#Ron Douglas apps | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pauldeckerus · 6 years ago

Text

The Top 200 Things I’m Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Today is a big holiday in the US; it’s a day where we take time off to celebrate all the things we’re thankful for. We get together with family; over-eat a traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, and then we watch football until we pass out. It’s just about a perfect day.

I got up this morning feeling especially grateful for the many blessings I enjoy all year long, and I wanted to take a few minutes to share the things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. I believe counting your blessings is one of the best things a person can do (and that this list of 200 is only a start, is a real blessing to me for sure).

Here they are, (in no particular order):

I’m thankful….

1. that I got to marry the girl of my dreams (it’ll be 30-years this coming September)

2. for Keurig Coffee Makers

3. for little hole-in-the-wall restaurants

4. for having a big brother I could always look up to

5. that she said “yes!”

6. for the “Skip” button on YouTube ads

7. when I hear the ringtone that lets me know my son is texting us

8. for Seinfeld reruns

9. that I learned how to use Photoshop and Lightroom

10. for lazy Saturday mornings when we just chill

11. for Saturday College Football games and that our son chose a big football school (#rolltide!)

12. for Hulu and Netflix and Amazon Prime

13. for Maggie the Wonderdog

14. for how happy Maki the SuperDog makes my wife

15. for that first cup of coffee in the morning

16. that my wife got us a Latte maker

17. for big greasy double-cheeseburgers served in restaurants whose cleanliness is so suspect that my wife would never eat there.

18. for anytime I drive up to our house, and see our son’s truck sitting out front

19. that first morning hug from my wifey

20. that the Buc’s miserable season is mercifully almost over

21. that this year the Patriot’s aren’t as good as they usually are

22. for any chilly day here in Florida

23. for my daughter’s wonderful sense of humor

24. when my daughter shares her drawings with me

25. for CoffeeMate individual creamers

26. that my son was born with the built-in love of helping and looking out for other people

27. for the text my son just sent us as I’m writing this that brought tears to my eyes

28. for my daughter’s laugh

29. for all the family traditions that my wife fosters and we all lover

30. that our kids get to attend great schools

31. for Dunkin Donut’s drive-thru in the morning, and that they’ll make your coffee just the way you like it

32. for Terry White

33. for the kind people who read my blog each day

34. for all the little things

35. for our cozy couch for watching TV

36. for Logic Pro X (the wonderful recording studio software on my Mac)

37. for Pizza, and the fine people who deliver them.

38. for mornings where Maggie doesn’t bark at other children and parents in the car line

39. that my son is such a faithful person by nature

40. for Sunday night’s texting my buddy Jeff Revell as we watch ‘The Walking Dead’ together, while 1,000 miles apart

41. for our tradition of watching “Love Actually” again every Christmas

42. for living so close to Disney World

43. for how awesome my wife is at planning trips

44. for being married to such an amazing cook

45. for a really comfy bed pillow

46. for Rick and Susan Sammon

47. for all my guitars

48. for beautiful offices for us to work in each day

49. to have Jessica, Kim and Cindy work on my books

50. that people actually buy my books, which lets me keep writing them

51. for the smell of my wife’s cooking when I walk in the door

52. for times when just my daughter and I get to go out to lunch

53. for Moose and Sharon

54. for Dave, Peter, and Glyn

55. for having such a wonderful mother and father growing up.

56. for being able to play musical instruments

57. for having mentors whose wisdom and whip-cracking have helped immeasurably throughout my life

58. for Jeanne Jilleba who helps me so much each day

59. for having a great relationship with my mother and father-in-law

60. for having a mother-in-law who stepped in for my own mother when she passed away

61. for the trips my brother and I take together once a year

62. to Delta, their SkyClub, and all the upgrades I get each year

63. to Erik Kuna for being my friend

64. for all the folks who come out to my seminars each year.

65. that I still get to work with my friend Ted Waitt

66. for Levi, and Sally and Dianne for caring so much about our members

67. for Chris, Susie, Karen and Pam – I’m lucky to work with them

68. for my wife’s beautiful smile

69. for how my son always shares new songs he finds with me

70. for all the times my wife texts me a heart emoji

71. for somebody’s else’s fries

72. for how my friend Dave Clayton’s texts always make me laugh out loud

73. that my kids know they are loved completely and unconditionally

74. for my Pastor and friend Douglas Poole

75. for Victoria’s sweet texts, and for what a joy she is

76. that I get to drive a car each day that makes driving a joy

77. for really good air conditioning

78. that I get to use such great camera and lighting gear

79. for Google’s news app on my phone

80. for my great Web team; Adam, Aaron, Yo, and Curt

81. for everybody who checked on my wifey when she got in an accident

82. for black t-shirts with logos on them

83. for Dave Black, Kristy Sherk, Lindsay Adler and Peter Hurley,

84. for the beautiful baby grand piano Kalebra bought for my birthday 20+ years ago

85. that I’ve been able to be a part of the Photoshop World conference all these years

86. for when great ideas pop in my head, and for being able to move on when it turns out some of them aren’t as great as I thought

87. for all my friends who came to the rescue

88. for the pretty drive to work in the mornings

89. for Juan, Steve, Jason and Christina

90. that my daughter and our niece are such great friends

91. that my son loves so many different kinds of music (everything from classic rock to Sinatra to rap to metal)

92. for all the times my big brother helped me, and guided me, when I was growing up.

93. for my apple watch and all the reminders it gives me

94. for weekends and days off

95. for the smell of coffee brewing

96. for Margie, Angela, Jacque, John and Rachel

97. for Maxx Hammond for being such a great friend to my son all these years, and for being an important part of our family

98. for comfortable shoes

99. for having a friend like Manny

100. for loving every minute with my family

101. for the men and women of our military

102. for Julie, Kleber, Heidi and Cheryl

103. for the little Blackstar tube amp sitting on my desk

104. anytime I get to go to New York City

105. for our dear friend and partner Jean A.

106. for James Taylor

107. for all the awesome texts I’m getting from friends today

108. that my daughter still cares that I bake my special “Christmas Cookies” each year when we put up the tree (and I’m grateful she thinks Pillsbury mean ‘special’).

109. my guardian angel

110. for bagels with cream cheese

111. for Larry Tiefenbrunn

112. for first responders

113. that my camera bag has four wheels

114. for Viktor and Ron

115. for Larry Becker, Rob Sylvan, and Dave Williams

116. for my friends Chicky Nando, and Big Mike, and Cathy B, and Mimo

117. for all the stuff in Erik’s backpack (since he always has that thing I need that I forgot to bring)

118. for waking up feeling great in the morning!

119. for Joe and Annie

120. that our dog Maki has a best friend in our son’s dog Nami

121. for beautiful clouds when I’m shooting a sunrise

122. for a yummy breakfast after a sunrise shoot

123. for my wife’s homemade chocolate-chip pancakes

124. for the sound of my wife’s voice

125. for mornings when I get up early and get a bunch of stuff done and I look up and it’s only 8:15 am

126. for landings in London

127. the quiet time my wife and I share with our coffee in the mornings before the kids wake up

128. My MacBook Pro and how much easier it makes my business life each day

129. for forgiveness

130. that I realize what a privileged, blessed life I lead, and to whom I owe the thanks

131. that I start each day getting centered reading the Bible and daily devotionals

132. for how my daughter is always dancing

133. for the night’s where our family gets together to play games

134. for when we all lay on the floor, looking up and debate how tall the ceiling is in our living room

135. for our holiday trips to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

136. for cheese. Any kind of cheese. Even if it dispenses from a can

137. that somebody kept reading even though we’re down to number 137

138. that we have doggie treats when we really need them

139. for breakfasts at First Watch

140. for Carmine’s on W. 44th Street

141. for all the awesome instructors I get to work with

142. for empty middle seats

143. for my iPad and all the awesome apps, like the Kindle Reader

144. for the Texture app so I can read all my favorite magazines on my iPad

145. that I get to make new friends along the way

146. that people come to my workshops and I get to make new friends

147. for everyone who has stuck up for me in an online forum

148. for all the people who helped me along the way, and who may be gone, but are not forgotten

149. for the great companies and partners who sponsor The Grid

150. that I get to do a weekly live photography show and have such wonderful photographers as guests

151. for my Platypod Ultra

152. that my employees have a long weekend this weekend

153. for my lunch this week with an old friend

154. that we work so close to one of the best Cuban restaurants

155. for Tara our awesome official Chilis server for over 10-years now

156. for how happy fresh flowers make my wife

157. to see how happy it makes Kalebra when we all eat our vegetables at dinner

158. for a beautiful yard for the doggos to run in.

159. for Sundays when I sleep in really late

160. that my son left his awesome drum kit here so I can play it

161. that my old rock band from high-school still gets together to play our high-school reunion party

162. that I live in a very sunny place

163. for Google search

164. for every time my wife is cooking and says “I’m trying something different tonight.” It always leads to a delicious meal!

165. that I always remember our anniversary

166. that our family makes birthdays really special for each other

167. that we have a photographic art gallery and that we get to celebrate our member’s work there

168. that I have such a great art director for my shoots in Kalebra

169. for William C. Miller, my high school band director, who taught us more than music.

170. that I was born and raised here

171. for Deb, John, Bob, Sam, and all my friends in Boston

172. for the Sci-Fi Drive-In Theatre restaurant

173. for Frank Doorhof

174. for all the summers in Sarasota at the beach when I was growing up

175. for getting to board early

176. for Larry Grace, Ed Buice, and Rob Foldy

177. for Superchargers

178. for when the dogs realize it was just a random sound and stop barking

179. for all the live concerts, Broadway shows, and performances I’ve experienced

180. for my wife’s guardian angel, who has been working overtime lately

181. for Zephyrhills bottled spring water

182. for the times my brother and I get to play golf

183. for the Genius Bar in the Apple Store

184. for Chili’s chips and salsa

185. for now thoughtful my wife is

186. for afternoon’s at the movies

187. for the times when I could think of the perfect gift

188. for all the people who participate in my Worldwide Photo Walk and for the joy it brings me to see their smiling faces in their group shots

189. for everyone who has donated to the Springs of Hope Kenya orphanage

190. for all the wonderful gifts I treasure that Kalebra has gotten me over the years

191. for all my friends at Canon USA

192. for everybody who follows me on social media, and shares a kind word or says something nice about one of my images.

193. for every handmade birthday card my daughter has made for me

194. that my son is a way better version of me

195. for all the times when my wife knows exactly what to say and how to say it

196. that people are kind when they point out my typos on my blog

197. that I love to drive

198. that I still get to play with Scotty and Tony in a band.

199. for how easy it was to come up with 200 things I’m grateful for

200. for God, and His Son Jesus Christ, for leading me to the woman of my dreams, for blessing us with such amazing children, for allowing me to make a living doing something I truly love, for always being there when I need Him, for blessing me with a wonderful, fulfilling, and happy life, and such a warm, loving family to share it with.

Here’s wishing you a Thanksgiving full of family, food, gratitude for our many blessings, and I hope your team wins this weekend unless you’re playing Alabama! #rolltide!

All my best,

-Scott

The post The Top 200 Things I’m Thankful For This Thanksgiving appeared first on Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider.

from Photography News https://scottkelby.com/the-top-200-things-im-thankful-for-this-thanksgiving/

2 notes · View notes

princesslos82 · 3 years ago

Text

Kel tec p17

We can never bring back those we've lost. But we can come together to fulfill the first responsibility of our government and our democracy: to keep each other safe," Mr. Biden said in a statement on the tragic shooting. "For Parkland, for all those we've lost, and for all those left behind, it is time to uphold that solemn obligation."

In Florida, flags were flown at half-staff at government buildings, parks and other facilities to honor the memory of those killed.

"We will continue to honor the memory of the innocent Floridians lost on that best kel tec p17 tragic day both in word and in deed, and we continue to convey our deepest sympathies to the families, loved ones, and Parkland community for their loss," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a proclamation naming February 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Remembrance Day. The state also observed a moment of silence at 3 p.m. in honor of the victims.

Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder, faces life in prison or the death penalty. His sentencing is set to begin in April.

Trending News

Download our Free App

For Breaking News & Analysis Download the Free CBS News app

0 notes

ladynightsorrow · 4 years ago

Text

Decriminalizing Drugs

Drug use is everywhere, legal, or not. You may not notice it, but I do. You walk down the street, the subtle handshake then a slip into the pocket. It is a quick interchange between two people. Everybody knows there are drug dealers and drug addicts. They could be our neighbors, or even the people we work with. These people have families. These people could have been born with a drug addiction. You never know a person’s real reasoning for something they do. Even if they do, you still do not know what they are going through. We should not be punishing people for something they cannot help. Addiction is a very dangerous thing. You can get addicted to anything. Alcohol, for example, is legal and socially accepted. You can get addicted to it, but not sent to jail. I have seen people struggle to get off an addiction to heroin and sent to jail. Their family torn apart and their kids in the foster system. Those people are sent to jail to die from withdrawal. Yet, an alcohol addiction, which is just as bad, they get all the support they need for rehabilitation.

Ron Clark, age sixty, was a heroin addict. He was never sent to jail, but he was kicked out of two different rehabilitation centers. Clark was a laborer and when jobs were available, he would miss his drug rehab appointments and the clinics refused to give him refills. He relapsed and returned to using heroin without his medications (The Marshall Project).

The United States began to look at drug use and sales as a huge issue in the late 1880s, early 1910s. The Supreme Court ruled that the state governments could not regulate interstate trade in 1886. The responsibility was left to the federal government, and they did not do anything about it (ThoughtCo). Drug use is still a huge problem to this day. To help people like Mr. Clark, the United States must treat drug use as an issue of public health rather than a crime because there should be alternative options to drug addiction, drug laws criminalize users, recreational use is the person’s choice, people believe all drugs cause violent behavior, and decriminalization will help with drug regulation.

Opponents to treating drug use as a mental illness rather than a crime argue that decriminalization will cause violent crime and convince people to do drugs. They claim that Studies have shown that long-term users of amphetamine, methamphetamine, and especially cocaine tend to exhibit hostile and aggressive behavior. Psychotropic substance abuse may also be the result of the so-called "cocaine psychosis." As the dose and duration of cocaine use increase, the development of psychopathology associated with cocaine is common. Cocaine psychosis usually occurs before the transition period, which is characterized by suspicion, compulsive behavior, and delusions. People can experience visual and auditory hallucinations through distressing sounds they often hear. Many people think that they are being monitored by the police or that family, friends, and others are acting against them (Inciardi and Saum). Opposers also believe that decriminalizing drugs will push people to take drugs. However, recreational drug use is a person’s choice. The government does not have a say in what people do in their everyday lives. The government can push for a drug free country, but they cannot enforce it. Opponents also argue that the law enforcement is already effective in lowering the availability of drugs to the public.

One reason the United States should treat drug use as a mental illness rather than a crime is that there are alternative options to drug addiction that are more helpful than prison time. There are many treatment facilities that are cheaper than jail. According to The Marshall Project, there are about forty thousand people (about twice the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden) each year who die from opioid-related overdoses and about a million or more-need access for treatment and most are not getting it. The Marshall Project states, “In a half-dozen studies, when researchers compared patients taking the medications to those receiving counseling alongside the medications, both groups refrained from opioids at similar rates.” With drug decriminalization, more people will be able to get the help they need instead of going to prison. When a person is thrown into prison for drug possession and use, they are not seen as a mental health issue. They are seen as a bad person who is a bad influence on other people.

Another reason that drug use should be treated like a mental illness is that drug laws criminalize users. According to the article “Drug Legalization”, “To earn the money needed to afford more drugs, addicts often resort to prostitution, larceny, or violent crimes such as assault or arson.” The effects or criminalization is very subtle. If a person is criminalized for drug use, they cannot get something as simple as a job. According to Barnett, “This increases still further the likelihood that the artificially high prices of illicit drugs will lead drug users to engage in criminal conduct to obtain income...Once this threshold is crossed, there is often no return. Such a choice would not be nearly so compelling if prohibited substances were legal.” Drug users are also held as a way law enforcement can get more information on other drug sellers and users. The law enforcement will illegally bribe them with money to be an informant (Barnett). This is more dangerous to that person than taking drugs. The informant’s potential life and family could be in danger.

Not only drug laws criminalize users, but recreational drug use is also a person’s choice. The government should not have a say in what people do in their everyday lives. If the government cared about drug use, our illegal drug use laws would not be outdated. In the 1970s, drug abuse was seen primarily as a social disease and was addressed with treatment. After the 1970s, drug abuse was seen instead as a law enforcement and was addressed with aggressive criminal justice policies (ThoughtCo). This shows that the government has failed on treating illegal drug use after the 1970s. The government just got lazy with trying to fix the issue.

Non-drug users believe drug use causes violent behavior. This however, is untrue. According to Husak, “Dr Jekyll consumed a potion that transformed him into the homicidal Mr. Hyde. The psychopharmacological effects of this potion caused an otherwise law-abiding physician to become a violent monster. Of course, this story is purely fictitious. If any existing drug resembled the potion in this story, we would have excellent reasons to criminalize its use.” People compare drug use to this story. They compare drug use to a fiction story that is used to scare people. This proves that people are more paranoid about drugs. Another point Husak states is that people under the influence of heroin are more passive than violent due to their psychopharmacological properties. People are more likely to commit a psychopharmacological crime when they drink alcohol.

In addition, we should treat drug use as a mental illness because decriminalization would help with drug regulation. When a person is prescribed an illegal drug, the federal government will target the prescribed medication as illegal and arrest the person instead of the doctor who prescribed the medication. Legalizing drugs will help the problems linked to drug use. According to the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), “Drug legalization presents the opportunity to regulate production and distribution of these substances, resulting in a more effective and ethical way to deal with drug abuse than laws that encourage black market activity.” When drugs are illegal, trade is forced underground and controlled by cartels. Trade being underground leads to more crimes than preventing it.

Ron Clark claims that the use of buprenorphine has slowed his use of heroin (The Marshall Project). Decriminalizing drugs, people, like Ron Clark, will get the same kind of help. Drug use should be treated as a mental illness because rehab is a choice, laws criminalize users, we would be able to regulate the drugs better, drugs do not cause violent behavior, and drug use is a person’s choice. Every day, people are being arrested and sent to jail for drug use. This is causing overcrowding. People should all come together and push for the decriminalization of drugs. It is important to fight for the people who cannot.

Works Cited

Barnett, Randy E. "Legalizing Drugs Would Benefit Addicts and Society." Addiction, edited by Jennifer A. Hurley, Greenhaven Press, 2000. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010103230/OVIC?u=23870&sid=OVIC&xid=72e6cc0a. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021. Originally published as "Curing the Drug-Law Addiction: The Harmful Side Effects of Legal Prohibition," Dealing with Drugs: Consequences of Government Control, edited by Ronald Hamowy, Pacific Research Institute, 1997.

"Drug Legalization." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999286/OVIC?u=23870&sid=OVIC&xid=257efa81. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021.

Head, Tom. "A Short History of the 20th Century War on Drugs." ThoughtCo, 22 Jan. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-war-on-drugs-721152.

Husak, Douglas N. "Legalizing Drugs Would Reduce Crime." Legalizing Drugs, edited by Stuart A. Kallen, Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010018216/OVIC?u=23870&sid=OVIC&xid=50a50789. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021. Originally published in Legalize This! The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs, Verso, 2002.

Inciardi, James A., and Christine A. Saum. "Legalization of Drugs Would Increase Violent Crime." Legalizing Drugs, edited by Louise I. Gerdes, Greenhaven Press, 2001. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010018206/OVIC?u=23870&sid=OVIC&xid=54be2a0d. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021. Originally published as "Legalization Madness," The Public Interest, Spring 1996.

Schwartzapfel, Beth. "Treatment for Opioid Addiction, With No Strings Attached." The Marshall Project, The Marshall Project, 10 May 2019, www.themarshallproject.org/2019/05/10/treatment-for-opioid-addiction-with-no-strings-attached.

#long reads #essay writing #argument #drugs

0 notes

acdbengal · 6 years ago

Text

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Whole lotta hemp

Whole lotta hemp

Federal progress, pilot projects, new legislation, and recent key state hires clarify that hemp is what’s happening.

Complementing this culmination: The newly launched Florida Hemp Industries Association.

The new association will focus on connecting individuals and companies to the Sunshine State’s burgeoning hemp industry. It’s spearheaded by Jeff Sharkey and Taylor Biehl, two lobbyists who’ve made their dent in the state’s pot landscape — primarily through their Medical Marijuana Business Association.

You got a friend in me: Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has made it crystal clear she’s a friend of the hemp industry.

Because other positive developments fill the backdrop of the hemp landscape in Florida and beyond, the launch likely couldn’t come at a better time.

Industrial hemp can be modified to produce a negligible amount (less than 1 percent) of THC, the compound known for producing psychotropic effects. Legislation in 2017 allowed universities to research the plant and its viability in Florida. Florida A&M University already has identified seven hemp projects for study.

President Donald Trump in November signed a farm bill that officially removed hemp from the feds’ list of controlled substances, paving the way for broader research programs.

And just this week, Senate Agriculture Chair Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, filed a bill that would create a state hemp program overseen by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, meanwhile, has made it crystal clear she’s a friend to the industry. Her newly hired cannabis director Holly Bell also appears eager to direct resources to hemp.

Coming up, the usual assortment of tidbits, leftovers and not-ready-for-prime-time moments by Danny McAuliffe, Drew Wilson, Jim Rosica, Michael Moline, and Peter Schorsch.

But first, the “Takeaway 5” — the Top 5 stories from the week that was:

Take 5

DeSantis acts on school safety — Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on the state Supreme Court to impanel a grand jury to investigate school districts throughout the state regarding their school safety practices. “The best tool that we have to bring accountability but also move forward in a better way is a petition that I filed today with the Florida Supreme Court for a statewide grand jury,” DeSantis said this week. He hopes the grand jury will have more powerful subpoena power than that held by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.

DeSantis wants school choice scholarship — DeSantis recently called on the Legislature to create an “Equal Opportunity Scholarship.” The money would help students wishing to attend private and charter schools. DeSantis envisions the scholarship would cover 14,000 students, at about $6,500 apiece. He suggested possibly funding the program through tax credits and tax revenue, though he ultimately is leaving it up to the Legislature to decide. “For me, if the taxpayer is paying for the education, it’s public education,” DeSantis said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re going to the district school that you’re zoned for, or if you’re going to a public magnet or a public charter, if you take the Tax Credit Scholarship to go to a private school, or if you use an ESA for home-school, to me that is all a public commitment to make sure that our kids have the best education.”

Fried hires concealed carry chief — Fried this week tapped Stephen Hurm to oversee the state’s concealed-carry permitting process. Hurm is the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who competed in the Democratic primary for Governor last year. He will serve as the director of the Division of Licensing at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The division, among other things, screens for and doles out concealed-carry permits. “[Hurm’s] experience implementing successful risk management strategies makes him the careful, competent, and qualified leader the Division needs as we move forward to remedy the past failures,” Fried said. A lawyer, Hurm boasts more than 30 years of experience working with or advising law enforcement, including stints at the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Hurm most recently worked as director and researcher at the Florida State University Institute for Law Enforcement Research and Policy.

House moves pot bill — Following last week’s contested Senate panel hearing of legislation that would permit smokable marijuana for patients, the House this week discussed its own version of a bill that seeks to accomplish the same. The House Health & Human Services Committee forwarded the bill, which would require smokable marijuana to be sold as a pre-made, filtered cigarette in Florida. The Senate’s current version of the legislation requires a patient to get a second opinion before he or she could get medicinal cannabis for smoking. DeSantis has given the Legislature a March 15 deadline to pass legislation allowing patients to smoke the medicine.

Arming teachers gets momentum — The Senate Education Committee in a party-line vote forwarded a bill that in part would allow public teachers to carry firearms. The legislation (SPB 7030) was approved 5-3 by the panel. The bill was modeled off recommendations from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, a fact-finding panel created to study best security practices following the attack last year. The measure picked up support from Republicans, while Democrats voted against it.

Instagram of the Week

‪The best mascot in the land is @rockyd_bull ! Thank you for your support in Tallahassee too! #USFDATC #makinglifebetter #hornsup #GoBulls ‬#rocky #mascot #greenandgold

A post shared by USF Health (@usfhealth) on Feb 14, 2019 at 3:26am PST

Moody highlights progress on rape kit backlog

Attorney General Ashley Moody thinks there’s an end in sight for the state’s backlog of untested sexual assault kits.

Pointing to a report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that showed 7,137 were tested by the end of 2018, Moody called the progress “encouraging news.”

An end is in sight: Atty. Gen. Ashley Moody says there’s been headway in reducing the number of untested rape kits the state has in backlog. Image via TCPalm.

“I want to thank the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their hard work and great progress to eliminate the backlog of previously unprocessed sexual assault kits,” Moody said, while also giving kudos to her predecessor Pam Bondi.

During the 2016 Legislative Session, Bondi worked alongside the Legislature to secure $2.3 million for testing, along with other related expenditures.

Israel hearing update

Lawyers for DeSantis and suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel will convene in Tallahassee this week for a case management conference ahead of Israel’s Senate hearing.

According to public notice, that means Senate Special Master Dudley Goodlette will discuss with counsel “scheduling of the prehearing conference, hearing, and any matters arising during the case management conference that require scheduling.”

Israel’s day in ‘court:’ Suspended Sheriff Scott Israel is preparing for his Senate hearing, with a management conference hearing this week. Image via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The meeting is set for 1 p.m. on Tuesday in Room 401 of the Senate Office Building.

DeSantis suspended Israel shortly after taking office last month. The Republican Governor replaced Israel with former Coral Springs Police Sgt. Greg Tony.

Israel has requested a hearing from the Senate.

Guardian follow-up

Lawmakers are expected to address some significant changes to the school guardian program put forth by the state last year.

Sponsoring one under-the-radar change is state Sen. Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg Democrat. The bill (SB 136) would include school guardians in the state’s false personation statute.

Punishing imposters: Darryl Rouson is looking for harsher punishment for people who impersonate a school guardian. Image via Colin Hackley.

If signed into law, it would make impersonating a school guardian a third-degree felony.

The measure picked up swift and unanimous support in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee earlier this week.

AFP-Florida awards Ocala lawmaker

Members of Americans for Prosperity-Florida this week paid a visit to state Rep. Stan McClain to thank him for his free-market policymaking.

The reason: He’s the latest recipient of the organization’s Champion of Economic Freedom Award.

Free-market champion: Stan McClain has been honored by Americans for Prosperity-Florida, earning an A+ on last year’s scorecard.

McClain, an Ocala Republican, earned top marks (A+) on last AFP-Florida’s 2018 scorecard. The organization, a liberty-minded think tank, grades lawmakers each year.

“I appreciate this recognition and the good work AFP-Florida does,” said McClain. “There’s no question that prosperity and economic opportunity could quickly be short-circuited with the wrong policies in place.

“It’s an honor for me to support legislation that keeps government in check and allows the free market to flourish, and I look forward to continuing to work with AFP-Florida and other like-minded folks as we head into the 2019 Session.”

McClain recently was selected to serve as a deputy majority whip in the Florida House.

FDOT’s Daytona 500 message

Heading to Daytona Beach this weekend? The Florida Department of Transportation wants you to take advantage and notice the extra messaging made available for one of the city’s premier events, the Daytona 500.

“Extra signage will be in place along various roadsides to help with wayfinding,” said a news release from the state agency. “In addition, real-time traffic information will appear on overhead dynamic message signs and be communicated on FL511, as well as other traffic apps, including Waze.”

A day at the races: The FDOT is making sure anyone can find the Daytona International Speedway, without having to listen for the roar of the engines.

The agency is working with event staff, law enforcement and local officials to manage traffic before, during and after the NASCAR event.

“Drivers are urged to watch for pedestrians and allow plenty of time for travel,” continued the release. “Safety doesn’t happen by accident.”

The race begins at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

DEO extends application deadline for Irma relief

Floridians facing housing issues resulting from Hurricane Irma will have more time to apply for federal assistance this year.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said this week that it is extending the deadline to Mar. 29 to register for Rebuild Florida, a long-term recovery pool backed by $350 million in federal funding.

Rebuild Florida “helps repair, rebuild or replace damaged homes,” said a news release from DEO. Communities eligible for funding are highlighted here.

No time like the present: The Florida DEO is extending the application for Rebuild Florida, a long term recovery pool backed by federal funding for hurricane Irma damage.

Priority is given to “those low-income residents who are elderly, disabled, families with children under the age of 18 or persons displaced from Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands who are permanently resettling in Florida as a result of Hurricane Irma or Maria,” the release added.

“We have extended the Rebuild Florida registration deadline to allow as many homeowners as possible to register for assistance, and I encourage anyone who still has damage from Hurricane Irma to visit RebuildFlorida.gov to get help,” said Ken Lawson, executive director of DEO.

Florida Housing to help first-time homebuyers

The private-public Florida Housing Finance Corporation is again launching a federal program that helps finance down payments and other closing costs for first-time homebuyers.

The Florida Hardest-Hit Fund Down Payment Assistance Program will start on March 4.

Floridians in Clay, Duval, Hillsborough, Osceola and Pasco counties will be eligible to receive assistance. The program provides up to $15,000 in aid for first-time homebuyers. It’s forgivable over five years.

The program initially launched in 2010, in the aftermath of the housing bubble burst.

“Statistics show that foreclosures have drastically decreased in Florida and that our state has recovered from the housing crisis,” said Trey Price, executive director of Florida Housing. “This funding will further assist with the continued stabilization of recovering, distressed neighborhoods.”

Enterprise Florida chief attends AT&T ribbon-cutting

Enterprise Florida CEO Jamal Sowell recently participated in the unveiling of the newly renovated AT&T call center in Sunrise.

And as the head of the state’s job agency, Sowell had good reason to be there. It used to house just 40 call center employees. But now nearly 475 call center agents and managers work in the 104,000 square-foot building.

Enterprise Florida CEO Jamal Sowell helps cut the ribbon of a newly remodeled AT&T call center in Sunrise. Image via the South Florida Business Journal.

AT&T expects to add another 200 jobs in the building by the end of this year after another phase of the project is completed.

“Any city in any state would welcome the opportunity to create more than 600 jobs in their community and welcome a state-of-the-art call center,” Sowell said. “This call center is a direct result of Florida’s elected leaders passing good public policies that encourage investment in our state.”

AT&T Florida President Joe York and Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan joined Sowell at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Audubon highlights Gulf restoration projects

A 90-page report from Audubon Florida identifies some projects and programs that would help restore the Gulf of Mexico.

Included in the report: a recommended investment of more than $1.7 billion for such efforts.

“The challenges are huge, but we have an enormous opportunity to save much of the Gulf Coast for both birds and people,” said David Yarnold, president and CEO of National Audubon Society. “We can’t afford to blow this.”

Don’t blow it: National Audubon Society CEO David Yarnold recommends an investment of more than $1.7 billion to help restore the Gulf of Mexico.

Audubon Florida, the state branch of the organization, “identified critical priorities in the Sunshine State to confront challenges including a changing climate, sea level rise, and harmful algal blooms,” said a news release.

“Restoring and acquiring the places in this plan will provide refuge to rare and imperiled bird species while mitigating for the impacts of a changing climate,” said Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida.

The report, “Audubon’s Vision: Restoring the Gulf of Mexico for Birds and People,” can be viewed online here.

Justice reformers to screen ‘The Sentence’

The Project on Accountable Justice and FAMM will host a movie screening of HBO’s “The Sentence” at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Challenger Learning Center in Tallahassee.

An IMDB summary describes the 2018 documentary as an “intimate portrait of mandatory minimum drug sentencing’s devastating consequences.”

Cindy Shank is featured in the HBO film ‘The Sentence,’ which examines the devastating effects of mandatory minimum sentences. Image via Getty/Time magazine.

All interested media are welcome to attend.

Afterward, a panel of leading experts will discuss criminal justice reform. They include State Sen. Jeff Brandes, FSU visiting law professor Carla Laroche, Butterfly Life Journeys Founder Patricia B. McCray, Freedom Partners chairman Mark Holden, and FAMM fellow Matthew Charles.

Some lawmakers, including Brandes, are hoping to pass significant sentencing reform this year through the Florida First Step Act.

Stay together for the kids?

New research from Florida State University suggests family shake-ups might not have a long-term influence on child behavior.

A study led by criminology professor Kevin Beaver found that family changes — namely divorce — can impact a child’s criminal behavior immediately, but such an effect will fade.

FSU criminology professor Kevin Beaver says that family changes (particularly divorce) could have a short-term effect on criminal behavior, but fades with time. Image via FSU.

“Essentially what we found is divorce, broken families or blended families might be detrimental for the child in the here and now, but that impact may erode over time,” Beaver said. “It might not have this long-term effect.”

By reviewing data from another study, researchers discovered that divorce and moving in with a stepfamily did not have a significant impact on a child’s delinquency over time.

Divorce did have a significant, but temporary impact on delinquency, although “we didn’t find substantial changes in criminal behavior in late adolescence or adulthood,” Beaver noted.

Desloge named to FEMA panel

Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge was recently selected to serve a three-year term on the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Advisory Council.

The 35-member panel advises FEMA “on all aspects of emergency management to ensure input from and coordination with state, local, tribal and territorial governments, as well as the private sector,” said a news release from the county.

Safe and resilient: Leon Commissioner Bryan Desloge was selected to serve on the FEMA National Advisory Council.

“There is no higher priority than protecting our citizens before, during, and after disaster, and this FEMA committee will have a direct role in shaping policies and practices to keep everyone safe and resilient,” Desloge said.

Desloge will focus on closing the “all-hazards insurance gap for renter policies” and bettering code enforcement as a member of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Subcommittee. His term lasts until May 2021.

If you’re not at the table …

Andrew “Andy” Reiss is updating the lunch menu at Andrew’s restaurant.

Folks in The Process frequent the downtown Tallahassee locale. Some are fortunate enough to have menu items named after them.

You know you’ve really made it when there’s an entrée named after you. Photo via AP.

Coming soon: Dishes taking the namesake of Gov. DeSantis and Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey, among potential other changes.

“This year’s edition includes new names or titles, including Gov. Ron DeSantis’ DeLicious Salad Bar Buffet and Mayor Dailey’s Caprese Burger,” said a news release.

Cabinet members, legislators, and other city and state officials are expected to join Reiss to unveil the menu at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

Capitol Directions

Source Article

The post Takeaways from Tallahassee — Whole lotta hemp appeared first on .

More Info At:: http://www.acdbengal.com/takeaways-from-tallahassee-whole-lotta-hemp/

0 notes

fmservers · 6 years ago

Text

Block Kit helps deliver more visually appealing content in Slack

Slack has become a critical communications tool for many organizations. One of the things that has driven its rapid success has been the ability to connect to external enterprise apps inside of Slack, giving employees what is essentially a centralized workhub. This ability has led to some unintended consequences around formatting issues, which Slack addressed today with two new tools, Block Kit and Block Kit Builder.

Block Kit lets developers present dense content in a much more visually appealing way, while Block Kit Builder is a prototyping tool for building more attractive apps inside Slack. The idea is to provide a way to deliver content inside of Slack without having to do work-arounds to make the content look good.

Before and after applying Block Kit. Screen: Slack

Bear Douglas, who is Slack’s director of developer of relations, says developers have been quite creative up until now when it comes to formatting, but the company has been working to simplify it. Today’s announcement is the culmination of that work.

“Block Kit makes it easier for people to quickly design a customized app in Slack. We’ve launched a no-code builder that will let people design the messages that they show inside Slack,” she explained.

She said, that while this tool is really designed for people with some programming or Slack admin-level knowledge, the ultimate goal is to make it easy enough for non-technical end users to build apps in Slack, something that is on the road map. What enhancing these tools does, however, is show people just what is possible inside of Slack.

“When people see Block Kit in action, it is illuminating about what can be done, and it helps them understand that it doesn’t just need to be your communications center or [something that pings you] when your website blows up. You can actually get work done inside of Slack,” she said.

One other advantage of using Block Kit is that apps will display messages consistently, whether you are using the web or mobile. Prior to having these tools, work-arounds might have looked fine on the web, but the spacing might have been off on mobile or vice versa. Block Kit lets you design consistent interfaces across platforms.

Among the tools Slack is offering, none is actually earth shattering, but in total they provide users with the ability to format their content in a way that makes sense using common design elements like image containers, dividers and sections. They are also offering buttons, drop-down menus and a calendar picker.

Both of these tools are available starting today in the Block Kit hub.

Someone could scoop up Slack before it IPOs

Via Ron Miller https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

0 notes

kacydeneen · 6 years ago

Text

One Year Later: What’s Changed and What Could Change Back?

Much has changed since our community and the nation were rocked by what happened on February 14, 2018 in Parkland.

When it comes to gun rights, some are not happy about the change, while others want more.

One new requirement is that you must be at least 21 to buy rifles.

Another outlaws bump stocks, which allow semiautomatics to fire almost as rapidly as automatics.

And Florida joined other states to enact a so-called "red flag" law, which allows police to confiscate firearms of people determined by a court to be dangerous.

In the weeks after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a usually gun-friendly Florida legislature and governor were persuaded to take those actions.

But now State Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, has filed a bill that would repeal those provision of the new law.

"It was obvious from that law that was signed by the governor that the Second Amendment had come under attack," he said in an interview with the NBC 6 Investigators.

While he said he understands the concerns of – and sympathizes with – the victims' families, he insists the law must go.

"On the basis of that tragedy, then emotional mob rule took over and the students then along with the parents came here and forced the issue," he said. "I believe the decisions were made based on emotion and not based on your oath that every member took to protect and defend the Constitution, including the Second Amendment."

If Hill is able to guide his bill through both houses of the legislature, it may have a chance of being enacted – Gov. Ron DeSantis has already said he would have vetoed the bill, had he been governor last year.

Others, though, are trying to expand it.

State Sen. Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach) is sponsoring a bill that would allow families – not just the police – to seek the red flag orders that allows for confiscation of firearms from dangerous people.

"Who better to determine someone is at risk than someone living close to them?" she asked at a news conference announcing the legislation.

Also, a bi-partisan group is circulating petitions to let voters decide if all semiautomatic rifles that can fire more than 10 rounds per clip be registered or, if not, made illegal to possess.

"This common sense approach supported by the majority of Floridians will save lives and will help to prevent the type of massacres we've seen in our state, like Parkland and Orlando," said Gail Schwartz, chairwoman of a group behind the initiative, Ban Assault Weapons Now. She is also aunt to one of the 17 victims of the massacre, Alex Schachter.

A key financial backer of the effort is Al Hoffman, a Republican fundraiser and former ambassador who developed part of Parkland. Struck by the carnage one man with one AR-15 could inflict, he now supports a ban on assault weapons.

While those changes in gun laws came soon after the shooting, more recent changes have been felt at the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Scott Israel was suspended by DeSantis three days after the governor took office. Israel is now fighting in the state Senate to get his job back.

He was replaced by a former Coral Springs SWAT sergeant, Gregory Tony, who is making active shooter training a mandatory annual event for all sheriff's deputies. Under Israel, the training was rotated to where some deputies may have received it once every two or three years.

There have been a slew of retirements, resignations and removals of sheriff's employees connected to Israel or the response to the school on the day of the shooting.

But one critical area that has not seen change: an inadequate county-owned public safety radio system that has already been overloaded and failed twice, during shootings at Stoneman Douglas and the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.

Sheriff Tony listed it among his top priorities, saying the office will be "working more diligently related to the communication aspects with the radios and the comm centers."

When radios overloaded during the school shooting, Broward County Commissioner Michael Urdine had more than a political interest. His daughter was a senior at the school, though she left early that day. He had been mayor of Parkland for 10 years, so he knew the radio system needed to be replaced.

"Our radio system was built in the 80s," he told the NBC 6 Investigators. "It is time to get this done. We need to get this done. We owe this to our residents."

Coral Springs had already upgraded its system, so its officers who were responding to the school had more reliable access to information, while Broward deputies were handicapped by an overloaded system.

It was the same problem that led to confusion and miscommunication after a man opened fire at the airport in January 2017, killing five.

Now, a year after the shooting in Parkland, the more than $100 million upgrade planned for years is still not complete.

"Delays are not good," he said. "Delays are dangerous. We need to get this done as quickly as we can."

But he fears more delays are coming, now that Hollywood has objected to placing a 32-story tower in West Lake Park.

"If we built this tower in the West Lake Park we were assured by the consultant the system would be finished by this year, in 2019," he said. "Once we move out of that, who knows?"

Hollywood has proposed putting equipment atop a newly constructed apartment tower and says it can be done there for less money and more quickly than constructing an eyesore at the park.

The county commission voted to consider the apartment building location, with Urdine casting the lone no vote.

"Every day it is delayed is another opportunity of potential problems out there,' he said, adding "We need to get this done and we need to get this done right away."

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. One Year Later: What’s Changed and What Could Change Back? published first on Miami News

0 notes

getcurrentreview-blog1 · 12 days ago

Video

youtube

Key Features of Ron Douglas’s Automated Profit Partners Program APPs

#youtube

0 notes

iyarpage · 7 years ago

Text

Alamofire Tutorial: Getting Started

Update note: This tutorial has been updated to Xcode 9.3, iOS 11.3, Swift 4.1 and Alamofire 4.7.0 by Ron Kliffer. The original tutorial was written by Aaron Douglas.

Get the lowdown on Alamofire!

Alamofire is a Swift-based HTTP networking library for iOS and macOS. It provides an elegant interface on top of Apple’s Foundation networking stack that simplifies a number of common networking tasks.

Alamofire provides chainable request/response methods, JSON parameter and response serialization, authentication, and many other features.

In this Alamofire tutorial, you’ll use Alamofire to perform basic networking tasks like uploading files and requesting data from a third-party RESTful API.

Alamofire’s elegance comes from the fact it was written from the ground up in Swift and does not inherit anything from its Objective-C counterpart, AFNetworking.

You should have a conceptual understanding of HTTP networking and some exposure to Apple’s networking classes such as URLSession.

While Alamofire does obscure some implementation details, it’s good to have some background knowledge if you ever need to troubleshoot your network requests.

Getting Started

Use the Download Materials button at the top or bottom of this tutorial to download the starter project.

Note: Alamofire is normally integrated using CocoaPods. It has already been installed for you in the downloaded projects.

The app for this Alamofire tutorial is named PhotoTagger. When complete, it will let you select an image from your library (or camera if you’re running on an actual device) and upload the image to a third-party service called Imagga. This service will perform some image recognition tasks to come up with a list of tags and primary colors for the image:

This project uses CocoaPods, so open it using the PhotoTagger.xcworkspace file.

Note:To learn more about CocoaPods, check out this tutorial by Joshua Greene, published right here on the site.

Build and run the project. You’ll see the following:

Click Select Photo and choose a photo. The background image will be replaced with the image you chose.

Open Main.storyboard and you’ll see the additional screens for displaying tags and colors have been added for you. All that remains is to upload the image and fetch the tags and colors.

The Imagga API

Imagga is an image recognition Platform-as-a-Service that provides image tagging APIs for developers and businesses to build scalable, image-intensive cloud apps. You can play around with a demo of their auto-tagging service here.

You’ll need to create a free developer account with Imagga for this Alamofire tutorial. Imagga requires an authorization header in each HTTP request so only people with an account can use their services. Go to https://imagga.com/auth/signup/hacker and fill out the form. After you create your account, check out the dashboard:

Listed down in the Authorization section is a secret token you’ll use later. You’ll need to include this information with every HTTP request as a header.

Note: Make sure you copy the whole secret token, be sure to scroll over to the right and verify you copied everything.

You’ll be using Imagga’s content endpoint to upload the photos, tagging endpoint for the image recognition and colors endpoint for color identification. You can read all about the Imagga API at http://docs.imagga.com.

REST, HTTP, JSON — What’s that?

If you’re coming to this tutorial with very little experience in using third-party services over the Internet, you might be wondering what all those acronyms mean! :]

HTTP is the application protocol, or set of rules, web sites use to transfer data from the web server to your screen. You’ve seen HTTP (or HTTPS) listed in the front of every URL you type into a web browser. You might have heard of other application protocols, such as FTP, Telnet, and SSH. HTTP defines several request methods, or verbs, the client (your web browser or app) use to indicate the desired action:

GET: Retrieves data, such as a web page, but doesn’t alter any data on the server.

HEAD: Identical to GET but only sends back the headers and none of the actual data.

POST: Sends data to the server, commonly used when filling a form and clicking submit.

PUT: Sends data to the specific location provided.

DELETE: Deletes data from the specific location provided.

REST, or REpresentational State Transfer, is a set of rules for designing consistent, easy-to-use and maintainable web APIs. REST has several architecture rules that enforce things such as not persisting states across requests, making requests cacheable, and providing uniform interfaces. This makes it easy for app developers like you to integrate the API into your app, without needing to track the state of data across requests.

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It provides a straightforward, human-readable and portable mechanism for transporting data between two systems. JSON has a limited number of data types: string, boolean, array, object/dictionary, null and number. There’s no distinction between integers and decimals.

There are a few native choices for converting your objects in memory to JSON and vice-versa: the good old JSONSerialization class and the newly-added JSONEncoder and JSONDecoder classes. In addition, there are numerous third party libraries that help with handling JSON. You’ll use one of them, SwiftyJSON in this tutorial.

The combination of HTTP, REST and JSON make up a good portion of the web services available to you as a developer. Trying to understand how every little piece works can be overwhelming. Libraries like Alamofire can help reduce the complexity of working with these services, and get you up and running faster than you could without their help.

What is Alamofire Good For?

Why do you need Alamofire at all? Apple already provides URLSession and other classes for downloading content via HTTP, so why complicate things with another third party library?

The short answer is Alamofire is based on URLSession, but it frees you from writing boilerplate code which makes writing networking code much easier. You can access data on the Internet with very little effort, and your code will be much cleaner and easier to read.

There are several major functions available with Alamofire:

Alamofire.upload: Upload files with multipart, stream, file or data methods.

Alamofire.download: Download files or resume a download already in progress.

Alamofire.request: Every other HTTP request not associated with file transfers.

These Alamofire methods are global within Alamofire so you don’t have to instantiate a class to use them. There are underlying pieces to Alamofire that are classes and structs, like SessionManager, DataRequest, and DataResponse; however, you don’t need to fully understand the entire structure of Alamofire to start using it.

Here’s an example of the same networking operation with both Apple’s URLSession and Alamofire’s request function:

// With URLSession public func fetchAllRooms(completion: @escaping ([RemoteRoom]?) -> Void) { guard let url = URL(string: "http://localhost:5984/rooms/_all_docs?include_docs=true") else { completion(nil) return } var urlRequest = URLRequest(url: url, cachePolicy: .reloadIgnoringLocalAndRemoteCacheData, timeoutInterval: 10.0 * 1000) urlRequest.httpMethod = "GET" urlRequest.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Accept") let task = urlSession.dataTask(with: urlRequest) { (data, response, error) -> Void in guard error == nil else { print("Error while fetching remote rooms: \(String(describing: error)") completion(nil) return } guard let data = data, let json = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as? [String: Any] else { print("Nil data received from fetchAllRooms service") completion(nil) return } guard let rows = json?["rows"] as? [[String: Any]] else { print("Malformed data received from fetchAllRooms service") completion(nil) return } let rooms = rows.flatMap { roomDict in return RemoteRoom(jsonData: roomDict) } completion(rooms) } task.resume() }

Versus:

// With Alamofire func fetchAllRooms(completion: @escaping ([RemoteRoom]?) -> Void) { guard let url = URL(string: "http://localhost:5984/rooms/_all_docs?include_docs=true") else { completion(nil) return } Alamofire.request(url, method: .get, parameters: ["include_docs": "true"]) .validate() .responseJSON { response in guard response.result.isSuccess else { print("Error while fetching remote rooms: \(String(describing: response.result.error)") completion(nil) return } guard let value = response.result.value as? [String: Any], let rows = value["rows"] as? [[String: Any]] else { print("Malformed data received from fetchAllRooms service") completion(nil) return } let rooms = rows.flatMap { roomDict in return RemoteRoom(jsonData: roomDict) } completion(rooms) } }

You can see the required setup for Alamofire is shorter and it’s much clearer what the function does. You deserialize the response with responseJSON(options:completionHandler:) and calling validate() to verify the response status code is in the default acceptable range between 200 and 299 simplifies error condition handling.

Now the theory is out of the way, it’s time to start using Alamofire.

Uploading Files

Open ViewController.swift and add the following to the top, below import SwiftyJSON:

import Alamofire

This lets you use the functionality provided by the Alamofire module in your code, which you’ll be doing soon!

Next, go to imagePickerController(_:didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo:) and add the following to the end, right before the call to dismiss(animated:):

// 1 takePictureButton.isHidden = true progressView.progress = 0.0 progressView.isHidden = false activityIndicatorView.startAnimating() upload(image: image, progressCompletion: { [weak self] percent in // 2 self?.progressView.setProgress(percent, animated: true) }, completion: { [weak self] tags, colors in // 3 self?.takePictureButton.isHidden = false self?.progressView.isHidden = true self?.activityIndicatorView.stopAnimating() self?.tags = tags self?.colors = colors // 4 self?.performSegue(withIdentifier: "ShowResults", sender: self) })

Everything with Alamofire is asynchronous, which means you’ll update the UI in an asynchronous manner:

Hide the upload button, and show the progress view and activity view.

While the file uploads, you call the progress handler with an updated percent. This updates the progress indicator of the progress bar.

The completion handler executes when the upload finishes. This sets the controls back to their original state.

Finally the Storyboard advances to the results screen when the upload completes, successfully or not. The user interface doesn’t change based on the error condition.

Next, find upload(image:progressCompletion:completion:) at the bottom of the file. It is currently only a method stub, so give it the following implementation:

func upload(image: UIImage, progressCompletion: @escaping (_ percent: Float) -> Void, completion: @escaping (_ tags: [String]?, _ colors: [PhotoColor]?) -> Void) { // 1 guard let imageData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(image, 0.5) else { print("Could not get JPEG representation of UIImage") return } // 2 Alamofire.upload(multipartFormData: { multipartFormData in multipartFormData.append(imageData, withName: "imagefile", fileName: "image.jpg", mimeType: "image/jpeg") }, to: "http://api.imagga.com/v1/content", headers: ["Authorization": "Basic xxx"], encodingCompletion: { encodingResult in }) }

Here’s what’s happening:

The image that’s being uploaded needs to be converted to a Data instance.

Here you convert the JPEG data blob (imageData) into a MIME multipart request to send to the Imagga content endpoint.

Note: Make sure to replace Basic xxx with the actual authorization header taken from the Imagga dashboard.

Next, add the following to the encodingCompletion closure:

switch encodingResult { case .success(let upload, _, _): upload.uploadProgress { progress in progressCompletion(Float(progress.fractionCompleted)) } upload.validate() upload.responseJSON { response in } case .failure(let encodingError): print(encodingError) }

This chunk of code calls the Alamofire upload function and passes in a small calculation to update the progress bar as the file uploads. It then validates the response has a status code in the default acceptable range between 200 and 299.

Note: Prior to Alamofire 4 it was not guaranteed progress callbacks were called on the main queue. Beginning with Alamofire 4, the new progress callback API is always called on the main queue.

Next, add the following code to the upload.responseJSON closure:

// 1 guard response.result.isSuccess, let value = response.result.value else { print("Error while uploading file: \(String(describing: response.result.error))") completion(nil, nil) return } // 2 let firstFileID = JSON(value)["uploaded"][0]["id"].stringValue print("Content uploaded with ID: \(firstFileID)") //3 completion(nil, nil)

Here’s a step-by-step explanation of the above code:

Check that the upload was successful, and the result has a value; if not, print the error and call the completion handler.

Using SwiftyJSON, retrieve the firstFileID from the response.

Call the completion handler to update the UI. At this point, you don’t have any downloaded tags or colors, so simply call this with no data.

Note: Every response has a Result enum with a value and type. Using automatic validation, the result is considered a success when it returns a valid HTTP Code between 200 and 299 and the Content Type is of a valid type specified in the Accept HTTP header field.

You can perform manual validation by adding .validate options as shown below:

Alamofire.request("https://httpbin.org/get", parameters: ["foo": "bar"]) .validate(statusCode: 200..<300) .validate(contentType: ["application/json"]) .response { response in // response handling code }

The UI won't show an error if you hit an error during the upload; it merely returns no tags or colors to the user. This isn't the best user experience, but it's fine for this tutorial.

Build and run your project; select an image and watch the progress bar change as the file uploads. You should see a note like the following in your console when the upload completes:

Congratulations, you've successfully uploaded a file over the Interwebs!

Retrieving Data

The next step after uploading the image to Imagga is to fetch the tags Imagga produces after it analyzes the photo.

Add the following method to the ViewController extension below upload(image:progress:completion:):

func downloadTags(contentID: String, completion: @escaping ([String]?) -> Void) { // 1 Alamofire.request("http://api.imagga.com/v1/tagging", parameters: ["content": contentID], headers: ["Authorization": "Basic xxx"]) // 2 .responseJSON { response in guard response.result.isSuccess, let value = response.result.value else { print("Error while fetching tags: \(String(describing: response.result.error))") completion(nil) return } // 3 let tags = JSON(value)["results"][0]["tags"].array?.map { json in json["tag"].stringValue } // 4 completion(tags) } }

Here's a step-by-step explanation of the above code:

Perform an HTTP GET request against the tagging endpoint, sending the URL parameter content with the ID you received after the upload. Again, be sure to replace Basic xxx with your actual authorization header.

Check that the response was successful, and the result has a value; if not, print the error and call the completion handler.

Using SwiftyJSON, retrieve the raw tags array from the response. Iterate over each dictionary object in the tags array, retrieving the value associated with the tag key.

Call the completion handler passing in the tags received from the service.

Next, go back to upload(image:progress:completion:) and replace the call to the completion handler in the success condition with the following:

self.downloadTags(contentID: firstFileID) { tags in completion(tags, nil) }

This simply sends along the tags to the completion handler.

Build and run your project; select a photo and you should see something similar to the following appear:

Pretty slick! That Imagga is one smart API. :] Next, you'll fetch the colors of the image.

Add the following method to the ViewController extension below downloadTags(contentID:completion:):

func downloadColors(contentID: String, completion: @escaping ([PhotoColor]?) -> Void) { // 1. Alamofire.request("http://api.imagga.com/v1/colors", parameters: ["content": contentID], headers: ["Authorization": "Basic xxx"]) .responseJSON { response in // 2 guard response.result.isSuccess, let value = response.result.value else { print("Error while fetching colors: \(String(describing: response.result.error))") completion(nil) return } // 3 let photoColors = JSON(value)["results"][0]["info"]["image_colors"].array?.map { json in PhotoColor(red: json["r"].intValue, green: json["g"].intValue, blue: json["b"].intValue, colorName: json["closest_palette_color"].stringValue) } // 4 completion(photoColors) } }

Taking each numbered comment in turn:

Perform an HTTP GET request against the colors endpoint, sending the URL parameter content with the ID you received after the upload. Again, be sure to replace Basic xxx with your actual authorization header.

Check that the response was successful, and the result has a value; if not, print the error and call the completion handler.

Using SwiftyJSON, retrieve the image_colors array from the response. Iterate over each dictionary object in the image_colors array, and transform it into a PhotoColor object. This object pairs colors in the RGB format with the color name as a string.

Call the completion handler, passing in the photoColors from the service.

Finally, go back to upload(image:progress:completion:) and replace the call to downloadTags(contentID:) in the success condition with the following:

self.downloadTags(contentID: firstFileID) { tags in self.downloadColors(contentID: firstFileID) { colors in completion(tags, colors) } }

This nests the operations of uploading the image, downloading tags and downloading colors.

Build and run your project again; this time, you should see the returned color tags when you select the Colors button:

This uses the RGB colors you mapped to PhotoColor structs to change the background color of the view. You've now successfully uploaded an image to Imagga and fetched data from two different endpoints. You've come a long way, but there's some room for improvement in how you're using Alamofire in PhotoTagger.

Improving PhotoTagger

You probably noticed some repeated code in PhotoTagger. If Imagga released v2 of their API and deprecated v1, PhotoTagger would no longer function and you'd have to update the URL in each of the three methods. Similarly, if your authorization token changed you'd be updating it all over the place.

Alamofire provides a simple method to eliminate this code duplication and provide centralized configuration. The technique involves creating a struct conforming to URLRequestConvertible and updating your upload and request calls.

Create a new Swift file by clicking File\New\File... and selecting Swift file under iOS. Click Next, name the file ImaggaRouter.swift, select the Group PhotoTagger with the yellow folder icon and click Create.

Add the following to your new file:

import Alamofire public enum ImaggaRouter: URLRequestConvertible { // 1 enum Constants { static let baseURLPath = "http://api.imagga.com/v1" static let authenticationToken = "Basic xxx" } // 2 case content case tags(String) case colors(String) // 3 var method: HTTPMethod { switch self { case .content: return .post case .tags, .colors: return .get } } // 4 var path: String { switch self { case .content: return "/content" case .tags: return "/tagging" case .colors: return "/colors" } } // 5 var parameters: [String: Any] { switch self { case .tags(let contentID): return ["content": contentID] case .colors(let contentID): return ["content": contentID, "extract_object_colors": 0] default: return [:] } } // 6 public func asURLRequest() throws -> URLRequest { let url = try Constants.baseURLPath.asURL() var request = URLRequest(url: url.appendingPathComponent(path)) request.httpMethod = method.rawValue request.setValue(Constants.authenticationToken, forHTTPHeaderField: "Authorization") request.timeoutInterval = TimeInterval(10 * 1000) return try URLEncoding.default.encode(request, with: parameters) } }

Here's a step-by-step explanation of the above code:

Declare constants to hold the Imagga base URL and your Basic xxx with your actual authorization header.

Declare the enum cases. Each case corresponds to an api endpoint.

Return the HTTP method for each api endpoint.

Return the path for each api endpoint.

Return the parameters for each api endpoint.

Use all of the above components to create a URLRequest for the requested endpoint.

Now all your boilerplate code is in single place, should you ever need to update it.

Go back to ViewController.swift and in upload(image:progress:completion:) replace:

Alamofire.upload( multipartFormData: { multipartFormData in multipartFormData.append(imageData, withName: "imagefile", fileName: "image.jpg", mimeType: "image/jpeg") }, to: "http://api.imagga.com/v1/content", headers: ["Authorization": "Basic xxx"],

with the following:

Alamofire.upload(multipartFormData: { multipartFormData in multipartFormData.append(imageData, withName: "imagefile", fileName: "image.jpg", mimeType: "image/jpeg") }, with: ImaggaRouter.content,

Next replace the call for Alamofire.request in downloadTags(contentID:completion:) with:

Alamofire.request(ImaggaRouter.tags(contentID))

Finally, update the call to Alamofire.request in downloadColors(contentID:completion:) with:

Alamofire.request(ImaggaRouter.colors(contentID))

Note: Be sure to leave the responseJSON handlers in place for both of the previous edits.

Build and run for the final time; everything should function just as before, which means you've refactored everything without breaking your app. However, you don't have to go through your entire source code if anything on the Imagga integration ever changes: APIs, your authorization token, parameters, etc. Awesome job!

Where To Go From Here?

You can download the completed version of the project using the Download Materials button at the top or bottom of this tutorial. Don't forget to replace your authorization token as appropriate!

This tutorial covered the very basics. You can take a deeper dive by looking at the documentation on the Alamofire site at https://github.com/Alamofire/Alamofire.

Also, you can take some time to learn more about Apple's URLSession which Alamofire uses under the hood:

Apple WWDC 2015 - 711 - Networking with NSURLSession

Apple URL Session Programming Guide

Ray Wenderlich - NSURLSession Tutorial

Please share any comments or questions about this tutorial in the forum discussion below!

The post Alamofire Tutorial: Getting Started appeared first on Ray Wenderlich.

Alamofire Tutorial: Getting Started published first on https://medium.com/@koresol

0 notes

madpicks · 8 years ago

Photo

New Post has been published on http://www.madpicks.com/sports/nfl/panthers-vs-titans-start-time-tv-channel-watch-online/

Panthers vs. Titans : Start time, TV channel, and how to watch online

Week 2 of the NFL preseason continues Saturday with the Carolina Panthers hitting the road to take on the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. The two teams have spent the week participating in joint practices, and will have a good opportunity to experiment with their play-calling come game time.

Saturday’s only afternoon game will start at 3 p.m. ET and air on NFL Network. Viewers can also stream it on Watch NFL Network.

The Panthers won’t have quarterback Cam Newton under center again Saturday, but the team didn’t have a problem coming away with a Week 1 preseason win over the Texans without him. The emergence of rookie rusher Christian McCaffrey started slowly, but his elusiveness and burst through the seams are worthy of all the hype he’s been getting. He finished his first NFL contest with 33 yards on seven carries against Houston.

Likely to be one of the offense’s most targeted weapons, McCaffrey will see more touches in the preseason until rookie wide receiver Curtis Samuel makes his way back to the field. With Newton slowly making his return and Samuel having yet to get in more than a day’s reps in training camp, the offense as a whole will be looking for others to step up, like wideouts Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess, and Russell Shepard.

Newton made some progress during joint practices this week, throwing during team drills for the first time since July 30. He’s still a little ways off from making a full return, but head coach Ron Riviera isn’t concerned that the quarterback will be ready for the regular season opener against the 49ers.

“Today was a good step. It was very positive,” Rivera said, via the official team site. “A lot of good things happened. I’m really pleased with his progress.”

Newton could even be ready to play in next week’s preseason game, according to NFL.com.

On the other side of the ball, the Titans were happy to welcome back quarterback Marcus Mariota after his second season in a row was cut short due to injury. Unlike the Panthers, however, the Titans didn’t fare so well in Week 1 of the preseason, falling to the Jets, 7-3. Mariota only saw enough game time to get off three passing attempts (for two receptions and 15 yards) and get sacked for a 7-yard loss.

Backup quarterback Alex Tanney struggled with the passing game when it was his turn at the helm, but a big issue for the Titans’ offense was with the offensive line and running backs not picking up blitzes and struggling with pass protection.

Receiver Harry Douglas had a solid performance, especially over the middle, and wideout Taywan Taylor had at least one impressive moment with a leaping catch for a deep pass over the defender. The ground game wasn’t too much more successful, led by running back Derrick Henry, who gained 29 yards on eight carries.

The Titans’ secondary posed the biggest threat to the team’s defensive success, with newly acquired CB Logan Ryan having a miserable debut — he was targeted three times by the Jets’ QBs, allowing three receptions for 77 yards and a QB rating of 118.8 when throwing his direction, per Pro Football Focus.

At the end of the day, both teams are making the most out of the practice element that is NFL preseason. Once the Panthers see Newton back in the pocket, and once the Titans finally feel confident in Mariota’s health moving forward, both teams could be looking down the barrel of a winning season.

How to watch the Panthers vs. Titans Saturday afternoon

Time: 3 p.m. ET

Location: LP Field, Nashville, Tenn.

TV: NFL Network

Announcers: Mick Mixon, Mike Rucker (Carolina); Dan Hellie, Charles Davis (Tennessee)

Online: Watch NFL Network, NFL Moblie app

#Panthers #Titans #NFL

0 notes

junker-town · 8 years ago

Text

Panthers vs. Titans 2017: Start time, TV channel, and how to watch online

The teams have competed in joint practices this week, but who will come out on top Saturday?

Saturday’s only afternoon game will start at 3 p.m. ET and air on NFL Network. Viewers can also stream it on Watch NFL Network.

The Panthers won’t have quarterback Cam Newton under center again Saturday, but the team didn’t have a problem coming away with a Week 1 preseason win over the Texans without him. The emergence of rookie rusher Christian McCaffrey started slowly, but his elusiveness and burst through the seems are worthy of all the hype he’s been getting. He finished his first NFL contest with 33 yards on seven carries against Houston.

"Today was a good step. It was very positive," Rivera said, via the official team site. "A lot of good things happened. I'm really pleased with his progress."

Newton could even be ready to play in next week’s preseason game, according to NFL.com.

At the end of the day, both teams are making the most out of the practice element that is NFL preseason. Once the Panthers see Newton back in the pocket, and the Titans finally feel confident in Mariota’s health moving forward, both teams could be looking down the barrel of a winning season.

How to watch the Panthers vs. Titans Saturday afternoon

Time: 3 p.m. ET

Location: LP Field, Nashville, Tenn.

TV: NFL Network

Announcers: Mick Mixon, Mike Rucker (Carolina); Dan Hellie, Charles Davis (Tennessee)

Online: Watch NFL Network, NFL Moblie app

0 notes

rtawngs20815 · 8 years ago

Text

This Startup Is Telling Everyday Investors It Will Be The Next Uber

Ramy El-Batrawi has founded 27 companies that are now inactive or dissolved, hawking everything from relationship counseling to futures trading to van rentals to Alaskan fishing vacations, a HuffPost review of state records finds. He even ran a travel agency in Palm Beach, Florida, with a Saudi arms dealer involved in the Iran-Contra affair, and was named as a go-between for an offshore entity listed in the Panama Papers.

In 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission barred El-Batrawi from being an executive in a publicly traded company for five years as part of the settlement over a $130 million stock fraud case against a company he led until it collapsed in 2001.

Now that his prohibition period is over, El-Batrawi has something new to sell: shares in YayYo, a price-comparing ride-sharing app that doesn’t currently work.

The company, with El-Batrawi as CEO, is trying to sell $50 million in stock ― which it can do thanks to newly relaxed securities laws that let speculative startups raise money from mom-and-pop investors. Proponents of the laws said they would boost the economy and create jobs, while critics said the loosened rules put people’s money at risk.

YayYo paid Master P to record a promotional track for the company and has been running TV ads on daytime cable news for weeks featuring the actor John O’Hurley, who famously played a catalog salesman peddling ordinary products and whimsical stories on “Seinfeld.”

“What if you were an early investor in Uber or Lyft — what would you be worth today?” O’Hurley asks. The answer, he says, is that you would have made “made millions, if not tens of millions.” (Uber and Lyft are valued at $62.5 billion and $7.4 billion, respectively.)

But wait, there’s more: YayYo, O’Hurley says, might just grow even faster that Uber and Lyft. When and if YayYo’s app works, it will let you compare prices from different ride-hailing companies by plugging directly into the data that companies like Uber and Lyft have made available to third-party developers.

As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably running stock ads on Fox News at 11:45 on a random weekday morning.

Lyft has already filed a cease and desist order against YayYo and barred the company from using its data, a spokesman told HuffPost. Uber did not return HuffPost’s request for comment, but BuzzFeed’s Will Alden noted that the company’s terms don’t allow its data to be aggregated with that of its competitors.

A ride-hailing price-comparison app that can’t compare the prices of the two dominant ride-hailing services is extremely unlikely to succeed, let alone be larger and more popular than the two multi-billion-dollar companies whose data it’s supposed to use.

A spokesperson for YayYo declined HuffPost’s request to comment for this story. Bob Vanech, a YayYo board member, told BuzzFeed last week that the company was likely to meet its $50 million goal.

A ride-hailing price-comparison app that can’t compare the prices of the two dominant ride-hailing services is extremely unlikely to succeed.

Buried on page 54 of YayYo’s 69-page offering document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is a biography that details some of El-Batrawi’s past business ventures, as well as his history of running afoul of financial regulators. What got him temporarily banned from running a public company was his leadership of GenesisIntermedia, a telemarketing company.

The SEC alleged that El-Batrawi and Adnan Khashoggi ― a Saudi arms dealer who was rumored to be the world’s richest man in the 1980s ― created an offshore company to hold 15 million share of Genesis’ stock. The offshore entity then lent those shares to stockbrokers in return for cash. The loan agreements, the SEC said, meant that if the price of Genesis stock rose, El-Batrawi and Khashoggi would receive more cash.

So they allegedly pumped up the price of the stock by making false statements about the company’s finances and restricting the number of shares that could trade. They also paid an actress to promote the stock in TV commercials.

When the value of Genisis stock fell as the stock market dropped after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, El-Batrawi and Khashoggi were supposed to pay back their loans, but they defaulted, bankrupting the brokers who had given them cash. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a government-mandated industry group that effectively insures customers’ accounts when a brokerage goes under, had to step in with what was at the time the agency’s largest-ever bailout.

At least nine other companies El-Batrawi registered were dissolved between 2002 and 2004 for failing to pay annual fees or to file reports to the state officials. Douglas Jacobsen, who was Genesis’ former chief financial officer, told HuffPost he had created 20 or 30 different entities for El-Batrawi, a number of which were effectively shuttered in 2001.

Jacobsen blamed the Sept. 11 attacks for the businesses’ failures: “9/11 ruined everything for everybody,” he said. While that explanation seems insensitive, it’s probably not entirely wrong: Sudden stock market drops like those after 9/11 can help unmask fraudulent business schemes that rely on stock prices continuing to go up. When the overall stock market dropped, it dragged Genesis’ stock down and prompted the brokers to ask for their money back ― only to discover they weren’t getting paid back.

But even in disclosing these not-very-promising past business ventures in his YayYo’s SEC filing, El-Batrawi may be overstating his professional background.

The offering document says that El-Batrawi also founded Aloha Aviation Group, which then partnered with an investment vehicle run by billionaire Ron Burkle to acquire the then-bankrupt Aloha Airlines in 2005.

A spokesman for Burkle’s firm, The Yucaipa Companies, declined to comment, but a close associate of El-Batrawi told HuffPost the SEC filing does not accurately state what happened. El-Batrawi tried to bring Yucaipa deals and introduce the company to people, but it didn’t really pan out. El-Batrawi, the associate said, is “being a little bit fast and loose” ― exaggerating his involvement in the deal to bolster his résumé.

YayYo is almost exactly what critics of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act ― the JOBS Act ― feared when President Barack Obama signed the bill in 2012. (The SEC finished the final rulemaking to implement the law in 2015.) The legislation capitalized on the idea that crowd-funding could help boost the economy by kickstarting investments in small, innovative and risky companies that are normally open only to sophisticated investors like venture capitalists.

“It’s really hard to see how removing basic investor protections and exposing millions of Americans to ripoffs will spur ‘jobs,’ but it isn’t hard to remember how it helped destroy the economy,” Tyler Gellasch, a former Senate staffer and counsel for SEC Commissioner Kara Stein told HuffPost. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly where Congress and the SEC seem to now be headed.”

From Gellasch’s perspective, the JOBS Act was a siren call to for shady businessman to take money from gullible investors. In YayYo’s case, it seems like that’s exactly what’s happening.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2q05dtq

#DIYS

0 notes

exfrenchdorsl4p0a1 · 8 years ago