Sunday, November 23, 2014

YMCA type Sports, Practice Results Calendar Resumed

The link to my November 2014 Sports Practices Results Calendar:

November 2014 Sports Calendar for David Virgil Hobbs

From June 8 to November 23 2014, my only sports activity was long walks of 6 miles. Walks are fun when it is warm outside & there are lots of people outside & the people are talkative. 

Also I got distracted by things like: World Cup Soccer in Brazil; trauma of not being able to get a good job from the Greater than Hobbs Boston YMCA. 

And my usual habit seems to be to drift away from a given sport for a few months of the year.

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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Condensation of Obama Nov 20 2014 Immigration Speech

My condensation of

Transcript: Obama’s immigration speech - The Washington Post

A transcript of President Obama’s remarks on immigration..

OBAMA: ...immigration ...It’s kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial ...Business owners who offer their wages good wages benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less ...undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows ...

Today we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history ...over the past six years illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half ...the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level since the 1970s. ...last year 68 Democrats, Republicans, and independents came together to pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate

...It would have doubled the number of Border Patrol agents, while giving undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, if they paid a fine, started paying their taxes and went to the back of the line ...experts said that it would help grow our economy ...

Had the House ...allowed ...a simple yes or no vote, it would have passed  ...Republican leaders in the House have refused to allow that simple vote.  ...the best way to solve this problem is ...to pass that kind of ...law ...I have the legal authority to take as president, the same kinds of actions taken ...presidents before me, that will help make our immigration system ... more just.

 ...additional resources for our law enforcement ... so that they can stem ... illegal crossings ...return of those who do cross over.

 ...I’ll make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants ...to stay and contribute to our economy, as  ...business leaders proposed ...

Undocumented workers broke ...laws, ...they must be held accountable ...

 ...over the past six years deportations of criminals are up 80 percent ...we’re going to keep focusing  ...resources on actual threats ...Felons ...Criminals ...Gang members ...

 ...deporting millions ...isn’t realistic ...

 ...these immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard ...the kids are American born or spent spent most of their lives here

...If you’ve  ...been in America more than five years. If you have children who are American citizens or illegal residents. If you register, pass a criminal background check ...pay your ...taxes, you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily ...

 ...This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship or the right to stay here permanently, or offer the same benefits that citizens receive. Only Congress can do that. All we’re saying is we’re not going to deport you.

 ...critics  ...call it amnesty ...Amnesty is the ...system we have today. Millions ...live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules ...Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be ...impossible ...

 ...If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported ...

The actions ...they’re the kinds of actions taken by every ...Republican president and every ...Democratic president for the past half century.

 ...to those ...who question my authority ...or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed ...Pass a bill. I want ...to pass a more permanent legislative solution ...

Are we a nation that tolerates ...a system where workers ...never have a chance to get right with the law?  ...

Are we a nation that accepts ...ripping children from their parents’ arms ...Are we a nation that educates the world’s ...brightest in our universities only to send them home to ...countries that compete against us, or are we a nation that encourages them to stay and ...create industries ...

 ...I’ve seen the determination of immigrant fathers who worked ...three jobs without taking a dime from the government ...I’ve seen the ...anxiety of children whose mothers might be taken away from them ... because they didn’t have the right papers ...

These people ...came to work, and study and serve in our military ...

 ... Astrid Silva ...Her father worked in landscaping. Her mom cleaned other people’s homes. They wouldn’t let Astrid apply to a technology magnet school ...they were afraid the paperwork would out her as ...undocumented ... she couldn’t travel to the funeral without risk of being ...deported.  ...Astrid Silva a college student working on her third degree.

 ...Scripture tells us, we shall not oppress a stranger ...

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My Condensation of 'Executive Order' Wikipedia Article

Condensed from:

Executive order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...Executive orders have...force of law[1] when they take authority from a power granted ...by the Constitution, or are made in pursuance of...Acts of Congress that ...delegate to the President... discretionary power (delegated legislation)...executive orders are subject to judicial review, and may be struck down if deemed...to be unsupported by statute or the Constitution. Major policy initiatives usually require approval by the legislative branch...executive orders have...influence over the internal affairs of government...to what degree laws will be enforced... emergencies...fine policy choices in the implementation of broad statutes.

There is no constitutional provision nor statute that explicitly permits executive orders...President...is instructed therein by the declaration "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" made in Article II, Section 3, Clause 5, else he faces impeachment. Most executive orders use these Constitutional reasonings as the authorization allowing for their issuance...the intent being to help direct officers of the U.S. Executive carry out their...duties as well as the normal operations of the federal government...
An executive orde...must find support in the Constitution,...in a clause granting the President specific power, or by a delegation of power by Congress to the President...

Presidential directives are... a form of executive order issued by the President...with the advice and consent of a major agency...within the Executive branch of government...Some types of Directives are ...National Security Directives Homeland Security Presidential Directives (presidential decision directives)...

...All presidents beginning with...Washington in 1789 have issued...executive orders. Initially they took no set form...The documents that later came to be known as "Executive Orders" apparently gained their name from this document, captioned "Executive Order Establishing a Provisional Court in Louisiana."[6] President Franklin Roosevelt was the first to have EO declared invalid.

...President Truman's Executive Order 10340 in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 US 579 (1952) placed all steel mills in the country under federal control. This was found invalid because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify or act to further a law...Presidents since this decision have generally been careful to cite which...laws they are acting under when issuing new executive orders. ...when Presidents believe their authority for issuing an executive order stems from...the Constitution, the order will simply proclaim "under the authority vested in me by the Constitution." ...

Wars have been fought upon executive order, including the 1999 Kosovo War during Bill Clinton's second term...all such wars have had authorizing resolutions from Congress. The extent to which the president may exercise military power independently of Congress and the scope of the War Powers Resolution remain unresolved...all presidents since its passage have complied with the terms of the Resolution while maintaining that they are not constitutionally required to do so....

Prior to 1932, uncontested Executive Orders had determined such issues as national mourning on the death of a president, and the lowering of flags to half-mast. President Franklin Roosevelt issued the first of his...declaring a bank holiday, forbidding banks to release gold...Executive Order 6102 forbade the hoarding of gold...Executive Order required all newly mined domestic gold be delivered to the Treasury...By Executive Order...the President created the Export-Import Bank...National Industrial Recovery Act (Executive Order 6632)...Executive Order 6763 "under the authority vested in me by the Constitution"...creating the National Labor Relations Board...

...Court of the 1934...found the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) unconstitutional. The President then issued Executive Order 7073 "by virtue of the authority vested in me under the said Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935", reestablishing the National Emergency Council to administer the functions of the NIRA in carrying out the provisions of the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act....Roosevelt's Supreme Cour... a Court obedient to the President's choices...

Critics have accused presidents of abusing executive orders...using them to make laws without Congressional approval...moving existing laws away from their original mandates...
Large policy changes...have been effected through executive order, including the integration of the armed forces under Harry Truman and the desegregation of public schools under Dwight D. Eisenhower...

...examples of an executive order are...Roosevelt's Executive Orde... "forbidding the Hoarding of gold ..." and Executive Order...where Roosevelt delegated military authority to remove...people in a military zone (...Japanese Americans and German Americans...)... authority delegated to General ...DeWitt subsequently paved the way for all Japanese-Americans on the West Coast to be sent to internment camps...

Executive Order...issued by President George W. Bush in 2001...restricted public access to the papers of...presidents...criticized...groups, stating that it "violates both the spirit and letter of existing U.S. law on access to presidential papers as clearly laid down in 44 USC. 2201–07,"...

...the Supreme Court overturned five of President Franklin Roosevelt's executive orders...Executive Order...by...Clinton...attempted to prevent the federal government from contracting with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll; a federal appeals court...ruled that the order conflicted with the National Labor Relations Act...

Congress has the power to overturn an executive order by passing legislation...Congress can also refuse to provide funding necessary to carry out... policy measures...the president retains the power to veto such a decision...Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds majority... Congressional override of an executive order is a nearly impossible event due to the supermajority vote required... such a vote leaves...lawmakers ...vulnerable to...criticism...

...2014... House of Representatives approved a resolution authorizing Speaker...Boehner to sue Presiden...Obama over claims he exceeded his executive authority in changing a key provision of the Affordable Care Act......and over..."inadequate enforcement of the health care law," which Republican lawmakers opposed..."Republicans objected that the Obama administration delayed some parts of the law, particularly the mandate on employers who do not provide health care coverage."...

...Executive orders as issued by the governors...are not statutes like those passed by state legislatures, but do have the force of law in a similar way to the federal system. Executive orders are...based on existing constitutional or statutory powers of the Governor and do not require any action by the state legislature to take effect.

Executive orders may...demand budget cuts from state government when the state legislature is not in session, and economic conditions take a downturn, thereby decreasing tax revenue...Depending on the state constitution, a governor may specify by what percentage each government agency must reduce by...may exempt those that are...underfunded, or cannot put long-term expenses...off...

...2007...Governor of Georgia made an executive order for all of its state agencies to reduce water use ...This was also demanded of its counties' water systems...unclear whether this would have the force of law...

According to...Cooper, a presidential proclamation "states a condition, declares a law and requires obedience, recognizes an event or triggers the implementation of a law (by recognizing that the circumstances in law have been realized)". ...Presidents define situations ... conditions...that become legal or economic truth. These orders carry the same force of law as executive orders...executive orders are aimed at those inside government...proclamations are aimed at those outside government.

...proclamations...are often...authorized by congressional statute...“delegated unilateral powers”. ...proclamations are...dismissed as a practical presidential tool...because of the perception of proclamations as largely ceremonial...However, the legal weight of presidential proclamations suggests their importance...

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Translating Form/Javascript Values to PHP & Back

According to Skytopia's clever 'Send, pass, get variables with PHP, Form, HTML & JavaScript code' webpage:

"Javascript variable to PHP variable: This is impossible (unless you reload the page, or call another page), since all PHP code is rendered first (on the server side), and then Javascript is dealt with afterwards (on the client side)...Form variable to PHP variable: Without refreshing, this is impossible like above for similar reasons. If you don't mind a refresh, then either a page reload or calling another web page would work if you used something like $_POST['FormVar']; in the php file". 

Skytopia does not provide any example of how the Javascript variable to PHP variable trick is accomplished by "calling another webpage".

However, on my second day of PHP programming, I was able to create a single PHP page that succeeds in: passing a Javascript variable value to a PHP variable value, without reloading, with all the action on one webpage; and also, passing a form variable to a PHP variable without refreshing.

http://phpdisplay.net84.net/phpjsreadwritejsval.php contains an i-frame. The form-action in http://phpdisplay.net84.net/phpjsreadwritejsval.php is, action="getreceiver.php" method="get" target="ifname".  The getreceiver.php page in the Iframe, takes the variable values that originated in Javascript and form input values, translates them into PHP, manipulates them, and then sends the manipulated variable back to phpjsreadwritejsval.php where it is stored in a form input accessible to Javascript:

 PHP & Javascript Reading/Writing Javascript-produced, Javascript-readable Value

Note: the page is hosted by  000webhost for free. At first it did not work. This is because at  000webhost, if the form action summonses Getreceiver.php (beginning with a capital G) and the actual 'Getreceiver.php'  URL is getreceiver.php without a capital G, the page will not work. However in the Easyphp client-side development environment (working great for me), the difference in capitalization does not matter.

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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Boston Area Enclosed Malls for Winter Mall-Walking

I will use this post for updates re this subject.

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Post 1: 10:36 AM 11/16/2014

The search for Malls useable for indoor walking is complicated by the fact that resources such as Yelp.com and Google Maps, do not exclude malls that are such that you have to walk outdoors to get from store to store. "mall walking" natick copley burlington "south shore" - Google Search led to South Natick Mall walking - South Natick, MA - AARP which provided a list, "MALL WALKING AROUND SOUTH NATICK". This list included only 'enclosed malls' that are such that you do not have to walk outdoors to get from store to store.

Plenty of Malls are encouraging Mall-Walkers (sometimes they have special times set aside for mall-walking). I don't know of any malls that are discouraging mall-walking.

Boston-area Enclosed Malls, ranked by square-yards per floor

Number after name = number of stores

South Shore Plaza   180
Braintree, MA
2 floors
Total retail floor area 2,165,000 sq ft
K sq-ft/floor
1082K sq-ft/floor
119K sq-yds/floor
345 yd x 345 yd box equivalent / floor
South Shore Plaza - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Natick Mall  250
Natick, MA
two-level, T-shaped floor
Total retail floor area 1,860,000 square feet
930K sq-ft/floor
73K sq-yds/floor
270 yd x 270 yd box equivalent / floor
http://www.natickmall.com/directory
Natick Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Liberty Tree Mall  81
Danvers, MA
1 floor 1 bldg
Total retail floor area 821,300 square feet
821K  sq-ft/floor
64K sq-yds/floor
253 yd x 253 yd box equivalent / floor
Liberty Tree Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burlington Mall 185
Burlington, MA
2 floors, 1 building
Total retail floor area 1,246,675 square feet
623K sq-ft/floor
49K sq-yds/floor
220 yd x 220 yd box equivalent / floor
Burlington Mall (Massachusetts) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Northshore Mall  165
Peabody, MA
2 floors 1 bldg
Total retail floor area 1,115,000 square feet
557K sq-ft/floor
43K sq-yds/floor
208 yd x 208 yd box equivalent / floor
Northshore Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mall at Rockingham Park  143
Salem, NH
2 floors, 1 bldg
Total retail floor area 1,020,000 square feet
510K sq-ft/floor
40K sq-yds/floor
199 yd x 199 yd box equivalent / floor
Mall at Rockingham Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Square One Mall  128
Saugus, MA
2 floors 1 bldg
Total retail floor area 1,000,000 sq.ft.
500K K sq-ft/floor
39K sq-yds/floor
197 yd x 197 yd box equivalent / floor
Square One Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Providence Place   160
Providence, RI
3 floors
Total retail floor area 1,400,000 sq ft
467 K sq-ft/floor
36K sq-yds/floor
191 yd x 191 yd box equivalent / floor
http://www.providenceplace.com/directory
Providence Place - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solomon Pond Mall  115
Marlborough, MA
2 floors, 1 bldg
Total retail floor area  900,000-square-foot
450K sq-ft/floor
35K sq-yds/floor
187 yd x 187 yd box equivalent / floor
Solomon Pond Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pheasant Lane Mall  149
Nashua, NH
2 floors 1bldg
Total retail floor area 870,000 square feet
435K sq-ft/floor
34K sq-yds/floor
184 yd x 184 yd box equivalent / floor
Pheasant Lane Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emerald Square  133
North Attleborough, MA
3 floors 1 building
Total retail floor area 1,022,000 square feet
341K sq-ft/floor
27K sq-yds/floor
163 yd x 163 yd box equivalent / floor
Emerald Square - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     "Walking the third floor 3 times in a complete circle straight on   around and going end to end of the mall is 1 Mile and 75 feet ... walking next to the rail or the stores will only vary your walk by 40 to 60 feet".

Copley Place  100
Boston, MA
2 stores 1 bldg
Total retail floor area 413,820 sq ft
207K  sq-ft/floor
16K sq-yds/floor
127 yd x 127 yd box equivalent / floor
Copley Place - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The evidence that walking is good for you is piling up. In the early 1800s, watching people walk used to be America's favorite sport. When it's warm out, when I walk, often people say interesting things to me, & I get a feel for the place where I'm walking. Seems people learn to relax around you if you take long walks in their neighborhood. One reason I've been going on long walks, is I expect such will solve the problem I've experienced during soccer games, featuring painful cramping in the calves & the soles of the feet.

Turns out, that the largest mall in New England, Natick Mall, had grown up right under my nose during the time I had lived just 9 miles away from it, to become the biggest mall in New England in terms of number of stores, & (according to my calculations), the 2nd biggest in the Boston area in terms of square yards per floor.

'...Natick Mall...opened in 1965, ...first enclosed mall in the Boston metropolitan area...demolished and replaced by a larger building in 1994...expanded with...additional retail wing in 2007...1,860,000 sq ft...leasable area...250 retailers...largest mall in New England in...total number of stores. ...with Shopper's World...Natick Mall helps form the...Golden Triangle. The 7 sq mi...area is the second largest shopping district in Massachusetts...mall's 2007 expansion... renovation...addition of a new wing...on the site of the former Wonder Bread/Hostess baking factory...expansion added...100 new stores...With the addition... the Natick Collection became the twenty-third largest mall in the country, fourth largest on the East Coast, and the largest in New England
Following a two-level, generally T-shaped floor plan...it makes use of natural lighting...providing an open atmosphere...curved ceiling was inspired by the American Indian translation of "Natick", meaning "place of rolling hills"...design incorporates the leaves of the birch tree...'

-- Natick Mall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Sunday, November 09, 2014

ndoor Grilled Steak a la Raj

I love the taste of charcoal-grilled & gas-grilled steak. Unfortunately I cannot cook such steak in my apartment. But after failures, I came up with a way to cook the steak, that results in a steak that while tasting different from charcoal & gas-grilled steak, has a flavor that is approximately as good, a sophisticated, high-class, clean fresh healthy flavor.

Equipment: Cast Iron Griddle ( bottom of pan features approx 1/4" deep grooves)

Ingredients: Black peppercorns, sea-salt, Colgin's liquid smoke, garlic, tamarind concentrate (available at Indian store), Organic Ghee (available at Whole Foods), spring water, steak.

Method: Mix some Tamarind paste & spring water together to produce a Tamarind water. Pre-heat the griddle for at least 15 minutes. Sprinkle sea-salt & ground black peppercorns, & liquid smoke on the griddle. Put half a clove of garlic in each corner of the griddle. Spread Tamarind concentrate in middle of griddle. Put steak on griddle, let cook for 4 minutes.  Turn steak over, let cook for 4 minutes. spread Tamarind water on steak. Turn steak, let cook for 1 minute. Remove steak. Turn off heat. Put organic ghee in pan. after a couple minutes, pour ghee out of pan, on side of steak, and over steak.

During cooking, periodically (about 3 times) pour Tamarind water in corners of griddle.

This recipe follows the principle of mostly avoiding direct contact of flavorings with the steak. It does not require marination of the steak. I've read that Tamarind plays an important role in steak-sauces and marinades. I suspected that Tamarind by itself could produce as good or better a result as such sauces because people tend to overcomplicate; seems this guess proved correct. This steak is way better than my first pompous attempt a few years ago at a steak recipe.  This is version 1, based on a first attempt; further versions will be posted here.

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Tuesday, November 04, 2014

MA Elections- Condensed Texts re Candidates, Ballot Questions

I have put together a webpage, that, in table-format, shows condensed versions of the texts of the front-pages of the candidate websites, and the official texts regarding the four laws proposed as ballot questions:

Condensed Texts: Massachusetts November 2014 Elections, Ballot Questions

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SM
GA
SC