text:
The world's largest randomised trial of potential medicines for Covid-19 is to add Regeneron's experimental antiviral antibody cocktail REGN-COV2 to the drugs it is testing in patients hospitalised with the disease.
The UK RECOVERY trial, which has been testing a range of potential Covid-19 treatments since it began in April, will compare the effects of adding REGN-COV2 – a lab-manufactured monoclonal antibody – to standard care.
"This is the first drug actually designed for this disease," said Martin Landray, a professor of medicine & epidemiology at Oxford University who is co-leading the trial.
"There are lots of good reasons for thinking this might be really quite a powerful treatment," he told Reuters news agency in an interview.
The addition of Regeneron's drug to the RECOVERY trial comes amid growing hopes that monoclonal antibodies may emerge as effective ways to treat Covid-19.
Until now, the RECOVERY trial had mostly been studying whether existing drugs could be re-purposed to tackle the new disease, and it has already found answers on a number of them.
In June and September, trial results showed that widely used steroids such as dexamethasone and hydrocortisone were able to reduce death rates among severely-ill Covid-19 patients.
Also in June, RECOVERY trial results showed that the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, once touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential "game changer" in the pandemic, was of no benefit in treating Covid-19 patients.
Regeneron's REGN-COV2 cocktail, which the company is already testing in late-stage clinical trials in people, combines one Regeneron-made antibody and a second antibody isolated from people who have recovered after being infected with Covid-19.
The combination is designed to bind to the spike protein used by the new coronavirus to gain access to human cells, limiting the virus's ability to escape.
Regeneron developed the biological drug before linking up with Roche to expand its manufacturing capacity in hopes of meeting global demand, should the medicine prove effective. Regeneron would handle U.S. sales, with Roche selling the medicine around the world.
Landray said his team had secured enough supply of the drug so that up to "several thousand" patients could be given it in the trial and compared with several thousand controls.
"Given that the second phase (of Covid-19 infections in the UK) seems to be coming now, it is a really good time to be starting this," he said.
The United States already has a $450 million deal for the cocktail in place, under the terms of which Regeneron will sell it around 70,000 to 300,000 potential treatment doses or 420,000 to 1.3 million prevention doses of REGN-COV2. Data is due later this month, Regeneron has said.
Alongside Regeneron, Eli Lilly, working with biotech firm AbCellera, is seen as a leading contender in the antibody race. In August it started testing whether its antibody can prevent Covid-19 infections in nursing homes. A separate trial testing the compound on recently diagnosed Covid patients may yield initial data in September or shortly after.
GlaxoSmithKline and partner Vir Biotechnology also began testing an experimental antibody on newly diagnosed Covid-19 patients late last month.
AstraZeneca is for now testing its antibody-based cocktail on healthy volunteers for tolerability. (Reuters)


text:
Sonoma Vineyard Realtor
Whether you're looking to sell your vineyard or simply interested in its market value, let a Sonoma vineyard realtor at Bergman Euro-National guide you through the process. With over 28 years in the business of selling some of the most well-known wineries and vineyard estate properties in Napa and Sonoma Counties, we have the experience and the contacts to insure you the highest level of professionalism.
Before you list a vineyard for sale a fair market value for it must be established. Properly pricing your property can make a huge financial difference, and our experience will allow you make the most of the sale opportunity. We can help you do so by first asking you to fill out a questionnaire and then visiting your property for further assessment. Afterwards we will send you a complete market evaluation of your property as well as compatible sales of like properties, provided to you with absolutely no obligation. The next step is to put together a marketing strategy catered towards your type of property and start our plan for selling your vineyard, all of which is approved by you beforehand.
Unique Wine Country Properties
When we sell a vineyard, it is done very discretely, and prefer not advertising to the public. Prior to having any knowledge of your winery all potential buyers must sign a "Non-Disclosure Agreement," and are pre-qualified with verification of their ability to perform. Once the documentation is approved by you, a meeting is established for you and the potential buyer. The rest is up to the potential buyer to make an offer or not.
Let a professional Sonoma Vineyard realtor at Bergman Euro-National help you confidently list your winery for sale. Specializing in the sales of Vineyards, Vineyard Estates, large Estate Properties, and Winery Properties in Northern California, and having produced more than $2 billion dollars in sales in over 45 years, there's a reason the largest and best-known wineries choose us as their realtor.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
So here we are at our second whisky of this combined blog. Sorry it has taken a while between drinks here as there has been a lot going on with Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar manufacturing and the launch of our new Rum's Revenge.
After a delicious Rye it was time for us to get a little serious with a single cask bottling of Balblair from Gordon & McPhail. As one of the oldest independent bottler's Gordon & McPhail have the enviable status of probably holding more single cask stock than anyone right now. This often means that some of the more rare and interesting bottlings tend to be found under the G&M banner. Without further ado let's delve into this little beaut.
Gordon McPhail Cask Strength Balblair 21
Distilled on June 28th 1993 bottled in October 2014
1st Fill Sherry Puncheon
Colour: Dark unctuous tawny port with a touch of hidden gold
Nose: Dark chocolate covered raisins soaked in a Sherry reduction sauce. The smallest hint of a freshly opened box of matches in the background and A touch of antiseptic swab like my mum applied liberally to my brother after he ran his bike into a parked car on the way to the beach wearing nothing but bathers and a beach towel. Poached blood oranges (not at all related to my previous comment) drizzled with chocolate and grande mariner.
Palate: Zesty initially with the higher ABV at first it quickly coats the palate with layers of rich dark chocolate orange peel crescents, quite dry almost fino Sherry like especially with the start being so fleetingly feisty. Ovaltine and warm milk by the fire.
Finish: Big dry sherry finish on this one leaving no doubt how much impact this puncheon had on the Balblair over 21 long years but in a good way.
This is why so many people love Sherry casks. Dessert in a glass is never a bad thing
Water: On this occasion just a wee couple of drops of water was sensational. On the nose sweet caramel came into play and on the palate a bowl of sweet fruit pastels got poured into the mix. Yummo.
This is a perfect example of a whisky where a touch of sulphur is neither off putting nor detrimental. This is an absolutely delicious older sherried cask and one that I would happily shell out for (if I could wrench said bottle out of Joshua's hands).
A big thanks to Joshua for getting in on this and for the fun times in Chicago. Looking forward to the next time we have whisky in front of us.
Next week I will be reviewing a new Canadian whisky brand on the older side of the aging tracks.
Until then…
Aussie, Jew, Aussie – Oi, Oy, Oi!


text:
Argentina is located on the continent of South America.
It shares a border with 5 other countries in South America: Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay.
Argentina is the 2nd largest country in South America and the 8th largest country in the world by land mass.
Climate Zones
Due the large land mass size, Argentina has three distinct climate areas. In the North where Argentina borders Brazil, the weather is tropical – warm and wet.
In the center of Argentina lies the area of Pampas, which is home to grassy plains and cowboys known as gauchos.
Here the famous Argentina cattle is raised for meat. In the southern area of Argentina lies the Patagonia region, which is mountainous area with a dry and cold climate.
Glaciers can be found in this region due to the cold temperatures.
Famous people from Argentina
Evita Peron was the first lady of Argentina and the subject of the musical Evita. Madonna sang a famous song about her. Ask someone to play it for you.
Diego Maradona is a footballer who played for Argentina and is famously known for his handball incident known as the 'Hand of God' when playing against England in the 1986 World Cup.
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Andes and is located in Mendoza Aconcagua Provincial Park. Climbers flock from all around the world to scale this immense height of 22841 feet.
The Mendoza wine region is home to Argentina's winemaking region. Due to the unique climate at the foot of the Andes, the grapes provide a mouthwatering tasting wine that is sold all around the world.
Iguazu Falls is located on the border between Paraguay and Brazil. This area is home to waterfalls and is taller than Niagara Falls and nearly twice as wide.
Argentina is world famous for its meat. Asado is a traditional grilled or barbecued meat that has been marinated for days and cooked slowly.
Other traditional dishes include Empanadas which are savory pastries filled with meat or vegetables.
What about sweet foods? Well, Dulche de Leche is a creamy sauce with vanilla flavors. Alfajores are chocolate shortbread biscuits filled with Dulche de Leche.
Finally, mate tea is a drink that is made from an herb called yerba mate and sipped through a metal straw called the bombilla.
Other interesting facts:
Fun fact! The city of Ushuaia, located in the southernmost point of Argentina, is the most southerly city in the world.
The Latin style of dance and music called the Tango began in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina.
Time for some Questions!
- Name the 5 countries that border Argentina
- What is the 8th largest country by landmass?
- How many different climate regions are there in Argentina?
- Where is the cold dry region located and what is its name?
- What are the gauchos?
- What is the highest mountain in the Andes and what height is it?
- What is the name of the wine making region in Argentina?
- What are Alfajores?
- What is the name of the southernmost city in the world?
- What is the name of the dance music that originates from Buenos Aires?
- Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay
- Argentina
- 3.
- South and Patagonia
- Cowboys
- Aconcagua and 22841 feet
- Mendoza
- Chocolate shortbread biscuits filled with Dulche de Leche
- Ushuaia
- The Tango


text:
The residential areas of Asmara has many buildings like this one. Modernist boxes reaching to various heights with little or no decoration. A thin line around the roof line and a single shade eyebrow encircling the entire building above the upper storey windows.
Friday, July 1, 2011
A Villa in Asmara
Posted by David Thompson
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Hodge-Boisse Wedding
Dr. Thomas Hodge III and Cathy Hodge are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, Anna Christina Hodge, to Julian Valladolid Boisse Jr., son of Julian Valladolid Boisse Sr. and Rose Marie Boisse.
Anna is the granddaughter of the late Joseph and Viva Milner, and Frances and the late Thomas Hodge Jr.
Julian is the grandson of Rosa Marie Gonzales, and the late Guadalupe and Jesse Chavez Boisse.
The wedding ceremony was held on January 18, 2014, at Chateau Elan Winery & Resort, with Dr. Bob Bouler officiating. A reception followed at the Chateau Elan Winery Pavilion.
The bride was attended by her sister, Alison Bondell, as matron of honor. She was also attended by her sister, Leslie Turner, and her friends, Rachel Huerta, Megan Swahn, Caroline Decelles, Caroline Allen, Nancy McCloskey, and Amanda Whalen, as bridesmaids. The groom's nieces, London and Quinn Boisse, served as flower girls.
The groom was attended by his childhood best friend, Justin Varner, as best man. He was also attended by his brothers, Jason and John Boisse; his uncle, Andy Gonzales; his brothers-in-law, Stephan Turner and Casey Bondell; and his friend, Sam Watkins, as groomsmen. The bride's nephew, Weston Turner, served as ring bearer.
The couple spent their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. They now reside in Decatur.


text:
One more time I'll have been in Pilsen at Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of art and design for the ArtCamp 2015. One more time I loved the experience in that inspiring city and school with a great class of students coming from all around the world.
As it happened last year, after a first approach made by lecturing a class about some theoretical topics, students started developing their own proposals with great results.
It is always quite interesting to see how each cultural background can influence the toy design processes. Indeed 11 students from different countries, since Czech Republic to Slovakia, Poland, USA, Japan and China, developed toys that, in different ways, represent their own countries, traditions and personal skills.
Honorata, from Lodz University of Technology in Poland, developed a toy based on stamps technology. An A4 format box contains paper sheets with trees images that can be completed with leaves, birds, fruits, etc... The final result are images with a high artistic quality also because the gradual ink attenuation during the process.
Rachel, from USA, is a jewelery designer created a kind of mountable doll house that has a simple and abstract language based on simply volumes and colors. The player can change the configuration and create easily several different building for different scenarios.
Moe, from Japan, was interested in infant toys so she worked on two toys for early ages. One is a rattle with smooth forms and nice colors. The other is a small construction kit based on dragons and stars images that can be easily build. Moe worked also on packaging and marketing design improving a bag for both toys and a catalog that help to understand how they works.
Also Sylwia and Monika came from Lodz in Poland. Sylwia and she worked on a changeable figure based on a wooden sliced cylinder. Rotating the different slices you can change the body configuration between several variations. The technology is quite interesting because it can be used with other subjects as animals or even graphic combinations.
Monika, created a toy based on the kaleidoscope technology. A truncated pyramid with, inside, mirrors that reflect each other creating great optical effects. Besides it is possible to put inside the volume other accessories as other mirrors or panels in order to improve the reflection effects.
Monika, created a toy based on the kaleidoscope technology. A truncated pyramid with, inside, mirrors that reflect each other creating great optical effects. Besides it is possible to put inside the volume other accessories as other mirrors or panels in order to improve the reflection effects.
Muyi came from the Tokyo Art School and was fascinated by birds, their colors and shapes. So she designed a series of three bird with vivid colors and movements. She used steel springs in order to joint the body parts made by styrofoam and allow the head shake in a very funny neck moving.
Sarah, a student from Ladislav Sutnar Faculty, started very soon with two toys: one based on balance and the other on patterns. The first toy that ca be used as a game by several peoples because exist a stick where each one should put one of the many colored pieced that are delivered with toy. Each piece has a different weight (with a color code) and a different size so players have to carefully choose the piece and its position. The other toy can be a solitaire or a game and it is a kind of puzzle made by cubes painted with four different patterns that you can joint together following the same color configuration.
Magdalena, also from Ladislav Sutnar Faculty, worked on the hat idea. Indeed her toy is a changeable magic hat that can be wear by the children creating a new character. Beside the hat is always an important accessory for kids because is something quite unusual in the normal dress code and can be used as a very meaningful object symbolizing a profession or a special social condition.
Andrea, from Ladislav Sutnar Faculty, love to sew and this passion is visible in her toy. The main idea is a series of animals that are oviparous (animals that lay eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother). So she created four animals - a snake, a snail, a fish and a tortoise - that you can reverse and turn into an egg.
Petr, the unique man in a a women's class, was interested in an object that could change the space around the kid. He invented a seat that can be used as projector in a dark room creating shadows and other light effects. In this way the player can not only understand some basic knowledge about shadows but also play with his own environment.
Finally Jana, one more student from Ladislav Sutnar Faculty, designed a kind of puppets that can be mounted in a large number of ways. Eyes, ears, arms, legs, horns, etc.. are all connectable with a main body in order to create funny monsters or strange creatures. All is painted with vivid colors and dots and fit in a colored box. At the end of the workshop a child appeared in the school and start enjoying with Jana's toy, the best test each toy designer could deserve!
See you at ArtCamp 2016!


text:
- Action Puzzle games
- Brain Training games
- Brick games
- Bubble Shooter games
- Crossword games
- Escape games
- Find The Difference games
- Gold Miner games
- Hidden Object games
- Jigsaw games
- Logic games
- Match 3 games
- Maze games
- Memory games
- Number games
- Physics games
- Pipes & Paths games
- Quizzes games
- Slider games
- Sokoban games
- Sudoku games
- Trivia games
- Word games
- Word Search games
Brick Games
Want to Play Games?
3D Tris Game
Just like Tetris, but 3D Style. A difficult game of 3D Tetris. Pick your starting level and see how long you last.
99 Bricks Game
Try to build the highest tower using 99 Bricks. You have control of a brick until it reaches the tower. Sort of like tetris but the blocks do not dissapear.
Block Buster Bomb Disposal Game HOT
Go to the flag by clearing the blocks but avoid the bombs. Deactivate bombs and destroy the blocks but don't get blown up yourself.
Block Party Game HOT
Create the Popstar group of the century. Remove blocks to get the Rockstars to the bottom. Do this quickly because new block will appear. Combine Blastblocks to blow up one row or co...
Blockpolis Game
Try to place & destroy the blocks as long as possible in this twisted Tetris game!
Blox Game
The goal is to remove all blox from the board to solve the puzzle and get to the next level. Click a blox then move mouse to drag it. Blox are pulled down by gravity and cannot be dr...
Bobblox Game HOT
Classic block puzzler with cute cartoon style tiles.
Brick Break Game
Brick Break is a game of strategy and not a test of speed or quick thinking. The object of Brick Break is to remove all colored stone bricks from the game field to proceed to next le...
Brick Yard Game
Five brick stacking modes! Take it easy, race against the clock, or stack even in bad weather! How high can your tower of bricks reach!? Watch out for the divine punishment!
Brick Yard 2 Game HOT
Stack physics bricks in 12 different modes, unlock new shapes and items, and rise your tower to the sky!
Bricks Breaking Game HOT
Destroy all the bricks by clicking them in groups of the same colour. There is a grid of bricks of different colours. When you click on a grid, all the bricks that are connected to t...
Bricks Breaking 2 Game HOT
Race against the clock for the bricks breaking action! Destroy the bricks by clicking same coloured groups with at least 3 bricks. If you destroy a group with at least 15 bricks, the...
Bricks Breaking Hex Game
Destroy groups of bricks by clicking on them. You can destroy single bricks by clicking on them but will lose a life. In this game there will be a grid of hexagonal bricks and you ne...


text:
Why is it that when I click a LIKE, my screen goes Black and my Like is disregarded? Why is it that when I try to read my comments, likes, section under that bell, all I get is an endless turning circle? I have asked this question before and so far: NO ANSWER,,,,,,Do you want MORE MONEY? What, pray tell did I already Pay for?……RSVP……
A note to the wizards of Word Press;
alaskamanspeaks Uncategorized 1 Minute
Published by alaskamanspeaks
I still retain the ability to think for myself, therefore I write blogs looking for some-one to hold a discourse with... For example our local library here in Homer, Alaska just was gifted an Oxford English Dictionary set of 20 volumes. What a Great Gift... This is the essence of life: " To gift a Great Gift." The .org: Building the House of Mankind. The most important thing right now, that we have to do is make sure our children have a good livable, planet, which means we have to start cleaning up the mess we have made of this home of ours.... View all posts by alaskamanspeaks


text:
[Editor's Note: This essay resides within Anderson Blanton's "The Materiality of Prayer," a portal into Reverberations' unfolding compendium of resources related to the study of prayer.]
My recent ethnographic fieldwork with an Islamic sect in Turkey focuses on the use of objects during prayer practices, especially prayer beads and their mechanical and digital versions. This study explains the way objects are used, adapted, and appropriated in and through the performance of religious rituals and the expression of faith. Moreover, my ethnography demonstrates that the physical properties of these objects (material substance, visual qualities, amount, etc.) play an integral part in the negotiation and construction of the domains of the sacred and the profane. In this regard, objects have been central to the conduct, facilitation, organization and arrangement of practicing faith.


text:
A coalition of conservative groups on Tuesday released the outlines of a new plan for repealing and replacing ObamaCare, indicating that at least some corners of the Republican Party are still pushing for repeal.
The plan was drafted by groups led by the Heritage Foundation, the Galen Institute and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who have been leading meetings for months.
. . .


text:
This profile has not been verified. Person in the pictures could look different in the reality.
Hello Sweet Gentleman, I am Helga, the one that is prepared to serve you the ultimate girlfriend experience! Standing a statuesque 170 cm. I have the most alluring pair of eyes and long brunette hair. My flawless, beautiful skin completes my outstandingly exotic look. Because I exude sophistication and class, I seek to offer companionship to only the well-suited gentleman seeking escape from the hassles of the corporate life. I am fascinated by neat and well-spoken men, it just gets me! I have a wide knowledge of a variety of topics and enjoy listening to documentaries in my spare time.


text:
Screams radiated from one bedroom, while a maniacal laugher rang out from another room.
It was the beginning of the perfect conclusion to awesome spring break day. Both my kids were playing quietly upstairs in their rooms. They had played all day, either with me or friends. I listen as my daughter asked my son, "Come on bud, let's go play Minecraft." Peter, "Really?" And off they went to play together. I say to myself, "You have parented well, now go reward yourself. You are winning!" It is spring break so Cork popped the cork on a meaty red wine! "Breathe beautiful wine, breathe"
They silence was beautiful. I was rather proud of my kids. They rarely need to be disciplined and are both amazingly intelligent. They were playing together in this virtual Minecraft world. Apparently, my daughter invited Peter to play in her world. They separated, he in his room and she in hers on separate devices. Suddenly screams of terror, cries from my daughter's room. Sobbing hiccups crying, a barely audible, "He Godzilla'ed my world, he put lava everywhere!" Obviously, I'm not too informed on the Minecraft lingo or the complexity. I had read it was good for three dimensional thinking and brain development so I became a fan. In the other room, we hear laughter, maniacal laughter. Peter is obviously pleased with himself, he had finally won something against his older wiser sister. Peter saw himself as Peter the Minecraft dominator, Peter the destructor.
My daughter's sadness quickly grew into anger and then acceptance. Rowan would surely rise like a Phoenix from the Minecraft world ashes. My son, well… we all learned why he's blocked so much on Minecraft. He was apparently known to Godzilla worlds with lava, he was indeed Peter the destructor. My husband and I often talk, she is a genius with the morality of a saint. Peter has a bit more creative genius with flexible morality. He'll either go to prison or find the cure for cancer. Both are incredibly smart. I think about the possibility of one or both inheriting my genetics. Tonight I saw myself in them both, I laughed silently with Peter and cried internally for my daughter. Her forgiveness was humbling and his apology priceless, "It's just a game, I'd never hurt you in real life row."
My hope is my children see my struggles and learn from my mistakes. They recognize the symptoms, they watch out for each other as adults. They learn from my openness of my own mental illnesses. They adapt and overcome, they are kind, they grow up knowing how to handle their superpower. Something I only learned as an adult.
I parented tonight and the wine was wonderful.


text:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 24, 2018 – American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) president and CEO Katherine Lugar today pledged to partner with U.S. mayors to strengthen communities, build a modern, dynamic workforce, and give travelers world-class experiences in their cities.
Speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' (USCM) annual winter meeting in Washington, D.C., Lugar highlighted the hotel industry's contributions to local economies and workforce development.
"From small and independent hotels to the global hotel brands to real estate owners, our industry is a major economic driver in communities across the United States. And we do that in partnership with each of you. Every time a new hotel is built in your cities, your community reaps the benefits of spending and jobs that go well beyond our properties," said Lugar.
Hotels support 8 million jobs and generate $1.1 trillion in economic activity and $170 billion in tax revenue.
Lugar underscored the hotel industry's commitment to its workforce, including apprenticeship programs that train and groom the industry's future leaders.
"Apprenticeships have been around for a long time, but they are new to the world of hospitality. It's important for people to know that a four-year college degree is not the only path to upward mobility and management-track jobs. And for hotels, it provides a wonderful program to build and develop the supply of talent for the future," said Lugar.
AHLA and its foundation, the America Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AHLEF), recently launched a pilot program with Grads of Life, a nationally recognized nonprofit focused on "opportunity youth," the 6 million young people ages 16-24 who are out of school and out of work. To start, AHLEF is providing a number of significant grants in high-demand markets to cover training and directly connect opportunity youth to hotel jobs that offer a path forward.
"The American dream is alive and well in the hotel industry," said Lugar. "We are committed to advancing our employees and partnering with you to make our cities better and more vibrant."
Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the 8 million jobs the U.S. lodging industry supports, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, bed and breakfasts, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AHLA focuses on strategic advocacy, communications support, and educational resources for an industry that advances long-term career opportunities for employees, invests in local communities across the country and hosts more than one billion guests' stays in American hotels every year. AHLA proudly represents a dynamic hotel industry of more than 54,000 properties that supports $1.1 trillion in U.S. sales and generates nearly $170 billion in taxes to local, state and federal governments. Learn more at www.AHLA.com.


text:
KPI to be measured
Ask a question
Was this article helpful? 0 out of 0 found this helpful
The Login widget provides an interface designed to allow THRON authentication. This widget has two operating modes: in the first mode, whenever a user performs a successful login, the widget will automatically change its configuration, providing the logout interface; in the second mode, the widget will remain in its initial interface and each integrator will be responsible to manage operations after a successful login.
We suggest you to have a look at the Interactive Demo of the Widget Framework in order to have a look at the possibilities offered by this application.
Configuration parameters
- clientId (string, mandatory): this is the domain name used to access your THRON service code.
- appId (string, mandatory): id of the application which has been activated inside the Marketplace and which you are going to use to access content (you will find the id in the Management page in the application itself). This parameter is used to verify if the app is active and is a valid type
- customCssClass (string, optional): this parameter is used to configure the suffix to be used by CSS classes within the widget, so you can have more widgets in the same page avoiding name collisions.
- logoutSwitch (boolean, optional): This parameter is used to configure the widget's operating mode. If true, after a successful login the widget will adapt its interface to enable a log‑out function, and it will provide all the information about the user logged in. If it is set to false no action will be performed after login. In case an already configured token is detected, the widget will be initiated with the logout interface. Default is true.
- dictionaryLocale (string, optional): this parameter is used to set the language to be used by the widget's interface, you can use the language codes provided by ISO 639-1 standard, "uppercase style" (e.g.: "EN", "IT"). If not configured the default will be "EN".
- dictionaryName (string, optional): this parameter specifies the name of the dictionary to use for the widget, the language file for the widget must reference to this name for being used with the widget.
Functions that can be invoked on this widget
- modifyLoginTemplate(html): this function allows you to configure the html code of the widget's internal elements, so that you will be able to build a custom GUI. The variable is a string with the html code to be used by the widget for the login interface.
- modifyLogoutTemplate(html): this function allows you to configure the html code of the widget's internal elements, so that you will be able to build a custom GUI. The variable is a string with the html code to be used by the widget for the logout interface. In the logout template you can insert a placeholder which will be rendered as the name of the logged user by simply entering "[NICKNAME_COMPLETE]" in the point where you want to display the data, such as:
var LOGOUTTEMPLATE = '
<NICKNAME_COMPLETE>
';
- THRON.widget.event.LOG_STATUS_CHANGE: the event is launched every time a login/logout operation has been successfully carried out. The second parameter will be true when a login has been performed, it will be false when the user has logged out.
For example, in order to add the event to your player's instance you can just use the " .bind()" method; so if you have created your widget like this:
var loginWidget = new THRON.widgetLogin(loginWidgetParams);
then, in order to listen login-logout events you just have to do this:
loginWidget.bind(THRON.widget.event.LOG_STATUS_CHANGE, function(widget, data) {
- Once the login has been successfully carried out via widget, in the global object THRON.widget.core.loggedUserData you can recover data used to log on; saved data are:
- username
- usertype
- user full name
Such data will be saved in two cases:
- if the logoutSwitch parameter is set to "true", hence after successfull login via widget.
- if a user token has been configured within the widget's core. In this case the widget will check the token's validity and then retrieve user's data.


text:
Joining Paul on tour is John Wesley Harding, who started out as an Elvis Costello wannabe but quickly became his own man. Among his career highlights are his exuberant debut, Here Comes the Groom, and the trenchant, political John Wesley Harding's New Deal, a musical answer to the Republicans' "Contract with America." His latest is Trad Arr Jones, an interesting album that harks back to the days when artists paid homage to their heroes not by contributing a track to a tribute album or covering one of their songs for inclusion in a soundtrack but by recording entire albums of their material. That' s more or less what Harding did here, performing 11 traditional folk songs, some of them dating back more than 400 years, in arrangements by British folkie Nic Jones. Many of the album's tunes are familiar to fans in versions by Fairport Convention, Mary Black and Christy Moore, but they' re pleasures to hear in Harding's versions as well. If the album or the show whets your appetite for Jones' own albums, look for Penguin Eggs, which was reissued on Shanachie in 1994.
-- Daniel Durchholz


text:
Beliefs. We all have them. Some are helpful. "I am a good driver." Some are not. "I'm not smart enough to do that". Do you have beliefs that are holding you back from doing what you want?
I did. I'm sure I still do, but I'm working on it. When I was in San Antonio learning about Internet Marketing, a BIG one came up and everyone in the room called me on it. I didn't think I should do what my coach does, or that I could add value in teaching about Art Licensing. After some good questions and time to reflect, I have changed that belief and I am excited about this new part of my business. (The eBook should be done by the end of the month.)
I met a wonderful woman, Mandy Evans, who has been helping people get rid of beliefs that are holding them back for years. She asked me a simple question that really got me thinking: "What would be wrong with you doing as well as your coach?"
I am so honored that she used me as an example in her blog. (My beliefs are exposed for all to see– a little scary but it's ok) If you want to check it out, here is the link:
(It is the Friday, June 20th entry.)
If you think your beliefs are holding you back, check out her book "Emotional Options", it's powerful stuff. Click here to go to my website and find the link.
Here's to a creative day with no limits!


text:
Ras Baraka, a former high school principal, current councilman and son of the late poet Amiri Baraka, is the new mayor-elect of Newark and, much to the chagrin of school reformers, he can thank them for his victory.
Baraka, in fact, owes his win to the insistent overreach of Newark's controversial schools superintendent, Cami Anderson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie' appointee in the state-run school district. And though it was would be easy to say that the election of Baraka over Jeffries, who was backed by corporate school reformers on Wall Street, is a result of a dynamic peculiar to Newark, the fact is that his win comes amid a number of signs that tells us that it has implications beyond the city's borders.
For decades, when Americans were asked about the issues they most care about, they would say education was at or near the top, but it was never a real issue when it came to voting.
But in the current school reform era in which many traditional public schools are being closed and the public education system is being privatized by reformers, the issue is front and center in many communities. Throw in the growing resistance among families and educators around the country to the standardized test-centric "accountability" systems and you have a fundamental change in dynamic. Education matters at the ballot box, shown no more clearly than in the Newark mayoral contest.
After years in which supporters of corporate school reform have collectively been spending millions of dollars to win referendums and secure the elections of candidates for various political offices, some contests aren't going their way. In Bridgeport, Conn., for example, voters last November elected a school board majority critical of super-reformer superintendent Paul Vallas. A few days later, Vallas announced he was going to run for lieutenant governor of Illinois. Adios, Vallas.
Bill de Blasio campaigned for New York mayor last year as a friend of traditional public education, and his victory was hailed by those who wanted to slow down corporate school reform, which has led to the growing privatization of public education through the spread of charter schools, vouchers, tax credit programs, etc.
In Newark, Baraka ran against the actions of Anderson, who was appointed by Christie in 2011. As mayor, Baraka won't be able to simply dismiss her, although he can push the legislature to reconsider state control of the school district.
Anderson has become highly controversial — even among people who support the kinds of reforms she is implementing — because of her dismissive and arrogant management style. In fact, dozens of members of the clergy in Newark recently sent an open letter to Christie warning him that her school reform efforts are causing so much controversy and "unnecessary instability" in the city that they are "concerned about the level of public anger we see growing in the community" over the issue.
Many in the Newark community oppose Anderson's "One Newark" school reorganization plan to close some traditional schools; lay off more than 1,000 teachers and hire Teach For America recruits to fill some open spots; and create a single enrollment system for Newark's 21 charters and 71 traditional public schools.
But even those who support it think she is sabotaging her own cause by failing to show up for budget meetings, refusing to provide a line-item budget and giving bonuses to supporters while laying off teachers.
Her decision to suspend four African American principals who spoke out against One Newark just before Martin Luther King Day at a community meeting was also criticized.
Rob Duffey, policy and communications director of New Jersey Working Families, a grass-roots progressive party that helped Baraka (with teachers unions and other groups) as well as de Blasio in New York and the Bridgeport school board candidates, said he believes the Baraka win is part of a broader activism against school reform that is also being seen in Chicago and Philadelphia. He said Baraka's victory proves that candidates in the Baraka and De Blasio mold, who are unapologetic in their defense of traditional public education, can go up against Wall Street money and win. It also shows how the grass-roots can build independent political power to help make those victories possible.
Just how much Baraka would deviate from Anderson's reform plans, even if he had the power to control it, is not entirely clear. A piece about Newark in the New Yorker by Dale Russakoff said Baraka expressed some views that seemed aligned to the reformers. She wrote:
In private, Baraka supported many of the reformers' critiques of the status quo, including revoking tenure for teachers with the lowest evaluations. Although he publicly embraced the unions' positions, he told me he opposed paying teachers based on seniority and degrees, as Newark did under its union contract. "We should make a base pay, and the only way to go up is based on student performance," he said. He told me that many in Newark quietly agreed. But, he insisted, "this dictatorial bullying is a surefire way to get people to say, 'No, get out of here.'" He laughed. "They talk about 'Waiting for Superman.' Well, Superman is not real. Did you know that? And neither is his enemy."
For her part, Anderson said she will work with Baraka, who was a Newark high school principal before becoming a city councilman. How Christie will ultimately react to Baraka is anybody's guess; last year, in defending Anderson against community complaints, he said:
'I don't care about community criticism, I care about the job she's doing.'
It isn't likely that Christie will much care that the community doesn't like the job she's doing, but it will be interesting to see how school reform will play out in Newark — and where else in the country distaste for corporate school reform affects political races.


text:
art, creativity, flowers, inspiration, Learning, painting, Shirley Trevena, watercolor
I'm still "studying the masters" and playing with style. Most recently with two contemporary artists.
The first is a floral inspired by a David Peikon painting of pink dahlias. I love the way his flowers and surrounding garden fill the whole space, a riot of colors, lines and shapes. I found I enjoyed painting that tangle of leaves of the left as much as, or more so, than the flowers in the center. I didn't try to copy his leaves but created my own, each shape leading to the next and the next, making it up as I went along. The same with the garden on the right. I tried to keep this side lighter, hinting at what was there and using less detail. I'm happy enough with this to want to frame and display.
I've discovered that I like painting detail in a complex design, that I can get lost in it. I've also found that I like vibrant colors that fill the whole paper leaving little white space.
That's probably why Shirley Trevena's work and her book Taking Risks with Water Color caught my eye. In her book she details how she painted "Pink Pears Red Flowers." I tried to follow along but kept getting ahead myself. I didn't want to copy hers, but use some of her techniques and basic design, simplified somewhat, as seen below.
I liked how she started with the rich, red blossoms on the blank white paper and worked outward, filling up the space, placing objects and background patterns, often from her imagination rather than what's actually before her.
I used some of her techniques to create my first still life drawn from objects collected around my home: an African violet and orchid in bloom, two oranges in an antique bowl, a clay figurine, and a crocheted doily. I wanted the cobalt blue to be the unifying color, and a mix of warmer hues of yellow, gold, orange, and sienna as the complement.
When I finished painting the main objects, I created the surrounding background from my imagination, inspired by the way Trevena breaks up her still life,s with bands of color and patterns.Thus the coral background and strip at the top left and the purple/yellow combo on the right.
While some parts of the painting I like more than others, altogether I'm pleased with my first still life drawn from real life, from things that I love.


text:
Sci Fi 1
(Introduction: This is Part i- if it is too difficult to read, please comment as to when and where I should place the comma's/language explanations or just tell me in a comment. I would like the feedback. This is my first Science Fiction exploit and I want it to be good)
There was a time when I cared very much about life. I would sit by the fire and wonder at its strength and fearsome flame. It would seem that it could consume anything at all, at its hottest and they still know that it is about to blow. About to blow sky-high, in the event of a Memphis Slim kinda ordeal where all the men and women get along but don't ever see eye to eye about somethings like the when and the where of the New Coming of the Age of Four Red Cloths.
The Four Cloths were the sign of the red and yellow fever that swept through the land until all that had suffered its ill effects should have been dead. But one did survive and he tells a story of woe that led to the apocalyptic state of the world as it is now and was then.
With the telling of this story is a fulltime use of the word "Tom" which is the one word that means a lie when it comes to the fruition of the fruit and plants of the galaxy. It would be the one word that would meet and make way for the world of the tomato and its derivative plants like the insanely auditive and audible use of the plant Hermosa which would be the best word for the use that could be shown to make a lot of noise if it could. It could for it used the method of appearing to be harmless in order to be able to make the wheat and corn to be the gainful possession of the heart of the matter i.e. it poisoned the grains and made them inedible and therefore it would be the start of the grain famine that would sweep the world.
It will be the end of the planet when they all start to think about the start of the war and its resolution. There will be an end to all the real ones who asked for the time to be alive and then forgot to tell their family about it and thus forgot to ensure the survival of the species. The Real Ones are the thought potanicals who make use of the potato to survive, making it possible to generate the live source of food from the end product of the tree, namely pulp. By making potato from the tree, they were able to survive and make do. But it came to pass that they would not be able to make it. For their use of the pulp led to a disease called the American Dreaming, also called the Lot, for it gave a lot of time to the energisers who led forward to gain a long time from the rent. In other words, it gave a lot of time to the people who went to the forest to collect the pulp, to be able to make the way to be, in the end, the Promised People. But it also gave a lot of time to the promicus or leaf of the pine, to be able to generate the prehensile tongue of the feeder who would be the first to get the left-over rainfall and give it to the rent. The Rent, so to seen, is the rest of the Waif-like usage of the rainfall and water to be able to make it in and to make it out. In other words, it is a pee-strain that gave rise to the lot of the wall or the wallstink which came from the owners of the pond being able to make it to the wall to piss where they would spread the Lot to the Rent.
When spread, this American Dreaming led to the non-solute number of solutions who would then be able to make it to the roof of the nearby steeple when it should be the one who gains and not the one who loses. It is about time that they all gave way to the Rent. It is the Rent that makes them all give a long time and not a low form of living. To be able to live is to be able to rise and fall without stopping. To be able to make do and to make so many new friends that it is impossible to do without getting along in the front of the wire. In the wire one is forced to make do and to make through and then it shall be able to make the Rent. The Rent is the rainfall that makes the ruins of Earth look fresh and eager to be responded to. It is about time that you undertook to get all the remainder into the wealth of nations and unto the Real New One called the Endzone. The Endzone is the space where all the let's-take-a-bow-time shall be.
It can be shown that it occurred when all the night and stars were upon us that the end of the world began. It began with the destruction of the Food Chains and that led to the destruction of starch and therefore the beginning of the fool-errand of demanding that all starches be destroyed for want of a better way to behave.


text:
Historic small town with active churches, walkable restaurants and home of the United Shore Professional Baseball League.
Utica is a small, walkable town with all the amenities of a larger city. Only 5,000 residents live in the 1.74-square-miles of land that make up Utica proper, making this a close-knit community. Its schools, both parochial and public, are some of the best in the state. With active churches, pleasant walking paths, parks and unique historic homes, Utica has the perfect small town feel but just a short drive away from shopping and amenities in the surrounding communities. Known for it's historic downtown, local restaurants and bars and specialty mom-and-pop shops, Utica is also home to the new Jimmy John's Field where the United Shore Professional Baseball League play throughout the summer.


text:
The manufacturing industry has always been playing an essential role in the global market. As per the world bank, this sector accounts for approximately 17% of global GDP.
But, unfortunately, the manufacturing process has always suffered from inefficacy and quality control problems. Since there is no credible way to authenticate the product, several fake products flood the market.
Based on the International Trademark Association reports, the counterfeit goods market rises to billions per year.
Also, the manufacturing supply chains are disconnected and complex, so monitoring the manufacturing process at every step is not easy.
Meanwhile, nowadays customer expectations and demands for quality of the product are increasing that places pressure on the manufacturing industry to deliver products as per their needs and at a competitive price.
There are several challenges has been noticed in the manufacturing industry like counterfeit, poor inventory management, low-quality and lack of trust in production.
Bringing end-to-end traceability in the big manufacturing supply chains can benefit all the members involved in the supply chain.
Blockchain technology can be used to bring transformation to the manufacturing supply chain. Already, there are many industries that have used blockchain technology in their day to day business operations.
If you own a manufacturing company, then blockchain can benefit you in several ways such as:
- Improved inventory management process.
- Solving problems like theft, recalling and shipment of raw materials.
- Track and Trace product's authenticity
Let's understand how blockchain technology could completely revolutionize the manufacturing supply chain.
When any transaction occurs in the distributed ledger, they get automatically updated in the system, enabling every member involved in the system to view it and trace the goods flow between companies.
When a manufacturer manufactures the product that is to be sold to the purchasing company, they can add the manufacturing details like raw materials used, supplier's information, manufacturing date, expiry date, and quality standards followed to the blockchain.
Once added to the blockchain, the purchasing company can access the details and thus transparency increases in the manufacturing supply chain.
Products are distributed through IoT enabled vehicles, enabling manufacturers and purchasing companies to track their status in real-time.
IoT enabled vehicle has several types of sensors that gather information like temperature under which products are stored, real-time location and directly add such details to the blockchain.
The information stored by the logistics service provider can allow the purchasing company to confirm that the delivered products are same as dispatched by the manufacturer.
Payments can be made easier, quicker and secure with the blockchain technology.
From merchants to the manufacturer and suppliers to logistics companies, the details added on the blockchain are accessible to every stakeholder.
Since blockchain offers immutability, any data stored on the blockchain cannot be altered, deleted or manipulated by any member involved in the blockchain.
With deployed smart contracts in the blockchain solution, it is possible to eradicate the need for brokers by allowing purchasing companies to get connected directly with manufacturers.
Contact the reputed blockchain development company that can provide you with a robust solution for streamlining the manufacturing supply chain.
Contact: Leewayhertz
All information is meant for informational purposes only. Bl4nkcode does not provide any investment, legal or financial advices. Readers should do their own research before investing funds in any company/service/organizations mentioned.


text:
Backtesting is testing trading strategies against historical data.
It serves as a research tool for traders and analysts to stress test their current strategies, find new strategies, or find which factor contributes the most to a strategy's success.
Most backtesting is done with code, using libraries from languages like Python and R, and hence, you can pretty much backtest anything if you have the coding skills to create it.
There are also some no-code or low-code backtesting solutions like TradeStation or MultiCharts, but they tend not to be flexible enough for professionals.
An example of backtesting would be to download a decade's worth of market data, let's say 2007 to 2017, and test a trading strategy you're curious about. You need to be able to put the strategy into a strict quantitative format, like "buy when the 50-day moving average crosses above the 200-day moving average," instead of "buy a bull flag."
Backtesting can feel like magic.
Download a bunch of market data, run some parameters against it, tweak them a bit until the test shows a smooth equity curve, and presto, you have a profitable trading system that will print money. It can seem like the only barriers are learning to code and understanding which indicators and parameters will yield the best results.
But doing that is simply data mining and using this method of backtesting has little utility because your tests will have no predictive power. It represents a mistake even the most sophisticated researchers repeatedly make: mistaking correlation for causation. I'll demonstrate this with an example:
You've run thousands of tests using machine learning to find the most profitable trading system.
The best test shows that the optimal strategy is to buy XYZ stock at 10:53 AM on a Tuesday when on the previous day, the price advanced at least 1.04% and the RSI is at 38 or more. Obviously, this means nothing. If I told you this was my trading system, you'd laugh at me for having such a pointless system that doesn't exploit any real imbalances in the market.
All this test did is find the perfect parameters to fit that exact historical data.
While data mining when backtesting is rarely this blatantly pointless, you have to constantly check every bias you introduce into a test.
Here's a few of the most common mistakes that are crucial to avoid if you don't want to incinerate money when trading with backtested strategies.
Look-Ahead Bias
It's 2021 and the market has more or less gone straight up for the last decade, save for a huge crash in 2020.
Knowing this, you can go create a backtest against the historical data to reflect this. For example, you might say, buy the S&P 500 on 5x margin, but sell when the price drops 5% or more in one day. You know that this system will kill it, because it avoids most of the 2020 market crash, while reaping huge gains from the rest of the bull market.
A test like this will look really nice and can make you wish you only had the system in 2010, because you'd be rich right now.
But you're basically cheating.
It's like watching a replay of a football game, and then concluding that the best way to win that game was to run the ball on 4th & goal, because passing the ball failed.
You're just looking at what actually happened in the past, and pretending like you knew the right answer all along. It might be a fun exercise, but it won't have any future predictive power.
Of course, look-ahead bias creeps into our backtests in more subtle ways. Using the same bull market example, momentum strategies on growth stocks have worked excellently, and traders who used those strategies over the last decade won big.
This can easily lead you to believe that momentum strategies are inherently superior and tailor your entire style to what is working in recent backtests.
Over Fitting or Over Optimization
This mistake goes hand-in-hand with look-ahead bias. It's the act of continually iterating on a backtest and using previous backtest results to inform the new ones. While this can be a valid practice used by many professionals, it's very easy to get wrong.
Let's say you're using a simple RSI mean reversion strategy.
You buy when RSI is below 20 and close the position when RSI is above 60. The backtest results look pretty good, but when you analyze a few individual trades you find that the biggest losers result in you buying too early; in other words, you think a lower RSI value might result in a better test. So you try testing buying below 15 and selling above 60.
The test looks better, but again, when analyzing individual trades, you find that some of your winning trades go on runs, so you decide to extend your holding period and close trades when RSI is above 70.
This process might feel like a productive process of slowly optimizing your trading strategy to get the best results, but in reality, you're really just "p-hacking."
You're throwing several observations on one set of data until a test shows the desired result. This is a problem in many scientific fields and is the reason that most academic studies aren't replicable.
Let's simplify with a real-life example. You love basketball and you want to show off your skills. You record yourself throwing ten free throws over and over again until you finally hit ten in a row. Of course, that's the video you upload to YouTube.
You're simply performing the same test over and over again until you get the result you want. Of course, that's not representative of your actual basketball skills.
One way to mitigate this bias is by using out-of-sample data. This is when you test and optimize your data on say, market data from 2007-2012, then once you're done optimizing it, you see if you can repeat similar performance on data that your model hasn't seen, like, 2013-2018.
It's kind of like endlessly trying to get ten free throws in a row, then, once you've done it, you try out your new tactics completely fresh, to see if you can repeat the results. If you hit four of ten, your previous test was probably an anomaly.
Of course, there are legitimate methods of optimizing backtest results.
Many heavily utilize walk-forward optimization, which tests the strategy on unseen data, preventing you from that snooping bias that we've labored so heavily in this article.
There are many professionals that don't use optimization methods at all, and instead stick with very rough backtests that test the core idea, rather than specific parameters.
Read the works of Ernie Chan and Kevin Davey for some good commentary on this issue.
Treating Backtesting As An Engineering Problem
The primary obstacle to start backtesting is learning to code and understanding how to handle financial data. As a result, a huge number of programmers hear that you can test trading strategies by writing some Python and are rightly intrigued.
But being programmers and not experienced traders, many suffer from treating it as an "engineering problem," meaning they focus more on shiny objects like machine learning, high-level math, and cool tools, rather than figuring out trading strategies that have a logical grounding.
By no means am I saying that machine learning or math isn't important? Not at all. But they're just tools. If you don't have a specific reason to utilize them, it's no different than a new trader trying every combination of technical indicators on TradeStation backtests.
With modern computer hardware, it's a pretty trivial task to run thousands of simulations against financial data.
You can come up with all kinds of crazy results. You might find that buying oil stocks in January after the price of gold has declined three days in a row is a strategy with a 100% win rate. But think about it, why would that work in the real world, going forward?
What are you exploiting, or what service are you providing to the market by making these trades?
Neglecting Transaction Costs
Over time, you'll find that transaction costs, while they've declined significantly over the last two decades, will still eat up a big chunk of your profits.
But it really depends on the type of strategy you're employing. If you're a hyper-aggressive day trader who trades high-flying stocks, transaction costs eat up a huge portion of your profits.
But the position trader who holds trades in highly liquid futures contracts for a few weeks at a time will be less affected by them.
Illiquid Stocks
One "hidden" transaction cost is the difficulty of getting filled in an illiquid stock.
For example, let's say you're employing a share class arbitrage strategy. It's very easy to fool yourself with this type of trade because when you don't account for the transaction costs, it looks like a high Sharpe ratio strategy.
We'll use Lennar's two share classes as an example.
You have Lennar's A-class shares, trading under the ticker $LEN, which is the highly liquid side of the pair, then you have the B-class shares, trading under $LEN.B, which trades very seldomly throughout the day and regularly has a very wide bid-ask spread.
The simple way to run a backtest is to assume you could trade at or near the last price traded.
For instruments like the S&P 500 or mega-cap stocks, this is an okay assumption to make when you're trading in trivial size. But, if you go and try to trade $LEN.B or a similarly illiquid stock, you'll find that it's often difficult to get filled at the last price, and if you want to get filled instantly, you'll have to cross the spread and take liquidity out of the market.
And, most of the time, this crossing of the spread negates the profitability of the trade altogether.
There are a few other pesky issues (which you could argue are also hidden transaction costs that are difficult to model for) that get in the way of executing this strategy successfully, but those are beyond the scope of this section.
In general, transaction costs are the most influential to a few types of trading strategies, making these much more difficult to get a realistic backtest:
Multi-legged trades, like pairs trades, or arbitrage trades.
Higher-frequency trading, like intraday trading.
Trading less liquid products, like microcap and small-cap stocks.
In pairs trades, you have to cross the spread or provide liquidity in two different stocks, and you'll often get filled at different times for each.
A higher frequency of trades means you're paying commissions and crossing the spread more often (or, if you're passive, you often won't get the same price in live trading that your model assumes you'll get).
And you kind of have to throw the book away when trading less liquid products because a historical backtest can't tell you when someone will come around to trade with you, and at which price.
How Do I Learn to Backtest Trading Strategies?
There's yet to be a streamlined platform like CodeAcademy for learning to backtest trading strategies that I know of.
And most tutorials are tailored to a specific library or source of data. Many examples, for example, rely on Zipline, the backtesting library for Python that now-defunct Quantopian developed. But the company stopped maintaining the library after they were acquired by Robinhood.
So as of now, since there's no "official" path to learn to backtest, your learning path really depends on your level of competency with programming.
If you're brand new, you're best off starting with Python, because it's the most popular language for manipulating financial data and is pretty easy to get started with. DataCamp has some decent courses that teach you to mess around with financial data, but it's not very trading-focused.
A decent book with some code "recipes" is Andreas Clenow's Trading Evolved. Yes, it utilizes the Zipline library which is no longer maintained, but if you're brand new, the most important aspect is understanding how to manipulate financial data.
Once you've learned the essential libraries for this: NumPy and Pandas, it becomes a lot easier to go and piece together your own algorithms from StackOverflow and related websites.
Bottom Line
It's way too easy to be fooled by a backtest. Sophisticated high-net-worth investors are frequently fooled into investing into questionable hedge funds based on fancy backtests and simulations.
It's healthy to be cynical when you see any backtest results, but don't be a defeatist. There's a reason that backtesting is a vital tool in the professional trader's toolbox. The problem isn't with backtesting, it's with the misunderstanding that a successful backtest "proves" anything.
It's a research tool, and when approached that way, it's rewarding.


text:
The other great thing about Kiriska's stuff is that she includes little challenges and suggestions on each day of the calendar. Today's suggestion was "adopt a something from the adoption forum." So I did.
|I didn't adopt Markus, but he is currently available at the Hamilton SPCA if you want him.
Look at that face!
Even if you're not officially NaNo-ing, I highly recommend a browse through the forum to get you thinking about ways to make your current project that much more fun.
Word Count: 5440


text:
Nobeltec software to integrate NMEA 2000
British-based Actisense is collaborating with Nobeltec, the U.S. developer of PC-based marine navigation software programs and supplier of electronic charts, hardware and accessories, to integrate NMEA 2000 into Nobeltec software packages.
Powered by Actisense technology, the Nobeltec NMEA 2000 Gateway (NGT-1-NBL) is designed to transfer NMEA 2000 data from the NMEA 2000 bus to PCs running the Nobeltec VNS 11 and Admiral 11 navigation software programs.
"It has been a wonderful experience working with the great people at Actisense to build the Nobeltec NMEA 2000 PC Gateway (NGT-1-NBL)," Nobeltec product manager Bill Washburn said in a statement. "The Nobeltec NMEA 2000 PC Gateway, powered by Actisense, is based on the NGT-1, a great, award-winning product.
"We at Nobeltec look forward to continuing the great relationship between our two companies and developing additional innovative and award-winning products," he added.


text:
Congratulations to Daniel Sidoli and Laura Brugnoli who are now husband and wife. On 26th June 2010 they were joined by family at Swansea registry office for their marriage ceremony. Their blessing took place in The Church, Rugarlo, Italy where they were joined by friends and family. The blessing was followed by a reception in The Cherry Tree Field, Rugarlo.
We wish the happy couple all the best for the future.


text: Connekt from Canopies UK Written by: Canopies UK | Published: 09 January 2018 Sponsored Comment on this article Create additional sheltered areas and maximise your outdoor space with the Connekt modular canopy system from Canopies UK. Are you struggling for space? Could you do with that little bit of extra room in your canteen? Or perhaps you need some more teaching areas?Connekt from Canopies UK can help you create the additional space you need – and enable you to get more from your outdoor areas at the same time.Installed in more than 5,000 educational establishments, the system is ideal for creating walkways, waiting points, outdoor learning environments, dining areas, covered play areas and spectator shelters.Boasting a unique, self-supporting, cantilever design to aid free-flowing footfall, Connekt comes with a comprehensive 10-year warranty.There are six colours to choose from – white, brown, red, blue, green and yellow – or the option of colouring the canopy to match your school's identity. For optimum performance, the roof features a translucent Melinex gel UV filter, which prevents the penetration of 90 per cent of the sun's harmful rays.For more information, visit www.canopiesuk.co.uk/education or call 01254 777 002. This material is protected by MA Education Limited copyright. See Terms and Conditions.


text:
Inhuman Bin Salman's top aide personally oversaw torture of Saudi woman activist: Report
Saud al-Qahtani, a close aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has personally overseen the sexual harassment and torture of a Saudi female rights activist detained by the Al Saud regime earlier this year, two sources say.
Al-Qahtani, who was recently fired for his role in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, personally oversaw the torture of at least one detained female activist earlier this year, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
A royal adviser to bin Salman until his dismissal in October, Qahtani was "in the room" on several occasions when the female activist was subjected to sexual harassment, the sources said.
A group of about six men subjected the woman and at least three others to sexual harassment, electrocution and flogging between May and August at an unofficial holding facility in Jeddah, said the sources who had been briefed on the way the women were treated.
The men were reportedly distinct from the regular interrogators the women saw and belonged to the Saudi Federation for Cyber-Security, Programming and Drones, which Qahtani headed at the time, or to state security.
Qahtani made threats of rape and murder to the woman, the sources said.
The women are among more than a dozen prominent activists arrested since May amid a broader crackdown targeting clerics and intellectuals.
Eleven women are still being held, activists say, including the four alleged to have been tortured. The allegations come as Riyadh tries to get past the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi, whose murder is internationally blamed on bin Salman.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said last month that at least three of the activists – most of whom had agitated for the right to drive and an end to a male guardianship system – were tortured.
"Only a few weeks after the ruthless killing of Jamal Khashoggi, these shocking reports of torture, sexual harassment and other forms of ill-treatment, if verified, expose further outrageous human rights violations by the Saudi authorities," Amnesty International's Middle East research director Lynn Maalouf said last month.
"Saudi authorities are directly responsible for the well-being of these women and men in detention. Not only have they been depriving them of their liberty for months now, simply for peacefully expressing their views, they are also subjecting them to horrendous physical suffering," she added.
Torture and various forms of ill-treatment have been routinely and widely reported over the past years in Saudi prisons and detention centers.
Khashoggi, a distinguished commentator on Saudi affairs who wrote for The Washington Post's Global Opinions section, was also tortured, murdered and then dismembered via a bone saw by Saudi operatives at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.


text:
The city of New York this week launched 9/11 Health, a Web site devoted to providing the latest information about scientific research and services regarding health problems resulting from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. As described in this press release:
"It consolidates the latest information about scientific research and services, including where those affected can go for free treatment and medicine. The website also includes easily accessible research findings and treatment options for the different groups of affected people: rescue and recovery workers, residents, children, city employees and others. The new site provides, for the first time, a single source for information about the health effects of 9/11."
[Hat tip to A Georgia Lawyer.]


text: The film A Long History of Madness goes to Ankara, and I am going along for the ride. In addition to a screening of the film in this dynamic festival, I will be giving a masterclass on the concept that underlies the film, the "genre" of the theoretical fiction - an idea Michelle and I invented, in the wake of Freud, to indicate a fictional artifact that helps us theorise. And, while I am there, I will also give a workshop with the help of our film Becoming Vera. In addition, the Goethe Institute will be hosting a small exhibition, "What culture Silences" - the longer title is "Of What One Cannot Speak: What Culture Tries to Silence" but I like the shorter one, proposed by the organisers, much better. All this was initiated by Ersan Ocak and Ahmet Gurata, from Bilkent University. Ersan (left), Ahmet (right): big thanks!


text:
Sometimes I stumble upon a sentence that is too ridiculous to keep to myself. This is from today's i newspaper: "Members of a cult were yesterday accused of killing several alleged sorcerers, eating their raw brains and making soup from their penises." On the mention of raw brains I of course thought it was, correctly, … Continue reading
Filed under exorcism …
The Last Exorcism
"Lo, Lukins comes, and with him comes a train Of Parsons famous for a lack of brain ; With owl-like faces, and with raven coats, Their solemn step their solemn task denotes, By exorcising, prayers and rebukings, To drive seven sturdy devils out of Lukins." Bristol, England is famous for lots of things. Its' old … Continue reading


text:
Whether they are sliced up on top of a chefs salad, mashed into an egg salad sandwich, or just peeled and eaten for a snack, hard boiled eggs always taste better when they don't have that yucky grey ring around the yolk. Follow these 5 simple steps below to get the perfect hard boiled egg every time
Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
4 eggs
- 1 ice bath (medium bowl containing cold water and ice)
- Gently place the eggs into a medium sauce pan
- Fill sauce pan with water until water is about 1/2″ to 1″ over the top of the eggs
- Put the sauce pan on the element on medium heat. When the water begins to boil, remove from heat and cover with a lid for 11 minutes
- once the 11 minutes is up quickly and gently transfer eggs into an ice bath to stop the cooking process
- Once eggs have cooled all the way, peel and serve
You can keep the peeled eggs in a container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days so don't be afraid to cook a couple extra.
Please give this recipe a try, then leave a comment to let me know how it turned out. If you are interested in learning more about who I am and would like to see additional photos of the meals I cook, please check out my social media links at the bottom of the page Enjoy!!


text:
Leimert Park Threads
African Blue Safari Shirt
This Eddie Bauer blue safari shirt is embellished with various inspired fabrics. The right shoulder has a waxed African paisley fabric with mud-cloth and the left shoulder has a leather front detail with an added "Peace" patch. The right sleeve is detailed with a white silk and African Warrior woman tie-dye fabric. The front and back of this shirt continue with with army quality fabric patches, denim and large mud-cloth patch on the back.
This item is one of a kind. Made in Los Angeles, CA.
Size is an average Large.
There are no returns or exchanges for this item.


text:
Top 5 Ideas to Make Conferences More Fun for Attendees By Savannah Phillips
Your association's annual conference is likely one of the most anticipated events of the year for your members. The opportunities for networking and learning at these events seem endless… If you can keep your attendees engaged with fun, unique activities.
There are an abundance of reasons why you should make things enjoyable for your attendees. At the very bottom line, you owe it to your members to make their conference experience worth the registration fees. You want your members to feel like the money they are spending to be a part of your association is worth every penny – especially if you want them to renew their memberships next year.
Besides giving your members their money's worth, you should also consider adding more fun conference activities into your event schedule to break up the more serious meetings, education presentations and certification courses. If your conference contains the same less-than-fun activities year after year, you will experience more attendee attrition as time goes on. This means you will have to work even harder to fill your attendee quota with new people. You also want a healthy mix of veteran and new attendees at your event because the chance to network face-to-face with seasoned professionals is one huge reason that newbies decide to attend conferences, and vice versa.
So, without further ado, here are the top five fun conference activities that are sure to make your next event more fun and keep attendees coming back year after year:
- Early-morning exercise classes or stress-relief gatherings
Giving your attendees the opportunity to start their days with a little "me time" will put them in the right head space for the rest of the conference. This early-morning activity could be a Yoga, Pilates or Zumba class exclusively for conference attendees. It could also be a stress-relieving event such as guided meditation, playtime with puppies, or even coloring by the pool (yes, adults like to color too). Whichever you choose to implement, having an early morning activity like one of these puts your attendees in a positive mood going into the first day of the conference, even if it has nothing to do with your event's theme.
- Chalkboard wall
Having a giant chalkboard message center is a fun way to increase interactions and networking between your attendees. It can be used to write positive, inspirational messages, or it can be used as a way for guests to write and respond to each other about various things. The chalkboard wall can stay up for the entirety of the event and attendees can stop by at their leisure.
- Events unique to the conference's city
Chances are, the majority of your attendees will have traveled some distance from home to attend your event. Why not let them explore some of the city you're hosting it in? One way you can do this is by joining with a local travel agency to host activities like a bike tour of the city or a visit to a popular art museum. BONUS: Give back to your conference's host city by organizing a charitable activity like having attendees pack backpacks with donated school supplies for students or making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a local food pantry. Charity-related activities like these will give your guests a chance to see more of the city while also giving back to the community.
Hosting a late-night party is a great way for your guests to unwind and have a little fun while also getting to know each other better. Depending on what your association is celebrating, you can brainstorm a theme that coincides with the party. For example, if you're association is celebrating its 70th anniversary, the party could be disco themed. Disco = 70s! Your decorations, music and photo booth can all contribute to this theme. Encourage your guests to dress to the theme to make it even more interactive.
- Concerts
If your association has a large enough budget, consider booking a musical headliner for your conference. ASAE featured Brad Paisley and John Legend at their annual conference last year. Other associations have hosted artists like Pitbull and Capital Cities at their events. If this caliber of activity is an affordable option for your association, it may even attract more attendees. And no one will choose to forego the evening activity that night!
Whether you implement one or all of these suggestions, you and your attendees are sure to have more fun with the new addition at your next event. When your attendees are having fun, they feel like they're getting the most out of their membership dues. And when your members feel like they're getting more value out of their dues, they're more likely to renew next year. These fun conference activities will be enjoyable AND favorable for your association.


text:
Parties to stock purchase agreements and similar transaction contracts typically provide representations and warranties concerning key transaction elements, matched with indemnification remedies and a post-closing time limit for bringing claims. However, contractual shortening of otherwise-applicable statutes of limitation, while permissible in California, is disfavored and "must be clear and explicit, and is to be strictly construed against the party invoking the provision."
Accordingly, in a case of first impression, a California Court of Appeal has ruled that purchase agreement language that certain reps and warranties "shall survive the Closing for a period of one year" is ineffective to limit rep & warranty claims to one year, if the applicable statute of limitations would otherwise be longer. According to the court, this language is construed against the beneficiary and will be interpreted to mean "that the one year limitation serves only to specify when a breach of the representations and warranties may occur, but not when an action must be filed". Western Filter Corp. v. Argan, Inc., 9th Cir. No. 07-55535, August 25, 2008. Thus even more explicit language would be needed to shorten the remedy, such as that the reps and warranties "shall survive the Closing for a period of one year only, and further that the statute of limitations is hereby shortened, such that no action for breach of such representations and warranties may be filed after one year from Closing."


text:
Our Technology is Patented
We don't expect you to mold your business to our software. We adapt to the way you do business.
Dashboard Analytics
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Create full analyses of your data from your dashboard.
Concurrent User Pricing
You don't pay per seat or user. You pay for how many users you want logged in at the same time.
System Wide Audit Trail
Be in the know of what all your users are doing at all times.
Link Analysis
See how your data points are connected. Easy to use Link Analysis capabilities are made available.
Role Based Security
Create as many roles as you need for your organization. Allow your users to view, edit and delete data based on their role.
2 Step Authentication Security
Security is important to us and it should be for you too! Access should be limited to only verified users.
Data Drill Down
Further explore how your data points are connected with a built-in drill down function that allows you to look deeper into the data.
Internal Shared Calendar
Keeping your entire work force up to speed with critical events is crucial to any organization. Monthly, weekly and daily views are available.
Flexible Work Space
You deserve to view your data in a way that is convenient to you. There are four different layout options to view your data.
Mapping Capabilities
Map your addresses with a click of a button from within your data sets. No need to open additional browsers we've made it easy!
Internal Chat
Staying in touch with others on your team is now made possible with our internal Chat feature.
Upload Video, Audio and Photos
Uploading audio files, video files and images is easy because we support ALL file formats.
Secure Cloud Hosting
Hosting your data is now easier than ever. We offer AWS Government Cloud, IBM Cloud, and Azure Government Cloud.
Time Sheets
Users can clock in and clock out during their shifts. Users can also track expenses and billable services while on shift. Time sheets make it easy to pay your work force.
Client Billing
Billing clients is now available in Qtis Premium. Track services, expenses, mileage and your time all from within your app.
We have a 100% Responsive Design – meaning no matter what device we will adjust and give you the same capabilities you have on your desktop browser! Take Qtis on the road and access your data from anywhere anytime.


text:
College Introduction
Computer Science and Technology is one of the fastest developing and the most widely applied fields in modern society. It is not only an important achievement within modern science and technology development but also simultaneously drives the continuing advancement of science and technology.
There are 2 undergraduate programs including Computer Science and Technology, and Internet of Things Engineering; 4 master programs including Computer Applied Technology, Computer Software and Theory, Computer Systems Organization, and Software Engineering; 2 doctorate programs including Computer Science and Technology, and Software Engineering; and, additionally, 1 post-doctoral R&D Base of Computer Science and Technology.
The College has already cultivated more than 4,000 undergraduates and over 1,700 post-graduate students, who have worked in the fields of national defense and national economy, and also received praise for to their high achievements. Today there are more than 800 undergraduates and nearly 400 graduates and doctors who are studying and doing research at the College.
|© Harbin Engineering University. All Rights Reserved. Harbin, HLJ, P.R.China 0086 (0451) 82519213.


text:
Well, helloo there, lovelies.
Sorry for the slight hiatus, but life has been a bit chaotic lately.
Anddd, naturally, with this chaos, has come quite a bit of stress, which, in turn, has caused me to break out like a b*tch (Also stopped taking birth control for about nine months, which definitely didn't help the situation either if I'm being real with ya).
So, while it may seem like I've been avoiding LS, I promise I haven't. I've just been trying to combat the raging warzone on my face.
It's been rough if I'm being completely honest, guys.
I've been a bit depressed about it and the creative juices just weren't really flowin' you know?
But, even though I am still struggling to remedy my complexion, I guess the bright side is that I've found a few products over the last two months or so that have helped me feel a little better in my skin.
IDK about you, but when I find a new beauty product that actually f*ckin' works, I feel like I need to do the world a service and share the crap out of it (or in this case, them).
I've actually read a lot about these products and have heard nothing but great things, but I'm just that type of person who doesn't believe anything until I try it myself.
So, I decided it was time to hit Sephora and see what all the fuss was about. (I was also in a state of sheer desperation, so I was basically willing to dabble in just about anything).
Honestly, though, ever since I started working my nine-to-five job, I've been wearing makeup Monday through Friday, which, tbh, I HATE.
It's insanely bad for your skin.
But, at the same time, it's a self-esteem necessity when you're face is covered in acne and acne scars like mine.
Nothing is a bigger confidence killer than acne (or any skin imperfections really), and confidence in the workplace is key to success in my opinion.
So, basically, I do not give myself the option of going fresh-faced at work. Terrible, but true.
However, just because I refuse to leave my face naked at work doesn't mean I'm willing to cake on my makeup like I'm hitting the club every day either.
I'm sorry, but I'm not wasting my trusty Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation or contouring to the gods unless I have something BIG going on in my life.
I like to keep it as natural as possible in the workplace, mmkay?
Also, spending eight plus hours in a full face of makeup is just something I'm not willing to put my already suffering skin through.
Luckily, as I was roaming the isles of Sephora, I came across IT Cosmetics and remembered the phenomenal reviews I'd read about their CC cream.
Now, if you don't know the difference between BB and CC creams, don't worry, I didn't either.
I had to ask one of the Sephora cast members to break it down for me.
Bascially: BB creams, or "beauty balms," are lighter coverage versions of foundations that are loaded with SPF and moisturizer. CC creams, on the other hand, are even lighter than BB creams, but are actually fuller coverage. Weird right? Well, CC stands for "color correcting," so these creams are meant to target areas of redness (CHECK!) and dullness (DOUBLE CHECK!). Like BB creams, though, CC creams also contain SPF and moisturizer.
In other words, just what I was looking for.
IT Cosmetics' Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream With SPF 50+ has honestly been a godsend for the workweek, especially when paired with the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Correcting Cream.
You guys…I can't leave the house without the correcting cream, it just works so damn well. I LOVE it.
If you're breaking out or have any dark spots, this shit is for you.
Honestly a little goes a long way, and I'm obsessed. Personally, I think this neutral-colored cream works a million times better than any green color-correcting products I've tried for redness.
I just lightly layer the CC cream over the correcting cream, dab on a bit of concealer (any will do, but I usually reach for my go-to NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer), set it with some powder (actually Glossier's Wowder, which I'll break down further in my next Hits & Hell Nos), and call it a day (ok, if I'm feeling really spunky and not rushing like a mad woman out of the house I'll slap on some blush, bronzer, and a soft highlight too).
Obviously I'm not going for the full-coverage look, so some blemishes are still slightly visible, but they are covered just enough to help me feel confident, while not weighing my skin down.
I truly have a newfound appreciation for this brand, and it has become a vital part of my daily beauty routine.
So far, I've only tried these two products, but I plan to test out quite a few more as I fight off these pesky blemishes.
+ + + + +
If you have any acne hacks or beauty product go-tos, let's discuss in the comments! Also, talk to me about your favorite IT Cosmetics products. What else do I need in my life?
Mmkay, until next time, lovers.
P.S. If your skin is extra sensitive, these products might not be for you. If so, give the Laura Mercier 'Tinted Moisturizers' a try. My favorite for acne prone skin is the oil free. It's a much lighter coverage, but it's noncomedogenic so it won't clog your pores.
Thanks for sharing 🙂 One brand that always seems to help me with my acne is Dr. Jart+. Their ceramidin day tint and premium beauty balm make my skin look much better and they never cause me to break out. Unfortunately, the it cosmetics cc cream caused more breakouts for me.
Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely have to check out that brand. Always love to try new products. 🙂
Love these products!
I'm not positive if the Clinique foundation works, but they do have new products out that are for "Working out" but I think they would work perfectly for your situation! Nice post!
Yay! Lovingg these suggestions. Thank you!
Nine-to-fiver by day, blogger by night, and avid tea spiller always. Join me here on LS as I share my tips, tricks, travels, and personal style inspo.


text:
It's not breaking news that programming and design skills are in high demand in the tech industry right now. No matter where you turn these days, it's hard to avoid the constant drumbeat that's sounding for more people to learn these skills right away. In fact, at the end of last year, LinkedIn published a list of the 25 hottest skills of the year, and as you can probably imagine, there were a whole lot of technical programming and design skills that took up spots on the list.
The good news for anyone trying to pursue these skills as a career is that college and intimidatingly large reference books aren't the only ways to get started anymore. Thanks to online learning platforms like Treehouse, Code School, One Month Rails, Codecademy, and lynda.com, anyone who has a desire to take these skills seriously can start to learn them almost immediately.
While a lot of the focus of these platforms has been directed at people who want to use them from beginning to end and make programming or design their career, not enough people are considering the benefits that they can offer in terms of casual learning.
The Advantage Of Learning Outside The Box
Let's say that you work for a tech company in marketing, sales, operations, or some other nontechnical aspect of the business. It used to be that only focusing on the skills that were directly related to your job was enough, but these days, that approach can be very limiting.
Whether you work for a startup or a more established company, it's not unusual to have to wear many different hats these days, and for tech companies, the development and design are baked right into the DNA of the entire company whether your job title reflects that or not.
It may not be reasonable for your employers to expect you to fully learn how to program just so you can understand the company and its products better, but it is reasonable for them to expect you to spend 10, 20, or maybe more hours casually learning what goes into designing and developing a product. Not only will it be educational, but it will also help you understand the technical side of your company better, which will certainly improve communication and productivity.
This also isn't to say that programmers and designers are exempt from this casual learning assignment, either. For example, they can use lynda.com to learn more about business skills that are outside of their usual focus. They may not like it at first, but in the end, the additional knowledge will help them to be more well-rounded in the company, too.
Take The Casual Learning Challenge
Truth be told, this is an incredible time to learn new skills. The platforms are constantly getting better, and accessing them is either free or very affordable. No matter what your job is, there's just no excuse to not have some sort of technical understanding if you work for a tech company.
Not everyone has to become a full-fledged programmer, but it certainly doesn't hurt to be able to talk shop like one of them. Ultimately, the time that you spend dipping in and out of learning platforms to casually understand more about technical skills is some of the most valuable time that you can invest in your career.
If you're still skeptical, then accept this casual learning challenge: Spend 10 hours or so learning more about development with something like Ruby on Rails for websites or Objective-C for iOS apps, and share some of what you've learned or created with the rest of the team. See if they take you more seriously, and then get back to me in the comments.
—Brandon Watts is the Founder and Principal of Wattsware, which is a PR agency that mainly works with technology companies. He's worked with brand new startups, well-known companies with hundreds of millions of users, and everything in-between.


text:
Easter Simnel Cake Recipe
- 1 cup margarine, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1.8 cups self-rising flour
- 1 ⅓ cups golden raisins
- 1 cup dried currants
- ⅔ cup candied cherries - rinsed, dried and quartered
- ¼ cup candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice
- 1 pound almond paste
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam
- 1 egg, beaten
step 1: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch springform pan. Line the bottom and sides of pan with greased parchment paper.
step 2: In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour. Stir in the golden raisins, currants, candied cherries, mixed fruit, lemon zest and mixed spice. Pour 1/2 of batter into prepared pan.
step 3: Divide almond paste into 3 equal portions. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste to an 8 inch circle. Place the circle of almond paste on the cake batter in pan. Cover with remaining cake batter.
step 4: Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours, or until evenly brown and firm to the touch. If the cake is browning too quickly, cover with foil after an hour of baking. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Set oven to broil.
step 5: When the cake has cooled, brush the top with warmed apricot jam. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste into an 8 inch circle and place on top of cake. Divide the remaining 1/3 of almond paste into 11 pieces and roll into balls. These represent the 11 Apostles (excluding Judas.) Brush the almond paste on top of cake with beaten egg. Arrange the 11 balls around the outside edge on the top of cake. Brush the balls lightly with egg.
step 6: Place cake under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes, or until almond paste is golden brown.


text:
It wouldn't surprise me if the well-publicized story of Lasers' corporate neglect and its subsequent rescue from some Atlantic Vault of Lost Records (hey, Lasers, did you run into Missy Elliott's Block Party in there?) by fan rioting has all been pre-scripted.
Lupe has stated that Lasers is a watering-down of his vision by Atlantic. If that's true, here's an instance where big-label machinations win.
I've never quite bought Lupe as an underdog auteur. For as great as his first two albums are, they're also quite bloated and self-serious. Here, he's still "conscious"—like on "All Black Everything"—but the studio gloss makes him less smug. (Plus, Das Racist are smarter and funnier cultural critics than Lupe's ever been.) Lasers is Lupe judiciously edited. Still ... is it weird to hear Lupe channel Taio Cruz on "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now"? Yes! Also, get over it.
The spirit of Lasers doesn't deviate wildly from the aesthetic universe of "Kick, Push." Retro soul-sampling is replaced by sky-high mechanized beats—there's less texture, but it's a whittling away that creates magnitude, not disintegration. "Words I Never Said" is staggeringly good—a thundering riposte to Eminem and Rihanna's boorish anthem.
Lasers is a commercial record, and a damned good one. It's like that pretentious kid who went away for the summer and came back with a fashionable haircut and a tan. It's OK if you think he's cuter this way; you don't need to hate yourself for it.