text:
Warnings: None. Trust me.
A/N: I am not JKR and do not own the HP world. Many thanks to WhiteCotton for beta reading and Torina and LD7 for hand-holding. This was written for SeverusSighs Anti-Valentine's Day Mini-fest. I used prompt number one: News like this was not what he wanted to hear, particularly on Valentine's Day.
For those of you who are patiently (so patiently!) waiting for the next chapter of Pains and Contradictions, I'm writing the next chapter even now.
Severus opens the oven and examines his roast, nodding, then pulls it out and allows it to cool on the countertop. He'd sneered at the serving platter Molly Weasley had gifted them with on their wedding day—the domesticity of the gift had seemed ridiculous at the time—but as he hunts for it in their cabinets, he admits that that is what his life has become.
And after two wars—one decade of uncertainty and fearful caution, followed by another which brought dread every morning—Severus decides he is glad for the change. And aside from the constant terror, the living in fear, there's the fact that the first forty years of his life had been spent in virtual solitude.
Finding the platter on the bottom shelf of a cabinet, he allows his thoughts to drift as he arranges the roast, then the vegetables he knows Harry will actually eat—how is it possible to still be a picky eater at thirty?—and sets the table.
He lights the candles—they have to be able to see each other, after all—and dims the lights, then opens a bottle of wine and allows it to breathe.
There. It is the perfect setting for a nice dinner at home with his husband. That today is St. Valentine's Day is of absolutely no consequence. Just because a bunch of besotted idiots allow their hormones to run amuck doesn't mean he can't enjoy a decent meal.
The flames of the candles dance merrily, and Severus thinks they are winking at him. Stupid candles.
He scoffs at himself, at the entire situation, but slowly takes it all in, allowing himself a brief moment to appreciate where his life has taken him.
He never would've thought he'd be so content at fifty, or at any age really. The last ten years had all but made up for the forty that came before, so much so that he is actually looking forward to the next forty.
Sometime in the next decade he'll become headmaster, and Harry will quit his work with the Aurors and take up the Defense post that Minerva continued to offer him every year. They'll settle in at Hogwarts even more with him and Harry working together. They'll make their life here, among Hogwarts' hallowed halls.
He sighs as he thinks of the hints Harry has been ungracefully dropping for the past few months. The thought of adopting at his age threatens to upend all his peaceful plans, but he will do it if that's what Harry wants.
Perhaps some small part of him wants it too. A very small part. Nearly microscopic.
But if a child is the only thing he dreads, he's forced to admit he has a good life.
Damn, where is Harry, he thinks when his stomach makes an undignified grumbling noise as the smell of the roast further permeates the room. It's now half past seven and he should be here by now.
As if thinking of Harry makes him appear, Severus hears the Floo come to life in the sitting room and goes out to greet him with a scowl.
"At the risk of sounding like a nagging wife, I have had dinner waiting—" he begins as he enters the room, only to cut off when he sees the ashen face of Colin Jameson, the head of Harry's department, staring out at him from the Floo.
Merlin, no. Dear God in Heaven...
His steps halt immediately and his entire body stiffens as though petrified. The past ten years, a thousand nightmares, waking up in a cold sweat only to grasp Harry's warm body to him in the dead of night...
"Mr. Snape," Jameson says, his voice low, his tone all business, but his eyes revealing everything to Severus. "May I please come over? There's something—"
"What's happened?" Severus asks even as fists clench, as his eyes start to tear from not being able to blink. "Where's Harry?"
"I would prefer not to tell you this over the Floo, Severus," he says, his eyes growing sadder and his voice losing its formality. "Please, let me—"
"Tell me!" he shouts as he inwardly begins to pray to gods he doesn't believe in.
Jameson's eyes lower for a moment, and Severus realizes in an instant what has happened.
Harry isn't injured. There will be no pacing in the hallway of St. Mungo's, no Weasley hoard patting him on the shoulder, telling him everything will be alright, that Harry's survived worse.
"We went on a raid today—this morning. We'd thought—I'd thought that the situation was under control, nothing too..." he trails off, and clears his throat before he begins again. "There was an explosion and the building collapsed. A few of the men made it out, but Harry..."
An icy chill creeps up Severus' spine and he forgets to breathe, barely hearing the words as the world crumbles around him.
"The Minister didn't want me to tell you until we recovered his body, but...it'll be days, even with magic."
Severus is silent as his mind instantly goes to some cold, dark place and imagines Harry there, alone. His breath hitches and he swears he can feel his heart twist as it breaks and he forces himself to ask, "Is there any chance—" but his voice comes out as a croak and he cannot finish the question.
Jameson shook his head. "We scanned for signs of life...pulled one man out, but the rest... We know where his body is, but we can't get to it yet. Severus, I'm so very sorry."
Severus begins to shake and he cannot force himself to blink as he feels his eyes begin to water, and some part of him realizes that shock has set in but it hardly matters because Harry is dead.
"Yes," he says, not knowing what he is saying. "Right." He continues to stare at Jameson's face in the fire, not able to pull his eyes away for the moment, then says, "Thank you for calling."
"Severus, if there's anything I can do—" but he's cut off as Severus closes the Floo connection.
He continues standing, staring at the fire, until he feels a tear fall from his eyes, then another. Hastily he hastily lifts a hand to wipe them away before a sob is pulled from his body and his stomach heaves and then he cannot stop the tears from flowing.
His knees are locked, but he doubles over and weeps into his hands, the hiccuping, frantic type of sobbing that is usually only done by small children. His vision blurs as he runs his hands through his hair and then screams.
It isn't supposed to be this way, some part of his mind thinks even as the rest of him has become some inhuman beast, some barbaric creature as his mourning burns from disbelief into rage.
His breath comes out in gasps while he looks around the room, and some part of his mind wonders what to do, that there must be something he has to do, while the rest of him is simply screaming Harry's dead, Harry's dead, Harry's dead.
And he can't believe it, can't fathom it as he stumbles over to the sofa, not to sit but to think to try to fucking remember what was the last thing he said to Harry this morning, tries to pull up the memory of Harry's last smile, last kiss, last...
He stumbles into their dining room and looks at the table he's set, at the life they had shared, at the dreams that had been destroyed in a single day. Dreams destroyed in one Floo call, in one afternoon and his entire life, their entire life...
With one swipe of his arm his efforts are destroyed, the meat making a sickening sound as it falls from its platter onto the floor, as the stupid vegetables fly across the room where Harry will never eat them. He curls in on himself and tries to breathe, tries to gain control, but he only ends up holding his breath as the rage and the pain and hysteria and the—please Merlin, why God, no!—and releases his sorrow in an inhuman wail as he hears every piece of glass in his quarters shatter.
Finally, he sinks to the floor and doesn't notice when he holds a hand to his chest as he feels his heart break, eyes wide open to watch all of their dreams die. The life they had built, all their plans, the nameless, faceless child they would have raised...
He cries openly now and buries his head in his hands, his hair forming a black veil, as though his body had always been prepared for suffering.
His strength leaving him, he lies down on the floor, amongst the broken glass and spilt wine and thinks there is no reason to get up ever again. His eyes open, he looks at his hands, torn and cut and bloody, and the truth sinks in.
"Harry," he whispers and again sobs, his nose scraping the hard stone floor so he barely notices the glass that is now embedded in his cheek. Some part of him thinks he'll never notice any kind of pain again. Not now, not after this.
His mind is drifting over a hundred memories—how hard Harry had tried to court him, how difficult that first year of marriage had been, how shocked he was when he suddenly found himself loving someone as much as he was loved—that he didn't hear the sound of someone Flooing into his quarters, or the frantic, heavy breathing, or the sound of boots crunching on glass.
"Severus," he hears a voice say, but he does not look up because he recognizes that voice—he could recognize that voice in a crowd of hundreds—and he cannot stop the flutter in his heart, the prayer that his shattered soul begins to mutter.
He forces himself to look towards the entrance of the dining room, and his body stiffens again as he takes in the sight of Harry—covered in dust, clothes bloodied, with a deep gash across his cheek—but it's Harry. He faintly feels pain as he picks himself up, the sound of glass breaking under his hand, as Harry rushes over to him and tries to maneuver him to safety.
Standing, Severus grasps Harry's shoulders and looks his fill, taking in the beloved face he thought he'd never see alive again. Tentatively, as though he is afraid that this will prove to be a delusion, he lifts his hands to Harry's face, fingers tracing the cheek bones covered in dried blood, then eyes that have never been more beautiful.
"I Apparated as the building collapsed," Harry said, allowing Severus to touch him, his hands roving over his chest, then his stomach and his legs. "I barely got out in time, but... Well, I passed out as soon as I landed. I only came to a few minutes ago," he says but Severus barely hears him.
No, all he hears is the sweet murmur of a tenor voice he thought he'd never hear again as his hands touch every part of Harry he can, needing to know he was really there. That he hasn't fallen into some fevered dream, that life as he knows it isn't truly over.
"I'm alright, but my team—" then Harry is silenced as Severus embraces him, wraps himself around him and takes in Harry's scent and he knows that this is really happening. That Harry is safe and home and life hasn't ended.
His body shudders against Harry as one last sob is torn from his throat, and Harry allows himself to be manhandled even though his body must be bruised and aching. He doesn't say a word as Severus envelops him, breathing as though he'd run for miles, holding onto Harry like he never has before.
"I thought I'd lost you," he says softly, his voice raspy and his breath still hitching. "They said you were dead."
"I'm fine," Harry says while standing in Severus' arms, then allowing himself to be pulled back as Severus looks at his face again. "I'm here, I'm—oh, Severus. Your face..." he says as he winces, then begins to pluck bits of glass from Severus' cheek. So glad, so relieved to see Harry, Severus hardly feels the pain.
Holding him now, he realizes he would not have survived Harry's death and, in an instant, knows what must be done.
"You're quitting tomorrow."
Harry looks into his eyes, and Severus can see the beginning of a protest, but he grasps Harry's shoulders tighter and says in a tone he hadn't used since the war, "I'm serious, Harry. I won't go through this again."
Harry steps back and opens his mouth to protest, then looks around the room as though he only now notices the devastation. His eyes take in the spoilt roast laying on the floor and the vegetables that made it halfway to the sitting room, then looks at Severus again.
"Severus, I'm—"
"I thought you were dead," Severus hisses as he grabs Harry's face so harshly he cannot hide a wince. "I'm not going through this again, Harry, not ever. You're going to take the Defense position where the worst thing that could possibly happen would be an overeager student getting a poorly-aimed hex through your shields."
"I'll be more careful in the future, Severus, I promise," Harry says, fanning Severus' anger once again.
"Do you have any idea..." but he stops and forces himself to calm, remembers that Harry is injured and tries to control himself. He has no idea what to say, how to express the devastation he had felt—was barely recovering from—at the news of Harry's death, and how he could not possibly live life without him. How can he put into words how meaningless his life had become in those few moments when he believed the only good thing in his life had been taken from him?
That he now knows that he would not survive it, that he wouldn't have if it had been true.
He has no idea what to say, he only knows how to begin. "Please," he whispers, knowing that he has rarely said that word in his life, that the weight of it has never been so heavy. He leans into Harry and presses their foreheads together. "Please," he begs.
Noses rub against each other and lips find each other in haste, and Severus puts everything he feels into it. As lips slide over lips and tongues touch in practiced grace, Severus again asks Harry to spare his heart.
A moment later and they are gasping for air, and drawing apart, though no further than a kiss could reach.
"Please," Severus begs again. And then again, "Please."
Harry drapes his arms over Severus' shoulders and clings to him, his own body relaxing into a sigh.
"Okay," he says.
Closing his eyes, Severus exhales and mutters thanks—to Harry, to Merlin, to gods unseen—and simply stands amongst the rubble, holding the man he loves.
"And I will be the one to die first," he says minutes later, which causes Harry to chuckle.
"You do, huh?"
"Yes," Severus says plainly and he is only half-joking. "We will both die incredibly boring deaths in no less than fifty years. You may follow me if you wish, but only after you are assured I am well and truly dead."
Harry chuckles softly and pulls back, then continues pulling the glass from Severus' cheek for a moment before he's pulled back into Severus' embrace. Pulling Harry in tight, Severus smothers him with lip-biting kisses, swipes of his tongue and mutterings of love and devotion.
"What was that?" Harry pants. "What did you say?"
Softly, Severus says, "I hope you like your potatoes mashed." And then Harry is laughing and Severus thinks there's never been a more beautiful sound in the world.


text:
Happy Birthday, ÖGAI!
The Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology was founded 50 years ago, in 1971. Due to its specific expertise, ÖGAI is increasingly demanded, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic. See our new image video, as well as the many personal testimonials from our members on YouTube!
Why I am member of ÖGAI
Video testimonials from our members
Kathrin Eller,
Johannes Fessle,
Martin Stradner 0:16
have 3 good reasons to be a member of ÖGAI.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hi All
I do hope this is the right place to ask this question.
I have been using Roxio for more years than I can remember. I recently had to have a new motherboard and had to re-install all of my programmes.
I cannot open Roxio Creator 10 without a message coming up saying that all my drives are set to disabled and I must enable at least one to open the programme.
First, I am not sure which drives this refers to and second, how do I enable them.
I do use other programmes for various reasons, Nero, being one and this has no problems.
I prefer to use Roxio for slide show productions as it is by far the most flexible programme I have ever tried.
I am desperate to get this sorted ASAP, if anyone can possibly help I would be very grateful.
Gerry in Puglia, southern Italy.


text:
Monday, February 8, 2010
Yellow Tail is now Yellow Fail
Posted by Troy Hadrick at 3:15 PM
Labels: Advocates for Agriculture, HSUS, Yellow Fail, Yellow Tail
2 comments:
As someone who grew up on a farm and had neighbors who were farmers you sound ignorant.
Real farmers care about the land and the animals. If you are opposed to an organization that cares about animals you simply say: I don't care about animals I only care about money.
- February 9, 2010 at 7:36 AM
Either you get it or you don't get it. I don't think you get it. Anger achieves nothing. You are fifth generation anger.
- February 9, 2010 at 3:23 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
In keeping with their spectacular reputation of violating privacy and rigging elections, Facebook has said that it removed "hundreds of accounts" from Facebook and Instagram that were used to influence elections in Africa, according to CNN. Only it wasn't Russia who was behind this latest intervention, but Israel.
Archimedes Group, an Israeli company, reportedly spent more than $800,000 in advertising (far more than the Kremlin allegedly spent on its "ad campaign" to crush Hillary Clinton and get Trump elected) and ran accounts that had nearly 3 million followers, for the purpose of targeting African elections. The group primarily targeted Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Angola, Niger and Tunisia.
For perspective, the $800,000 reportedly spent by the group compares to the $100,000 that has been claimed by the U.S. mainstream media to have been spent for 'Russian bots' used to allegedly sway the 2016 US presidential election, according to RT.
The company "used fake accounts to run Pages, disseminate their content and artificially increase engagement" and also "represented themselves as locals, including local news organizations, and published allegedly leaked information about politicians," according to Facebook.
Facebook's Nathaniel Gleicher, the company's head of cybersecurity policy said: "The individuals behind this network attempted to conceal their identities."
"This organization and all its subsidiaries are now banned from Facebook, and it has been issued a cease and desist letter," Facebook wrote in a blog post. It detailed the group's presence on the site by disclosing:
- Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 65 Facebook accounts, 161 Pages, 23 Groups, 12 events and four Instagram accounts.
- Followers: About 2.8 million accounts followed one or more of these Pages, about 5,500 accounts joined at least one of these Groups and around 920 people followed one or more of these Instagram accounts.
- Advertising: Around $812,000 in spending for ads on Facebook paid for in Brazilian reals, Israeli shekel, and US dollars. The first ad ran in December 2012 and the most recent ad ran in April 2019.
- Events: Nine events were hosted by these Pages. The first was scheduled for October 2017 and the most recent was scheduled for May 2019. Up to 2,900 people expressed interest in at least one of these events, and a portion of their accounts were previously identified and disabled as fake. We cannot confirm whether any of these events actually occurred.
Meanwhile, the website that reportedly links to Archimedes Group claims it "took significant roles in many political and public campaigns, among them Presidential elections and other social media projects all over the world."
"Archimedes has created and operates in it's [sic] own unique field within the social media realm."
RT notes that the firm has interesting similarities to a former Israeli social media manipulation firm:
Archimedes' slogan is oddly reminiscent of another secretive Israeli social media manipulation firm, Psy-Group (motto: "Shape reality"), which closed its doors after coming under scrutiny during the Mueller investigation for its possible involvement in the election of Donald Trump. Psy-Group drew up a detailed prospectus for a Facebook meddling campaign seven months before the 2016 election, but supposedly never deployed it in real life. Both Psy-Group and Archimedes touted their ability to operate multiple fake online avatars simultaneously.
According to Facebook's blog, here is a sample of the content posted by some of these pages:
Airbus group is quoted in a judicial investigation for scam on a Malian gold mine in balance sheet deposit, whose shareholders have been ruined. The investment project of the aerospace giant in this mine, LED by a close to Malian power, seemed intended to clear occult funds to facilitate the obtaining of military markets in the country. This is a very embarrassing new business….
Incidentally, just a days ago we reported how another secretive Israeli company used WhatsApp voice calls to install spyware across countless phones. WhatsApp, which is used by 1.5bn people worldwide, discovered in early May that attackers were able to install surveillance software on both iPhones and Android phones by ringing up targets using the app's phone call function. The malicious code, developed by the secretive NSO Group, a notorious and controversial Israeli hacking and surveillance tools vendor, could be transmitted even if users did not answer their phones, and the calls often disappeared from call logs.
It is unclear how many apps were infected with the spyware trojan, which could for example, allow anyone to get access to John Podesta's email password (and then blame say, Vladimir Putin for example) as WhatsApp is too early into its own investigations of the vulnerability to estimate how many phones were targeted using this method, although it is likely a substantial number.
Still, one should perhaps ask: is it Russia - already the usual suspect for any alleged rigging on the internet - that is the true culprit here, or Israel, which never makes mainstream media headlines, yet whose actions are far more flagrant, bold and manipulative.


text:
Awakening (Ares Falls Billionaires #0.5) by Jax McKay
Fighting is my life. How else would I hold the reigning title of heavyweight champion?
I don't have time for anything else in my life.
Not drama.
Not injuries.
Not relationships…
All I ever need is one night to take off the edge.
One night of meaningless…
And that night, the lucky girl was Violet Lancaster.
Now I'm being forced to decide.
Do I want to defend my title again?
Or should I walk away from everything I know?
Book 1 of the Ares Falls Billionaire series is a prequel novella introducing us to Austin York, heavyweight MMA fighter who is dealing with a lot of crap in his life. His body has hit its limit. He can't train like he wants to according to his doctor. He is supporting his twin brother who has just got out of prison. And he's dealing with the slimey president of Fighters International Nathan Kraft who is playing games with Austin's money and his career.
In the meantime, his hot one-night stand with the sexy and no-nonsense bartender, Violet, is a night he won't forget. She didn't even know his name as she walked out of his life, but something tells me she will return in the next book.
This 90-page novella is fast-paced and gives the reader a look at the four friends who agree to build a legit empire to support future fighters. The fighter, the felon, the manager, and the financier.
Ms. McKay has penned a compelling read about an underdog who is destined to make it to the top with the help of his best friends. I'm looking forward to reading this series.
Born and raised in Chicago, Jax was a quiet soul who kept to himself but let his personality fly in his writing. He realizes sometimes its easy to write than it is to talk about what you're going through so he uses his writing to help others relate. When he's not writing he's working out embracing a clean eating lifestyle.


text:
Slithery, slippery and sweaty Kırkpınar's 651st annual wrestling matches
NIKI GAMM ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Kırkpınar is in the Guinness Book of Records and on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. While some attribute the use of olive oil in wrestling to the Greeks, it is more likely the Byzantines who began to use it first.When two American female sprinters recently ran a dead heat in competition for the one open spot on the U.S. Olympic team, someone suggested they wrestle it out covered in Jell-O, but perhaps it would be better if they came to Kırkpınar for the 651st annual wrestling matches. Although the matches begin on July 2, it's the last three days that are the most important, the rest are merely preliminaries.
Kırkpınar, located near Edirne, is within easy access to Istanbul. Tickets for wrestling matches cost 100 and 70 Turkish Liras and may still be available via Biletix for Saturday and Sunday, the last two days of the event when the really serious wrestlers are on stage.
Oldest sporting event
Kırkpınar is the oldest, almost continuous sporting event in history – almost continuous because there were about 70 years when the games couldn't be held due to war. It's in the Guinness Book of Records and on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. In fact, the original games weren't even held at Kırkpınar, but at a site that is now in Bulgaria. In the time of Orhan Gazi, the Ottoman Turks leap-frogged Constantinople and entered the Balkan region, conquering one town or fortress after another. One day he sent 40 warriors under the command of his brother Süleyman Pasha off to conquer various fortresses. Later as they took a break from their efforts, they started wrestling, two men in particular, Ali and Selim, continued until darkness fell when they broke off for a rest and started again the next morning. Neither one could win so they battled on and on until running out of breath, they died. Their companions buried the two below the tree under which they had been fighting. When the warriors returned to the spot years later, they found that a spring had begun flowing there and called it Kırkpınar (Spring of the Forty). When Turkey's borders were finally decided upon in the 20th century, the event was moved to the city of Edirne and to the ruins of the Ottoman palace on its outskirts.
One could dispute the origin of this event. Wrestling has been known for thousands of years; monuments in ancient Egypt show approximately 1,000 wrestling holds and it is known that wrestling was popular in Near Eastern civilizations. A date of 708 B.C. is given for the introduction of wrestling into the Olympic Games as part of the pentathlon while the pankration wasn't introduced until 648 B.C. The latter, a mixture of boxing and wrestling, had only two rules – no biting and no gouging of the eyes.
While some attribute the use of olive oil in wrestling to the Greeks, it is more likely the Byzantines who began to use it first since the Turks weren't introduced to olive oil until they reached Anatolia.
There is general agreement that the Turks brought wrestling with them from Central Asia even if they didn't use oil there. It was their conversion to Islam that led the wrestlers to cover the lower part of their bodies. Some people have noted the resemblance in the ritualistic openings of the matches to sumo wrestling in Japan. At the time that the Ottomans were establishing their empire in the 14th century they set up tekkes (lodges) devoted to the sports of archery, wrestling and equestrianism.
These resembled the tekkes that were used to house the sufis (mystic saints) and the followers of these men. In Bursa, Orhan Gazi's wife, Nilüfer Hatun, is credited with having founded tekkes with sporting areas. The first one established for wrestlers was at Pınarbaşı Square. The second such sports tekke with grounds was built in Edirne following its conquest by Sultan Murat I (r. 1359 – 1389) between 1363 and 1389. The third such tekke for wrestlers was founded in Istanbul after the conquest. These tekkes resembled today's sports clubs but with an overlay of religion and ritual.
Wrestling was popular among the Ottoman rulers and it is not unknown that the sport was practiced by various rulers in the West as well. The example of England's King Henry VIII wrestling with France's Francis I in 1520 at the so-called 'Field of the Cloth of Gold' in Flanders is one of the best known examples. King Francis was the smaller of the two men but still he was able to throw King Henry to the ground.
Although it is rarely mentioned, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman I's chief architect, Sinan, included a wrestling area as part of the grounds of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. Today no one knows where that might have been located.
When Sultan Abdul Aziz (r. 1861-76) visited France, he brought oil wrestlers in his entourage and they gave exhibitions to the amazement of onlookers. One of the sultan's wrestlers was Kel Alico (Bald Alico) who became quite famous. So famous in fact that the sultan decided to wrestle him himself. But just as Alico was about to defeat the monarch he stopped. Abdul Aziz asked him why he hadn't continued and he answered, "You are facing many states as their opponent. They are not able to defeat you, so how can I defeat you." That pleased the sultan so much that he gave him 15 gold pieces and the title of palace wrestler. Throughout Alico's wrestling career, he was the champion wrestler 27 times, a record that still stands today.
Sultan Abdulhamid II (r. 1876-1909) was also known for his wrestling abilities as well as his support for wrestling competitions throughout the Ottoman Empire. He would personally get involved, trying wrestlers out and keeping the best for the palace.
Winner gets the Golden Belt
Changes have been made to the Kırkpınar events over the years, especially under Ataturk who wanted the matches to keep up with modern times under the newly founded Turkish Republic. The Golden Belt won by the chief heavyweight is now restricted in weight and the chief wrestler has to have won three matches in a row in order to keep it permanently. In the past the winner would also receive a horse, camel, sheep and duck or whatever could be found, but today they are given medallions and monetary prizes.
The agha or lord of the games is responsible for a good portion of the expenses related to the event and it can add up to quite a lot. He gets to dress up in Ottoman style and is paraded around the arena on the backs of the men hanging around. To become the agha, one has to submit a successful bid and this year's winner was Seyfettin Selim with a bid of 222,000 liras. This will be the third time he has been the agha. He greets guests and hosts them and he hands out the prizes to the winners although the prize given to the chief winner is usually given by whoever is the guest of honor. In previous years these have been Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, former President Süleyman Demirel, the late President Turgut Özal and the late Rauf R. Denktaş, the former president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This year Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, general chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) will be the guest of honor. It is also likely that Erdoğan will again attend the event.


text:
Longest line approx - 85 cm (33,46 inch). Weight - 138 gr (4,86 oz).
Beads size approx: 10-17 mm (0,39x0,66 inch). 100% old Natural Baltic Amber. Is this one not for You? To see my other items! Have any questions regarding the item?Is your location far away from Lithuania? Do You need more than one item? Don't like the item? The item "Old Vintage Natural BALTIC AMBER NECKLACE Yellow Honey Beads Faceted 138g 11358" is in sale since Thursday, October 1, 2020. This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Loose Diamonds & Gemstones\Loose Gemstones\Amber". The seller is "ramunebalta" and is located in Kaunas, Kauno r.. This item can be shipped worldwide.


text:
Pokémon Essentials, the go-to creation tool for pocket monster fan games, is no longer available following a takedown notice from Nintendo. While the Japanese game developer is infamous for shutting down unofficial games, Pokémon Essentials is a unique instance where the company also shuttered the tool's Wiki, thereby attempting to erase the information necessary to make Pokémon fan games in the first place.
While many average video game fans might have never heard of Pokémon Essentials, it was the biggest resource for making Pokémon fan games. That is to say, millions of people have played the products of Pokémon Essentials, a tool that has been downloaded by amateur game developers hundreds of thousands of times since its creation in 2007. Essentials was favored by enthusiasts because it made game creation easy by providing full tilesets, maps, music, and sprites that players can drag and drop, while also having all of Pokémon's classic role-playing mechanics built into the interface. Fans also added to Essentials' functionality by distributing their own custom resources.
Essentials' ubiquity was helped by the upkeep of excellent documentation via a Wiki that could walk developers through game creation. "I cannot emphasize this enough: without Pokémon Essentials, it would have been impossible to make Pokémon Uranium, or almost any of the other Pokémon fan games that are out there," Voluntary Twitch, the creative director behind a fan game that was downloaded over a million times, told me back in 2017.
The Pokémon fan game community has been left reeling.
According to Maruno, the last proprietor and developer of Pokémon Essentials, those days are no more. "The Pokémon Essentials Wiki, and all the downloads for Pokémon Essentials, have been deleted due to a copyright infringement claim by lawyers representing Nintendo of America," Maruno wrote on his private Twitter account. A representative from Fandom, the company that hosted the Wiki, confirmed to The Verge that Nintendo took action.
"Fandom received a DMCA notice on behalf of Nintendo notifying us of content that was in violation of its copyright holdings," the rep said. "After carefully assessing the violations in regards to the Pokemon Essentials wiki, we came to a decision to take it down."
Nintendo did not provide a comment in time for publication.
The Pokémon fan game community has been left reeling, and members explicitly asked The Verge not to name them out of fear of repercussion from Nintendo. Last year, some fan game developers went underground after watching other Nintendo fan projects get threatened by legal action, and with this current turn of events, some communities are discussing how to keep a lower online profile while continuing to share their love of game creation with other like-minded people.
"The Wiki was crucial for Essentials," one developer told The Verge. "It will likely live on in some shape or form, but many of the more organized entities are definitely going to shy away from ... building out new things for the kit."
The developer noted that it seemed "impossible" for Nintendo to erase the tool from the internet given that many people already have it and could potentially continue to disseminate it, but the community is still in shock.
"[The shuttering of] things like Uranium, Prism, etc., all made sense because they got too big," they said. "We've always known this day would come, some are surprised it took so long. But people are going to continue to make fan games, whether there's a Wiki and support or not."


text:
Acta Vet. Brno 2011, 80: 259-262
Studies on the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of Jatropha curcas leaf extract
The anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of the aqueous extract of Jatropha curcas leaves were investigated. Anti-inflammatory effect was studied using acute rat model (carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema) in which aspirin at 150 mg·kg-1, indomethacin at 10 mg·kg-1 (both are standard anti-inflammatory drugs) and aqueous extract of Jatropha curcas leaves at 150 mg·kg-1 were administered orally to 24 Wistar rats 1 h before induction of oedema and compared with a negative control given 10 ml·kg-1 saline. Using the same dose of the plant extract, the analgesic effect of the aqueous extract of Jatropha curcas leaves was also investigated by measuring the number of acetic acid-induced writhing in 18 mice. The mean percentage inhibition of paw volume of rats treated with indomethacin was 83.9% followed by aspirin treated group with 64.3%, and the Jatropha curcas treated group with 60.7%. The mean number of writhing was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in mice given aqueous extract of Jatropha curcas leaves (34.0) compared to the control group (55.8) but higher than that of the standard analgesic, paracetamol (23.5). This result suggests that Jatropha curcas has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties comparable with those of standard drugs and may be useful for the treatment of painful inflammatory conditions.
Plant extract, anti-nociceptive, carrageenan, oedema, writhing.


text:
Here are three quilts by Deirdre:
The first one is A River Runs Through It -- now Deirdre tells me that no one likes this quilt. I must be crazy because I think it's really cool! What about you?
And then we have Barn and Farm Seasons -- a super cute quilt! Four barns done in each season.
And then we have Fire Grate -- I think this is her third or fourth fire series quilt? I'm not sure, but there have been a few, all of which are amazing!
No worries, as soon as it's finished I'll be sharing it!


text:
16 Apr 2013 0 Comments
Eminence vitamin C ingredients in skin care products help to firm and strengthen your skin tissue by increasing levels of collagen, a vital protein for your appearance. Collagen builds up healthy skin cells and blood vessels for continued development and care of your skin texture. Research has revealed the crucial role vitamin C plays as an antioxidant to prevent skin damage and aid the skin in its ability to repair itself from damage. As an antioxidant, vitamin C combats free radicals that enter your skin from sun exposure and environmental elements. The oxidation from free radicals increases the age-related factors that lead to dryness, lines, wrinkles and age spots. The vitamin even has the power to reverse these damages. Researchers have found that vitamin C protects you from disease, including skin cancer by preventing damage because of prolonged exposure to the sun.


text:
a film by John Palmer
2004 | 78 mins | Canada
›› Sugar
coming-of-age, in-your-face style
Given this film is based upon a set of short stories by the BadBoy of gay cinema, one Bruce LaBruce, you kind of know that this is not going to be a sugar-coated outing of the coming-of-age scenario. Rather this is an in-your-face rendering of the perennial favourite, one that sees Cliff on the 'go get sex' advice of his wise-beyond-her-years sister Cookie, head off downtown. Only whereas most eighteen-year-olds eager for their first taste of manflesh would have probably set foot in the nearest gay bar, Cliff heads instead to the drug-fuelled, street-hustling back alleys of Toronto - naturally!
Teaming up with handsome hustler Butch, you know things can only go from bad to worse when he proclaims "I'm bad news, you know that - right." Still that doesn't prevent the two from becoming an item, with Cliff introducing Butch to his single mother and weird sister - think the Bride of Chucky on Ritalin, before heading off to Butchs' side of town, one where drugs fuel the next act of hustling and hustling pays for the next crack induced high. By now, you kind of get the feeling that things aren't going to turn out well and true to LaBruce form, self-destruction lies just around the corner.
In short, this is a story of addiction and obsession, with Cliffs' grip on reality blinded by his obsessive longing for intimacy with the drug addicted Butch, only for such to be shattered by way of the most brutal act of sexual violation. Yet between such are scenes that show Butch in an entirely different light and inparticular one that goes as far as to depict prostitution, as an act of compassion. Yet the end product is rough around its edges and whilst Brendan Fehr as Butch and Andre Noble as Cliff handle their roles with considerable skill, the problem lies not with them, but with the narrative itself. That Cliff emerges from the experience at all is nothing short of a miracle, only by the time the end credits roll, the question comes to mind - do you really care?
Screened in 2005 as part of the 19th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and surprisingly released on DVD in the UK when the feature was still playing as part of the touring programme, the result is clearly not a work that is going to be to everyone's cinematic taste. But then, this is gay cinema with a difference, namely a love story woven around male prostitution and the crack addicted lives of those whose sole means of survival is to sell their bodies and as a consequence, makes for uncompromising viewing. Appropriately the DVD outing contains a tribute to Andre Noble, who tragically died in an accident shortly after the premiere of the film.
screened as part of the 19th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2005
available on DVD as part of the
Peccadillo Pictures
starring: Brendan Fehr, Andre Noble, Haylee Wanstall, Maury Chaykin, Michael Riley, Marnie McPhail, Sarah Polley
dedicated to the memory of Andre Noble | 1979 - 2004
Copyright 2005 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com.
archive reference #107
previous page
back to top
print me


text:
This will be the second and final update to the first-generation Macan.
Interior changes include the adoption of the piano-black haptic center console similar to the Taycan.
All versions see outputs increase.
Porsche is readying the introduction of its next full-EV in the next-generation Macan but before it arrives sometime in 2023 or 2024, fans of the small SUV will be served with its best versions ever. Speaking of fans, more than 600,000 examples of the Macan have found new homes since the model arrived in 2014.
In the powertrain department, every trim will see its output increased. The base Macan's turbocharged 2.0-litre engine gains 13 horsepower for a total of 261. The Macan S' gets the previous GTS' twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 while the actual GTS benefits from the Turbo's 434 horsepower, from 370. The "old" Turbo will no longer be offered leading to believe the first Macan EV trim will be Turbo.
Physically, the 2022 Porsche Macan sees its front fascia redesigned for a wider and beefier look. 14 colours will be available while wheels sizes grow an inch for every version, from 19s for the base to 21s for the GTS.
The cabin gains a new Taycan and Cayenne-inspired console that does away with physical buttons. Instead, the gloss-black surface features controls with haptic feedback and a shorter shifter for a more upscale look. A new analog clock now sits proudly at the top of the dashboard as standard.
Many updates are focused on the new GTS. Porsche's PASM suspension, which lowers the ride height by 10mm, will be standard, will be put to best use thanks to the new structural reinforcements. A new optional GTS Sport Package will further heighten the driving experience with Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), unique 21-inch wheels, and Sport Chrono.
The new 2022 Porsche Macan can be ordered as of now. Pricing for base Macan starts at $58,500 $, the Macan S from $70,600, while the Macan GTS goes for $85,500.


text:
Medula, 2010
Watercolour. 2010
The Artistic World of Helena Torres-Muga Feijoo
Surrealistic Art by Amsterdam-based Artist Helena Torres-Muga Feijoo
Watercolour. 2010
Watercolour. 2010
Watercolour, markers on paper. 2010
In 2014, I joined a life drawing group. The new organizer was a young woman who came from the Ukraine, she was just 19 years old. Previously she studied at the art academy in Kiev, her studies were completely academic, and her name is Julia Filament. I started to attend to many sessions to practice
When I arrived to The Netherlands in 2010, I was lucky to have my first exhibition. It was very well organized. All the paintings were created on my last year living in Mexico. So, I painted a series of watercolours, many of them were portraits of humans and also a couple of animals, representing each


text:
No matter what subject you want to learn about, you will find that not everyone agrees. There is always one person who will disagree. The same holds true when it comes to fabrics like silk. There will always be someone who says the opposite thing.
Can you stretch silk? This is a topic that has people on both sides of the fence. Some say yes and others say no but the good news is that it may be possible to stretch some silk fabrics. One method is the baby shampoo water method. Soak your silk in this mixture for up to an hour then gently stretch the fabric.
To get all the details on how to stretch silk just continue to read our article. This article explores the issue so you have the facts. Making sure your favorite silk clothing item fits is important.
A silk fabric may not be stretchable. But silk thread and silk fibers are. Some say that the silk must be cut on the bias before it will stretch at all and then it might not stretch too much.
Then some people claim that to get silk to stretch it needs to be blended with spandex or some other stretchable fabric. There are fabrics called stretch silk satin and stretch silk crepe which may stretch some but not a lot as well.
The single fiber can be stretched up to 50 times its length but that characteristic does not seem to transition very well when it is woven into a fabric. What we have been able to find out is that silk can stretch about 20% more from its original length.
There is some difficulty with silk stretching though. It may eventually break its fibers and gradually lose its elasticity. Just don't count on silk being like spandex or lycra which always stretch
The reason silk stretches is that it is made from natural fibers. These fibers have properties in them that allow them certain functions. A little stretch is just one of those functions. Also it may not be all styles of silk that will stretch.
A lot of the stretchy nature will depend on how the fabric was woven together and the quality of the fabric itself. You would have to check the label to see if there are any warning signs or information about the clothing item made from silk and if it will stretch at all.
Even though it is made from natural fibers, that does not mean that it is a very stretchy material. Some people have reported that they do not get any stretch from silk or that they can even stretch the fabric.
If your silk clothing stretches then it is possible that you got a good quality blouse, shirt, or dress. We have seen reports where you are told you can't stretch a silk dress.
It seems that silk can stretch when it is wet. There is a process where you soak the item in baby shampoo and water for between 30 to 60 minutes then you have to gently pull on the fabric to get it back to its original size.
Also, if you use that technique you should do the stretching while the item is underwater and has soaked for 30 minutes. But you need to be really gentle as silk fibers weaken when they get wet and it is possible to break them during this process.
As for stretching when it rains, it is possible. The fabric will stretch up to 20% so anything can happen. When you try to stretch silk you are not really unshrinking the clothes, you are just relaxing the fibers so that you can stretch them back into shape.
One of the reasons why you may not get a lot of stretch out of silk is because the fabric is made with tight weaves
Silk may stretch over time. It is a natural fiber and it does possess some stretching capability. How much it will stretch will depend on several factors like quality and how it was woven.
But do not think that just by hanging it in your closet on a hanger the silk clothing item will stretch and be in perfect shape to fit you when you take it out. You will have to wear it and help the fibers stretch to fit your form.
Use is one of the best ways to get a silk gown, blouse, or shirt to stretch out the way you want it to. It is also the best way for you to be comfortable in silk. With the fabric stretching to fit your form you know your body won't be tight or uncomfortable for very long.
Your experience may differ from other people's experiences and how much your silk items will stretch is anyone's guess. There is no absolute answer to this topic.
The first step in this process is to measure your wood frame and then cut the silk a few inches larger than the frame. Oh before we go any further you do need two people to do this task.
Next, you need one person pulling the fabric tight on one side of the frame while the other person stables it into place. Then the same person pulls the fabric taut over the other side of the frame with the person stapling tacking it into position.
Just keep pulling and stapling until all sides are tight, and have no wrinkles in them. The last thing to do is stretch the fabric diagonally so you get the fabric as taut as it can be and there are no openings.
When the stapling is done, make sure to tap in any staples that have not gone all the way into the frame. You do not want the fabric tearing on the arms of the staples. Then you trim off the excess and you should be ready to go.
Yes it can stretch. There is a handy way to handle this task. All you need is some solid wax. You run the thread through the wax till a groove appears. Use the same groove 2 or 3 more times as you put wax on the thread.
A little tension on the thread as you do this is okay. Just do not pull it so tight that the thread breaks on you. Once you are done you can wipe the excess wax off and get down to stretching the thread.
You should only stretch the thread one foot at a time. Too much pull may damage the thread and ruin your efforts. Depending on the brand of thread you may stretch it a little more.
That is another thing. Not all thread brands are the same and some may break easier than others. Check your brand and hope for the best. If it breaks easily it may be time to change brands.
The reason you stretch silk thread before you do jewelry or beadwork is that if you don't the silk may lose its shape or lose its tension. The silk will stretch naturally but you have no control over the material and you may run into problems when you work with silk.
There is a very simple way to stretch silk for beading and if the thread breaks here it will break at knotting time. All you have to do is remove the silk from its location and wrap a little bit around each hand.
Usually you want o stretch about 18 to 14 inches at a time. After you have wrapped the thread around each hand, just gently but firmly pull the thread in opposite directions. The pulling continues till you feel there is no more give in the thread.
There is a rumor that the thread breaks due to the dyes used to create it and its color. There may be other reasons like pulling too hard or the thread is old.
It is possible to stretch silk clothing. As a natural fabric, silk should have about 20% stretch to it so when the fabric shrinks or is too small, you may be able to stretch it out a little.
Keep in mind that there is no ultimate control over how much silk will stretch. Your results may be satisfactory for you but do not expect the same results or larger stretch with all your silk clothing. The fabric will stretch depending upon its weave and the quality of the material.
Also each article of clothing may not stretch up to the full 20%. It is anyone's guess how far the item will go. If the silk garment is too small, it may be wiser to just go out and buy one that fits.
Stretching also carries no guarantees that you will not ruin the item. You will save yourself a lot of frustration as well.
The process is not that difficult to learn or to due. Just do not hold any unrealistic expectations when you follow this procedure. The first thing you need to do is gather the silk shirt, baby shampoo, and some water.
Use 1 tablespoon of hair conditioner or baby shampoo for every gallon of warm water you put in a bucket or sink. Stir until you get a soapy texture look to the water. Then add the shirt you want to make larger.
Let the shirt soak for about 30 to 60 minutes. You can start stretching it while it is still underwater at the 30-minute mark if you want. Or you can wait till the hour is up. After the hour is up, gently rinse the shirt off.
Hang dry without wringing. Gravity should help the stretching process. Once dry press with a cold iron. This procedure works with soft water homes. It is unsure if it will work in those homes that use hard water.
It is possible to use the same procedure as described above. Dresses are not that much different from shirts that they need a different process to get them to be a little larger. The same warnings apply as well.
There is no guarantee that the stretching process will even work. While you have a 20% stretch capability there is no guarantee the dress will stretch out that much. Another way to stretch the silk dress is to wear it while it is still wet.
If you do not like that idea then you can put the wet dress on a dress form and let it take all the moisture for you. How much stretch you will get is uncertain. There is no way to control the amount of stretch.
If the dress is too small, it is better if you went out and bought yourself anew one. That way you get one you like and one that will fit comfortably.
Silk has some stretchability. That is a good ability to know about as silk may shrink on you at the wrong time and you will need to stretch it back into shape. The procedures are simple, not difficult to do and they may get you the stretch you are looking for. Then again, they may not.
With no control over the fabric and its ability to stretch, you may get a little or you may get a lot. Plus when the silk dries it may shrink back a little as well. The fibers will be weaker after these processes so the silk item may not last as long as before you tried them.


text:
Collective decision making and especially leadership in groups are among the most studied topics in natural, social, and political sciences. Previous studies have shown that some individuals are more likely to be leaders because of their social power or the pertinent information they possess. One challenge for all group members, however, is to satisfy their needs. In many situations, we do not yet know how individuals within groups distribute leadership decisions between themselves in order to satisfy time-varying individual requirements. To gain insight into this problem, we build a dynamic model where group members have to satisfy different needs but are not aware of each other's needs. Data about needs of animals come from real data observed in macaques. Several studies showed that a collective movement may be initiated by a single individual. This individual may be the dominant one, the oldest one, but also the one having the highest physiological needs. In our model, the individual with the lowest reserve initiates movements and decides for all its conspecifics. This simple rule leads to a viable decision-making system where all individuals may lead the group at one moment and thus suit their requirements. However, a single individual becomes the leader in 38% to 95% of cases and the leadership is unequally (according to an exponential law) distributed according to the heterogeneity of needs in the group. The results showed that this non-linearity emerges when one group member reaches physiological requirements, mainly the nutrient ones – protein, energy and water depending on weight - superior to those of its conspecifics. This amplification may explain why some leaders could appear in animal groups without any despotism, complex signalling, or developed cognitive ability.
Author Summary
Making decisions together to reach a consensus is one of the most important challenges of any society. In some communities, however, some leaders have more weight in the decisions than the other individuals. Similar rules exist in animal societies. Studies on animal groups have shown that some individuals are more likely to be leaders because of their social power or the pertinent information they possess. This leader may be the dominant one, the oldest one, but also the one having the highest physiological need. However, how may other group members have their needs satisfied if always the same individual decides? To gain insight into this problem, we build an agent-based model where group members have to satisfy different needs but the individual with the lowest reserve decides when and where to move for all its conspecifics. This simple rule leads to a viable decision-making system that satisfies all individuals and suits their requirements. However, a single individual, the one with the highest needs, becomes the leader in 38% to 95% of cases according to the heterogeneity of needs in the group.
Citation: Sueur C, Deneubourg J-L, Petit O, Couzin ID (2010) Differences in Nutrient Requirements Imply a Non-Linear Emergence of Leaders in Animal Groups. PLoS Comput Biol 6(9): e1000917. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000917
Editor: Raluca Eftimie, McMaster University, Canada
Received: April 19, 2010; Accepted: August 3, 2010; Published: September 2, 2010
Copyright: © 2010 Sueur et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: CS was funded by Wallonia Brussels International, the Franco-American Commission, the Alsace Region, and the Fyssen Foundation. JLD was funded by Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research. IDC is pleased to acknowledge support from Searle Scholar Award 08-SPP-201, National Science Foundation Award PHY-0848755, Office of Naval Research Award N00014-09-1-1074 and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) grant HR0011-09-1-0055. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Social animals have to coordinate their activities in order to maintain the advantages of group living [1]–[3]. This coordination constitutes one of the major challenges of any animal society, including human beings, and arouses the interest of scientists, sociologists, and politicians [4]–[9]. Whatever the group size or the level of communication – global or local [8], [9] – several categories of group decision making have been described: a leadership process where one individual will propose or impose a decision that other group members will follow [10]–[15], and a voting process in which each individual indicates a direction, for instance, and after which the group will move in the direction of the majority [4], [16]–[18]. A group leader is usually defined as the individual initiating group movements but also as the individual coordinating individual during the group progression, and then mainly at the front of the progression [4], [8]–[13]. In different species of animals, leadership is not necessarily homogeneously distributed among group members [8]–[15]. Some individuals are more likely to become leaders thanks to specific internal or social traits increasing their probability of initiating a movement [10]–[12]. Studies of elephants [19], ravens [20], or fishes [21] have reported that some individuals may have a greater knowledge about their environment – which is the best site to eat or to drink – and these individuals have been observed leading the group more often than their conspecifics. In other species, individuals having a high social status, in terms of dominance or affiliation, also have a greater likelihood of being leaders. Probably the best known examples come from wolves and gorillas [10], [22] where the dominant male or couple is described as always deciding for the entire group. In Tonkean macaques, however, the most affiliated individuals – who are not necessarily the most dominant ones – seem to have a greater influence than their conspecifics in collective decision making [23].
However, one of the major factors influencing leadership should be the different physiological requirements of group members [10]–[12]. Such heterogeneity implies conflicts of interests between individuals that must be resolved in order to maintain group cohesion. Leaving the leadership to highly motivated individuals seems to be one compromise. Indeed, the moving decision seems to be taken by those with highest needs in fishes, zebras, and primates [8], [9], [14], [24]. Nevertheless, we still lack data on the way leaders emerge and the viability of the decision-making system concerning the entire group's satisfaction. Using a modelling approach, Rands et al. [12], [25] and Conradt et al. [26] showed that individuals with the highest nutrient requirements can be more prone to lead the group if there is an advantage to foraging together. Their studies were however restricted to pairs of individuals or to situations in which individuals faced two mutually exclusive target destinations only.
Here, we use a state-dependent dynamic model [27], [28] to determine how nutrient and social requirements can determine the synchronization of a group of n individuals, their activity budget, and the emergence of leaders. This kind of models allows us to understand how simple rules based on nutrient requirements and social factors explain synchronization between group members [27] but also segregation as shown in ungulates [28], where each individual has some requirements to satisfy (nutrient requirements such as protein, energy and water but also other social requirements and resting). We assume that if there is an advantage to being in a group, then the group members should synchronize their activities in order to stay cohesive. We assume that individuals do not know the requirements of their conspecifics (and further show that such ability may not be necessary for effective group coordination). Each individual requirement combines a reserve and a motivation that we call probability to lead. When the reserve decreases, the probability increases. At one moment, the individual with the lowest reserve – among its own needs and in comparison to other individuals – will have the highest probability to lead (these individual probabilities are compared at each time step) and will decide for the entire group on changing activity in order to fulfil its respective reserve [8], [9], [12], [25], [26]. In the next step, when the need of the previous leader is satisfied, a new leader will emerge and decide for the whole group. We applied this condition in our model in order to assess if this simple hypothesis "leading according to needs and deciding for all the group" is viable and if so, how the leadership will be distributed among group members less or more heterogeneous in their needs.
We first tested a group of two individuals, A and B, with two needs, x1 and x2. We set three conditions: 1) needs are equal (a1 = a2 = b1 = b2), 2) needs of each individual are different but their sums are equal between individuals (a1>a2; b1>b2; a1+a2 = b1+b2) and 3) the sum of needs for individual A are always superior to the one of individual B (a1+a2>b1+b2). Values of needs for each tested group of each condition are detailed in table 1. We tested 10 groups for each condition. Results show that the decision system is viable, no individual dies, i.e., no individual has needs not met (reserves go to 0), whatever the tested condition. When sums of needs are equal between individuals (conditions 1 and 2), the leadership (proportion of decisions, i.e., initiations per individual) is equally distributed between the two individuals (Fig. 1A), even if, at each time step, one individual is the leader and the other one is the follower according to the reserves' difference. This result is similar to the one of the paper of Rands et al. [25] where individuals are identical. However, when the sum of needs is superior for one individual (Fig. 1B), this one becomes the leader of the pairs of individuals and the other individual becomes a follower almost all the time (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, P<0.0001). The leadership difference between individuals increases with their relative difference of needs in a logarithmic way (curve estimation test: R2 = 0.96, P<0.00001; Fig. 1C). This result is similar to the one of Rands and colleagues [12]: leaders emerge when individual reserves differ.
Condition 1 (a.): needs are equal (a1 = a2 = b1 = b2). Condition 2(a.): needs of each individual are different but their sums are equal between individuals (a1>a2; b1>b2; a1+a2 = b1+b2). For these two conditions, the leadership is equally distributed between individuals (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, P>0.972). Condition 3(b., c.): the sum of needs for one individual is superior to the one of individual. For Condition 3, the ratio (a1+a2)/(b1+b2) ranged from 1 (Group 1) to 1.45 (Group 10). For this condition, one individual becomes the leader when its needs are superior to the ones of its conspecifics. Fig. 1c represents the difference of leadership according to the relative difference of needs between A and B.
In a second step, we used data coming from animals in order to validate our model and to study emergence of leaders in larger groups.. According to needs of macaques, animals were divided into five categories: adult males, adult cycling females, lactating females, subadults, and juveniles. An individual has five requirements to satisfy: water, protein, energy, resting, and socializing [29]–[34]. The nutrient requirements of an individual (water, protein and energy) depend on its body mass whilst social and resting needs did not [31]–[34]. We chose to include social activity in the model because many social species spend time maintaining their relationships and group cohesion [31]–[35]. Group composition (table 2) and individual characteristics (table 3) are based on data on macaques and are detailed in the method section. We tested 10 groups of 5, 10 and 20 individuals with same needs (individuals of the same category and with the same body mass) and 10 ones with different needs (individuals of both different categories and different body masses).
Simulations showed that the system – leadership by those in need – is sustainable in groups of 5, 10 and 20 individuals. All individual requirements are satisfied at the end of simulations, whatever the group composition. Moreover, the group activity budget is fairly similar to the activity budget of wild primate groups (27.3±1.7% of time devoted to moving, 33.8±1.7% to foraging, 21.7±0.7% to resting, and 17.2±3.1% to socializing). All individuals could become leaders but the distribution of the leadership proportion is not the same according to the requirements' heterogeneity (equal or different needs; Kruskal-Wallis test, P<0.001). In groups with similar needs, the proportion of leadership differs weakly between individuals and is about 10% per individual. The relation between leadership proportion and rank (i.e., individuals were ranked from the most frequent leader to the less frequent one) is linear (linear curve estimation test: R2 = 0.92, F1,8 = 93.05, P<0.00001, y = −0.0006x+0.1339). The leadership is about 14% for the individual that decides the most and 7.6% for the individual that decide the least (Fig. 2A). This result corresponds to the equiprobability of being leader per individual (proportion divided by the number of individuals per group). On the other hand, the leadership is not equally distributed in heterogeneous groups. The relation between the proportion of leadership and individuals is exponential (exponential curve estimation test: R2 = 0.83, F1,8 = 38.07, P = 0.0002, y = 3.5727e−4.602x, Fig. 2B), with one individual being responsible for 38% to 95% of decisions per group, while some individuals decide only in 0.0003% to 0.0007% of cases per group. We obtained the same relationship with groups of 5 (exponential curve estimation test; R2 = 0.97, F1,3 = 12.81, P<0.00001, y = 0.9825x−3.207, Fig. 3A) and 20 individuals (exponential curve estimation test; R2 = 0.96, F1,18 = 498.95, P<0.00001, y = 11.48x−4.86, Fig. 3B).
Individuals are ranked from the individual with the highest leadership proportion to the one with the lowest leadership proportion. The upper and lower dotted lines indicate respectively the maximum and minimum leadership proportions for each rank. The leadership proportion is different between individuals whatever the condition.
Individuals are ranking from the individual with the higher leadership proportion to the one with the lower leadership proportion. The up and down dotted lines indicate respectively the maximum and minimum leadership proportions for each rank.
We compared this unequally distributed leadership to the requirements of individuals in order to understand how so many differences can emerge in heterogeneous groups. We calculated the relative difference in requirements (corresponding to the highest probability to lead) between each leader and other individuals. The relationship between the leadership and this difference in requirements follows a sigmoid curve ( with a threshold S of 1.37 and a minimal n value of 30; curve estimation test: R2 = 0.71, F1,108 = 269.72, P<0.00001; Fig. 4A). The n value represents the sensitivity of the process. The higher the n value is, the more sensitive the process is (quick and sudden transition between the two states). In our context, this means that one individual becomes the most frequent and prominent leader of a group as soon as one of its requirements exceed about 137% of those of one of its conspecifics. This transition between equally distributed leadership and one exclusive leader is highly non-linear, given the n value we observed. The same sigmoid law is observed between the proportion of leadership and the body mass of individuals (sigmoid curve estimation test: R2 = 0.66, F1,108 = 205.73, P<0.00001; Fig. 4B). When the mass of an individual is more than 170% (S = 1.7, n = 30) of those of its conspecifics, this individual is the main group leader. Except for lactating females, requirements and then leadership are related to body mass in about 60% of cases. The rest of the decisions concern resting and socializing and are not related to mass. We obtain similar results for groups of 5 (sigmoid curve estimation test: R2 = 0.71, F1,53 = 111.52, P<0.00001, , Fig. 5A) and 20 individuals (sigmoid curve estimation test: R2 = 0.16, F1,218 = 42.13, P<0.00001, , Fig. 5B). For 8 out of 10 groups of 20 individuals, 4.6±2.2 group members were never leader. They were satisfied by following their conspecifics.
These functions are both sigmoid. N = 110. Each point represents characteristics of one individual in each group (ten groups with different needs and one with equal needs are represented).
These functions are both sigmoid. Each point represents characteristics of one individual in each group (ten groups with different needs and one with equal needs are represented).
Leading by those highest in need resembles the results obtained by Rands et al. [25], where the individual with the lower reserve spontaneously becomes the leader. Moreover, a recent study by Conradt et al. [26] showed that a small minority of individuals with strong needs are more prone to lead the group than a larger majority of individuals with few needs. However, it is the first time that a threshold [2], [18], [36] has been demonstrated concerning the emergence of leadership. The decision-making system implies high differences in leadership proportion whilst relatively small differences are observed in the requirements of individuals. The threshold we obtained in this study is probably dependent on 1) the group structure of primates (one or a small number of males compared to the other categories) [35] and 2) to the physiology of primates [31]–[34]. Indeed, in primates, and especially in macaques, a sexual dimorphism exists and males may reach a mass 150 to 200% superior to the one of females.
Several authors suggested that dominant individuals are the only leaders in several species [9]–[12], [14], [22], [23]. The dominance is however strongly correlated to the body mass and then to the nutrient requirements of animals [10]. This indirect effect of dominance on leadership, through the needs and then the probability to initiate a movement, needs to be taken into account in subsequent studies testing dominance effects. For instance, two field studies in baboons showed that the main leader – the individual initiating most of movements – was the dominant male. However this male is also certainly the biggest individual in the group. In the study of Stueckle and Zinner [36], the four males of the group, bigger than females, are the ones initiating the most of movements (Fig. 6). Moreover, the distribution of leadership also follows an exponential as the one in the study model. We may suggest that the slope of this exponential distribution of leadership will be less or more important according to the group composition. This slope would be around 0 when the group is homogeneous and increases with group heterogeneity.
Black squares represent females, white squares represent males. The distribution of initiations follows an exponential curve as (black line) determined by the study model (curve estimation test: R2 = 0.99, P<0.00001, y = 22.73e−0.219x).
The non-linear differences in leadership among group members eventually emerge from two simple rules: individuals need to remain cohesive and the individual with the lowest reserve at one moment decides for the group [2], [3], [24]–[26]. Mechanisms of coordination and cohesion do not need complex signalling or complex cognitive ability [2], [3], [13], [24]. The emergence of a unique leader may also occur when decisions are not necessarily imposed on other group members but because other individuals do not express the necessity to move or to make a decision. An individual becomes a leader because its conspecifics decide to follow it [8], [9]. This outcome may make important contributions to our understanding of decision making in animal and human societies.
Materials and Methods
The model was developed in Netlogo 3.15 [37]. The model and model's procedures can be found in the supplementary material "Dataset S1". One time-step in the simulation represents one minute. We defined the probability to lead α for the requirement A and the individual i as:The probability to lead for the individual i is:In this way, the probability to lead can vary between 1 (highest probability to lead, weakest reserve) and 0 (weakest probability to lead, highest reserve). Each reserve is bounded by a maximum above which each group member cannot gain further reserves and a minimum at which each group member is assumed to die if it is reached. At each timestep (equal to one minute), each reserve of each individual decreases (i.e., expenditure) depending on the individual category and the current activity. This reserve decrease will increase the individual probability to lead. In order to fulfil this reserve, the individual should have to carry out the corresponding activity (i.e., intake). This gain may be done by becoming a leader or by following the leader. We implement optimal foraging decisions in the model: when an individual decides to forage, it will forage until its reserve has been fulfilled. After the end of each activity period, the individual with the highest probability to lead Pi becomes the new leader. Individuals have a walking speed of 0.4m.s−1.
The group environment is two-dimensional environment of 96×96 connected cells. Each cell represent one meter. Each cell has four immediate neighbours and the sides of the arena were joined to form a torus. The number of areas where animals fulfil their reserves is two for the first model with two individuals having two needs and four for the model from 5 to 20 individuals having five needs (see details below). At the start of a simulation, individuals are at the same distance of each area (i.e., at the middle of the torus). According to the distribution of areas inside the torus, groups have a travel distance between two areas ranging from a minimum of 25 meters to a maximum of 75 meters. This range fits with travel distances in primate species of similar body mass and similar group size [4], [38]–[41]. Positions of areas were fixed in our model but this does not affect results since variability among needs – what is the highest need and the weakest one – is much more important between individuals and groups. This means that the areas corresponding for instance to the two highest needs for an individual are not always the closest ones. There is no intragroup competition in this model: all individuals can occupy the same area. We run 1000 simulations for each group. A simulation stops when one reserve of one individual reaches 0 or after 90 days.
Model with two individuals having two needs
The two individuals have two needs and thus two daily requirements. Values of these requirements for each condition and each individual are described in table 1. We tested ten different groups for each condition. Expenditures of each reserve are 0.07±0.035 units.min−1. Intakes are 10 units.min−1. The environment is composed of two areas, one for each requirement. Individuals have to move to the respective area to fulfil each reserve.
Model with five to 20 individuals with five needs
According to data in macaques, the daily protein requirement is estimated to 2.54g.day−1.kg−1, daily energy requirement to 351.7Kcal.day−1.kg−1, and daily water requirement to 0.24ml.KJ−1, except for lactating females for which these requirements are higher than the ones of non lactating females (about 125% for proteins and 200% for energy and water of requirements of non lactating females) [31]–[34]. Social and resting times are not dependent on body mass. Individual expenditure per need and activity is described in table 4. Details about individual intake rate per need are in table 5.
The environment is composed of four areas: one area for foraging for proteins, one area for foraging for energy, one waterhole, and one resting site [42]. When individuals need energy, proteins, or water, they have to move toward the respective areas. Until the group is in a specific activity among the five ones (eating proteins, eating energy, drinking water, resting or socializing), each individual gains a certain amount of the requirement according to its category (table 5). Concerning resting, individuals need to go to the resting site for the night (at the 720th time-step and for 720 time-steps), but during the day they can rest in any area. The same rule applies to socializing. Concerning resting and socializing activity, we fixed a minimal period of 5 minutes for doing these activities.
Differences in leadership between individuals were tested using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for groups of 2 individuals and a Kruskall-Wallis test for groups from 5 to 20 individuals. The relations between the proportion of leadership and differences in needs or mass were determined through a curve estimation test. We compared observed curves to exponential, linear and sigmoid ones. Only theoretical curves best fitting with observed data are indicate in results. Analyses were performed in SPSS 10.00. α was set at 0.05. Means were ± S.E.M.
Supporting Information
Dataset S1.
This file contains the model used for this publication and its related files. The file "modele beta min.nlogo" is the model used for this publication. Algorithms can be seen in the "procedures" window. "attributes.txt" file is used to implement individual characteristics in the model. Row 1 corresponds to the identity of agents. Row 2 represents the body mass. Row 3 is the daily protein requirement. Row 4 is the daily energy requirement. Row 5 is the protein intake rate. Row 6 is the energy intake rate. Row 7 is the daily water requirement. Row 8 is the daily social time requirement. Row 9 is the daily resting time requirement. Row 10 is the category of individuals (male, female, etc.). "Links.txt" file is used to implement social relationships of individuals in the model. This variable is not used and analyzed in this study. "activitybudget.doc" file is used to score group activity budget per day. "highestvalue.doc file" is used to score which individual has the highest motivation at the end of the day and what is this motivation. "idleaderfrequency.doc" is used to score the frequency of leadership per individual during all the simulation.
We would like to thank Sean Rands and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: CS JLD IDC. Performed the experiments: CS. Analyzed the data: CS IDC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CS JLD OP IDC. Wrote the paper: CS JLD OP IDC.
- 1. Couzin I (2007) Collective minds. Nature 445: 715–715.
- 2. Sumpter DJT (2006) The principles of collective animal behaviour. Philo Trans R Soc B-Biol Sci 361: 5–22.
- 3. Parrish JK (1999) Complexity, pattern, and evolutionary trade-offs in animal aggregation. Science 284: 99–99.
- 4. Sueur C, Petit O (2008a) Shared or unshared consensus decision in macaques. Behav Proc 78: 84–92.
- 5. Dawes CT, Fowler JH, Johnson T, McElreath R, Smirnov O (2007) Egalitarian motives in humans. Nature 446: 794–796.
- 6. Dyer JR, Ioannou CC, Morrell LJ, Croft DP, Couzin ID, et al. (2008) Consensus decision making in human crowds. Anim Behav 75: 461–470.
- 7. Fowler JH, Schreiber D (2008) Biology, Politics and the Emerging Science of Human Nature. Science 322: 912–914.
- 8. Conradt L, Roper TJ (2007) Democracy in animals: the evolution of shared group decisions. Proc R Soc B-Biol Sci 274: 2317–2326.
- 9. Conradt L, Roper TJ (2005) Consensus decision making in animals. Trends Ecol Evol 20: 449–456.
- 10. King AJ, Johnson DDP, Van Vugt M (2009) The origins and evolution of leadership. Curr Biol 19: R911–R916.
- 11. King AJ, Cowlishaw G (2009) Leaders, followers and group decision making. Commun Integr Biol 2: 147–150.
- 12. Rands SA, Cowlishaw G, Pettifor RA, Rowcliffe JM, Johnstone RA (2008) The emergence of leaders and followers in foraging pairs when the qualities of individuals differ. BMC Evol Biol 8: 51.
- 13. Couzin ID, Krause J, Franks NR, Levin SA (2005) Effective leadership and decision-making in animal groups on the move. Nature 433: 513–516.
- 14. Fischhoff IR, Sundaresan SR, Cordingley J, Markin HM, Sellier MJ, et al. (2007) Social relationships and reproductive state influence leadership roles in movements of plains zebra, Equus burchellii. Anim Behav 73: 825–831.
- 15. Biro D, Sumpter DJT, Meade J, Guilford T (2006) From compromise to leadership in pigeon homing. Curr Biol 16: 2123–2128.
- 16.
Kummer H (1968) Social Organization of Hamadryas Baboons. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 195 p.
- 17.
Prins HHT (1996) Ecology and Behaviour of the African buffalo. London: Chapman & Hall. 293 p.
- 18. Ward AJW, Sumpter DJT, Couzin ID, Hart PJB, Krause J (2008) Quorum decision-making facilitates information transfer in fish shoals. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105: 6948–6953.
- 19. Fole C, Pettorelli N, Foley L (2008) Severe drought and calf survival in elephants. Biol Lett 4: 541–544.
- 20. Wright J, Stone RE, Brown N (2003) Communal roosts as structured information centres in the raven, Corvus corax. J Anim Ecol 72: 1003–1014.
- 21. Reebs SG (2000) Can a minority of informed leaders determine the foraging movements of a fish shoal? Anim Behav 59: 403–409.
- 22. Peterson RO, Jacobs AK, Drummer TD, Mech LD, Smith DW (2002) Leadership behavior in relation to dominance and reproductive status in gray wolves, Canis lupus. Can J Zool 80: 1405–1412.
- 23. Sueur C, Petit O (2008b) Organization of group members at departure of joint movements is driven by social structure in macaques. Int J Primatol 29: 1085–1098.
- 24. Couzin ID, Krause J (2003) Self-organization and collective behaviour in vertebrates. Adv Study Behav 32: 1–75.
- 25. Rands SA, Cowlishaw G, Pettifor RA, Rowcliffe JM, Johnstone RA (2003) Spontaneous emergence of leaders and followers in foraging pairs. Nature 423: 432–434.
- 26. Conradt L, Krause J, Couzin ID, Roper T (2009) "Leading According to Need" in Self-Organizing Groups. Am Nat 173: 304–313.
- 27. Rands SA, Pettifor RA, Rowcliffe JM, Cowlishaw G (2004) State-dependent foraging rules for social animals in selfish herds. Proc R Soc Lon B 22: 2613–2620.
- 28. Ruckstuhl KE, Kokko H (2002) Modelling sexual segregation in ungulates: effects of group size, activity budgets and synchrony. Anim Behav 64: 909–914.
- 29. Simpson SJ, Sibly RM, Lee KP, Behmer ST, Raubenheimer D (2004) Optimal foraging when regulating intake of multiple nutrients. Anim Behav 68: 1299–1311.
- 30. Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ, Mayntz D (2009) Nutrition, ecology and nutritional ecology: toward an integrated framework. Funct Ecol 23: 4–16.
- 31.
National Research Council of the National Academies of USA (2003) Nutrient requirements of Nonhuman Primates, Second Revised Edition. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.
- 32. Nakagawa N (1989) Bioenergetics of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) on Kinkazan island during winter. Primates 30: 441–460.
- 33. Nakagawa N (2009) Feeding rate as valuable information in primate feeding ecology. Primates 50: 131–141.
- 34. Tsugi Y, Kazahari N, Kitahara M, Takatsuki S (2008) A more detailed seasonal division of the energy balance and the protein balance of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Kinkasan island, northern Japan. Primates 49: 157–160.
- 35. Thierry B (2007) Unity in diversity: lessons from macaque societies. Evol Anthropol 16: 224–238.
- 36. Stueckle S, Zinner D (2008) To follow or not to follow: decision making and leadership during the morning departure in chacma baboons. Anim behav 75: 1995–2004.
- 37.
Wilensky U (1999) NetLogo. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
- 38. Chapman CA, Chapman LJ (2000) Interdemic variation in mixed-species association patterns: common diurnal primates of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 47: 129–139.
- 39. Garber PA (1989) Role of spatial memory in primate foraging patterns: Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis. Am J Primatol 19: 203–216.
- 40. Isbell LA, Pruetz JD, Nzuma BM, Young TP (1999) Comparing measures of travel distances in primates: Methodological considerations and socioecological implications. Am J Primatol 48: 87–98.
- 41. Noser R, Byrne RW (2007) Travel routes and planning of visits to out-of-sight resources in wild chacma baboons, Papio ursinus. Anim Behav 73: 257–266.
- 42. Sellers WI, Hill RA, Logan BS (2007) An agent-based model of group decision making in baboons. Phil Trans R Soc B 362: 1699–1710.


text:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi Named 7 Impeachment Trial Managers
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the names of seven impeachment trial "managers" who will make the case against President Donald Trump in the Senate. The managers are: Reps. Adam Schiff of California, who will be the lead manager; Jerry Nadler of New York; Val Demings of Florida; Hakeem Jeffries of New York; Zoe Lofgren of California; Sylvia Garcia of Texas; and Jason Crow of Colorado. Nancy Pelosi has chosen a diverse and talented team of litigators to prosecute President Trump. It has not yet been decided whether witnesses will be called to testify at the trial, which is set to begin Tuesday, January 21, 2020, in the video "Pelosi Announces The Seven Impeachment Managers Who Will Prosecute The Case Against Trump, MSNBC", below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at firstname.lastname@example.com
We Need Fair Value of Solar
~Let's Help One Another~
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:


text:
Power Platform Labs and Challenges
Hands-on-labs and Challenges used in the Ignite Pre-Day workshop for Microsoft Power platform app in a day» Devamını okuyun
Hands-on-labs and Challenges used in the Ignite Pre-Day workshop for Microsoft Power platform app in a day» Devamını okuyun
In this blog, we build a custom admin dashboard experience with PowerApps and the admin custom connectors we announced recently. See full blog post here https://powerapps.microsoft.com/…» Devamını okuyun
We're excited to share that many of the items in the October Release Notes are now beginning to roll into preview environments and in some cases are already available in production! We've focused across the board on quality, more powerful CDS capabilities, more productive makers, great end user experiences, and improved admin visibility.Devamını okuyun
We're very excited to announce new screen templates, which allow you to build an app in a matter of minutes! These new screens make it easier than ever to add Microsoft Office capabilities to your custom apps.» Devamını okuyun
This blog post highlights how one can create a PowerApps Canvas app to create an editable table to interact with the data in the database quickly without having to connect through a separate interface.» Devamını okuyun
Power Summit is an upcoming live conference featuring high-level insider knowledge from Microsoft and user-produced education on how to maximize the performance of the Microsoft Power Platform, covering Power BI, PowerApps, and Microsoft Flow.» Devamını okuyun
Want to learn how to build PowerApps, but don't know where to start? This how-to guide will take you step-by-step through the process of building various Microsoft Office components in PowerApps.» Devamını okuyun
PowerApps User Research wants to hear from YOU! We are building a user research panel of participants who have experience with PowerApps and want to make it better for all customers. Join our panel today by taking this 10-minute survey.» Devamını okuyun
Microsoft used PowerApps to create a a suite of employee engagement mobile apps that have been deployed worldwide to 100,000+ employees. These applications have a clean and modern UI and connect to a variety of backend services, including cloud-based APIs and legacy on-premise systems. This blog post takes a deeper look at this set of apps, that are branded as the Thrive suite. It describes the partnership between the HR and IT departments at Microsoft, the decision to use PowerApps, the app functionality, and the solution architecture.» Devamını okuyun
This post provides a high level overview of the PowerApps Support experience.» Devamını okuyun
Power Apps ile üretkenliği artırın ve daha hızlı yenilik yapın.
Kullanmaya başlamak için iş veya okul e-posta adresinizi girin.
Kredi kartı veya ödeme bilgisi gerekmez.
Bilgileriniz güvendedir, paylaşılmaz ve yalnızca oturum açma amacıyla kullanılır.
Ücretsiz denemenizi başlatmak için e-posta adresinizi girin.


text:
Sorry, pedestrians: it looks like having fun suddenly involves a whole lot of driving. From Germany's drive-in raves to the sudden revival of the USA's drive-in cinemas and restaurants, getting behind the wheel seems to solve a big new problem: how to have a good time while keeping a safe distance from strangers. Now a series of concerts in Denmark have dangled the possibility of drive-in live music too.
An open space on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark's second-biggest city, has been transformed into an open-air concert venue. P Scenen in the Tangkrogen park can host an audience of 500 cars, each containing a maximum of five people. That's 2,500 concert-goers on wheels.
The music series started on April 24 with a sell-out show by singer-songwriter Mads Langer, and has since hosted a whole series of gigs alongside films, DJ sets and comedy nights. More events are currently planned through to June 9.
All sound for the concerts is broadcast to car radios via an FM signal. Engines must be switched off and punters are not allowed to leave their cars, though they can roll down one window on the left-hand side to cheer the performers.
Alcohol is banned, but you can order snacks and non-alcoholic drinks to your car. And there's one added bonus: a car-bound audience doesn't get wet if it rains, which it does pretty frequently in temperate Aarhus.
'I've done tons of concerts in my career so far but this was really a first. I didn't know what to expect,' Langer told NME. 'Even though there were 2,000 people in 500 cars, it ended up being an extremely intimate setting.'
True, drive-in shows may not have the same atmosphere as a sweaty festival crowd. They're also not ideal for non-drivers (or, let's be honest, the planet). But as long as distancing measures are in place, a drive-in concert is surely better than no concert at all.
Most popular on Time Out
- Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Cats' streams free on YouTube this week
- The 'Hamilton' movie is dropping this summer
- When will we be able to travel again? Here's what we know
- You can stream this year's summer solstice live from Stonehenge
- 101 things to do when you're stuck at home


text:
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has ruffled feathers with bad actors. Just yesterday on May 7, 2019, hackers managed to retrieve numerous API Keys from the exchange and stole 7,000 Bitcoins worth around $40 million.
However, Binance has been known to be a cool exchange with lots of friends, and one of those friends is Tron's Justin Sun. After news of the hack made crypto headlines, Justin Sun stepped in to express solidarity with the exchange.
Inspire Confidence
In a tweet, Justin promised to deposit 7,000 BTC worth $40 million to Binance. That's an amount equal to the money stolen by the hackers. Justin said that if allowed by the exchange, he would use the deposited BTC to buy BNB, TRX, and BTT.
To support @binance , I will personally deposit 7000 BTC worth USDT (40 million USDT) into @binance to buy $BNB, $BTC , $TRX & $BTT if @cz_binance agrees. No need to #FUD! Funds are #SAFU!
— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) May 8, 2019
Justin went on to assure everyone that there should be no need to panic (FUD) as the exchange already had everything under control and that the customers' funds were safe.
Insurance To Cover Damage
Binance, just like any other serious entity, has contingencies put in place to cover situations such as the reported hack. On July 3rd, 2018, the exchange launched a system called Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU). About 10% of trading fees collected by the exchange goes into SAFU. In the event of losses incurred from external factors like hacks, the funds in SAFU are used to cover the customers' loss.
As such, no Binance customer will lose their money as a result of the reported hack. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has confirmed that the funds in SAFU are more than enough to cover the loss in full without any outside help.
"We will cover the loss from the #SAFU fund, there is enough. We are hurt, but not broke.
We are working hard to resolve the issue, so that everyone can deposit and withdrawal again. Will take some time."
This is after some industry players expressed willingness to help out. Zhao requested anyone willing to donate money to do so through the Binance Charity program.
Deposits And Withdrawals Frozen
After discovering the security breach, the exchange has since moved fast to mitigate the situation. All deposits and withdrawals on Binance will now be suspended for a week as the Binance team investigates the situation. According to an official report released by Binance, only the Bitcoin hot wallet has been affected by the hack, and only about 2% of Binance's BTC holds were stolen.


text:
Can you make more money using employees or subcontractors? This Business
Toolkit Series archived webinar takes a look at ways to use subcontractors
can add dollars to your bottom line.
Recorded on August 28, 2013.
This webinar is only available to CEDIA members.CEU Value:
In this archived webinar, Leslie Shiner of The ShinerGroup explores the
advantages and disadvantages of using subcontractors. Topics include:
The white paper, Increasing Profits: How to
Best Utilize Subcontractors, is included with this
archived webinar.
As part of our CEDIASTRONG initiative, current education is free to CEDIA
members through May 31 so please complete all courses before
To access, log in to
cedia.net and select
My CEDIA thenMy


text:
Welcome to our Messages page!
Listen to the message by clicking the icon of the speaker and notes. You can also download a copy to listen to later (MP3 file) by clicking "download." And, you can subscribe to our podcast to get the sermon automatically sent to you each time it is put online.
Christ's Resurrection Changes Your Life (Romans 6:1-14)Pastor Nathan Huston, Apr 1, 2018
Part of the Resurrection Sunday series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
The resurrection of Christ gives you victory over sin! Join this study of Romans 6!
|Same day:
|« Evangelize with Your Bank Account
|The Secret of Our Strength: Learning to Trust God »
Powered by Sermon Browser


text:
Barkev's is the handcrafted luxury from the City of Angels. From initial design to finished product, every Barkev's piece is manufactured by their artisans in Los Angeles. By overseeing each aspect of production, they are committed to upholding the highest standards of quality in their jewelry.
- Commission: 8%
- Category: Weddings
- Cookie Days: 30 Days
- Payment Methods: Paypal/Wire
Barkev's Commission Rates and Rules
As an affiliate, you earn an 8% commission for each sale.
You may not bid on trademarks or any variation or misspelling of trademarks on any biddable media.
Barkev's Products
Barkev's products cover a very broad area of jewelry. This includes:
- Engagement Rings
- Wedding Bands
- Fine Jewelry
1. What is Barkev's?
Barkev's is known for its unique and elegant designs, also specializes in exclusive color stones, marquee stones, and black diamonds. Always guaranteed to turn heads, they offer several options for the modern-day bride, from classic beauty to more contemporary luxury.
2. How long do you have to make a sale from someone who uses your affiliate link?
Barkev's has a 30-day cookie. As long as the customer purchases within 30 days of arriving with your affiliate link you will receive the commission.
3. How much does the affiliate program pay?
Barkev's pays a flat 8% commission.
How to Join the Barkev's Affiliate Program
Actually, it only takes you a little time to start as an affiliate. The steps are as follows:
1. Sign up
First of all, you need to sign up for an account and input your basic information and payment information.
2. Apply for campaigns and Generate your unique link
Barkev's allows you to generate a unique affiliate link that you can include in your blog, email, or social content. If anyone clicks on this link and purchases one of the products, you will get a commission.
3. Withdraw
Once your commission reaches $100, you can withdraw your affiliate revenues via the payment information you submit.