Food producers have (dare we say it) a lot on their plate these days. They're having to deal with everything from economic and competitive pressures and availability of resources, to an aging workforce, and ever-rising operating costs. To stay competitive, food producers must stay on top of rapidly-changing consumer attitudes and market trends, technological advances, changes in regulations and safety issues. Finding ways to remain profitable, without sacrificing the quality of finished products, is a constant challenge. While it may not seem obvious, using Efficiency as a Service to optimize energy systems can provide the competitive advantage food producers need to stay afloat.
Can improving energy efficiency really make a difference?
The choices food producers make about energy consumption can profoundly influence their bottom line. Using energy more efficiently can reduce overhead costs, streamline operations, reduce carbon emissions, and increase profitability. How they manage environmental impacts such as carbon emissions is an increasingly important differentiator for both consumers and investors.
Getting food from farm to fork requires a staggering amount of energy. Most recent estimates suggest that food production accounts for approximately 17% of the energy budget for the U.S. – producing an equivalent share of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.
On average, food production consumes more than twice the energy of other commercial businesses. Long hours of operation and highly-specialized equipment account for much of energy consumption, but overall the energy consumption by food service buildings is excessive — and often wasteful. (Inefficient energy systems and equipment can waste up to 80% of the energy consumed.) As the food industry relies more and more upon energy-intensive technologies to increase production, energy consumption continues to grow.
Improved temperature control: LED light bulbs give off much less heat than their competitors making temperature control both easier and less expensive.
Optimized light quality: food inspection is imperative. Many contamination problems can be spotted by visually inspecting the product. If the light isn't optimized, problems can be missed.
More accurate color rendition: spoiled food will often develop a noticeable change to its color. This means that if the hue of the bulbs isn't correct, good food being may be discarded unnecessarily, or spoiled food saved. LED can provide a range of hues for different purposes.
Greater durability: Unlike traditional lighting, LEDs use non-toxic lightweight materials which can withstand the high temperatures, and moisture found in most food processing plants.
Lower energy costs: Improper air balance can place unnecessary strain on exhaust fans and HVAC systems, forcing the equipment to work harder and longer. An optimized HVAC system provides conditioned replacement air that can be heated, cooled, humidified, or dehumidified more efficiently to help reduce energy costs. An optimized HVAC control system can achieve a 30% to 40% reduction in annual energy savings.
Improved temperature control: room temperatures within food processing facilities must be tightly controlled to maintain sanitation standards and ensure product safety.
Better condensation control: Unwanted moisture and condensation can quickly result in bacteria and microbial growth. Appropriate air balance can eliminate that risk.
Reduced airborne contaminants: Bacteria, mold, pollen, viruses and other biological contaminations can grow unchecked in ventilation systems that aren't adequately cleaned. Controlling air flow and balance reduces the potential for airborne particles and contaminants to reach processing areas. Those contaminants are, natural, bad for employees as well. A clean working environment reduces sick days and promotes higher productivity.
Unfortunately, since energy is typically viewed as peripheral to the business of production, cost-saving energy efficiency upgrades face an uphill battle for capital and attention. Facility managers and engineers simply lack the time to tackle quick energy fixes, evaluate energy efficiency technology options, and analyze potential payback data. And, of course, finding and/or diverting capital from revenue-producing programs to energy efficiency programs is always a struggle. When asked about the barriers to energy efficiency, around 28% of the respondents in a recent survey identified 'capital expense' as the biggest roadblock to making improvements.
The simple truth is that food production companies need to invest in smart energy solutions to maintain a competitive edge. Efficiency as a Service provides the means for food producers to optimize energy systems. Rather than trying to manage energy equipment and systems in-house—which consumes valuable human and financial resources—optimizing energy services through third parties, like SmartWatt, eliminates the risks and hassles associated with technology evaluation, project implementation and, most importantly, the financing needed for energy upgrades.
For plant executives, the prospect of a service company assuming responsibility for their energy assets is a truly welcome development. They've had to cope with the mounting safety, health, and the operational risks associated with aging energy equipment for years. It's a daunting task. Outsourcing this responsibility to a third party allows food producers to mitigate risk, overcome funding issues and, most importantly, focus on their core mission.
Efficiency as a Service allows food producers to shift energy from a capital expense – one in which they must purchase, maintain and depreciate assets – to an operational expense. Think of it as the Uber of the energy world. You don't have to buy the car to enjoy the ride – and you don't have to purchase your energy assets to enjoy the savings they deliver.
Efficiency as a Service is a performance-based financial solution that delivers immediate and ongoing energy savings. Guaranteed. Under an Efficiency-as-a-Service agreement, the energy program developer (SmartWatt) secures third-party funding. That funding partner pays for all upgrade assets/equipment and covers all implementation costs. Since the funding partner finances the program and owns the energy savings assets the food producer has absolutely no capital expense – and none of the worries that come from equipment ownership.
The energy savings are calculated – and guaranteed – using agreed-upon measurement and verification protocols. A portion of those savings is simply charged back to the food producer each month as an operating expense.
In addition to guaranteeing cost savings, Efficiency as a Service agreements specify and guarantee performance-based outcomes such as light and temperature levels, water reduction, operating efficiencies, and maintenance reductions.
A growing number of Fortune 500 companies are capitalizing on emerging options for controlling energy costs – using Efficiency as a Service to accomplish their sustainability and energy efficiency goals. They've discovered that, in addition to the cost savings, becoming more strategic about energy enhances overall business performance and delivers a tangible competitive advantage.
For food producers, Efficiency-as-a-Service provides a risk-free opportunity to improve production environments, reduce operating expenses and increase profits – without any initial capital investment.


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Home » Flag Maps » Hong Kong Flag Map
Hong Kong Flag Map
The Colors and Meaning of the Hong Kong Flag
Hong Kong Flag
Officially named "the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China," the flag of Hong Kong features a white flower on a red background. The flower is centered in the middle of the flag and has five petals, each with a red star.
There is a great deal of symbolism in the Hong Kong flag, and much of it relates to Hong Kong's official status as a Special Administrative Region of China, a relationship often described as "one country, two systems."
This connection between Hong Kong and China can be seen in the similarities between the flags of each. There are references to the design of the Chinese flag in the Hong Kong flag, and we'll take more of an in-depth look at each of these.
As described in school curriculum by the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Education Bureau:
"The design implies that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China and prospers in the embrace of the motherland. The five stars on the flower symbolize the fact that all Hong Kong compatriots love their motherland, while the red and white colors embody the principle of "one country, two systems"."
White flower:
The white flower in the middle of the flag is a stylized representation of the flower from Bauhinia x blakeana, commonly called the Hong Kong Orchid Tree. The tree is native to Hong Kong, and the five petals of the flower on the flag each have a red star.
The use of the flower in the center of the flag is said to represent the harmonization of the relationship between Hong Kong and China.
Five stars:
The five stars that appear on the petals of the orchid flower echo the design of the Chinese national flag, which also features five stars. These stars on the official flag of China symbolize the unity of the Chinese people and that they should revolve around a center. The fact that both flags feature five stars represents the closeness and relationship between Hong Kong and China.
White and red colors:
The red color used on the Hong Kong flag is the exact same red used on the national flag of China. This is another example of flag design showing a strong link between Hong Kong and China. The red on the flag of China represents the Chinese Communist Revolution according to the Chinese government's official interpretation.
Red is also significant because it is a festive color for Chinese people and can represent a feeling of celebration and nationalism.
Below is an outline of Hong Kong that has been filled in with the design of the Hong Kong flag.
Map of Hong Kong With Flag
Hong Kong Flag FAQs
How old is Hong Kong's flag?
The official flag of Hong Kong was adopted in 1990, but it was first flown in 1997 after the transfer of sovereignty over the region from the United Kingdom back to China. The design was created by architect Tao Ho.
Why does Hong Kong have its own flag?
Hong Kong has its own flag because it is a special administrative region of China. This means that, while it isn't officially an independent nation, it does enjoy a degree of autonomy. The flag's symbolism shows a link between Hong Kong and China.
Is Hong Kong a country?
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The region has been under the control of various powers over the last two hundred years: the Qing Dynasty, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the People's Republic of China. The sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to China from the United Kingdom on July 1, 1997.
What is the conflict between Hong Kong and China?
Conflicts between Hong Kong and China usually stem from cultural and economic differences between the two entities. Many residents of Hong Kong have different values from those living in mainland China due to decades of British influence.
One of the most recent and largest conflicts between the two was the mass protests of 2019 and 2020 in which roughly two million Hong Kong residents reportedly participated. The protests were in response to the proposal of an extradition bill that would enable the extradition of dissidents to mainland China from Hong Kong.
History of the Hong Kong Flag
The history of Hong Kong is reflected in the several flags that have flown in the territory over the past two hundred years. We'll take a look at some of the flags of Hong Kong's past as well as the development of the current flag's design.
Qing Dynasty Flag: 1862–1895
In pre-colonial times, Hong Kong was ruled by the Qing Dynasty and flew its flag, which consisted of an "Azure Dragon" over a yellow background with a red circle in the upper-left-hand corner. Interestingly, the dynasty didn't have an official flag until 1862 despite being established in 1644.
Colonial Flags: 1843–1997
Following the United Kingdom's possession of Hong Kong in 1841, various colonial flags featuring the Union Jack of the UK were flown. The design of the colonial flags changed several times during this period, often displaying different seals next to the Union Jack.
There was also a period during World War II when Hong Kong was under the control of Japan from 1941-1945. The Japanese flag was flown during this time, and the UK again took control of Hong Kong after the war.
Current Flag of Hong Kong: 1990–Present
The design of the current official flag of Hong Kong was officially adopted in 1990, though it was first hoisted and flown in 1997. In the years leading up to Hong Kong's transfer of sovereignty to China, a competition was held to come up with what would be the design of Hong Kong's new flag.
The competition was open to citizens of Hong Kong and nearly 4,500 flag designs were submitted. From these submissions, six finalists were chosen by a panel of judges, but all of these were then rejected by China. After requesting more designs, the design submitted by architect Tao Ho was officially accepted in 1990.
Although the design of Hong Kong's current flag was decided in 1990, it wasn't until 1997 that it was first flown. This happened just after the handover ceremony of sovereignty at midnight on the first of July, 1997.
Hong Kong consists of more than 200 islands and the Kowloon Peninsula along China's southern coast. The main islands are Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island.
Hong Kong Political Map
Political Status
Hong Kong has an interesting political status. Technically, it is a city and also a special administrative region of China. This means that it has a degree of autonomy but is still under the control of China. Specifically, China oversees the diplomatic and military affairs of Hong Kong, while Hong Kong has its own legislature, police forces, customs territory, immigration policies, and more. Macau is China's only other special administrative region.
The population of Hong Kong in 2022 is roughly 7.76 million, which makes it one of the most densely populated cities on Earth. Hong Kong is also known for being one of the most highly developed cities in the world and a major global financial center. Its current status as a developed economic powerhouse is a far cry from its history as a sparsely populated area made up of fishing villages. It's now one of the most expensive countries in the world.
Hong Kong is culturally distinct from the Chinese mainland because of its many years of colonial administration. For this reason, it's often considered a meeting of East and West. The dominant language in the region is Cantonese, and the official languages are Chinese and English.
Interesting cuisine, exciting nightlife, and easily accessible natural parks are some of the reasons Hong Kong made the list of the most-visited countries in the world. Tourism is an important part of the city's economy, and it is more popular among foreign tourists than any other Chinese city.
Hong Kong is located in the Pearl River Delta, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. It's located along the southern coast of China, sharing its only land border with the Chinese province of Guangdong.
Macao, China's other special administrative region, is located on the other side of the Pearl River Delta. This metropolitan area is one of the most urbanized areas in the world and is considered a megacity with over 78 million people living in the region.
The closest neighboring countries are Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Hong Kong Flag in Recent History
The mass protests that took place in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020 saw the unofficial use of some new flags. One was named the "Black Bauhinia" and is a depiction of the same white Bauhinia flower that is displayed on the Hong Kong flag but without the red stars and on a black background instead of red. Some petals of the flower are also wilting. The flag is a symbol of protest and rebellion.
Another unofficial flag unveiled during the protests was the "Lennon Wall Flag," designed by Badiucao, a Chinese cartoonist. The flag is a mosaic of 96 colorful squares and was inspired by the Lennon Wall message boards that cropped up in Hong Kong and around the world during the 2014 Umbrella Movement Protests and the 2019-2020 protests.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In partnership with Red Bull Basement's 'Tech for Good', this workshop will explore solutions and raise awareness of these community issues through playfulness. The purpose of this event is to create analogue games that could be developed into digital games and spread around South Africa and the rest of the world!
Once the participants have a basic understand of what it means to make a serious board game, prototyping will begin! Participants will be split into groups and will be given materials in order to create their own board game around a community-driven issue of their choice. Throughout the prototyping process, participants will be play testing each other's games and will be given feedback by Kieran Reid and Steven Tu.


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Volume 12: Chapter 25 - Demon Emperor's Arrival
I sighed. "Xiao Jin, I definitely wouldn't lie to you. What I said is the truth. Quickly go and calm down your race's members. It seems that the Monster King hasn't given up yet."
Xiao Jin nodded before soaring up into the sky. He was yelling in dragon language. I didn't have the time to look at their conditions as I closed my eyes to circulated the divine powers in my body with all of my strength, absorbing all the power in the surroundings. I was already getting out of time. The possibility of defeating the Monster King would increase for every ounce of power I absorb. But the truth was the Monster King wouldn't give me time to recover as a thick demonic aura covered the heaven and earth, making me reopen my eyes. Hai Shui's beautiful body hovered in midair. From her appearance, there didn't seem to have much changes since grey aura was constantly being emitted from her back and the sky turned dark again. I clearly knew that even if the Monster King was hurt, it would still be simple to kill me. Was there really no justice? Was all of the life forms of the world going to be eradicated by the Monster King? No! I definitely wouldn't allow that to happen. I hollered, resummoning the Radiant Holy Sword that was emitting dimmer light rays when compared to before, as I viciously glared at the Monster King.
The Monster King didn't say anything. She just extended her pair of delicate arms and constantly made gestures in the air. The grey aura gradually solidified. She was giving me her last attack. Even though I knew that it was useless resisting against that, I still prompted the release of the remaining divine powers from my body. The silver light ray of the Holy Sword intensified slightly. It wouldn't matter if I died. Even if I was facing death, I would still do all I could against that last attack.
When I was already in despair, the Monster King suddenly dazed and abruptly turned around. A patch of faint purple light was seen in the originally dark sky. An enormous figure was charging toward the Monster King. The purple light ray was given off from the back of the black figure. A low and heavy voice was heard. "Dark Magic Dragon Gun, my Demon race's god of Origin, release your endless divine powers to eliminate the enemy before you." An exceptional sharp light shot out like lighting from the top of the black figure. In a short moment, it had reached the front of the Monster King. The Monster King yelled in anger and used the previously consolidated grey power ball to defend her body. Hong! Her body unexpectedly flew at least 100 metres back. Cold light ray often glimmered in her eyes and the grey aura surrounding her body was strong and weak from time to time. It was as though she was trying to recover from her condition.
Seeing such a sight, I was jubilant as the person that came was none other than my father in law, Demon Emperor Qi Meng Satan. A loud dragon roar has heard as the Dark Demon Dragon had already brought the Demon Emperor to near us. The Demon Emperor stood arrogantly on the Demon dragon's back as he looked icily at the Monster King. The black Dark Demon Gun in his hand was pointing towards the horizon as he shouted, "I didn't expect that the Monster King would be such a young girl."
I flapped the six light wings on my back to fly to the Demon Emperor's side as I said respectfully, "Lord Father in law, why have you come? The Monster King isn't a young girl. He had possessed my friend's body. How is the condition at the Demon and Beast races' side? Have the monsters eradicated?"
The Demon Emperor looked at me. "There isn't any problem at our side. Royal Uncle and the Beast King had let our mighty army troops to finish off all of the remnants monsters. Previously the Demon Dragon felt that there was something unusual here so we headed to here first. How's your situation here and how's Mu Zi?"
I smiled wryly. "Our situation here is extremely terrible. The Dragon King and the phoenix had already been severely injured by the Monster king and had went to recuperate. Mu Zi is fine. She's still inside the fort. Let's team up to deal with that fellow. His powers are extremely terrifying. You must be careful." Even though the cultivation of the Demon Emperor couldn't be compared to mine, with the addition of the Dark Demon Dragon that had comparable strength to the Dragon King, we would still be a force to be reckon with. When I mentioned that the Dragon King was severely injured, I could clearly feel that the Dark Demon Dragon's body jolted and an intense dark aura was released from his body, making me feel abnormally uncomfortable. It seemed that he and the Dragon King still had strong brotherly feelings!
The Demon King looked at the blood stains at my chest. "You should return to the fort to rest up while I fight against that fellow. You're wounded so even if you stay here, you'll just get in the way."
Even though the Demon Emperor's expression was cold, a warm feeling rose up from the bottom of my heart. "Lord father in law, I……" I knew that it was due to his attribute that countered mine and on top of that I was injured so he said that to prevent affecting me by his power.
The Demon Emperor shouted fumingly, "Since you had already called me your father in law, you should listen to me. The three races had already form an alliance so our Demon race must also contribute some of our strength. Quickly go!" Upon saying that, he prompted the Dark Demon Dragon and with purple light ray emitted from the Demon gun in his hand, he charged towards the Monster King.
The Demon King was fighting to help me gain some time. I no longer hesitated as I flew to the head of the fort. I must recover as soon as possible as the Monster King's power had already decreased drastically. I must recover my cultivation to completely eradicate him while he was still injured. I landed on the head of the city like a gold shooting star. Currently, the Dragon Army troop from the Kingdom of Xiuda was guarding the previous hole that formed from the Monster King's attack, while the archers of the Nature Elves and mages gave them solid support, making it impossible for the monsters to break into the fort. The condition in the sky had become stabilized. Under the division by Xiao Jin, the Dragon race's member formed two teams to help resist the offensive powers of the monsters.
When I just landed on the head of the city, I saw the deathly pale complexion Teacher Di, who was being supported by Teacher Zhen as they rested at a side.
"Teacher, how's your condition?" I asked anxiously.
Teacher Di laughed forcefully. "I still won't kick my bucket anytime soon. Zhang Gong, quickly do what you need to do. We had been watching what had happened. The Monster King really is horrifying. You must eliminate him today. Otherwise, the human race will be finished." Upon saying that, he violently coughed for a couple of times.
I seriously nodded. "Teacher, don't worry. Even if it leads to my death, I'll fight with all my might against the Monster King to the very end. Teacher Zhen, I'll have to ask you to take care of Teacher Di."
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Sage Monarch
☀Child of Light Fanart Contest Winners + Surprise☀
Hey everyone, here are the winners for the fanart contest!
A big congratulations to the winners! Check out the winning works below and scroll to the bottom to find out what the surprise is. ;)
In first place we have Janrei! Here's his short self-introduction...


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Jalen McDaniels, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, shoots during San Diego State's home victory against New Mexico last month. McDaniels, who has drawn the attention of NBA scouts, leads the Aztecs in scoring and rebounding. Photo courtesy Derrick Tuskan/GoAztecs.com
Sports Talk: McDaniels on the rise for the up-and-down Aztecs
Columns Sports Talk
by Jay Paris January 31, 2019 January 31, 2019 402
San Diego State's Jalen McDaniels went this way, that way and all the way to the basket in a recent win over UNLV. McDaniels' moves brought a big smile to one gentleman and had eight others taking notes.
The first man was Steve Fisher and yeah the retired SDSU coach knows a thing or two about winning hoops. The eight guys scribbling into their notebooks know hoops, too, and that's why these NBA scouts were salivating over McDaniels.
The Aztecs' season has been a roller-coaster ride and climb aboard at your own risk. This is a team which requires a seat belt, as in one Mountain West Conference game in which it looks great and wins. Then in the next one it can blow a 20-point first-half lead, as it did to Fresno State, and fall.
But fans are head over heels after watching McDaniels and for good reason. He's doing things last seen in these parts when future NBA star Kawhi Leonard was making jaws drop at SDSU.
When McDaniels, a lengthy 6-foot-10, 195-pound sophomore forward, produced his fifth straight double-double on Saturday, he joined Leonard as the only Aztec to do it in the last 23 years.
How special was McDaniels as the Aztecs beat the Rebels? No college player has scored a career-high 30 points, 13 rebounds, five steals and four assists in the same game since LSU's Ben Simmons did so. Simmons went on to be the NBA draft's first overall selection in 2016.
We're doubtful that McDaniels will go No. 1. But we're confident he won't last at SDSU much longer. He's too good, which is a good reminder to go see him while you can.
"You don't expect anything less from Jalen to be honest," teammate Jeremy Hemsley said after another grand showing from McDaniels. "It's just what he does. He has a nose for the ball. He plays with a lot of energy and it shows. It's no surprise to us as a team to see his recent success at all."
When McDaniels heard about matching Simmons, he reacted like spectators after watching his steady inside play, his solid mid-range jumper and him seemingly knowing where to go for rebounds before the ball exits the shooter's hand.
"Speechless," said McDaniels, a star at Federal Way (Washington) High before landing with the Aztecs. "I'm just going out there playing but things happen."
An astute observer of SDSU hoops could see this coming. McDaniels, as a redshirt freshman last year, revealed his rebounding skills in leading the team by averaging 7.5 per game. He showed his shooting touch by pacing SDSU in field-goal percentage (58.6 percent) and at the free-throw line (78.8) en route to being named All-Mountain West third team.
He'll receive that conference distinction again this season, but only by substituting first team instead of third. McDaniels' game has made such strides that playing in the NBA is not a far-fetched scenario.
"He was an NBA player today," said UNLV coach Marvin Menzies, a former SDSU assistant, after McDaniels breakout outing against the Rebels.
"He's doing what all the really good players here have done and that's putting in the work," SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said. "He works like crazy in practice and like crazy away from practice."
What's nuts is to think that McDaniels, the only SDSU player to be selected the conference's top player in consecutive weeks, will be around as a senior. His combination of skills and want-to will have him competing at the next level soon.
"If you want to play this well you just have to keep working in the gym and that's what I've been doing," McDaniels said. "That's just my mind-set."
Which makes SDSU's rivals mindful of McDaniels, every time he steps on the court.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] Follow him @jparis_sports
Inside Information: Conference championship weekend December 1, 2021
Sports Talk: San Diego State football is bowl… October 24, 2019
Sports Talk: San Diego State hoops ready to hit dance floor March 11, 2020
Sports Talk: SDSU is no longer punting its football season September 30, 2020
Sports Talk: The kicker to Frisch's SDSU career is… April 20, 2021
Sports Talk: Sugimoto's decision to switch from… May 26, 2021
Jalen McDanielsSan Diego State AztecsSan Diego State basketball
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Jay Paris
Sportswriter Jay Paris has written his "Sports Talk" column since joining the Coast News in 2013. Paris, a Cardiff resident, is a longtime Southern California writer, getting his start with the Orange County Register before coming to San Diego in 1992 to cover the Chargers. He had the Chargers beat for more than two decades with Oceanside Blade-Citizen, the North County Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune, before being named a sports columnist with the San Diego Union-Tribune. Paris has won numerous awards voted on by his peers in the Pro Football Writers of America. He has also been a staple on countless media platforms, everything from the KPBS to MLB Network and various radio outlets. Paris is also the author of three books, with his latest one being, "Shohei Ohtani: The Amazing Story Of Baseball's Two-Way Japanese Superstar." He has also written "Game Of My Life Chargers" and "Game Of My Life Rams." He currently covers the NFL in Los Angeles for Forbes. com and is a contributor to USA Today Sports Weekly. Follow Jay on Twitter @jparis_sports


Since then, I've discovered how to insert HTML images from Youtube into a blog post so I've updated it. Hope the videos enhance your pleasure of the blog post and that I can remember how to do it next time.
When I was very young, my mother and I went to live with my maternal grandparents and two teenage uncles (Joseph 20 and Tommy 18) who spoiled me rotten and encouraged me to be precocious. NOT that I needed much encouragement. The house was filled with music, my uncles having bought a large radiogram with wages earned working in the local steel mill. They played their 78's whenever they could, which meant I knew the words to all the latest songs and they taught me how to jive, twist etc. Later, when we moved house to England, my family's love of popular music continued (via the radio). We listened to Music While You Work, Children's Favourites, Sing Something Simple, Two Way Family Favourites and ground-breaking Radio Caroline. As a teenager I fell asleep listening to Radio Luxembourg via an earpiece attached to my prized transistor radio. When Radio One was launched in 1967 it was as important to teenagers, like me, as a man walking on the moon two years later.
Fast forward to listening to Radio One on the drive home from work, the transition from cassette tapes to CD's and finally, downloading music on my iPhone. Small wonder music has provided the backing track to all our lives.
I only have to hear the opening chords of this song and I am transported back to 1967 when the hippy movement reached Leicester. I had just taken my 'O' levels and at the start of the summer holidays my friend Brenda Harris and I bought a bag of budgie bells from the local pet shop (much to the shop keeper's suspicion). We sewed them on the outside seam of our bellbottom jeans, found a couple of floppy hats and 'granny clothes' at jumble sales and put together a 'hippy kit'. Then we joined all the other wannabes on Victoria Park in search of the much promised Happening, which never materialised. Instead, we ended up in mega trouble for chalking – MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR on a neighbour's garage door, after which the Summer of Love ended abruptly for us.
I discovered Adele much in the same way as Runrig. A friend had been banging on about her for months and I put my fingers in my ears and refused to listen. Stubborn, see? Then I caught Adele's concert at the Albert Hall on TV, heard her sing Someone Like You and Don't You Remember? and was hooked. Something in her lyrics – which come straight from her heart, the key she sang in, and her performance found an answering chord in me. Overall, I've had a good life and a very happy marriage. So, I have to dig deep when writing a sad/emotional scenes and Adele takes me there in seconds. So – that evening, once I'd stopped blubbing like a baby in front of the TV, I went straight on to Amazon and ordered '21'. It's remained a favourite ever since.
In the 90's we went to America, travelling from Washington DC to Memphis, thru Iowa and up to Door County. We stayed with my former teaching student and when we caught the plane back to the UK, she gave me Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA. In return, I promised that I would write a romance set in Wisconsin, bringing together everything we'd experienced over five magical weeks. Once home, I played the album while preparing for returning to school after the long holiday. However, influenced by Jilly Cooper, Helen Fielding et al I put notes for my 'American novel' to one side and started writing a rom com instead: Tall, Dark and Kilted. But I never forgot my promise and recently returned to the MS, re-writing and publishing it as Take Me, I'm Yours, dedicating it to Dee Paulsen and her family. Apart from the anthemic Born in the USA, my favourite track is Downbound Train. Every time I play it, I'm back in Dee's Aunt Bev's house in Memphis sweltering in 100 degrees in the shade as we rush from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car. Now I know that I don't have a pioneering bone in my body and would never convincingly play the part of a woman having a baby in the back of a wagon.
If you would like to buy a paperback of one of my novels (below Amazon price) please go along to this page to find out more.
Which five tracks would YOU choose?
Posted on March 24, 2019, in Lizzie's Scribbles. Bookmark the permalink.	4 Comments.
1. Suppers Ready – Genesis. I've been an atheist for 50 years and know with my addictive personality drugs are a really bad idea. So the first song would be about drugs and god (or God).
2. One – U2. Son no 1 was in hospital and I walked up and down the corridors holding him and humming this to calm him (he now has a PhD and can think me under the table).
3. Still Fighting It – Ben Folds. Bad times with daughter no 1 (two of each if you're wondering) and I played this song late one night and the line 'and I picked you up and everything changed' made me realise my plan of action was wrong. She's still a pita but from that moment I decided to fight from her corner.
4. Steam – Peter Gabriel. I cannot play it. It was released not long after my father died and has the line 'the quick and the dead'. Hit a chord as he had became the latter.
5. Whatever is my favourite at the moment. Odds on my wife will come in, raise an eyebrow and say 'What the … are you listening to now, so loud?'. I'll get all offended and then think, yep, actually she's right.
Tomorrow all may change, by the way.
6. would have been 'Fear of a Blank Planet' by Porcupine Tree which is an awful mix of a pounding tune with quite upsetting lyrics (not profane, but shining a light onto teenage mental problems).
7 would be 'See You later Alligator' or another 50s hit that my mum thought was safe on top of the wardrobe until I managed to get up there and kneel on the fragile things – oops.
10. Whatever was being played at an AC/DC concert in 1979 or 1980. The week before we had gone to see ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan in a small club. The ex-guitarist Ritchie Blackmore came on stage unannounced. The crowd surged (one does not know how frightening that is until you are in the midst). I ended up right next to the stack of speakers, Russ (my guardian re the stabbing) got turned around and spent the rest of the concert sitting on the low stage looking up the singers nose!). I remember walking down Charing Cross Road afterwards in shock. Cut forward to AC/DC. Because of the proximity to the Marquee speaker stack, my left ear, when presented with loud noises just gave up and recognised sounds only as a squeal. In the Hammersmith Odeon, I could stand up (with the rest of the crowd), watch the band but not hear or sit down and hear – but not see.
I hit upon the idea of placing left hand over left ear.
The climax of the concert was when the singer and guitarist disappeared from the stage and later reappeared at the back of the auditorium with the singer shoulder carrying the guitarist (look up the number of time that went wrong!).
I swear that as he came down the aisle, Bon Scott saw me with my hand up and was most confused by this guy standing like a folk singer!
More great memories Chris, thanks for sharing.


text:
[WATCH] Exiled 'president' yearns for his family
Alex Vella, president of the Rebels Motorcycle Club, is stranded in Malta after his visa ban to return to Australia – where he has lived for 40 years – was upheld in court.
4 May 2015, 10:17am
by Matthew Vella
Alex Vella: the Rebels MC president has no choice but to stay in Malta for the time being. Photo: Ray Attard
Alex Vella, president of the Rebels MC, still in Malta after Australian court upholds visa ban
The future looks bleak for Alex Vella, 61, president of Australia's largest bikie club – or OMCG, outlaw motorcycle gang – after his legal bid to have his visa ban revoked was turned down by Australia's highest court. A Maltese national who has lived in Australia for 46 years since his parents and siblings migrated there, he never applied for citizenship.
But since presiding over the expansion of the Rebels Motorcycle Club into Australia's largest OMCG, Vella has been targeted for expulsion. And it was last year while on holiday in Malta, that Vella was refused a visa to re-enter the country. 10 months down the line, his lawyers have failed to convince the courts to disclose the intelligence on which immigration minister Scott Morrison based his decision to refuse him a visa.
"I'm very disappointed," Vella says. "I'm innocent of any charges they can throw at me. I have never been to prison. I always obeyed the law… there is nothing much I can do, nothing the lawyers can do. It's very wrong. I've been told by my lawyer that it's corruption from high up," he says of the high court decision.
"I'm stranded here. There are no more steps after the high court. That's where it stops."
But Vella's mind is on his family, his children and grandchildren, and his business interests in Australia. "[My family] will probably come and see me, but even if my wife comes over, after a few months she'll want to go back to the children. If she spends time with me, she will be separated from the rest of the family."
Vella is a genial interviewee. He is having coffee at the Olympic in Mosta with friends – not the daunting, leather-clad bikers he holds court with – but locals enjoying the sun on May Day. His daily walk is part of his routine while in 'exile' from the land where his wife, children and grandchildren live.
This simple existence seems to belie the intimidating persona of the president of an 'outlaw motorcycle gang', the largest in Australia, and the focus of a specialised task force – Attero – which says it has carried out over 700 arrests or summons for 'OMCG' (outlaw motorcycle gang) members.
Vella himself was convicted for the possession of a trafficable amount of marijuana back in 1995, receiving an 18-month sentence of two-nights-a-week prison, and two-days-a-week community service. He was subsequently forced to pay $650,000 to the New South Wales Crime Commission to settle a proceeds-of-crime action.
But the former boxing champion has also built himself an impressive property investment portfolio, and readily admits having reached a settlement of over $1.2 million with the Australian tax authorities.
"I use money as a tool," he says of the third-party settlements that provided him with the capital for his business. First, he got over $225,000 in compensation when he was in an accident, using it to set up his business importing and selling motorcycles. In 2008 he sued the ANZ Bank after former business partner Tony Caradonna allegedly re-mortgaged three properties, including the Rebels' club house, for $2.4 million by falsifying Vella's signature. Vella also says he sued several media outlets for defamation.
That cash allowed him to be a property investor, he says with a gruff, affected Maltese-Australian accent. "Like that house for sale over there," he points to a property on Eucharistic Congress Road. "I could easily make three shops out of it."
Vella claims bikies are unfairly targeted for their lifestyle choice, and that law enforcement makes it impossible for them to hold down legal jobs. But the Attero National Task Force, established in 2012 specifically to dismantle the "criminal activities of the Rebels", describes Vella's club as "one of Australia's highest risk criminal threats".
"In full fairness… if a priest does something wrong, do they arrest the Pope for it? If a police does something wrong, do they charge the Commissioner of Police? Why me? Had I been with them guys committing the crime, I'd take the fault for it. But this is like a big family – if your son is away and has done something wrong, does the parent pay for that?"
Vella plays down the extent of OMCG criminality. "Their criminal activity is a percentage of what people dressed in suits and ties do. Most criminal activities have nothing to do with motorcycle clubs… they (the police) make a big fuss out of the little [bikies] do to throw the spotlight on us."
Even Vella's future as president of the Rebels now appears in the balance. He takes pride in his role as head of a club that has to keep check on its members – a job that requires him being a 'tough guy' as well. "Yes, you have to be. We have rules that we all agree on. When you step out of line, we step you out of the club… then again, there are other things you do that don't concern the club. We don't tell people to deal in drugs – that's their business, not mine."
It will be up to the Rebels to decide whether to vote Vella again as president. But his main concern appears being far away from his family. "I've been here 10 months and 22 days… you get up in the morning, have a walk and a coffee with people. They tell me, 'this is ok…' but I tell them 'where are you going from here?' They go home. I'm not… I'm going to a place I'm renting… looking at the walls, instead of my family."
Matthew Vella is executive editor at MaltaToday.
More from Matthew Vella Matthew on Twitter


text:
package org.apache.hadoop.zebra.mapreduce;

import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.StringTokenizer;

import junit.framework.Assert;

import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FSDataOutputStream;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.BytesWritable;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.LongWritable;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.Text;
import org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.Job;
import org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.Mapper;
import org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.Reducer;
import org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.lib.input.FileInputFormat;
import org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.lib.input.TextInputFormat;
import org.apache.hadoop.util.Tool;
import org.apache.hadoop.util.ToolRunner;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.mapreduce.BasicTableOutputFormat;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.mapreduce.ZebraOutputPartition;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.mapreduce.ZebraSchema;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.mapreduce.ZebraSortInfo;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.mapreduce.ZebraStorageHint;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.parser.ParseException;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.schema.Schema;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.types.TypesUtils;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.types.ZebraTuple;
import org.apache.pig.ExecType;
import org.apache.pig.backend.executionengine.ExecException;
import org.apache.pig.data.DefaultTuple;
import org.apache.pig.data.Tuple;
import org.junit.BeforeClass;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.apache.hadoop.zebra.BaseTestCase;

/**
 * This is a sample a complete MR sample code for Table. It doens't contain
 * 'read' part. But, it should be similar and easier to write. Refer to test
 * cases in the same directory.
 *
 * Assume the input files contain rows of word and count, separated by a space:
 *
 * <pre>
 * us 2
 * japan 2
 * india 4
 * us 2
 * japan 1
 * india 3
 * nouse 5
 * nowhere 4
 *
 *
 */
public class TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi extends BaseTestCase implements Tool {
  static String inputPath;
  static String inputFileName = "multi-input.txt";
  public static String sortKey = null;

  private static String strTable1 = null;
  private static String strTable2 = null;

  @BeforeClass
  public static void setUpOnce() throws Exception {
    init();

    inputPath = getTableFullPath(inputFileName).toString();

    writeToFile(inputPath);
  }

  public String getCurrentMethodName() {
    ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
    PrintWriter pw = new PrintWriter(baos);
    (new Throwable()).printStackTrace(pw);
    pw.flush();
    String stackTrace = baos.toString();
    pw.close();

    StringTokenizer tok = new StringTokenizer(stackTrace, "\n");
    tok.nextToken(); // 'java.lang.Throwable'
    tok.nextToken(); // 'at ...getCurrentMethodName'
    String l = tok.nextToken(); // 'at ...<caller to getCurrentRoutine>'
    // Parse line 3
    tok = new StringTokenizer(l.trim(), " <(");
    String t = tok.nextToken(); // 'at'
    t = tok.nextToken(); // '...<caller to getCurrentRoutine>'
    StringTokenizer st = new StringTokenizer(t, ".");
    String methodName = null;
    while (st.hasMoreTokens()) {
      methodName = st.nextToken();
    }
    return methodName;
  }

  public static void writeToFile(String inputFile) throws IOException {
    if (mode == TestMode.local) {
      FileWriter fstream = new FileWriter(inputFile);
      BufferedWriter out = new BufferedWriter(fstream);
      out.write("us 2\n");
      out.write("japan 2\n");
      out.write("india 4\n");
      out.write("us 2\n");
      out.write("japan 1\n");
      out.write("india 3\n");
      out.write("nouse 5\n");
      out.write("nowhere 4\n");
      out.close();
    }

    if (mode == TestMode.cluster) {
      FSDataOutputStream fout = fs.create(new Path(inputFile));
      fout.writeBytes("us 2\n");
      fout.writeBytes("japan 2\n");
      fout.writeBytes("india 4\n");
      fout.writeBytes("us 2\n");
      fout.writeBytes("japan 1\n");
      fout.writeBytes("india 3\n");
      fout.writeBytes("nouse 5\n");
      fout.writeBytes("nowhere 4\n");
      fout.close();
    }
  }

  public static void getTablePaths(String myMultiLocs) {
    StringTokenizer st = new StringTokenizer(myMultiLocs, ",");

    // get how many tokens inside st object
    System.out.println("tokens count: " + st.countTokens());
    int count = 0;

    // iterate st object to get more tokens from it
    while (st.hasMoreElements()) {
      count++;
      String token = st.nextElement().toString();
      if (mode == TestMode.local) {
        System.out.println("in mini, token: " + token);
        // in mini, token:
        // file:/homes/<uid>/grid/multipleoutput/pig-table/contrib/zebra/ustest3
        if (count == 1)
          strTable1 = token;
        if (count == 2)
          strTable2 = token;
      }

      if (mode == TestMode.cluster) {
        System.out.println("in real, token: " + token);
        // in real, token: /user/hadoopqa/ustest3
        // note: no prefix file: in real cluster
        if (count == 1)
          strTable1 = token;
        if (count == 2)
          strTable2 = token;
      }

    }
  }

  public static void checkTableExists(boolean expected, String strDir)
      throws IOException {
    File theDir = null;
    boolean actual = false;

    theDir = new File(strDir);
    actual = fs.exists(new Path(theDir.toString()));

    System.out.println("the dir : " + theDir.toString());

    if (actual != expected) {
      Assert.fail("dir exists or not is different from what expected.");
    }
  }

  public static void checkTable(String myMultiLocs) throws IOException {
    System.out.println("myMultiLocs:" + myMultiLocs);
    System.out.println("sorgetTablePathst key:" + sortKey);

    getTablePaths(myMultiLocs);
    String query1 = null;
    String query2 = null;

    if (strTable1 != null) {

      query1 = "records1 = LOAD '" + strTable1
          + "' USING org.apache.hadoop.zebra.pig.TableLoader();";
    }
    if (strTable2 != null) {
      query2 = "records2 = LOAD '" + strTable2
          + "' USING org.apache.hadoop.zebra.pig.TableLoader();";
    }

    int count1 = 0;
    int count2 = 0;

    if (query1 != null) {
      System.out.println(query1);
      pigServer.registerQuery(query1);
      Iterator<Tuple> it = pigServer.openIterator("records1");
      while (it.hasNext()) {
        count1++;
        Tuple RowValue = it.next();
        System.out.println(RowValue);
        // test 1 us table
        if (query1.contains("test1") || query1.contains("test2")
            || query1.contains("test3")) {

          if (count1 == 1) {
            Assert.assertEquals("us", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(2, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count1 == 2) {
            Assert.assertEquals("us", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(2, RowValue.get(1));
          }
        } // test1, test2

      }// while
      if (query1.contains("test1") || query1.contains("test2")
          || query1.contains("test3")) {
        Assert.assertEquals(2, count1);
      }
    }// if query1 != null

    if (query2 != null) {
      pigServer.registerQuery(query2);
      Iterator<Tuple> it = pigServer.openIterator("records2");

      while (it.hasNext()) {
        count2++;
        Tuple RowValue = it.next();
        System.out.println(RowValue);

        // if test1 other table
        if (query2.contains("test1")) {
          if (count2 == 1) {
            Assert.assertEquals("india", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(3, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 2) {
            Assert.assertEquals("india", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(4, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 3) {
            Assert.assertEquals("japan", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(1, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 4) {
            Assert.assertEquals("japan", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(2, RowValue.get(1));
          }

          if (count1 == 5) {
            Assert.assertEquals("nouse", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(5, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count1 == 6) {
            Assert.assertEquals("nowhere", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(4, RowValue.get(1));
          }
        }// if test1
        // if test2 other table
        if (query2.contains("test2")) {
          if (count2 == 1) {
            Assert.assertEquals("india", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(4, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 2) {
            Assert.assertEquals("india", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(3, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 3) {
            Assert.assertEquals("japan", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(2, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 4) {
            Assert.assertEquals("japan", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(1, RowValue.get(1));
          }

          if (count1 == 5) {
            Assert.assertEquals("nouse", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(5, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count1 == 6) {
            Assert.assertEquals("nowhere", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(4, RowValue.get(1));
          }
        }// if test2
        // if test3 other table
        if (query2.contains("test3")) {
          if (count2 == 1) {
            Assert.assertEquals("japan", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(1, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 2) {
            Assert.assertEquals("japan", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(2, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 3) {
            Assert.assertEquals("india", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(3, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count2 == 4) {
            Assert.assertEquals("india", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(4, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count1 == 5) {
            Assert.assertEquals("nowhere", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(4, RowValue.get(1));
          }
          if (count1 == 6) {
            Assert.assertEquals("nouse", RowValue.get(0));
            Assert.assertEquals(5, RowValue.get(1));
          }

        }// if test3

      }// while
      if (query2.contains("test1") || query2.contains("test2")
          || query2.contains("test3")) {
        Assert.assertEquals(6, count2);
      }
    }// if query2 != null

  }

  @Test
  public void test1() throws ParseException, IOException,
      org.apache.hadoop.zebra.parser.ParseException, Exception {
    /*
     * test combine sort keys
     */
    System.out.println("******Start  testcase: " + getCurrentMethodName());
    sortKey = "word,count";
    System.out.println("hello sort on word and count");
    String methodName = getCurrentMethodName();
    String myMultiLocs = null;
    List<Path> paths = new ArrayList<Path>(2);

    Path path1 = getTableFullPath("us" + methodName);
    Path path2 = getTableFullPath("others" + methodName);
    myMultiLocs = path1.toString() + "," + path2.toString();
    paths.add(path1);
    paths.add(path2);

    getTablePaths(myMultiLocs);
    System.out.println("strTable1: " + strTable1);
    removeDir(new Path(strTable1));
    removeDir(new Path(strTable2));
    runMR(sortKey, paths.toArray(new Path[2]));
    checkTable(myMultiLocs);
    System.out.println("DONE test" + getCurrentMethodName());
  }

  @Test
  public void test2() throws ParseException, IOException,
      org.apache.hadoop.zebra.parser.ParseException, Exception {
    /*
     * test word sort keys
     */
    System.out.println("******Start  testcase: " + getCurrentMethodName());
    sortKey = "word";
    System.out.println("hello sort on word and count");
    String methodName = getCurrentMethodName();
    String myMultiLocs = null;
    List<Path> paths = new ArrayList<Path>(2);

    Path path1 = getTableFullPath("us" + methodName);
    Path path2 = getTableFullPath("others" + methodName);
    myMultiLocs = path1.toString() + "," + path2.toString();
    paths.add(path1);
    paths.add(path2);

    getTablePaths(myMultiLocs);
    removeDir(new Path(strTable1));
    removeDir(new Path(strTable2));
    runMR(sortKey, paths.toArray(new Path[2]));
    checkTable(myMultiLocs);
    System.out.println("DONE test" + getCurrentMethodName());
  }

  @Test
  public void test3() throws ParseException, IOException,
      org.apache.hadoop.zebra.parser.ParseException, Exception {
    /*
     * test count sort keys
     */
    System.out.println("******Start  testcase: " + getCurrentMethodName());
    sortKey = "count";
    System.out.println("hello sort on word and count");
    String methodName = getCurrentMethodName();
    String myMultiLocs = null;
    List<Path> paths = new ArrayList<Path>(2);

    Path path1 = getTableFullPath("us" + methodName);
    Path path2 = getTableFullPath("others" + methodName);
    myMultiLocs = path1.toString() + "," + path2.toString();
    paths.add(path1);
    paths.add(path2);

    getTablePaths(myMultiLocs);
    removeDir(new Path(strTable1));
    removeDir(new Path(strTable2));
    runMR(sortKey, paths.toArray(new Path[2]));

    checkTableExists(true, strTable1);
    checkTableExists(true, strTable2);
    checkTable(myMultiLocs);
    System.out.println("DONE test" + getCurrentMethodName());
  }

  static class MapClass extends
      Mapper<LongWritable, Text, BytesWritable, Tuple> {
    private BytesWritable bytesKey;
    private Tuple tupleRow;
    private Object javaObj;

    @Override
    public void map(LongWritable key, Text value, Context context)
        throws IOException, InterruptedException {
      // value should contain "word count"
      String[] wdct = value.toString().split(" ");
      if (wdct.length != 2) {
        // LOG the error
        return;
      }

      byte[] word = wdct[0].getBytes();
      bytesKey.set(word, 0, word.length);
      System.out.println("word: " + new String(word));
      tupleRow.set(0, new String(word));
      tupleRow.set(1, Integer.parseInt(wdct[1]));
      System.out.println("count:  " + Integer.parseInt(wdct[1]));

      // This key has to be created by user
      /*
       * Tuple userKey = new DefaultTuple(); userKey.append(new String(word));
       * userKey.append(Integer.parseInt(wdct[1]));
       */
      System.out.println("in map, sortkey: " + sortKey);
      Tuple userKey = new DefaultTuple();
      if (sortKey.equalsIgnoreCase("word,count")) {
        userKey.append(new String(word));
        userKey.append(Integer.parseInt(wdct[1]));
      }

      if (sortKey.equalsIgnoreCase("count")) {
        userKey.append(Integer.parseInt(wdct[1]));
      }

      if (sortKey.equalsIgnoreCase("word")) {
        userKey.append(new String(word));
      }

      try {

        /* New M/R Interface */
        /* Converts user key to zebra BytesWritable key */
        /* using sort key expr tree */
        /* Returns a java base object */
        /* Done for each user key */

        bytesKey = BasicTableOutputFormat.getSortKey(javaObj, userKey);
      } catch (Exception e) {

      }

      context.write(bytesKey, tupleRow);
    }

    @Override
    public void setup(Context context) {
      bytesKey = new BytesWritable();
      sortKey = context.getConfiguration().get("sortKey");
      try {
        Schema outSchema = BasicTableOutputFormat.getSchema(context);
        tupleRow = TypesUtils.createTuple(outSchema);
        javaObj = BasicTableOutputFormat.getSortKeyGenerator(context);
      } catch (IOException e) {
        throw new RuntimeException(e);
      } catch (org.apache.hadoop.zebra.parser.ParseException e) {
        throw new RuntimeException(e);
      }
    }

  }

  static class ReduceClass extends
      Reducer<BytesWritable, Tuple, BytesWritable, Tuple> {
    Tuple outRow;

    public void reduce(BytesWritable key, Iterator<Tuple> values, Context context)
        throws IOException, InterruptedException {
      try {
        for (; values.hasNext();) {
          context.write(key, values.next());
        }
      } catch (ExecException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
      }
    }

  }

  static class OutputPartitionerClass extends ZebraOutputPartition {

    @Override
    public int getOutputPartition(BytesWritable key, Tuple value)
        throws ExecException {

      // check table schema and table data are passed to this class
      /*
       * value0 : india value0 : india value0 : japan value0 : japan value0 :
       * nouse value0 : nowhere value0 : us value0 : us
       */
      System.out.println("value0 : " + value.get(0));
      String reg = null;
      try {
        reg = (String) (value.get(0));
      } catch (Exception e) {
        //
      }

      if (reg.equals("us"))
        return 0;
      else
        return 1;

    }

  }

  public void runMR(String sortKey, Path... paths) throws ParseException,
      IOException, Exception, org.apache.hadoop.zebra.parser.ParseException {

    Job job = new Job(conf);
    job.setJobName("TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi");
    job.setJarByClass(TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi.class);
    Configuration conf = job.getConfiguration();
    conf.set("table.output.tfile.compression", "gz");
    conf.set("sortKey", sortKey);
    // input settings
    job.setInputFormatClass(TextInputFormat.class);
    job.setMapperClass(TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi.MapClass.class);
    job.setMapOutputKeyClass(BytesWritable.class);
    job.setMapOutputValueClass(ZebraTuple.class);

    FileInputFormat.setInputPaths(job, inputPath);

    // TODO: find a replacement
    //job.setNumMapTasks(1);

    // output settings

    job.setOutputFormatClass(BasicTableOutputFormat.class);

    String schema = "word:string, count:int";
    String storageHint = "[word];[count]";
    BasicTableOutputFormat.setMultipleOutputs(job,
        TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi.OutputPartitionerClass.class, paths);
    ZebraSchema zSchema = ZebraSchema.createZebraSchema(schema);
    ZebraStorageHint zStorageHint = ZebraStorageHint
        .createZebraStorageHint(storageHint);
    ZebraSortInfo zSortInfo = ZebraSortInfo.createZebraSortInfo(sortKey, null);
    BasicTableOutputFormat.setStorageInfo(job, zSchema, zStorageHint,
        zSortInfo);

    // set map-only job.
    job.setNumReduceTasks(1);
    job.submit();
    job.waitForCompletion( true );
    BasicTableOutputFormat.close( job );
  }

  @Override
  public int run(String[] args) throws Exception {
    TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi test = new TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi();
    TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi.setUpOnce();
    test.test1();
    test.test2();
    test.test3();

    return 0;
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    conf = new Configuration();

    int res = ToolRunner.run(conf, new TestMultipleOutputs2TypedApi(), args);
    System.out.println("PASS");
    System.exit(res);
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
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Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau, What Do Stones Smell Like in the Forest?, 2018 Photo: Yannick Desranleau and Chloë Lum
Conversation between Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre and Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau
Part of the exhibition Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau
As part of the exhibition Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau, the MAC invites you to a conversation between the artists and Musée d'art de Joliette curator Anne-Marie Saint-Jean Aubre, on Thursday, January 12, 2019 at 6 p.m.
After studies in visual arts at the University of Ottawa, Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre earned a master's degree in art studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is particularly interested in identity themes and cultural issues raised by contemporary art practices. In her role as curator of contemporary art at the Musée d'art de Joliette, she has invited Chloë Lum and Yannick Desranleau to undertake a dance and performance residency at the museum in fall 2019 that will culminate in an exhibition to be presented during winter 2020. She has been following the duo's work since 2015, when she gave them the opportunity to develop the project 5 Tableaux (It Bounces Back), a new performance presented at the Place Publique of the Darling Foundry, where she was then curator.
Multidisciplinary visual artists Chloë Lum and Yannick Desranleau focus on theatricality and the choreographic, frequently interweaving performance, dance and sculpture. The duo's recent works investigate the agency of objects, the material condition of the body and the transformative potential that bodies and objects exert upon each other. These interests are informed by Chloë's experience with chronic illness and its effect on their collaboration as well the duo's exploration of narrative tropes from literature, theatre and television.
They have exhibited widely, notably at the Or Gallery, Vancouver; Center for Books and Paper Arts, Columbia College, Chicago; Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal; Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, England; Whitechapel Project Space, London; University of Texas, Austin; Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown; and Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto. They have performed at the Darling Foundry and at the OFFTA festival. Lum and Desranleau are also known on the international music scene as co-founders of the avant-rock group AIDS Wolf, for whom they also produced award-winning concert posters under the name Séripop. Their work is in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. In 2016, Desranleau was awarded the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art, and in 2015, the duo was long-listed for the Sobey Art Award.
Fee(s)
Included in the regular MAC admission fee
Free admission for MACarte holders
Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau
20 06 2019 The 04 08 2019
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Medvedev L. N., 1997: New and interesting Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) from the Philippines collected by Dr. M. Sato. 6 pp. Japanese Journal of systematic Entomology (N.S.) 3(1): 99-104.
Medvedev L. N., 1998: The first record of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) from Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago. 2 pp. Russian Entomol. J. 7(1-2): 41-42.
Medvedev L. N., 1998: To the knowledge of Oriental Alticinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Genera Euphitrea Baly, 1875, Chilocoristes Weise, 1895, Pentamesa Harold, 1876, and Maulika Basu & Sengupta, 1980. 10 pp. Russian Entomol. J. 7(3-4): 147-156.
Medvedev L. N., 2000: Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) of Laos from the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. 22 pp. (in English). Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis hungarici 92: 161-182.
Medvedev L. N., 2001: A contribution to knowledge of the Alticinae of the Philippines (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). 9 pp. Entomologica Basiliensia 23: 193-201.
Medvedev L. N., 2001: Chrysomelidae of southern Asia (Coleoptera). 33 pp. Entomologica Basiliensia 23: 159-191.
Medvedev L. N., 2002: New and poorly known Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) from northern India. 9 pp. Entomologica Basiliensia 24: 245-253.
Medvedev L. N., 2004: Notes on Neotropical Alticinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). 5 pp. Bonner zoologische Beiträge 52(2003)(1-2): 121-125.
Medvedev L. N., 2005: Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Aulacia Baly, 1867 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae). 10 pp. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 'Giacomo Doria' 96: 429-438.
Medvedev L. N., 2006: A new species of Coptocephala Chevrolat, 1837 from South Africa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Clytrinae). 2 pp. Entomologische Zeitschrift 116(3): 139-140.
Medvedev L. N., 2006: Contribution to the knowledge of African Clytrinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). 9 pp. (in English). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde 691A: 1-9.
Medvedev L. N., 2009: A revision of the fulvous species of the genus Mimastra Baly, 1865 from Vietnam (Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae). 12 pp. (in English). Entomologica Basiliensia et collectionis Frey 31: 255-266.
Medvedev L. N., 2009: A revision of the genus Cassena Weise, 1892 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). 20 pp. (in English). Entomologica Basiliensia et collectionis Frey 31: 219-238.
Medvedev L. N., 2009: Dentilabra gen. nov., a new genus of Alticinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) from Malaysia. 6 pp. (in English). Entomologica Basiliensia et collectionis Frey 31: 239-244.
Medvedev L. N., 2009: New and poorly-known species of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) from Sulawesi, Bali and Singapore. 10 pp. (in English). Entomologica Basiliensia et collectionis Frey 31: 245-254.
Medvedev L. N., 2009: New species of Chrysomelidae from Nepal in the collection of the Naturkundemuseum Erfurt (Insecta: Coleoptera). 4 pp. Vernate 28: 409-412.
Medvedev L. N., 2010: New and interesting Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the collection of the Naturkundemuseum Erfurt. 5 pp. Vernate 29: 195-199.
Medvedev L. N., 2011: New taxa of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) from Nepal. 6 pp. (in English). Vernate 30: 249-254.
Medvedev L. N., 2012: New and interesting Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the collection of the Naturkundemuseum Erfurt. 15 pp. Vernate 31: 501-515.
Medvedev L. N., 2014: New and poorly known leaf beetles (Insecta: Chrysomelidae) from China and Indochina. 5 pp. Vernate 33: 237-241.
Medvedev L. N., : Fauna Clytrinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) stacionara Buonloj. 8 pp.
Medvedev L. N., : Fauna Zeugophorinae i Megalopodinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) Vietnama. 5 pp.
Medvedev L. N., Bezděk J., 2002: Two new Oriental genera of Galerucinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). 3 pp. (in English). Entomologische Zeitschrift 112(1): 9-11.


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text:
Hovis Lesley said:
Yep. Yep.
I've spoke to Mike for a long time. Never, never, did he have anything bad to say about Morrissey. I accept that might be meaningless.
Oh yes, he says all the right things to keep one foot in the door.
Hovis Lesley
Ketamine Sun said:
Yep. Possibly. But he was speaking about Morrissey as an artist. That's where we were both happy to keep it. He seemed genuine. Honest.
We spoke for about an hour.
ThePoliticalRevolution
Listen I am not in charge of these men. Im giving you airheads FREE advice. Do you know how many people want my advice? Do you?
Yep. I believe you.
Mike one foot in the door Joyce.
ThePoliticalRevolution said:
Listen I am not in charge of these men. Im giving you airheads FREE advice. Do know how many people want my advice? Do you?
After an hour of running my thighs chaff. What does Clapton say? It happens even if I run to Layla. And just the piano bit. Please help.
Go jump in the ocean !
Have you had a shock?
They've all got one foot in the door. You'd be there. I'd be there.
Well, they best hurry up! before that door becomes a grave !
You're not wrong there.
Would be strange! Though I'd still go,
swinging a bunch of gladioli, wear NHS spectacles and hearing aid !
Hey, why not?
You know why not! You cheeky monkey!
You know, and I know, if it happened it would start with a Strangeways tour.
I'd be there to see Morrissey, so I don't really mind.
I'd be surprised if he forgave that crack on Twitter though - he was kicked when he was down, not something he'd forget in a hurry.
Don't tell me what to do.
I am grateful to see this discussion continuing.
But would like to repeat that what got me MOST in your original post Hovis Lesley was this:
In a nutshell, a reunion would give Morrissey a lightning quick way of transcending the cancel culture. And given his love of the limelight and settling scores, there might soon be a need for that.
As I said before, I found myself thinking similar things, but couldn't express them as well as you did here.
I do wonder if anyone else thinks this factor - the fact that it would be hard for cancel culture to cancel THE SMITHS - just might make things different for Morrissey now, as opposed to 2008 when he didn't follow Marr up.
"The population of an entirely planned and controlled world is going to be inexpressibly lonely." - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI
Catholic said:
It's not going to happen. Not only will Marr never do it, Andy hates Moz too and regrets playing with him after the Smiths.
These things take time...in fact so much time that it will never happen. I hope it doesn't personally as I would hate for anything Smiths-related to get tarnished. Leave it where it is...in the annals of perfect music history.
MoneyChangesEverything
"Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself?"
What we're seeing is the 'public image' of AW...which, as we know, isn't necessarily the real or truthful version, although some will undoubtedly get fooled.
I would love to know the answer to this: 'I know who is planning your downfall. It is not me.'
And what we see in Autobiog is Morrissey's version of history, which *we know* from basic observation and being awake between 1983-2013, isn't real, truthful, or complete. Undoubtedly some people are still fooled that Moz is always one on the right side of history and is a genius beseiged on all sides by saboteurs.
It wasn't a hard dig, they've forgiven each other much worse than that.
I'm intrigued by these theories about Alain supposedly trying to 'grab the crown'. I find it implausible, verging on delusional, for a guitarist to start vying for power after 10+ years and demand permission to write a book and have his face on the albums. He had side projects at the time and they certainly never set the charts on fire, so it would have been silly to hope that he might be a breakout star. I'm also suspicious because that narrative (entitled guitarist wants a slice of fame and fortune) is the same thing Morrissey said when Johnny left - and if there was a (tiny) grain of truth in it, it still glosses over about 487 other reasons that they had.


text:
Q: How do I copy sibling to sibling in multiple different parents at the same time using jquery? I have multiple parents, more than 2, but this is just example, and I would like to copy from all the base prices to all the own prices with a click of one button.
<button type="button" id="copybtn" class="btn">Copy</button>

    thing1
    1
    <input class="ownprice" type="text" value="" name="price[]">

    thing2
    2
    <input class="ownprice" type="text" value="" name="price[]">

//something like this, but this doesn't work
$('#copybtn').click(function(){
    $('.ownprice').val($(this).siblings('.baseprice').text());
});

A: Iterate over each parent using .each() method, then get the value of children baseprice and add it to .ownprice.
$('#copybtn').click(function() {
    $(".baseownwrap").each( function(){
        bestPriceValue = $('.baseprice', this).text();
        $('.ownprice', this).val(bestPriceValue);
    });
});

A: You can iterate through each element with class .ownprice and copy the value from the element with class .baseprice:

$('#copybtn').click(function() {
  $(".ownprice").each(function() {
    $(this).val(parseInt($(this).prev().text(), 10));
  });
});

<button type="button" id="copybtn" class="btn">Copy</button>

  thing1
  1
  <input class="ownprice" type="text" value="" name="price[]">

  thing2
  2
  <input class="ownprice" type="text" value="" name="price[]">

References:
.prev()
.each()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Procter, J., Crawford, J., Bunce, M. and Welsh, K.I. (1998) Erratum: A rapid molecular method (polymerase chain reaction with sequence primers) to genotype for ABO blood group and secretor status and its potential for organ transplants. Tissue Antigens, 51 (3). pp. 319-320.


Fill big pot 3/4 full of cold water. Cover and bring the pot of cold water to a fast boil. Covering the pot of cold water with a lid will help bring the water to a boil faster.
Once water is boiling, then add about 1/4 cup table salt. Stir to keep the pasta from sticking. Stir within the first 2 minutes of cooking pasta. The pasta is more likely to stick together, in the beginning, before the starches are released into the water.
Place the lid back on the pot to help bring the water back to a boil. Once the pot is boiling again, remove the lid for the remaining cook time to prevent the pasta from boiling over. Follow the package directions for cook times and cook until "al dente," and is firm to the bite, yet cooked through.
Test the pasta 2 or 3 times before its just right. Once pasta is ready, turn off the heat quickly drain the pasta into a colander in the sink. Do no rinse the pasta.
Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and remove most of the seeds, using your fingers. Then quarter the tomatoes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add garlic and chilly flakes.
As soon as the garlic gives off its aroma and becomes opaque, add the tomatoes. Cook over high heat until the tomato begins to thicken. Use a wooden spoon to stir and help break the tomato pulp.
Add the basil, either whole or roughly chopped, and salt. When the sauce is cooked, remove it from the heat and run it through a food processor for a minute.
SERVE: Place boiled pasta in a serving bowl with the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta and mix well with the sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
TIP: You can add grilled veggies, or slivers of ham, or even some fish or prawns in the pasta.
Sweet and sour tomato and basil pasta is very quick to make and is an excellent snack to feed hungry kids or pack it for their lunch.
Fill big pot 3/4 full of cold water. Cover and bring the pot of cold water to a fast boil. Covering the pot of cold water with a lid will help bring the water to a boil faster. Once water is boiling, then add about 1/4 cup table salt. Stir to keep the pasta from sticking. Stir within the first 2 minutes of cooking pasta. The pasta is more likely to stick together, in the beginning, before the starches are released into the water. Place the lid back on the pot to help bring the water back to a boil.
Once the pot is boiling again, remove the lid for the remaining cook time to prevent the pasta from boiling over. Follow the package directions for cook times and cook until "al dente," and is firm to the bite, yet cooked through. Test the pasta 2 or 3 times before its just right. Once pasta is ready, turn off the heat quickly drain the pasta into a colander in the sink. Do no rinse the pasta.
Place boiled pasta in a serving bowl with the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta and mix well with the sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
You can add grilled veggies, or slivers of ham, or even some fish or prawns in the pasta.


Latest News, Product Listings and Discussion for Impact Soundworks.
Shreddage 3 Serpent - additional nki-instruments?
a question for Zircon and Evildragon!
My shreddage 2 download links have expired.
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– A ban on glyphosate, a widely used weedicide, imposed on the belief that it may contribute to chronic kidney disease will be relaxed to allow the tea farming sector to use it, a report said.
Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake had told Sri Lanka's Planters' Association, a groping of senior managers of tea farms, that the ban will be relaxed, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.
The tea sector will be allowed to import glysophate, following discussions with President Maithripala, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and related parties, the report said.
Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena banned the import of glysophate, after a theory was put forward that it was responsible for chronic kidney disease in mostly rice growing areas in the country.
However no animal studies were done to prove the theory, which the researchers said was because Sri Lanka was a country where most were followers of Bhuddism.
There have been no reports of tea workers being affected by kidney disease in a large scale in Sri Lanka yet. Factors including heat stress, dehydration in combination with mis-use of agricultural chemicals have been linked to the disease in other countries.
Similar chronic kidney diseases whose origin remains a mystery have cropped up in Andra Pradesh, some Central American countries and Egypt.
A World Health Organization arm that looks at cancer has said in 2015 that glysophate wasprobably carcinogenic (category 2B substance) to humans, along with malathion which is sprayed in households in Sri Lanka to kill mosquitoes, following an animal study which found links, though other studies have given mixed results.
Almost all Herbicides (Weedicides) are harmful to people. The chemicals can be absorbed through the SKIN. Particularly in the case of paddy farmers who work with their feet in the waters of the paddy fields are susceptible to the poisons in the herbicides dissolved in water. Also, if paddy field workers put their hands into the waters in the paddy fields, the same thing can happen.
Is it likely that in the Upcountry tea areas, when sprayed with herbicides such as Glyphosate, the herbicides can wash down into the paddy areas below and get into the water in the paddy fields. Once in the paddy fields, farmers whose skin is exposed to the water, will absorb the poisons into their skins.
In countries like Japan, rice paddy farmers wear boots (silicone treated to prevent absorption) and gloves.
We suggest that the GoSL give our rice paddy farmers of Lanka proper boots & gloves to protect them.
The alternative is to use natural methods of weed control in the Upcountry vegetable patches. Crop rotation is one such method.
Is heavy weed control spraying necessary in the tea areas ? In the tea estates I have walked about, the tea plants grow so closely together, no weeds can grow under tea plants due to lack of sunlight. Some weeds may grow on the bare earth between the lanes of tea, but tea pluckers do walk on these areas and they can hand weed ?
This cannot be such a difficult problem to solve.
At any rate, it is irresponsible of the Yahap govt to allow spraying of the Upcountry tea areas, saying that the tea workers are not having CKD. That is likely because they do not come into contact with the herbicide in water.
This is a disgrace and clearly another violation of the promises given to people before the 2015 presidential election. Possibly those who campaign for the removal of the ban on glyphosate are in the payroll of big agro-chemical importers. They are losing billions of rupees every year due to the ban.
Glyphosate effects are not felt in the upcountry as the hardness of water is low there. But they affect Rajarata areas where hardness of water is high. Glyphosate stays in water for days if not weeks and it washes downstream.
Glyphosate ban should not be lifted just to please very highly paid and overpaid Indian Tamil workers of big plantations at the expense of lives and kidneys of poor Sinhala farmers downstream. This will create ethnic tensions.
Only the big plantation companies (that are running at loss) have demanded glyphosate ban be lifted. Let them go bankrupt. That will save the nation hundreds of millions of dollars, the nation's water resource and food chain.
Glyphosate is detected in tea, rice and other food consumed by people. In USA the maximum allowable limit of glyphosate in rice is 30mg per 1 kg of total. It is 2mg/kg for tea. However, the restriction in tea is not imposed by any country. Sri Lanka doesn't test the glyphosate content of tea. They should be required to do so. That will create a demand from buyers for tea without glyphosate.
Ultimately even the consumers (not just farmers) will be infected with ailments created by glyphosate in food.
We appreciate the bold stand taken by Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thero on the glyphosate matter (as well as his bold stand on war in Mavil Aru in 2006). It is great he could make it to parliament. It is a shame JO politicians have been unable to stand by the people on this life and death issue.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2016. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response.


text:
North Saanich's share of the new proposed roundabout near the Amazon facility drops to 17.2 per cent from 20 per cent, drawing criticism from Coun. Scott Garnett, who wants North Saanich to honour its commitment of 20 per cent toward the project. (Black Press Media file photo)
Councillor fears Sidney will pay more for roundabout because of North Saanich
Coun. Scott Garnett made these comments in opposing new cost sharing agreement
Wolf Depner
The Town of Sidney and the Victoria Airport Authority will equally share the extra costs of the future roundabout near the new Amazon facility under a new, final cost-sharing agreement, much to the chagrin of one Sidney councillor.
Coun. Scott Garnett said he is concerned the new agreement for $6.4 million revises the initial agreement to the benefit of North Saanich.
"I find that problematic," he said.
North Saanich had initially agreed to pay 20 per cent of the project, with Sidney and VAA sharing 40 per cent each with the initial project cost at $5.5 million.
But the new agreement sees North Saanich's share drop to 17.2 per cent after that city's previous council agreed to cap its commitment in mid-August by a 4-2 vote to 20 per cent of the initial project cost of $5.5 million. The latest cost estimate pegs the project cost at $6.4 million with Sidney and the VAA equally sharing the additional cost of $900,000, according to a staff report. They also agreed to equally share any additional increases beyond $6.4 million.
The federal government is currently reviewing a grant application for $5 million toward the project with the grant to be allocated across the three partners according to their respective shares — if successful. (So North Saanich would receive 17.2 per cent — not 20 per cent — of the grant, with Sidney and the airport authority receiving 40 per cent). Staff said they expect an answer from the federal government in late February or early March 2023. But nobody can count on the grant, said Garnett.
RELATED: North Saanich puts limit on roundabout bill as cost estimates increase
"If those numbers of ($6.4 million) go up without grant, North Saanich's share becomes even less, and I think they are getting a lot of value of this," he said, adding that North Saanich will see additional development (and with it tax revenue) next to the existing Canadian Tire store.
"Quite frankly, they should be held to the 20 per cent," he said. "I understand that they voted on a cap, but there is more to gain for them than what they are letting on."
Garnett made those comments in voting against the revised cost-share agreement along Coun. Steve Duck.
While Garnett acknowledged the need for the improvements, he had previously questioned the lack of public input on the initial agreement.
He also raised concerns about the impact on Sidney's finances in case of future cost increases. Duck also raised financial concerns.
"I'm a little concerned that we are betting the farm on getting this grant," said Duck in pointing to the worsening economic climate and past mistakes in accurately predicting the costs of future projects. The project cost of $6.4 million stems from a Class A estimate, the highest possible grade.
Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith joined Couns. Sara Duncan, Terri O'Keeffe, Richard Novek and Chad Rintoul in favour of the agreement with supporters citing the need for additional improvements that would benefit Sidney residents and businesses, the airport, as well as North Saanich residents and businesses.
McNeil-Smith said the idea for a roundabout at the location goes back some 20 years in pointing to the area's infrastructure needs. He also addressed Garnett's comments.
While council might have preferred a different outcome for the benefit of local residents, council should respect the decisions of another council, he said. Everybody is moving forward in the best possible way under the circumstances, he added.
Sidney's director of corporate services and chief financial officer Andrew Hicik said the $6.4 million figure represents the "upper limit" of the project cost. He later added that even the initial figure was inflated based on current and anticipated construction costs.
"So we are starting with a base project cost that is generous," he said.
The project also comes with a contingency of over $900,000 with all increases subject to council approval.
"While I hear many council members think this will be over budget, I do not share that opinion because of the contingencies built in."
Political support for the project has always appeared lower in North Saanich than in Sidney with members of council especially but not just Coun. Jack McClintock having questioned its rationale. But residents of Sidney as well as its political leadership have also raised questions about the project with Coun. Sara Duncan once having compared it to Sidney's version of the McKenzie Interchange.
Coun. O'Keeffe questioned that narrative Monday, saying that staff is doing the best possible job.
Black Press has reached out to Sidney as well as North Saanich for comment about Garnett's comments and North Saanich's reliability as a partner.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroom@peninsulanewsreview.com.
wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com
Saanich Peninsula farmers see premier appoint new minister of agriculture
B.C. teacher who showed R-rated film to Grade 2s suspended 1 day


text:
The BEST episodes written by Jennifer Yale
#1 - Troubled Water
Underground - Season 1 - Episode 6
The road takes its toll on August; at the same time, the runners are trapped in a floating coffin; and Ernestine struggles to maintain her influence.
#2 - Chapter 7
Legion - Season 1 - Episode 7
David tries to find a way out of his predicament.
#3 - The False Bride
Outlander - Season 4 - Episode 3
Jamie and Claire search for a place to call home; meanwhile, in the 20th century, Brianna and Roger's romance heats up and then fizzles during a road trip that winds up highlighting their differences.
#4 - God Thunder
See - Season 3 - Episode 7
Tormada and Sibeth launch a violent attack on Pennsa that puts Maghra and the city's inhabitants in grave danger.
#5 - Liberum Arbitrium
Da Vinci's Demons - Season 3 - Episode 6
The Monster of Italy is finally captured, but the upcoming Crusade Festival is still threatened by danger.
#6 - Heavy Hangs the Head
Baba embraces life in the mountains as hatred for the sighted grows in Pennsa. A Trivantian scientist develops a terrifying new weapon.
#7 - Watch Out for Wolves
After a devastating loss, Baba heads to Pennsa to warn his family. Maghra debates the Witchfinders' fate. Wren stages a daring escape.
#8 - The House of Enlightenment
A standoff at the House of Enlightenment gives way to a bloody siege between Baba's party and Tormada's soldiers.
#9 - The Witchfinder
Kofun and Toad arrive in Pennsa just as Maghra makes a life-changing decision. Baba, Paris and Haniwa run into a trusted friend.


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Massachusetts, Retail, USA | Unfiltered | November 30, 2020
I work at a membership based warehouse. You have to pay a yearly fee to shop there (yes there's three places you're all thinking of). Despite our strict policies on signing up for a membership there's still the occasional idiot who will try to sign up for a membership and credit card with a false identity. I'm a supervisor at one of those warehouses who just happened to go on a cash register to get the lines down on a busy Saturday. A member (with his apparently bored girlfriend who was chewing gum and staring into space the whole time, who both looked 18 years old) goes through my line with a 65″ 4K TV and high end republic of gamers computer. Their total was $5,400.
For those unfamiliar with the membership based companies, if the name on the card of payment doesn't match with the name on the membership, you are to question it and ask for ID. In this case, the membership card name said one name (let's call him Eric) while the payment was a credit card with a totally different name (AKA Jane) which I assumed to be the gum smacking girl. By coincidence, the two first names used were the same as me and my husband. I tried to use this to ease some tension in the situation.
Me: wow Eric it's so funny, my husband is an Eric while your significant other has the same name as me *points to name badge*I guess it's a good name grouping
They then give each other a confused look then stare at me like I'm an idiot
Me: "well isn't she Jane and you are Eric?"
*More blank stares*
They then tell me to run the credit card, which I already know won't process because it's a paper instant credit card given by the company that clearly states "5,500 limit, only $3,200 useable immediately". The first thought through my head was "there's no way these kids got approved for that amount and even if they did… Why would they spend it all in one shot and ruin their credit?" After that it was clear to me from my banter that the girl was clearly not named Jane. , I decided to attempt to ring them up to humor them.
Yeah… It was denied. The guy made up an excuse and said he was going to the ATM to withdraw the 2,400 in cash. Yeah… We aren't idiots so the second he left his membership and license was flagged and security footage reviewed. But it was not necessary… The idiot immediately drove from our warehouse to one 20 miles away. With the same membership but different MALE identity he tried the same thing… Yes this guy used his own personal picture ID membership card and someone else's social security number to sign up for a new instant credit card. All I know from this point is that he was denied credit and access to the store. I'm seriously hoping more serious measures were taken after but I can't be sure.