#Data Buccaneer

[futureelectronic1106]

Meet the Bulgin Circular Data Connectors

https://www.futureelectronics.com/resources/featured-products/bulgin-circular-connectors. The dust and waterproof Data Buccaneer range includes a wide variety of sealed circular connectors designed specifically for Ethernet, USB (including mini-usb and micro-usb) and SMB applications. https://youtu.be/-LoS9Hct07Y

[waitineedaname]

Finally, after months of work, I have completed it: the collection of all* character appearances in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood!

edit: if you want a more detailed spreadsheet on the homunculi in particular, @vuullets has a collection of all homunculi appearances in the manga! you can find it here

Some notes on this spreadsheet:

there are spoilers. obviously. proceed with caution

timestamps indicate when a character first appears in a scene, not every time they appear. if the scene changes to one without that character, and then we return to that character in another scene, that's another timestamp for a new appearance

all timestamps are approximate, give or take a few seconds based on how quickly I could pause the show

only unique flashbacks count as an appearance. if the flashback is to something we've seen in a previous episode, that is not counted as a unique appearance, but if it provides something new that we haven't seen before, it counts!

I didn't include background easter egg appearances, like when you can see Mei in the background at a train station before she's introduced

I didn't actually do all characters. there are a lot of characters, and I am just one person. sorry if you're a big fan of minor members of the military, i just couldn't do it

since Greed is kind of a special case, he deserves a specific explanation: OG Greed and Greedling are not counted as separate characters, they're both just Greed. when Greed is in control of Ling's body, that counts as an appearance for Greed, and it's not an appearance for Ling unless he's in control. if they're both in a scene together (talking in the mindscape, for example, or switching control back and forth) they each get a timestamp for when they first appear/speak in a scene

feel free to use this as a reference! I made this as a useful tool for myself, and because I'm a nerd about data. if you are also a nerd about data, I tallied up some stats, which I'll put under the cut:

only six characters broke 30 episodes. the characters with the most appearances are Edward (60), Alphonse (58), Mustang (45), Hawkeye (42), Scar (40), and Winry (31).

next highest on the list are Alex Armstrong and Mei (tied for 29), King Bradley (28), Hohenheim (26), and Ling (25).

the homunculus in the most episodes is Wrath (28), and the one in the least is Lust (11)

as previously mentioned, Alex Armstrong and Mei are in the same number of episodes (29), as are Olivier Armstrong and Marcoh (24), and Buccaneer and Ross (18)

Hughes is in only 10 episodes, the same number as Grumman and Fu

Yoki is in a whopping 23 episodes. what the fuck

the chimera in the most episodes is Zampano (21), closely followed by Darius and Jerso (20), with Heinkel falling behind at 16. The Devil's Nest chimeras are only in 2 episodes, with the exception of Bido, who is in 3

[mattkenzie]

Credits go to ???, RJamesV (Twitter), ???, ???, poke.nova (Instagram) and ???

The Quaxly evolution that I never had. I want a Duccaneer (Duck + Buccaneer) Where is my pirate duck, you cowards!! 🏴‍☠️

I pretty much fell in love with Quaxly (especially seeing the full art from the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Paldea Evolved) I loved that this starter loves to maintain their hair, keeping it prim and proper. I was a bit put off by Quaquaval at first but it grew on me eventually.

This would be something you can obtain by having save data on Pokémon Scarlet/Violet (when you become the champion of Paldea and Quaxly was your starter), you’ll encounter a trainer who would give you an egg which hatches into a Quaxly (But this Quaxly is different as it has unkempt hair).

[7twdi29ot5y8og6ndze7m7wexn29cm24]

Where is my mind?

An abandoned oil rig stands in for the garden of Eden. A garden is a walled space with vegetation. It contains encrypted knowledge of good and evil. 777 terabytes of data contained in a single gram of DNA. Wiping a tear off your cheek. Salty.

The ocean is grey. Makes you feel like there's something wrong with it. What's the word? 'Contaminated' Mandate Tonic, Dance Titan Om, An albatross has swallowed an Evian bottle. When 2 become 1.

Like all people, they contained multitudes. Like all situations, this was several situations at once. sometimes I looked away and ate peanuts and drank Club Mate. Sometimes I thought about what time it was. Then I was on the verge of tears. Then I laughed a lot.

420 Park Avenue Drexciya François Rabelais Quake 7 Arena Caiman Nearness Arcane Sans Mine Amnesia Scanner

In a taxicraft. Magnetic hover. Tunnels. Plebs light fires and roast stray cats. Taste memory of gnawing on stringy cat meat. Cats are mostly bones and fur. Memories of paper money, also on fire. Memories of diamonds. Rare minerals, tea bowls repaired with gold. Kintsugi. Gnu I Kits. King Suit. Nothing less than a 1000 years old.

Street view, upper level: Gregorian monks in technical fabrics. Robes with mesh and intelligence. UV face tattoos glow in the dark. Yellow contacts, sharp fangs. Monks are chanting: Google Krishna, Shrinkage Go Lo, Angels Rig Hook, Regal Kings Ooh,

Ice cream melting on his chest. Yourdicklooksgreatinthoseheels.com Handguns, rare butterflies. elaborate prison tattoo of a tiger in mid leap. Augmented reality contact lenses. Red bull energy drink. Fleshlight. Shell fight. Septum streched, thicker rings are more beautiful. chain on neck. Bull ring on nose. Fake lashes. AFK lashes. Nails so long that these hands can no longer grab things. Voice control override. This could be us but you playin'

thunderdome thunderdome anagrams

We're gonna take everything before we secess. We need more weapons. Hi-speed Wi-Fi provided by drones is a given. Arab money in ciphered currencies. Treasure island. Buccaneers and buried gold.

A stream of more or less violent crimes. What was violence again?

Floor 312. We're there. I hand the driver a flake of skin and a fingernail.

The oil rig. A bird flies over. We extend our arm and stand completely still. Bird lands. Bird makes sound. Gently touch bird. It lets that happen. Bird says: ______________ . Identify bird: sparrow. Place filter on sparrow. Mosaic, turbulent displace, hue/saturation. Bird is simplified, jagged edges, orange for now.

scan

[jonathantaylorthomas]

Chiefs-Jets NFL Game Hits 27 Million Viewers as Taylor Swift Makes Second Week Cheering on Travis Kelce

NBC‘s Sunday Night Football game featuring the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the New York Jets averaged approximately 27 million viewers, making it the most-watched Sunday show since Super Bowl LVII on Fox in February.

According to preliminary data across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital platforms, that’s a 22% lift from last year’s Week 4 game (22.2 million as the Chiefs faced Tom Brady and the Buccaneers).

With another appearance from Taylor Swift, who was joined by friend Blake Lively, amid romance rumors with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, NBC’s “Taylor Made for Sunday Night” Sunday Night Football game promo was viewed approximately 8 million times.

In relation to her appearance last week at the Chiefs blowout against Chicago, which aired on Fox as the featured “America’s Game of the Week” faceoff, Fox’s telecast aired to an audience of 24.32 million total viewers and scored the highest among female demographics across the ages of 12-17, 18-49 this week.

In terms of audience, the trend continued with this week’s game as viewership among teen girls aged 12-17 spiked 53% from the season-to-date average of the first three weeks of Sunday Night Football, while the audience among Women aged 18-24 was up 24%, and Women 35 and older increased 34%.

[mimble-sparklepudding]

Reckless Ijinixxi.

That aimless young buccaneer Reckless,

Led a life that was torpid and feckless,

But a black mage in pink,

Caused him to rethink

With the gift of true love and a necklace.

For the next installment of my silly poetry series, we have the dashing pirate Miqo'te Reckless of @pinxli (and also @miqomischief).

Reckless is one of the many fantastic characters to be found across the various blogs produced by this creator (although how she keeps track I shall never know). A character with an arc that nobody could have predicted - least of all himself.

If you enjoy romance and fluff, punctuated by occasional angst and slaughtering hordes of voidsent, then Reckless and Inxli are a power couple worth getting to know (obviously it goes without saying that Inxli and Reckless are both adults and written as such).

To say nothing of the supporting cast of Tonberry refugees, some adopted children (one of whom is a Namazu), a flock of slightly confused apkallu and a bouncily cheerful father-in-law.

I can definitely recommend @pinxli for excellent writing and fun gposes, but also for the many RP events that the writer puts on for the FFXIV community, such as Glitter Hall and Story Hall. Keep an eye out for boosts on this blog and if you're on NA Data Centres I highly recommend you check them out!

[habitica]

JUNE SUBSCRIBER ITEM REVEALED!

The June Subscriber Item has been revealed: the Phantom Buccaneer Item Set! Subscribe to Habitica by 11:59 PM US EST on June 30 to receive this exciting set! Go to Menu > Subscription on mobile or User > Subscription on web to sign up. If you're already an active subscriber, reload the site and then head to Inventory > Items to claim your gear!

Subscribers also receive the ability to buy gems for gold—the longer you subscribe, the more gems you can buy per month! There are other perks as well, such as longer access to uncompressed data and a cute Jackalope pet. Best of all, subscriptions let us keep Habitica running. Thank you very much for your support—it means a lot to us.

[libertineangel]

Emry Sloan followed Gride Orian's directions and found they led to a very old derelict defence station in a remote corner of Paranid space once known as the headquarters of the fearsome Duke's Buccaneers. Scanning a series of beacons, and relaying the data therein to Boso Ta, she ended up making contact with an old, much-scarred Paranid by the name of Kromancketslat. He was a veteran of many battles in the time of the Gate shutdown, and had seen many hopeful Pontifices fight amongst themselves for supremacy as they reconnected, each seeing the others as pretenders, and he believed that now was the time for him to return and sow the seeds of lasting peace.

He invited Commander Sloan to escort him in negotiations with the Holy Order, and the first stop was a brief one. He docked at a defence platform, leaving Sloan to wait nearby, and soon after a squadron of Holy Order fighters came to intercept - Kromancketslat's scout ship was more than quick enough to evade them, and Sloan's Hand proved itself capable of dispatching them all with only a few shots each, though not without sustaining some damage in the process. The next destination was the monument Sloan previously scouted, and along the way she stopped off at a nearby Paranid wharf for repairs; while there she also commissioned a scout ship of her own for a reasonable price, and before long Captain Jesmeen Tsosie was flying the Swift Explorer across Holy Order space, filling the map as rapidly as the name would suggest.

Meeting Kromancketslat at the monument, he asked Sloan to speak with his nearby lieutenant: this turned out to be none other than Gride Orian herself, who revealed him to be the infamous Duke who once led the great Buccaneers. She believed his faith in peace to be misguided and foolish, and told Sloan she had a plan to reinvigorate his old ambitions, which began with Sloan picking up a bag of explosives.

[thepublicnews]

How Profit and Incompetence Delayed N95 Masks While People Died at the VA

Federal agencies have hired contractors with no experience to find respirators and masks, fueling a black market filled with price gouging and multiple layers of profiteering brokers. One contractor called them “buccaneers and pirates.”

N95 respirator masks manufactured by 3M.

Before embarking on a 36-hour tour through an underground of contractors and middlemen trying to make a buck on the nation’s desperate need for masks, entrepreneur Robert Stewart Jr. offered an unusual caveat.

“I’m talking with you against the advice of my attorney,” the man in the shiny gray suit, an American Flag button with the word “VETERAN” pinned to his blazer, said as we boarded a private jet Saturday from the executive wing at Dulles International Airport.

It remains a mystery why the CEO of Federal Government Experts LLC let me observe his frantic effort to find 6 million N95 respirators and the ultimate unraveling of his $34.5 million deal to supply them to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, where 20 VA staff have died of COVID-19 while the agency waits for masks.

It’s also unclear why the VA gave Stewart’s fledgling business — which had no experience selling medical equipment, no supply chain expertise and very little credit — an important contract. Or why the VA agreed to pay nearly $5.75 per mask, a 350% markup from the manufacturer’s list price. In the end, after ProPublica asked questions about the deal this week, the VA quickly terminated it and referred the case to its inspector general for investigation.

Stewart maintained he was trying to do a public service and plans to tell investigators how he was taken for a ride by “buccaneers and pirates,” the multiple layers of intermediaries, fixers and lawyers standing between respirator mask producers and front-line workers who are dying without them.

I had first contacted Stewart last Friday after a ProPublica analysis of federal contracting data showed this sizable deal was his company’s first — and had been awarded without the usual bidding meant to weed out companies that can’t deliver.

Stewart wasn’t alone. The coronavirus pandemic had unleashed a bonanza for untested contractors riding a wave of unprecedented demand and scarcity of everything from hand sanitizer to ICU beds. So far, the administration of President Donald Trump has handed out at least $5.1 billion in no-bid contracts to address the pandemic, federal purchasing data shows. The VA, far more than any other agency, appeared to be awarding large contracts to little-known vendors in search of the personal protective equipment that’s pitted local, state and federal agencies against one another.

I wanted to know how a company the 34-year-old Stewart had formed two years earlier had gotten one of the largest no-bid contracts. And, more importantly, could it fulfill it?

There was reason to wonder. A quick Google search showed large portions of the text on FGE’s company website had been lifted verbatim from a 1982 Harvard Business Review article. The company primarily advertised IT consulting and advertised a “block chain” A.I. solution to government procurement, whatever that means. But I found nothing suggesting the company could buy and ship life-saving medical equipment — and fast.

In a phone call, Stewart was defensive about an article on federal contracts in The Wall Street Journal that he believed unfairly painted him as a crook. His mother was so upset she wrote a letter to the editor. “My mom and dad raised me to be a man of integrity,” he said.

That’s when the first inconsistency arose. The Journal quoted Stewart as saying he was at the Port of Los Angeles “looking at a few million masks” and “getting ready to step on a Boeing 737 to bring the masks to the VA.”

He told me, however, that he had been in self-quarantine and hadn’t traveled anywhere since Christmas.

But he said he did have 6 million N95 respirators masks lined up in Los Angeles and would be getting a “proof of life video,” in the form of cellphone footage of scores of boxes with 3M labels, sent from an unidentified sender. The next day, he planned to take a private plane to the VA distribution center outside of Chicago to witness the delivery. I asked to tag along.

So here we were, aboard a whirring Legacy 450 Flexjet replete with leather captains’ chairs, dozens of liquor shooters, snacks and two pilots curious as to why we were stopping in Columbus, Georgia, en route to Chicago. It was a pit stop to pick up Stewart’s parents to bring them along for what was supposed to be a proud moment.

“This is about helping folks, about being able to say to my mom and dad, ‘Thank you,’” he said. “All the work you did, now we are about to help 6 million people — well, 6 million masks.”

“Kind of a Faith Thing”

For a man who said he had spent weeks of sleepless nights in search of masks and learning shipping logistics, Stewart exuded the confidence of a magician about to perform his career-defining trick. But his next act was already falling apart.

We were midair when Stewart revealed that the 6 million masks that were supposedly in LA had slipped from his grasp and been sold to another buyer when he didn’t produce the money fast enough. So, he had no masks.

This was the second time Stewart said he had lost a mask supply before he could get his hands on it. He had tried earlier in April to procure masks from China, but that failed when the Chinese government took control of its mask-producing companies and limited exports.

Robert Stewart Jr. checks his phone during a flight to Columbus, Georgia.

I asked why on earth we were flying to Chicago to try to meet the VA’s midnight delivery deadline if he didn’t already have the N95s.

“It was kind of a faith thing,” he said.

For 24 hours, Stewart had frantically reached out to contacts he had made as a former contract officer for the Pentagon. And early Friday, just one day before his shipment was due to the VA, Stewart said he got connected to a fixer in the U.S.

The fixer was Troy King, a former attorney general of Alabama who had just lost a run for Congress in that state’s 2nd District. Stewart said King connected him to an unidentified distributor, who could then connect him with 3M, the manufacturer of N95s, which block 95% of small particles such as those carrying COVID-19. Stewart said King also promised to arrange financing so FGE could get the deal done fast.

“When you’re a poor kid from Alabama,” Stewart said, “you do what you need to do to get the job done.”

Much of what Stewart told me either proved false or impossible to confirm, which he says is because he was being lied to by brokers and middlemen. For instance, he claimed to have a contact within the White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, who was working to help him smooth the deal over with VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. But when I asked spokespeople with the task force and the VA about the name he cited, no one had ever heard of her or had employment records for someone by that name.

Stewart said King was the one who claimed to have Pence task force connections and was brokering the deal through an Alabama LLC, Bear Mountain Development Company. King would charge a broker’s fee for connecting FGE to the distributor, Stewart said, and the payout would depend on shipment volume. But the price per mask kept changing. King told Stewart it would cost him $4.90 per mask — without shipping or overhead — to get the supplies from the distributor, according to text messages Stewart shared.

King did not respond to my calls or emails, but through a spokeswoman said he talked to Stewart because he was having trouble getting masks.

“I worked all weekend to locate 3M masks that were available. The only 3M masks we could source for him were priced at $4.90 per mask, which is the price that we were being charged by our supplier.”

King said no cash changed hands and that he thought he might forgo the broker fee.

“Due to the fact that these products were for use in veterans’ facilities, we agreed that our efforts might end up being an uncompensated public service,” the statement said.

The deal’s tenuous nature — a broker Stewart didn’t know, buying from a seller he didn’t know, financed by someone he didn’t know — seemed a profound and expensive leap of faith. But Stewart was convinced that he was “getting the VA a good thing at a good price.”

He had been called to action, he said, after seeing a CNN segment where a nurse described making her own face shield out of plastic film. As a former Air Force officer, he said he felt compelled to help.

“The goal here is not to get rich,” he said. FGE would be lucky to pocket about 10 cents a mask, he said, somewhere around $600,000, when the VA got its goods.

Yet we were bobbing around on a lavish jet, when commercial flights were available at about one one-hundredth of the cost per ticket.

Stewart spent more than $22,000 to travel on this private plane.

When I asked why he spent more than $22,000 on a private plane, he said it was to prove he was no fly-by-nighter but a reputable government contractor.

“It comes down to me and my credibility,” he said. “Why would anybody pay $22,000 to have a ghost box delivery? It doesn’t make any sense.”

This was money out of FGE’s pocket. The government typically doesn’t pay vendors like Stewart until the goods are delivered. (ProPublica reimbursed FGE for the cost of a commercial ticket.)

Stewart pulled a faded Bible from his bag and talked about miracles. His chance to prove himself on this deal, he said, is a small miracle.

“Awarding a $34.5 million contract to a small company without any supply chain experience,” he mused. “Why would you do that?”

Price Gouging?

Why the VA would do that is a lingering question. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency is officially leading the effort to scrounge up PPE, reportedly plucking shipments out from under states and other parts of the executive branch, the VA made its own supply purchases in March and April.

But despite signing 1,100 contracts worth $591 million just for PPE, the VA has experienced a devastating shortage for weeks. Nurses and doctors are reusing masks, avoiding patients and rationing gear. As BuzzFeed News reported April 7, despite the VA’s public assurances that the supply chain was “kicked into full gear,” leaders at one hospital said nurses and doctors were allowed only one surgical mask per shift. The more effective N95 masks, which the VA hired Stewart and his company to hunt down three days later, were in such short supply that they could only be used if there was a high chance of aerosolization, meaning the virus was believed to be temporarily airborne.

Though Stewart repeatedly promised to show me his original VA contract pitch, he ultimately declined to share it. What is clear is that FGE, which is designated as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, had a competitive advantage in securing work at the VA, which sets aside certain contracts for small veteran-owned companies. Stewart declined to talk about how he qualifies as disabled.

Stewart said his deal’s cost was being driven up by high demand and by the brokers trying to collect “success fees.” While he said King never disclosed his fees, he showed me another contract with a different broker. That offer, which FGE declined, would have paid 5 cents a mask — about $300,000 — to the broker setting up the deal.

Ken Curley, a retired Army colonel whose company works with local governments and hospitals to order masks outside of this emerging black market, called the FGE deal “absolutely” a case of price gouging. “So you have a $4.90 mask before you put it on a truck?” he said. “It’s insanity.”

Curley’s company, Raymond Associates LLC, drafted a best practices paper for buyers like local hospitals, pointing out that 3M’s list price for masks like those Stewart was attempting to purchase was $1.27. After shipping costs and overhead, the end price should realistically be around $2 a mask, he said.

“So anybody that’s above that number is gouging,” Curley said. “And they know it.”

Curley said he’s seen numerous offers for respirators, many of which did not really exist, and turned away brokers working through multiple layers of intermediaries. To avoid this, he recommends “a single line” between the distributor and the government agency buying the product, meaning there’s only one facilitator.

Sergio Fernández de Córdova, who chairs a media nonprofit in New York, is working with Curley to help government agencies get reputable masks at better prices. Government agencies are partly to blame, he said, because they’re desperately handing out big contracts to unknown companies and paying exorbitant prices for whatever comes back. In the FGE deal, for instance, the VA essentially set its high price when it agreed to 6 million units at $34.5 million.

“They’re approving it,” he said. “So that’s why people don’t see a problem with it.”

Though several states have clear price gouging laws, those rules don’t apply to federal government purchases.

“It is the Wild West and a loophole — that’s why so many lawyers are involved,” Fernández de Córdova said. “We’ve seen deals with lawyers making a couple hundred grand.”

3M has filed lawsuits in at least five states against people selling its respirators and masks at obscene markups. The Justice Department is also hunting down alleged scammers, such as two California men who were arrested for selling Chinese versions of the N95 respirators, KN95s, which they didn’t actually possess.

Stewart had read about those cases and had been given a copy of Curley’s best practices memo, and it clearly worried him.

“I’m just trying to fulfill my obligation and not go to jail,” he said.

Empty Hotel, Empty Promises

At 11 a.m. Saturday, Flight N407FX skidded onto warm asphalt in Columbus.

Stewart’s mother and father were waiting with luggage, while a few other family members came by to take pictures.

Also joining us was Dawn Lockhart, Stewart’s friend from middle school whom he had hired as FGE’s human resources director. She, like me, had been told by Stewart that everyone on board would have access to an N95 mask for protection on the flight. But there were none.

Despite his company’s moniker, there seemed nothing expert about this operation. Stewart said his company lawyer had missed the flight because he slept in. Lockhart, who joked that she was wearing a skirt and heels for the first time in three years, was flipping through a textbook titled “Strategic Staffing.”

Stewart was building his company, like this deal, in midflight.

Once we were airborne, Stewart said he had found a new mask supplier in Atlanta who could quickly deliver to Chicago.

He said that once we landed he would drop his folks off at the Hilton Oak Brook Hills Resort just outside of Chicago and then he and I would take a taxi over to the VA distribution center and wait for a mask delivery “even if we have to wait until 3 a.m.”

But we never left the confines of the vast and vacant Hilton, where two employees sat bored behind makeshift plexiglass barriers.

In the lobby, Stewart worked the phones. He needed the VA to sign off on his new arrangement, but to win approval, he needed invoices and other documentation that he said King wasn’t sending over.

Just before 2 p.m., King had sent the “proof of life” video that Stewart said he’d been asking for, according to text messages Stewart later shared. The grainy cellphone video pans over what appear to be hundreds of boxes labeled 3M, but it was unclear what was in the boxes or where they were.

Text messages between Troy King and Stewart.

By 3 p.m. Stewart had been joined by several friends and associates, including Roosevelt “Trey” Daniels of Frontline Recovery, a Houston disaster recovery firm. Daniels connected FGE to King.

Stewart and Daniels made dozens of calls — to King, to trucking companies, to cargo jet owners. “Hey, Frank,” Daniels said into his cell. “Who is a good freight company?” And that would lead to the next call and the next.

By 5:20, Daniels had suggested they send a portion of the shipment by truck to Illinois, while they figured out how to get the rest on planes. Stewart insisted that he wanted to get the whole shipment there at once.

Then, a new idea emerged. Maybe they could buy some time by getting the VA to agree to an extension. Daniels had worked as a district director for U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, and got her office to draft a letter in support of FGE.

“Can you lend your voice to this veteran-owned, African American business?” Daniels said he asked the congresswoman. “And she said yes. She’s always willing to go to bat for folks who are trying to do the right thing.”

Stewart drafted a formal extension request, citing provisions in federal contracting law. As the evening wore on, what was at first frenetic determination to pull off a miracle subsided into resignation and then into finger-pointing — at King, the VA bureaucracy, the market itself.

Daniels says the deal went south because King and Stewart faced a challenging market, trying to move cash too fast, while the federal government doesn’t provide enough guidance for vendors.

“This situation with Troy King and Rob Stewart is you really have two good guys who had a lot of miscommunications,” he said. “One wasn’t communicating enough. One had his back against the wall.”

“Robert Stewart is a good guy,” Daniels said. “He’s a very honest guy.”

The group ordered tacos for what Stewart said was the company’s “last supper.” “I’ve done everything I can do,” Stewart said. “I called in every favor I had.”

A Federal Investigation

The next morning, as the dejected party boarded for a return flight, the pilot asked: “Anything I can get you before we take off?”

“Six million N95 masks,” Stewart quipped.

We landed in Georgia an hour and a half later, Stewart snapped photos with his family in front of the jet, and the two of us took off for Dulles.

The CEO was in the same gray suit as the previous day, now wrinkled. With his friends and family gone, his joviality had given way to exhaustion and the realization that this article probably wasn’t going to be one he liked. The optics of the private jet, he said, would not be good.

“The only reason I took the plane was because of my parents,” he said. “They’re old and I didn’t want them to get sick, and I wanted them to see this. I wanted to say thank you.”

Stewart said he had severed ties with King the previous night. Stewart said he and his team couldn’t track down any Juanita Ramos, the connection King purported to have to Pence’s task force. And King hadn’t sent over the invoice he needed for the VA.

“I absolutely do believe he made her up,” Stewart said Wednesday. King did not respond to a question about Ramos.

“He’s the one that made up this figment Ramos lady,” Stewart added. “I didn’t make that up.”

“After several conversations over the weekend, Mr. Stewart informed us that he had secured these masks through another source and that he would not need our services to secure the masks,” King said through a spokesperson. “There have been no further conversations between Mr. Stewart and me. No agreement was ever made, no contract was ever executed, and no money was ever exchanged.”

Stewart believes there were never any masks in LA or Atlanta.

“Every time you get ready to do the due diligence or whatever else — you ask to see the proof of life — people go: ‘Oh, well we don’t have that. We have this kind. Or we can’t do that until this week or this date.’ Stuff just never materializes. It’s a bunch of smoke and mirrors and ghosts.”

Stewart, to the end, maintained he would find a way to get masks to the VA. He followed up with the VA, offering a contract to get on a production line directly from 3M, at a cheaper cost, just $3.77 a mask.

But the VA terminated the deal Wednesday, after I inquired with the agency and a spokesperson for Pence’s task force. The agency didn’t tell Stewart directly, though he said he was made aware of the IG investigation.

“The story is that we started out trying to do the best thing for the country,” Stewart said. “I failed in that, ultimately.”

Back in DC, I asked a VA spokesperson why any of this, the FGE contract and intermediaries, was even necessary. Couldn’t the VA just buy masks directly?

The agency is waiting, along with much of the federal government, on FEMA, said spokeswoman Christina Noel. More than 166 million respirators are being produced by 3M under the Defense Production Act over the next few months, “some of which are being provided to the VA.”

In the meantime, the VA was hiring contractors to scour for additional masks.

“To meet the remainder of its N95 respirator needs, VA conducts additional acquisition activities with other vendors,” Noel said.

In the end, the VA ended up with precisely zero additional N95 masks from its deal with Stewart.

On the up side, the VA paid no money to FGE, Noel said.

As of Wednesday, more than 2,200 VA employees had tested positive for COVID-19.

[jdsrepository]

Shiver Me Timbers! Plundering Data Privacy Will Land Ye in Davy Jones' Locker

Ahoy, me hearties! Today we'll be navigatin' the treacherous waters of data privacy violations. Ye scurvy dogs best heed this warnin', lest ye find yerselves walkin' the plank into Davy Jones' Locker! In this modern age o' digital buccaneers, data be the new treasure trove. From sensitive financial information to personal identities, there be a vast bounty o' data ripe for the plunderin'. But make no mistake, the consequences of pillagin' this modern-day booty be as severe as the ancient penalties for mutiny. Just as how a ship's crew respects the iron rules of the captain, the digital seas have their own set o' laws governing data privacy. These laws, enacted by governments and regulatory bodies, are akin to the maritime code that kept order among even the most hardened pirates. Ye break these laws at yer own peril, me mates. Those who dare to engage in the despicable act of data piracy face a fate worse than being marooned on a desert isle. The punishments range from hefty fines that would sink the coffers of any self-respectin' pirate to imprisonment in the dankest, most miserable brigs known to mankind. But that's not the worst of it, me buckos! The real scourge that haunts those who violate data privacy is the tarnished reputation that follows. Like a cursed black spot, the mark of a data privacy offender be a stain that no amount of scrubbin' can remove. Ye may as well be sporting a crimson letter "P" on yer breast, warnin' all who cross yer path that ye be a pilferer of personal data. And let's not forget the wrath of the victims whose data has been plundered. Imagine the fury of a thousand angry captains, their faces red with rage, their cutlasses drawn and thirsting for vengeance. That's the kind of ire ye'll face from those whose trust ye've betrayed by stealing their digital treasure. So, take heed, ye scurvy sea dogs! Data privacy be no triflin' matter. The consequences of violatin' these sacrosanct laws be as dire as the legends of ghostly ships and cursed gold. Ye'd be better off facin' the wrath of the Kraken itself than the full force of the law when it comes to data privacy violations. Remember, the digital seas be vast and unforgivin'. But if ye keep a weathered eye on the horizon and steer clear of the treacherous reefs of data piracy, ye may just live to plunder another day. Arrrr!

[ocombatente]

Chutando de bico!

Definidos os confrontos das semifinais da Copinha. Carioca já começou, e Paulista inicia neste fim de semana. NFL na reta final. Real Ariquemes é punido e Porto Velho na Copa Verde. Jogos da Copinha serão na segunda-feira. Começam os estaduais de futebol pelo Brasil. NFL se preparando para o Super Bowl Copinha – Corinthians encara o Novorizontino, Flamengo passa nos pênaltis e enfrenta o Cruzeiro, que venceu o Coritiba por 1 a 0. Esses dois jogos irão decidir quem vai a final da Copa São Paulo 2024. Os confrontos serão na próxima segunda-feira (22). As 18h30 Flamengo e Cruzeiro, e as 20h30 Corinthians e Novorizontino. É pra valer- Rolou a bola. Na quarta-feira (17) o Campeonato Carioca começou, e com exceção do Fluminense, que empatou com o Volta Redonda, os outros três grandes venceram. O Botafogo superou o Madureira por 1 a 0. Já o Flamengo goleou o Audax-RJ por 4 a 0, e por fim o Vasco da Gama venceu o Boavista por 2 a 0. Os quatro grandes jogam domingo (20), Botafogo encara o Bangu as 15h, e no mesmo horário o Fluminense vai a campo contra a Portuguesa-RJ. As 17h10 o Flamengo joga contra o Nova Iguaçu e mais tarde as 19h30 o Vasco enfrenta o Sampaio Correia-RJ. Haja coração - Hoje a partir das 16h15 RedBull Bragantino e Agua Santa abrem o Campeonato Paulista. Mais tarde, às 17h, o Santos visita o Botafogo-SP. Nos embalos de sábado à noite, às 19h, o São Paulo recebe o Santo André. No domingo, no horário nobre, às 15h, o atual campeão Palmeiras encara o Novorizontino. E fechando o domingo, o Corinthians recebe o Guarani às 17h. NFL – A caminho do Super Bowl, assim estão as equipes, após o término das partidas do Wild Card na última segunda-feira (15). Os times que folgaram por conta de melhores campanhas, Baltimore Ravens e San Francisco 49ers, conheceram seus rivais e com isso as semifinais de conferência ficaram assim: o Ravens encara o Texas, hoje às 17h30. O 49ers recebe o Packers às 21h15. No domingo às 15h o Lions vai a campo contra o Buccaneers. E às 19h30 o Bills enfrenta o Chiefs. Os vencedores de cada confronto fazem a final das conferencias, AFC e NFC. O campeão de cada conferência chega até o almejado Super Bowl, que será disputado no dia 11 de fevereiro em Las Vegas. Tabelinha Rondoniense Futuro do Real Ariquemes ainda é incerto no âmbito regional. Único representante de Rondônia para disputar a competição Punição – Em um oficio divulgado pela entidade máxima do futebol brasileiro, a CBF, a informação que o Real Ariquemes não tem condições de participar de competições nacionais, e precisa regularizar a situação perante a sua Federação Estadual, a FFER. A punição se deve, segundo a CBF, por uma tentativa de promover interferência externa na gestão da Federação do seu Estado. Para entender melhor o caso, visite o link do site https://ge.globo.com/ro/futebol/times/real-desportivo/noticia/2024/01/19/real-ariquemes-e-punido-pela-cbf-clube-tem-que-se-regularizar-para-retornar-as-competicoes-nacionais.ghtml. Copa Verde - Saiu a tabela básica da Copa Verde 2024, e o Porto Velho, que vai representar Rondônia na competição, já conhece o seu adversário, o Anápolis, de Goiás. A partida será em jogo único, com data indefinida, 21 ou 28 de fevereiro. O local ainda também foi definido. A competição reuni 16 equipes das regiões Norte, Centro-Oeste, e mais o estado do Espírito Santo. *Por João Rafael Costa Read the full article

[bitcoincables]

Decentralized Betting Platform Polymarket Sees Favoritism Towards Chiefs in Super Bowl

Bettors on decentralized prediction platform Polymarket are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to this year’s Super Bowl. 🏈 According to data from Polymarket, bettors are favoring the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As of now, the odds on Polymarket give the Chiefs a 73.4% chance of winning the game, while the Buccaneers have a 26.6% chance. Polymarket is a decentralized prediction market built on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to trade on the outcome of various events, including sports, politics, and finance. The platform relies on the wisdom of the crowd to determine the probabilities of different outcomes. The betting activity on Polymarket reflects the general sentiment among bettors and fans leading up to the big game. The Chiefs, led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, are considered by many to be the favorites due to their powerful offense and Super Bowl-winning experience from last year. 😎🏆 However, the Buccaneers, led by the legendary quarterback Tom Brady, have been gaining momentum and support as they have made a historic run to reach the Super Bowl. Brady, who has won six Super Bowls in his career, is known for his ability to perform under pressure and deliver in big games. While Polymarket offers a unique decentralized betting experience, it's important to note that it operates independently from traditional sportsbooks and does not have the same regulatory oversight. Therefore, users should approach their bets with caution and consider all risks involved. Overall, the betting activity on Polymarket reflects the ongoing excitement and speculation surrounding this year's Super Bowl, with bettors actively putting their money on the line to bet on the outcome of the game. 🤑⚡ [Click here to read the original article!](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/) #### Hashtags: #superbowl, #betting, #polymarket, #ethereum

[laresearchette]

Sunday, December 17, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: WILLIE NELSON'S 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (Global) 8:30pm FRIENDS & FAMILY CHRISTMAS (W Network) 8:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: DIAL S FOR SANTA (Premiering on December 23 on W Network at 8:00pm) ARCHER: INTO THE COLD (Premiering on December 29 on adult swim at 11:30pm)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

CRAVE TV DRESSED IN BLUE (Season 2, Episode 1)

GRAND SLAM OF CURLING (SN) 11:30am: Masters - Women’s Final (SN1) 4:00pm: Masters - Men’s Final

NFL FOOTBALL (TSN/TSN4) 1:00pm: Buccaneers vs. Packers (TSN/TSN3/TSN4) 4:00pm: 49ers vs. Cardinals (TSN/TSN3/TSN4) 8:20pm: Ravens vs. Jaguars

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 3:00pm: Canucks vs. Chicago (SN) 8:00pm: Sharks vs. Avalanche (TSN5) 8:00pm: Sens vs. Knights

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (CTV2) 7:00pm: A novitiate (Julie Andrews) leaves her convent and becomes governess to Capt. Von Trapp's (Christopher Plummer) seven children in Austria before World War II.

DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000) (CBC) 8:00pm: A curmudgeon (Jim Carrey) living atop Mount Crumpit sets out to quash the yuletide preparations of the Christmas-loving Whos of Whoville. Anthony Hopkins narrates.

NBA BASKETBALL (SN1) 9:00pm: Warriors vs. Trail Blazers

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND (History Canada) 10:00pm: After the Muon data reported a compelling target in the cavity known as Aladdin's Cave, a void where high traces of gold and silver have been found, the team discovers what appears to be man-made entrances and exits into the curious cavern.

[aviationanddefence1]

Global Heads Up Display market reports

When it came to instrumentation, the first aircraft were equipped with dial gauges, which meant that the pilot had to look down into the cockpit to see all the information needed to fly. These gauges were located on the instrument panel. To make aim easier, military aircraft began using optical reflector gun sights, which displayed images on a glass pane in front of the pilot. Since the Blackburn Buccaneer attack aircraft was designed to drop bombs while flying at very low altitude and very fast, the British Royal Navy created a new kind of gun sight for the aircraft in 1958.

Air speed, attitude direction via compass, angle of attack, acceleration, flight path vector, and other navigational data are displayed on the HUD of military combat aircraft. In addition, it shows the direction, range, and target designator box for missiles as well as cannon targeting information. The Global Heads Up Display market reports were split into modes that show the most pertinent readouts for each in order to keep the amount of information presented to a reasonable level and prevent oversaturation. These modes consist of landing and takeoff navigation. Communications from air to air and from air to ground.

Main factors affecting defence Notice: Expanding Display Industry:

For both synthetic and improved vision, a standard HUD is integrated with these components. By using data from several sensors on board the aircraft, enhanced vision systems give pilots extra information in low visibility situations. The application of algorithms to produce three-dimensional visuals that provide a pilot with a more naturalistic depiction of their environment is known as synthetic vision. One significant advancement in the sector that will boost market growth is the application of sensor fusion to enhance vision.

Factors impacting the Defence HUD Market Capacity:

Heads-up displays, or HUDs, will still be transparent screens that fit inside military pilot helmets or in front of windscreens.AR HUDs and holographic optics are still a few years off. Large field-of-view head-up displays are becoming more and more important for augmented reality applications, but the huge size of the optical components currently limits their design. Large fields of view screens will be the primary industry development driving the heads-up display market's expansion.

Market Forecast and Dynamics for HUDs:

Growing defense spending will stimulate the market for new procurement initiatives as well as platform upgrades with more advanced features and technology. Increasing the defense budget will stimulate the purchase of new aircraft and HUD-using platforms. Procurement will also be impacted by the present geopolitical environment in Europe and the Asia-Pacific area.

Defence Chiefs Draw Attention to Market Analysis of Recent Developments:

The original target of August 2022 for the "roll out" of the first Tejas Mk2 prototype has been rescheduled to the end of 2022. The first flight is anticipated to occur in late 2023. Initially, four prototypes are intended. Described as a fighter aircraft of the 4.5 generation, the Tejas Mk2 will be classified as middleweight instead of lightweight. This single-engine supersonic combat aircraft is produced by Hindustan Aeronautics and serves multiple roles (HAL). The focal points of the glass cockpit will include a wide-angle holographic head-up display system that can be used with night vision goggles and a touch-sensitive broad area display.

[drakternfl2]

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers vil returnere til New York Jets

Aaron Rodgers, for tiden den eldste quarterbacken i NFL, brakte nylig gode nyheter til New York Jets. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers ble skadet tidlig i sesongen og klarte ikke å spille en hel kamp. Mange fans er oppmerksomme på retningen til nr. 12-Amerikansk Fotball Drakter, og quarterback Aaron Rodgers kan bare bringe dårlige nyheter til fansen.

Nå har quarterback Aaron Rodgers offisielt begynt å gjenoppta treningen. Han kom tilbake til laget etter 80 dager. Aaron Rodgers er ikke en ung spiller i ligaen, han er en av veteranene i ligaen. Aaron Rodgers ønsker ikke å gå glipp av for lenge i sin første sesong med New York Jets, og hans personlige data kan ikke forbedres. New York Jets har en garantert quarterback-posisjon, men lagets offensive linje bekymrer fansen. New York Jets' offensive linjeprestasjon mangler på dette stadiet, og returen til quarterback Aaron Rodgers vil drive de offensive spillerne. Aaron Rodgers har ennå ikke representert New York Jets mot sitt gamle lag, Green Bay Packers, og han vil også prøve å møte sine tidligere lagkamerater som motstander. Aaron Rodgers, som vant en Super Bowl med Green Bay Packers, er nå ivrig etter å lede New York Jets til fremgang.

Aaron Rodgers ønsker å være som den legendariske quarterbacken Tom Brady i hans ønske om å vinne en Super Bowl i sin første sesong med et nytt lag. Aaron Rodgers ønsker å vise en New York Jets Drakter i mesterskapsparaden, noe mange fans vil tro er umulig. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ble en gang antatt av fansen å være ute av stand til å vinne mesterskapet, men quarterbacken Tom Brady skapte et mirakel. New York Jets-fansen håper at quarterback Aaron Rodgers også kan utføre mirakler denne sesongen, og de gleder seg veldig til Super Bowl.

[okchoi8]

Công nghệ thay đổi bóng đá ra sao? 11/7/2023

Lần nữa, thành công của Leicester chứng minh rằng một đội bóng trung bình, thậm chí nhỏ, có thể đạt được những thành tựu phi thường nếu tận dụng mạnh mẽ kỹ thuật quản lý bóng đá. Cùng okchoi8 theo dõi tiếp bài viết sau:

Khi nhắc đến thành công của Leicester, chúng ta thường đề cập đến sự thông minh và quyết đoán của các chủ sở hữu người Thái. Chúng ta nhắc đến kinh nghiệm, tài năng và tâm lý của HLV Claudio Ranieri. Chúng ta nhắc đến hệ thống chiến thuật 4-4-2 và cách phòng ngự phản công hiệu quả. Chúng ta đề cập đến sức mạnh của Kante, khả năng ghi bàn của Vardy và kỹ năng đặc biệt của Mahrez.

Tuy nhiên, khi ta xem xét sâu hơn về thành công của đội, ta sẽ thấy rằng điều đó chỉ là phần nổi của tảng băng chìm. Ta còn phải nhắc đến hệ thống tuyển trạch thông minh dẫn đầu bởi Steve Walsh, nhờ đó họ đã tìm ra Kante một cách đầy bất ngờ và khiến những ông lớn phải ngỡ ngàng. Ta cũng không thể bỏ qua cách đội y tế của họ áp dụng công nghệ trong huấn luyện và phục hồi, giúp cầu thủ Leicester có thể thi đấu mạnh mẽ suốt mùa giải mà không gặp chấn thương.

Bóng đá hiện nay không chỉ đơn thuần là môn thể thao chuyên môn nữa, nghĩa là đội bóng có nhiều ngôi sao hơn và chiến thuật tốt hơn sẽ thắng trận. Bóng đá hiện nay còn là cuộc đua công nghệ. Ngày nay, các đội bóng không chỉ muốn nắm bắt công nghệ để vượt lên trên đối thủ, mà họ phải làm điều đó nếu không muốn bị tụt lại phía sau.

Nói về công nghệ, mảng big data - thu thập, phân tích dữ liệu và áp dụng chúng vào nhiều khía cạnh của bóng đá (như tuyển mộ, tập luyện, phân tích đối thủ...) - là một lĩnh vực thú vị. Đó cũng là chủ đề của bài viết hôm nay.

Người tiên phong là Sam Allardyce?!

Có thể bạn sẽ không tin, nhưng một trong những người tiên phong trong việc đưa công nghệ vào bóng đá là HLV Sam Allardyce. Trong những năm chơi bóng cho Tampa Bay Rowdies, Allardyce đã ấn tượng bởi cách Tampa Bay Buccaneers, một đội bóng Mỹ, áp dụng công nghệ trong các buổi tập tại cùng sân với Rowdies. Ông rất muốn làm điều tương tự khi bắt đầu sự nghiệp huấn luyện vào năm 1991, nhưng công nghệ thời đó chưa cho phép ông thực hiện.

Phải đến năm 2000, khi Sam đã làm HLV cho Bolton, ý tưởng của ông mới có cơ hội được triển khai. Đó là lúc công ty công nghệ Prozone - chuyên cung cấp số liệu dựa trên việc phân tích hình ảnh từ các camera được gắn sẵn trên sân bóng - bắt đầu đạt được những thành công đầu tiên (với hợp đồng đầu tiên của họ là với MU trong mùa giải họ giành cú ăn ba). Allardyce quyết định thuê Prozone để thu thập dữ liệu cho mình, và mời chuyên gia của họ tham gia đội phân tích kỹ thuật.

Dựa trên các số liệu mà ông có được, Allardyce và đội ngũ của ông đã xây dựng một mô hình được gọi là "Fantastic Four": Bốn khu vực quyết định thành công. Họ biết rằng một đội bóng giữ sạch lưới trong 16 trận trong số 38 trận sẽ chắc chắn trụ hạng thành công. Họ biết rằng đội nào ghi bàn trước có 70% cơ hội giành chiến thắng. Họ biết rằng các bàn thắng từ các pha bóng cố định chiếm 1/3 số bàn thắng của một đội bóng. Và họ cũng biết rằng những quả tạt xoáy vào trong tạo ra cơ hội ghi bàn cao hơn so với những quả tạt xoáy ra ngoài.

Allardyce cũng áp dụng công nghệ trong việc tuyển chọn cầu thủ. Một ví dụ điển hình là Gary Speed. Khi gia nhập Bolton, Speed đã 35 tuổi, nhưng thống kê cho thấy anh vẫn chạy trung bình hơn 11 km mỗi trận và có tỷ lệ chuyền bóng chính xác trên 80%. Speed đã chơi cho Bolton thêm 4 năm và là một phần quan trọng trong thành công vượt trội của đội bóng này (là đội bóng duy nhất ngoài Big 4 giành một suất trong top 8 trong 4 năm liên tiếp). Đội hình của Bolton thời đó cũng được xây dựng với các cầu thủ có phong cách chơi giống Speed, dù có thể không còn ở đỉnh cao hoặc không phải là ngôi sao, nhưng mỗi người đều có một điểm mạnh riêng và điểm mạnh đó được khai thác tối đa bởi Allardyce.

Xem thêm tại: https://okchoi8.com/cong-nghe-thay-doi-bong-da-va-cach-chung-ta-xem-bong-da-nhu-the-nao/