where did the Chinese virus really originate?

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/bulletin-atomic-scientists-opens-wuhan-virus-pandoras-box

Back again

 It is Sunday, March 21, 2021, and I am back in Facebook Jail again for about the 4th or 5th time in the past 6 months.  FB has gotten a bit heavy-handed in their effort to silence the opposition, it seems that the it takes very little to trigger the censor mechanisms now, and I am tired of dealing with it.  This time it was the repost of a "memory" from 5 or 6 years ago that triggered the censor, funny how much things change over time.

I primarily use FB to follow the lives of my friends who are physically distant from me (in these days of COVID that is everybody!) and to allow those interested to follow my life, but since Facebook is no longer an open forum for the sharing of things, I am going to make an effort to move away from the platform for some things.

My blog has been silent for several years now, but this is where I used to primarily post at, and it still exists.  Some of the links have gone dead, some of the pictures are missing, but the story is still here.

I will still be browsing on FB, since I do have many friends that post there.  However, most (if not all) of my future posts will be here.  Until/Unless Google starts censoring Blogger.

Charts in PowerPoint, selecting series on top.

I'm building a PowerPoint Presentation that is full of line graphs, and some of the time, there are overlapping lines.

I'm comparing the activity of a single facility against national 50th percentile and 90th percentile benchmarks, and often, the 90th percentile benchmark is at 100% and our facility is also at 100%.

Excel, as well as the Excel embedded in PowerPoint, puts the last line item on top. In other words, if I have three line items like this:

My facility    100%
50th Pctl       60%
90th Pctl       100%

Then Excel calculates the top line first, then the next row and so on to the last row.

This draws the 90th line over My facilities line.

I could resort the data like so:

50th Pctl       60%
90th Pctl       100%
My facility    100%

and that would put the line for my facility on top, but I don't want to do this because it messes up other aspects of the project.

Here's what I figured out: Plot the "my facility" series on the secondary axis, because that gets calculated after the Primary Axis!

Here are the steps in PowerPoint.

First, enter your data

After you close the spreadsheet, your chart will look something like this:

Click on the series, the little blue tail to the left makes it easy.  On the right side, you should get a formatting option, select "Secondary Axis".  You may need to select "Series Options", then click on the chart symbol.

Now, click on the drop arrow and select "Secondary Vertical Axis Options".  Again, click on the chart symbol.  Set your minimum axis value (in this case, I chose "60" and maximum "100".  Click on the graph and select the primary axis and also set it to the same minimum and maximum values.

Last, click again on the secondary axis, select "Labels" and click "None".

Now, the target series will be on top.

WannaCry

Best info on patching MS products:  http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx

Maltese Falcon  Holy Toledo!

Opening a Spreadsheet inside of a PowerPoint

Thanks to EllenFinkelstein.com for the tips.

I am making PowerPoint Presentation that includes lots of data, and I know that this client will want to see some of the background (detail) data besides just the summary data in the presentation.  Instead of having the Excel workbook open in the background, I decided to put the workbook in the presentation so that if the client wanted to see the data then Click! the data would be available.

Instruction for Office 2013

Create the spreadsheet with the data that you want to display.  Do all of the formatting, etc. needed.  Save it in the same directory as your PowerPoint (not absolutely necessary, but if you are on shared folders at work, it makes things a lot easier: if you can access your presentation then the presentation can access the spreadsheet).

Go to PowerPoint.

While on the slide in which you want the Spreadsheet to appear:
1.  Click on the "Insert" tab.
2.  In the "Text" group, click on "Object".
3.  Select the "Create from file" radio button.
4.  Browse to the spreadsheet you created, select it and click OK.
5.  Select the spreadsheet (in the presentation) go to the "Animations" tab.  In the "Advanced Animation" group, click on "Add Animation".
6.  At the bottom, click on "OLE Action Verbs".
7.  Select "Open" and click "OK".

Test it.

Now, during the presentation, when the client wants to see the detail, click on the spreadsheet and it will pop open in Excel.

Chrysler Falcon Concept

I'm gathering copies of everything I know and putting them all in one place.

Interview with Joe Bortz

Chrysler Idea Cars

Joe Bortz Ghia Collection

Rides with Chuck: Chrysler '44 Thunderbolt and '55 Falcon

From Conceptcarz.com

Virgil Exner left Studebaker in 1949 to head-up Chrysler's Advanced Design Studio. While there, he combined his design excellence with the craftsmanship of Italy's Ghia Coachworks. This combination yielded some of the most beautiful and outrageous concept cars of the era.

One of the products of that partnership is the 1955 Chrysler Falcon. The Falcon is similar in size to both the Corvette and Thunderbird. The car, often considered one of Exner's best, rides on a shortened Chrysler 300 chassis. Power originally came from a 276 cubic-inch Hemi with 7.5:1 compression, producing 170 horsepower. The interior featured a split bench style seat finished in burgundy leather, with a floor mounted shifter for the two-speed PowerFlite transmission and a Nardi wooden steering wheel.

According to the current owner the Falcon is a completely finished car, as opposed to a cobbled up show car. It drives well, accelerating very strong, but behaving in a very docile and polished manner.

The Chrysler Falcon Concept, a two seat roadster, was designed by Virgil Exner and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The car was never put into production but many of the design and styling elements would later be seen in various other Chrysler vehicles. Many of the ideas would not make it into production for many years, such as the exposed side exhaust pipes on the Dodge Viper in 1992.

The Chrysler Falcon Concept was meant to be a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Corvette. Power was from a cast iron, 276 cubic-inch overhead valve V8 engine offering 170 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque. It had a two-speed automatic transmission and the total package weighed just 3,300 lbs.

The Chrysler Corporation initially intended the Falcon name to be used for the Plymouth Valiant, but the Ford Motor Company released a production car with the name first. Chrysler needed a new name so they designed a contest among their employees to find a new name.

The car had power brakes, electric windows, and power steering. It measured 182 inches long, stood 51 inches tall, and had a 105 inch wheelbase. Inside, there were adjustable bucket seats, leather upholstery, and concave inner door panels. It rode on wire wheels with simulated knock-off hubs.

With the 276 cubic-inch overhead valve Hemi V8 engine, the car had a top speed of about 115 mph. Zero-to-sixty took about 10 seconds.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2014

1955 Chrysler Falcon Concept Specifications

Engine Location Front

Drive Type          Rear Wheel

Body Designer   Exner

Weight 3300 lbs | 1496.855 kg

MPG City             13

MPG Highway   16

Performance

0-60 mph             10 seconds.

Top Speed          115 mph | 185.035 km/h

Engine Type : V8 4523 cc | 276.0 cu in. | 4.5 L.

170 HP (125.12 KW)

255 Ft-Lbs (346 NM)

V8 276

Transmission:

2 Automatic PowerFlite; floor-mounted shifter

Averages

Avg. Car Cost     $1,900

Avg. Household Income                $4,130

Avg. Home          $10,950

Avg. Gallon of Gas           $0.23

Chrysler Falcon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chrysler Falcon was a two-seater roadster concept car designed by Virgil Exner, and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The car was never put into production, but many of the ideas and styling elements used in the Falcon would be used in other Chrysler designs. Some features would not appear for many years, like the exposed side exhaust pipes which would not be used in a Chrysler production car until the Dodge Viper in 1992. The name Falcon was originally intended to be the name of the Plymouth Valiant, but Ford Motor Company released a production car with the name first, after Henry Ford II requested use of the name.[1] Chrysler agreed, scrambling to change it at the last minute with a contest among their employees.[2]

Designed to be the basis for a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette, the Falcon had a carbureted, cast iron, 276 cu in (4.52 l) overhead valve V8 engine, rated at 170 hp (127 kW), with 255 lb·ft (346 N·m) of torque, mated to a two-speed automatic transmission. With a weight of 3,300 lb (1,497 kg), it gave the car impressive performance for the time. For long time everybody believed only a single vehicle was produced, which was shown at several autoshows, and eventually it was sold to a private owner, but Ghia really built three copies. One is in the Chrysler Museum and another, originally painted dark blue with white soft top, was sold in the U.S. and sent to Venezuela, where it stayed for long time, after coming back to the United States. [3]

http://www.carnewscafe.com/2013/05/coffee-and-a-concept-1955-chrysler-falcon/

The Chrysler Falcon was a concept that the notorious Virgil Exner conceived of as an “everyman’s car” to compete with the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette without being an expensive vehicle.  The Falcon was meant to be something in between a sports car and a daily driver.  Exner designed the specifications in 1952-53 and the Italians at Ghia completed the bodywork design in 1954.

When shown in 1955, the Chrysler Falcon was meant to be a pre-production prototype and nothing about the car was fanciful or unrealistic, although it was labeled as the company’s latest in the Forward Look line of show cars.  Everything was ready for the production line, but disagreements between the Design and Engineering departments at Chrysler kept the car from ever entering production.  Management and Engineering argued that they already had the 1956 Chrysler 300 and Dodge D-500 coming, so another sports car would be redundant.  Mostly, however, the issue was about curbing the growing power Exner was exuding over the company’s direction.

Despite it’s “ready to build” design, the Chrysler Falcon was an innovative car for the time.  Sadly, however, the Falcon name was eventually to label a small, boring sedan from Ford instead of a beautiful car from Chrysler.

DESIGN OF THE FALCON

Exner specified the Chrysler Falcon concept would be built on the company’s 105-inch wheelbase (109-inch chassis) using the manufacturer’s A-Bodies line (the “Valiant Family”).  Originally, the Falcon was to be a Plymouth, but management moved the concept to the Chrysler nameplate for marketing reasons.  When clay models arrived at Chrysler HQ, Exner knew he was on to something.

The final design of the Chrysler Falcon stood only 51.2 inches high and was one of the very few concepts Exner worked on that he named himself.  Despite its short height and wheelbase, the Falcon totaled 182 inches in length, giving it a long, low appeal.

The Falcon is beautiful from all angles.  The Alfa-like base-shaped grille with grid lattice work and Chrysler Crown above is beset by the inset headlamp bezels and jutting fender curves.  A simple, European mustachio fender curls across the bottom of the vehicle’s face.

From the side, the fender runs across to begin curving downwards when it meets the door and the belt line follows through to a gentle downward slope underneath the rear quarter.  Simple flares around the wheel wells gives visual note while the seven vertical gill-slits hint at power underneath the beauty.  Exposed exhausts replace running boards across the bottom of the doors.

The hood furthers the European appeal, having the gently rounded look of a classic estate sloop.  The one-piece curved windshield adds more class and its stainless steel edging smooths into the rag top which can fold away out of sight behind the seats.

Everything about the look and feel of the Chrysler Falcon is elegant and sporty.  For 1955, it was a beautiful blend of European styling and American automotive.

UNDER THE HOOD AND BEHIND THE DASH

The Chrysler Falcon was originally billed as having a 331 Hemi, but that changed to a 276 cubic inch overhead valve V8 instead.  Later, it was learned that both engines were actually used.

Still, that smaller 276 engine puts out 170 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque and was mated to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic transmission.  On a vehicle weighing only 3,300 pounds, this meant very impressive performance.

All of the controls, outside of the steering and pedals, were operated using a short series of levers in four instruments on the lower dash.  This made the dashboard very simple and elegant, giving for a sporty feel to the two-seat interior.

WHERE IS IT NOW?

For a long time, it was believed that only one conceptual was built for the Chrysler Falcon.  That contains the 331 Hemi and was owned by Joe Bortz and is now in the Ford Museum, but it is markedly different from the original photographs of the Falcon from its auto show appearances in 1955.  It has wider spacing between the fender louvers, a somewhat different front grille and hood face, and other small points of note.

The Falcon that appears in the 1956 film Four Girls In Town is identical to the photographs from auto shows of the period.

A third was also built, but its whereabouts are not known.  It is known to exist only because a letter from Luigi Serge of Ghia to C.B. Thomas of Chrysler confirms three A-Bodied cars as Chrysler Sports Roadster models (Model A-488), two being identical and the third being a “DeSoto Sports Roadster” (Model A-489).  It’s possible that this third is the Bortz car.  As an interesting note, that letter also confirms the price for Ghia to build the cars: $20,000 plus $2,500 for mechanicals on the first, the same on the second minus 25%, and $16,000 on the third and $15,000 for a monocoque frame.

Regardless, the Chrysler Falcon was and is a beautiful example of form styling, using shape and contour instead of glitz and accouterments to create timeless styling.  It would be as elegant on the road today as it would have been in 1955, something few vehicles can truly claim.

http://www.valiant.org/falcon.html

The 1955 Chrysler Falcon two-seater was a showcase for the new Hemi engines, and came out at around the same time as the Thunderbird and Corvette; it was production-intent but never approved. The Valiant was originally to have been named after that two-seater, but Ford grabbed the name just as it was about to go into production.

by Mark Vaccaro

[The following photos and specifications were provided by Mark Vaccaro, whose father, Fred, worked on restoration of the original Falcon in the 1970s. His father took the photos as well.]

The Falcon had a 276 cubic inch overhead-valve Hemi V8 engine with five main bearings and a cast iron block and heads. It put out 170 gross horsepower with 255 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. The compression ratio was 7.5:1, and a two-barrel downdraft Stromberg carb was fitted. This connected up to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic. The differential had a hypoid final drive (3.54:1 ratio) with semi-floating drive axles. It was, needless to say, rear wheel drive.

The front suspension used individual unequal-length upper and lower control arms, coil springs, and hydraulic shocks — no torsion bars. The rear suspension had the usual rigid axle and leaf springs.

Acceleration was good for the time, with a ten second zero-to-sixty sprint, a 17.5 quarter mile (at 82 mph), and a top speed of 115 mph. Gas mileage was quoted at about 13 city, 16 highway.

The wheelbase was a mere 105 inches (three inches shorter than the eventual Valiant, which would, to be fair, seat four). The length was 182 inches, the width 68 inches, and the height 51 inches. Ground clearance was five inches. The weight was 3,300 lb., not too heavy (again, for the time) partly because of the integrated body/frame construction.

The interior was advanced for the time, with individual, adjustable bucket seats, leather upholstery, and concave inner door panels to reinforce the “cockpit feeling.”  Its “forward look” styling included a wide, sloping windshield, sharply defined, sloping front fenders, “upswept” rear fenders, and fender louvers. The spring-balanced manually-operated convertible top was covered completely by a folding lid. The wire wheels had simulated knock-off hubs. The externally mounted dual side exhausts added detail to the side view.

The interior used red and ivory leather, with individual, adjusting bucket seats. The exterior was done in “Gauntlett Black.”  The interior was similar to the FlightSweep, which debuted in the same year, with some key accessory and styling differences.

Specs: 182 inches long, 68 wide, 51 tall. Tires were 7.60 x 15. The transmission was a PowreFlite two-speed with floor-mounted shifter. The car had power brakes, electric windows, and power steering.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/index.php/2013/12/19/exner-in-excess-chrysler-falcon-1966-duesenberg-to-appear-at-amelia-island/

As disparate as the 1955 Chrysler Falcon and 1966 Duesenberg Model D appear at first glance, the two concept-slash-prototype cars have quite a bit in common. Both result from designs by famed stylist Virgil Exner and feature a number of Exner hallmarks; both were slated to enter production, but missed that goal; and both have been scheduled to appear at next year’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Throughout his career, Exner expressed a fondness for certain classic elements of automobile design, particularly for those that highlighted the mechanical functionality of a car. He liked round, open wheel arches; he liked upright grilles; and he especially liked fast, powerful cars. So by the early to mid-1950s, after Exner became Chrysler’s first director of styling and when he felt it was finally time to design a car for himself, he didn’t design just another sedan or luxury car; instead, he designed a two-seat convertible sports car. As Peter Grist wrote in his biography of the designer, Virgil Exner: Visioneer, Exner wanted “a car that embodied everything that he wanted to see in a classic automobile; sports, thoroughbred styling and power to match.”

With help from designer Maurice Baldwin, Exner came up with a logical, though slightly larger, competitor to Chevrolet’s Corvette and Ford’s Thunderbird. Sitting on a 105-inch wheelbase (in 1955, both Corvette and Thunderbird rode 102-inch wheelbases) and coming in at 182 inches total length (compared to 167 inches for Corvette and 175 inches for Thunderbird), the Falcon used integrated body and frame construction as well as a 276-cu.in. Hemi V-8 backed by a PowerFlite automatic transmission. As with other Exner idea cars, Ghia built the Falcon for Chrysler.

According to Grist, however, Exner envisioned the Falcon as more than an idea car. It borrowed heavily from the Chrysler parts bin and didn’t require any advanced production techniques, so why not develop it as a production car, he reasoned. But Chrysler’s engineering staff, with which Exner fought incessantly, blocked the Falcon from becoming a reality, noting that the company already had a couple of performance vehicles in the Chrysler 300-series cars and Dodge D-500; why would it need another?

Nevertheless, more than one Falcon was built; just how many is up for debate. The original one, finished in black, went to Exner, who competed with it at SCCA races, but a number of sources have pointed to a May 27, 1954, letter from Ghia’s Luigi Segre to Chrysler’s C.B. Thomas mentioning two different Falcons (designated A-488 and called “Chrysler Sports Roadster”) as well as a near-identical De Soto Sports Roadster (designated A-489). Exner’s black Falcon has gone missing and wasn’t recorded as destroyed, and the third one – reportedly painted red – was apparently never photographed, but the second one, a light blue example, wound up in Joe Bortz’s collection in 1987, and will make its way to Amelia in March.

Articles above suggest that the Falcon was based on the 300, so I went looking for specs.  And, What If one were to recreate a modern version of the Falcon based off of the modern 300?

2017 Chrysler 300 RWD Sedan
120.2 Wheelbase
198.6 OA Length
Frnt track 63.4
Rear Track 63.8
Width 75
4380 lbs (V8)

1955 Chrysler C300
126 Wheelbase
218.6 OA Length
Frnt Track 60.2
Rear track 59.6
Width 79.1
4310 lbs

1955 Chrysler Falcon (built on a shortened C300 Chassis)
105 Wheelbase
182 OA Length
Frnt Track
Rear track
Width 68.25
3900 lbs

http://www.taylor-race.com/pdf/understanding_differentials.pdf

Nice outline of differential types.

Nice Weather App

From https://darksky.net/.  iPhone and Android versions available.

...and having done everything, to stand firm.

...and having done everything, to stand firm.

Good advice.  But, what is "everything" that I need to do?  The author explains it like this:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 

(Eph 6:10-18 NIV)

 

Let's break this down in sections.

"be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power"  Not my strength.  If it is something I can do then it is my strength.

"Put on the full armor of God". Not some of man's armor and some of God's armor.   The FULL armor of God.  If you are only partially prepared it will not be good enough.

"the devil's schemes"  'schemes' in the Greek is similar to English 'ambush'.  Satan is waiting in ambush for us.  It is easy to fight an army, you can see them coming, recognize the maneuvers.  But it is difficult to know where a terrorist will strike next.  Satan is a terrorist, he does not follow the rules of war, he is not a signatory of the Hague Convention.

"our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"  Let's make certain that we know who our enemy is.  It's not people around us, it is not our circumstances, it's not politicians, it's not laws.  It is a SPIRITUAL battle.

"the belt of truth buckled around your waist" Or in the King James, "having girded your loins with truth"  'Gird your loins' is now an archaic usage.  It would have been well understood up until a few years ago.  When going into a fight, a person would tie their loose clothing tightly about them so that the sword or knife wouldn't get tangled up in their clothes. Today, we might say 'we roll up our sleeves' when we get to work, or 'take off our tie'.  The NIV says that we should  buckle our belt.  We don't want our pants falling down around our ankles, tripping us up.  We want to be free to fight, without things getting in the way.  And how do we do that?  With TRUTH.  We need to immerse ourselves in, KNOW the TRUTH of GOD.  We need to speak TRUTH in all our dealings.  We need to be TRUTHfull in all of our dealings.  If you do not KNOW the TRUTH, if you do not ACT out of TRUTH, you will have all sorts of baggage tripping you up along the way.

"put on the breastplate of righteousness"  The "Breastplate" is that part of the armor that covers the most sensitive parts of the body.  You could get a cut to the leg or arm, even lose a leg or arm, and under the proper conditions, you could survive.  But a wound to the chest or abdomen can be shortly fatal.  Even today, people use armor to cover the chest first, because it is the most susceptible to fatal damage.  In the Hebrew culture, the "path of righteousness" is the only safe and true path.  Back in Abraham's day, one of the things required of a shepherd  was that he know the paths from one green pasture to another that were safe, that could be traversed safely by ewes with lambs, that led to water and food and safety.  A false path might start out looking good, but would lead to danger for the sheep.  If you protect your vital organs from danger, you have made a great start with your defensive gear.  If you have learned how to recognize and stay on the correct path in life; if you know the signposts along the Kings Highway, then you will be protecting yourself from danger.  This is knowledge, knowing which path is the safe path, the path of righteousness.

"feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace"  Or KJV: "shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace". Isaiah 52:7 says:  How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Protecting the foot from the stones and thorns of the path is very important.  If you should bruise your heel or get a thorn in your foot how will you take the good news of peace with God into every nation?  'Peace' means 'to make as one'.  What is the Good News?  When we were yet in our sins, we were separated from God, but God has made a way to be one with Him thru the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

"taking up the shield of faith".  The shield was a flexible tool.  It could protect any part of the body, or even your neighbor.  It could protect your back, it could parry the stroke of a sword, defend against the spear, provide cover from arrows. The word 'faith' comes from the Latin word for 'Trust'.  It is our trust that shields us, our trust that our God is greater than any person, our trust that our God is greater than any institution, our trust that God is greater than any power of Satan.

"the helmet of salvation". The helmet protects the head.  A very tempting but relatively small target.  Nearly any injury to the head can result in death.  But Salvation, or 'deliverance', can protect our mind, our head.  Knowing that whatever happens we have already been saved from eternal punishment, we can continue the battle.  Though I be slain, yet shall I live.

"the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". The only offensive tool mentioned in the list, the Sword (which can be used defensively as well) is the tool used to kill the enemy.  Hebrews 4:12 says "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart."  Knowing what God has said about a subject allows us to use that knowledge to defeat the enemy.  When Messiah was tempted by Satan he didn’t use logic or emotion to defeat Satan.  He used the word of God to defeat Satan.

"pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests". When we look back at all of God's great leaders, they all spent large amounts of time in prayer before God.  Look at Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Messiah, Peter, John, Paul.  A large portion of their lives were spent before the throne of God, asking Him for direction, guidance, strength.  We should do no less.  Pray with and thru the guidance of the Spirit.  Not just praying for ourselves and our physical needs, but also praying for the advancement of the Kingdom by and in and thru ourselves.

"be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints"  And besides praying for ourselves, praying for the advancement of the Kingdom by and in and thru all whom we come in contact with, including lifting up our fellow believers wherever they may be.

Back to my original question: What is 'everything'?  It is putting on the FULL ARMOR.  Have you studied the Scripture?  Do you KNOW the truth?  Is your TRUST in your Heavenly Father?  Are you certain of your deliverance?  Are you one in motive with God?  Are you actively praying and seeking for the Kingdom of Heaven in your life and in the lives of others?

Then STAND on that knowledge.  It is a firm foundation, given to you by God.  Do not waver (as James says), blown around by doubts and uncertainty.  As you take care of God's business, he will take care of your business.  As you are a valuable servant of God, He will take care to show how He values you and will take care to increase your value to Him.  While the storms of life are howling all around us we can be secure in the knowledge that this not a surprise to our God.  He is still in control, His throne is still secure in Heaven.  Even while Satan is throwing fiery arrows at us, even while things look bad in the physical realm, God is still in control.  He knows that you are sick. He knows that the rent is due.  He knows that the car is not running, or out of gas.  And if you stand firm, He will take care of His servant.  Continue trusting in Him.  Continue studying His word.  Stay in prayer.  

Access Query: Concatenation with Nulls

I've been trying to figure this out for a while now.  A part of a query that I often need to run is to add up several different things that may happen to a patient.  And a patient may have one, or none, or a couple or (heaven forbid!) 40 things happen to them over the course of a stay.

The standard way to concatenate in Access is by using the "&".  A query that I use multiple times a day starts with "Name: [last_name] & ", " & [First_name]" which results in "Hartshorn, Earle".  This is OK if both first and last name contain something (almost always).  But if you want to include middle name (almost always empty for my purposes) you would use Name: [last_name] & "," & " " & [First_name] &" "&[Middle_name].  this would result in "Hartshorn, Earle   "; if there is no middle name then there would be an extra space.  Not a big deal in this case, but what if you needed to include many fields that are hopefully blank?  Lots of blank spaces are what you would get, and it looks ugly and is confusing, and when you add commas between terms, you get this:

term, , , term, , , , , , term, , , ,  Urghh.

I decided to research the problem this morning and found this post.  When concatenating 40 or more fields it takes some time to write the query string, but it works very nicely.

Cross posted from http://www.spearsofttech.com/articles/microsoft-access-query-tip-concatenation-with-nulls/

Microsoft Access Query Tip – Concatenation With Nulls

I wonder, should I even assume that you know what that “concatsomething” word means. Since this is the “beginning” tip I’ll assume you don’t. But if you already know what concatenation is, then skip the next two paragraph of this section.

Concatenation, to get straight to the point, is joining two values in a query (or in programming code) to produce one value. Let’s use two fields, FirstName and LastName, as an example. Many beginners would, in fact, be tempted to create only one field (FullName) in a database because they don’t know how to concatenate fields in queries. Concatenation in queries allows you to “create” the FullName field in the query at the moment that the query is run.

The way this is done is by using the concatenation operator, which is the ampersand (&), in the query. After dropping in a table, in the QBE grid (that is the grid in the lower half of the query design window) click in the next blank column of the grid (into the Field cell) and type the following:
FullName: [FirstName] & " " & [LastName]. 
When you run the query you would see a FullName field with FirstName and LastName concatenated together.

Now for our trick. Many beginners are not aware that the plus(+) operator can also be used for string (text) concatenation. Concatenating with a plus(+) works slightly differently than concatenating with the ampersand when concatenating with Null values. (Note: A Null is an empty or blank value which is not the same as a “zero-length string”). Let me just state the difference and then I’ll explain. KEY CONCEPT: Concatenating a string with a Null using an ampersand(&) returns a string. (Null & String = String) Concatenating a string with a Null using a plus (+) returns a Null. (Null + String = Null) This is an important distinction that you can use to your advantage when creating queries. Let me explain. Let’s use the name example as above except let’s put the LastName in first and use a comma. Using the concatenation operator we would create a field like this:
FullName: [LastName] & ", " & [FirstName]
The problem with this method is that if the LastName or FirstName field is Null in some of the rows then it will return ugly results like the following:
Spearman,
, Brad
Johnson,
This problem can be handled by using the plus(+) operator in a special way. Using the plu(+) operator we would create a field like this:
FullName: ([LastName]+", ") & [FirstName]
This method fixes our problem and would return the following nice, neat rows:
Spearman
Brad
Johnson

Now for a final explanation of why the second method returned better results as compared to the first. In the Spearman example (where there is a Null FirstName field), using the ampersand, the value is created as Null & “, ” & Spearman and returns “,Spearman”. But in the second example, using the plus, the value is created as Null + “, ” which returns a Null which is then concatenated to Spearman thereby returning “Spearman” as the value. In other words, a Null is concatenated to Spearman.

Give it a try and see if that works for you.

Seth Spearman

Original from http://www.spearsofttech.com/articles/microsoft-access-query-tip-concatenation-with-nulls/

The very first time that I used this method to concatenate fields it worked beautifully.  The second time I tried to use it I kept having an error:  The field aliases would be, for example, "Rem0" and "Rem1" and the Query String would be "All: ([Rem0]+", ") & ([Rem1]+", ")" but every time that I tried to run the query it would ask me to input the value of "Rem0" and "Rem1".  If I just hit "OK" on each of those the answers would come thru OK, but I couldn't figure out why it was doing that.  After staring at it and comparing the working query to the new query I suddenly realised that the "Total" row in the new query was set to "Where"!  I deleted "Where" and the query now works!

Until you add a numerical Value to the report, that is.  :)

SQL Notes

I'm starting a table of conversions.  Since I'm now working in 3 SQL dialects I need to keep them straight!

DateDiff

datepart	Analytics	MS-SQL	J-SQL
year	yy, yyyy	yy, yyyy	yyyy
quarter	qq, q	qq, q	q
month	mm, m	mm, m	m
dayofyear	dy, y	dy, y	y
day	dd, d	dd, d	d
Weekday	dw, w		w
week	wk, ww	wk, ww	ww
hour	hh	hh	h
minute	mi	mi, n	n
second	ss, s	ss, s	s
millisecond	ms	ms
microsecond	mcs	mcs
nanosecond		ns

Wildcards:

Description	MS-SQL	Jet SQL
Any String of zero or more characters	%	*
Match one character	_(underscore)	?

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/10-tips-for-using-wildcard-characters-in-microsoft-access-criteria-expressions/