text:
There are two types of people in this world. Those who, when they spontaneously invite friends over for drinks, seem to just manifest a fancy cheese plate -- probably one of those slate ones where you write all the cheese names in chalk -- and, like, twelve different kinds of olives into being.
"Try the fig spread," they might urge you, not blinking.
Then there are those, who, when in the same situation, are like, "Oh, are you guys hungry? I could run to the bodega." Which is also a valid life choice, we think! That's why we chatted with sommelier Jordan Salcito, Beverage Director of Momofuku, about the best corner-store-snack and wine pairings. (We knew a woman who works alongside the inventors of duck sausage tacos and cereal milk ice cream had to be down with unconventional combos.)
(Jordan Salcito, photo c/o Jordan Matter)
So, you have our (and Jordan's) full permission to serve up glasses of Gruner Veltliner alongside a heaping bowl of Cool Ranch Doritos at your next shindig. And if anyone gives you the side-eye, just be like, "Aromatically, this wine has a slight herbaceous tarragon note -- it really contributes depth and freshness along with each Dorito bite, don't you agree?" ::hair flip::
Check out her bodega/booze picks, below:
1. Wasabi Peas
"I would go with a crisp, dry Austrian Gruner Veltliner, like Jager's Reid "Achleiten" Smaragd 2011 from the Wachau in Austria. Wasabi peas are punishingly spicy -- which is the whole point! Rather than counteract it with something sweet, I like to highlight the more herbaceous, pea-tendril and fresh radish notes with a beautiful wine that exhibits similar qualities."
2. Cool Ranch Doritos
"Cool Ranch Doritos and sparkling wine is a match made in heaven, and the sparkling Loureiro from Aphros in Vinho Verde is a great choice. Aromatically, the wine has a slight herbaceous tarragon note, as well as a bit of navel orange, all quite subtle -- and they contribute depth and freshness along with each Dorito bite."
3. Twizzlers and Swedish Fish
"I would pair Lindemans Framboise Lambic with both of these treats. The raspberry and red fruit tones in the beer are perfect with Twizzlers and Swedish Fish, and the dessert-like, raspberry-flavored beer is off-dry and vibrantly fruity. In essence, it is a liquid continuation of these candies -- and a psychological match as well. This is my guilty pleasure beer, the same way that Swedish Fish are my guilty pleasure candy treats."
4. Beef Jerky
"I recommend something bold and supple, but not at all sweet, such as a Blaufrankisch from Austria. Moric, in the Burgenland, is making beautiful wines that are authentic and polished. Try his "Neckenmarkt Alte Reben" bottling from the 2008 vintage for additional depth and character, or his straight 2012 Blaufrankisch to keep it simple and fresh."
5. Dried Mango Slices
"With dried mango slices, I would recommend the Domaine Bechtold Grand Cru "Engelberg" Gewurztraminer. The Engelberg vineyard is a north-facing, limestone hillside that produces dry, refreshing wines more filigreed than others, and not a bit cloying. Notes of dried mango, tangerine, and white rose are all present in this wine, which makes it more or less a vinous extension of those mango slices. Additionally, Gewurztraminer has a naturally creamy texture - and not much acidity - which will make it a supple and seamless pairing here."
6. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
"One of my favorite childhood snacks included apple slices with peanut butter. As a result, I love drinking excellent ciders with Reese's Peanut Butter cups -- and we are so lucky that more and more beautiful ciders are finally entering the states! At the moment, ciders from the Cidrerie du Vulcain, in Fribourg, Switzerland, are some of my favorites. They use heirloom apples, pears and quince for their various cuvees, and the demi-sec "La Transparente" NV would be perfect."
7. Pita Chips and Hummus
"For this snack, I think about texture first, and flavor second. With rich, creamy hummus, I like a wine with rounded edges and a bit of weight. I'd recommend drinking a bottle of Chardonnay from the Jura - from a small producer, Domaine Les Dolomies Côtes du Jura 'Les Combes' Chardonnay, 2012. The wine is mineral and focused, supple yet full of acidity, and it has an ever-so-faint toasted almond quality along with the limestone and lemon that matches perfectly with pita and hummus."
8. Sour Patch Kids
"These are the candy version of sweet and sour balance, so I'd recommend letting sugar and acidity walk that tightrope right into your wine selection. Rather than get too fancy, I'd recommend something energetic and fun, like the Domaine de Martinolles Blanquette de Limoux, an off-dry wine made in Southern France from the Mauzac grape. Traditionally-made sparkling wine from this grape dates back to 1516 and actually predated sparkling wines in Champagne!"


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
With her honey-toned skin, flowing locks and natural good looks the term 'goddess' wouldn't be an ill fit on Jennifer Aniston but this week Hollywood's golden girl hit the headlines by revealing how a scared ritual has got her through life's milestones.
Speaking to the New York Times the Friends' star explained how she and her closest pals have been part of the goddess circle for decades, regularly gathering to bless new chapters in their lives.
The ritual involves the women sitting cross-legged, passing a beechwood talking stick decorated with feathers and charms and setting their intentions.
Founded by mystic C. Ara Campbell the website states that the Goddess Circle is dedicated to reclaiming the powerful feminine energy found within and surrounding us all – to embodying and living your truth and your highest purpose.
It believes the process is dedicated to empowering all beings on the path to sovereignty; to awakening to your medicine and gifts, inspiring creativity, and to moving towards sacred unity in this world.
Done in conjunction with the phases of the moon because: "There is deep power that lies within each Moon that graces the night sky. Every phase dives us into powerful lunar energy that has the potential to be our ally and to transform our world. When you work with the changes of the Moon, you can manifest profound miracles, abundance and change in your life."
For Jen and her girlfriends significant events have included the actress' weddings to Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux , the birth of babies within the group and most recently the posse circled to mark Jennifer's 50th birthday, how far they've come and to toast to next chapters.
"It's so weird. There's so much doom around that number," said Aniston of her fifth decade before adding of the practice: "Should we just call it a 'circle'?"
"I'm entering into what I feel is one of the most creatively fulfilling periods of my life," she said. "Seriously. I've been doing this for 30 years and I feel like it's just about to really bloom."
So how does one go about entering the goddess circle? Simple. Just gather your friends, set your new intentions, clear the air by saying what you'd like to leave in the previous lunar cycle and end on notes of gratitude. Embellished talking sticks optional.


text:
Webs of Morning Dew
In the dense fog it is hard to make out all the silk spun webs but they are everywhere. It is astounding how many there are. Hanging between the openings of the barbed wire fences, among the blades of tall meadow grass, between the limbs of the trees. All waiting to snag an unsuspecting insect.
The webs hold onto the night's dew droplets mimicking grand crystal chandeliers.
Some droplets so heavy they rip the fine threads as they fall almost like rain.
The bead-like chains are nature's masterpiece and a sweet reward for being an early riser.
As the sun rises higher and begins to evaporate the dew, the webs seem to disappear almost as quickly as they were revealed. Time for some more coffee.


text:
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text:
Editing your work
Editing involves checking writing on multiple levels
What do you think of when you hear the word "editing"? After you've written something, do you check it over? That's editing. Many people think of editing as just checking spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but it encompasses more than that.
Think of editing as peeling back layers. If you start with the outer layer—the overall view—and ask hard questions like the ones below, you will do a better job of editing than if you start with the finer details such as punctuation and spelling.
Here are some questions you can ask to improve your work before you let other people read it.
The first layer is the overall view:
- Who is the audience?
- What is the goal of this writing?
- Does it make sense? Is it clear and logical?
- Does the vocabulary match the audience?
- Does it have the right tone (feel and approach)?
The second layer is the skeleton:
- Does it start and finish well?
- Is it structured well, so that the reader is compelled to keep reading?
- Does it explain the topic and tell the reader why it matters?
The third layer is small (but important) stuff:
- Are the facts correct?
- Do any sentences lack necessary parts (i.e. are there any fragments)?
- Are there vague pronoun references? (e.g. "When Brenda and Sarah went shopping, she asked her if she'd like an ice-cream.")
- Is the verb tense consistent? (e.g. past and present tenses are not mixed)
- Is there undue repetition of words or sentence structures?
- Have you used the correct words? (e.g. words like "effect" and "affect" are easy to mix up)
And finally, the fourth layer:
- Are the spelling, punctuation, and capitalisation correct?
As an editor, every time I receive a new submission, I struggle not to start at the bottom of this list. As a writer, it's a great temptation too. No one writes great work the first time. Take the time to ask hard questions.
Note: A more detailed checklist for third- and fourth-layer editing is given here: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/grammar-girls-editing-checklist


text:
Thank you so much to everyone who watched my appearance on the BBC 2 Scotland programme; Timeline. I am also very grateful to everyone that went on to share this on their own timelines on Facebook and Twitter.
A lot of people have been in touch with me to try and find an easier way to watch the piece on Timeline without having to register with the BBC. Others live in Europe, USA, Brazil, Australia etc and have been so far unable to watch.
Just press play on the link below to watch this.
One of the shows presenters, Glen Campbell, said that my tumour weighted the same as a "bag of potatoes". In fact it weighted 10lb, and it was extremely exhausting and painful carrying that everyday. Living on a daily basis with this tumour certainly had its challenges.
The photographs below was taken on 24th September 2015, roughly two weeks before I had surgery.
The next set of photographs were taken during the 12 hour operation to remove the tumour. These were taken on Wednesday 7th October 2015. I gave NHS Lothian authorisation to have a photographer present throughout the surgery. These photographs will hope help surgeons and those in training to be a thoracic surgeon.
These are the photos that Timeline didn't show.
This is the first time that I have published the full set of photos that I have from the surgery. You will see from at least 3 photos that my right hand ribs are still attached to the tumour.
The last 2 photos kind of give you an idea of how my chest was rebuild.
Please feel free to share this post with your friends.
Best wishes; Kev


text:
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Email us directly using email@example.com or by using the convenient contact form on this page.
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Want to make a donation request? See our instructions for doing so at out Donations Request page.
Want to be notified of special announcements and updates? Sign up for our newsletter using the form below, or send an email to email@example.com


text:
There is something beautiful in Progress. Whether it is Progress with a painting, an exercise program, decorating and the list goes on. It is just a beautiful way to stop and appreciate how it comes in stages. Often we want to see things happen in an instant or overnight. Instead of staying in the moment and enjoying each and every stage which is a story in the making.
Last week I was lucky, lucky LUCKY!! I got to have a playdate with Mystele!!! She is such a wonderful soul and we had a lot of laughs that day that were much needed!!! Anyhow, once we got past the giggles, we played Art....It felt so good! I left her house with a mess of a painting and this is what it looked like:
I thought for sure I was going to have to cover it over and start new. I let it sit for a couple days in between all lifes busy moments and I went back to it yesterday, only to be renewed by the possibilities the layers of paint, paper and ink held...... It is shaping up nicely and my heart is warming up to it:
Wishing you all a wonderful week filled with creativity and Love. I will check back in to show you the final progress of this painting finished. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are on progress.


text:
Press Release
On the brink of a new era
Germany Trade & Invest at the Hannover Messe 2016
Apr 22, 2016
Berlin, Hannover (GTAI) - In multiple presentations at the Year Of The Monkey digital festival in Munich on Thursday, the figure 87 per cent was prominent. This is - according to a number of research papers - the number of German companies currently feeling that a change to digitalisation over the next five years is a priority.
At least half of those companies have begun moving down the path towards digitalisation, mostly on the basis of the perceived disruptive threat the concept poses to the established industrial models.
So the move towards digitalisation is gathering momentum. While the larger companies in Germany are concerning themselves with aspects of the cyber-physical systems needed for production and the security surrounding the massive data sets being built up, Germany's start-up landscape is alive with companies looking at tiny niches within those data sets and production systems, creating solutions to improve the overall outlook for industry.
This digitalisation of industry, known as Industrie 4.0 in Germany, has given the Hannover Fair, to be opened by US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday April 24, some extra impetus. With the USA pursuing similar digital and industrial goals, the choice of the USA as the trade show's partner country could not be more appropriate.
Monday April 25 sees a podium discussion on the subject, hosted by federal economic development agency Germany Trade & Invest, on the subject of Industrie 4.0 within the Global Business and Markets forum. The discussion will go into depth about the challenges and potential posed by the disruption digitalisation promises to cause. There will also be a premiere screening of a new short film on the subject of Industrie 4.0, produced by Germany Trade & Invest.
The discussion will be in Hall 3, Business Forum 1 at 15.00 CET, and features keynote speakers Matthias Machnig, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.


text:
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are the heart of modern, complex manufacturing organisations, the system of record and quite often the single source of truth. For most organisations, an ERP is implemented with the goal of improving business performance, ensuring regulatory compliance, and to boost employee productivity.
Typically, ERP projects will incur change to business processes, and on many occasions the change may be substantial. Change is always difficult to implement in any organisation. However, when change of this magnitude is involved it can be particularly difficult to implement. Ultimately, the success of the implementation depends upon these changes being embraced by employees at all levels.
How to avoid wasting resources
Independent research reveals a sobering figure. Gartner estimate that 55 per cent to 75 per cent of all ERP projects do not meet all of the project objectives. Considering the level of investment involved; that so many projects fail to achieve their planned objectives is of huge concern. Why do so many companies fail, despite undertaking a diligent process to select an appropriate ERP solution?
Many embark upon their ERP implementation in a rush to start using the solution. As a result, they may neglect the prerequisite planning steps that would ensure success. The key is the realisation of measurable business outcomes. Achieving this is compromised from the outset if there is no explicit business-owned strategy, well-defined plans, and an agreed-upon architecture.
Increasingly companies are turning to independent ERP consultants with expertise in change management to drive the success of their implementation projects. Consultants offer experience and best practices that increase the chances that the project will be completed on-time and on-budget, and with the desired objectives.
Consultants expose the pitfalls in managing change
Implementing ERP is a time for change: the objective to make business processes more efficient. These changes should support the larger strategic objectives for the company. When introducing new business processes or new technologies into an enterprise, a best practice is crucial to assess the business impact on the associated people, processes, and technology as early as possible in the project.
Consultants have techniques to perform gap analysis on existing processes and to map from what exists -"as is"- to what is intended - "to be." This step gives leaders an opportunity to understand the potential growing pains involved, which can include business disruptions, costs, and a number of other impacts. With this perspective they can determine whether the organisation is willing and able to make the envisaged change. The project team is also provided with an opportunity to make adjustments to achieve a more acceptable level of business impact before starting development processes, should the projected scope prove to be too ambitious. Such analysis can help keep the implementation project on track and provide the foundations for success later on.
Train to adjust - or expect to fail
Gartner estimate that 20 per cent to 25 per cent of ERP projects are delivered late and/or over budget, and fail to deliver the expected benefits, or end up being abandoned. As if this weren't enough, they go on to establish that a further 50 per cent to 60 per cent of projects are viewed as compromised in some way - typically due to erosion of, or failure to achieve the expected benefits.
Industry research has found that in almost every instance of project "failure," a key contributing factor was mishandling of the associated organisational changes. Ideally, training would begin before implementation and continue throughout the project. Most people experience a sharp decline in the retention of new information when exposed only once; only 20 per cent of learning will be remembered in the first month, unless the material is consciously reviewed. When training is reinforced, competency levels increase as the new information is assimilated. An experienced ERP consultant will have the necessary skills and tools to help employees adjust to the new solution and the accompanying processes.
Consultants bring singular focus to project management
Implementing ERP requires a constant stream of decisions and changes to business processes. Members of ERP implementation teams are chosen for their expertise in a specific business area, and probably have other responsibilities even as the implementation project is underway. However, consultants are able to maintain focus on the project, allowing the team to direct their skills and knowledge toward improving business processes.
Real success is measured in the achievement of business outcomes. Consultants can help ensure that project sponsors are informed of the team's progress and decisions. Once the solution has gone live, you will want to measure the actual results and compare to expected objectives and ROI. While some benefits take longer to realise than others, some smaller benefits are immediately seen; with most organisations achieving objectives within 18 to 24 months of going live. The experience that a consultant brings will result in greater levels of success in meeting the project objectives.
Implement in haste – repent at leisure
According to industry analysts, their clients have consistently stated that if they could do one thing differently regarding their ERP deployment, it would be to spend more money and effort on organisational change management and training. Industry research has identified five phases that track how technology is embraced: from the trigger point, to a peak of inflated expectations - through to a plateau of productivity. Early successes are often followed by a number of failures, resulting in a period where engagement wanes and implementations fail to deliver.
The depth and length of this "trough of disillusionment" is directly related to the effort and money spent on managing the organisational changes associated with the project. The benefits an organisation plans to realise from a new ERP system will not materialise until - and unless - users have embraced and are productive on the new applications and processes.
A consultant is the bridge and the enabler for successful ERP implementation. Working with a consultant can reduce stress on your organisation, minimise the risk of operational disruptions, and improve adoption rates. Given the odds, and the scale of your investment in implementation, engaging a consultant is less a matter of choice and more one of necessity.
Jack Payne, Vice President of Solution Consulting for Process Manufacturing, Aptean (opens in new tab)
Image source: Shutterstock/Mikko Lemola


text: As marketers, we create content to add value for our existing and potential customers. The aim of this content is to build brand loyalty, educate on products and services, or tell stories from a unique perspective. We hope that the people consuming the content view our brand more favorably, and in turn will buy what we're selling.That's where Nudge comes in. We believe in content, and its ability to help marketers move the needle. We've built out our content measurement dashboard on that premise. Using our metrics, marketers are able to increase their content's return on investment. This is a framework into how that happens.1) It all starts with good content and good landing pages. The focus here is quality over quantity. Creating content is expensive, so wouldn't you rather create fewer pieces that get the job done? For example, while working with Oppenheimer, we helped them cut down from 37 articles to 7 articles by identifying the most effective content.Like using a new recipe for the first time, content takes time to perfect. Using metrics such as Nudge's attention, you can identify if people are actually actively engaging with your content. Attention is a metric that weaves through our dashboard as we measure articles and video alike, helping you standardize your metrics. According to our data, higher attention rates are correlated to more conversions.Other helpful metric are engagement rates and virality. People share content that they are fond of, and if these metrics are high you know that your content is good.2) Next, you want to know that real people are consuming your content. After all, you're creating it so that your potential customers can see it. You can measure this using our people metric, which indicates how many unique visitors you get. Because of the way that we measure content, we are also able to identify and remove bot traffic. They have certain behavior patterns that humans don't exhibit.Not all bots are bad. According to our data, 15% of traffic to content comes from good bots. Examples of these are bots that generate the links in iMessage, or bots that scan content for safety as it's shared on Facebook. We've also been able to catch an influx of fraudulent traffic for one of our enterprise clients – you can learn more here.3) Good distribution is important. Your audience can't interact with your content if it doesn't reach them. That's why we provide you with distribution insights. We rank traffic sources by attention, scroll, and bounce rate. It's worth noting that we measure bounce a bit differently than other platforms. If someone spends more than 5 seconds on your content we no longer consider it a bounce.Traffic sources are valuable if they bring low bounce and high attention. It means you've hit the right audience. Using our distribution insights you can visualize the top performers and see which sources aren't working. Turn them off to instantly see ROI.We also provide auto-generated executive notes with tips on your best performing social channels and the times of day when your content gets the most attention and engagement. Here's a post with more in-depth information on how using Nudge's features can help you optimize your distribution.4) Last but not least, you want to ensure that your content is being consumed. Metrics such as scroll depth can give you an understanding of how people are interacting with your content. There's an element of QA – if people drop-off early on, you will be notified that there is an issue. Being able to see where exactly people are dropping off, you can make sure to add your call to actions before that point, helping drive conversions.We provide a time to scroll metric to help you understand how your audience is engaging with the content. Mentioned earlier, attention is important here too – you want to know that people are spending time with your content.These four factors work in conjunction to bring you success. It's quite simple. Good content needs to reach the right audience and to be consumed. Only then will it influence your audience. Keeping a pulse on how these elements perform separately can help you identify gaps in your strategy and where you need to improve. Furthermore, as you're investing in content, your spend should be 5:1 distribution to content creation.Nudge helps guide your content along the way with a variety of metrics for optimizing the distribution and ensuring consumption. Email email@example.com to find out more.


text:
In 2013, the acquisition of the old Forestry Building in McIlwraith street marked the first page in this chapter of change. An enormous amount of planning and organizing has occurred behind the scenes, and over the past months the HCSC Social Enterprise Team have worked hard to give the building a much needed face-lift.
Importantly, services will be provided from both buildings. In particular, all bookings for the "Out and About Bus", including departures for Townsville, will remain at the HCSC Centre where senior and youth groups will also continue to use the community room. Visiting services from Townsville will operate from both buildings whilst Emergency Relief food support, Emergency and Long Term Accommodation, Domestic Violence support, and Youth services will be available at the new HCSC HUB.
For all enquiries please contact HCSC staff on 4776 1822.
Come and visit our new building: The HUB


text:
Scalable Collaborative Filtering With MongoDB
Many websites have some form of recommendation system. While it's simple to create a recommendation system for small amounts of data, how do you create a system that scales to huge amounts of data?
How to actually calculate the similarity of two items is a complicated topic with many possible solutions. Which one if appropriate depends on your particularly application. If you want to find out more I suggest reading the excellent Programming Collective Intelligence (Amazon affiliate link) by Toby Segaran.
We'll take the simplest method for calculating similarity and just calculate the percentage of users who have visited both pages compared to the total number who have visited either. If we have Page 1 that was visited by user A, B and C and Page 2 that was visited by A, C and D then the A and C visited both, but A, B, C and D visited either one so the similarity is 50%.
With thousands or millions of items and millions or billions of views calculating the similarity between items becomes a difficult problem. Fortunately MongoDB's sharding and replication allow us to scale the calculations to cope with these large datasets.
First let's create a set of views across a number of items. A view is stored as a single document in MongoDB. You would probably want to include extra information such as the time of the view, but for our purposes this is all that is required.
views = [
{ "user": "0", "item": "0" },
{ "user": "1", "item": "0" },
{ "user": "1", "item": "0" },
{ "user": "1", "item": "1" },
{ "user": "2", "item": "0" },
{ "user": "2", "item": "1" },
{ "user": "2", "item": "1" },
{ "user": "3", "item": "1" },
{ "user": "3", "item": "2" },
{ "user": "4", "item": "2" },
for view in views:
The first step is to process this list of view of events so we can take a single item and get a list of all the users that have viewed it. To make sure this scales over a large number of views we'll use MongoDB's map/reduce functionality.
def article_user_view_count():
map_func = """
function () {
var view = {}
view[this.user] = 1
emit(this.item, view);
We'll build a javascript Object where the keys are the user id and the value is the number of time that user
has viewed this item. In the map function we we build an object that represents a single view and
emit it using the item id as the key. MongoDB will group all the objects emitted with the same key
and run the reduce function, shown below.
reduce_func = """
function (key, values) {
var view = values[0];
for (var i = 1; i < values.length; i++) {
for(var item in values[i]) {
if(!view.hasOwnProperty(item)) { view[item] = 0; }
view[item] = view[item] + values[i][item];
return view;
A reduce function takes two parameters, the key and a list of values. The values that are passed in can either
be those
emitted by the map function, or values returned from the
reduce function. To help
it scale not all of the original values will be processed at once, and the reduce function must be able to
handle input from the map function or its own output. Here we output a value in the same format as the input
so we don't need to do anything special.
db.views.map_reduce(Code(map_func), Code(reduce_func), out="item_user_view_count")
The final step is to run the functions we've just created and output the data into a new collection. Here we're recalculating all the data each time this function is run. To scale properly you should filter the input based on the date the view occurred and merge it with the output collection, rather than replacing it as we are doing here.
Now we need calculate a matrix of similarity values, linking each item with every other item. First lets see how we can calculate the similarity of all items to one single item. Again we'll use map/reduce to help spread the load of running this calculation. Here we'll just use the map part of map/reduce because each input document will be represented by a single output document.
def similarity(item):
map_func = """
function () {
if(this._id == "%s") { return; }
var viewed_both = {};
var viewed_any = %s;
for (var user in this.views) {
if(this.value.hasOwnProperty(user)) {
viewed_both[user] = 1;
viewed_any[user] = 1;
emit("%s"+"_"+this._id, viewed_both.length / viewed_any.length );
""" % (int(item["_id"]), json.dumps(item["value"]), json.dumps(item["value"]) int(item["_id"]), )
The input to our Python function is a document that was outputted by our previous map/reduce call. We build a new Javascript by interpolating some data from this document into a template function. We loop through all the users who viewed the document we're comparing against and work out whether they have viewed both. At the end of the function we emit the percentage of users who viewed both.
reduce_func = """
function (key, values) {
return results[0];
Because we output unique ids in the map function this reduce function will only be called with a single value so we just return that.
db.item_user_view_count.map_reduce(Code(map_func), Code(reduce_func), out=SON([("merge", "item_similarity")]))
The last step in this function is to run the map reduce. Here as we're running the map/reduce multiple times we need to merge the output rather than replacing it as we did before.
The final step is to loop through the output from our first map/reduce and call our second function for each item.
for doc in db.item_user_view_count.find():
A key thing to realise is that you don't need to calculate live similarity data. Once you have even a few hundred views per item then the similarity will remain fairly consistent. In this example we step through each item in turn and calculate the similarity for it with every other item. For a million item database where each iteration of this loop takes one second the similarity data will be updated once every 11 days.
I'm not claiming that you can take the code provided here and immediately have a massively scalable system. MongoDB provides an easy to use replication and sharding system, which are plugged in to its Map/Reduce framework. What you should take away is that by using map/reduce with sharding and replication to calculate the similarity between two items we can quickly get a system that scales well with an increasing number of items and of views.
Photo Book Addiction by Emily Carlin.


text:
Since the scandal broke about Tiger Woods' extramarital affairs, shareholders of Tiger Woods sponsors lost a collective $5 billion to $12 billion, according to research from the University of California, Davis.
The losses are potentially much larger than the damage to Woods' own income. "Total shareholder losses may exceed several decades' worth of Tiger Woods' personal endorsement income," said Victor Stango, a professor of economics at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and co-author of the study, on the university's Web site.
Stango and fellow UC Davis economics professor Christopher Knittel looked at stock market returns for the 13 trading days that fell between November 27, the date of the car crash that ignited the scandal, and December 17, a week after the golfer announced his indefinite leave from the sport. The economists compared the returns of Woods' sponsors to those of both the total stock market and of each sponsor's closest competitor.
The study looked at eight sponsors for which stock prices are available: Accenture; AT&T; Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf (Electronic Arts); Gillette (Proctor and Gamble); Nike; Gatorade (PepsiCo); TLC Laser Eye Centers; and Golf Digest (Conde Nast).
The researchers said they also examined returns for four years before the car accident to determine how each sponsor's market performance normally correlates with that of the total market and of competitor firms.
The conclusion: The scandal reduced shareholder value in sponsor companies by about $12 billion, or 2.3%.
Accenture was the only stock immune to the scandal. Stocks that fared the worst, with a 4.3% "scandal-generated" drop, were Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf, Gatorade, and Nike, according to the research.
"Our findings speak to a larger question of general interest in the business and academic communities: Does celebrity sponsorship have any impact on a firm's bottom line?" Stango said. "Our analysis makes clear that while having a celebrity of Tiger Woods' stature as an endorser has undeniable upside, the downside risk is substantial too."
Tiger Woods Scandal Costs Shareholders Billions
Since the scandal broke about Tiger Woods' extramarital affairs, shareholders of Tiger Woods sponsors lost a collective $5 billion to $12 billion, according to research from the University of California, Davis.
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Murder accused goes on shopping spree with cops in UP's Pratapgarh
| Updated: Apr 14, 2017 01:05 IST
Pratapgarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Apr. 13 (ANI): In what may bring embarrassment to the Uttar Pradesh Police, a video surfaced on Thursday showing a murder accused shopping in a mall with the cops. The accused who was to be produced in court, was seen shopping with police constables without handcuffs at a shopping mart located in Pratapgarh. The incident was caught on CCTV camera installed at the shopping mart. The accused, Vikas Mishra has been booked on charges of murdering a home guard deployed at the Manikpur Police Station in February last year. (ANI)


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There are certain activities or works performed that are subject to a prior permit and which cannot be processed as part of the Statement of Compliance. They are, in summary:
- The applicant will present at the ECU SCI the standardized application, along with proof of payment of the price and the urban and technical documentation proving the compliance and adecuation of the actions in accordance witt the Annex II of the OAAE, if possible, telematically.
- SCI will register the file on its computer system connected in real time with the computer services of the City Council, officialy registering the application.
- SCI will review the documents submitted proceeding, if necessary, to indicate the client the missing documentation as well as those aspects that need to be modified to adapt the action proposed to the urban regulations. In this situation, SCI can only perform a single documentary requirement, and another one about technical rectifications, each of which must be answered by the applicant within a maximum period of 10 business days.
- The maximum period available to SCI for issuing the Certificate of Compliance (CC) of the proposed action is 1 month from the registration of the application, within which do not count the days used by the applicant to correct any documentary or technique deficiencies.
- In case that the application requrired the incorporation of preceptives reports according to the 32 of the OAAE, SCI will request them directly and simultaneously to the issuing bodies within a maximum period of 5 days since the documentation is complete, the reports application will suspend the deadline for issuance of the certificate of conformity.
- Once all the documentation is revieweb with favourable results, reverse charge of mandatory taxes forms will be generated: ICIO and fees for the occupation of public roads (fences, scaffolds and containers) wich will be sent to the applicant for them payment.
- Once received proof of payment, the following steps will be to submit the file and all the documentation, sending them by computerized system to the Madrid City Council, and to issue and register the Certificate of Comformity which will finally be forwarded to the applicant, duty completed by the Madrid City Councll.
- The favourable certificate of conformity will have comparable effects to to the civic technical report, and will be enough for granting the license.
- In cases of issuance by SCI of a non-conformity report, the ratification or rectification thereof by the municipal technical services shall not be necessary.
- The deadline for a decision on granting or denial of the license by the Madrid City Council is one month.
Works and activities subject to urban planning permission are subject to license of first occupation and operating license.
The first occupation and opearting license aims to prove that the activities and the works that are necessary for its implementation, modification or change, have been executed in accordance with the project and the conditions under which the license was granted or with the variations which do not involve the modification of the license, and are duly completed and suitable according to urban, environmental and safety determinations of its specific destination.
The granting of the first occupation and operating license shall be in accordance with the stipulations in art. 39 of OAAE.
Moreover, SCI is competent to deal with the first occupation and operating of activities whose building or for use license has been granted prior to the entry into force of the OGLUA but in which the file is terminated by withdrawal, resignation, expiration or unfavorable resolution in accordance with that indicated in Ninth Additional Provision of the OAAE.
It has to be taken into consideration that the final inspection of activities subject to the legal regime of the LEPAR will be carried out exclusively by municipal services within a maximum period of one month after the notice of the works completion.
Upon request of the action plan budget, ECU SCI will provide all the forms and documents that are necessary to complete the file register.
However, if you want to download them before, you can do it directly on the Madrid City Council website.
You may also consult the Implementing Regulation corresponding to the intended actions following this link.


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Maxime A. Faget, a pioneering NASA engineer who designed the original spacecraft for Project Mercury and whose work helped create every human spacecraft the agency has launched since, has died. He was 83.
Faget died Saturday at his home in Houston, the space agency announced Sunday on its Web site.
In 1958, Faget joined the Space Task Group, which evolved into the NASA Johnson Space Center.
"Without Max Faget's innovative designs and thoughtful approach to problem solving, America's space program would have had trouble getting off the ground," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "He also was an aeronautics pioneer. In fact, it was his work on supersonic flight research that eventually led to his interest in space flight."
Faget's career with NASA began in 1946, when he joined the staff of Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., as a research scientist. He worked in the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division and later directed the Performance Aerodynamics Branch.
He conceived of and proposed the development of the one-man spacecraft used in Project Mercury, NASA said.
"Max Faget was truly a legend of the manned space flight program," said Christopher C. Kraft, former Johnson Space Center director. "There is no one in space flight history in this or any other country who has had a larger impact on man's quest in space exploration. ... History will remember him as one of the really great scientists of the 20th century."
Faget was part of the original feasibility study for the space shuttle and helped develop the reusable spacecraft.
After retiring from NASA, Faget was among the founders of one of the early private space companies, Space Industries Inc., established in 1982.
Faget's wife, Nancy, died in 1994. He is survived by a son, three daughters and 10 grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were pending.


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The Legalization of Human Rights: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Human Rights and Human Rights Law by Saladin Meckled-García (Editor), Basak Çali (Editor)
The concept of 'human rights' as a universal goal is at the centre of the international stage. It is now a key part in discourse, treaties and in domestic jurisdictions. However, as this study shows, the debate around this development is actually about human rights law.
This text scrutinizes the extent to which legalization shapes the human rights ideal, and surveys its ethical, political and practical repercussions. How does the law influence what we think about rights? What more is there to such rights than their legal protection? These expert contributors approach these questions from a range of perspectives: political theory/moral theory, anthropology, sociology, international law, international politics and political science, to deliver a diversity of methodologies.
This book is essential reading for those wishing to develop a clear understanding of the relationship between human rights ideals and laws and for those working toward the fostering of a genuine human rights culture.


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Although there are some people who say that planning a vacation is a tedious and stressful task, the truth is, it can actually be as fun and exciting as the vacation itself; and this is especially true if you are planning for a vacation in the Grand Canyon. You just have to make sure that you know what you need to do and consider as you do your planning and you should be able to put together one of the best and most unforgettable holidays that you will ever have. If you are in the process of planning a Grand Canyon vacation, here is a guide that should be able to help you out.
- Decide Which Part Of The Grand Canyon You Would Like To Visit
If this would be your first visit to the Grand Canyon or if you would be traveling with children, then the South Rim would be a good option, as the South Rim offers relatively more accommodation options, activities, and tourist services than the North Rim. On the other hand, if you have already been to the Grand Canyon or if you are looking to have a relaxed vacation in a more secluded setting away from the throngs of other tourists and visitors, then the North Rim might be a better option for you. You should note, however, that the North Rim is accessible only from mid-May to mid-October, and is over 1,000 feet higher and receives snow earlier than the South Rim.
- Decide How You Want To Go To The Grand Canyon
Most of the visitors of the Grand Canyon arrive at either the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix or the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, both of which are located within half a day's drive from the park. Aside from flying in, however, you can also opt to drive. To give you an idea of the time it would take for you to reach the South Rim of the canyon by car, it is about an eight-hour drive from Los Angeles, California, or a thirteen-hour drive from Denver, Colorado.
- Decide When You Want To Have Your Vacation In The Grand Canyon
Generally, it would be good to visit in the summer, particularly if you want to make sure that you would be able to do all of the popular activities that can be done at the park such as hiking, biking, and rafting; however, because summer is considered as the peak season during which more tourists visit, you can expect more crowds and accommodations and activities to be relatively more expensive. If you prefer to have a laid-back vacation or if you have a limited budget for your trip, then you might want to consider going in the late fall or winter, as this is quietest the time at the park and is also when most of the hotels and resorts in the area offer discounted rates for their accommodations and services.
- Decide Where You Would Be Staying
There are plenty of options, as far as Grand Canyon accommodations are concerned, so finding one that would suit your needs and budget should not be too difficult. You can choose to stay at one of the hotels that are in the park or you can opt to book at room at a hotel which is located in nearby areas such as Tusayan, Williams, Flagstaff, and Page/Lake Powell. Once you have decided on a hotel or resort, make sure that you would be booking a room right away. As always, it would be best if you can book your accommodations months before your actual vacation to get the best rates and to make sure that you would be able to book your room during the dates on which you are planning to have your vacation.
- Put Together An Itinerary For Your Trip
This is another important step in planning your Grand Canyon vacation, mainly because there are tons of things to see and do at this world-famous destination. By creating a trip itinerary, you can be sure that you would be able to see and experience everything that the Grand Canyon is able to offer during your stay. Some of the attractions that you might not want to miss visiting include Grand Canyon Village, Desert View, Hermit's Rest, Havasu Falls, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point, the Tusayan Museum, and the Yavapai Geology Museum. As for activities, some of the most recommended include rafting, hiking, biking, camping, going on a guided tour, and flight seeing.
About Author:
"Irina Kirilov is a Romanian blogger who specializes in travel articles and social media promotions. She is currently working for Thrifty Bucharest, a car rental company in Bucharest, Romania. Connect with Irina on Twitter at @carhireromania"


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First, admin…
Now, onto the fun part…
First off, yes, Win, I see it's different than a crossover, but I still consider it to be one. It's just a very complex one, with many of them slipped in so subtly and so purposely that one has to pay attention to get them.
And yes, I get it. Reading through the first few chapters, I found myself saying, "Oh, I see now." LOL
I spent 8 hours reading this book and never got bored. Farmer (I won't call him Phil, as I didn't know him sadly as some of my colleagues were fortunate enough to) has a great writing style that almost had me convinced at some points that this really was a biography. LOL
I now desire to seek out the original Burroughs books because Farmer made them sound so exciting, and also to compare them to both Farmer's book and also to the movies (and cartoons) that I loved during my youth.
I am really glad that Win sent me this book, I'm glad that Win and others scolded us for not having read it, and I'm glad I came up with the Wold Newton Book Club to force me to read it. (Yes, I think I'm awesome. I did create my own Facebook fan page, after all.)
Now for some notes I jotted down as I was reading, that I wanted to bring up here.
First off, Farmer mentions that the stories of Sherlock Holmes are actually inspired by three different men, but I haven't seen this brought up anywhere by WNU scholars. Does he go into this further in the addendums that I haven't gotten to yet or in another book? Is there any scholarly articles that I can seek out on the websites that go into this? (If so, I'll add them to my personal reading list.)
Farmer states Fu Manchu is not a real person, or inspired by a real person. First off, we know that he is real in the WNU, and also, he was inspired by a real life person in our world.
Cheetah is said to be fictional, a product of the movies, and of course, Farmer would think that. Burroughs would think that. Even Tarzan would think that. But I'm sure I read in some scholarly article, maybe by Dennis E. Power, that the Johnny Weismuller films were inspired by Tarzan 2. By Tarzan 2, of course, I refer to when Tarzan went to the past, then lived out his life through the present day.
The most amusing part of the book (so far) was the inclusion of WC Fields in the WNU. How come this hasn't been brought up more?
Farmer discusses the truth of Atlantis, claiming that the fabled land of ancient past isn't what what the legends say, but he apparently didn't have the knowledge from Howard's visions, and has discounted the urban legends about the man with wings on this feet that single handedly sunk nazi subs during WWII.
His explanation on how the blacks were the last to evolve is very much in the thinking of 1971. Today however, most scientists in that area seem to believe that life actually began in Africa, which is the opposite of what Farmer says the 1971 scientist believe.
Farmer claims that Pellicudar doesn't really exist, but I'm sure I've seen many references to it in Crossovers. Was Farmer wrong, even in the world of his making?
Even though the text does not imply that La is Ayesha, the chapter title does. I wonder if it was a clue for those paying attention.
I also found it interesting that Farmer himself incorporated previous articles of the style Farmer has made famous (at least in our circle). Farmer thus made these essays retroactively part of his world. But of course, why not? He also incorporates the fiction of others into his world, and that's something we continue to do.
Well, that's a start, I guess. I can't wait to hear what others who read it for the first time thought, and also what those who had read it long ago have to say.