text:
Larry Bryggman

Larry Bryggman (born December 21, 1938) is an American actor. He is known for Spy Game (2001), Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) and As the World Turns. He appeared as Dr. George Helms, a former Medical Director on the show New Amsterdam (2022).

Early life
Bryggman was born in Concord, California, on December 21, 1938, of Swedish descent; his father worked for a neon sign company and his mother was a piano teacher. He graduated from Piedmont High School (Piedmont, CA). He attended the City College of San Francisco as well as the American Theatre Wing in New York City. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1962, with A Summer Ghost.

Career
Bryggman is known for his role as Dr. John Dixon in the soap opera As the World Turns (ATWT), a role he played from July 18, 1969, to December 14, 2004. Originally the role was a minor background part, which only required Bryggman to work two episodes, but he was later hired to a contract in 1970. For his role as Dr. Dixon, Bryggman received two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama, in 1984 and 1987.

He has also made several notable appearances in major films, most notably ...And Justice for All, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Spy Game.

In December 2004, Bryggman's photo suddenly stopped appearing in the opening credits of As the World Turns. Although many actors were rarely seen on the show, ATWT had a history of keeping its veteran actors under contract. After a few weeks of not appearing in the opening credits, it was revealed that Bryggman decided to quit after being offered a large pay cut. Though no onscreen attempt was made to explain the character's absence—his character simply stopped appearing—vintage clips of Bryggman were featured in ATWT's fiftieth anniversary show in April 2006. Beginning on August 27, 2010, Bryggman returned to ATWT for 12 of the final 16 episodes, as the show finished its run on September 17, 2010. For these final episodes of the series, it was explained that Dixon had been working at Johns Hopkins for an undisclosed period of time, but had been asked by Dr. Reid Oliver to return to Oakdale Memorial to consult on the ailing Christopher Hughes.

In 2005, Bryggman starred as the Judge in the Atlantic Theater Company's off-Broadway and Los Angeles productions of the David Mamet farce Romance, for which he received universal rave reviews and a nomination for the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. James C. Taylor of the Los Angeles Times called Bryggman's performance "one of the finest comedic performances seen on an American stage this decade".

Bryggman has twice been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play; in 1994 for Picnic, and in 2001 for Proof. He also appeared in the original 1976 Broadway cast of Checking Out.

Personal life
Bryggman married his As the World Turns co-star, Jacqueline Schultz, in 1982. In two separate relationships, he had three children: sons Jeffrey and Michael and daughter Heidi. Michael died in 1993. He married Tracey Hanley Bryggman, an assistant director on Guiding Light when their son Ryan was born; they had their second child, daughter Riley, in 2003. ''

title: Larry Bryggman


text:
Missouri Executive Order 44

Missouri Executive Order 44 (known as the Mormon Extermination Order) was a state executive order issued by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs on October 27, 1838, in response to the Battle of Crooked River. The clash had been triggered when a state militia unit from Ray County detained several Mormon hostages from Caldwell County, and the subsequent attempt by the Mormons to rescue them.

Based on exaggerated reports of the battle and rumors of Mormon military plans, Boggs claimed that the Mormons had committed "open and avowed defiance of the law" and had "made war upon the people of Missouri". Governor Boggs directed that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description".

The order was directed to General John Bullock Clark, and it was implemented by the state militia to forcefully displace the Mormons from their lands in Missouri. In response to the order, the Mormons surrendered and subsequently sought refuge in Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1976, citing its unconstitutional nature, Missouri Governor Kit Bond formally rescinded it.

Background
The relationship between the Mormons and the state of Missouri had its roots in 1830, when a group of missionaries arrived in western Missouri with the goal of proselytizing among the Native Americans. This group arrived in Jackson County, Missouri, and initially encountered a welcoming response from some residents who were receptive to their message. In summer of 1831, Jackson County was designated as the place of Zion, a sacred site where Mormons believed they would eventually gather and prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. However, as the number of Mormons in the area grew, tensions emerged between the Mormons and their non-Mormon neighbors. This was partly due to the religious and cultural differences between the two groups, economic competition, political differences, and fears of cultural displacement. Tensions reached a boiling point in summer of 1833, when two newspaper articles discussing Missouri laws concerning slavery were published by the Mormon newspaper, the Evening and the Morning Star in Independence, Missouri. These articles were interpreted by Missourians as inviting free blacks to settle in the county. Residents of Jackson County, including several public officials, published a manifesto accusing the Mormons of having a "corrupting influence" on their slaves, and calling for their removal: "peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must." On the same day, July 20, 1833, the W. W. Phelps printing press, which published the newspaper in Independence, was destroyed by a mob.

Mormons were given a county of their own —Caldwell County— in 1836, following their expulsion from Jackson County in 1833. However, the increasing influx of new converts moving to northwestern Missouri led them to begin settling in adjacent counties. Other settlers, who had operated under the assumption that Mormons would remain confined to Caldwell County, became angry due to these new settlements.

On July 4, 1838, First Presidency member Sidney Rigdon delivered an oration in Far West, the county seat of Caldwell County. Rigdon wanted to make clear that Mormons would meet any attacks on them with force. Far from settling tensions, Rigdon's oration had the opposite effect: it terrified and inflamed the residents of surrounding counties. By the fall of that same year these tensions escalated into open conflict, culminating in the siege of the Mormon settlement in Carroll County, the sacking and burning of Gallatin by the Danites, and the taking of Mormon hostages by Captain Samuel Bogart and his state militia unit, operating in northern Ray County (to the south of Caldwell).

A Mormon armed group from the town of Far West moved south to the militia camp on the Crooked River in order to rescue the hostages, causing rumors of a planned full-scale invasion of Missouri that ran rampant throughout the summer and aroused terror throughout the western part of the state. These rumors only increased as reports of the Battle of Crooked River reached the capital at Jefferson City, with exaggerated accounts of Mormons supposedly slaughtering Bogart's militia company, including those who had surrendered. Further dispatches spoke of an impending attack on Richmond, county seat of Ray County, though in fact no such attack was ever contemplated.

Previously, Governor Boggs had received word that Mormons had driven several citizens of Daviess County (north of Caldwell) from their homes. He had then appointed General John Bullock Clark to lead the State Militia in assisting those citizens to return. But after hearing these reports, Governor Boggs issued new orders directing Clark to commence direct military operations and issued Missouri Executive Order 44.

Enforcement
General Clark cited Executive Order 44 soon after the Mormon settlers surrendered in November 1838, saying that violence would have been used had they chosen not to surrender. "...The order of the governor was to me, that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to remain in the state; and had not your leaders been given up, and the terms of this treaty complied with, your families before this time would have been destroyed, and your houses in ashes. There is a discretionary power vested in my hands, which concerning your circumstances I will exercise for a season..."

General Clark explicitly stated that the Mormons should expect no mercy and that their leaders would not be returned to them. Clark furthermore stated:"I do not say you shall go now, but you must not think of staying here another season, or of putting in crops, for the moment you do this, the citizens will be upon you; and if I am called here again, in a case of a non-compliance of a treaty made, do not think I will do as I have now. You need not expect any mercy, but extermination, for I am determined the governor's orders be executed. As for your leaders, do not think, do not imagine for a moment, do not let it enter into your mind, that they will be delivered and restored to you again, for their fate is fixed, their die is cast, their doom is sealed."

Consequently, approximately 15,000 Mormons promptly fled to Illinois, enduring the harsh winter conditions.

Deaths
While the term extermination was used in the order, Boggs would claim later in his life that his main desire was to subdue the Mormons without bloodshed. Historians Alexander L. Baugh and Steven LeSueur suggest the word 'exterminate' reflects the historical usage of the term, which more broadly encompassed the expulsion or removal of a group or population from an area.

The question of whether anyone was directly killed as a result of the Extermination Order between its issuance on October 27, 1838, and the Mormon surrender on November 1, 1838, has been a subject of intense historical debate. The prevailing consensus among scholars is that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that militiamen invoked the order to justify their actions during that period.

Haun's Mill
The Haun's Mill massacre took place on October 30, 1838, three days after the order. It was perpetrated by Missouri State Guardsmen from Livingston County on the settlement of Haun's Mill, located in eastern Caldwell County near the Livingston County border. It resulted in the deaths of 18 men and boys. . While most scholars state there is little evidence that the militiamen knew of the Executive Order, there is at least one first-hand account claiming the perpetrators cited the governor's ordering their extermination as the motive of the massacre. "'Halt!' commanded the leader of a band of well-mounted and well-armed mobocrats, who charged down upon them as they journeyed on their way.

'If you proceed any farther west,' said the captain, 'you will be instantly shot.'

'Wherefore?' inquired the pilgrims.

'You are d__d Mormons!'

'We are law-abiding Americans, and have given no cause of offence.'

'You are d__d Mormons. That's offense enough. Within ten days every Mormon must be out of Missouri, or men, women, and children will be shot down indiscriminately. No mercy will be shown. It is the order of the Governor that you should all be exterminated; and by God you will be.'"

Financial losses
To date, there have been no reparations or other financial compensation for losses by either side in the conflict. Historian William Alexander Linn wrote:

"What the total of the pecuniary losses of the members of the Mormons in Missouri was cannot be accurately estimated. They asserted that in Jackson County alone, $120,000 worth of their property was destroyed, and that fifteen thousand of their number fled from the state. Smith, in a statement of his losses made after his arrival in Illinois, placed them at $1,000,000. In a memorial presented to Congress at this time the losses in Jackson County were placed at $175,000, and in the state of Missouri at $2,000,000. The efforts of Mormons to secure redress were long continued. Not only was Congress appealed to, but legislatures of other states were urged to petition in their behalf. The Senate committee at Washington reported that the matter was entirely within the jurisdiction of the state of Missouri. One of the latest appeals was addressed by Smith at Nauvoo in December, 1843, to his native state, Vermont, calling on the Green Mountain boys, not only to assist him in attaining justice in Missouri, but also to humble and chastise or abase her for the disgraces she has brought upon constitutional liberty, until she atones for her sin."

Aftermath
Despite surrendering at Far West on November 1, Mormons (especially in outlying areas) continued to be subject to harassment by citizens and militia units. The Mormons in Caldwell County, as part of their surrender agreement, signed over all of their property to pay the expenses of the campaign against them; although this act was later held unlawful.

Though Clark had offered to allow the Mormons to remain in Missouri until the following spring, they decided to leave right away; according to one account, most had departed within ten days of Clark's speech. Although Governor Boggs belatedly ordered a militia unit under Colonel Sterling Price to northern Missouri to stop ongoing depredations against the Latter Day Saints, he refused to repeal the order. The Missouri legislature deferred discussion of an appeal by Mormons to rescind the decree.

Governor Boggs was excoriated in portions of the Missouri press, as well as those of neighboring states, for his action in issuing this order. General David Atchison, a legislator and militia general from western Missouri who had refused to take part in operations, demanded that the Legislature formally state its opinion of Governor Boggs' order, for "he would not live in any state, where such authority was given". Although his proposal and similar ones by others went down to defeat, Governor Boggs himself saw his once-promising political career destroyed to the point that, by the next election, his own party was reluctant to be associated with him. After surviving an assassination attempt in 1842, Governor Boggs ultimately emigrated to California, where he died in relative obscurity in the Napa Valley in 1860.

Rescission

In late 1975, President Lyman F. Edwards of the Far West stake of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, invited then Missouri Governor Kit Bond to participate in the June 25, 1976, stake's annual conference as a good-will gesture for the United States Bicentennial. As part of his address at that conference, 137 years after being signed and citing the unconstitutional nature of Governor Boggs' directive, Governor Bond presented the following Executive Order:

"WHEREAS, on October 27, 1838, the Governor of the State of Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs, signed an order calling for the extermination or expulsion of Mormons from the State of Missouri; and

WHEREAS, Governor Boggs' order clearly contravened the rights to life, liberty, property and religious freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of the State of Missouri; and

WHEREAS, in this bicentennial year as we reflect on our nation's heritage, the exercise of religious freedom is without question one of the basic tenets of our free democratic republic;

Now, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Governor of the State of Missouri, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Missouri, do hereby order as follows:

Expressing on behalf of all Missourians our deep regret for the injustice and undue suffering which was caused by the 1838 order, I hereby rescind Executive Order Number 44, dated October 27, 1838, issued by Governor Lilburn W. Boggs.

In witness I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the great seal of the State of Missouri, in the city of Jefferson, on this 25 day of June, 1976.

(Signed) Christopher S. Bond, Governor."

Original text

Missouri Executive Order Number 44 reads as follows:

"Headquarters of the Militia,

City of Jefferson, Oct. 27, 1838.

Gen. John B. Clark:

Sir: Since the order of this morning to you, directing you to cause four hundred mounted men to be raised within your division, I have received by Amos Reese, Esq., of Ray county, and Wiley C. Williams, Esq., one of my aids [sic], information of the most appalling character, which entirely changes the face of things, and places the Mormons in the attitude of an open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this state. Your orders are, therefore, to hasten your operation with all possible speed. The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so to any extent you may consider necessary. I have just issued orders to Maj. Gen. Willock, of Marion county, to raise five hundred men, and to march them to the northern part of Daviess, and there unite with Gen. Doniphan, of Clay, who has been ordered with five hundred men to proceed to the same point for the purpose of intercepting the retreat of the Mormons to the north. They have been directed to communicate with you by express, you can also communicate with them if you find it necessary. Instead therefore of proceeding as at first directed to reinstate the citizens of Daviess in their homes, you will proceed immediately to Richmond and then operate against the Mormons. Brig. Gen. Parks of Ray, has been ordered to have four hundred of his brigade in readiness to join you at Richmond. The whole force will be placed under your command.

I am very respectfully,

yr obt st [your obedient servant],

L. W. Boggs,

Commander-in-Chief."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Missouri Executive Order 44


text:
O'Dea High School

O'Dea High School is a Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the school was built. O'Dea is a part of the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Of its 480 students in four grades in 2022, 56% were Catholics, 53% were Caucasian, 16% were African American, and 19% were multi-racial. There are 36 instructors and the student-teacher ratio is 14 to 1. The tuition at O'Dea High School for the 2023-2024 school year was $19,555; the school provides over $2 million in financial aid every year.

Clubs
O'Dea High School has many school clubs, each supported and sponsored by the school by a yearly club fair and funds from the school's treasury. A list of some O'Dea Clubs:
 * Black Students United For Excellence(BSUE)
 * Latino Heritage Club
 * O'Dea 100 Club
 * Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Club
 * Japanese Cultural Club
 * Korean Cultural Club
 * National Honor Society - O'Dea Chapter
 * Junior State of America - O'Dea Chapter
 * Knowledge Bowl Club
 * Service Club
 * Chess Club
 * Student Ambassadors
 * Rhythm & Poetry
 * Student Advisors for Equity
 * eSports
 * Digital Media Club (DMC)
 * Technology Ambassadors
 * O’Dea Design Club
 * Investment Club
 * Korean Club

Athletics
O'Dea High School has had many notable alumni go on to great success in College and Professional athletics. A list of currently offered sports by season:
 * Fall: Cross Country, Football, Golf
 * Winter: Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling
 * Spring: Baseball, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Tennis, Track

Notable alumni

 * Patrick Henry Brady, Major General, U.S. Army (retired), Vietnam Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross recipient.
 * Chris Banchero, current professional basketball player
 * Jamie Malonzo, current professional basketball player in the PBA
 * Paolo Banchero, NCAA basketball player for Duke and first overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, currently playing for the Orlando Magic.
 * Kevin Burleson, NBA player
 * Nate Burleson, NFL wide receiver
 * Fred Couples, professional golfer
 * Demetrius DuBose, former NFL player
 * Myles Gaskin, American football running back for the Miami Dolphins
 * Allen Greene, director of athletics of Auburn University and former baseball player at Notre Dame and New York Yankees
 * Charles Greene, U.S. Olympic gold medalist
 * Eddie Henderson, retired soccer player (Wichita Kansas Wings MISL team & US National Team Youth player); Washington Director of Youth Coaching for the ISC Gunners program.
 * John Matsudaira (1922–2007), American painter.
 * Mich Matsudaira (1937–2019), American businessman and civil rights activist.
 * Paul Matsudaira, American biologist.
 * Taylor Mays (born 1988), NFL free safety with Cincinnati Bengals; former USC Trojan
 * John Navone, SJ, Jesuit priest, theologian, author, and retired Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Gregorian University.
 * Clint Richardson Jr. (born 1956), NBA player
 * Geoff "InControl" Robinson, American professional StarCraft player and commentator
 * J. Kevin Waters, Jesuit priest, composer, academic administrator, and Professor Emeritus of Music at Gonzaga University.
 * DeAndre Yedlin (born 1993), full-back for MLS football club Inter Miami CF

Controversies
In 2012, the principal of O'Dea at the time, Brother Walczak was accused of sexually abusing a minor in the 1970s. Walczak denied the allegations but resigned as principal.

title: O'Dea High School


text:
Godrej Group

Godrej Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which is managed and largely owned by the Godrej family. It was founded by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej in 1897, and operates in sectors including real estate, consumer products, industrial engineering, appliances, furniture, security and agricultural products. Its subsidiaries and affiliated companies include Godrej Industries and its subsidiaries Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Agrovet, and Godrej Properties, as well as the private holding company Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Timeline

 * 1897: Godrej was established in 1897
 * 1897: Godrej introduced the first lock with lever technology in India.
 * 1902: Godrej makes its first Indian Safe
 * 1918: Godrej Soaps Limited incorporated
 * 1920: Godrej made soap using vegetable oil
 * 1955: Godrej produced India's first indigenous typewriter
 * 1961: Godrej Started Manufacturing Forklift Trucks in India
 * 1971: Godrej Agrovet Limited began as an Animal Feeds division of Godrej Soaps
 * 1974: Veg oils division in Wadala, Mumbai acquired
 * 1988: Godrej Properties Limited, another subsidiary, established
 * 1989: Godrej became the first Indian company to introduce PUF (polyurethane foam)
 * 1991: Foods business started
 * 1994: Transelektra Domestic Products acquired
 * 1995: Transelektra forged a strategic alliance with Sara Lee USA
 * 1999: Transelektra renamed Godrej Sara Lee Limited and incorporated Godrej Infotech Ltd.
 * 2001: Godrej Consumer Products was formed as a result of the demerger of Godrej Soaps Limited. Godrej Soaps renamed Godrej Industries Limited
 * 2002: Godrej Tea Limited set up
 * 2004: Godrej HiCare Limited set up providing pest management services
 * 2006: Foods business was merged with Godrej Tea and Godrej Tea renamed Godrej Beverages & Foods Limited
 * 2007: Godrej Beverages & Foods Limited formed a JV with The Hershey Company of North America and the company was renamed Godrej Hershey Foods & Beverages Limited
 * 2008: Godrej relaunched itself with new colourful logo and a fresh identity music
 * 2010: Godrej launched GoJiyo a free, browser based 3D virtual world
 * 2011: Godrej & Boyce shuts down its typewriter manufacturing plant, the last in the world.
 * 2014: Godrej kick-starts Masterbrand 2.0 – bigger & brighter; Launches FreeG; India's first non-web based mobile browsing experience, 18 November 2014
 * 2020: The Godrej Group enters into financial services business with Godrej Housing Finance (GHF) to provide affordable Home loans

Operations
The Godrej group can be broadly divided into three major holding companies, working independently:
 * 1) Godrej Industries Ltd
 * 2) Godrej & Boyce
 * 3) Godrej Telecommunications

title: Godrej Group


text:
User talk:Photios

Welcome to the Wikipedia
Here are some links I thought useful:

 * Tutorial
 * Help desk
 * Policy Library
 * Utilities
 * Cite your sources
 * Verifiability
 * Wikiquette
 * Civility
 * Conflict resolution
 * Brilliant prose
 * Neutral point of view
 * Pages needing attention
 * Peer review
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 * Village pump
 * Boilerplate text
 * IRC channel
 * Mailing lists
 * Current polls

Feel free to ask me anything the links and talk pages don't answer. You can sign your name by typing 4 tildes, like this: ~.

Be Bold!

Sam [Spade] 18:23, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Photios


text:
Talk:A Deepness in the Sky

Localizers
''This is the first Vinge work which introduces localizers. These are tiny devices which can contain a simple processor, sensors, and short-range communications. Vinge explores how mesh networking of these devices can put to use in ways quite different than traditional computer networks.''

Did this novel come before or after his novella, Fast Times at Fairmont High? Localizers also play a major role in that work. --NeuronExMachina 18:24, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Anyways, localizers also were used in The Peace War (although I'm not sure they were used under that name). --Stephan Schulz 01:57, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Where? - Omegatron 23:23, May 23, 2005 (UTC)

 * I read a borrowed copy a few years back (it was out of print until recently). But it was a scene where some hunting/ambush was going on, and the Tinker technology was used to neutralize some thugs. The localizers used were bigger than the ones in Deepness, and did not move under their own power, if I remember correctly. --Stephan Schulz 11:06, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

 * Ahhh... with like the homing bullets and stuff. I remember that bit now. - Omegatron 13:41, May 24, 2005 (UTC)

 * Got it! --Stephan Schulz 13:57, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

The article for A Fire Upon the Deep states that A Deepness in the Sky is set twenty thousand years earlier. But this article states that this novel is set thirty thousand years earlier. Which is it? Was the author vague, or inconsistent? How far in the future is A Fire Upon the Deep set? --NotWillDecker

 * I think the interval between stories is never more than speculated about. that was my impression. Phams character in the original novel (fire upon the deep) is to a degree a kind of frankenstein lash up created from bits and pieces salvaged from a wreck (or wrecks) that have drifted up out of the slowzone. his age is therefore hard to pin point. - RD.

 * One beats the other by decades, but it doesn't matter since they are both waiting for the Spiders to defrost eventually. --Gwern (contribs) 03:21, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

The Qeng Ho arrive at the On/Off star a number of decades before the Emergency fleet arrives

 * I don't think that's true. I thought they arrived at the same time. — Omegatron 04:31, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm reasonably sure they don't; I remember reading some lines to the effect that Qeng Ho watched the Emergents coast in-system for a long time. --Gwern (contribs) 04:48, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

 * It states that the Qeng Ho watched the Emergents arrive while they (the Qeng Ho, with faster ships) were decellerating. The Qeng Ho arrived first, but certainly not a few decades earlier. (I’m currently reading the book.) -Ahruman 21:12, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

 * OK then. My mistake. --Gwern (contribs) 21:15 13 January 2007 (GMT)

Article Linked from Slashdot
Heads up. - 4.240.238.78 06:39, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

IETF?
I remember some reference to the Internet Engineering Task Force in the book. What role did Vinge give them again? Kalaong (talk) 13:46, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

 * Could they be the entity that monitors the boundary of the Bottom? (oops, wrong book) Pham (in the backstory) sets up a broadcast system to try to give humanity a common clock and a steady source of information that might prevent local economic collapses; could that be it? —Tamfang (talk) 07:48, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

Translations
I thought I might add what the titles mean in English but I had to use Google translator and other online translators. Can other people check what I've come up with? Chinese: Poles apart; [Formal] worlds apart; as different as high heaven and deep sea Finnish: Celestial Depths Russian: Depth in the sky Croatian: Hole in the sky French: In the Depths of Heaven Italian: When Light Returns Japanese: 最果ての銀河船団 (saihate no genga sendan) [lit: Galaxy Fleet's Farthest End] Title taken from Vinge's Japanese Wiki article Darthjarek (talk) 12:21, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Has any Critic Ever Compared Pham Nuen to Lazarus Long
I find a great similarity between these two characters. I think this is emphasized in the first part of this book and the first part of Time Enough for Love but the similar incidents at these times aren't the only common features. Their vast ages and the reverence with which some people treat them are other similarities. Even more, I find their personalities somewhat similar. 76.28.103.69 (talk) 17:45, 28 August 2009 (UTC)Will in New Haven76.28.103.69 (talk) 17:45, 28 August 2009 (UTC)
 * This would be interesting in a section on 'literary influences' or something like that. The Spiders are rather Tolkienesque with "Underhill" and "attercops". --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 18:46, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Plot summary: "historic node"??
The term seems to be used primarily or only in geography, not history. Evidently used here to mean something like "critical moment". Perhaps it's a translation of an expression in another language that has that meaning, but it's not clear in English, so I have changed it. -- Thnidu (talk) 05:11, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Afterthought: "critical juncture" is often used this way. -- Thnidu (talk) 21:15, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Plot summary: The spiders' role
The plot summary currently states that Nuwen and the "younger Qeng Ho" (Ezr Vinh) defeated the Emergents. In fact, the spiders themselves do most of the work. A major part of the plot towards the end of the book is that some of the spiders had already secretly learned of the human presence in their system, and had already hacked into the Emergents' system; in the end, it is their own actions that foil the Emergent attack. The Qeng Ho's own attempt largely fails. The summary should be re-written to at least briefly address this, as it's a pretty major element of the plot. I don't think I'm up to it myself, however. 12 Oct. 2011

On/Off or OnOff
I've just read a TOR paperback edition, 2000, which has OnOff throughout. Did the first edition have On/Off? --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 18:48, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on A Deepness in the Sky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090704072321/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue101/excess.html to http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue101/excess.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 02:26, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:A Deepness in the Sky


text:
Importance sampling

Importance sampling is a Monte Carlo method for evaluating properties of a particular distribution, while only having samples generated from a different distribution than the distribution of interest. Its introduction in statistics is generally attributed to a paper by Teun Kloek and Herman K. van Dijk in 1978, but its precursors can be found in statistical physics as early as 1949. Importance sampling is also related to umbrella sampling in computational physics. Depending on the application, the term may refer to the process of sampling from this alternative distribution, the process of inference, or both.

Basic theory
Let $$X\colon \Omega\to \mathbb{R}$$ be a random variable in some probability space $$(\Omega,\mathcal{F},P)$$. We wish to estimate the expected value of X under P, denoted E[X;P]. If we have statistically independent random samples $$x_1, \ldots, x_n$$, generated according to P, then an empirical estimate of E[X;P] is

\widehat{\mathbf{E}}_{n}[X;P] = \frac{1}{n} \sum_{i=1}^n x_i \quad \mathrm{where}\; x_i \sim P(X) $$

and the precision of this estimate depends on the variance of X:

\operatorname{var}[\widehat{\mathbf{E}}_{n};P] = \frac{\operatorname{var}[X;P]} n. $$

The basic idea of importance sampling is to sample the states from a different distribution to lower the variance of the estimation of E[X;P], or when sampling from P is difficult. This is accomplished by first choosing a random variable $$L\geq 0$$ such that E[L;P] = 1 and that P-almost everywhere $$L(\omega)\neq 0$$. With the variable L we define a probability $$P^{(L)}$$ that satisfies

\mathbf{E}[X;P] = \mathbf{E}\left[\frac{X}{L};P^{(L)}\right]. $$

The variable X/L will thus be sampled under P(L) to estimate E[X;P] as above and this estimation is improved when $$\operatorname{var}\left[\frac{X}{L};P^{(L)}\right] < \operatorname{var}[X;P]$$.

When X is of constant sign over Ω, the best variable L would clearly be $$L^*=\frac{X}{\mathbf{E}[X;P]}\geq 0$$, so that X/L* is the searched constant E[X;P] and a single sample under P(L*) suffices to give its value. Unfortunately we cannot take that choice, because E[X;P] is precisely the value we are looking for! However this theoretical best case L* gives us an insight into what importance sampling does:

\begin{align}\forall a\in\mathbb{R}, \; P^{(L^*)}(X\in[a;a+da]) &= \int_{\omega\in\{X\in[a;a+da]\}} \frac{X(\omega)}{E[X;P]} \, dP(\omega) \\[6pt] &= \frac{1}{E[X;P]}\; a\,P(X\in[a;a+da]) \end{align}$$ to the right, $$a\,P(X\in[a;a+da])$$ is one of the infinitesimal elements that sum up to E[X;P]:

 * $$E[X;P] = \int_{a=-\infty}^{+\infty} a\,P(X\in[a;a+da]) $$

therefore, a good probability change P(L) in importance sampling will redistribute the law of X so that its samples' frequencies are sorted directly according to their weights in E[X;P]. Hence the name "importance sampling."

Importance sampling is often used as a Monte Carlo integrator. When $$P$$ is the uniform distribution and $$\Omega =\mathbb{R}$$, E[X;P] corresponds to the integral of the real function $$X\colon \mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$$.

Application to probabilistic inference
Such methods are frequently used to estimate posterior densities or expectations in state and/or parameter estimation problems in probabilistic models that are too hard to treat analytically. Examples include Bayesian networks and importance weighted variational autoencoders.

Application to simulation
Importance sampling is a variance reduction technique that can be used in the Monte Carlo method. The idea behind importance sampling is that certain values of the input random variables in a simulation have more impact on the parameter being estimated than others. If these "important" values are emphasized by sampling more frequently, then the estimator variance can be reduced. Hence, the basic methodology in importance sampling is to choose a distribution which "encourages" the important values. This use of "biased" distributions will result in a biased estimator if it is applied directly in the simulation. However, the simulation outputs are weighted to correct for the use of the biased distribution, and this ensures that the new importance sampling estimator is unbiased. The weight is given by the likelihood ratio, that is, the Radon–Nikodym derivative of the true underlying distribution with respect to the biased simulation distribution.

The fundamental issue in implementing importance sampling simulation is the choice of the biased distribution which encourages the important regions of the input variables. Choosing or designing a good biased distribution is the "art" of importance sampling. The rewards for a good distribution can be huge run-time savings; the penalty for a bad distribution can be longer run times than for a general Monte Carlo simulation without importance sampling.

Consider $$X$$ to be the sample and $$\frac{f(X)}{g(X)}$$ to be the likelihood ratio, where $$f$$ is the probability density (mass) function of the desired distribution and $$g$$ is the probability density (mass) function of the biased/proposal/sample distribution. Then the problem can be characterized by choosing the sample distribution $$g$$ that minimizes the variance of the scaled sample:

 * $$g^* = \min_g \operatorname{var}_g \left( X \frac{f(X)}{g(X)} \right).$$

It can be shown that the following distribution minimizes the above variance:

g^*(X) = \frac{|X| f(X)}{ \int |x| f(x) \, dx}. $$

Notice that when $$X\ge 0$$, this variance becomes 0.

Mathematical approach
Consider estimating by simulation the probability $$p_t\,$$ of an event $$X \ge t$$, where $$X$$ is a random variable with cumulative distribution function $$F(x)$$ and probability density function $$f(x)= F'(x)\,$$, where prime denotes derivative. A $$K$$-length independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) sequence $$X_i\,$$ is generated from the distribution $$F$$, and the number $$k_t$$ of random variables that lie above the threshold $$t$$ are counted. The random variable $$k_t$$ is characterized by the Binomial distribution

 * $$P(k_t = k)={K\choose k}p_t^k(1-p_t)^{K-k},\,\quad \quad k=0,1,\dots,K.$$

One can show that $$\operatorname{E} [k_t/K] = p_t$$, and $$\operatorname{var} [k_t/K] = p_t(1-p_t)/K$$, so in the limit $$K \to \infty$$ we are able to obtain $$p_t$$. Note that the variance is low if $$p_t \approx 1$$. Importance sampling is concerned with the determination and use of an alternate density function $$f_*\,$$(for $$X$$), usually referred to as a biasing density, for the simulation experiment. This density allows the event $${ X \ge t\ }$$ to occur more frequently, so the sequence lengths $$K$$ gets smaller for a given estimator variance. Alternatively, for a given $$K$$, use of the biasing density results in a variance smaller than that of the conventional Monte Carlo estimate. From the definition of $$p_t\,$$, we can introduce $$f_*\,$$ as below.

\begin{align} p_t & = {E} [1(X \ge t)] \\[6pt] & = \int 1(x \ge t) \frac{f(x)}{f_*(x)} f_*(x) \,dx \\[6pt] & = E_* [1(X \ge t) W(X)] \end{align} $$

where

 * $$W(\cdot) \equiv \frac{f(\cdot)}{f_*(\cdot)} $$

is a likelihood ratio and is referred to as the weighting function. The last equality in the above equation motivates the estimator

 * $$ \hat p_t = \frac{1}{K}\,\sum_{i=1}^K 1(X_i \ge t) W(X_i),\,\quad \quad X_i \sim f_*$$

This is the importance sampling estimator of $$p_t\,$$ and is unbiased. That is, the estimation procedure is to generate i.i.d. samples from $$f_*\,$$ and for each sample which exceeds $$t\,$$, the estimate is incremented by the weight $$W\,$$ evaluated at the sample value. The results are averaged over $$K\,$$ trials. The variance of the importance sampling estimator is easily shown to be

\begin{align} \operatorname{var}_*\widehat p_t & = \frac{1}{K}\operatorname{var}_* [1(X \ge t)W(X)] \\[5pt] & = \frac{1}{K}\left\{{E_*}[1(X \ge t)^2 W^2(X)] - p_t^2\right\} \\[5pt] & = \frac{1}{K}\left\{{E}[1(X \ge t) W(X)] - p_t^2\right\} \end{align} $$

Now, the importance sampling problem then focuses on finding a biasing density $$f_*\,$$ such that the variance of the importance sampling estimator is less than the variance of the general Monte Carlo estimate. For some biasing density function, which minimizes the variance, and under certain conditions reduces it to zero, it is called an optimal biasing density function.

Conventional biasing methods
Although there are many kinds of biasing methods, the following two methods are most widely used in the applications of importance sampling.

Scaling
Shifting probability mass into the event region $${ X \ge t\ }$$ by positive scaling of the random variable $$X\,$$ with a number greater than unity has the effect of increasing the variance (mean also) of the density function. This results in a heavier tail of the density, leading to an increase in the event probability. Scaling is probably one of the earliest biasing methods known and has been extensively used in practice. It is simple to implement and usually provides conservative simulation gains as compared to other methods.

In importance sampling by scaling, the simulation density is chosen as the density function of the scaled random variable $$aX\,$$, where usually $$a>1$$ for tail probability estimation. By transformation,

 * $$ f_*(x)=\frac{1}{a} f \bigg( \frac{x}{a} \bigg)\,$$

and the weighting function is

 * $$ W(x)= a \frac{f(x)}{f(x/a)} \,$$

While scaling shifts probability mass into the desired event region, it also pushes mass into the complementary region $$X<t\,$$ which is undesirable. If $$X\,$$ is a sum of $$n\,$$ random variables, the spreading of mass takes place in an $$n\,$$ dimensional space. The consequence of this is a decreasing importance sampling gain for increasing $$n\,$$, and is called the dimensionality effect. A modern version of importance sampling by scaling is e.g. so-called sigma-scaled sampling (SSS) which is running multiple Monte Carlo (MC) analysis with different scaling factors. In opposite to many other high yield estimation methods (like worst-case distances WCD) SSS does not suffer much from the dimensionality problem. Also addressing multiple MC outputs causes no degradation in efficiency. On the other hand, as WCD, SSS is only designed for Gaussian statistical variables, and in opposite to WCD, the SSS method is not designed to provide accurate statistical corners. Another SSS disadvantage is that the MC runs with large scale factors may become difficult, e. g. due to model and simulator convergence problems. In addition, in SSS we face a strong bias-variance trade-off: Using large scale factors, we obtain quite stable yield results, but the larger the scale factors, the larger the bias error. If the advantages of SSS does not matter much in the application of interest, then often other methods are more efficient.

Translation
Another simple and effective biasing technique employs translation of the density function (and hence random variable) to place much of its probability mass in the rare event region. Translation does not suffer from a dimensionality effect and has been successfully used in several applications relating to simulation of digital communication systems. It often provides better simulation gains than scaling. In biasing by translation, the simulation density is given by

 * $$ f_*(x)= f(x-c), \quad c>0 \,$$

where $$c\,$$ is the amount of shift and is to be chosen to minimize the variance of the importance sampling estimator.

Effects of system complexity
The fundamental problem with importance sampling is that designing good biased distributions becomes more complicated as the system complexity increases. Complex systems are the systems with long memory since complex processing of a few inputs is much easier to handle. This dimensionality or memory can cause problems in three ways:

 * long memory (severe intersymbol interference (ISI))
 * unknown memory (Viterbi decoders)
 * possibly infinite memory (adaptive equalizers)

In principle, the importance sampling ideas remain the same in these situations, but the design becomes much harder. A successful approach to combat this problem is essentially breaking down a simulation into several smaller, more sharply defined subproblems. Then importance sampling strategies are used to target each of the simpler subproblems. Examples of techniques to break the simulation down are conditioning and error-event simulation (EES) and regenerative simulation.

Evaluation of importance sampling
In order to identify successful importance sampling techniques, it is useful to be able to quantify the run-time savings due to the use of the importance sampling approach. The performance measure commonly used is $$\sigma^2_{MC} / \sigma^2_{IS} \,$$, and this can be interpreted as the speed-up factor by which the importance sampling estimator achieves the same precision as the MC estimator. This has to be computed empirically since the estimator variances are not likely to be analytically possible when their mean is intractable. Other useful concepts in quantifying an importance sampling estimator are the variance bounds and the notion of asymptotic efficiency. One related measure is the so-called Effective Sample Size (ESS).

Variance cost function
Variance is not the only possible cost function for a simulation, and other cost functions, such as the mean absolute deviation, are used in various statistical applications. Nevertheless, the variance is the primary cost function addressed in the literature, probably due to the use of variances in confidence intervals and in the performance measure $$\sigma^2_{MC} / \sigma^2_{IS} \,$$.

An associated issue is the fact that the ratio $$\sigma^2_{MC} / \sigma^2_{IS} \,$$ overestimates the run-time savings due to importance sampling since it does not include the extra computing time required to compute the weight function. Hence, some people evaluate the net run-time improvement by various means. Perhaps a more serious overhead to importance sampling is the time taken to devise and program the technique and analytically derive the desired weight function.

Multiple and adaptive importance sampling
When different proposal distributions, $$g_n(x)$$, $$n=1,\ldots,N,$$ are jointly used for drawing the samples $$x_1, \ldots, x_N, $$ different proper weighting functions can be employed (e.g., see   ). In an adaptive setting, the proposal distributions, $$g_{n,t}(x)$$, $$n=1,\ldots,N,$$ and $$t=1,\ldots,T,$$ are updated each iteration $$t$$ of the adaptive importance sampling algorithm. Hence, since a population of proposal densities is used, several suitable combinations of sampling and weighting schemes can be employed.

title: Importance sampling


text:
Starkville

Starkville may refer to:

 * Starkville, Colorado
 * Starkville, Georgia
 * Starkville, Mississippi
 * Starkville, New York
 * Starkville, Pennsylvania

title: Starkville


text:
Burgundy Diamond Mines

Burgundy Diamond Mines Limited is an end-to-end global diamond company that delivers gem-quality diamonds from its cornerstone asset Ekati Diamond Mine through rough sales to its polished and cut diamond sales office in Perth, Australia. Burgundy is publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:BDM) and is the parent company of Arctic Canadian Diamond Company Limited. The company sources its gem-quality diamonds from the Ekati Diamond Mine, located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The company has a corporate office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a rough diamond sales office in Antwerp, Belgium, and a cut and polishing facility in Perth, Australia.

History
Burgundy Diamond Mines Limited was initially known as EHR Resources Limited, an exploration company focused on a single gold and silver project, and publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:EHX) since January 3, 2013.

On November 20, 2020, EHR Resources changed its name to Burgundy Diamond Mines to reflect the company’s transition into a developer of diamond projects with investments into the Naujaat Diamond Project in Canada’s Northwest Territories and the Botswana Exploration Alliance.

On March 24, 2021, Burgundy Diamond Mines signed an option deed with Glibb River Diamonds Ltd. (ASX:GLB) to acquire 100% ownership of the Ellendale Diamond Project and Blina projects in the West Kimberly region of Australia. The company decided not to exercise the option to acquire the Ellendale Diamond Project on March 20, 2023.

In July 2022, Burgundy launched its luxury diamond brand Maison Mazerea.

On March 14, 2023, Burgundy announced that it had entered into a share purchase agreement with the Arctic Canadian Diamond companies (Arctic Canadian Diamond Holding LLC to acquire 100 percent of the issued capital in Arctic Canadian Diamond Company Ltd. and Arctic Canadian Diamond Marketing N.V.). The transaction closed in July 2023, which making Burgundy Diamond Mines a fully integrated global scale company that has the ability to trace the full chain of custody of high quality ethically and sustainably sources diamonds from Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada directly to its customers.

title: Burgundy Diamond Mines


text:
Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences

Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (commonly referred to as Seattle Academy or SAAS) is a coed independent middle and high school located on Seattle, Washington's urban Capitol Hill. As of 2020, school review website Niche ranks Seattle Academy as the seventh best private high school, ninth best college prep private high school, and fifty-eighth most diverse private high school in Washington state.

History
Seattle Academy was founded by Jean Orvis in 1983, who served as head of school until the 2008-2009 school year. From 2009 to June 2018 the head of school was Joe Puggelli, who previously had a long and varied career, including US Army service, publishing, education, and coaching. In July 2018 long-tenured faculty, staff, and coach Rob Phillips became Seattle Academy's Head of School.

The school has a 21-member board, which consists of current parents, alumni parents and alumni of the school. The chair is David Sheppard.

The school has 1,069 students. Annual tuition is $43,692 during the 2023–2024 school year. The school consists of grades 6–12.

In 2017, the institution broke ground on a $48 million, five-story middle school building located at the intersection of 13th Avenue and Union Street.

SAAS consists of six main buildings: the Temple building (the school still shares the same building with the Temple De Hirsch-Sinai), which houses the Upper School Humanities Department; the Vanderbilt Building, the Arts Center, which houses math and art classes; the Gym, complete with a weight room, multiple exercise machines, and a basketball court (SAAS's gym is one of the largest school-owned gyms in the Seattle area); the STREAM Building, a Gold LEED certified facility dedicated to the Upper School Science curriculum; and the Middle School Building, a five-story middle school building which opened in Fall 2018, which is also LEED-certified and targeting LEED Gold.

Technology
Seattle Academy has a technology program which includes full-time tech support staff, a fully wireless campus, and mandatory laptops provided for all Upper School students. The middle school has a full computer lab and a number of laptop banks.

Student life
Seattle Academy has many student-run clubs and academic teams facilitated by faculty members. Notable teams include:
 * Youth Legislature - multiple state officers elected
 * Speech and Debate - Speech team is often State Champions; both compete at the national level
 * Mock Trial - Outstanding Attorney and Witness awards won yearly
 * Robotics - Won multiple awards at every level, including at the World Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
 * Athletics - SAAS Athletics have acquired many State and league championships over the years.
 * Ethics Bowl - 1st Place in Washington State, twice

Facilities

 * Gender Neutral Shared Bathrooms

The Arts Center, or AC, is one of the six main buildings currently used by Seattle Academy. The building was opened in 2001. The Arts Center holds the high school's arts programs, which include theater, dance, instrumental bands, vocal music, percussion, studio arts, and photography. It is a requirement for all students to take many arts courses at least once.
 * Arts Center

Art Center facilities include a darkroom, a video production studio, visual art studios, a metallurgy balcony, music classrooms, the 250-seat Orvis Theater, a smaller black box theater, dressing rooms, and a green room.
 * Cardinal Union Building

The Cardinal Union Building is a five-story middle school building that opened at the start of the 2018-2019 school year. It added a second gym, rooftop playfield, lunchroom, and common spaces to the existing SAAS campus.

 * Gym

The Gym was completed in 2003. This two-story building houses a dance studio, a weight-training room, and a regulation basketball and volleyball court with bleachers, among its other facilities. The Temple Building, which Seattle Academy shares with historical synagogue Temple De Hirsch Sinai, houses the Upper School Humanities Program. In addition, the school will often use the Temple's Sanctuary for all-school meetings.
 * Temple

Upper School students are accustomed to walking to the Temple Building for their Upper School Humanities classes. The Orvis Theater (named for previous head of School Jean Orvis) is Seattle Academy's primary theater and is located in the Arts Center. The theater holds 250 seats and is equipped with advanced sound and lighting technologies. Each year, the Upper School holds three major high school productions: a comedy, a musical, and a drama.
 * Theaters

An intimate black box theater is used to perform smaller shows, including Middle School productions. Acquired in 1998, the Vanderbilt is the second oldest of Seattle Academy's five buildings. The Vanderbilt Building houses Seattle Academy's English, History, and Science departments. The school's library and offices can be found on the second floor. Completed in the summer of 2015, The SAAS STREAM Building is a facility dedicated to the Upper School Science curriculum and project-based integration of Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
 * Vanderbilt
 * STREAM Building

The STREAM building includes 7 purpose-built science lab and studio spaces that have been designed to maximize both space and flexibility to meet current and future course needs. The building also features another important new space for SAAS - a Learning Commons. The Commons are dedicated to student collaboration, study, and research, as well as a place to spend free time and lunch.

The 12th Avenue Conference Room is a small facility located between the Vanderbilt and Arts Center buildings. It is a multi-purpose space, commonly used for meetings and classes.
 * 12th Avenue Conference Room

 * Future

Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences is planning to demolish some old industrial buildings, directly south of its existing Vanderbilt Building, for a new upper school building. LMN Architects is designing the five-story, 85,000-square-foot project at 1120 12th Ave., which will complete the school's Capitol Hill campus.

title: Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences


text:
Battle of Talavera

The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some 120 km southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish army under General Cuesta fought in operations against French-occupied Madrid. At nightfall, the French army withdrew a short distance after several of its attacks had been repulsed; the allies, having suffered comparable casualties to the French, made no attempt to pursue.

After Marshal Soult's French army had retreated from Portugal, General Wellesley's 20,000 British troops advanced into Spain to join 33,000 Spanish troops under General Cuesta. They marched up the Tagus valley to Talavera, some 120 km southwest of Madrid. There they encountered 46,000 French under Marshal Claude Victor and Major-General Horace Sébastiani, with the French king of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte in nominal command.

The French crossed the Alberche in the middle of the afternoon on 27July. A few hours later, the French attacked the right of the Spaniards and the British left. A strategic hill was taken and lost, until, finally, the British held it firmly. At daybreak on 28July, the French attacked the British left again to retake the hill and were repulsed when the 29th Foot and 48th Foot who had been lying behind the crest stood up and carried out a bayonet charge. A French cannonade lasted until noon, when a negotiated armistice of two hours began. That afternoon, a heavy exchange of cannon fire started ahead of various infantry and cavalry skirmishes. Early in the evening, a major engagement resulted in the French being held off. A cannon duel continued until dark. At daylight, the British and Spanish discovered that the bulk of the French force had retired, leaving their wounded and two brigades of artillery in the field. Wellesley was ennobled as Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington for the action.

Background
The Spanish campaign in late 1809 started with the battle of Talavera.

Preliminary movements
On 27 July, Wellesley sent out the 3rd Division and some cavalry under the command of George Anson to cover Cuesta's retreat into the Talavera position. But when Anson's cavalry mistakenly pulled back, the French rushed in to surprise and inflict over 400 casualties on Rufane Donkin's brigade, forcing them to fall back. That night, Victor sent Ruffin's division to seize the hill known as Cerro de Medellín in a coup de main. Two of Ruffin's three regiments went astray in the dark, but the 9th Light Infantry routed Sigismund von Löw's King's German Legion (KGL) brigade (1st Division) and pushed forward to capture the high ground. Alertly, Hill sent Richard Stewart's brigade (2nd Division) on a counter-attack which drove the French away. The British suffered some 800 casualties on the 27th.

During the evening of 27th, French Dragoon squadrons were riding close to the Spanish position firing their carbines at Spanish skirmishers. Suddenly, without orders, Cuesta's entire Spanish line fired a thunderous volley at the French Dragoons. The French were outside the range of the Spanish muskets, and little harm was done to them. Four Spanish battalions threw down their weapons and fled in panic. Wellesley wrote, "Nearly 2,000 ran off on the evening of the 27th...(not 100 yards from where I was standing) who were neither attacked, nor threatened with an attack, and who were frightened by the noise of their own fire; they left their arms and accoutrements on the ground, their officers went with them, and they... plundered the baggage of the British army which had been sent to the rear." While a majority of the panicked troops were brought back, many hundreds continued to flee, taking some rear echelon British with them.

Allied army
Wellesley's British army consisted of four infantry divisions, three cavalry brigades and 30 cannon, totaling 20,641 troops. The infantry included the 1st Division under John Coape Sherbrooke (6,000), the 2nd Division led by Rowland Hill (3,900), the 3rd Division commanded by Alexander Mackenzie (3,700) and the 4th Division (3,000) under Alexander Campbell. Henry Fane led a brigade of heavy cavalry (1,100), while Stapleton Cotton (1,000) and George Anson (900) commanded light cavalry brigades. There were three British (RA: Lawson's Company, Sillery's Company, Elliot's Company) and two KGL batteries (Rettberg, Heise) with six guns apiece.

Cuesta's Spanish army of 35,000 was organized into five infantry and two cavalry divisions, plus about 30 artillery pieces, some 12lb guns. The 28,000 infantry were in Zayas y Chacón's 1st Division (7 battalions) and Vanguard (5 battalions), Iglesias's 2nd Division (8 battalions), Portago's 3rd Division (6 battalions), Manglano's 4th Division (8 battalions) and Bassecourt's 5th Division (7 battalions). Henestrosa and the Duke of Alburquerque led the 6,000 horsemen of the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions and there were 800 artillerymen.

French Army
While Joseph nominally led the French Army, his military adviser Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan actually exercised command over their 37,700 infantry and artillerymen, 8,400 cavalry and about 80 cannon.

Victor's I Corps included the infantry divisions of François Amable Ruffin (5,300), Pierre Belon Lapisse (6,900) and Eugene-Casimir Villatte (6,100), plus Louis-Chrétien Carrière, Baron de Beaumont's 1,000-man light cavalry brigade.

Sébastiani's IV Corps consisted of his own infantry division (8,100), Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Valence's Poles (1,600) and Jean François Leval with his German-Dutch division (4,500). Christophe Antoine Merlin led the IV Corps light cavalry brigade (1,200).

Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg (3,300) and Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud (2,350) commanded the two heavy dragoon divisions of the Cavalry Reserve.

The Madrid Garrison included part of Jean-Joseph, Marquis Dessolles's division (3,300), the King's Spanish Foot Guards (1,800) and two regiments of cavalry (700).

Positions
In the morning, it could be seen that the bulk of Cuesta's army held the right while the British formed the left. The Spanish right was anchored on the city of Talavera on the Tagus River and followed the course of the Portina stream. In the centre the British had built a redoubt, which was backed by the 4th Division and in which they placed a battery of four 3lb light cannons. Further to the left, the Medellín hill was held by the 1st Division, with the 2nd Division to its left. The 3rd Division plus Fane's and Cotton's cavalry formed the reserve. On the far left, Bassecourt's Spanish division was positioned on some high ground near the Sierra de Segurilla. Anson's brigade covered the valley between the Medellín and the Segurilla, supported by Alburquerque's Spanish horsemen.

Joseph and Jourdan massed Victor's I Corps on the French right, holding the hill of Cerro de Cascajal. Sébastiani's corps held the centre, while Latour-Maubourg and the Madrid garrison stood in reserve. On the French left, Milhaud's horsemen faced almost the entire Spanish army. Opposite the Medellín, the Cascajal bristled with 30 French cannon.

Battle
Victor urged his superiors for a massive attack, but Joseph and Jourdan chose to peck away at the Anglo-Spanish position. At dawn, the guns on the Cascajal opened up, causing some loss among the British infantry formed in the open. Having learned the hard way about the destructive power of French artillery, Wellesley soon pulled his soldiers back into cover.

Again, Ruffin's division attacked the Medellín. Each battalion was formed in a column of divisions with a width of two companies and a depth of three. (French battalions had recently been re-organized into six companies.) Each regiment's three battalions advanced side by side with only a small gap between units. This would make each regimental attack roughly 160 files across and nine ranks deep. When Ruffin's men got within effective range, the British emerged from cover in two-deep lines to overlap the French columns. Riddled by fire from front and flank, and with their rear six ranks unable to fire, the French columns broke and ran.

Victor shifted Ruffin's survivors to the right against the Segurilla and supported them with one of Villatte's brigades. Lapisse, Sébastiani and Leval (from right to left) then launched a frontal attack against the British 1st and 4th Divisions. Alexander Campbell's men and the Spanish (notably the Cavalry Regiment El Rey) met Leval's attack, which went in first. Lapisse and Sébastiani then advanced in two lines using the same regimental columns that Ruffin had employed. Henry Campbell's Guards brigade (1st Division) routed the French regiments opposite them, then charged in pursuit, running into the French second line and intense artillery fire. The Guards and the Germans with them were routed in their turn, losing 500 men, including Major General Heinrich von Porbeck, and carried away Cameron's brigade with them. Seeing Guards and his centre broken, Wellesley personally brought up the 48th Foot to plug the hole caused by the dispersal of Sherbrooke's division. Backed by Mackenzie's brigade (3rd Division), the 48th broke the French second line's attack as the Guards rallied in the rear. Lapisse was mortally wounded. The main French attack having been defeated, Victor pushed Ruffin's men into the valley between the Medellín and the Segurilla. Anson's cavalry brigade was ordered to drive them back. While the 1st KGL Hussars advanced at a controlled pace, the 23rd Light Dragoons soon broke into a wild gallop. The undisciplined unit ran into a hidden ravine, hobbling many horses. Those horsemen who cleared the obstacle were easily fended off by the French infantry, formed into squares. The 23rd Light Dragoons charged past the squares and ploughed into Beaumont's cavalry, drawn up behind Ruffin. The British dragoons lost 102 killed and wounded and another 105 captured before they cut their way out. After the battle, the mauled regiment had to be sent back to England to refit. However, this ended the French attacks for the day. Joseph and Jourdan failed to employ their reserve, for which they were bitterly criticized by Napoleon.

Aftermath
The Spanish campaign in late 1809 proceeded with the Talavera campaign in the Battle of Almonacid.

Talavera
The French, in this hard-fought set-piece battle, lost 7,389: 944 killed, 6,294 wounded, 156 prisoners and 17 guns captured. The Allies lost more: 7,468. The Spanish casualties were about 1,200 and British casualties were 6,268, including 800 killed, over the two days of fighting. This was approximately 25% of the British force, compared to only 18% of the French, although it is clear that the brunt of the French attack fell on the British. Many of the wounded on both sides were burnt to death when the dry grass of the battlefield caught fire, as Lieutenant-General John Elley wrote to his sister: "'[...] the ground on which the battle was fought was clothed with corn, long grass and heath. The fire of the artillery was excessive and set fire to the corn and grass, the consequence was a number of the wounded were literally roasted alive. The enemy abandoned great numbers of their wounded, which together with our own we have been collecting [...]'"The next day, the 3,000 infantry of the Light Division reinforced the British army after completing a famous march of 42 mi in 26 hours.

Meanwhile, Marshal Soult advanced south, threatening to cut Wellesley off from Portugal. Thinking that the French force was only 15,000 strong, Wellesley moved east on 3 August to block it, leaving 1,500 wounded in the care of the Spanish. Spanish guerillas captured a message from Soult to Joseph that Soult had 30,000 men and brought it to Wellesley. The British commander, realising his line of retreat was about to be cut by a larger French force, sent the Light Brigade on a mad dash for the bridge over the Tagus River at Almaraz. The light infantry reached there on 6 August, just ahead of Soult. By 20 August, all British forces had withdrawn across the mountains and for the next six months, until 27 February 1810, Wellesley's forces took no part in the hard fighting in southern Spain and along the Portuguese border, despite numerous invitations from the Spanish. The Spanish had also promised food to the British if they advanced back into Spain, but Wellington, with an army incapable of living off the land like the French and without its own transport, did not trust his ally to provide these essentials and made general excuses blaming the Spanish for various deficiencies of their government and army. In the event of the retreat the British abandoned nearly all of their baggage and ammunition as well as the artillery captured from the French at Talavera.

The Spanish made another attempt to take Madrid, with Wellesley still refusing to participate, and they were ultimately badly defeated at the battle of Ocaña in November 1809.

Historian Charles Oman, in volume II of A History of the Peninsular War, calls the Talavera campaign a failure for the Anglo-Spanish allies, placing the blame on various Spanish errors while dismissing much of the criticism of Wellesley and the British, suggesting there was no reason to imagine a concentration of the French forces opposing them. Oman also attributes some of the failure to Wellesley's ignorance of the conditions in Spain at the time. At the start of the campaign Wellington had received the promised provisions while both the French and the Spanish were suffering severe shortages of food. He complained more about the failure of the Spanish to provide transport for the provisions than food attributing this to maliciousness on the part of the Spanish, apparently unaware that there was no transport to be had for any army in that area.

After this battle Wellesley was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera.

Popular culture
The same year Irish politician and writer John Wilson Croker's poem The Battles of Talavera was published. A popular success, running through several editions, it played a major role in romanticising the Peninsular War.

Talavera is the setting for Sharpe's Eagle, the first book written in Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe" series, and is depicted in the conclusion of the film adaptation of the same name. The flanking manoeuvre by the Light Company is completely fictional as is the South Essex regiment they are attached to. Cavalry is notably absent from the battle, with the hidden ditch used by Sharpe and his men for cover instead.

The Monument to the Battle of Talavera, a war memorial located in Talavera de la Reina, was inaugurated on 2 October 1990.

title: Battle of Talavera


text:
User talk:Stefan Kögl

moved

Socialist Party (England and Wales)/meta/color speedy deletion
Since I created this page, I can't remove the tag. However, it's a utility page used with the Template:Election box candidate with party link, and having it marked for delete is really messing with the expansion I'm trying to do at Cardiff South and Penarth (UK Parliament constituency). Would you mind removing it, please? :) Vashti 18:34, 8 May 2005 (UTC)
 * done. --Stefan Kögl 19:21, 8 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Vashti 20:32, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

Username change
As you requested, your username has now been changed from Stefankoegl to Stefan Kögl. If you haven't done it already, please remember to move your user page and your talk page using the "move" tab on the upper right-hand side of your screen. Redux 23:33, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

title: User talk:Stefan Kögl


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Statesville

Statesville may refer to the following places in the United States:

 * Statesville, North Carolina
 * Statesville, Tennessee

title: Statesville


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Cock E.S.P.

Cock E.S.P. is a band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group draws on the most extreme, subversive and absurdist elements of both popular and experimental twentieth century music and performance art, creating abstract high-energy entertainment. Influences include noise music, punk rock, improvised free-jazz, Japanoise, industrial hardcore, glam metal and electronica.

History
Although the group has dabbled in various musical styles and techniques over the years, the most recent has involved the showcasing and amplifying of mistakes and equipment failures. E.S.P. began to feel that such unintended sounds actually had a greater capacity for chaos and intensity than those sounds they actually wished to create. Thus, recent studio recordings were edited to isolate and emphasize these sounds, creating an intricate web of pure noise.

The group's live performance has evolved drastically over the years, starting out as a standard recital of the recorded music, and eventually ending up as a drunken absurdist theatrical production utilizing homemade costumes, props and elaborate stage lighting set-ups; combining the elements of MTV’s "Jackass" with a literally crippling level of ineptitude. On a recent 2011 tour the group introduced an all wireless setup which allow not only greater freedom-of-movement but created another level of uncertainty with all manor of radio stations, shortwave, CB and other unintended electronic interference to play a role, including bizarre interactions between E.S.P. performers' signals.

Cock E.S.P. is often noted for injecting comedic and absurdist elements into their; the result of an ever-increasing level of hard work and professionalism. Despite releasing dozens of lo-fidelity demo cassettes in their early days that tend to consist of long, utterly lazy-sounding static tracks of heavily distorted low- to mid-range noise that sound like no one was paying any attention to any aspect of them, the group now embraces production values.

The roots of ESP date back to 1984, when founding member P.C. Hammeroids organized a metal-percussion noise ensemble called Grandpa Eats Goat Cheese. Over the next nine years, Hammeroids recorded and performed under several names, adding more and more electronic noise to the mix. In 1993 Hammeroids joined forces with Emil Hagstrom (of Wrong), beginning the project which would soon become known as Cock E.S.P. The name of the group appears to have been derived from one of the track titles of an album by the Japanese noise band Hanatarash.

Hammeroids retired in 1996 and was replaced later that year by Matt Bacon. Elyse Perez (Laundry Room Squelchers) became the permanent third member in 2001. Guest members over the years have included Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, XBXRX), Rat Bastard (Laundryroom Squelchers, Scraping Teeth), Misty Martinez, La Persona (BunnyBrains, U Can Unlearn Guitar), Paige Flash, John Vance (Wrong, Rexor), and Kazko Peasmith (Insect Deli, Winter Carousel).

Cock E.S.P. has given more than 150 performances throughout the US and Europe in various rock and jazz clubs, punk houses, theatres, festival stages, art galleries, record stores and warehouse performance spaces. The group has collaborated with such artists as Thurston Moore, Merzbow, The Eugenics Council, and Aube; has played shows with such artists as Sonic Youth, Wolf Eyes, Hair Police, Borbetomagus, Stereolab, Impaler, Melt-Banana, Caroliner Rainbow, BunnyBrains, Illusion of Safety, Sudden Infant, V/Vm and the Nihilist Spasm Band; and has appeared on compilation releases with such artists as Andrew W.K., Derek Bailey, the Haters, Bruce Gilbert, Today is the Day, Reynols, Harvey Sid Fisher, Bomb20, Jansky Noise, Quintron, The Locust, His Name Is Alive, Jad Fair, John Oswald, Masonna, Hijo Kaidan, Lasse Marhaug and Free Kitten.

The group celebrated their 10th anniversary in autumn 2003 by releasing their second greatest hits collection, a remix CD, their first DVD, and by doing a three-week US tour. In early 2004 they released their third collection of greatest hits, and did a short tour featuring the "classic" Bacon/Hagstrom duo line-up.

In addition to Cock E.S.P., members have played in a variety of intriguing side-projects. Matt Bacon has been a drummer, bassist and vocalist with a number of punk, metal and industrial bands including Zenith Flytrap, the Derks, Sauce Party and Broke Box (which was once described by Peter Sotos of Whitehouse as being "Great!") Emil Hagstrom is also a member of the free-improv ensemble WRONG, and the dark electro-acoustic project Origami Genitalia. Elyse Perez performs no wave and punk with such bands as the Real Band and Fancy & Stink.

In 2004, Cock E.S.P. released an album jointly with Panicsville, Last Train to Cocksville, a 'tribute' to The Monkees.

Members

 * Emil Hagstrom
 * Elyse Perez
 * Matt Bacon
 * Paige Flash
 * John Vance
 * Jason Wade
 * NoNo Vetsch
 * Jaime Carrera (deceased)
 * Nicole Rode
 * Greg Anderson
 * Mike Etoll
 * Tim Carrol
 * Caro Kora
 * Caitlin Karolczak

Discography
Cock E.S.P.'s extensive discography can be found on their official website.

Albums

 * We mean It This Time (1999) Blackbean & Placenta
 * Excessive Size Punisher (2000) Fever Pitch
 * Hurts So Good: The Painful Remixes (2003) Offal
 * Cockworld Little Mafia
 * Last Train to Cocksville Little Mafia (with Panicsville)

Singles

 * Music for Man With No Name (1994)

Compilation appearances

 * "I Lied About Your Band So I Could Drink Beer For Free" on Brainwaves (2006)
 * OvO/Cock ESP split 7” on Little Mafia (2006)

Audio
Samples of Cock E.S.P.'s musical output can be found here.

Related web sites

 * Cock ESP Official site
 * Emil's site
 * Video documentary of a 2019 show in Fargo ND
 * Cock E.S.P. Live August 23, 2019. Columbus, Ohio.

title: Cock E.S.P.


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Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs may refer to:

 * Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S., a city
 * Steamboat Springs Airport
 * Steamboat Springs High School
 * Steamboat Springs (Nevada), U.S., a volcanic field with extensive geothermal activity

title: Steamboat Springs


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Orthodox Study Bible

The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) is an Eastern Orthodox study Bible published by Thomas Nelson in 2008 featuring an English translation of the Septuagint by St. Athanasius Academy for the Old Testament and utilizing the New King James Version (NKJV) for the New Testament.

Translation
The original edition of the OSB, released in 1993, included only the New Testament and Psalms, both NKJV. Priest Seraphim Johnson criticized the use of the NKJV translation, particularly for the Psalms. The 1993 edition was also criticized by Archimandrite Ephrem for its commentary feeling more evangelical than Orthodox. The NKJV text of the Psalms was replaced in the 2008 edition by the Psalms of the new OSB translation of the Old Testament.

The 2008 OSB's Old Testament is a translation of the Septuagint developed by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. The translation is based upon the Alfred Rahlfs edition of the Septuagint using the Brenton edition, with the New King James Version Old Testament as the base text, "changing it everywhere it is different from the Septuagint," as additional source material. One feature therefore is that New Testament quotations of the Old Testament are identical in wording between the Old and New Testaments (e.g. Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7-8; 1 Cor 6:16; Eph 5:31). The 2008 OSB's New Testament is the NKJV, which translates the Greek Textus Receptus used by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The overview committee included fourteen archbishops, metropolitans, and bishops from various Orthodox jurisdictions, as well as eight priests and seven lay scholars.

Study materials
The translations of the Old Testament and New Testament are accompanied by commentary from the Orthodox viewpoint. Articles provide guidance and support for many facets of the Orthodox faith which can be confusing or unknown to those unacquainted with the Church. There is a comparative of list of contents, side-by-side with the Roman Catholic canon and the generally accepted Protestant canon. The OSB addresses such questions as: Why is the Mother of God essential to the Faith? Who were the Seventy Disciples? How is an Orthodox understanding of the Bible different from a Roman Catholic or Protestant understanding? In addition, the OSB provides basic daily prayers, a lectionary for personal use, and reproductions of icons in its pages.

Response
Although not an official text of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the publication has received positive endorsements from such prominent bishops as Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), Metropolitan Phillip (Antiochian Orthodox Church) and Metropolitan Theodosius (Orthodox Church in America).

title: Orthodox Study Bible


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Seattle Lutheran High School

Seattle Lutheran High School was a Lutheran high school located in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1978.

On April 22, 2022 it was announced that Seattle Lutheran would be closing at the end of the 2021–2022 school year.

Sports
The school offered seasonal sports at the varsity, and when applicable, the junior varsity, and 'C-team' level. SLHS competed in the Seatac 1B League. Men's basketball filled the winter season, and spring sports included baseball, golf, and track and field. Cheerleading was offered during the fall and winter seasons.

The baseball team won the Washington State Championship in 2010 and 2011.

The Women's Soccer team won the State 2B title in 2010.

Seattle Lutheran participated in FIRST Robotics competitions since 2004 as Team 1258 "Seabot", making it one of the oldest FIRST teams in the region. In 2022 the Team 1258 was the victor of the PNW District Bonney Lake Event and the PNW District Auburn Event.

title: Seattle Lutheran High School


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Talk:Hotline Connect

This article is very small and should be merged into the main Hotline Communications article. There is not really any good justification for it having its own separate page. purpledogsun

Did anyone else use this way back in the day? This was my first taste of p2p downloads/mp3s. Does anyone remember The Weasel and his server? This was one of the most interesting times in piracy too. In hotline, you could get anything from virus libraries to pirated software to mp3s to porn to legit stuff. Not that any of it was ethical, but I remember it being a sespool of free crap. Please tell me someone else remembers those days! —Preceding unsigned comment added by JoeSmack (talk • contribs)

It seems like the external links to Hotsprings and OpenSprings give 403 errors, and the link to mhxd gives a "DNS entry not found" error. Anybody care to find out what's happened with these sites? I think the new hotline company - hotsprings also failed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.168.154.119 (talk • contribs)

A Fresh New Start
I substantially edited the entire article since I thought it wasn't very well-organized. The new summary is fairly simple and to-the-point with regard to the topic at hand. Suggestions for sections to add:

 * Legal trouble surrounding Hotline/AppWarrior
 * Details on what using Hotline is actually like (user accounts, privs, messaging, private chats, etc.)
 * Unofficial clients/servers such as HX(D)
 * Hotline icon culture (Bad Moon Labs, SoSueMe, TrainYard, etc.)

If you want to write about the legal battles, I suggest reading multiple sources on the issue. For reference, check the link that I've provided in the external links section of the article.

-- SHRIZZA 11:09, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

I use to use it
Joe The Dragon 22:14, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
 * A lot of sites made you click on porn ads to get in.
 * On some sites you needed to upload and download at the same time or you got kicked off
 * A lot of site had long wait times before the download started
 * On some site you had to pay to be able to download.
 * The download speeds on some sites when really slow at times and got slower ass more people stated to download at the same time some sties had good download speeds. But bittorrent is better now days.

Article gives a bad impression
I think this article gives a bad impression, based on some bad apples of Hotline. Most of my usage of this software involved using it in much the same way as IRC is now used for (warez aside, I guess), for logging on to a place where I can discuss a particular topic. For example, a lot of (Mac) software houses had hotline servers that their developers hung around on, and the file repositories had stuff like patches, artwork, etc. Also, lots of communities setup their hotline servers, like clans in gat mes. This stuff really needs more mention, because the current article puts Hotline as a just a terrible thing whose only goal and use was for illegal activity, whereas I remember it as a a network of thriving communities, devoted to various topics. Myrdred 05:03, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
 * you were the exception
 * I disagree that Myrdred's experience was unusual.    I know of at least one server that grew out of its warez roots and to this day, in 2013, hosts a very tight knit international community.

Wikiproject Computing
I have removed the WikiProject tag, as this article is either a redirect or deleted. If you oppose, please restore the tag. Thank you, fahadsadah (talk,contribs) 16:03, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Hotline Connect


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ATCO

ATCO Ltd., operating as the ATCO Group, is a publicly-traded Canadian engineering, logistics and energy holding company based in Calgary, Alberta. ATCO's subsidiaries include electric utilities, natural gas production and distribution companies, and construction companies.

ATCO focuses on the energy transition front, notably on the hydrogen front.

Subsidiaries
The ATCO Group of Companies includes the following subsidiaries:

Canadian Utilities, with its subsidiaries:

 * CU Inc., which in turn owns:
 * ATCO Electric (delivers electricity in Alberta, Yukon (as ATCO Electric Yukon), and the Northwest Territories (as Northland Utilities)
 * ATCO Gas (delivers natural gas in Alberta)
 * ATCO Pipelines (transports natural gas throughout Alberta)
 * ATCO Australia - Established in 2010. 'In July 2011, ATCO purchased the largest reticulated gas infrastructure in Western Australia through the acquisition of Western Australia Gas Networks. The $1.1 billion AUD purchase of what is now called ATCO Gas Australia, is one of the largest acquisitions in ATCO's history. ATCO Gas Australia is a gas distribution utility that serves the Perth metropolitan area and major towns and cities throughout the state of Western Australia. Its combined networks constitute approximately 13,100 km of natural gas pipelines connecting more than 650,000 customers ... ATCO Australia also includes ATCO Power Australia, which has three power stations operating in Brisbane, Adelaide and Karratha. In January 2011, these plants were transferred from ATCO Power, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which operates 15 power generating facilities in Canada and the United Kingdom. While not part of ATCO Australia, ATCO Structures & Logistics is an important part of ATCO's Australian operations with three manufacturing facilities and five office locations in the country.'
 * ATCO Energy Solutions (natural gas processing and storage)
 * ATCO Power (electricity generation)
 * ATCOenergy (natural gas and electricity retailing)
 * ATCO Mexico - Established in 2014. (natural gas, electricity, power generation and structure and logistics)

ATCO Structures  (manufactures, leases, and sells modular buildings;)

ATCO Frontec  (workforce camp services, operational support, facilities management and disaster response)

History
ATCO was founded in 1947, by S. Don Southern who gave a minority stake to his son Ron Southern, under the name Alberta Trailer Hire, renting fifteen utility trailers in the Calgary area. As the company's operations grew, they also began to sell trailers, first becoming the Alberta Trailer Company, then ATCO. By the early 1960s, the company had operations across North America and in Australia.

ATCO Industries Ltd. became a public company in March 1968, with shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. During the 1970s, the company expanded into the natural gas and petroleum industries, and into the electricity industry in the 1980s.

In 2004, with the deregulation of the retail energy industry in Alberta, ATCO sold the retail operations of ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric to Direct Energy Marketing Ltd. (DEML) while ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric still operated as "distributors" (owning and operating the infrastructure that delivers natural gas or electricity in its service territories). As part of the sale to DEML, DEML contracted call center and billing services from ATCO I-Tek. In 2016, ATCO re-entered the retail energy industry in Alberta as ATCOenergy.

In 2018, ATCO acquired 40% of the shares in Neltume Ports, a South American port terminal operator.

In 2022, ATCO agreed to pay a fine after overcharging for work on a new transmission line.

title: ATCO


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Canadian and American Reformed Churches

The Canadian and American Reformed Churches (CanRC) is a federation of Protestant Reformed (Calvinist) churches in Canada and the United States, with historical roots in the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands.

CanRC emphasizes the importance of adherence to Biblical, covenantal, redemptive-historical preaching within the Reformed Christian tradition, as well as sanctification.

Basic beliefs and doctrine
CanRC churches believe in the full sovereignty of God and in Biblical infallibility. The basis of the preaching and teaching in these churches is the belief that Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly human, and is the long-awaited Messiah who suffered and died for the sins of God's people, and that this demands a thankful response of faith and obedience. Like many other Reformed churches, they teach that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. They broadly follow Calvinist theology, and have adopted the Three Forms of Unity, a common Calvinist doctrine.

When a member of the church public states their faith in Jesus, they are understood to subscribe to the confessions of the church as faithfully summarizing the doctrine of the Bible. Profession of faith also confirms their status as communicant members, subject to a process of church discipline, up to and including excommunication if they are considered delinquent in doctrine or lifestyle. This is ascertained by other members and by the elders through yearly home visits.

History
CanRC was founded by members of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (GKV) who immigrated to Canada following World War II. These Dutch immigrants first made contact with already-existing Reformed churches in Canada, especially the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC) and the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), in the hope that they could join with them. This was deemed impossible due to theological differences with the PRC, and the CRCNA's sympathy with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which had expelled the GKV in 1944 over a disagreement regarding Abraham Kuyper's view of the covenant.

The Canadian Reformed Churches maintained ecumenical relations with the GKV until tension between the two churches led to an official termination of their relationship by the General Synod of the Canadian Reformed Churches in 2019. Reasons for this decision included disapproval of the GKV's hermeneutics, as well as the GKV's more accepting views regarding women in office, common law couples, and homosexual members.

The first Canadian Reformed congregation was instituted in Lethbridge, Alberta, on April 16, 1950. The same year, churches were instituted in Edmonton and Neerlandia, Alberta; Orangeville, Ontario; and New Westminster, British Columbia. As of 2023, there are 70 congregations, which can be found in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, as well as in the American states of Washington, Michigan and Colorado.

(The Canadian Reformed Church was Started on April 16 1950)

(CanRc was founded by members of the Reformed Churches in the NetherLands who immigrated to Canada Following World war 2)

Church government
Under the assertion that the government of the church must be regulated by the Bible, the Canadian Reformed Churches practice what they call a traditionally Reformed "bottom-up" polity, as opposed to a "top-down" model of church government. This approach to church polity reflects their European Reformed roots and it is used to be both anti-hierarchical and anti-independent, promoting both the autonomy of the local church and the need to cooperate within a federation.

Only male members who have made profession of faith and meet the conditions as set forth in certain Biblical passages (such as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) are eligible for office as pastors, elders, and deacons. Women are not eligible for office.

The government of the Canadian Reformed Churches is based on the Church Order adopted by the Synod of Dort (1618–1619). The Canadian Reformed Churches have revised the Church Order to reflect changed circumstances, and to incorporate minor improvements. The revised Church Order follows the principles and structure of the Church Order of Dort.

The Church Order contains 76 Articles which are divided into four sections dealing with:

 * the offices and supervision of doctrine (ministers, missionaries, elders, deacons)
 * the assemblies of the church (consistory, classis, regional synod, general synod)
 * the liturgy of the church (worship services, sacraments, ceremonies)
 * the discipline of the church

The federation is divided first by local consistories, then into eight classical regions, next with two annual regional synods, and finally a general synod. General synod takes place every three years.

Foreign missions
All of the churches are also involved, either directly or indirectly, in the work of foreign mission. The Cornerstone Church of Hamilton, Ontario has sent a missionary working in northern Brazil. The church of Aldergrove, British Columbia, has sent two missionaries working in northern Brazil. The Bethel Church of Toronto has sent two missionaries in Papua New Guinea. The church of Smithville, Ontario, has sent a missionary in West Timor, Indonesia.

Canadian missions
The church at Smithers, BC has started a program of outreach among the First Nations people living in the Bulkley Valley region of northern British Columbia. Local outreach involved Sunday schools, teen activities, and Bible camps. Smithers Home Mission also sent a missionary to work in Prince George, B.C., the largest urban centre in Northern British Columbia.

Many churches also support a radio program called The Voice of the Church.

Ecumenical relations
The Canadian Reformed Churches also have "ecclesiastical fellowship" with a number of Reformed and Presbyterian church federations, including the following:

The Americas:
 * United Reformed Churches in North America
 * Reformed Church in the United States
 * Orthodox Presbyterian Church
 * L'Église réformée du Québec
 * Igrejas Reformadas do Brasil

Abroad: The ecclesiastical fellowships involve accepting each other’s members as their iown, inviting delegates to each other’s assemblies or synods, allowing each other’s ministers to preach in church, keeping each other informed about major ecclesiastical decisions and relations with other parties, and generally helping each other remain true to the Reformed faith.
 * Free Reformed Churches of South Africa
 * Free Reformed Churches of Australia
 * Reformed Churches of New Zealand
 * Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin)
 * Free Church of Scotland
 * Free Church of Scotland (continuing)
 * Reformed Churches in Indonesia (GGRI)
 * Calvinist Reformed Churches in Indonesia (GGRC)

Education
The Federation believes that a thorough theological education must be maintained by the churches and for the churches. As such, it operates three colleges;

The Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary, located in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College, established in 1981 to train Christian teachers to serve in the field of education. The Canadian Reformed Teachers College Association is formed with representatives from Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia school societies serving as a Board of Governors. By 2022, the CCRTC had graduated 250 students, many of whom are currently employed by Canadian Reformed schools across Canada.

The Reformed Bible College is also run by CanRC. It runs short online courses on specific Bible books and topics.

Although separate from the denomination, parents within the federation have organized a number of privately funded schools at the elementary and secondary levels across the country. In 2022, there were twenty-eight schools affiliated with the CanRC, including sixteen elementary schools, three high schools, and nine kindergarten-to-grade 12 schools.

Care
CanRC also runs five care homes, one in British Columbia and the rest in Ontario.

title: Canadian and American Reformed Churches