8 at gmail.com "This signature fought the Time Wars, time and again."


text:
Java Interface
Last time, we covered abstract classes. In this article, we are going to cover a similar concept called interface (not the same as a graphical user interface).
An interface in Java is like an abstract class; however, while an abstract class may contain methods without a body, none of the methods in an interface has a body. In other words, an interface contains a list of method definitions. It defines what methods a class should have, but does not provide the code. An interface is also called a contract.
Real World Analogy
Let's consider a real-world analogy of interface: the power socket. A power socket is an interface for electric appliances because it defines a list of specs. In the U.S. an outlet must provide voltage around 120 V, and frequency of 60 Hz.
Any appliance conforms to this specs can be plugged into the socket.
Defining an Interface
Coming back to Java, the following defines an interface named
Each interface is usually saved in one
.java file with the name matching the interface name. So save this interface in a file name
Implementing an Interface
A class implements an interface using the
inteface keyword. A class that implements the interface must provide the code for all the methods (specs) listed. For example, the
ArrayBag class below implements the
Bag interface:
Notice the
ArrayBag class must have all the methods listed in the
Bag interface and their code. Other classes that uses our
ArrayBag class knows how to to use it because
ArrayBag follows the spec in
Bag. In terms our analogy:
- The interface <=> the specs of the socket
- The class that implements the interface <=> the actual socket
- And other classes that use our class <=> appliances
In a sense, a Java interface is a blueprint for classes.
Failure to Comply
What if a class implements an interface but does not have all the methods listed in the interface? In this case the class does not conform to the spec. In real world, if a socket does not follow the spec, it could damage our gadget. In Java, the compiler will catch this error and your program will not compile.
Polymorphism with Interface
Yes we can do polymorphism using interfaces. What this mean is that we can create a variable of an interface, and assignment to it an object of any class that implements the interface.
We often see interfaces being used as parameter and return types, as shown below.
Comparator is an interface.
Obviously we cannot create an instance of an interface types, so what do we pass into the sort() method for parameter
C, which has an interface type? We can pass in an instance of any class that implements the
Comparator interface, as shown below:
Last, why would we even want to use interface parameters? Why don't we just always use class types as parameters? Well, since an interface defines what methods are included in a class, that is all we really need to interact with a class, and we don't need to know how those methods are implemented.
The beauty of this is that we can have two classes that implement an interface in two completely different ways, but as long as these classes implement the methods, they can passed to an interface parameter. Car engines don't have to be designed the same way, but as long as they follow certain specs, they are reusable components.


text:
Autostereo is the odd term for being able to see stereo without glasses. It may sound like the sound system for your car, but its not. Lenticular images are an example of one form of autostereo.
I first became aware of how practical autostereo was at Ken Perlin's lab in 2000. There I learned the following things as we wrangled the demo for his autostereo paper to SIGGRAPH that year, some of them are technical and some are "industrial". The point of this is that the technical issues are dwarfed by the industrial issues.
Here are two obvious technical issues followed by two, much harder issues involving commerce.
Is this the future of autostereo?
Here are two obvious technical issues followed by two, much harder issues involving commerce.
1. Most autostereo does not pay attention to where the observer is, and has just built into it a number of views that are visible from different angles. Alternatively, you can track where the user's head is in 3D and regenerate the two views that are necessary for that observer in that location which is what we were doing. But then you discover that most head and eye tracking algorithms are 2D not 3D. So reliable 3D head tracking became one of the hardest parts of the problem.
2. But if you are doing more than a store window display, then you will need to be able to generate 3D images from whatever the user sees, whether that be text, the OS window system, or some exciting 3D database of a giant robot. That requires good integration into a high performance (or a suitable performance) graphics device. This of course is very possible today, even on a handheld device (up to a point).
3. But then you discover that there are in fact very few manufacturers of the displays that go into devices. In fact, there are, or were, exactly 1 manufacturer left of CRTs and 4 manufacturers of LCDs and all the people who sell displays buy from these 5 manufacturers. And you discover that they can not just whip out 5 or 50 of something special, that is hideously expensive. And building a new factory is not less than billions of dollars, many billions.
4. On top of that you discover that the primary industrial uses of stereo in industry, are actually quite pleased with the quality and price of their LCD goggles. So that undercuts any productization you might consider that does not go to the consumer.
The point is that everytime you see a press release of a new cool technology or display, you should realize that almost exactly zero of these will reach the consumer. That is a little negative, but it has to do with the costs and risks of ramping up to the scale that would make it worthwhile in that very competitive market.
So we take all announcements of new technology displays, say with 6 phosphors instead of 3, or new autostereo with the grim realization that the probability that any of these becoming available at prices that anyone but the DOD can afford is nearly zero.
On that positive note, HP has announced what seems like a very cool way to autostereo on a handheld. It was just published in Nature.
You can read about it here.
A Wikipedia article on general autostereo is here:
A Wikipedia article on general autostereo is here:
The citation at Nature is at:
A multi-directional backlight for a wide-angle, glasses-free three-dimensional display
David Fattal,
Zhen Peng,
Tho Tran,
Sonny Vo,
Marco Fiorentino,
Jim Brug
Raymond G. Beausoleil
Multiview three-dimensional (3D) displays can project the correct perspectives of a 3D image in many spatial directions simultaneously1, 2, 3, 4. They provide a 3D stereoscopic experience to many viewers at the same time with full motion parallax and do not require special glasses or eye tracking. None of the leading multiview 3D solutions is particularly well suited to mobile devices (watches, mobile phones or tablets), which require the combination of a thin, portable form factor, a high spatial resolution and a wide full-parallax view zone (for short viewing distance from potentially steep angles). Here we introduce a multi-directional diffractive backlight technology that permits the rendering of high-resolution, full-parallax 3D images in a very wide view zone (up to 180 degrees in principle) at an observation distance of up to a metre. The key to our design is a guided-wave illumination technique based on light-emitting diodes that produces wide-angle multiview images in colour from a thin planar transparent lightguide. Pixels associated with different views or colours are spatially multiplexed and can be independently addressed and modulated at video rate using an external shutter plane. To illustrate the capabilities of this technology, we use simple ink masks or a high-resolution commercial liquid-crystal display unit to demonstrate passive and active (30 frames per second) modulation of a 64-view backlight, producing 3D images with a spatial resolution of 88 pixels per inch and full-motion parallax in an unprecedented view zone of 90 degrees. We also present several transparent hand-held prototypes showing animated sequences of up to six different 200-view images at a resolution of 127 pixels per inch.


text:
Players have been waiting a long time to see refunds on their funds which were frozen in their Full Tilt accounts when the FBI shut down several online poker sites on Black Friday. It looked as if these players' luck were about to change when it was announced that they could start the process of filing for a refund.
However, now there are rumors making their way around the Internet which are causing more worries. These rumors suggest that there will be certain groups who will be excluded from receiving a refund on their funds.
A member of 2+2 poker forum posted an email he received from the Garden City Group, the company the government enlisted to handle the repayment process.
The email stated that players who had funds in their account for the sole purpose of playing should expect to receive their repayments. However, pros, vendors, affiliates, and the like should not expect to receive a refund. The Garden City Group has yet to confirm or deny this rumor.
Whether or not this rumor is validated, it has done a good job of getting the attention of many who are already getting impatient and hoping for more answers.
The email included the following list of people who should consider themselves excluded from being able to receive their refunds and a summary of that list includes:
A past or present employee of FTP or any of its past or present affiliates, a past or present vendor of FTP that received compensation through FTP players' accounts, and a past or present Team Full Tilt player. It also went on to include a past or present shareholder of FTP and subsidiaries, a past or present officer or director of FTP and subsidiaries, a defendant in any civil action or a claimant in any forfeiture action brought by the Department of Justice related to the violations alleged in this action, or any related action; or any of his or her affiliates, assigns, heirs, etc. As well as a person who, as of the Petition filing deadline, has been the subject of criminal charges related to the violations alleged in this action, or any related action; or any of his or her affiliates, assigns, heirs, etc.
Poker players have seen upward and downward spirals with regards to the status of their Full Tilt repayments, with most being downwards. It seemed as if things were going in the right direction when the Garden City Group announced applications would begin to be accepted starting September 16th. However, the rumor of this new email now has many showing concern once again.
Whether or not this rumor is substantiated, the fact remains that players are ready to see results. They have been waiting more than two and a half years for things to get settled and receive their money back.


text:
Releasing exclusively for PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven will be available in summer 2016, Bandai Namco announced today.
Featuring two-versus-two 3D action-brawler battles, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven includes characters from all arcs of the anime and manga. Developed by CyberConnect2, it includes a new original story supervised by Hirohiko Araki, creator of the original manga series.
Bandai Namco explained what to expect from Eyes of Heaven:
Utilizing a unique two-versus-two style of gameplay, players will be able to select from over 50 characters, each with their signature attacks that fans of the series know and love. Characters are divided into specialized fighting styles, giving hints to the type of attacks characters may use along with specific strategies players must employ when in the midst of battle. Styles can include summoning a spirit to fight alongside the player's character, harnessing energy to perform powerful attacks, fighting on horseback, and more. Players with an understanding of how each character operates will be able to tactically fight alongside their partner as they lay waste to their opponents. This is especially critical in the game's four-player mode that enables two teams to battle each other in online multiplayer matches where communication and teamwork will be a key factor to achieve victory.
Bandai Namco's Eric Hartness adds, "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of the most influential manga of all time, touching everything from comics, video games, television, and movies. The series is beloved by millions and continues to produce exciting content for fans around the world."
Stay tuned for our interview with Bandai Namco Producer Noriaki Niino later this week.
[Source: Bandai Namco, PS Blog]


text:
Building Conservation
Building conservation and the historic environment
The historic environment including historic buildings, landscapes and areas are the physical legacy of the social and economic history of human activity and contribute to the special character of the borough. It is the responsibility of the council and a key role of the planning system to ensure that this historic environment is protected and enhanced. This is ensured in a number of ways through formal designations such as listed buildings and conservation areas, historic parks and scheduled ancient monuments.
The borough hosts over 3000 listed buildings and 43 conservation areas. Details of these can be found on the interactive map (please note that some of our maps won't work in Google Chrome).
If you need further guidance or information, please use the sub-topics available in the right hand menu.


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Our Floor Plans
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Spacious Apartments for Rent
Clemens Place Apartments is a historic building with a multitude of floor plans to choose from. We offer studio, one, and two bedroom apartments for rent with amenities designed to make your busy life a little easier to manage. From the comfort of our wall-to-wall carpeting to our fully equipped kitchens, this is a community where you can focus and thrive.
Our floor plans include:
- Spacious Closets
- Window Coverings
- Ceiling Fans
Clemens Place is the ideal blend of modern convenience and vintage charm. Take a look at our floor plans, and then give us a call to help you select the right apartment for you.


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Our balmy January has been great beach weather. Here is a shot from Monday 1-19-09 at The Dunes. A quick snap before heading home.
Terry Way Photography - Bay Area and Central Coast Professional Photography
EXTRAORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHY FOR REAL PEOPLEThanks for checking out my Blog! Here you can see a sampling of what we are currently doing and often get a preview of your wedding or family portraits.
But I also post all aspects of photography here, surf videos, music, art, travel. Take your time and see what you find!
My website offers full galleries of weddings, family portraits, engagement photography as well as our commercial portfolio.
Call anytime (831) 464-0939
All content is copyright protected.


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We proudly present this expansive ideal family compound with separate guest house located in the heart of La Jolla village within walking distance to world class shopping and restaurants - just one block from The Bishops School. This modern estate features grand entertaining spaces inside and out, a private pool and spa, full fitness gym and maid's quarters. On the main level you will find a large chef's kitchen, dining area, family room and living room allowing for...see supplement.
entertaining on a large scale. The top level master suite includes a spacious library, sun deck, professional office and opulent master bathroom with solid slab onyx throughout. The home accentuates indoor outdoor living with its exterior stone patios and decks accessible from most rooms. Nearby, the guest house has retractable doors and includes two bedrooms, a kitchen and two-and-a-half bathrooms all overlooking the pool -- the perfect setting for guests or extended family stays. Quality materials are used throughout including gold trimmed fixtures, Honduran mahogany flooring, hand cut marble, and Murano light sconces. There is state-of-the-art security, lighting and electrical systems, a huge laundry room and more storage than you can imagine. The ideal location of this property in the heart of the village yet secure and private once you enter the property cannot be overstated. This home is the ultimate treasure for primary home buyers or those looking for a second home or family compound. The property consists of two parcels-350-312-10 and 350-312-06.


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E-discover the gaps in your information management process
Information management processes are the biggest IT-related weakness in any given organization, but they can be strengthened by clearly defined retention policies.
So you passed your recent compliance audit. Your documentation and technical safeguards are in tip-top shape. You even have management on your side, providing reasonable money and support. All's well in the world of security and privacy -- that is, until your business gets sued and receives an e-discovery request.
Kevin Beaver
Suddenly, the strong controls and leadership you have in place might not seem so robust. Electronic discovery, and more specifically information classification and retention, is arguably the biggest IT-related weakness in any given organization. Regardless of the size of your business or what industry it's in, you likely have some gaps in your information management process that could have some pretty serious consequences.
When asked how they inventory, store and dispose of electronic information, many IT leaders respond with "I don't know," "We're working on it" or "Legal handles that." The majority of information management scenarios I see in my work are lax, at best. Many people simply keep all electronic information indefinitely. It seems easier that way, but it usually only serves to help the opposition in a lawsuit. On the other hand, I have seen scenarios where lawyers who weren't up on compliance and technology just assigned random retention periods for electronic information. Even worse, the people in IT and compliance who needed to know about these policies were out of the loop. Nothing was getting done.
Many e-discovery cases have shown that the courts don't take too kindly to sloppy information management practices such as a lack of retention periods and inconsistent policy enforcement. There's a general false sense of security around e-discovery. Management and IT admins often assume that they'll just be able to do some quick searches and find whatever's needed when the time comes. The reality, however, is that electronic information is scattered about in every nook and cranny of the business. From decommissioned servers to off-site tapes to laptops and beyond, information that could be fair game in an e-discovery request is everywhere. Finding information -- especially if it hasn't been properly labeled, classified and stored where it should be -- can be an insurmountable situation if you get in a pinch and need the information quickly.
"Dig your well before you're thirsty." It's an ancient Chinese proverb that fits nicely into the context of e-discovery. By this, I mean get management's support and clearly define roles and responsibilities in the information management process so everyone is on the same page and can hit the ground running when needed. For example, the IT team will be responsible for the technical components, legal counsel for defining what to keep and for how long and so on. You also need to determine what information you have and where it's located, and clearly define the business's policies and procedures for information retention and disposal. Your security/governance/compliance committee would be perfect for all of this. Some companies even have a dedicated e-discovery coordinator who's responsible for this stuff 24/7. Just do something. Check out the Electronic Discovery Reference Model for further information on widely accepted practices in this area.
Finally, automating information classification and retention is essential for keeping e-discovery-related costs down. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Once lawyers and IT staff have to sift through everything manually to satisfy an e-discovery request, they'll see the value in information management products from companies such as StoredIQ and Kazeon.
E-discovery is a beast that's easily controlled if you make the right choices. As with information security assessments, if you're going to effectively manage IT risks and keep all aspects of compliance in check, you have to ensure electronic information is managed in the right ways by the right people using the right tools and some good old-fashioned common sense.
Kevin Beaver is an information security consultant and expert witness, as well as a seminar leader and keynote speaker at Atlanta-based Principle Logic LLC. He can be reached at www.principlelogic.com.


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When we met Oli and Monisha for the first time over a beer in Bondi we knew from the get go that these two knew how to party. The ceremony was absolutely stunning. Emotions were on full bore. Their goal was to spend quality time with those closest to them and they did exactly that. Games were played and drinks were drunk. Monisha's brother was the celebrant and their dog was the ring bearer. It was evident that everyone at this wedding loved this couple, it's hard not to. We were just stoked to be there.
Tags: hunter valley, roberts restaurant, winery, garden ceremony
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Contact us 24/7: +1 877 678 9627
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- Depth 8cm
- Handle Drop 10cm
- Height 29cm
- Max. Strap Length 114cm
- Min. Strap Length 104cm
- Width 49cm
Miu Miu's tan patchwork leather hobo bag is a chic re-invention of a classic '70s style. Team this stud-detailed piece with ladylike spring staples to show off your fashion credentials at the office. Shown here with a Chloé top, Kenneth Jay Lane ring and cuff and a Miu Miu cardigan, shoes and skirt.
- Tan patchwork leather hobo bag. Miu Miu bag has gold hardware, a studded top handle, a detachable adjustable shoulder strap, a designer stamp and exposed zip-fastening pocket at back with a designer-stamped pull tab, a push-lock fastening at fold-over flap front, a concealed drawstring fastening at top, internal pouch and zip fastening pockets, and is fully lined in black twill.
Product Code: 98848
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Product Code: 98848


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Our 4 favorite summer savers
Take action now with these easy ideas to control cooling costs.
Summer's warmer weather can also bring higher electricity bills — but it doesn't have to. Here are ways to efficiently cool your home and keep control of your bill.
1. Raise the temp to reduce costs
Setting your cooling temperature to 76 degrees instead of 70 saves energy. For the average residential customer this saves about $13 a month.
Whether you have air conditioning or a heat pump, raise the temperature about 10 degrees higher than normal if you're leaving home for more than half the day. Your cooling will run less frequently, but your home won't get super hot. Turn it off completely if you're going to be away for more than a day. If you have a new, high efficiency heat pump, "set and forget" the temperature to maximize energy savings.
2. Go natural
At night or during the early mornings, if the air is cool, turn off the AC and open your windows to draw in cool air. A window fan can help. (Keep safety in mind with ground floor windows or children's bedroom windows.)
3. Be a fan of fans
Keep your cool for a fraction of the cost of air conditioning. If it's not too hot, use fans instead of AC. Or combine fans with AC at a slightly higher temperature — you'll still save. Remember, fans cool people, not rooms, so turn them off if no one is around.
4. Give your appliances a rest
Major appliances produce heat when operating, so wait for cooler nighttime hours before using your dishwasher, washer or dryer. Avoid turning on the oven, and, instead, try your microwave, Instant Pot or outdoor grill. This way, your cooling doesn't have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable.
Want more ideas on ways to save energy and keep costs in check? Check our other seasonal savers.


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World Oceans Day: What else died so you could eat seafood?
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under ecuador, india, united states
In 2010, I was standing on a beach in Ecuador watching all manner of sea creatures get dragged ashore, sacrificed for the targeted catches of high-value prawns and tunas (mostly for export).
Sharks, rays, even a turtle, all killed in the process. Some of them would end up in local ceviche as non-descript fish, but others (like the turtle, a protected species) would simply be left to rot.
I certainly don't advocate an end to fishing. I work with fishers of shark, sardines, mackerel, crabs, shrimp, oysters and more. I believe small- and medium-scale fishing has a role to play in livelihoods and food across the globe.
But the sight of Ecuador's illicit bycatch, which led to the photo above, left me asking what kinds of pernicious forces — political, economic, ecological or other — could lead to such wanton sacrifice.
I'm still asking that question. As June 8 is World Oceans Day, maybe we all should be asking it.
Tags: biodiversity, bycatch, fishing, oceans, sharks, sustainability, world oceans day


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Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Sambells
Variants: Sambell, Samble, Sambles
Category: 2 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way, but currently in some countries only.
Website: sambells.info
Contact: Mr Frank Sambells
This ONS began as a quest to determine the origins of my unusual surname. With an oral tradition that our Canadian family had long-established roots in Cornwall England, I aspired to identify my paternal pedigree. Over the past 25 years, I have been successful in not only establishing my lineage from 1500 to the present but also identifying the many surname variants and the medieval origins of the family surname.
The Sambells surname is one of many current variants of the medieval Latin name "de Sancto Paulo". That name first appears in the Pipe Rolls of Henry II. The evolution of the current variants (identified below) have been traced to one Hugo de Sancto Paulo who was chamberlain to Henry II. Hugo's descendants served as tailors to four successive kings. The factors affecting the dispersion and spelling variation of the de Sancto Paulo surname have been identified and are presented in my book Sambells Family History: Origins & Lineage.
Should anyone else with a variant surname spelling be interested in establishing their own one-name study, I would be very willing to share my information and assist you in your research.
In 2012, I created the Sambells Family Genealogy website - www.sambells.info. It was designed to provide a venue where family historians could share our common history. It includes an overview of my research to date, an explanation of the origins of the surname and a repository for stories and biographies of family members.
In Sept. 2016, I published the first volume of the Sambells Family History: Origins and Lineage 1000 - 1850". Copies of this book are available in several libraries in Cornwall, Devon, Oxfordshire and London England, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Ontario Canada.
Documented variants of the surname from 1000 AD include de St Pol, de Sancto Paulo, de la Pol, del Pol, Senpol, Sempol, Seynpol and Symple up to the late 1200's. Subsequent variations during the era of the Great Vowel Change of the 1300's witnessed descendants carrying the surname le Senpol, le Sympelle, Symple, Senple, Semple, and since the late 1400's as Samble, Sambles, Sambell and Sambells. Several deviant spellings of these names also occur. In some places such as northern Nottinghamshire where the surname St Paul remains in close association with lands held by the earliest de Sancto Paulo families. There are close to fifty documented spelling variant and deviants of the surname. Evolution of the surname was not linear as many of these variant spellings remain throughout England today.
During the late 1100s in England, there were several cases when the use of the Latin de Sancto Paulo surname was used in reference to expatriate members of the French "de St Pol" family from St Pol-sur-Ternoise in northeastern France. The small fiefdom of St Pol was acquired by the Candavene family as a buffer territory between the powerful medieval hause de Boulogne and hause de Flanders at the end of the first millenium. This ruling family held the title of Counts de St Pol from about 1000 AD to 1200 AD and adopted the Latin form of the name when a representative contingent of four family members arrived in England in support of the accession of Henry Plantagenet (Henry II) to the throne of England in 1154. It is from the English descendants of these four men that the surname Sambells has evolved.
The ancient Pipe Roll record of Henry II reveal that brothers Anselme, Osbertus, Hugues and his son Robert de Sancto Paulo were all granted lands in many eastern shires of England. Hugh was one of the several chamberlains to Henry II and Robert was the king's tailor. Descendants of these knights gradually anglicized their surname to spellings nearer to English sounds. Yet throughout the various shires there was not a standard pronunciation. Consequently, over the centuries the name de Sancto Paulo evolved into a surprising array of variations. For example, in the southwest counties of Cornwall and Devon, the hardening of the pronunciation of the letter "p" to "b" by the late 1500s produced spellings including Samble/s and Sambell/s.
Quantitative frequency investigations of this surname have not been completed.
Global distribution frequency investigations of this surname have not been completed. However, current research and website inquiries have found that the Sambells/Sambell surname occurs in England, Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
Limited DNA testing has been done. Two different branches in Ontario Canada, Sambell and Sambells have been tested and show definitive links over a dozen generations ago. A strong association also occurs between a branch of the Boone family in the USA and the Sambells of Ontario and Cornwall England.
You may find our other Guild websites of interest:


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event Alpha 10 Public Test
Andersson replied to Gatzby's topic in AnnouncementsOutstanding work development team. What you have made so far is truly the updated version of Project Reality. Smooth, new weapons, fantastic sounds, correct weapon handling, updated rally point designs, grahpics, artwork....you name it. 100 points. I will also have a hard time going back to the prior version until V10 release after these few testing days. Keep up the good effort lads.
milsim 10th Special Forces Group
Andersson replied to SmithJ86's topic in Teams & ClansWelcome back Smith. Talk to you soon bud.
Tigers on the SQUAD battlefields
With the free weekend almost done. Visit our website! Tigers in SQUAD : Tigers in Project Reality :
Thinking of buying, one question
Andersson replied to Tabasco's topic in General DiscussionWelcome to squad lads!
Share Your Free Weekend Experiences Here
Andersson replied to YuriIsLoveYuriIsLife's topic in General DiscussionHad a couple of good rounds today. With one or two regulars in my squad and the rest being new. The tone was set from the beginning with no bullshit and expectations within the squad. During one round we took and held the radio station together against an enemy who was constantly in the offense. Both rounds I fought in today were won. To all new players this weekend, welcome to squad! Stick with your squad and follow orders. Get experience with the different kits and listen to the experienced squad players. Our tags in the field [TP] If you see my comrades or myself in the field you are welcome to tag along.
100 man server. CHECK!
Andersson replied to IrOnTaXi's topic in Progress UpdatesProject Reality had events of up to 300 players on one server on one map fighting each other. Will squad go for 100+ servers aswell?
Dates regarding official release and big important updates. But indeed something like a timeline like was posted above. This weekend is again a "Free weekend + 50% off"
[ace] [aCe] arctic Combat elite | NORWAY / SCANDINAVIA
Andersson replied to aCeTotal's topic in Teams & ClansWelcome gents. Velkommen!
That's all fine that it a new engine and all. However a road map with goals and deadlines for the public to see instead of free floating and put squad on sales from time to time would be assuring the community. Especially since its been going on since 2015. This can be posted in one simple picture on the main website of squad. When the team meets the deadlines it assures the community and it keeps the development team on their toes. It then would not only be internal deadlines within the company but the entire community is in on it aswell.
Psyrus - that is a matter of opinion.
Is there any news on this matter? Any deadlines set for full release coming out of the alpha mode? Squad was started in pre pre alpha in 2015. Considering we're about to enter 2018 it is a totally clear. I started this thread. So yes, I know you don't have a road map made public at the time this thread was posted. Sales keep happening via steam yet still no public road map. No deadline for the official full release either. Has anything changed since this thread was created? V10 has been underway for months and months. What is the deadline for the full release after of the game SQUAD after V10? Othervise we can all sit around having a circle wank in alpha mode for the next year's to come. Yes I know it is a alpha version, it was voluntary to sign up for the game, people's own choice and you as a company are possibly not obliged to make a road map for the public to see. However it would make you come across as a proffesional organisation / company if you would do it. By saying this I am not saying your team is unprofessional as the creation of what you have made so far speaks volumes. The community is Faithfull and loyal. However people will only sit around and wait for so long. Just look at the dayz standalone and countless other alpha games. Never leaving alpha mode.
29th id 29th Infantry Division - Enlist now! (NA & EU)
Andersson replied to 29thVD's topic in Teams & ClansWelcome to squad gents.


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Non-Profit Organizations
Category: Non-Profit Organizations
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
October 22, 2024 - Georgia's leading water coalition named its "Dirty Dozen" for 2014 today, highlighting 12 of the worst offenses to Georgia's waters.
The annual Dirty Dozen list shines a spotlight on threats to Georgia's water resources as well as the polluters and state policies or failures that ultimately harm—or could harm—Georgia property owners, downstream communities, fish and wildlife, hunters and anglers, and boaters and swimmers, according to the coalition.
"The Dirty Dozen is not a list of the most polluted water bodies in Georgia, nor are they ranked in any particular order," said Joe Cook, Advocacy & Communication Coordinator at the Coosa River Basin Initiative. "It's a list of problems that exemplify the results of inadequate funding for Georgia's Environmental Protection Division (EPD), a lack of political will to enforce existing environmental protections, and ultimately misguided water planning and spending priorities that flow from the very top of Georgia's leadership."
The Coalition's full report details the history of each site and provides solutions to correct these ongoing problems and eliminate the listed threats. A short list can be found below. The full report—including updates from previous Dirty Dozen reports—is available online at http://www.garivers.org/gawater/dirtydozen2014.html
"Over the past decade, the health of Georgia's rivers, wetlands, lakes and streams and the safety of Georgia citizens has been compromised as funding for Georgia's Environmental Protection Division has not kept pace with population and economic growth," said Jennette Gayer, Environment Georgia Research and Policy Center Advocate.
The problems highlighted in the report include:
- The Georgia EPD announced—on Earth Day—that it would no longer enforce laws designed to protect Georgia's coastal marshlands, and in July, a long-standing protection for well water on the Georgia coast expired because of inaction on the part of the administration and legislature. (Items 2 and 3)
- The Sabal Trail pipeline's path across southwest Georgia would require boring underground pipelines beneath the Withlacoochee, Flint and Chattahoochee rivers as well as numerous smaller streams, and will course underground above the Floridan aquifer. While the Sabal Trail pipeline's parent companies would have residents believe their 3-foot-diameter pipe is a benign neighbor, the history of gas pipeline accidents and environmental ills paints a different picture. (Item 9)
= Stormwater from industrial facilities creates ongoing pollution problems in the Chattahoochee River largely because there are only two EPD staffers responsible for inspecting and monitoring more than 2,700 industrial sites. (Item 4
- State spending to expand Georgia's water supplies has only aggravated a two-decade-long water war with Alabama and Florida. Since taking office, Gov. Deal has directed $196.3 million to construct dams and reservoirs—many of questionable need—in an attempt to store and divert water from downstream neighbors. Yet, from 2010 to early 2013, the state spent just $10.7 million to help communities use their existing water supplies more efficiently. (Item 1)
"The Georgia Water Coalition publishes this annual list as a call to action for our state's leaders and its citizens to come together to correct pollution problems, eliminate the wasteful use of our tax dollars and restore our streams, rivers, lakes and coastal wetlands," said Glenn Dowling, Executive Director of Georgia River Network.
The Georgia Water Coalition is a consortium of 217 conservation and environmental organizations, hunting and fishing groups, businesses, and faith-based organizations that have been working to protect Georgia's water since 2002. Collectively, these organizations represent more than 300,000 Georgians.
2014 Dirty Dozen
1. Georgia's Water: State Water Policy Threatens Streams, Aggravates Water Wars, Wastes Tax Dollars
2. Georgia's Coastal & Freshwater Wetlands: EPD Refuses to Enforce Clean Water Laws
3. Floridan Aquifer: State Leaders Drop Well Water Protections to Experiment With Risky Water Injection Schemes
4. Chattahoochee River: Weakened State Agency Allows Industries to Foul River
5. Coosa River: Long Delayed State Clean Up Plan Allows Power Company to Continue Polluting
6. Flint River: Textile Manufacturer's Pollution, State Water Policy Create Conundrum
7. Savannah River: Pollutants, Nuclear Reactors Suck Water and Life out of Savannah
8. Georgia's Small Streams and Wetlands: National Rule to Protect Georgia's Streams and Wetland Treasures Under Attack
9. Withlacoochee River & Floridan Aquifer: Gas Pipeline Threatens Southwest Georgia Water, Way of Life
10. Turtle River: Toxic Legacy Poisons Dolphins, Drinking Water
11. Satilla River: Toxic Legacies Threaten Waycross Residents
12. Little Satilla Creek & Penholloway Creek: Titanium Mine Threatens Wetlands, Well Water
Individual contacts for each item listed in the Dirty Dozen report are available online at http://www.garivers.org/gawater/dirtydozen2014.html
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- Feb. 13 - VetIQ opens at Walmart Supercenter in Savannah, Grand Opening Feb. 15
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- Feb. 10 - Tybee Island to Host 12th Annual Mardi Gras Celebration Feb. 22
- Feb. 7 - Savannah Stopover Music Festival Announces 10-Year Photography Retrospective, Opening Feb. 27
- Feb. 6 - Infinity, Inc. to Host Cyber Liability Panel Discussion Feb. 19


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On Saturday the 27th of July I had the honour of photographing 2 amazing young men and their beautiful dates before their Matric dance at Penryn College. We went to the Nelspruit Botanical Garden to take the photographs before hand and it was such a beautiful warm winters day. When I saw everyone all dressed up it reminded me of my Matric dance and what a special evening it is partying and dancing in style with all your friends for possibly the last time ever.
The two men had arranged two amazing cars – a black Porsche and a red Morgan Roadster V6. They definitely added to the elegance and class of each couple. The families also arrived – the pride in their eyes watching their children looking all grown up and breathtakingly beautiful and handsome was priceless.
I decided to go up to the school (my old school) to document the arrival of the couples and sneak a few decor pics ;-). The theme was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The organisers did an AMAZING job !!! The had a Willy Wonka lab on the one side filled with bright coloured testubes and equations for new yummy candies. On the other side of the room was the kitchen where the candies became reality. They had a huge bright coloured chandelier hanging in the middle of the room and sweet table to finish it all off. It looked like it was going to be a great party!