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By: Elizabeth McKenzie
'Sometimes in politics you get a wallop in the electoral process.'
A rueful Taoiseach, Enda Kenny acknowledged the defeat of a government referendum on the 4th October, when Irish citizens voted against the abolition of Seanad Éireann (51.7% against and 48.3% in favour). The result defied the predictions of politicians and the media alike which, in the run up to the referendum, had indicated a comfortable win for the government. All parties, with the exception of Fianna Fáil, (now a shadow of its former all powerful self) had backed the Taoiseach in his bid to fulfill an election promise made in 2009 when he was still in opposition.
The Government of Ireland Act, promulgated by the British parliament during the War of Independence in 1920, established the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland as separate political entities. Both entities would have their own parliaments with two chambers, a House of Commons and a Senate. The lower house would be an elected chamber but the Senate or Seanad was by appointment only. In 1936 the Seanad was abolished by the Fianna Fáil government of Éamon de Valera but re-established by the 1937 Constitution of Ireland which more or less kept the structure of the original
Seanad Éireann is composed of 60 Members. Senators are nominated by various 'interest groups'.
• 43 are elected by county councils and burroughs representing vocational interests such as: Culture and Education, Agriculture, Labour, Industry and Commerce and Public Administration;
• 6 are elected by the graduates of two universities: – three each by the National University of Ireland and the University of Dublin (Trinity College);
• 11 are nominated by the Taoiseach;
In theory, Seanad Éireann does not recognise party affiliations. However, because the electors/nominators tend to reflect the dominant party in Dáil Éireann, the composition of the Seanad was seen to reflect this bias. The Oireachtas
The reasons for abolishing the Seanad seemed compelling.
1. The general public was of the opinion that it was a comfortable sinecure for sitting TDs (MPs) who lost their seats in an election campaign or candidates who had failed to win a seat in the Dáil in an election. Or, it was generally acknowledged, it was a handy incubator for those with ambitions of becoming TDs – particularly if they had affiliations to the governing parties. In other words, the Seanad was considered to be a comfortable ante-chamber to Dáil activities for those who had either served their political masters well (but perhaps not their electorate!) or who would serve their political masters well in the future.
2. Only two universities were represented (with three candidates each) from Trinity College and the National University of IrelandI. Other universities plus other world-class tertiary institutes do not have a voice. This was, of course, because only Trinity and the NUI existed when the Seanad was inaugurated.
3. There were grave misgivings that the so called 'vocational' representatives were in fact not really representative – more 'jobs for the boys' than experts in the vocational fields they were meant to be representing.
4. The Seanad is singularly lacking in political clout. Although it could initiate legislation, the main business of the House is the revising of legislation sent to it by Dáil Éireann. However, under the Constitution, its legislative role is restricted. The Seanad can propose amendments, reject or pass a Bill. But the Dáil has the power to over-ride its deliberations. It couldn't initiate Money Bills and could only make recommendations but not amendments to such Bills. It has no real political power.
5. The government claimed that by abolishing the Seanad it would save €20 million and the number of politicians would be reduced – at the time a proposal that proved popular with voters angry about the standards and values in Irish politics . In the 2011 election, all political parties accepted the scrapping of the Upper House as part of their election agendas. (Irish Times online 06/10/13)
So what changed the mind of the electorate?
Since the 2011 election there has been a shift in public sentiment. In 2011, the Irish people were struggling with the aftermath of the Banking Crisis and the draconian austerity measures imposed by the IMF. However in the weeks leading up to the referendum, the Irish economy had moved, however tenuously, out of recession. It seemed that the voters were:
looking beyond the arguments presented by both sides and asking what would abolition mean – would the money it saved be justified by what was lost, and could a reformed Seanad serve a useful purpose for other voices in an Irish democracy? Irish Times online 06/10/13
In addition the savings of €20 million was hotly disputed. The abolition of the Seanad would, it was claimed, save a mere €7 – 9 million. And it seemed that the Irish people were having second thoughts about abolishing one of the institutions, which had defined it as a nation since the earliest days of the Irish Free State and subsequently the Republic. In addition reform of the Seanad rather than getting rid of it altogether, is now on the government agenda. 'We will now continue reforming the political system and ensuring that the Seanad is a modern and effective Second Chamber.' (The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, 23/10/2013)
The original brief for Seanad Éireann's role was a lofty one:
The Seanad is interwoven with numerous articles of the Constitution, dealing with the legislative, executive and judicial functions of the State. Its establishment had a worthy cause – to ensure that legislation would be critically examined by individuals with particular expertise in the relevant area. Its emphasis on providing a voice for civic society meant that it offered real opportunities for building bridges to citizens. It was supposed to have developed into a political platform where citizens representing different sections of society were provided with a voice and given the opportunity to demand difficult answers from the government. University Times 24/01/11
While it does not seem to have fulfilled its original idealistic purpose and by the latter half of the 20th century was considered by most of the populace to be irrelevant, insignificant and a waste of time and money, perhaps some of its ideals, encapsulated in the 1937 Constitution, still resonant in the heart of the nation. After all, Seanad Éireann has an impressive list of alumni, from one of Ireland's best known poets, W.B. Yeats to Douglas Hyde, the nation's first President, to Mary Robinson, one of Ireland's most loved and most successful presidents, to Garret FitzGerald, also a much loved and revered politician. It couldn't be that boring!
The referendum on the 4th October had a second proposal – the establishment of a Court of Appeal – which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the voters. So all was not lost!


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Werner's work was conveniently accompanied by a heavily downplaying headline -- "Final health bill omits some of Obama's promises" -- while her rundown of the specifics in reality ended up being "all but two":
It was a bold response to skyrocketing health insurance premiums. President Barack Obama would give federal authorities the power to block unreasonable rate hikes.
Yet when Democrats unveiled the final, incarnation of their health care bill this week, the proposal was nowhere to be found.
Ditto with several Republican ideas that Obama had said he wanted to include after a televised bipartisan summit last month, including a plan by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to send investigators disguised as patients to hospitals in search of waste, fraud and abuse.
And those "special deals" that Obama railed against and said he wanted to eliminate? With the exception of two of the most notorious - extra Medicaid money for Nebraska and a carve-out for Florida seniors faced with losing certain extra Medicare benefits - they are all still there.
For the White House, these were the latest unfulfilled commitments related to Obama's health care proposal, starting with his campaign promise to let C-SPAN cameras film negotiations over the bill. Obama also backed down with little apparent regret on his support for a new government-run insurance plan as part of the legislation, a liberal priority.
But was it all the president's doing?
In the cases of the insurance rate authority, the Republican ideas and the special deals, it came down to Obama making promises that Congress didn't keep. He can propose whatever he wants, but it's up to Congress to enshrine it into law.
Arguably, the president could have foreseen that outcome, and was making a low-risk p.r. move by floating proposals - dismissed by critics as insubstantial anyway - whose demise he couldn't be blamed for.
While the White House worked hard to trumpet Obama's plans for the rate authority, his embrace of bipartisanship and his opposition to special deals, the administration hardly advertised the lack of follow-through. Understandable, certainly, but perhaps not the new way of doing business that Obama promised to bring to Washington.
Werner also continued the wire service's annoying habit of saving some of the more important news for the very end when she quotes a health policy consultant who says that "Democrats will have three years to tinker with health reform before universal coverage goes live."
Geez, after 2,000-plus pages in heaven knows how many Senate and House iterations, with who knows how many new bureaucracies, taxes, mandates, fines, and penalties, we will have to endure another three years of "tinkering" until we know what we're really going to face in 2014 if the current madness disguised as legislation "passes" this weekend ("passes" is in quotes because the constitutionality of attempt is extremely dubious)?
If so, this will mean that the length of the Wall Street Journal has called "the uncertainty economy" will bear quite a resemblance to how certain not-free countries used to run things -- i.e., five-year plans -- while endless establishment press protection prose continues to proliferate.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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The roller coaster ride of the 2016 election is finally over and Donald Trump has been named president-elect.
No matter where you stand on the presidency, we stand our ground on one issue of great importance: climate action.
We will do our part to maintain momentum on the progress made as a country to curb carbon emissions. We are hopeful for climate policy that embraces science and takes the United States forward as a leader in renewable energy, boosting our economy and bettering our future.
President-Elect Trump says nothing on his website about climate action.
Similar to Britain's Theresa May, prime minister of the United Kingdom, Trump has promised to cut all federal spending on climate change, which he calls "wasteful."
"We're going to put America first," said Trump. "That includes canceling billions in climate change spending for the United Nations, a number Hillary wants to increase, and instead use that money to provide for American infrastructure including clean water, clean air and safety."
The campaign is over. Trump now finds himself on a global stage, where his peer group includes world leaders. He will need to navigate party politics, international agreements, and credible science.
Here is a roundup of the positions taken by world leaders on climate change – hopefully Trump will use his newly established power and position to listen, and to protect our most precious resource.
"Man is the worst enemy of man. We can see it with terrorism. But we can say the same when it comes to climate. Human beings are destroying nature, damaging the environment."
— Francois Hollande, President of France
"We are taking all the right steps to solve this problem [climate change]. But right now, in accordance with our current stage of development, China's current situation must consider the stability of the economy, the employment of workers."
— China's climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua
"In addressing climate change, it is important to focus on solutions that can help us reach our goals."
— Narendra Modi, India's President
"We must now agree on a bringing review mechanism under international law, so that this century can credibly be called a century of decarbonisation."
— Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
"Brazil is one of a few developing countries to commit to an absolute emissions reduction target."
— Dilma Rousseff, former President of Brazil
"In 2015, pretending that we have to choose between the economy and the environment is as harmful as it is wrong."
— Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
"What we are talking about is survival, it's not about economic development… it's not politics, its survival."
— Anote Tong, President of Kiribati
"The violence that exists the human heart is also manifested in the symptoms of illness that we see in the Earth, the water, the air, and in living thing."
— Pope Francis
"Climate change has become one of the gravest challenges humanity is facing… Caused by global warming, hurricanes, droughts, floods and other anomalies are the source of economic damage."
— Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation
"The UK is determined to play its part, not just by cutting our emissions at home but by providing support overseas to those who need it, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable."
— David Cameron, former prime minister of Britain
He was replaced by Theresa May, who CLOSED the climate change department. Here's what she said:
"I want to see an energy policy that emphasizes the reliability of supply and lower costs for users."
— Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
We need to work together to maintain progress. Do you support climate action? Tweet to us @PaladinoandCo with your thoughts and use the hashtag #ActOnClimate.
You can also contact your state senators and let them know that climate change matters to you.


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Proudly serving Florida since 2009
If you are like many small business entrepreneurs, you probably have some doubts regarding the security of your computer system. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, two thirds of all cyber attacks target small businesses. The average cost of a breach is between $84,000 and $148,000.


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- Home
- About Our Store
About Our Store
Original Products Botanica is the Premier Source for All Your Spiritual, New Age, Occult & Religious Products
Family owned and operated Since 1959, Original Products is the premier source for all your Spiritual, New Age and Occult products. Here at Original Products we have a strong belief in tradition. Our products are manufactured using the same exacting methods & proven formulas, developed over the last 50 years, assuring your complete satisfaction. Whether you are searching for a specially prepared candle, a hard to find essential oil or are simply looking to enhance your luck or love life, our on-line & Bronx retail store are ready and able to assist you.
The "Home Depot of Spirituality"
Original Products offers the ultimate one-stop shop for all of your Spiritual needs and we pride ourselves on our top notch customer service. With over 10,000 Spiritual, New Age, Occult and Religious items stocked in our Bronx, New York superstore, come see why, in a 2010 article, The New York Times calls Original Products a "veritable home depot of spirituality."
From Spiritual & Religious Candles, to Magical Oils & Spiritual Incense to Sacred Spiritual Kits, our on-line Botanica & retail store stand ready & able to help guide your spiritual journey. Consultations & Readings are also available with our professional, experienced staff of Spiritualists.


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Srinagar, Jun 29
At least 10 tourists died and two others injured as a chairlift collapsed in Murree town, a transit point for tourists visiting Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in Pakistan's Punjab today, The News International said.
The injured are being rushed to Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi, the report said.
Rescue sources said the incident took place at Churapani area, the report added.
A similar incident took place in tourist spot Gulmarg, Kashmir on June 25 in which seven people lost their lives.


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Galway Athletics
Provisional program for tomorrow's cross country is at
Note U18s and older all run in same team event but U18s have their own individual category, as do junior, novice, etc.. You can only medal individually in a single category - the one in which you were entered. Note also that there are two individual masters categories - O40 and O50. There is no O35 category.


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Today we have some information and a helpful resource from a fellow Chicago entrepreneur, Marian Mangoubi of Sassy CEO.
"We are hosting our first live streaming Q & A session next Thursday, 3/17. The topic is Choosing the Right Business Entity for You. We are asking people to tweet in their questions using the hashtag #startupTHqa. A small business attorney and an accountant will answer the questions. People will be able to hear them answer the questions via http://tinychat.com/SassyCEO and we'll tweet their responses. The event is FREE but we are asking people to rsvp (http://sassyceo-qasessions.eventbrite.com/) so that we can get a head count."
Be sure to join the conversation, ask questions, learn, and if you are looking to launch a start-up, find out what the best entity is!
Brittany Martin Graunke is the founder of Zealous Good, an in-kind donations marketplace in Chicago. You can find Brittany on Google+ or on Twitter at @ZealousBrittany. You can find Zealous Good on Facebook and Zealous Good on Twitter at @ZealousGood.


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New Photo Editing App - The AisleAvaGram
Remember the days when photography was harder than Jimmy Saville in a hospital waiting room, when taking awful pictures was an effortless click of a button. Thanks to to the merciless onslaught of technology captured from robots sent back in time to set up photo booth businesses, it's now more challenging than ever to capture those charming images of yesteryear fearuring heads chopped off, totally out of focus flash misfired dark masterpieces or those charming flash too close total whiteouts.
That's why we've been working round by round on our new photo app - The AisleAvaGram with InstaShit™ Filters. Now you can relive that classic bygone era when no one except top photographers like Derek Pye could take good pictures by using our revolutionary app.


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Inspired Chi
Agnes Jonczak and Traci Sanginiti founded Inspired Chi in 2018. Joining Inspired Living Solutions & Your True Chi to bring Spiritual Exploration, Integrative & Alternative Solutions and Everyday Mysticism through an array of services, events, and education for the Buxmont & Philadelphia communities.
Always looking for creative ways to enhance their services and connect with their clients & friends, 2020 brings The Inspired Chi Radio series!
A J Jonczak is a self-described experiential junkie who has studied dozens of modalities. Her
bed rock is as a Reiki Master, Certified Hypnotist, Past Life Regressionist, Akashic Records
Reader and Soul Realignment Practitioner. AJ is a member of Healing Touch Professional
Association, Soul Realignment Practitioner Directory as well as local groups in southeastern
Pennsylvania. She is also certified in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and continues to
study different approaches to spiritual journeying
Traci Sanginiti is an Intuitive, Meditation Teacher and Reiki Master. A Tarot expert, Traci also
uses a library of different Oracles along with Energy Medicine to guide you to both Holistic
and Spiritual solutions. Traci is also a Non- Denominational Minister and enjoys developing
and facilitating ceremonies, programs and rituals for Inspired Chi's unique retreats and


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After the scintillating highs and surprises of its second season, "Boardwalk Empire" returns following a passage of time, which can always be a trifle unsettling. In short order, though, the program finds its groove, with new rivals, shifting relationships and strained allegiances, all set against the intoxicating backdrop of the booze-running 1920s and wildly corrupt Harding administration. Filled with firstrate performances, jarring violence and esoteric sexual acts, the show ranks alongside "Game of Thrones" as HBO's twin titans, with prodigious strengths that far outweigh a few lingering, far-from-fatal weaknesses.
It's New Year's Eve, 1922, when the story resumes, and political fixer-bootlegger Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) is seeking to simplify his life by entering into an exclusive booze-supplying arrangement with Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg). Except this doesn't sit well with Gyp Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale), an easily riled, uneducated Italian mobster, who sees personal slights behind the most innocuous of acts and phrases.
Rosetti takes some getting used to, but he's so mercurial, so insane, as to add a sense of menace and tension to every scene involving him — a cinematic heir to Joe Pesci's character in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas." That said, he's hardly "Boardwalk's" only powder keg, which at times causes the show to make "The Sopranos" look like a game of beanbag.
The series also continues to be buoyed by Kelly Macdonald as Nucky's wife, Margaret, who, in what could hardly seem a more timely sidelight, given recent political developments, takes a serious interest in promoting women's health care through her philanthropic work. Her strained relationship with Nucky yields some of the show's best dialogue: "It's not my intention to pry," she begins, to which he responds, "There's a sentence that means its opposite."
The weakest link remains Nelson Van Alden, the disgraced federal agent played by the normally reliable Michael Shannon, whose private struggles become a sort-of distraction from the more interesting doings, at least for now.
HBO made five episodes available, and they happily build in intensity. Despite the historical underpinnings, series creator Terence Winter and company manage to make the show consistently surprising, with a strong sense that almost no one is safe — a crucial element in this sort of setting.
Despite a load of Emmys, "Boardwalk" missed out on best drama in its first season, but simply put, the third season further confirms the show is as handsome, well cast and impeccably crafted as anything on TV.
And with due respect to Nucky, there's a sentence that means exactly what it says.


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Tasty Foods Of Alanya
Delicious Regional Dishes Of Alanya
Yarpuzlu Akdarı Çorbası (Millet Soup With Pennyroyal)
Pennyroyal ususally grows on river banks and next to canals, the taste is similar to mint, it smells nice and it has a calming effect.
Şepit (Flat Bread)
Prepared on an iron plate on top of fire beeing constantly turned around to make it cook well and keep it from burning. Just before it's done it is being put ontop of the burning coals to make it have its nice colour. One side is then smeared with butter and a fillin, usually goat cheese is put on the other side, then roll it and it's ready to be eaten.
Döğme Aşı (Wheat Porridge)
After the wheat has been cleaned properly, it will be added to a pot with onion and needs to be mixed continuously until it's ready. When the texture is similar to porridge, some butter will be added on top and it is to beaten when hot.
Laba (Filled Ribs)
Beeing cooked on high heat and sawn together with a thick needle to prevent it from scattering. After being cooked the strings are taken away and the stew poured on top.
Bumbar (Chitterlings)
The chitterlings are cut to small pieces and stewed with butter and water. Served with squeezed lemon and black pepper.
İlibada Sarması (Stuffed Vine leaves)
Rice or grounded wheat is mixed with olive oil or butter, salt, tomato, tomato paste, red peppers and some seasoning are mixed in a bowl. The stuffing made is then divided to small amounts on the vine leaves, roll them up and put in a pot to cook with a small amount of water. Cooked on medium heat.
Göleviz (Colocasia)
Cooked on medium heat until soft. Minced meat or meat with bones are often added. Just before the colocasia is done some lemon juice is squeezed in and mixed.
Taze Ülübü Yemeği (Fresh Kidney Beans)
Cooked with minced meat or small pieces of meat in a pot together with butter, chopped onion and pepper. Later peeled and chopped tomatoes are added. The last the beans are put in with some water and cooked on medium heat.
Taze Bakla Yemeği (Broad Bean)
The beans are properly cleaned and the heads removed with a knife before cooking. Chopped onion, butter, pepper, meat or minced meat is first cooked in a pot. Peeled and chopped tomatoes will be added and after being cooked for a while the beans with some salt and water. Cooked on medium heat.
Mantar (Mushrooms)
There are various mushrooms found in Alanya area, such as milk cap, woolly milk cap, rufous milk cap, truffel and champignon. In autumn when the rainy season begins the first ones growing are the rufous milk caps. When cooking, the mushrooms are first properly cleaned and chopped. Then fried on a frying pan with chopped onion and olive oil or butter. Later on some water is added with tomato paste and seasonings. It can also be cooked with chick peas.
Öksüz Helvası (Orphan's Halvah)
When the halvah is baked it's been given a form and put on a tray. When given a form cylinder is located in the middle so the halvah around forms a wall. the sides are given a decorational form. Boiled butter is filled in the hole all the way to the top and it's ready to be served.
Çigirdik (Sesame Croquettes)
An amount of sesame is cleaned and mixed with equal amount of honey and roasted in a pot. When it has been roasted long enough the pods should come off. Then it's spread on a large plate with a spoon. After it has cooled down, it is cut in pieces and served. Grape syrup can also be used instead of honey. The sweet is commonly prepared on cold winter days.
Turunç Reçeli (Bitter Orange Jam)
One kilogram of sugar is needed per 8- 10 bitter oranges. The sugar is poured on top of the oranges and let wait one whole day so the juice comes out. Afterwards two glasses of water is added and the oranges are boiled with the sugar. While boiling on high heat, the foam forming on top will be removed. One lemon will be squeezed on top of the formating jam to prevent sugar formation. After boiling for a while more the jam is let to cool down and then divided into jars.
Kırtakı (Pumpkin Dessert)
Kırtakı can be made of pumpkin,calabash or water melon shell. After the shell is removed it is chopped in pieces sized about 3- 5 cm. The pieces are then left to wait in water mixed with chalk or ash. After the shells are beeing cleaned the are put on a frying pan on top of boiling grape or carob syrup. When the stiffnes is right, it will be taken of fromt the stove and left to cool down. After cooling down the pieces are put on a jug or a cruse and sealed close.


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Wave Rider
This is for the WaveriderExplore
Town Square Dubai Recreational Park is a space where the community gathers and create memories together, while staying active. This beautiful park area is dedicated to a basketball court, skate park, Wave Rider, football pitch, kids play zone, outdoor cinema and a trampoline park – you won't have to worry about boring evenings! The Recreational Park is within walking and cycling distance to the communities within Town Square Dubai.


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Here is an uncomfortable truth: some text editors will make you more productive than others. You can argue this back and forward, but you know it is not a lie. It is quite possible to write all your code in notepad.exe but most people prefer not to do that. Why? Because there are better tools for the job: advanced programming editors, IDE's and the like. Some tools are better than others at any given task.
Here is another uncomfortable truth: extensible text editors can be better at boosting productivity than ones that offer a lot of features out of the box, but no possibility of fine tuning the performance, save for maybe a rigid plugin architecture. Let me use Vim as an example here, because that's what I know the best. When you start using Vim, you begin with a blank slate – a generic editor with key-stroke saving modal setup, built in macros and etc. It is quite powerful out of the box, but probably not overwhelmingly so. The built-in commands and features can only take you so far, and there are products out there that offer a programmer a more specific set of features right away. Case in point: big IDE's like Eclipse and Visual Studio ship with inline debuggers and code inspection features and etc. Vim does not have that.
Vis just a text editor – an efficient machine for hacking away on blocks of text, but a limited one. That's what it was designed for. The interesting part of Vim is that it is almost infinitely extensible. It has it's own scripting language which allows you to almost completely change it's behavior and redefine almost all the default settings. What is more important though, even though VimL is quite ugly (like Perl level ugly) and inconsistent as scripting languages go, it usually proves to be quite accessible to new users.
When you start your adventure with Vim, you usually go out and look for .vimrc tweaks – things you can add to your vim configuration file to make the editor more useful: like enabling syntax highlighting, line numbering, etc. In the process, you also learn how to rebind keys, capture user input, change default behavior and etc. Eventually you learn that you can put little functions in your .vimrc – stuff that can take some data, process it, spit it back to the buffer or whatever. And all of this is just basic configuration tweaks – stuff you put in your config file.
Eventually you experience an epiphany – you realize that the so called Vim "plug-ins" you have been installing and hording in addition to your config tweaks are not actually "plug-ins" at all. They are simply scripts written in VimL – the same language you have been using to hack your .vimrc all along. A language you already sort-of know by proxy. The side effect of spending many man-hours tweaking your editor results in you learning all the basic techniques used by the plugin designers – function calls, hooks, key bindings, executing normal mode commands, etc..
So what do you do? You start writing your own plugins. You start small – you take chunks out of your .vimrc and tinker with them. Here is a cool example from my setup:
" toggle between relative and absolute line numbers
function! g:ToggleNuMode()
if(&rnu == 1)
set nu
set rnu
:call g:ToggleNuMode()
As you can see from the comment, this small bit of code lets me toggle between relative and absolute line numbers in my file. This is already quite unique feature to vim – most editors only offer absolute line numbers. But with Vim's modal editing features, relative numbers are very useful (in vim you can preface various commands with numbers to affect multiple lines and etc..). This little bit of code is all I need to set up dynamic toggling between the two systems. Not only that but it actually shows how much of VimL you tend to learn just by tinkering. This bit illustrates:
- Defining global scope functions
- Testing vim's built in option variables by accessing them with & symbol
- Toggling built in option variables on and off
- Calling functions in global scope
- Binding a function call to a key stroke
Once you grok simple function calls like this, you are about five steps from hard core VimL programming. The next step after this, is realizing just how easy it is to code and test these things. For example, I could save the above function to some random file and issue the following command:
:source %
This interprets the file and will show you errors if there are any. Then it loads the file and it becomes part of Vim. For the remainder of the session you will be able to use the call command to call this brand new function as you edit it some more. It's that easy. Once you are happy with the function and you want it to become permanent feature of your editor you simply do:
:sav ~/.vim/plugins/myfunction.vim
Boom! Now it's a plugin. It's that easy! Can you do that in Eclipse or any other plugin enabled IDE? In most of them, plugin development is much, much more complex than this. As far as I can tell only Vim and Emacs offer you this degree of flexibility. Getting into plugin development is almost inevitable side effect of increasing familiarity with these editors.
And since you will be making your own plugins anyway, eventually you will get to the point of generalizing and releasing them to the public. Here is a cool example: Steve Losh wrote an excellent blog post about his journey from TextMate to Vim in which he essentially went "boy, I wish there was some plugin that would let you browse Vim's undo history". Some time after publishing it, he amended that bit to let people know he got tired of waiting for that plugin and so he wrote his own. I must attest that his Gundo plugin is quite awesome.
Most Vim users eventually become VimL hackers simply by the process of day to day interaction with their editor of choice. Same thing happens to Emacs users which usually end up quite proficient at writing Elisp code mostly by accident. The beautiful side effect of this process is that it gives people power to tune their configuration to their very specific needs. Vim starts as a generic catch-all editor, but ends up being a finely tuned instrument specialized for the exact kind of work you do with it.
Vim and Emacs empower their users to do what programmers tend to do anyway: script and automate mundane things. Half the time our projects essentially revolve around automating and streamlining other people's jobs. At the same time what we do – writing code – remains quite inefficient. And I'm not just talking about copying and pasting boilerplate code – most editors can handle that. Vim and Emacs let you script your editor directly and make it do exactly the things you want.
This does not usually happen in communities clustered around big IDE's. Most users of Eclipse remain just that – users. While their IDE has a very powerful plugin API, the barrier to entry is usually pretty high. Grokking the infrastructure that drives the plugins is a non-trivial task in and off itself. Putting a plugin together is whole project that comes with hundreds of lines of Java boilerplate that need to be in there, just because that's how Java works. This organic drift from casual user to power user, to expert hacker and plugin creator is rare. Only the most determined and motivated take that last step, whereas in Vim and Emacs communities it is a commonplace thing.
Which is not to say that IDE's are bad, or that Vim is better. It's just an extremely extensible tool that will evolve with you over time. The more you use it, the smarter and more efficient it becomes.
If you are interested in learning more about VimL, this is a great place to start.


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Tag: #HowTu
How-Tu Tuesday: Create a Twitter List
Your Twitter feed is a busy place; with news updates, mentions and interactions, it can...
August 21st 2018
How-Tu Tuesday: Create a YouTube Channel
Creating a YouTube Channel for your business is easier than you might think. This how...
Alastair Miller
August 7th 2018
How-Tu Tuesday: How to view your competitors Facebook Adverts
It's incredibly important in business to keep your eye on...
Alastair Miller
July 31st 2018
How-Tu Tuesday: Making The Most of 140 Characters
The most important skill any Twitterati can possess is being concise. Brands must communicate their...
Rene Looper
August 11th 2015
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In This Issue:
Annual Conference: The Countdown is On!
ASPA's 2016 Annual Conference, taking place March 18-22 in Seattle, is just weeks away and more than 1,100 practitioners, academics, researchers and students are registered to be there! If your name isn't on the list yet, make sure you register soon, as the registration rate will go up on March 5, 2016, from $539 to $639 (member rates; visit the website to see nonmember and one-day registration rates).
Newly added to the list of activities taking place is a Wine Tasting, hosted by the Evergreen Chapter. If you are in Seattle Thursday night, March 17, and would like to sample everything local Washington wines have to offer, join your fellow attendees for an evening at the Columbia Tower Club and sample some of the best wines in the country. RSVP to the chapter directly and visit the ASPA Annual Conference website for more information.
Just a few of the other highlights waiting for you in Seattle include:
There are just a few weeks left to make your plans! Hotel and travel details are on the ASPA Annual Conference website. Register now and we'll look forward to seeing you in Seattle!
Contact registrar Pat Yearwood for assistance with your registration.
PAR Authors Cited within President's 2017 Budget
In further recognition of the tremendous refereed research Public Administration Review (PAR) publishes throughout the year, President Obama's 2017 budget, released earlier this month, referenced research conducted by Donald Moynihan and Alexander Kroll: "Performance Management Routines that Work? An Early Assessment of the GPRA Modernization Act." The abstract is posted online and the article is due out in the March/April edition.
This is one of a number of recent high-profile citations PAR has received, showcasing the publication's standard for excellence.
Questions or comments? Contact PAR Logistical Editor Elise Boruvka.
Webinars, BookTalks and Student Series on the Horizon
ASPA's professional development webinars continue in the next few weeks. Averaging 75 attendees per webinar and free to ASPA members, these e-learning opportunities provide you with valuable insights and information at your fingertips. Here's a quick look at upcoming opportunities. Make sure you register today for the topics of most interest, and visit our website to take a look at all upcoming webinars and BookTalks.
Professional Development: The Sherlock Holmes Approach to Government (in conjunction with CAP)
Feb. 25, 1 p.m.
Presenters: Gary VanLandingham, Director, Pew Charitable Trusts' Results First Initiative
Toby Barker, Mississippi State Representative, House District 102
Richard Green (Moderator), Board Member, ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
As state and local governments have been operating with limited resources, the job of most policymakers boils down to making tough choices. Using rigorous evidence to help make these decisions can help reach better results by funding programs that are proven. How does so-called "evidence-based policymaking" work? The panel for this webinar will delve into these questions and more.
BookTalk: The Craft of Public Administration
March 3, 1 p.m.
Presenters: Dr. John Rouse, Professor, Ball State University
Dr. C. Kenneth Meyer, Drake University
The Craft of Public Administration is not just a textbook; it is a concise, current, down-to-earth text that introduces readers to the dynamics of the public sector. The 11th edition is due to be released shortly and authors John Rouse and C. Kenneth Meyer will provide BookTalk participants with one of the first looks at this newest version.
Interested in Joining a New ASPA Section?
NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement is working together with ASPA to start a new Section geared toward procurement specialists. An organizing meeting will take place at ASPA's Annual Conference on Friday, March 18, from 10 a.m.- Noon. Please join us at the Seattle Westin to participate in an open discussion around formation and details to organize and launch the new Section. Contact ASPA Chief of Program Operations Lisa Sidletsky with any questions. We hope you'll make plans to join this discussion!
If you're not able to be in Seattle but are interested in the new Section, let us know! Contact Lisa for more information and to make sure you're on the list to receive future information about this group.
Contribute to PA Times Online
PA Times Online, the online supplement to ASPA's quarterly magazine, publishes new articles, data and research twice every week. In recent weeks, we have published articles that have looked at disaster management, city planning, tax incentives, public health disasters and more. We hope you enjoy reading the twice-weekly digest of articles recently published and, even more importantly, may consider submitting your own article for publication!
For those considering doing so, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
We maintain a rolling calendar of authors who provide articles on a regular basis throughout the year, but we are always looking for new voices. If you'd like to be one of them, contact us and we will be happy to work with you! Students and new professionals, this is a great avenue by which to build your CV. Contact us for more information.
Got Old PA Times Issues? We Need Them!
As you may have seen in recent months, Rutgers University at Newark has completed its extraordinary task of digitizing and posting an historical archive of PA Times magazines and newsletters to the PA Gateway, but we need your help!
The editions currently posted go back to 1988, with a number of gaps in the collection in the earlier years. Rutgers-Newark is seeking those editions, especially those published in 1998 or prior.
If you have collected editions of PA Times throughout the years and have copies you can provide to complete this project, let us know! Contact PA Times managing editor Karen Garrett and she can work with you to donate these valuable historical contributions. The archives thank you!
FDA Fellowship Applications Due March 1
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is accepting applications for its Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellowships in the Center for Tobacco Products' (CTP) Office of Management. During this one-year, paid fellowship, CTP Fellows actively participate in the tobacco regulatory process. Candidates with an MPA, MPP or MBA are encouraged to apply. Fellows are awarded up to $95,000 based on salary history. The application process closes March 1. To find out more, visit the FDA Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellowship website.
2016 EGPA Annual Conference Call for Papers
The European Group for Public Administration (EGPA), in close collaboration with Utrecht University, is organizing the 2016 EGPA Annual Conference to be held from Aug. 24-26, 2016, in Utrecht, The Netherlands, to be preceded by the Ph.D. Symposium on Aug. 22-23. Calls for papers for the Ph.D. Symposium are now available.
The EGPA Conference is open to practitioners, academics and young researchers. You are invited to submit an abstract for proposal on topics addressed by the different study groups and seminars. Proposals and abstracts should be submitted and uploaded through the EGPA website.
2016 Transatlantic Dialogue Announces Call for Papers
The 12th Transatlantic Dialogue, to be held June 8-11, 2016, in Ghent, Belgium, is accepting proposals for papers and abstracts. The conference theme is: "How to Increase the Legitimacy of Government in Times of Crisis." Click here to learn more.
ABFM 28th Annual Research Conference—Call for Proposals
The Association for Budgeting and Financial Management invites you to submit a paper or panel proposal for its annual research conference. This year's conference will be held Oct. 6-8 in Seattle. Though papers have traditionally focused on U.S. state and local government budgeting and financial management, we welcome papers on federal budgeting, as well as papers with an international or comparative perspective. We encourage both practitioners and academics to submit proposals. All paper and panel proposals are due by April 15, 2016. Click here to submit a paper proposal; click here to submit a panel proposal. Proposals will be reviewed and competitively selected. Please submit questions to the conference committee. Click here to download this information as PDF.
21st Small Cities Conference—Call for Proposals
The 2016 Small Cities Conference, Criminal Justice in the Small City, will be held at Winona State University, Oct. 19-20, 2016. The event is co-organized by the Winona State University Department of Sociology and The Center for the Small City at UW-Stevens Point and will discuss key issues in criminal justice for small cities. Conference organizers are now accepting proposals for presentations by researchers, social workers, law enforcement and corrections personnel, government officials and staff, interested citizens and students. Presenters can give research presentations, present best practices, discuss their experiences, present a case study, lead a workshop session, be a discussant or contributor of a panel or participate in a roundtable. All proposals are due May 31, 2016. Contact conference coordinators Nicole Civettini, Bob Wolensky or Ed Miller with questions.
Rutgers 39th Teaching Public Administration Conference—Call for Papers
The 39th Annual Teaching Public Administration Conference (TPAC), May 24-25, 2016, will provide a forum for demonstrating and discussing teaching opportunities and strategies, building awareness of the contemporary environments related to public administration education and collaborating on career development strategies. The goal of the conference is to promote and sustain professionalism in public service among both academics and practitioners. Good practices in the field necessitate achieving a balance in theory and practice in the development and delivery of public administration curricula and in programs that foster students' career development. The forum is designed for public administration practitioners, educators and students. Relevant proposals from all disciplines are welcome. Proposals will be accepted through Friday, April 15, 2016, and presentations are due by Monday, May 15, 2016. Please submit your proposal for review by the program committee to Lois Warner. Conference presenters are invited to submit full papers for peer review by the ASPA Section on Public Administration Education for the Best Paper Award. Papers will be reviewed by the Conference Program Committee until July 1, 2016.
PAR Update
PAR Podcast
Regulatory Transformation: Lessons from Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
This episode features Daniel Esty (Yale University) discussing his article titled "Regulatory Transformation: Lessons from Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection." This article is currently available on Early View and will be published in Public Administration Review Issue 76 Volume 3. Link to PAR Podcast
Evidence in Public Administration
Kimberley R. Isett, Brian W. Head and Gary VanLandingham, Editors
Governing Small-Town America Today: The Promise and Dilemma of Dense Networks
Thomas J. Catlaw (Arizona State University) and Margaret Stout (West Virginia University) examine the governance of small towns in the United States. Small towns have received little attention in the public administration literature to date, yet one in 10 Americans still lives in one, representing roughly 75 percent of all municipalities in the United States and some 33 million people. Small towns are characterized as dense, multiplex networks that lend unique dynamics to local politics. However, they face significant social, economic, technological and demographic trends that compromise towns' prevailing frame of reference, fracture their networks and alter the traditional setting of small-town governance. In the face of these issues, "thicker," more active ways of engaging the public are needed to reknit community bonds and build civic capacity. Service learning for master of public administration students is proposed as a way to develop the emotional intelligence necessary to make sense of the complex social dynamics of small towns and facilitate the hard work of building enabling relationships. Link to PAR Early View
Research Articles
The Motivational Effects of Mission Matching: A Lab-Experimental Test of a Moderated Mediation Model
Scholarly literature finds positive motivational effects of matching workers and missions. However, the psychological mechanisms behind this matching effect have not been explored. Jason Smith (Syracuse University) develops and tests a moderated mediation model of mission matching in which meaningfulness serves as an intervening mechanism that explains the association between mission matching and effort. He also considers how individual differences in prosocial motivation influence the intervening role of meaningfulness. Using a real-effort laboratory experiment with monetary incentives, the article shows that matched subjects exert more effort than mismatched subjects, that this effect is mediated by increases in meaningfulness, that prosociality moderates the effect of a match on meaningfulness and that the indirect effect of a match on effort through increases in meaningfulness varies as a function of prosociality. These results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of mission matching and suggest that matching may be particularly important for certain types of workers. Link to PAR Early View
Understanding the Implications of Government Ties for Nonprofit Operations and Functions
Xueyong Zhan (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) and Shui-Yan Tang (University of Southern California) explore the implications of nonprofit leaders' government ties for nonprofit operations and functions. Based on 81 survey questionnaires completed by civic environmental NGOs (eNGOs) in China and interviews with executives from 33 eNGOs, the authors examine the personal backgrounds of eNGO leaders and find that most Chinese civic eNGOs are connected with the government in one or more of three ways: political ties, service organization ties or personal ties. Personal ties, or good guanxi with government officials, are positively associated with a higher level of funding stability and a more developed management system. Environmental NGOs with leaders who are current government officials or legislative body members are more likely to be engaged in policy advocacy. Service organization ties facilitate eNGOs' efforts to be engaged in legal services and to scale up to work on environmental issues at the national level. Moreover, an eNGO's policy advocacy engagement is associated with its ties with the nonprofit community. Link to PAR Early View
The Politics of Higher Education: University President Ideology and External Networking
While the importance of networking is increasingly recognized by practitioners and scholars alike, little is known about why significant variance is observed in how often and with whom organizational leaders network. Further, while we know that political ideology plays a critical role in shaping decisionmaking within public organizations, current models of networking have largely failed to consider the importance of ideology in driving networking efforts. Using data from a 2012 survey of U.S. university presidents and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Thomas Rabovsky and Amanda Rutherford (Indiana University, Bloomington) explore the role that president ideology plays in shaping networking behavior with political principals. Findings suggest that the effect of ideology on external networking efforts is moderated by state policymaker ideology. Link to PAR Early View
Managing for Legitimacy: Agency Governance in Its "Deep" Constitutional Context
Recent literature on bureaucratic structure has gone further than studying discretions given to bureaucrats in policymaking and much attention is now paid to understanding how bureaucratic agencies are managed. Muiris MacCarthaigh (Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom), Martin Painter (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) and Wai-Hang Yee (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) propose that the way in which executive governments manage their agencies varies according to their constitutional setting and that this relationship is driven by considerations of the executive's governing legitimacy. Inspired by Charles Tilly (1984), the authors compare patterns of agency governance in Hong Kong and Ireland, in particular, configurations of assigned decisionmaking autonomies and control mechanisms. This comparison shows that in governing their agencies, the elected government of Ireland's parliamentary democracy pays more attention to input (i.e., democratic) legitimacy, while the executive government of Hong Kong's administrative state favors output (i.e., performance) legitimacy. These different forms of autonomy and control mechanism reflect different constitutional models of how political executives acquire and sustain their governing legitimacy Link to PAR Early View
New on PA Times Online
New on the ASPA Blog
Looking for interesting commentary on news events and contemporary issues? Check out the ASPA Blog, which features a collection of authors writing on everyday life from the eyes of a public manager, student or young professional.
Featured recently on the Blog:
Can Public Administrators Dispel American Fear of Government?
The More it Stays the Same
Career Resources
Find your next career opportunity at publicservicecareers.org. This online job board is the perfect resource for making a career change or landing your first job in the public sector. It lists dozens of positions in academia, government and the nonprofit sector. Below are examples of current listings.
Assistant Professor in Public Sector Management – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Senior Officer, Research, Retirement Savings – The Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, DC
Analyst in Social Policy (Social Security) – Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC


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11 Aug
Tuesday 10th July 2012 at 7.30pm in the Church Community Rooms.
PRESENT :- F.Kennedy, A.Dowling, C.Grant, G.Aitken, P.Farquarson, S.Inglis, S. Christie, G.Bickerton
IN ATTENDANCE :- D.Petrie (Minutes), Cllr F.Wood, O.McKee, A.Fleming, J.Stewart, K.Riddell.
APOLOGIES :- T.Frost.
The meeting was opened, all were welcomed on a night with poor weather conditions and
apologies were passed.
The minutes of the last meeting were approved by C Grant and seconded by A Dowling.
Biomass There has been no further meetings.
Roads It was expressed that the contractor had made a good job of the resurfacing of Main Street. Road lines have been amended at the Co-op but there had been no response about the rest.
Play park SC are going to study what needs done shortly. There are safety issues about suitable goalposts. AB Services cannot make them due to SC policy. It was said that the existing posts were adequate and just needed refurbishment. Any money from SC would be for goalposts and not any other use. There is two sources of funding, SC and Rural
Housing Gordon Aitken will look at the existing goalposts. Alan Petrie of SC takes bookings for the park. It was said that other parks should be looked at for examples of what would be needed and appropriate. G Bickerton asked if the Killin Show would be going ahead in the park, S Christie said yes, as there are no beast issues as there was at other venues.
Breadalbane Forum Strathfillan will not take over the Breadalbane Forum.
Cemetery There has been two complaints about the state of the cemetery. The cut grass was not removed but left lying and areas where the grass has been shaved to the earth. G Bickerton asked how long it was between cuts, and said the frequency of cuts should be increased. Cllr Wood will write regarding the mess.
Signage to Pipeline On going
Turning Circle The area is a mess, with weeds overgrowing at the toilets. The Floral Society will ask SC to dig out. W & G Angus have done a course for treating knotweed. The area opposite Stitt's yard should have been phase 2 of the car park. Kerbs need repair work.
Phone Box Still no satisfaction in getting a door for the phone box. Tim will contact BT about timing for new door.
There are no planning issues.
A cardboard recycling service will be available, info to follow. Rural Stirling Housing Policy is available for reading. The CCTV at the pond would monitor any flooding. Explore Aberfeldy Group want SC 'decision making' structure available. Community Health News from NHS Forth Valley Rural Matters is available. AGM minutes for Stirling Carers available.
Topics discussed:
A Sign for the Folklore Centre at the bridge has been removed. The thrift shop is now open with the council backing the scheme. Feasibility will be ascertained as to the mill being presented to the community permanently.
Parking in coach area at Monemore. Residents at Monemore have no allocated space and have no more right to park than anyone else. The question was raised as to whether parking in the coach area is actually against the law. Cllr Wood will take up the question.
Moira Meek is a surviving member of the Fingal Stone society, and has asked KAT if they can take over some responsibility for the stone. Moira can give up any available existing funds to KAT. Gillian Ford of the Heritage Society has expressed they would like to enhance the stone.
Old Costcutter site. Ground work has started and tenants will be kept informed of ongoing events. There was a complaint regarding the position of the safety fencing and the lack of a pavement. It was said that there has in fact never been a pavement, and perhaps the contractor's signs should indicate the use of the opposite pavement. Eventually there will be a pavement on that side and a new access to Mill House.
G Aitken spoke about his concern regarding flooding, due to the ditch at the rear of his property, not being cleaned out. C Grant stated that he does not have any responsibility for this outside November to April. Gordon said the agreement when the new houses were built was to keep the ditch clear. O McKee to take up the matter.
The appearance of the main street was not good with the Craigard Hotel closed and the Tighnabruaich Hotel was worse. Work on converting the Tighna to flats was due in the
MacGregors/ Websters IT café and tourist info is reported to be awaiting internal work. A SC deep clean of the village was very successful, removing 9 tonnes of rubbish.
Dochart Bridge parapet needs attention and repair work. Like for like would not require planning consent.
The bank ATM had been targeted with a quite sophisticated skimming device. The bank is reimbursing customers for any losses due to cloned cards.
Aberfoyle Coaches were no longer operating, leaving uncertainty about what will be happening in the future. First Coaches will pick up on the school service.
Fiona thanked everyone for their attendance and the meeting was closed.
The next meeting is on 11th September 2012 at 7.30pm in the school.


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Director of Property Management
Cori Simmons is the General Property Manager at CapStar Commercial Realty. Ms. Simmons has over fifteen years of experience in commercial property and construction project management. Ms. Simmons joined CapStar in 2016 and currently oversees a portfolio of office, retail, industrial and residential properties in Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia. Ms. Simmons is also a Maryland License Real Estate Agent.


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AP source: Left-hander Jon Lester, Giants to meet
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The Giants are turning their attention to Jon Lester following Pablo Sandoval's departure.
The free agent pitcher has plans to meet with the World Series champions next week, a person with knowledge of the meeting said Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to publicly disclose the meeting.
San Francisco has need for a front-line starting pitcher and was expected to get busy in the free agent market after losing the slugging third baseman to the Boston Red Sox. Lester would join World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner to give the Giants two top left-handers at the top of their rotation.
Lester, who turns 31 in January, was dealt by the Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline in July and helped the A's reach the playoffs for the third straight year before a 9-8, 12-inning loss to Kansas City in the AL wild-card game.
Oakland general manager Billy Beane said after the season he didn't think his club would have made it that far without the addition of Lester, who was 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts and 76 2-3 innings with the A's. He was 16-11 overall with a 2.46 ERA in 32 starts and a career-high 219 2-3 innings.
Giants right-hander Matt Cain is recovering from elbow surgery that ended his season in July and righty Ryan Vogelsong is a free agent. Manager Bruce Bochy has said two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, who played a minimal role this past postseason, will begin the 2015 season in the rotation. Tim Hudson, a 39-year-old righty signed through '15, rounds out the current starting staff.
AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.


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Moto X Android 5.0 Update Arrives Early for Some
In 2013 the original Moto X was among the first smartphones updated to the latest Android 4.4 KitKat when Google released in back in November, and if the latest reports and leaks are accurate, the same situation could unfold for the new Moto X 2014 and the Android 5.0 Lollipop update.
Last week Motorola shared plenty of details about the Motorola Android 5.0 update timeline, as well as released a new website dedicated to posting information and keeping users aware of updates. This weekend though, they shocked everyone and released Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Moto X 2014 Pure Edition.
Read: Nexus 6 vs Moto X 2014: Size Comparison
The new Moto X (2nd Gen) released back in September is available around the globe and from most carriers in the United States, and while Android 5.0 hasn't been released yet and rolling out for all handsets, those with a Pure Edition can get it right now. Read on for more details.
Motorola posted the Moto X Android 5.0 update release notes, and quickly removed the page, but it's now available to many in what the company calls a soak test. For those unaware, the Moto X "Pure Edition" is a stock version not sold by carriers, available only from Motorola.com and is essentially the Moto X for T-Mobile, since they're the only carrier that doesn't offer Motorola's latest flagship smartphone.
The Moto X Pure Edition works with all GSM carriers, not just T-Mobile, and is also purchased by many for the "pure edition" aspect. This means carriers aren't in charge, there's no bloatware, and updates will arrive quicker and right from Motorola, rather than being approved and rolled out by Verizon, AT&T, or others.
Another thing some need to know, is that this isn't the official Moto X Android 5.0 Lollipop update. Instead, this is what Motorola has done for years, which is called a soak test. The Motorola Feedback Network allows certain users to sign up and receive software updates ahead of the general release, to help test for bugs before a regular update for the mass public.
Soak tests are usually the last and final testing period for Motorola and its partners before the rollout on carriers. However, this weekend the new Moto X 2014 Pure Edition received the soak test of Android 5.0 Lollipop as shown in the screenshot above. It has a small changelog confirming all the improvements from Android 5.0, and the size of the update.
This isn't yet available to all owners, but a file is floating around users can clash if they'd like. So what does all this mean? This means that the Moto X Android 5.0 Lollipop update is already in the final stages, could be rolling out for all owners soon, and most likely carrier variants are up next.
Again, US carriers control some aspects of updates and require rigorous testing before they're pushed out to all users. Most likely all Moto X versions are in final testing phases now, and we could see the updates begin to arrive before the end of the month. It took Motorola less than two weeks with Android 4.4 KitKat in 2013, and they're on track to deliver the same timely update here with Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Google hasn't released Android 5.0 Lollipop for any of its existing Nexus devices yet, which get updates first, but we're still hearing November 12th is the official Android 5.0 Lollipop release date. All said and done, it looks like Motorola will be among one of the first manufacturers to deliver the Android 5.0 OTA to users, starting with the new Moto X. Stay tuned for more details.
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Travel Support for Underrepresented Researchers
Are you a researcher in a government lab, or conducting industrial research, and interested in attending a conference but having difficulty finding the funding?
This project supports researchers who identify as a member of a group underrepresented in computing for whom traveling to a conference/workshop without financial support from one's employer would constitute a hardship, and where attending the event would provide valuable opportunities to network and grow professionally.
CRA-WP will provide full or partial support for actual travel expenses to conferences or workshops in the applicant's area of research. Travel to CS-related summer schools for the purpose of learning technical material or to a program committee meeting that requires face-to-face participation may also covered. Up to $2000 ($3000 for international conferences) will be available per trip. If the applicant's employer is able to cover part of the cost, CRA-WP will reimburse the remaining amount of actual expenses, up to the limit. However, support from the home institution is not required to apply for this program.
Program Chair
CRA Contact
Alejandra Guzmán
Program Associate


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Our Reels: Chicago Triathlon, Joy, Lifestyle Reel Spring, USAA-Gene Kranz, USAA-Report to Members, Vanilla Sun,
Our Services: Cinema-style dSLR production, Location video, Event coverage, Video editing and digital post production
Lightbox Productions is a digital video and still photography company based in Austin, TX. We provide agencies and corporate clientele with high quality web video to meet the demands of their brands and audiences.
Lightbox produces still and moving images for effective storytelling that will help you reach your market across all mediums. We work on location throughout Texas, the U.S. and Canada.


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E-commerce platform Ntwrk just got a boost in cash—and cachet—with a second round of funding led by mega promoter Live Nation Entertainment and rap titan Drake.
Ntwrk's mission is "shopping at the speed of culture." To fulfill it, the e-commerce app offers limited-edition gear coveted by cool kids sold via scheduled, limited-time drops—often with a celebrity attached. Some prominent examples include A$AP Ferg peddling Redline Bicycles, popular entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk selling K-Swiss sneakers, and LeBron James's sneaker drop moving 100% of the available product in just 36 hours.
"Most retailers have tons of different products they're selling throughout the year. Ntwrk will do nothing else for an entire day but celebrate this one product and this one story—and that's our entire plan for the day," says CEO Aaron Levant. "I don't think any other retailer in the world will clear out their store or their website to just sell this one thing. It's hard to break through the white noise that is social media and the internet and capture consumer attention, which is what we're all really in a war for."
Drake and Live Nation add to the already impressive list of backers Ntwrk has attracted, giving Levant access to an array of high-level celebrities and the influence they bring to move merchandise. Ntwrk launched last year with backing from Warner Bros. Digital Networks along with such bold-faced names as James, Jimmy Iovine, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. "The one thing we don't do is we don't just take anyone who just gives us money," Levant says. "Anyone who's decently smart can go out and raise money these days. We're only taking on partners we feel are highly strategic, that we can put a commercial agreement in place alongside of the money where we're actually going to get some value out of it. Every investment we've done, starting with Warner Bros., was predicated on not just dollars but a commercial agreement that sits on top of the investment where we can actually leverage real value out of that."
To that end, Ntwrk's partnership with Live Nation will focus on creating and selling exclusive, artist-driven collections and powering ticket sales for select concerts. And it had already partnered with Drake to sell exclusive merch from his Assassination Vacation European tour.
The Live Nation investment also gives Levant the partner he needs to launch Ntwrk Presents, an events franchise. Levant, who spearheaded the creation of Complex magazine's annual ComplexCon, is looking to launch Ntwrk's first event by the end of the year.
Much like the retail platform, Levant says Ntwrk Presents will differentiate itself in the events space by opting for a more in-depth experience in lieu of something more fleeting. "We're focusing on events that are a minimum of a week, sometimes as long as 90 days," he says. "So these have more room to breathe and give us more engagement and more of a timeline and we think that's more meaningful."
The goal: brand awareness beyond the pop-up itself, a la Refinery29's 29 Rooms or the Museum of Ice Cream. "I see events as like a margin-positive digital customer acquisition strategy," Levant says. "So when we create experiential events, it actually has a bigger effect digitally than whatever the revenue of the physical events does. So if 1,000 or 100,000 people come to our event, there'll be millions of people online who engage with the content. You can't escape these really immersive events, so we want to leverage that power."


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Saint Brigid Elementary School teaches kindergarten through fifth grade, helping build a strong foundation for academic, physical and spiritual growth. The religious components of our programs are rooted in Catholic teachings, but students of any faith and denomination are welcome.
Academic/Spiritual Program
Our core curriculum, including faith education, equips students for lifelong success.
Students may participate in sports through the Valley Parochial League and other groups.
Extra-Curricular and Service Opportunities
Saint Brigid students have many opportunities to go beyond our traditional academics to enhance their skills and serve our community.
Classroom Websites
Visit our elementary classroom websites to discover what our students are working on, as well as find learning resources.
Elementary School Staff
Read about our skilled and dedicated elementary school teachers and support staff.


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Tips for Affordable Kitchen Renovating
To tell you the truth, you are going to need some type of woodwork experience in order to accomplish the tips given below. However, looking for means to have it done will be truly worth it, particularly if you do not have enough money for renovating your kitchen.
Purchase and Assemble Your Cabinets
The fastest means to save money on remodeling your kitchen is through purchasing cabinets directly from wholesalers. You can find most of them on the Internet and are willing to have some samples of cabinet doors to be shipped to you. It is your duty to create your own design and then purchase the needed accessories (accent pieces, crown molding) and cabinets in order to complete the plan. Once the cabinets are shipped, all you need to do is to follow the directions provided and arrange them altogether. They should be mounted and then hung, after which you can have them repainted with wood filler and colored caulk for a polished appearance.
Steer Clear of Industrial Home Improvement Shops for Installing Countertops
Who does not love marble and granite? Then again, not all homeowners can afford it due to the price being offered by industrial home improvement shops.
A good news is that you can save as much as $10/sq. ft. simply by consulting with granite manufacturers or local quarries who work internally to construct and set up countertops all at once. The costs will be much lesser when you deal with them directly.
Add More Funds to Your Kitchen Renovation by Getting Rid of Old Appliances
Whenever you purchase new appliances, you will have a choice to haul out or take away the old ones with the help of the person delivering. However, you can earn extra bucks simply by looking for a truck then bringing them to a junk yard near you. They will estimate the value of your old appliances and you now have instant additional cash! This can be accomplished easily, plus you can have more funds for your kitchen renovation project.
See if There are Discontinued Materials at the Flooring Shops
You may want to search at the clearance department for marble or stone flooring; this will certainly be a lot cheaper. Keep in mind, though, that you have to carefully estimate the number of tiles necessary as early as possible because items that are discontinued are no longer refundable most of time or only limited in quantity.


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By Nancy Dahlberg / email@example.com
Alexandre Hohagen, who formerly headed up Latin America for both Facebook and Google, has acquired Nobox, a pioneering full-service marketing agency based in Miami. He will be CEO and partner. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Hohagen will bring his experience with advertising and technology in these markets with the goal to further enhance the agency's relevancy and footprint for its marquee clients including Netflix, PlayStation, Hotel Tonight, Marriott, Copa Airlines, Royal Caribbean and Volkswagen. Nobox, already a multi-million agency with a focus on the Latin America market, also has a keen focus on digital and social with more than 15 years in the market.
"Nobox's work for some of the world's leading brands, bringing relevant digital strategies to Latin America, made it quickly the most consistent digital agency in the region. We were attracted to Nobox because of the combination it brings of creativity and technology, to achieve amazing results for its clients. We are thrilled to be part of it," Hohagen said in a statement announcing the transaction. Hohagen, most recently vice president of Latin America and U.S. Hispanics at Facebook, left the social media giant in early 2015 and has been an investor and board advisor based in Miami in recent years.
In addition to Hohagen, Pedro Cabral, founder and former CEO of Agencia Click in Brazil and former chairman of Isobar Global, will become the new chairman and investing partner, joining Nobox co-founder Jayson Fittipaldi, who will remain as chief creative officer. Carlos Garcia, co-founder and former CEO of Nobox, will remain a partner and advisor on innovation as he leads a new venture in marketing tech called HYP3R.
In 2016, Nobox has the opportunity to continue developing in the U.S. Hispanic and Latin America region, even though some markets are going through tough times, Hohagen said. "We see a big opportunity in Latin America. We believe that now is the perfect time for us to grow, especially as some markets struggle. Our approach is very much focused on impact and results; and that's exactly what clients will be focused on moving forward."
READ MORE: Digital marketing agency Nobox goes all-in on Latin America, flexes social muscle