Are there benefits to publishing county budgets online? There are several, but one in particular stands out. Improving the management of tax dollars is perhaps the most important benefit of having easily available budget records. When public financial information is widely available, stakeholders are empowered to spot and correct ill-advised uses of tax dollars.
An article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette dated Jan. 3, 2018, illustrates why improving access to financial information can lead to improved resource management. The article reports that by checking past budgets, Faulkner County Public Defender Lynn Plemmons noticed that the Quorum Court had diverted more than $350,000 of the 20th Judicial Circuit public defender's office to other programs as far back as 2001. That is 17 years of diverting budgeted funds from one program to other programs.
The Faulkner County Quorum Court has since agreed to stop the practice, but it probably would have continued if Plemmons had no access to the budgets.
Despite the Quorum Court's resolution, this case highlights more questions that need to be answered. Would more sets of eyes on the budget have caught this anomaly earlier? Is this the only anomaly in Faulkner County's use of public resources? Are there other counties in Arkansas that have diverted public resources in questionable ways?
Plemmons' focus was on his department, but the county's budget belongs to its taxpayers. Taxpayers who fund county operations have a clear interest in being able to easily access public budgets to scrutinize how elected officials intend to use the public's resources and how they are actually used. The more eyes scrutinizing the budget, the more likely anomalies are caught. In addition, the fact that more people are closely monitoring the use of resources pressures elected officials to be more prudent in the way they use public resources.
Online publication of detailed budgets allows for such scrutiny. The Internet has long been the primary source of information. Pew Research Center reports that the percentage of people using the Internet nationally as a source of information grew from 52 percent in 2000 to 89 percent in 2018.
Unfortunately for Arkansans, most counties do not publish their budgets online. A 2018 study of Arkansas Web transparency titled "Access Arkansas: County-Level Web Transparency" by the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE) assessed the information counties publish online. The report revealed that eight of the 75 counties in Arkansas published their 2017 budgets online and only nine have archived budgets online.
Increasing the number of counties that publish their budgets online would lead to improved management of public finances. Yet concerned stakeholders often argue that some counties lack the resources to be able to publish budgets online.
This is a concern easily overcome. ACRE's study revealed that 40 counties in Arkansas maintain stand-alone websites. These counties should utilize their websites to publish their budgets online. The remaining 35 counties maintain some Web presence through the Arkansas.gov platform. These counties can utilize this platform to publish their budgets.
Still, some will argue that requiring budgets to be published online is unnecessary given current law.
As it stands, each year counties are required to publish financial information in a local newspaper or a newspaper with the most circulation if the county does not have a local paper. The current law has some flaws. It does not require counties to publish their forthcoming budgets so that residents can see how their county intends to spend their money. In addition, what if you miss that day's paper or do not subscribe to it?
Online publication of budgets and financial statements, in addition to newspaper publications, seems the best way to increase accessibility of both current and previous years' financial information.
It is the beginning of the year, and people are making new resolutions. Counties should resolve to publish their budgets online. They can start with the 2019 budget. It is prudent stewardship to let residents know what is included in the budget. After all, they are the ones who will be footing the budget through taxes.
Let's get more eyes on the budget by publishing them online so that we can increase the chances of catching any budget anomalies like Plemmons did in Faulkner County.
Mavuto Kalulu is a policy analyst at the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE) at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Central Arkansas.
Editorial on 01/28/2019


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Hetherington calls it quits
Australian golfer Rachel Hetherington has announced her retirement from the LPGA Tour following the CN Canadian Open today.
Join the discussion below, or Read more at www.iseekgolf.com.
Since: Jun 07
#1 Aug 30, 2010
A siolid player and she has been a winner on Tour. Wishing her well in her future endeavors.
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Saint Lucia: Helpaws, an organization that addresses the unnecessary suffering of animals in Saint Lucia through rescue work and regular Free Spay and Neuter clinics, has asked the general public of the country to come forward and help three dogs.
The organization noted that these three pups were from a litter of 6, three of which were given away before we were contacted; the remaining three were welcomed into our shelter today to start the process of making sure they all have long, happy lives. Mom and Dad will remain with their owners; however, we have arranged for them to be spayed and neutered, so no more babies for them! If you’d like to help us cover this cost, please consider donating. Details below!
These pups are boisterous, outgoing, and eager for human interaction, which always makes us happy to see them. Based on the information and pictures we’ve gotten, we’re estimating they will only grow to be 15-20lbs. But don’t expect them to be lazy little pocket puppies! These hybrid pups will likely be high-energy and love an active household.
Now that they’re at the shelter, it means we have three more mouths to feed, more rounds of vaccines, spay/neuter, flea/tick and heartworm prevention, not to mention the daily care involved any time we bring animals into the shelter. For many rescues around the world, donations and adoptions have slowed drastically this year, and for us, we are barely making ends meet.
That’s why we give our supporters the chance to do the honours and give them names while making a donation that goes towards helping with their care!
Helpaws further stated, “If you would like to name one of these cuties, please send a $100 donation and name choice via e-transfer, PayPal, or Zelle to email@example.com, or via Venmo to @helpaws. We know that times are hard, and we are always incredibly grateful to everyone who will find a way to support us, financially and otherwise. Whether or not you are able to donate, we ask that you PLEASE continue to share our posts on your social media platforms. The more people spread the word about Helpaws, the more animals we will be able to rescue and give the opportunity for a wonderful life.”


Here's a quick look at the recently launched Google Pixel 8.
Google launched the Pixel 8 on October 4. Featuring the Tensor G3 chipset, the phone comes with a 120Hz 6.2-inch OLED screen.
In the box, you get the phone, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable and an USB Type-C to Type-A converter.
The back of phone has a redesigned camera island that houses a 50MP primary camera and a 12MP ultrawide lens.
It runs on stock Android 14 out of the box with Google promising 7 years of OS updates, meaning it will get the last update in 2030.
The phone offers IP68 water and dust resistance and comes with a 4,575mAh battery with 27W charging.
Google Pixel has 8GB RAM and is available in 2 storage variants - 128GB and 256GB. It will go on sale from October 12 and starts from Rs 75,999.
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Stocks defied the skeptics in a very unpredictable 2023. The Dow Jones finished at an all-time record high on December 28, and the S&P 500 came within a whisker of a fresh all-time high after the index rallied more than 20% for the year.
It wasn’t only stock investors who had plenty to cheer about. Bond portfolios, which struggled mightily along with stocks in 2022, staged a furious late-year rally. Bloomberg’s broad bond market benchmark returned a solid 5.5% for the year after being negative year to date as late as October.
Last year was especially gratifying given the pessimism at the outset. It also offers some important lessons for investors:
These are all great lessons to tuck away as we turn to 2024. The year may not bring quite as much joy to your portfolio, but with inflation down, unemployment low, corporate fundamentals in good shape, and the Federal Reserve poised to cut interest rates, the ingredients for another profitable year are in place.
We wish you a joyful and prosperous 2024. As always, please reach out to me with questions.
Following Iran’s missile and drone strikes on Israel over the weekend and the apparent escalation likely in any Israeli response, stocks fell sharply during Monday’s trading session. We examine the latest developments in the Middle East conflict, how stocks have reacted historically to geopolitical events, and the possible impact on markets moving forward.
Did you buy U.S. Savings Bonds decades ago? Or did your parents or grandparents purchase them for you? If they’re collecting dust in a drawer, you may want to take a look at them to see if any of your bonds have matured. If your bonds have matured, that means they are no longer earning … Continue reading “How US Savings Bonds Work”
In baseball, three strikes and you’re out. With inflation, a third straight month of hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data nearly ruled out probabilities for a June rate cut yesterday (now less than a 25% chance, according to fed funds futures). The core Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% in March, or 3.8% when compared on a … Continue reading “Market Update – Assessing the Prospect for a Pullback”
You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you’ll need to fund your retirement. That’s not as easy as it sounds, because retirement planning is not an exact science. Your specific needs depend on your … Continue reading “Estimating Your Retirement Income Needs”
Let’s talk seasonality. For those that are unfamiliar, seasonality is the tendency for markets to perform better during some calendar periods and worse during others in a somewhat predictable way. One of the more amazing things about 2023 and part of the first quarter of 2024 is how well U.S. equity markets have been following … Continue reading “Can Pre-Election Market Trends Survive This Attention?”
Epic Capital provides the following comprehensive financial planning and investment management services: Learn More >

domain: economics


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Lea Salonga is a multi-award winning singer and actress.
PHOTO BY ARCHIVE
DUBAI – Multi-award winning singer and actress Lea Salonga will return to the Dubai Opera in March 2020 following her successful Dubai debut in 2017.
Salonga will take the stage for a two-day performance from March 5 to 6, 2020. The Disney legend is set to dazzle audiences with beloved Broadway hits and movie greats, including songs from Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Aladdin and Mulan.
The Tony and Olivier Award winning star is known across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch.
Before lending her voice to the Disney songs “A Whole New World” in Aladdin and “Reflections” in Mulan, Salonga had already created history in Broadway by taking the role of Kim in the musical, Miss Saigon, which won her the Olivier and Theatre World Awards, and made her the first Asian to win a Tony Award.
She was also the first Asian actress to play the roles of Eponine and Fantine in the Broadway musical Les Miserables.
Her 2019 The Human Heart Tour saw sold-out audiences and record-breaking sales across North America. On Broadway, Salonga most recently starred in the 2018 Broadway revival of Once on This Island as the Goddess of Love, Erzullie. The show’s return to the Broadway stage earned a Tony Award for “Best Revivial of a Musical” and also garnered Salonga and the cast a Grammy nomination for “Best Musical Theatre Album”.
Filipino in Dubai calls for scrapping of OFW term
Now renew or cancel UAE family visa with app
New airline to launch in UAE, SpiceJet to start flights in Ras Al Khaimah
50 percent discount on Sharjah traffic fines
Chevrolet, Cadillac, Jeep recalled in UAE over defects

domain: celebrity


Gogoro S1 Performance
The S1 Performance is an electric scooter from Taiwanese electric scooter startup Gogoro, a subsidiary of HTC, one of the biggest smart phone makers in the world.
The Gogoro S1 is a special edition of the 1 Series. The S-range is a performance oriented model range for the original 1 and 2 Series, like AMG for Mercedes-Benz or M-range for BMW. The S1 is the first model in the S-range.
The scooter has a 7,200 watt electric motor with 202 Nm torque. The scooter has a top speed of 45 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 50 km/h in 3.7 seconds.
The scooter is focused on performance and comes with race suspension that is derived from jet suspension resulting in a smooth drive that feels as if the scooter hovers above the ground.
The speed of the scooter can be restricted to be officially registered as 45 km/h scooter.
The scooter has a liquid cooled 8,5 hp high performance motor that can perform under water, enabling the scooter to drive trough water. The scooter will enable to continue driving during floods and storms while most petrol scooters will fail.
The scooter is exceptionally agile. The scooter is designed for racing and because there are no exhausts to worry about, the scooter is able to lean up to 45 degrees in turns.
The scooter has innovative 2 compound racing tires that provide less friction when driving fast and that provide extra traction in steep turns.
The S1 Performance is equipped with extra large disc brakes with 4 pistons per disc. The front and rear suspension can be tuned to exact specifications, providing control during the most demanding maneuvers.
Battery Swap network
Unlike other electric scooters that charge via a wall outlet, the Gogoro is provided with a battery subscription and a network of GoStation battery swapping stations. When the charge on the scooter runs low, you stop by a station and swap the batteries with fresh ones. Gogoro charges a monthly subscription fee for this service.
Next to the battery swap network Gogoro also offers a home charging station called a GoCharger that charges both batteries in 150 minutes.
The range of the batteries is 125 km.
The Gogoro connects to a smart phone app that allows for an incredible amount of customization. Riders can use the Gogoro app with their iPhone or Android to change the colors of the lights, monitor their battery usage, find a battery swap station, call for help if they crash, or locate where they parked.
Gogoro offers 2 years of unlimited mileage warranty.
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American Idol castoffs Chris Medina - the guy who touched everyone's hearts and possibly made us shed a little tear with his heartbreaking love story about his girlfriend who currently suffers from brain injury due to a car accident - is the first example of the new partnership between American Idol and Universal Music Group. Chris Medina has been given the opportunity to release his debut single online. "What Are Words" which hit iTunes on February 24th is a beautiful ballad, inspired in his AI story, written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins.
p/s: Not every1 will do the same thing for their couple. Evry1 want to cherish a good moment with their couple but does evry1 want to be there when ur gf/bf have problems like in the position of chris medina. Think wisely bout that. It takes a true lover to do that.:)

domain: entertainment


Photographer // Student from Norway.
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Truly one of the funniest things I've seen on YouTube
I really love how @ello handles images. Finally a place where artists can truly shine.
Cereal Magazine interviews the founders of VSCO. One of my favorite pieces.
Portraits are the best


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Terms and conditions
- Places are allocated on a first come, first served, basis. Fees are payable in advance.
- You will receive an email confirmation upon booking. This includes important information about your class so please read it carefully.
- Please make a note of the date, time and venue of your class upon booking to ensure you attend the correct course.
- By purchasing a product from Pinkfox Dog Training, you agree to receive email communications from us. You can unsubscribe at any time.
- Cancellation of the course by Pinkfox - we will offer an alternative date. If this is not suitable you will receive a full refund. Cancellation may occur if the course is significantly undersubscribed.
- Cancellation by you up to 10 working days prior to the course start date - refund minus £10 administrative charge.
- Cancellation by you within 10 working days of the course - refund minus £30 cancellation fee.
- Cancellation after course start date - no refund. There will be no partial refunds or transfers for missed classes or for 1-2-1 training sessions with less than 24 hours notice.
- If we find the class environment does not suit your puppy or dog we will discuss this with you and suggest an alternative training option.
Legal & Safety
- Dogs and puppies who attend our training classes and courses must be fully up to date with vaccinations and we may require proof.
- Owners hold full responsibility for their dogs at all times.
- Owners may only bring one dog into class at any time.
- Dogs must be kept on lead at all times unless instructed otherwise by your trainer.
- Choke chains, pinch collars, and extendable leads can be dangerous and have the potential to injure dogs or owners and will not be allowed in training. Shouting at, manhandling, or hitting your dog damages your relationship and will not be allowed in training.
- You are responsible for your child and supervise him/her at all times. Carefully supervise your dog around other people's children. Please don't let your child approach another dog without checking with the owner that it is safe to do so.
- Please observe Social Distancing Guidelines at all times. Hand Sanitiser will be available but please do bring your own.
- If you show any signs of Covid-19 symptoms, please follow Government guidelines to self-isolate and discontinue the in-person courses.
- We may wish to photograph or film your dog for our records or for marketing purposes. Please let us know if you do not wish your dog to be photographed or filmed.
- Dogs should not be brought to class if they are unwell. We suggest that owners still attend without their dogs - this helps in continuation of the training.
- If your dog has ever attacked another dog and caused injury requiring veterinary treatment, please let us know as they may need to be muzzled when attending class.
- We make every effort to ensure the safety of you and your dog during classes, but sometimes accidents do happen. All instances of accident or injury must be reported at the time they occur.
- By making a booking, you are accepting that participating in an activity with dogs, puppies, children and adults poses a risk of injury to yourself and your puppy or dog, and you agree to indemnify Pinkfox Dog Training for all personal injury and damage to property owned by you while attending our classes. You also agree to make any person who accompanies you to classes aware that they are also there at their own risk.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the courses.

domain: pet


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Amid the sheer devastation of the bushfires are little rays of pure sunshine.
Such as Bear the koala detection dog.
Yep, we had no idea there was even such a dog, but we’re 100% so glad there is.
Bear’s job, working with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, is to find sick, injured and orphaned koalas that have managed to survive fire-decimated areas.
“These devastating fires have destroyed critical koala habitat and claimed the lives of hundreds of koalas and other native wildlife, so Bear’s powerful nose is an important asset in locating survivors,” IFAW said in a recent Facebook post.
Last week, Bear scoured the ravaged Cooroibah forest on the Sunshine Coast, which was one of the worst-affected areas.
The border collie-Koolie cross was originally surrendered by his owners after it was found he had obsessive-compulsive disorder – a condition that doesn’t always make dogs good pets… but ideal detection dogs.
Bear was picked up by the University of the Sunshine Coast, and he was trained to track koalas – he’s the only dog in Australia that can track a koala by the smell of its poop and its fur.
“Once he finds a koala, he sits very still to indicate to a human that he is near a koala. He’s then rewarded with a ball which he’ll chase,” Rebekka Thompson-Jones from IFAW said.


Direct from Apple and Android Streaming: An Interview with Chris Howes, Sr. Software Product Manager
AudiologyOnline: Can you give an idea how long hearing aid manufacturers, and Starkey specifically, have been working to create a way to directly connect and stream audio from mobile phones and other mobile devices, such as tablets? And, what have been the biggest hurdles to this goal?
Chris Howes: Well, I’ve been with Starkey for 21 years and we’ve been working on wireless connections for hearing aids for as long as I can remember. The most significant hurdle has been and continues to be power management, to provide all the necessary power in a device that’s small enough to be both comfortable and cosmetically appealing. Beyond power consumption, another hurdle is wireless in general as, as different technologies each have pros and cons for power and delivering / maintaining a good connection to avoid interference and overcome the thickness of the human head or body shadow effects.
AudiologyOnline: Starkey was the first hearing aid company to build a Bluetooth accessory for hearing aids; the ELI (Ear Level Instrument) At that time, size and battery life were the main issues with Bluetooth and hearing aids. What has changed in the past few years to allow Bluetooth to become common in hearing aids?
Chris Howes: That brings back a fun memory of creating a demonstration for ELI that we could use at the AAA conference to showcase this unique product that attached to a Behind-The-Ear device and could pair to Bluetooth devices. This was prior to the iPhone and we paired it up to an early version of the iPod that still had the click wheel! It’s worth noting that there are differences in Bluetooth and how it’s applied to hearing aid technology. The biggest change came in the Bluetooth 4.0 specification with the introduction of Bluetooth Low Energy or BLE. Having a low-power option in the Bluetooth protocol created a good opportunity to work with a product like Starkey’s that’s designed to work on very low power.
AudiologyOnline: What are the core differences between Bluetooth Classic and the newer Bluetooth Low Energy?
Chris Howes: The greatest difference comes in the title “Low Energy”. BLE is designed to be very low power, short-range data communication. In order to get that low power, there are trade-offs like the fact that there currently is no standardized audio streaming protocol with BLE like there is with Bluetooth Classic for things like headphones or hands-free connection in your car.
AudiologyOnline: Are there differences between pairing to a mobile device/communicating with a mobile app and streaming from a mobile device?
Chris Howes: The differences are behind the scenes and invisible to the user. Pairing and data communication are all BLE and through standard protocols. Audio streaming is accomplished through proprietary protocols from Apple, Starkey (for accessories), and now Android on some select phone models on the Android 10 platform.
AudiologyOnline: Apple was the first mobile device company to create a direct from cell phone (iPhone) protocol. This isn’t specifically Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE). Can you give a quick description of how their protocol works with BTLE? And, what are some of the pros and cons of working within the iOS ecosystem?
Chris Howes: To be clear, the connection between the iPhone and hearing aids is Bluetooth Low Energy. As I mentioned previously, BLE doesn’t have an audio streaming protocol and this is where Apple has worked with us and other hearing aid manufacturers to create a proprietary protocol for streaming audio from the iPhone to the hearing aids. That protocol is layered into the BLE communication specific to hearing aids. People often assume that hearing aids should work like wireless headphones and that comes back to a point I made in the first question regarding power management. Classic Bluetooth with standard audio streaming protocols takes significant amounts of power.
Apple is a great partner! When our team is working on wireless protocols and mobile applications we’re working in a very well-defined ecosystem when it comes to Apple. Though I will say, people never believe me when I let them know we don’t have magic access to new phones before anyone else and we’re in the same boat as the average consumer.
AudiologyOnline: An Android streaming protocol was recently released. Does it function the same way as the Apple protocol?
Chris Howes: Android is a completely different operating system on phones and the new ASHA (Android Streaming for Hearing Aids) protocol is made specifically for Android.
AudiologyOnline: Currently, the Android protocol is only available with certain mobile devices. Do you think the number of Android mobile devices compatible with direct-to-hearing aid streaming will expand? And, if so, what would be the timeline for this?
Chris Howes: Yes, we are confident this is happening even as we speak.
I can’t predict the future and if I could I sure hope that I’d use the power for good. What I can do is outline that Android is made by Google and is an open platform for other phone manufacturers to use and that they can modify it to suit their needs. Since Google makes Android, the new version and its features are first seen in Google branded phones before it rolls out to other phone manufacturers to implement.
AudiologyOnline: What are the main factors that affect stable connectivity between hearing aids and mobile devices/mobile apps?
Chris Howes: When dealing with BLE, it’s important to remember that this is a low-power, short-range data communication standard. BLE operates in the 2.4 GHz spectrum which can be affected by things that exist all around us like metal objects, walls (or lack of walls for reflection), and water (especially the human body). This is not much different from cell phones, which have been around for a long time, that still struggle with connectivity at times. I live and work in a suburb of Minneapolis and can’t make a reliable cell phone call from my desk, and on my way home, I’ve learned that calls will drop in the same exact spot on the freeway.
AudiologyOnline: Are there new streaming protocols on the horizon that could replace BLTE and the proprietary streaming protocols for hearing aid connectivity?
Chris Howes: The great thing about working in technology development is that there is always something new and exciting on the horizon. The challenge in working in technology development is that not everything can make it from dream to reality. There continues to be discussion and work towards a Bluetooth Low Energy audio streaming standard being part of the specification at the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), where Starkey is a member.


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Great question! A while back at an Eastern APA meeting, I had a good discussion with another early-career philosopher who said he thought many grad students don't give their choice of AOS nearly enough thought. As he put it, many of the grad students he knew just picked whatever AOS interested them the most. While there may be something admirably authentic about this, his sense was that many of them found themselves in a bad position later on because they picked an AOS where there were too few jobs. And indeed, readers may recall I've done some informal reporting in recent years of jobs by AOS...and the data are pretty striking. Some AOS (particularly ethics) have consistently comprised a large proportion of advertised jobs, whereas other AOS (aesthetics and "core" areas) appear to have far fewer jobs available. For this reason and others, I agree with Amanda: it would be great to hear how people feel about their choice of AOS in retrospect. Here, in brief, is my answer...
I would absolutely choose my AOS (ethics and political philosophy) all over again. There are not only consistently a good number of jobs in these areas, which is something my previous job-marketeering self cared greatly about and has continuing effects on my life to this day (namely, my having obtained a job). More broadly, my AOS's have made a profound difference in how I see the world and live my life.
First, my views in ethics have not only affected the way I see politics and moral debate, but have also affected more personal areas of my life such as my marriage and friendships. For example, I first came up with one of my central views on ethics--that morality is best understood as requiring negotiation and renegotiation rather than discovering moral truths through argumentation--as a result of disagreements and impasses my spouse and I found ourselves in. At one point, my spouse and I were having arguments about all kinds of things: about what time to go to bed, how to divide household duties, and so on. We kept giving moral arguments to each other (the sort of thing philosophers do)...and we consistently got nowhere. Worse, our disagreements festered and in some cases drew a wedge between us. Then, as I was sitting in bed one night, trying to think through how to better approach the issues between us--in a manner of speaking, thinking through how various ethical theories might help (viz. virtue, respecting autonomy, maximizing utility, arguing about reasons)--it occurred to me that none of the going theories was very helpful. There I was sitting in bed--trying to figure out how my spouse could respect my autonomy and I hers, or what the virtuous thing to do was--and it occurred to me: in trying to figure out the right thing to do in my head (by running through the arguments and theories), I was approaching things in precisely the wrong way. What I really needed to do is get out of bed and talk to my spouse and work with her to negotiate (and renegotiate) productive compromises. Which is when it occurred to me: maybe that is how we should think about morality—not as a matter of making arguments or “giving reasons” but working together to negotiate and renegotiate compromises (within some limits).
To my astonishment (and I'm not kidding here), that simple change of perspective--seeing "the right thing to" as not something for me or her to discover through arguing at each other, but rather as something to negotiate with each other--rather quickly transformed our marriage. The more we both took the view on, the less we found ourselves arguing at each other and instead working together to negotiate compromise solutions to issues that divided us we could both accept as "good enough" given our differing perspectives and interests (and then renegotiate later if we felt a given compromise wasn't good enough!). Because we both found this worked--helping us work together as a couple rather than against each other--I began to think about the deeper philosophical foundations of morality, and came (surprise, surprise) to believe that it's what diachronic rationality (or rationality across time) requires (at least when dealing with people who don't have inherently oppressive ideals). My work in my other AOS, political philosophy, has also deeply influenced my life--specifically, on what justice requires in terms of responding to injustice.
Now, of course, my philosophical views may be wrong, and this is something I also always try to bear in mind given my limitations as philosopher! Still, for all that, it has been a wonderful thing to have an AOS and research interests that directly engage with my day-to-day life struggles as a human being trying to figure out how to live, who to vote for, which social movements to support, and so on. I love abstract philosophical puzzles--everything from consciousness to vagueness to counterfactuals--but, for me, philosophy really comes alive the more relevant it seems to living. And that, at the end of the day, is the biggest reason why I would absolutely choose my AOS again!
But this is just my story. What's yours? Would you choose your same AOS again? Why or why not?

domain: sociology


The current Mercedes Benz E class has been on sale since 2010 and though it received a major update in 2014, the vehicle is becoming a bit old and rusty and thus Mercedes needed to produce a new generation of this model. According to spy shots in our possession the reportedly new E-Class model has stunning looks and has borrowed from the C-and S-Class models; actually it sits between the two models. The vehicle which is dubbed “the 2017 Mercedes E Class” will be based on the Mercedes’ Modular Rear Architecture.
This is a state-of-the-art platform that is made with lightweight materials such as aluminum. Thus, the new model will be more rigid, lighter and more efficient than the outgoing model. This platform is also compatible with alternative power-trains. The vehicle is also set to feature more advanced autonomous driving technology, the most advanced yet on a production model.
2017 Mercedes E-Class Exterior
Just like the outgoing model, the new Mercedes E-Class 2017 will be offered in 5 different body styles which are; sedan, coupe, wagon, convertible and a long-wheelbase sedan (probably the Maybatch version). We don’t have much information about its exterior since the testing mules are under heavy camouflage.
However, reports from Germany indicate that the body will be slightly longer and wider. The vehicle which is codenamed w213 by the automaker will feature an upright grille flanked by bullet-shaped LED headlights. These new headlights have been redesigned and each features 84 light emitting diodes (LEDs) and they are also equipped with a Multi-beam adaptive light system which varies the amount of light emitted depending on the road situation.
At the rear, the vehicle will feature LED taillights that extend to the quarter panels.
2017 Mercedes E-Class Interior
The interior shots illustrate an up market cabin design that resembles the S-Class. At the top of the center stack, there is a digital screen with 4 air vents below it. The digital screen flows into the vehicle’s main instrument cluster.
Just like the norm of Mercedes cars, the E-Class will be upholstered in premium leather. The cabin will feature a 12.3-inch infotainment system which will be mounted on the dashboard. However, it is technology that takes center stage on the new model. The first feature that many will fall in love with is its autonomous Park Pilot. This system allows a person to park the car via remote control using a Smartphone app (Mercedes connect me).
The 2017 Mercedes E-Class comes with another feature (NFC Smartphone) which replaces car keys. One taps the phone on the car handle on the driver’s side to unlock the car. The vehicle also features an Evasive Steering Assist feature which helps the driver when trying to avoid a pedestrian or other danger the car detects in front of it.
The vehicle will also feature a “Vehicle-to-X communication which enables the vehicle to communicate with a central server as well as exchange information with other nearby cars via cellular communication. There is also a Speed Limit Pilot feature that uses data fed by the cameras and the navigation system to set the speed limit for the car; the limit is adjusted depending on the available data feed.
Engine Specs and Performace
The new 2017 E-Class will come in an array of drive-trains, could be six in number. The engines being rumored include a 2.9 L twin-turbo diesel engine good for 313 hp, this engine could also come with a quad-turbo variant capable of producing more than 400 hp. There is also talk of a 1.6 L turbo diesel and a 3.0 L V6 capable of delivering 350 hp.
The E-Class will also feature a hybrid drive-train composed of a 2.0 L V6 engine combined with an electric motor. The high-performance Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG could feature a 4.0 L V8 bi-turbo engine capable of producing 570 hp. The models will be hooked up with a modular chassis which will be offered in both rear and all-wheel-drive modes. Acceleration from 0-60 mph is achieved in 6.5 seconds, while top speed is 155 mph.
Price and release date
Rumor has it that the new Mercedes Benz E-Class will make its world debut in January next year at the Detroit Auto Show. No official price has been set by the German automaker, but we believe the vehicle could have a starting price of around $50,000. We will inform you of the official prices and clearer specs later when we get more updates.
2017 Mercedes E-Class had its premiere at 2016 NAIAS Detroit Motor Show. The starting price of the new E-class is $ 52,000.


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Книгу можно купить в интернет-магазинах:
· OZON.ru 1963р. [Проверить наличие]
ISBN: 158980225XИздательство: Pelican Publishing Company
Год издания: 2005
Book DescriptionFounded by Spain in 1565, fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the United States. Only the Castillo de San Marcos, whichwas completed in the late seventeenth century, survived two centuries of periodic attacks by British forces to remain an important historic feature today. Though there were over three hundred original buildings when Florida achieved statehood in 1821, only thirty-six of these remained by 1965. It was while the city celebrated its four hundredth anniversary that the state committed to helping restore remaining buildings. The city of St. Augustine now manages the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum and isdedicated to restoring, preserving, and interpreting the rich and fascinating history of this gem. This architectural tour of St. Augustine includes beautiful photographs and histories of: * The Genoply School House, the oldest...

domain: history


Members of Strike Force Viper have arrested two female youths for assaulting and attempting to steal from a woman in Alice Springs on Wednesday.
It is alleged just after 5pm on Wednesday, the two youths approached a 54 year old woman from behind and grabbed the woman’s handbag.
The woman held onto the bag and was dragged to the ground and physically assaulted by the pair, who fled the area after multiple witnesses intervened.
The woman was transported to hospital for treatment where she was later released.
Investigations by Strike Force Viper identified the two offenders who were arrested and charged late yesterday.
The pair, both aged 15, will appear before court each charged with two counts each of Assault with intent to steal and two counts of Serious breach of bail.


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This is a baked version of the Chinese Gau, a dessert that is usually steamed and served for Chinese New Years.
- 1 (16 ounce) box sweet rice flour (mochiko)
- 2 cups brown sugar
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
- 2 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line an 8×12 inch pan with aluminum foil, going up the sides.
- Sift the rice flour, brown sugar, white sugar, and baking soda into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the coconut milk, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir together until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and place on a cutting board top side up. Cut into 1 inch squares.
SOURCE : ALLRECIPES


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The hexadecimal color code #e9ddb9 is a light shade of yellow. In the RGB color model #e9ddb9 is comprised of 91.37% red, 86.67% green and 72.55% blue. In the HSL color space #e9ddb9 has a hue of 45° (degrees), 52% saturation and 82% lightness. This color has an approximate wavelength of 574.81 nm.
Buy paint matching this color
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Art is never finished, only abandoned.

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Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.

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I would rather die of passion than of boredom.

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domain: artistic


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Interested in a Fuel Efficient Car?
Estimate how many months it may take to recover the out-of-pocket costs when buying a more efficient vehicle.
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A financial professional is an invaluable resource to help you untangle the complexities of whatever life throws at you.
Gap Insurance for Leased Cars
If you’re thinking of leasing a new car, then you shouldn’t forget about gap insurance.
What Is My Current Net Worth?
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domain: finance


text:
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Big news out of Passtech Games – creator of the favourable tower defence title, Space Run – as they have officially announced a release date for their upcoming strategy/adventure game – Masters of Anima.
Masters of Anima – What’s It About?
You raise armies of golem smashing guardians in this new adventure across the magical, and dangerous, world of Spark. Check out the announcement trailer below:
Taking on the role of the Anima apprentice Otto, you’ll embark on an adventure to save your fiancée from the dreadful grasp of the dark lord Zahr and his army of golems. A few takeaways from the official announcement are:
- You can control up to 100 Guardian soldiers – each type with their own unique combat style, talents and abilities.
- You can conjure up the sacred power of Anima – the life source of everything in the vast world of Spark.
- You can learn new skills and abilities with every victory against massive armies and powerful bosses that stand in your way along the journey.
We can expect to see the latest release from Passtech Games – Masters of Anima – hit adventure seekers on April 10th, 2018 on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC systems.


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Every month, our Head of Quality Boris reviews one of the products we as Bocca proudly work with. This edition, Boris dives deeper into the world of plant-based milk and tells all about why we partner with Bonsoy soy milk.
Soy milk is usually overshadowed by dairy milk in a coffee bar, just ordered and served as a substitute for dietary and/or environmental reasons. But in the Bocca Coffee bar we don’t pursue an easy nondairy option, we want to create a sweet and creamy beverage with pronounced coffee flavor. That is how we ended up with Bonsoy soy drink.
In pursuit of quality
Bonsoy is secretive about the exact production process, but all we know is it resulted in a soy milk with a higher than average protein and fat content. The taste is really smooth and sweet and has great texturing potential. These attributes proved their worth when we trialed the product in a series of blind tasting and milk texturing sessions with other kinds of plant-based dairy alternatives, after which Bonsoy soy drink came out on top. We like how Bonsoy managed to make a great product for those who care about quality, a perspective we share as coffee roasters.
Challenging yet rewarding
Unfortunately, soy milk can be challenging when used in coffee preparation. Sometimes it will curdle when poured in hot coffee after steaming. This effect has been attributed to over steaming the soy milk or the acidity of brewed coffee, but a good solution to circumvent this problem is mixing the brewed coffee with cold soy milk and steaming it together. This will make it almost impossible to pour recognizable latte art, but the result is an incredibly smooth drink that is a joy to consume. And that is what we care about.
Would you like to know more about Bonsoy soy milk? Visit their website.


Facebook cemented its position in the virtual reality market with the acquisition of Oculus. The company already sells a full-fledged virtual reality headset but since that’s an expensive proposition, it can certainly do more to get VR to as many people as possible. To that end, Facebook-owned Oculus is said to be working with Xiaomi on a new wireless standalone VR headset that it’s going to release for $200 next […]
If you’ve been looking to purchase a proper virtual reality headset then the latest offer from Oculus is hard to pass up. The Facebook-owned company has discounted the Oculus Rift and Touch bundle significantly. It’s a big price drop and even though it’s temporary, many are certainly going to take advantage of it to get on the virtual reality bandwagon as well.
Superhot VR is one of the best virtual reality games but there was a drawback. The game was exclusive to the Oculus Rift headset which meant that HTC Vive owners couldn’t play it, and the Vive is a very popular headset. The wait ends for them today as Superhot VR has finally been released for the HTC Vive via Steam.
Facebook today announced that it has launched Facebook Spaces in beta for the Oculus Rift. Spaces provides users with a new way to connect with their friends and loved ones in virtual reality. It enables users to virtually be in-person with friends and family in VR, heaving fun and meaningful experiences no matter where everyone might be.
The Batman Arkham VR experience was launched for the PlayStation VR several months back and it has been available for Sony’s virtual reality headset exclusively ever since. PC owners who have a VR headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive can now finally step into Batman’s shoes as the Batman Arkham VR experience is now going to be released for PC.
If you’ve been meaning to pick up the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset but the cost was a factor then you’re going to want to stick around for this. The Facebook-owned company has decided to reduce the Oculus Rift price. It has even cut the price of the Touch motion controllers that were released not too long ago. The cost of the complete system is now down considerably and makes […]
The Oculus Rift has been pretty much a Windows-only VR headset for now, but given that it is still relatively “early” in terms of the VR space, we expect that more platforms will eventually be supported. So as far as Mac VR gamers and enthusiasts are concerned, we’re sure some are wondering about support for the Mac platform.
Back in 2014, ZeniMax took Oculus to court in which they allege that Oculus apparently “misappropriated ZenMax trade secrets”, or so they claimed. Earlier this month a jury in Dallas, Texas ruled in favor of ZeniMax where they awarded the company a whopping $500 million in damages.
Tilt Brush is a great app which enables users to paint in virtual reality. You could be a first time user who’s just doodling tracing lines of fire against the night sky or an experienced concept artist doing serious work, Tilt Brush enables you to draw to your heart’s desire in virtual reality. This app was previously exclusive to HTC’s Vive virtual reality headset but not anymore. Tilt Brush has […]
In order to push the first virtual reality headset that Oculus released to the public, Facebook teamed up with Best Buy to set up some 500 pop-up stores at an equal number of Best Buy locations across the country. They might have done enough to cater to the initial hype surrounding the Oculus Rift headset but according to a new report, there has been underwhelming interest from the public regarding […]
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to rock out on stage in front of an audience? Some of you guys might have had that privilege, but for others, the notion might simply just be a fantasy. However the good news is that fantasy could soon become a reality, virtual reality in fact.
When the Oculus Rift burst onto the scene, many were enthralled by it and the potential it held, but it did not take long for the headset to land itself in some controversy. This came in the form of an accusation by ZeniMax who alleged that Oculus had “misappropriated ZeniMax trade secrets”.
If one of your resolutions for the new year is to try out virtual reality, then Best Buy has got your back. The retailer’s limited time offer on the Oculus Rift is not to be missed if you’re in the market for a new virtual reality headset. Oculus Rift is one of the few proper VR headsets that you can buy right now so if you can essentially save $150 […]
It was back in June last year that Microsoft confirmed that Oculus Rift owners will soon be able to play Xbox One games on the headset. Xbox One owners would have the ability to stream their games to the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. It has taken more than a year for the company to actually make this happen because it has only just now confirmed when Oculus Rift Xbox […]


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AUGUSTA, GA – December 15, 2008 – First Citizens Bancorporation, Inc., announced the opening of its newest branch in Augusta, Ga., on Dec. 15, 2008. Located on 342 Batson Road in Martinez, the branch office will offer a full line of retail, business, and wealth management services. For additional convenience, the branch has 24-hour ATMs and extended drive-through banking services until 6 p.m. on Fridays. It also has Saturday lobby and drive-though hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The 3800 square-foot Fury’s Ferry branch marks the third branch opened by First Citizens this year. Two other branches opened in February at Walton’s Corner and Martinez. The Fury’s Ferry branch will have seven employees to serve customers. Branch associates include Adam Cato, retail sales manager; Michelle Sheppard, personal banker; Rachel Hammett, teller leader; Jeff Taylor, mortgage originator; Ashley Elrod, teller; and Whitney Thompson, administrative assistant. In addition to the staff, Kelley Mobley, Augusta market executive, will oversee the branch operations and the commercial business development team.
“We are committed to providing quality banking services to the Augusta community. Our new Fury’s Ferry location will provide expanded access to our new and existing customers,” said Mobley.
To celebrate the opening, First Citizens will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Fury’s Ferry branch.
Six distinguished leaders from the Augusta community are part of the First Citizens advisory council, which provides guidance on the area’s banking needs. They include: Dr. David B. Carter, Carter Orthodontics; Dr. Thomas A. Parfenchuck, Orthopaedic Associates of Augusta; Winston A. Hogan, CPA, partner, The Cleveland Group; Dr. Ahmad Nadeem Gill, Cancer Center Associates of Carolina; Dr. Kathy Chance, Augusta GYN: Obstetrics & Gynecology; and Dr. Gregory Oetting, Augusta Back Spine Center.
About First Citizens
First Citizens Bancorporation, Inc. is the parent company of First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc., and The Exchange Bank of South Carolina, Inc. First Citizens Bank offers services in commercial and retail banking through its 180 offices in South Carolina and Georgia. As of Sept. 30, 2008, First Citizens Bancorporation had total consolidated assets of $6.42 billion. For more information, visit the First Citizens web site at www.firstcitizensonline.com.


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New Orleans Pride Parade
Don’t miss New Orleans Pride 2018! The New Orleans Pride Parade on Saturday June 9th will be open to 5,000 participants this year. The route will begin on Elysian Fields, proceed down Royal, Frenchmen, Decatur and Canal Street before making it’s way down world famous Bourbon Street. Anyone can be a part of this LGBT+ parade; schools, organizations, dance groups, churches, businesses, individuals and more. For more information on the parade, visit NewOrleansPrideFestival.com.
New Orleans pride began in 1971, when the newly-formed Gay Liberation Front of New Orleans presented a “Gay In” picnic in February in City Park. The was the very first such event in the entire state of Louisiana. Several other gatherings were held throughout the city that year, and intermittently thereafter until it became an annual event in 1978. The 1978 event, held in Jackson Square, was the first to be identified as “gay pride.” Later that year, a larger event called “Gay Fest” was presented in Washington Square, just outside of the French Quarter. The first street parade was held in 1980. In 1981, the event moved to Armstrong Park, and was emceed by New Orleans native Ellen DeGeneres. An event of some nature has been held almost every year since. In 1995, the celebration was rescheduled from June to Fall. In 1998, the festival was moved back to Armstrong Park, and in 2002 the parade was rescheduled from Saturday afternoon to Sunday night.

domain: news


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We conclude the epic weekend with WrestleMania 39 Night Two and our report card. Let us see if our grades matched what our fans scored.
With so much talk and so much confusion at times, did we get the right WrestleMania night one main event this year?
There is a huge Solo Sikoa match that WWE has planned for the future. And, a popular NXT wrestler is legitimately injured.
In another SmackDown in a Nutshell, we have one big question: will the Bloodline finally boil over this week, or will things drag on?
It’s a big SmackDown In A Nutshell, and the question we all want to know is…what happens next for the Bloodline?
Simple mission for this week’s SmackDown in a Nutshell, but it’s set up to be a big night for Sami Zayn as he faces Kevin Owens!
It’s a RAW in a Nutshell, and ’twas the show before Christmas…and we’ve got Superstars landing on the naughty list, for sure!
It’s a big SmackDown in a Nutshell, as Crown Jewel is getting closer and closer and it is all about last minute hype and match making!
There is huge praise in WWE right now for the young Solo Sikoa. And, is MJF & Tony Khan’s relationship still strained or are they now good?
It’s time for another SmackDown in a Nutshell, and this week, Logan Paul is back on the blue brand to hype Crown Jewel.
After a devastating loss, could a Superstar change their role? And one wrestling legend announces their impending retirement.
CM Punk sends a strong message via Twitter to WWE talent, and it seems problems look to get worse for Sasha and Naomi.
It’s time for SmackDown In A Nutshell, and more important, it is time to try to unify those tag team belts…maybe….
WrestleMania Backlash was a great card filled with amazing matches. But between all the highlights, there were a few details you missed.


text: The prompt for this week is "Show Off Your Fall & Halloween Home Decor" Here are a few things at our house. Last week my mom took the girls to pick out the pumpkins and they had a blast painting them up. The bow is something I cross-stitched years and years ago. I painted the screen at a class a few years back. Just a few reminders around the house of fall.


China Commends Dominica on Economic Management
Ambassador LI’s comments came when he paid a courtesy call to Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday, January 21, 2014.
Ambassador LI said the relations between Dominica and the People’s Republic of China will continue to flourish under his tenure.
“Our relationship is a good one and we have a strong friendship and closer cooperation in all areas of our relationship and also in international arenas.”
Prime Minister Skerrit welcomed Ambassador LI to Dominica and pledged Dominica’s continued recognition of the ‘One China Policy’ and expressed satisfaction with the relationship between the PRC and Dominica over the past ten years.
Mr. Skerrit welcomed him, stating that the Ambassador is coming to a country that has excellent relations with China, a Government that recognizes and adheres to the One China Policy.
Dominica established diplomatic relations with China 10 years ago.


The digital safety production platform DPS is released
Alibaba Senior Technical Expert Zhou Yang
Under the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan, all walks of life will comprehensively accelerate the digital transformation and upgrading. With the scale of enterprise digital business increasing, the iteration speed accelerating, and the system complexity increasing, the topic of how to ensure business stability has become increasingly important. The following are typical scenarios and challenges:
Scenario 1: The distributed system faces new challenges in stability assurance
In recent years, despite the increasing attention to stability and the vigorous development of new technologies, major failures still occur frequently and have a huge impact. For example, in 2021, a securities IDC failed for 2 hours, resulting in the customer's inability to trade, resulting in asset loss; A video website could not be accessed for 3 hours due to server failure, which triggered public opinion... Improper use of technology, human operation errors, hardware failures, natural disasters, and security attacks still bring great risks to production.
Scenario 2: The stability construction of the IT system is steadily promoted under the guidance of policies
With the promotion of the digital transformation policy, more and more national-level applications have been born, which greatly facilitates people's daily life, and various enterprises have also launched their own clients. However, most enterprises have not experienced the development of the Internet for many years, and their ability to cope with online risks is insufficient. It is urgent to complete the accumulation of stable operation and maintenance capabilities in the shortest time, and avoid detours.
Scenario 3: Traditional operation and maintenance methods cannot meet the requirements
The traditional operation and maintenance has problems such as fragmentation of operation and maintenance tools, infrastructure rather than business oriented, passive operation and maintenance, and lack of standardized process mechanism system. Enterprises should follow the innovative concepts of SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) and Platform Ops, and realize system management, problem discovery, problem solving and automated operation and maintenance through software.
In real life, whether building a skyscraper or maintaining a family project, while ensuring the quality of the project, it is more important to avoid safety accidents and causing personal injury. Therefore, a set of standardized technological processes, technical standards and acceptance methods are needed. In the software industry, standardized technical capabilities and methodologies are also needed to ensure the stability of online business. Therefore, since 2018, Alibaba Group has been committed to the construction of safe production in the field of IT software: on the one hand, it has strengthened the infrastructure construction of high availability architecture; on the other hand, it has provided the process mechanism system of SRE transformation, and formed a complete set of safe production methodology in line with the goals of availability, organization and disaster recovery.
To this end, the digital safety production platform (DPS) has emerged. DPS has concentrated Alibaba's ten years of operation and maintenance experience. It is a one-stop control SRE operation and maintenance platform with PlatformOps as its concept and business continuity as its goal. It has three typical features: scenario-based, digital and cloud-based.
• Scenarioization: DPS focuses on emergency scenarios and weakens the operation and maintenance constraints brought by the organizational structure. At the same time, the comprehensive monitoring and alarm rule configuration of DPS can support various scenarios covering the business.
• Digitization: DPS provides digital monitoring large screen, intelligent alarm, intelligent fault location, white-screen fault quick recovery means, digital measurement, personnel management and other capabilities, and contributes to the enterprise's digitalization process.
• Cloud Native: DPS takes Alibaba Cloud's rich cloud native products as technical support, and has enough openness to associate with Alibaba Cloud's one, two, and open source systems.
As the precipitation of Alibaba Group's Internet exploration for decades, the digital safety production platform (DPS) mainly focuses on the following points in terms of platform architecture and evolution:
• Clear objectives and scenarios: safety production is a global project, and its ability depends on the shortest board of the barrel. Therefore, safety production needs to have clear objectives and scenarios, and ensure the integrity of the main framework.
• Get through the organizational structure: safety production not only needs to solve the problems of people and systems and codes, but also needs to solve the problems of people and people, people and systems. Therefore, safe production requires the integration and connection of excellent technologies of Alibaba and the industry within a system.
• Future-oriented architecture: safety production focuses on cost and loss reduction. Therefore, safe production needs to have a certain degree of anti-technology periodicity. The architecture design should not only be compatible with the latest technology stack, but also be designed for the future architecture.
The digital safety production DPS supports two typical business scenarios: "1-5-10" fault fast recovery and "change three-board axe" fault prevention.
"1-5-10" fault fast recovery
The digital safety production platform provides the whole life cycle management for the discovery, response and recovery of emergency events and faults. "1-5-10" corresponds to "1 minute discovery - 5 minutes response - 10 minutes recovery" of the fault, which is the goal of defining the timeliness of fault handling.
• One-minute discovery: By establishing the full-link monitoring capability around the business application, the business health can be monitored in real time. If stability problems are found, they will be reported to the emergency support service team for troubleshooting at the second level to reduce the possibility of failure.
• 5-minute response: through the establishment of emergency response channels and full-link fault location capabilities, it can quickly connect the troubleshooting personnel, and improve the efficiency of fault handling by intelligent fault location based on AIOps and fault status update and notification flow based on ChatOps.
• 10-minute recovery: through the establishment of a complete fault recovery system, based on the built-in rich quick recovery capability of the scheme, it can intelligently recommend appropriate quick recovery plans according to different fault types, and shorten the time of fault recovery.
"Change the three-board axe" fault prevention
The digital safety production platform DPS incorporates the change operations that are prone to cause online failures into the stability control system, so as to achieve "observable, grayscale and rollback" of the change operations.
In terms of "change can be managed", we cover a complete change system, which greatly reduces the transformation cost of the change system; In terms of "controllable change", we provide change control rules based on time, personnel and other dimensions to prevent possible risks; In terms of "change availability", we can automatically discover the faults caused by changes and provide intelligent quick recovery capabilities such as change rollback.
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HOUSTON, March 4 (UPI) -- There is no link between 100 percent juice consumption and weight gain in teens; in fact, the teens had more nutritious diets, U.S. researchers found.
Lead researcher Dr. Theresa Nicklas of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine said the study found no association between 100 percent fruit juice consumption and weight status in the nearly 4,000 adolescents examined.
The study, published in the March/April issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, also found those who drank more than than 6 ounces of 100 percent juice a day also consumed more whole fruit and fewer added fats and sugars. Milk consumption was not affected by juice intake, the study said.
Data for the analysis came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002.
"One hundred percent juice is a smart choice," Nicklas said in a statement. "Encouraging consumption of nutrient-rich foods and beverages such as 100 percent juice is particularly critical during adolescence -- a unique period of higher nutrient demands."


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A Sydney man who served 12 years behind bars for terrorism offences has been granted bail on charges of filming up the skirts of two women in Kmart stores.
Mazen Touma allegedly committed the offences in January, some two months after completing his parole.
He pleaded guilty in the NSW Supreme Court in 2008 to four counts relating to preparing for a terrorist act.
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The charges related to sourcing ammunition and explosives for the "Pendennis Nine" cell intent on carrying out attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
His release on parole in 2017 was supported by the NSW police commissioner based on Touma's involvement in the prison deradicalisation program.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Peter Hamill granted him bail on new charges which the prosecutor described as being like "chalk and cheese" in relation to his criminal history.
Touma is charged with two counts of recording people's private parts without their consent and two charges aggravated by doing the acts with the intent of obtaining sexual arousal or gratification.
He allegedly bent down with his mobile phone and either filmed, or tried to film, the private parts of one woman at Kmart at Bondi Junction and another at the Chatswood store.
The judge said the police allege there is CCTV footage showing the first incident, while the camera in the second store did not capture the "critical moment".
But a security officer allegedly saw Touma leaning over with his mobile, giving rise to an inference he was filming up the skirt of the customer.
When arrested, Touma denied the allegations and refused to give police his pincode when his phone was seized.
"The prosecution has acknowledged the absence of images on the phone ... so at its highest (the alleged offence) may be an attempt," the judge said.
But this would still be a very serious invasion of privacy, he said.
The judge noted the Crown made no suggestion Touma may return to his past type of criminality, but submitted he may try to interfere with justice by contacting the security officer.
Touma had committed no breaches of his parole, but it was troubling that the new allegations arose only a couple of months after his parole ended.
Justice Hamill granted bail with conditions he described as being akin to house arrest.
They include a person depositing $40,000 in cash as a surety, Touma reporting to police three times a week, not leaving his residence except for occasions such as a medical emergency and not using the camera on any device.
Touma is due back in Waverley Local Court on April 22.
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From the beloved children’s book duo, Jeanne and William Steig, comes six classic fairy tales retold with a refreshing twist that will keep you laughing from beginning to end!
“Is it Crumple or Blister, or Guggle or Nank? Williwaw, Flimflam, or Hiccup or Clank?” Says the Queen to Rumplestiltskin, of course!
In this delightfully odd and sublime collection of six classic fairy tales, Jeanne and William Steig put a quirky twist on “Rumplestiltskin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Frog Prince,” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Retold in illustrated verse, A Handful of Beans is a wry and highly amusing take on the tales you thought you knew.
Jeanne Steig is the author of several books for children including, most notably, Consider the Lemming, The Old Testament Made Easy, Alpha Beta Chowder, A Handful of Beans, and A Gift from Zeus; all of which were illustrated by her late husband and award-winning author/illustrator, William Steig. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
William Steig (1907–2003) was a cartoonist, illustrator, and author of award-winning books for children. Most notably Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, for which he received the Caldecott Medal; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor book; Amos & Boris, a National Book Award Finalist; and Abel’s Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor books. Steig is also the creator of Shrek! which inspired the Dreamworks films. Steig also received the Christopher Award, the Irma Simonton Black Award, the William Allen White Children’s Book Award, the America Book Award, and Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also the US nominee for both of the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Awards as an illustrator in 1982, and then as an author in 1988. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Steig, and four children.

domain: literature


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Throughout the school year we introduce computer science concepts as appropriate for age and skill level. Towards the end of last school year we started using the micro:bit platform as a fun learning tool with much success and plan to continue in the following weeks.
The micro:bit is a plug-and-go easy to use introductory electronics and programming platform with a 5×5 LED “display” matrix, a couple buttons, and a 3-axis accelerometer.
The kit comes with a battery pack and a short micro-USB cable for power/programming. The longer hi-visibility red cable that I used is this one: https://amzn.to/2KQv6Wm
The programming environment is web based, so any computer with a modern browser and an available USB port should work. Our kids were able to do the labs with our relatively low-power, long battery life Chromebook