#church giving records software

[donorkitesoftware]

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[carnelianfoxx]

When I was 14 (or 15?) I was thrown into a school-wide film competition. The production went fucking awful. I had never wrangled so many people together before. Since we were all freshman, we were a rowdy bunch, and most of what I recorded made little sense and was impossible to work with.

So when I sat down to edit (at my church’s computer, because I had no machine to edit with at home), I decided to turn the whole thing into a youtube poop. Funny cuts, random xD jokes, and goofy editing. I had very rudimentary knowledge of Final Cut Pro 7 and photoshop so that made things exponentially harder. I did the best I could in a trial by fire.

I keep thinking about the day I was waiting for my parents to pick me up to take me home after working on it. I thought I was going to die. The footage sucked. The editing was embarrassing. It was an extremely low point in my life. The entire school was going to see this. There were tears.

The day of the premiere, I was prepared for the worst. Why did I do this? Why did I think I could compete against the school? There were seniors who had help from their teachers. I was all alone.

But when my film played, I was no longer alone. It was a hit. Every joke landed, every goof made the student body roar with laughter, and my classmates kept looking at me as if I was a hero. Seniors asked me what software I used to make the video. The “random xD” humor was perfect. It ended up possibly being one of the happiest days of my life.

I had a recording on my iPod touch of everyone’s reactions. I watched it on repeat for a long, long time. It was the first time I was recognized for an achievement with film. I always made videos before, but never had this kind of audience, and certainly not this nice of a reception.

I didn’t win the competition, but second place isn’t bad for a freshman. Everyone laughed the hardest at mine and talked about mine the most.

The iPod recording of the student reactions is long gone now, and I would give anything to see it again. I guess I have to go forward and make new memories.

[wysteir]

.

I think about my old dead prince a lot

I remember when he looked out to the open field and dreamed of running away

I remember that young selfish prince

He had everything. He had nothing.

He had stability. He was unstable.

Volatile

Dead

I puppet his corpse around to look presentable at work. To leech off his name, his records, his work.

All my responsibility now, for as long as it remains "Convenient" and "Practical" and "Efficient"

When was it that he realized he was unkind?

How often did I self reflect since his death, how often did he, before? My chrysalis, my prince, my larval form, ghost that haunts me.

.

.

In some ways I was lucky to be a contrarian smartass, at least for a little while. Realized quick that it was better to remain silent sometimes. Spent a decade learning how to sit down and stay quiet.

But I used to go to church, or at least be forced to go. I wondered why my parents were unkind sometimes when they gossiped about strangers, why we had to spend an hour kissing ass to a God who really didn't have to give a shit about us.

I thought about Gods, about how different things can be incomprehensible, and I wondered how much we really understood.

People barely understand each other

They'll assume the worst of someone and when proven wrong they'll make up more facts to keep allowing themselves to assume the worst of that poor sap

I don't think my parents will make it to heaven immediately, but don't tell them I said that. It doesn't really matter anyway, I'm sure if it's all real St. Peter will give them a good talking-to and maybe they'll get a lecture from the J-Man himself

Not that I'd think they'd listen anyway

Not that I was much better

Well, I DID consider priesthood once. The prince did, anyway. Poor thing.

Exhausted. Wondering when he'd ever get to live. Desperately crawling towards the next milestone, the next stage of life, larva, larva, larva, larva, always. No power for you, my dear sweet prince, not until you become king.

The sermons got stale a dozen years in see. Parables were repeated and he got to hear a bold new take on a story- who even gave a priest the right to declare that as true. He coulda made something up. Something better. He thought he could.

It was a way out, for a tired, weary soul. So that he could stop striving for greatness. Stop having his life in upheaval. Finally have a day to day routine. It's a shame he died, but it had to end this way. He would have never been happy.

And you know, even if I woke up and took over the version of him that was ordained, I'd probably abandon everything anyway.

I think.

I hope.

.

.

I was supposed to be a story teller you know. One of the first things I did for my friends in early elementary was come up with situations for make believe to put them in. I ran a dungeon once, across the walls of the playground.

It's why I loved video games so much. Then later tabletop games.

But it was all for the sake of making a video game when I grew up

You know, you can do everything for the game, right. You can make the art, the music, the writing, the code, everything.

It was all for that.

My first act of self, I think, that splintered the prince's mask.

What would he do, when he grew up?

He would do game programming for a living, then maybe make smaller games on the side for himself.

I would learn the arts, participate in the joy of creation, tell a story, share my soul with those who would listen

Take pride in my job making something big

Take pride in my hobby making something personal

And if it all failed, I would still have a degree in software I could use that would give me an edge up

Convenient. Practical. Efficient.

Excuses in the hopes of a dream come true.

My parents approved but I wasn't ready

I never learned how to work hard

I never learned a thing

I relied on natural talent

I relied on being inspired to work

He fell apart and I couldn't pull him together

He broke

The world shattered him, I never graduated

But a break wasn't suggested

I had to drag his corpse along

I stubbornly declared I still wanted to follow my dream. It was all I had left

I wasn't ready but there was nowhere to go

Nowhere to hide

I transitioned in secret before making it through my courses

Slowly burying his fragments and replacing them with my own until only his "face" remained

God would not save me, no matter how hard I prayed. He wouldn't even kill me.

I was alone, I was lonely, I was nobody

I thought a lot about people who went to church

I thought a lot about how personalities formed and how people grew

I thought a lot about the empty shell of instincts that formed my dead prince

I thought about virtues, maxims, likesz dislikes, habits, actions, reactions

I thought of a beautiful woman, who was kind, attractive, and cool

It was too late to grow into her naturally

But I could become her

I almost named myself Prattil Decordas. The silver lining. I didn't like it very much

Now Wisteria stands before you

She is a devil, a witch of sorts, a plant I suppose. She is of earth and wind. She is a saint, how she envisions a saint should be: godless, virtuous, proper, just. She enjoys being a maid and hates being looked down upon

She is the heart I grew under this porcelain shell

She's me

Goodnight, and rest forever, dear prince

I will take it from here

[kun-summacumlaude]

SUMMA CUM LAUDE? #22

I've done it again.

August 21, 2024. Second Semester and 300 Level both ended on the 9th of August, but this is my first post for the semester. An extremely eventful semester with a not so fairytale ending.

This semester, I wanted to be everywhere, in and out of school. Force myself to manage my time and juggle this and that. Expand a bit. I got off to a great start, getting things done here and there. Weddings, meetings, classes, assignments, service, it was going well. You're expecting to find out where it went wrong right? Well, sorry because even I don't know. Conclude however you like based on what I tell you.

12 Courses. 3 Units (1), 2 Units (9) and 1 Unit (2). 23 Units in total. The goal remained the same: get as many As as possible (which means get all As). We were warned about this semester, a semester with one stumbling block here and there but the only one I was initially really worried about was EEG325 - Digital Design of Logic Systems. Why? The lecturer was known for failing students and giving lots of Cs and Ds and Es and Fs. His reason was ridiculous when he said it in class, although he did something somewhat surprising during our exam. I won't judge until I see results, but his ways are nonsensical, let it be known.

2nd Semester, filled with a slow and steady build up to an explosive disaster.

My Laptop and Computer Village

I don't recall talking about the pain that is my laptop but I am certain I must have mentioned it prior to this moment. Slow and frustrating. After my screen decided to give up on me at the climax of last semester I got it repaired at a friend's dad's shop at Computer Village. 65K. Fine.

Early in the semester, Dr Ogboi came in for Software Development Techniques and Machine Learning (SDT & ML, two courses this semester). Told us we would need Visual Studio for C++, SQL, Java and Eclipse, PyCharm, MATLAB and R and RStudio. You can imagine what was going through my head, was I about to dive into suffering throughout the semester with the HDD in my laptop. The time had finally come to upgrade right? HDD to SSD, increase the RAM and all would be well.

The explosion began to build up that day, but I did not know. Got the SSD on a Friday the 10th of May 2024. That same day, I got to my house and my laptop started beeping. It told me to replace the hard drive because it was faulty. My brother followed me to Computer Village to following day. It rained, I don't want to tell this story, but we suffered that day and eventually got them to replace the SSD with another one that was working (so I thought). As we progress, I will fill you in on what this laptop did to me all semester.

April and May were just little outings here and there. Birthday, wedding, all of that. June was when the real activity began, but you can't attend everything, so I chose the ones to participate in: Youth Week, Fathers' Day and ULES Sports Festival. I left out ULES Faculty Week and Sodeinde Hall Week to make sure I was still getting academic work done.

Due to my failure to update during the semester, the timeline is foggy and I wasn't exactly recording these things as they happened so I'll just try my best.

Youth Week and ULES Sports Festival

I wanted to be present in both of these events. And they did not just happen in one day, so I had to be present at church before that week and also be present at training at training. Usually during the weekends. So in the earlier parts of the semester, a lot of my weekends were usually spent at home or a slice at sports centre. If I attended training, I would still study but if I went home something always happened that prevented my studying.

Till now, I don't know 100% but I am sure enough that the SSD I got is faulty. My Laptop crashed and crashed and crashed... I spent so much time reading up community help for Microsoft and Dell because of this issue. I would go home for one church program and be unable to study because every crash meant I had to reinstall windows or reset my PC, which always led to a loss of my apps or my files and so I would spend the entire weekend re-downloading my Windows and Apps so I would have them for the following week in school. This happened over and over again. What apps by the way? The ones Dr Ogboi had me download for his courses. Guys this was throughout the semester, I'm on holiday now and I am not free from it yet.

It seems funny because you would think once I found of the cause I would be able to avoid it, but this thing came in different shapes and sizes. It seemed like file transfer issue, battery issues, RAM issues, it just kept on crashing in diverse ways and so I could never place my finger on the actual problem which is why I believe it's the SSD. I informed the Computer Village guy, but I did not want to keep on going there, it was obvious these guys were dealing defective goods. After some time, the response was "Ha", WHAT?!

So for the youth week and sports festival, I could not do much studying to be honest. This was week one in June. And by the way, SEES absolutely dominated the ULES Sports Festival, and our kit was so beautiful, I had to buy it.

Father's Day

This was June 16 this year. I had been going home during the weekends prior to this one for preparations with the Royal Ambassadors. I was commanding the parade for this occasion. This weekend my laptop also crashed, which meant I couldn't do much studying or any at all because of the reinstallation. I should also mention that the reinstallation required quite an amount of data because some of the apps had to be downloaded from scratch all the time. Father's Day went well and because exams were just a month away with no sign of any postponement, I told my friend that was the last bit of activity outside of exams for me because I had a lot of covering to do so I wouldn't get caught lacking during the exams.

Everybody do "hmmm"

July 1, 2024 10:55PM

Just two weeks after Father's day, my last side quest for the semester, I did something:

WHAT?!?!?! When did I become a politician? Elections????? How did this happen? I opened our student portal just before the deadline for the election applications and applied to be the Vice President of SEES. #Kunle4VP. Why did I do this? I felt it would be a good experience and this was also part of my getting more involved in school activities. I didn't have long term plans for this, but I needed to step out of my comfort zone. I had been contributing here and there in the department, so I believed it was time to do even more. Honestly you could say I was just being an agent of chaos and be correct because someone was already vying for that role even from my class but I did not care at that point. I wanted to be VP. Big mistake ladies and gentlemen. I 100% should have stayed away from the portal that night.

The election period was basically two weeks. The first week I had a project to complete on Monday and I had tests every other day of the week. Week 1 was basically trying to get support from various levels and put plans and the campaign together so I could go all out in Week 2. Isn't this crazy? I had no plans and had to cook up a lot of stuff in such short amount of time. I knew I was running from a losing position, but I wanted to try anyways. I've been saying "I" so much but it's about me so haha. I did election stuff and I also did studying because how else would I pass my tests? Two of those tests I didn't cover everything I was supposed to cover and I lost huge amounts of marks in both because I couldn't attempt them at all. I was now fully in a remontada mode even before concluding all tests prior to the exams. Weekend of Week 1, instead of studying after volleyball practice, what did I do? I went to ISL to watch Year 1 and Year 2 SEES play football matches because I was trying to get support for the elections. How crazy is that?! I was now a real politician because what on earth was I doing there. I thought I was done with extra curriculars but see me for goodness sake. Unbelievable stuff. Week 2 of the elections was nothing short of an academic lack of focus. Fine, the election held on that Friday (and then Saturday, it got re-done because Unilag servers were too poor) and so I needed to go all out. Going all out meant wrapping up the campaigns, manifesto hearings and putting plans in place for the election day. This meant spending ridiculous amounts of time on election stuff and little time on preparing for my exams. Are we seeing this? Yes. Was I doing something that should be encouraged? Absolutely but you can do the right thing but at the wrong time or you just go about it in the wrong way. This was really close to exams, so a rapid-fire approach wasn't really proper to be honest.

For the record, I had really good plans because my team really believed in me and I in them and I looked forward to implementing those plans. I lost the elections. Later, maybe in the next post. I will do some reflection on how I really felt about these two weeks after my exams. It was now time to face exams once and for all abi, hehe nope. One more activity.

ARB Quiz Grand Finale

Yeah remember the ARB Quiz from First Semester, the Grand Finale happened on the day of the rerun of the election. Are you whining Vice Presidential Candidate???

It was on a Saturday. The hall was empty but that didn't stop us. Hearing from the ARB guys that day, I knew I had to be part of them from next session. I love this vision. So the Quiz, we had to replace one of our fresher starboys with someone from 2000 Level. The quiz was really bad for us (Computer Engineering). Everything went well in the preliminaries, but the final was a disaster. Electrical & Electronics Engineering was on fire by the way, they were unbelievable. So it's the final round (General Knowledge). Chai, I just tried to recall the exact comeback we made but I can't remember, this hurts. Oh well, we were dead last going into the final round. Electrical & Electronics had already won. It was Metallurgical and Materials, System, Chemical and Computer fighting for 2nd and 3rd. You could exclude us and be right because we needed to get all questions right and hope others failed theirs in order to finish in a position. We managed to do just that. Thank God, we left there with something.

Finally, it was just me and my exams. Reality hit me like nothing else. I'll conclude the semester in #23. Byeeeeee.

[ledmessageboard]

Healthcare Hospital Clock

Message Boards Give Smooth Updates

Message boards have actually been around for some time now and they have actually obtained advanced enough to bring timely and purposeful interaction to people in ways not understood heretofore. Message boards usually incorporate some kind of clock display screen with a restricted area for message screen; the message length isn't necessarily restricted by the room, as scrolling is usually an attribute. These displays are likewise with the ability of upgrading content basically in real time, which occurs seamlessly for the customer.

Digital message boards are now the standard, consisting of 2 lines for message (often only 1) that is formatted as a two-dimensional dot matrix of LEDs, plus a separate array committed for showing the moment. The boards (throughout an organization) are controlled with software that is installed on the firm network and accessed via any network website. Occasionally the tools are augmented with additional functions, such as a loudspeaker that might supply audio communication, or light strobing for attracting attention.

Sms message are converted into a stream of dot-matrix patterns (similar to font style) that then obtains filled right into the 2D range of LEDs; there might be a stipulation for mapping photos also. The web content is under the control of software program, which might page segments in and out of the screen or potentially inch lines along to give the appearance of scrolling. A primary combination might be offered assigning particular tones individually per line.

A message might be really short, such as a secret language, or forever long. Of course, if one desires to make the notification fixed for any kind of amount of time, its entire content has to match the a couple of lines of room designated. Generally, however, the software application carries out vibrant messaging, scrolling the display at an assigned speed.

Certainly, nowadays people want not only vibrant notifications but additionally real-time updating. This requires that all gadgets be integrated across entire organizations, whether they be producers, medical facilities, or colleges. Additionally, message boards need to be geared up to receive triggering signals (relayed from a master clock) to submit brand-new info.

When such a system remains in area, each board immediately displays the current time and all boards remain in sync. The control software for the board likewise becomes central, altering each board simultaneously to show the same information. There might be alternatives for the display layout, however that option would certainly be duplicated everywhere.

Message updates are implemented in a variety of means; they might comply with a pre-recorded program according to a timetable, they could be manually set up, or they might take the type of a real-time emergency alarm. In the last case, the software application needs to have the ability to manage the scenario. Probably it interrupts the timetable with a red colored Lockdown! sharp, then changes that with a real-time message composed and transmitted on the fly.

In non-emergencies, it still may be needed to have an override stipulation under regional control. The interruption would certainly accompany a lot more benign alert, and an operator would certainly construct the notification manually. When total, the driver triggers the software application to relay the trigger and message to all boards all at once.

The most recent control software application has a tendency to be much more sophisticated, allowing the collection of boards with separate messaging. By doing this, some groups proceed in a semi-automatic mode, while others are targeted to receive particular updates or run more dynamically. synchronized clocks for hospitals

We have actually come a long way from the simple church-front indication boards that were fixed besides weekly updates. The general public these days is made use of to immediate alerts on their smart devices and other devices, and are conditioned to anticipate a quicker paced environment. Modern modern technology has actually maintained, and institutional message boards currently offer seamless updates.

[avtechnologysworld]

Trends in Audio Visual Technology for Business Meetings and Conferences

Audio visual technology has evolved tremendously over the past few decades, especially for events like business meetings, conferences and seminars. Just like church audio visual systems became more advanced to enhance the experience of congregants, corporate event organizers are leveraging cutting-edge audio visual solutions to boost interactivity and engagement among attendees. This blog will discuss some of the latest trends in audio visual technology that are being adopted for business gatherings.

Disruptive Technologies

Video Conferencing and Virtual Meetings

The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards remote and hybrid work models. As a result, many businesses are now favouring video conferencing platforms and virtual meeting solutions over in-person gatherings. Advanced audio visual systems with high definition cameras, wireless presentation capabilities and sophisticated room layouts are helping corporations seamlessly conduct meetings and webinars with participants joining online. Lightboard animation, immersive video backgrounds and interactive whiteboarding enhance participant experience on virtual meetings.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

Augmented reality and virtual reality provide immersive digital experiences and are being explored for education and training at conferences. For example, AR can be used to project 3D product demonstrations and walkthroughs during launches. Virtual reality headsets give attendees an ability to experience realistic simulations. Some events even offer VR escape rooms as part of interactive sessions. Holograms are another emerging trend with use cases in mockups, presentations and collaborations.

Interactive Displays and Digital Signage

Multi-touch screens, video walls and digital signage have become commonplace at corporate events for visual storytelling, wayfinding and sharing insightful data. Large format displays with touch,gesture and pen input fuel audience engagement through quizzes, polls and games. Real-time content on digital signs provide delegates with schedule updates, venue maps and notification alerts. Interactive kiosks help with onsite registration, check-ins and locating sessions.

Enhanced Audio Systems

Advancements in speaker technologies and sophisticated audio processing are delivering clearer and more intelligible sound experiences. For instance, beamforming microphones, conferencing speakerphones with acoustic echo cancellation and sound masking solutions offer superior call quality on virtual meetings. Streaming audio platforms also enable broadcasting of presentations to wider online audiences. Compact portable speaker systems provide flexible indoor-outdoor sound coverage for hybrid events.

Content Delivery and Management

Centralized Control Rooms

Audio visual control rooms equipped with multi-window video processors and presentation switches enable an events team to seamlessly manage all onsite displays, recordings and webcasts from one location. Integrated control systems with touch panels cater to intuitive operation, device monitoring and troubleshooting. Automated show workflows save time during programming and broadcasts.

Presentation Capture and Streaming

Advanced content capturing appliances support recording of presentations in high resolution for on-demand viewing post event. Combined with lecture capture software, synchronized slides, video, audio and captions enable participants to review sessions virtually. Automated live streaming of keynotes, panel discussions to social networks extends outreach. Dedicated streaming studios facilitate production of webcasts.

Content Management Platforms

Web-based content management platforms organize multimedia assets, streamline review process and simplify access to approved files for speaker uploads. Integrations with conferencing apps also permit distribution of on-screen presentation materials among remote participants. Analytics capture viewer engagement metrics to gauge popularity of various sessions.

Collaboration Tools

Wireless Presentation and File Sharing

Wirelessly presenting from personal devices through built-in screen sharing or third party apps on digital signage and projectors has become ubiquitous. This allows for BYOD flexibility and interactive discussions. Cloud-based file sharing portals enable delegates to access resources from any connected device. Nearby sharing over Bluetooth speeds up onsite content transfers.

Online Whiteboarding and Brainstorming

Virtual whiteboards, collaboration hubs and mind mapping software stimulate ideation through simultaneous multi-user interventions that can be saved, annotated and redistributed. Mobile apps also support ad-hoc brainstorming outside of formal sessions. Integration of workflows through team calendaring and team messaging platforms foster follow-ups.

Video Conferencing for Brainstorming

High-end video conferencing systems with 4K cameras, 360-degree microphones and intelligent acoustic management deliver face-to-face experiences for dispersed teams. Virtual immersive spaces through VR headsets bring participants together regardless of physical location for joint problem-solving sessions.

Real-time Captions and Translation

Artificial intelligence-powered automatic transcription and translation services remove language barriers. Live captioning brings inclusiveness to hard-of-hearing attendees. Simultaneous interpretation through wired and wireless systems or mobile apps aids multi-lingual interactions. These solutions have improved participation from a global talent pool.

In summary, advancements in disruptive technologies, content management, collaboration tools and enhanced audio systems are radically enhancing the usefulness and accessibility of corporate events. When combined with a unified user experience, audio visual solutions can optimise engagement, learning and productivity for both onsite and remote participants. This drives value for businesses in a hybrid work environment.

[omissilem]

birth pangs of a creative

I've always longed to write music.

I don't know when it started,

but I remember as a teenager,

I would hand copy hymns, and draw the staff with a ruler, perfecting the curves of the clefs. It led to teaching myself how to use music notation software to digitize various hymns and exercises I used at church. (We used Encore back then.)

I remember clearly when I showed my band teacher one of my scrawled scores.

I said, "Look Mr. Wall, I think I wrote a song,"

sounding unsure as I trailed off by the end of the sentence. It was a lie, and I couldn't speak it. I had copied one of my favorite hymns at that time.

Mr. Wall stopped to listen as I played it out at the piano. I was so satisfied to be able to play from the map I had carefully scribed.

I shakingly beamed, waiting for his feedback.

"Uhm...this is an old protestant song, I know this song!" He said firmly.

My insides dropped. My fabricated sense of accomplishment faded, and I felt ashamed. The very first time I wanted to share my passion for writing music, I shared a lie and got caught!

Cheeks hot, I stammered, "I guess I heard it before and transcribed it from memory, heh."

I never showed anything I had written (or copied) to anyone after that.

Year after year, I would sit at the piano and try to compose, learning how to talk my feelings out with the keys.

Undisciplined and lacking knowledge, I wasn't able to transcribe any of the musical ideas that would come out.

Year after year, I kept on, trying to write at least one song.

I bought MIDI keyboards, tested software, made countless recordings and free writes. I even took a college MIDI production/composition course, eventually dropping out. I literally couldn't do my homework, or labwork. I would sit at the workstation in lab, picking out notes, and not understanding how to put them together.

I would hear my classmates singing into their mics, and laying down their tracks. I listened as they played back their licks, seeing them smile and take pleasure in each step of the process.

I was disheartened, wondering why I could not create anything when I knew I had a strong musical talent. I knew the theory, I was a capable performer. Yet, I was utterly useless when it came to creating new music.

Normally people realize after so many years of failure, that they want to put their effort to something more worthwhile.

Not me, of course.

I bought journals, and staff-lined notebooks, filled them up with lyrics without melodies, and enough books to fill a bookshelf. I poured over literature on composing. I still couldn't make a single song. I practiced, recorded, tried collaboration, tried solitude. I bought gear. I thought that if I get this or upgrade that, I could make music. I would add one thing after another, curating a myriad of MIDI keyboards, pricey headphones, and numerous apps to help me.

I still can't let go of this one thing. I've developed a complex over it, worked on it, and still. I won't give up. I can't give up.

I can't buy any more gear though, I can't add any more onto myself,

except for an absolute commitment to discipline my work ethic when creating.

It's late, I forgot what I wanted to say.

I meant to say my need to produce that one song is like a late pregnancy. I'm full of this thing inside me, it is alive, and I'm bursting. My back is tired, all my resources are feeding it, and I'm turning inside out to finally see it come into the world.

I imagine it feels like Bella from Twilight looked right before she all but died before giving birth to her child.

Can anyone relate? Or is it my own personal insanity?

I'll keep going until I can no longer.

[ptzopticsblog]

Zoom Surveillance and Pan Tilt Equipment – Ptz Camera

PTZ, or Pan, Tilt, and Zoom, is a phrase that is often used in the surveillance and security industry or market. The PTZ abbreviation can be used as follows: - a ptz camera, a ptz interface, ptz hardware, or ptz software A PTZ-enabled security camera can be remotely controlled in the following ways:

- PAN is an abbreviation for moving the camera from one side to other side or controlling motion in the horizontal position.

- To TILT means to control motion in the vertical plane or to shift the camera up and down.

- To ZOOM implies to zoom in closer to your subject or pan out and far from it.

As with practically every other part of life, the arrival of computers and the advancement of technology has resulted in significant advancements in the surveillance and security business. The contemporary Ptz Camera For Church will comprise a digital camera, thus the zoom will no longer be a lens movement, but rather digital zoom, and all movements, including pan and tilt, will be controlled remotely.

A PTZ camera is undoubtedly more costly than a dynamic or fixed camera, but its versatility allows you to watch an area that would have needed five or ten fixed cameras. Depending on your needs, the Ptz Camera For Live Streaming could be managed in a variety of ways.

A number of businesses produce dedicated PTZ controllers, which will normally allow you to handle the functionalities of numerous cameras from a specialized controller, which will most likely contain a joystick to operate the pan and tilt concurrently.

Milestone, a business that provides a range of devices based on IP technology that allows any IP camera to be immediately accessed via a conventional computer network, has some of the most sophisticated ptz software available (cabled or wireless). [IP is computer jargon for giving a device, such as a PC, laptop, printer, or camera, an IP address so that it may be accessed utilizing industry standard commands.] PTZ surveillance takes on new meaning when the Milestone software merges the camera's movement controls, or PTZ, or images from the camera, resulting in an IP-based network video recorder.

A modern IP-based Mega Pixel camera would record sufficient pixels to offer a high amount of zoom or amplification while still displaying a legible image. When you connect a smart PTZ equipped IP Mega Pixel camera to a range of detectors, like motion detectors, fear alarm buttons, or magnetic interfaces for doors or windows, you can see how powerful a system you can build. While you can easily envisage similar systems in enormous casinos, you can also begin to see how one or two adaptable Ptzoptics 30x Sdi Gen 2 may provide a very effective home-based security and monitoring system.

If you build an IP-based CCTV camera system with PTZ equipment, you'll virtually likely be able to watch and interact with it from any remote connection to the internet. You will also be able to swiftly search any present or archival information using your programme.

[cozycryptidcorner]

Well for my religious upbringing, there's two sides. Mother, who wasn't even a twice a year Methodist and only took us when my sister was in her religious phase or when I explained St Francis of Assisi to her, and father who is the super Catholic side to the point that he is now a deacon in the Catholic church.

For me, the dinosaurs were something that happened before the book and were like God's trial run. Then he killed them with a meteor.

Next, birth control has been a good thing, unless it's the plan b pill which I was told by my father is actually abortion. I actually cried over that one. Abortion is a big no-no but I forget their stance on rape babies. I think it was give them up and hand them off. Though my father does after abortion counselling or something? Idk there's a magnet on the back of his car offering assistance.

Mother said gays are against the Bible. Father is anti gay. I told them off once and said I was bi. That was enough to make two people, one who doesn't want to speak to her and the other who would call him asswhipe like it was his name to my face, contact each other and then decide that since I hadn't slept with a girl, I wasn't actually bi.

Last I checked mother is still vehemently against and probably moreso since the US made marriage legal ON HER BIRTHDAY!!!

My father actually left a campground once because he suspected the owners to be lesbians. He now stands a little kinder towards them but will remark that they need to stop adding gay characters to Disney movies cause they're being forced on us now. Though they will say nothing to my face about my trans friend and when they asked me to make us family friendship bracelets, I had us all pick our colors and they were almost all the standard rainbow colors. So I ordered it from our ages and it pretty much came out to a rainbow. I've never seen them wear them. XD

I no longer speak to my mother but my father sees my tattoo, which is Fight's Not Over Yet with a semicolon and he says he can probably get it off with sandpaper because tattoos are against the religion. I like to point out that so are shrimp or clothes made of different fabrics. They ignore my retorts.

I plan to raise my children as Christians but not so hardcore. Take them to the same preschool I went to at my old Methodist church because the basic lessons they teach about Jesus and such are good life lessons and get them baptized but I'm not gonna shove it down their throats and I'm gonna teach them right and that Jesus hung out with a hooker and chased people out of a church with a whip.

WOW lol yeah I remember you telling me about that whole tattoo thing.

I was asking bc I really wanted to reinforce how fucking weird my childhood was, because it wasn't normal. My mom has since calmed down on the more insane things, and i wouldn't call her fundamentalist anymore, but she went through what I called her "little house on the prairie" phase when I was growing up. I wasn't allowed to wear pants, skirts had to cover my knees, i couldn't watch tv that she didn't expressly approve of (like for example, i wasn't allowed to watch Ben 10 at the age of 15), and used to randomly flip through books I checked out to make sure they were "appropriate” (and for context, she considered the hunger games inappropriate) I had a flip phone until I turned 18 in 2016 and bought my own second hand iphone. The computers all had software that recorded every other second of screen time and kept a log of everything i typed, including my usernames and passwords for every site i visited. And that's just the home stuff, that doesn't even begin to include going to church twice a week, being forced to be in youth groups, and participating in sunday school and religion conferences. girls at one point i had the youth catechism memorized, could recite the ten commandments exactly as they were listed, and even had a couple of psalms down too. I was SO pretentious about my love of classical music and i used to be able to clock the era of every piece i heard. I COULD READ AND TRANSLATE LATIN. 

in the end, this all just made me one of the sneakiest natural liars. I would simply just read "inappropriate" books at the library. I bought a $20 portable dvd player and checked out box sets of tv shows that I would hide in my big school binders.

ya'll if 15 year old me saw 23 year old me, a tatted, blue-haired weed smoking feminist apostate who is openly bisexual with pronouns and a career ahead of me? no husband? no children? i'm like the final boss antagonist of every single christian movie.

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[nerdygaymormon]

Hi, I’m going to byu this next year and I’m quite scared. Is there anything I should know? Also, I’m toying with the idea of going back into the closet just to make it easier in class and around extended family, because I know going to byu will hurt, but maybe I can make it hurt less? Idk, I’d just really appreciate some sort of response about this because you seem like the kind of person that can give a knowledgeable response. Ty for reading :)

Let me begin by saying my BYU student days are long ago and most of what I share is what I’ve learned from students the past few years or from when I visit campus and speak to people.

————————————————————

I know people who've been out but went back into the closet for reasons like going to BYU or moving to a new ward. And after experiencing what it's like to be out, being back in the closet the second time is a tougher experience. They recognize they are suppressing themselves.

I understand your desire to go back in the closet and how it gives you the opportunity to come out to roommates and friends after you test the water, maybe ask them questions and get a sense of their level of acceptance.

An alternative to going back into the closet is find an apartment with another queer person living there. If you know some queer BYU students, ask them to help you find housing with a queer roommate. If you don't know any queer BYU students, perhaps some will read this and message you, or I can contact a few for you.

————————————————————

The Out Foundation partners with Flourish Therapy to provide therapy for free to queer BYU students. I've only heard good things about Flourish, other than there's typically a wait list and may take weeks/months to get seen and assigned a therapist.

There's also CAPS, the university's counseling & psychological center, and I believe they're included in your student fees, so no additional costs to meet with their counselors. I've also heard good things from queer students who seek help from here.

————————————————————

USGA is the off-campus group for queer BYU students & their allies. They meet at the Provo library (the old BYU Academy bldg). They meet weekly and have activities. I highly recommend. This is a chance to meet other queer people in a situation similar to you. USGA may also be a route to find a queer roommate.

————————————————————

If you find that BYU is too much and you need to transfer, The Out Foundation might assist. Last year they raised money to help queer students transfer from BYU after the Honor Code change fiasco. They have a guide to transferring. It's better to get a degree from UVU than to be depressed and suicidal at BYU. Plus the name of the institution you graduate from will follow you the rest of your life and people will assume things about you based off of where you went.

————————————————————

Caleb Stewart put together this map to Gender Neutral Bathrooms on BYU Campus

————————————————————

At BYU, your ward will assign you into FHE groups, often it's 1 or 2 men's apartments and 1 or 2 women's apartments assigned together. 

Here's the thing, FHE isn't mandatory for your ecclesiastical endorsement, so skip it if going makes you cringe. There's a social aspect of going to college, and many find FHE contributes to that. 

If you have roommates, they may pressure you to go, but tell them you have class/study group or your going to your parents' house or whatever excuse you want.

————————————————————

If you want to avoid a calling, there's a couple strategies. Don't draw attention to you the first 3 weeks of school, that's when most callings are extended, maybe go to a friend's ward. If possible, leave your records in your home ward for 2 or 3 weeks until the big rush of callings is over.

You can avoid your BYU ward only a few times because you will need the bishop to renew your ecclesiastical endorsement. Elders Quorum and Relief Society are where your attendance will be taken.

If you really don't want a calling, you can decline the calling. Some callings are more demanding than others.

————————————————————

The school network used to be monitored, or had software that blocked certain sites, I don’t know what the current situation is. Until you know, be careful what stuff you access on the school network. Things that come across as anti-Mormon may be noticed and get flagged. 

————————————————————

A different strategy would be to tell shame to take a hike and hang up a rainbow Pride flag when you first move in. If your roommates ask (which they probably will), you can choose to say you're an ally or you are queer. You make the move to indicate this is going to be a queer-safe space.

If they really are uncomfortable with the idea of living with someone who is queer or an ally, they may try to transfer to a different apartment. And if so, good move as it will remove a hostile person from your life.

————————————————————

Ben Schilaty is a gay man who works in the BYU Honor Code office. Arranging to go by his office to introduce yourself and ask him for advice on how to have a better time at BYU is a good idea. His position is to enforce the Honor Code, so you can ask him about what is or isn't allowable at BYU, but don't go confessing things because he is a school official and would have to take action.

Blake Fisher is a gay man who works as an inclusion advisor in the Office of Student Success and Inclusion. He's worth a visit to see what steps BYU is taking to include queer students. He likely will have some advice on how to be successful as a queer student.

You'll probably be surprised by the number of faculty who are allies and display a rainbow or trans flag outside their office door. One faculty member I would recommend meeting is Roni Jo Draper. She was head of PFLAG in Provo, and is on the board of the ACLU. She'll likely be able to recommend other professors who are queer-friendly.

————————————————————

You can generally have a good time at BYU. However, anytime you mention queer topics, there's the possibility someone will overhear and respond negatively. You never know when a queerphobic talk will be given at church or a bigoted comment made in class. Feeling like you may experience these things at any time can make a person feel a bit paranoid and that they need to be careful.

————————————————————

While individual professors may call out people who make such comments in your class, don't expect the administration to take your side. In questions of personal dignity versus someone who claims they're defending church doctrine, the personal dignity of queer people gets sacrificed every time.

————————————————————

There are opportunities, such as volunteering at Encircle House or running for USGA leadership, that give you an opportunity help better the lives of queer people, and that is a fantastic feeling to know you're making a positive difference.

————————————————————

A recent poll found 13% of BYU students identify as LGBTQIA. Queer students are there and if you can find some, they'll introduce you to others. Being at BYU as a queer student can feel isolating, but you're not alone. Finding other queer students is very helpful. That group of students are generally very loving and supportive because they know what it's like.

————————————————————

As BYU is not an affirming, welcoming place for LGBTQIA students, it is up to you to build yourself a support network. This includes faculty who are allies that you can talk with, finding other queer students with whom you can talk about the ignorant things you have to deal with, USGA where you can hang with other queer students, and so on. 

Also monitoring your mental health is important because there's an ongoing low-level of stress that goes with being a queer student at BYU. If you need help, get into CAPS or Flourish and look at the possibility of transferring to another school, you may qualify for in-state tuition depending on several factors.

[theolynx]

Church management software

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Theolynx is a software solution designed for spiritual nourishment and organizational management of faith-based organizations.

In every church there comes a lot of aspects which need to be managed and organised in a structured manner for better and efficient working. In this digitalised world we have options to ease our work rather than still going with paperwork. The time has changed and so have we. We look to simplify our work and want it to be convenient, comfortable, and fast.

When all the works in government offices and other institutions and organizations have moved to Digital format so the spiritual organizations can also move to a digital format which would be easier and convenient.

A church management software helps in the following:-

Organization Management

Human institution aspects of churches and faith-based organizations call for effective organizational planning, financial management, and optimal utilization of resources while maintaining the spiritual growth of the congregation and fellowship as its primary objective. Following features of Theolynx enable organizational management of churches and faith-based organizations.

Member Management

Engage members efficiently, facilitating consistent support and providing personalized experiences.

Online Payments

Secure channels for collecting subscriptions, tithes, offerings, and donations while reducing the bookkeeping efforts.

Accounting

Integrated accounting module to track transactions, measure financial health, predict growth and make smart, informed decisions.

Security

Strong authentication and authorization system, encrypted personal information, secure payment gateway, and more.

Dashboards & Reports

Snapshot views and customized report builder to analyze trends and make informed decisions.

Announcements

An effective approach to communicating important news and announcements.

Document Management

Manage documents related to the organization and certificates associated with individual members.

Audit Logs

Enable tracking of records based on sequential events for security breaches or misuses of information.

Spiritual & Community Engagement

The spiritual growth and fellowship facilitated by churches and faith-based organizations are adapted on Theolynx to cater to enhanced experiences, a sense of participation, and ease of access to services. Following are some of the features of Theolynx that help churches and faith-based organizations in engaging community members and facilitate their spiritual growth.

Member Profiles

Encourage self-service in keeping personal information up to date and manage the privacy of personal information.

Member Directory

Instrument to showcase the strength of the member base and encourage networking and mentorships.

Events

Streamlined event planning with volunteer and participant registrations that facilitate great church events.

Prayer Requests

Serve the prayer needs and requests of members keeping the sacred trust and confidentiality.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Help members to celebrate, wish well and give thanks on special occasions.

Video live Streaming

Integration with online streaming service providers to enable video conferencing and live stream of services.

Discussion Forums

Enable healthy group discussions on spiritual and organizational aspects related to the church.

Bible Study Journals

Guided approach for learning Bible and reflecting on points for personal spiritual growth.

For more information, you can visit:- https://theolynx.com/  

[newstfionline]

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Biden’s Afghanistan plan a plus to some vets (AP) Patrick Proctor Brown says the war in Afghanistan was lost within a year of its start. The suburban Milwaukee lawyer, who was an infantry captain in Iraq, said the trillions of dollars spent and the thousands of lives lost, including a lieutenant he trained with, make it “a tragedy.” “And the Taliban will be back in power in a year,” said Brown, 35, who also studied diplomacy at Norwich, a military university in Vermont. “It’s insane.” Brown supports President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, and by voting for the Democrat, he represents a subtle but potent shift in the voting behavior of some in the military. Voters who served in the military have long leaned toward Republicans. But there are signs that Biden may have cut into that advantage. “This president has got to end these wars,” said Jon Soltz, a former Army tank captain who formed the Democratic-leaning VoteVets.org in 2006. “He’s got to fulfill some of these promises. There’s a war-weariness in the military.”

Riot declared after windows smashed in Portland protests (AP) Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot Friday night after authorities said protesters smashed windows and burglarized businesses during demonstrations that started earlier in the day after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun. The vandalism downtown came after the Friday morning police shooting but also was part of vigils and demonstrations already planned for the night in the name of people killed in other police shootings nationwide. They include 13-year-old Adam Toledo of Chicago and Daunte Wright, a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis told reporters earlier in the day that a white man in his 30s was shot and killed by police, who opened fire with a gun and weapons that fire non-lethal projectiles. A witness who spoke to reporters at the scene said the man, who had removed his shirt and was blocking an intersection, appeared to be in a mental health crisis.

Castro era in Cuba to end as Raul confirms he’s retiring (Reuters) Raul Castro confirmed he was handing over the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party to a younger generation at its congress that kicked off on Friday, ending six decades of rule by himself and older brother Fidel. In a speech opening the four-day event, Castro, 89, said the new leadership would be party loyalists with decades of experience working their way up the ranks and were “full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit.” The new generation of leaders, which did not forge itself through rebellion, has no easy task. The transition comes as Cuba faces the worst economic crisis since the collapse of former benefactor the Soviet Union, while there are signs of growing frustration, especially among younger Cubans. A tightening of the decades-old U.S. trade embargo and the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated a liquidity crisis in Cuba’s ailing centrally planned economy. Shortages of even basic goods mean Cubans spend hours lining up to buy groceries.

Argentina closes schools, imposes curfew in Buenos Aires as COVID-19 cases spike (Reuters) Argentina’s government will tighten pandemic restrictions in and around the capital Buenos Aires to rein in a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, including shutting schools and imposing a curfew from 8pm to limit social activity. President Alberto Fernández, 62, given his all-clear earlier in the day after he was infected with the virus, said the South American country needed to “gain time” in the fight against COVID-19 after daily cases hit a record this week. The measures will see schools closed in Greater Buenos Aires from Monday, and the suspension of indoor sports, recreational, religious and cultural activities until April 30.

The queen says goodbye to Philip, continues her reign alone (AP) Sitting by herself at the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth cut a regal, but solitary figure: still the monarch, but now alone. The queen sat apart from family members at the simple but somber ceremony in accordance with strict social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic. But if the ceremony had been for anyone else, at her side would have been her husband of 73 years, who gave a lifetime of service to the crown. The monarch’s four children and eight grandchildren sat in small groups nearby, during a stripped-back service at Windsor Castle that made their loss somehow more personal for people who often live their lives in public. The service was quiet and without excessive pageantry. Philip was deeply involved in planning the ceremony. At his request, there was no sermon. There were also no eulogies or readings, in keeping with royal tradition. Former Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who knew Philip well, said the 50-minute service reflected the preferences of the prince, who was a man of faith but liked things to be succinct. “He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church,” Chartres told the BBC.

Philip’s legacy lives in chef who traded prison for kitchen LONDON (AP)—Jon Watts was 18 years old when he woke up in a prison cell and decided he had to change. He enrolled in every course he could find, from mathematics to business. But he says it was a program founded by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, that gave him a “passion for food” and a career as a chef when he got out of prison 3 1/2 years later. “I was a young boy in prison,” Watts, now 32, told The Associated Press. “It helped mold me to be what I like to think is a good person, and it set me up to believe in myself, to believe that I can achieve things.” After Philip’s death last week at age 99, politicians and world leaders rushed to eulogize his lifetime of service to his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, and to the British nation. For many people across the country, though, his greatest contribution was the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a program which seeks to give young people the skills and confidence they need to succeed. Participants in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award must complete volunteer work, improve their physical fitness, learn new skills, and go on expeditions to earn each of three progressively more difficult levels of achievement—bronze, silver and gold. More than 6.7 million people between the ages of 14 and 24 have taken part in the U.K., and the program has expanded to 130 countries since Philip founded it in 1956.

A Bitter Family Feud Dominates the Race to Replace Merkel (NYT) With less than six months to go before Germans cast their ballots for a new chancellor, the political vacuum Angela Merkel leaves behind after 16 years of consensus-oriented leadership is coming more sharply into focus. A rare and rancorous power struggle has gripped Germany’s conservatives this week as two rivals vie to replace her, threatening to further hobble her Christian Democratic Union, which is already sliding in the polls. Normally, Armin Laschet, 60, who was elected in January to lead the party, would almost assuredly be the heir apparent to Ms. Merkel. Instead, he finds himself unexpectedly pitted against his biggest rival, Markus Söder, the more popular head of a smaller, Bavaria-only party, the Christian Social Union, in a kind of conservative family feud. Experts and party members alike are calling for the dispute to be resolved within the coming days, as it risks damaging the reputation of the two conservative parties, jointly referred to as the Union. Because the two parties operate as one on the national stage, they must choose one candidate for chancellor.

Russia to expel 10 US diplomats in response to Biden actions (AP) On Thursday, the Biden administration announced sanctions on Russia for interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and involvement in the SolarWind hack of federal agencies—activities Moscow has denied. The U.S. ordered 10 Russian diplomats expelled, targeted dozens of companies and people, and imposed new curbs on Russia’s ability to borrow money. Russia responded by saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will move to shut down those U.S. nongovernment organizations that remain in Russia to end what he described as their meddling in Russia’s politics. The top Russian diplomat said the Kremlin suggested that U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan follow the example of his Russian counterpart and head home for consultations. Russia will also deny the U.S. Embassy the possibility of hiring personnel from Russia and third countries as support staff, limit visits by U.S. diplomats serving short-term stints at the embassy, and tighten requirements for U.S. diplomats’ travel in the country.

Russia’s surveillance state (Washington Post) Russian authorities are ramping up the use of facial recognition technology to track opposition protesters to their homes and arrest them—a powerful new Kremlin tool to crush opposition. But when state security agents are suspected of murders or attacks on journalists and opposition activists, surveillance cameras have at times been switched off or “malfunction.” And the system is so leaky that surveillance data on individuals can be bought for a small sum on Russia’s notorious black market in data, along with all kinds of other personal information. There is even a name for the clandestine cyber-bazaar: probiv. China leads the world in rolling out a vast network of facial recognition technology, including a system to track and repress its Uyghur minority. But Putin’s Russia is racing to catch up. Russian firms such as NtechLab produce some of the world’s most sophisticated facial recognition software as authorities grapple with counterpunches by the opposition, including using social media to expose Russia’s kleptocracy such as extravagances by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political allies. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the facial recognition system—rolled out in Moscow en masse in January 2020 and expanded to at least 10 other Russian cities—is now used in 70 percent of crime investigations. Moscow has more than 189,000 cameras with facial recognition capabilities, as well as more than 12,300 on subway cars in Moscow’s Metro.

Health care: The medical cost crisis will outlast COVID (The Week) Few would disagree that “much-reviled Big Pharma pulled off one of the great achievements in medical history,” said Geoff Colvin at Fortune—quickly developing multiple effective COVID-19 vaccines. Hospital workers, too, “have been heroes in the truest sense” in the fight against the pandemic. These are not groups America “wants to punish” right now. But something has to give. A system of “perverse incentives,” from drug distribution to insurance rebates, has made health-care costs “maddeningly untamable.” In the six years since the Affordable Care Act was passed, health-care spending per capita has increased faster than it did in the six years prior. Three-quarters of Americans say that the quality of the health care they get isn’t worth what they are paying for it. Big Hospitals and Big Pharma are “at each other’s throats” over who is to blame, but the trend in costs “isn’t about to reverse.” Poorer hospitals have “limped through the year,” straining under the costs of COVID, said Jordan Rau and Christine Spolar at Kaiser Health News, but many wealthier ones have done just fine. The U.S. has budgeted $178 billion in aid for health-care providers, and even profitable hospitals have gotten help. After receiving $454 million in federal aid, Baylor, the biggest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, “accumulated an $815 million surplus, $20 million more than it had in 2019.” Despite this, hospitals have devised ways to pass on costs, said Sarah Kliff at The New York Times. Lenox Hill, one of the oldest and best-known hospitals in New York City, has “repeatedly billed patients more than $3,000 for the routine nasal swab test” for COVID, “about 30 times the test’s typical cost.” The hospital “advertised its COVID-19 testing on a large blue-and-white banner,” then charged each visit as an emergency room procedure. Federal legislation mandated that coronavirus testing be free for patients. “But eventually, American patients bear the costs in the form of higher insurance premiums.”

[joemuggs]

DO YOU SUFFER FROM SPYMANIA?

It’s the 25th anniversary of the Spymania label, and to celebrate it they have released a record of unreleased tracks. It’s brilliant, you should buy it. In 2016 I wrote a history of the messy, messed-up, but brilliant Brighton scene that they found their feet in. Sadly it got lost in the archiving of the Red Bull Music Academy site, but I’ve still got the text, so here it is. And to prove I was there, here is me, in an inexplicably bad shirt, with the Spymania crew and friends:

Some Spymanians - far left is Hardy Spymania, next to him in blue t-shirt is Paddington Breaks, third from right leaning forward is MDK and that’s me in the bad shirt on the right.

25th Anniversary EP by SONGBIRD & WAFTA

From the town's 18th century genesis as a playground for aristocrats, Brighton has always been a space for outrageous hedonism. Being the closest point to London on the English south coast makes it an obvious place for escape and misbehaviour. With that has always come something grittier and grottier though. It's no coincidence that the best known fictional depictions of Brighton feature razor-carrying petty gangsters (Brighton Rock) and running street battles and hurried back-alley knee-tremblers (Quadrophenia). The novelist Keith Waterhouse famously said “Brighton always looks like a town helping police with their enquiries” – and it still does. Behind its facade of homeopaths, holidaymakers, students and media folk, it hides rampant corruption and organised crime, a heroin economy to match any British city, and sprawling estates that are among the country's poorest.

In the heat of the 1990s rave fervour when the world and its dog came down to Brighton to party their way through untold seven-day weekends, all of this ambiguity was expressed via a rather different electronic scene. While the superclubs along the seafront pumped to the sounds of handbag house, trance and big beat, hidden away in the nooks and crannies a techno style formed that became known on the European underground simply as “the Brighton sound” – and around it sprouted odd rave and electronica mutations that, though they might have seemed pisstakey or bloody-minded at the time, would alter the course of electronic music for a long time to come. All of this was surrounded by a dense web of art, theory, satire, in-jokes and meat-flinging cabaret, that could be perplexing, even off-putting, but has left a huge creative legacy from a tiny scene that punched way, way above its weight.

This scene of malcontents and squarepegs was by definition loose-knit – but if there was a centre to it, it was Cristian Vogel. Originally from the south Midlands, he and his friend Si Begg already had experience putting out cassette releases and primitive music software hacks (with the Cabbage Head Collective) before he came to Sussex University to study 20th Century Music in 1992. With a head full of Stockhausen and rave tapes, he was boshing out the techno, and by the end of 1994 had two releases on Dave Clarke's Magnetic North label and was resident at the Acid Box club nights in a little sticky-floored upstairs venue in Brighton's North Lanes.

This was the period when techno and hardcore were still part-fused, and along with headliners like Carl Cox and Luke Slater you could expect to hear Belgian hoover noises full-pelt gabber rolled into the more “intelligent” beats, all with nothing but relentless strobes and smoke to intensify the experience. It's a sign of how intense it was that the “chillout” in the backroom consisted of Richie Hawtin tunes playing and Tetsuo: Iron Man being shown on a couple of TVs, and felt genuinely laid back in comparison to the dancefloor. It could be shoulder-to-shoulder packed, or have ten people raving away, but it was pretty much always guaranteed to deliver mental obliteration. It's precisely this delirium you can hear in key early releases like Vogel's “Ninjah” or Tobias Schmidt's “Minus One”.

Si Begg and friends

Cristian, together with Si Begg founded Mosquito Records around this point, around which a motley crew of producers of monstrously banging but sonically razor sharp techno gathered. Neil Landstrumm, Tobias Schmidt (an ingenious pseudonym for one Toby Smith), Ibrahim Alfa and Russ Gabriel, as well as Begg and Vogel themselves, all released in the first couple of years. They were closely allied with the Scottish techno scene, notably through Landstrum but also the Sativae label run by Dave Tarrida and Steve Glenncross, and played to seething crowds north of the border, as well as absolutely huge ones in Germany, Poland and further afield. Yet even though the audiences were tiny back on the south coast, the local brand was inescapable: indeed Si Begg, who lived in London right through the nineties, recalls with some bafflement seeing untold German flyers with “BRIGHTON TECHNO” in big letters under his name.

All of this was great, but taken alone could simply have been another local flavour on the international techno scene. The four-to-the-floor certainly remained the heartbeat of the scene as The Acid Box became The Box, which became Defunkt, which became Freekin' The Frame, and the techno dons kept coming through: Blake Baxter, Shake Shakir, Claude Young, Beltram, Weatherall, Surgeon, Bandulu... but very quickly, things became about more than just that. There was a strongly disruptive element from the beginning in the form of a close alliance with the Brighton “clench” of the Church Of The SubGenius. If you don't know about the Church, that's a whole other rabbit hole to fall down, but for our purposes it's enough to know that the local bunch existed on the fringes of freeparty soundsystem culture and subverted its tendencies to crypto-mystical bollocks, and were big on collage and stencil graffiti, heavy punning streams of consciousness (“Bulldada” in the SubGenius parlance), mischief disguised as culture and vice versa.

Heavily influenced by this SubGenius mischief was Mat Consume, in-house designer, computer animator and frequent back-room DJ for the Vogel-related axis. His art, brain-bent ranting and noisily experimental sets became a vital part of the identity of the scene, helping coalesce obsessions with punk and Situationism and ambivalent embrace of digital progress among Vogel and compadres to the point where when they formed an umbrella organisation for their activities it was natural to call it No Future. Held loosely together by Vogel's partner and manager Emma Sola this acted as a booking agency for various acts, but just as much felt like a chaotic but fiercely independent joint art project between Vogel, Sola and Consume, throwing ideas and aesthetic forms out into the underground and forging alliances with equally bloody-minded creators.

Emma Sola

These included the likes of Canadian filmmaker and stencil artist Pablo Fiasco; animators and sound artists Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt aka Semiconductor; non-techno eclecticist club collectives Mufflewuffle and Slack; the combative cabaret night That Stupid Club which would feature subcultural saboteurs like Stewart Home, Dennis Cooper and The Divine David; and another more rave-influenced cabaret night called Monkey's Lounge full of spoken word, off-colour comedy, offal-flinging and pints-of-piss-drinking, run and compered by... um... me (under the names Rimmington Snuffporn Esq and DJ Dead, with help from my music production and DJ partner Jeffrey Disastronaut). It was at a Monkey's Lounge session that Consume physically pushed Jamie Lidell – already widely known as a wildly innovative techno producer via the Subhead collective and their Growth parties – on stage with the house band Balzac, immediately kickstarting a long running residency as their singer and marking the beginning of a performing career that still continues.

Tom “Squarepusher” Jenkinson and Hardy Spymania

Possibly the most important alliance of all, though, was with the Spymania crew. Their social circle was a motley bunch of Londoners, Midlanders and most notably a large contingent from Chelmsford, Essex. Many of the latter had been to school with Tom Jenkinson, a musician known originally as Stereotype and then, when the Spymania label itself was formed by Paul Fowler and brighton-based Hardy Finn, as Squarepusher. Their ethos was preposterous in all ways, fuelled by unstable fusions of questing intellects and Essex swagger. As teenagers they first congregated around a Chelmsford club night called Club Trout, run by future scene mainstay Jane Mitchell (and later exported to Brighton as Smooth But Halibut); they smoked themselves sarcastic to early tapes made by their friends Cassetteboy; everything they did was shot through with skater-stoner-hardcore-raver pisstake attitude. Their rickety old website, which remains live today, still gives a hint of all this. http://www.spymania.com/pgs/hardcore.html

Yet these were musical connoisseurs too, assiduously collecting hip hop, acid, Detroit techno, British electronica, and especially in the case of Martin “MDK” Wood, death metal, gindcore and anarcho punk. This pile-up of musical expertise and sarky dicking about was there from the first release, Squarepusher's Conumber EP – which featured everything from a track that was nothing more than a timestretched Jenkinson asking “can anyone lend me a fiver” to the jungle-acid fusions that would literally redefine how electronica was made from the Aphex Twin on down for the rest of the 1990s. The Spymania records that followed touched on illbient mismatched time signatures, Drexciyan electro-funk, Deicide samples, eerily blissed out atmospherics, Cassetteboy's peurile genius (via offshoot label Barry's Bootlegs), and a dozen more awkward twists and turns besides, always brain-frying, always funny, never settling on any sound that offered the casual listener an easy handle on what was going on.

A standardly Dada Spymania cover

This added up to a refreshing antidote to the chin-fondling seriousness and purism of much of the electronica scene. And when Finn, Wood and friends went raving at the Acid Box, they naturally found a kindred spirit in Mat Consume who would design almost all the Spymania sleeves, their grainy photocopy style a counterpoint to the garish clashing computer images and animated dancing baby skeletons of his No Future work. They in turn helped inspire Consume, with the urbane Lynton Million (a university friend of Jamie Lidell's), to set up Trash Records.

Trash was a label that would take the horrible and confrontational side of the scene to extremes, with anger and ugliness from label mainstays including DJ Paedofile, Chuck Shite and Shit & Cheap (aka Consume & Landstrumm – sample track name: “SuckingCocksForFishheads”), as well as impossibly intricate turns from the likes of Liddell and another Chelmsfordian Squarepusher contemporary and Rephlex recording artist, Matt Yee-King. Si Begg, too, was close to the Spymania team, and launched the rather more good-natured but equally ridiculous Noodles family of labels, featuring a slew of collaborations and AKAs (including Hardy Spymania's pleasingly literal Barry Pseudonym) from the No Future and Spymania families.

It was a messy and disparate little scene. The bulk of the rave action took place in the big clubs of Germany and the rest of Europe, but the creative processes were at least as much about what happened in smoky shared flats and workshops in Brighton's tatty backstreets as they were about big dancefloors. Vogel once described his metier as “the drug pub rant”, and a lot of work sprung from precisely these. Continually, though, the bulk of Brighton club culture, from the seafront clubs to the free parties on the beaches and Downs, tended to look askance at the belligerence and deliberate obfuscations of the No Future axis, or more often simply ignore it all. Perhaps the glorious cresting of the first wave of activity, and probably this scene's peak visibility in Brighton full stop, was at the Brighton Dance Parade of 1997. This attempt to replicate Berlin's Love Parade was never to be repeated – hippie mismanagement and Brighton's endemic corruption saw to that – but for one day only the ravers had their literal day in the sun.

The Trash crew: top - Consume, Hunter & Million / middle - Million & Consume / bottom - Cristian Vogel & Million

There, among floats pumping out free party trance and funky house, the No Future bus – stencilled all over by Pablo Fiasco with pictures of dead rock stars, and with a stunningly crsip rig playing weaponised techno whose angles and curves were a thousand times sharper and more present than any other music on the day – stood out like a septic thumb. This was also the year that Vogel's musical partnership with Lidell began in earnest – with Lidell's furious remix of Vogel's “(Don't) Take More”, which remains a brain-damage anthem to this day in some quarters, and their first release as the mutant electronic funk duo Super_Collider, “Darn (Cold Way O Loving)”. The latter track, amazingly, emerged on a major label, thanks to it being signed by Skint parent label Loaded, in turn licensed through Sony. It was a year to wave the freak flag high.

Despite untold hard drugs, fights and the incestuous nature of a town as small as Brighton, the scene and the various record labels involved remained vigorous and continued to diversify right through the last years of the nineties and into the new millennium. Super_Collider released one album on Loaded, and another on Rise Robots Rise, the label created by Vogel and Sola for ever more varied output including Catalan girl-punk and German dancehall. Lidell's ultra-experimental first solo album, Muddlin Gear, came out as a joint venture between Spymania and WARP in 2000, accompanied by deranged artwork and live films by Pablo Fiasco. Bands increasingly became part of the mix: whispering neo-Krautrockers Fujiya & Miyagi (on Paul Spymania's Massive Advance imprint), the terrifying Wevie Stonder (who he managed) and space-pop group Chungking (which I was in for a couple of years, and whose multi-instrumentalist James Stephenson played bass for Super_Collider live, creating a Chelmsford rhythm section with Matt Yee-King on drums - both of these two had also been in the aforementioned Balzac too).

No Future’s logo, designed with typical aggression by Consume

There were prominent fans too. John Peel asked the Trash collective to open Meltdown Festival in 1998. Thom Yorke and Radiohead's resident artist Stanley Donwood designed t-shirts for No Future. Vogel is namechecked on the Sabres Of Paradise Haunted Dancehall album, and Andrew Weatherall would frequently call him up, dumbfounded at his latest sonic advances. One memorable 1999 awayday for the Freekin' The Frame club to The End in London saw Róisín Murphy jumping on stage after the live Super_Collider show to duet with Lidell on an impromptu version of “Once in a Lifetime”, a very young Kieran Hebden repping UK garage, Chicks On Speed shouting their hearts out, and Chris Cunningham playing long segments of white noise to puzzled ravers, as well as sets from various No Future / Spymania stalwarts.

Inevitably, like all but the very biggest musical scenes, the micro-one in Brighton dissipated as people grew up, fucked up, or moved on – but its echoes continue. Vogel and Landstrumm continue to be significant forces in electronic music, both as influences on the post-Blawan generation and as musicians in their own right. Si Begg is a respected sound designer and composer. Matt Yee-King runs the computer music course at Goldsmiths college, and is a big noise on the “Algorave” scene. Paul Spymania is an artist manager and agent, and along with Scuba, brought dubstep to Berlin in the legendary Sub:Stance sessions. Semiconductor became artists in residence for NASA, among many other extraordinary commissions. Jamie Lidell supported Elton John. Consume is in Bristol, currently working on a giant mural of DJ Derek. Lynton Million lives on a small island, selling whisky. Ibrahim Alfa took several sharp diversions that are an epic tale in their own right, and is only now picking up where he left off with a Workshop issue of his “lost” album Once Upon a Time in Brighton. And so it goes on...

Unlike some electronic scenes, the one in Brighton was never particularly chic (although it certainly had massive cultural cachet in a few countries if not at home), and its records don't necessarily fetch silly money on discogs (like that's a measure of value, right?). But out of a tiny techno club and its committed few regulars grew something that filled an entire decade with utterly extraordinary art, music, humour and ideas, and which still has relevance and resonance for smart creative minds many years on. Those messy, aggro, awkward bunch of ravers and jokers somehow managed to hold it together just enough to build a creative world entirely of their own, with its own rules and its own distinctive identity: what more can artists hope for?

This history is dedicated to James Phillips, a vital part of this scene and always 100% one of the good guys. RIP

Some tunes:

Cristian Vogel: Ninjah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ydOFHo9JtI

Tobias Schmidt: Minus One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YjozNVF7_I

MDK: Sound of Saturday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV3KQHGxmcg

Subhead: Ruction (produced by Jamie Lidell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5vNX_ylRQM

Squarepusher: Sarcacid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IY6cvGnVCA

Cristian Vogel: Bite & Scratch (Blake Baxter Detroit Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXIB7I3D7ss

DJ Paedofile: I was Rise in Clouds https://youtu.be/WcyrrAwqaQY

Buckfunk 3000 (Si Begg): Future Shock Planet Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp4b6PE0FkY

Cristian Vogel: Sarcastically Tempered Powers http://youtu.be/Q2G3204pfkY

Yee King: Goodnight Toby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbnZuv3xHog

Super_Collider: Darn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh2kauFcGpw

No Future at Brighton Love Parade: https://vimeo.com/119001501

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Partnering with Jobs For Life to help people get back on their feet and get back in the workforce has been one of the most rewarding experiences. Jobs For Life is a faith based organization that focuses on using biblical principles to commit to making positive transformations in the lives of their students and the community. Underemployment and unemployment is a barrier that many rural communities are facing.

In many southern rural communities churches are an

essential part of community outreach, specifically in rural parts of North

Carolina.The organization was established in 1996 and has touched the lives of

many people all over America. By holding weekly workshops/ class sessions held

in churches. At the end of the course students have the opportunity to use the

skills gained from the workshops and market themselves as better employees.

For the past 24 years most of the curriculum at

JBFL has been taught in an in-person setting, however due to COVID-19 and the

current health regulations. However,

Underemployment

and unemployment is still a health crisis that needs to be addressed. Our group

was tasked with assisting the presenter’s, by enhancing their presentation and

providing supplemental material to help engage participants, and allowing them

to better understand the material being presented to them.

The participants in JBFL are typically church

members or members within the community who come from different backgrounds.

Many of these participants have low socioeconomic status due to low levels of

education, lack of income, and housing conditions. While completing this task

our group was challenged to ensure the supplemental material was not too

advanced for participant’s competency level. Typically the course is moderate

paced and in a group setting moderated by the presenter’s so participants have

the opportunity to learn from each other. However, since it is being recorded

for the very first time we wanted to ensure participants would still be able to

get the same experience.

My group members and I partnered with presenters

and split the material amongst one another. We gather lots of information and

presented it to our preceptor. Using new technology and software we were able

to use giphs, graphs, tables, and pictures to better engage our participants.

We believe this first session of recording will be the blue-print for other Jobs For Life classes in the post COVID-19. This will allow Jobs For Life curriculum to be reached by a great number of participants all over the United States of America. My team and I are excited about kicking off the first recordings for the organization. In the future we hope that more organizations partner with Jobs For Life even though they are a faith based organization.

My group and I are eager to help with transforming the lives of many people within the community who are currently without employment. We believe these courses/workshops will give them the motivation and encouragement to get back on their feet and into to the Job industry. Can’t wait for the day of recording to finally see our work come to life #TeamJob’s