Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up on my doorstep asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have arrived recently. This past week I tried two more of the current releases from Raventos i Blanc, the venerable Spanish sparkling wine producer who makes some of the most compelling sparkling wines in the Penedes region of Spain. Their dedication to single-site production and indigenous grape varieties in the region has caused them to withdraw from all of the DO organizations they might ordinarily belong to in their region, so the wines are just labeled as Spanish sparkling wines, but don’t let that fool you. These are serious bubbles. In particular, I loved the latest vintage of their De la Finca blend. I’ve also been working my way through a bunch of Virginia wines and have several to recommend, starting with a tasty Vermentino from Barboursville Vineyards. Vermentino isn’t a grape I associate with Virginia, but this one was quite competently made. Petit Manseng, on the other hand, is one of the most successful white grapes in the region, and a taste of the bottle from The Winery at La Grange will give you an understanding of why. Nicely balanced, aromatic, and wonderfully bright, it’s a pleasure to drink. Virginia is also known for its Bordeaux blends, and the three reds I’m recommending this week bear out that reputation. The CrossKeys Vineyards Cabernet Franc has a wonderful freshness to it and a classic profile. The Pollack Vineyards Reserve Merlot has a nice dark complexion but also some savory notes to complement the rich fruit. And the Glen Manor “Vin Rouge” offers a nice melange of herbal and blue fruit flavors along with toasted oak. Finally, I am pleased to recommend some current and upcoming releases from Inglenook, Francis Ford Coppola’s historic estate in Napa. I reviewed their white wines last week, and this week I’m featuring their estate Cabernet Sauvignon and the top bottling they call Rubicon. The 2023 versions of both wines are fantastic, showing all the elegance that the very cool vintage had to offer. The 2024s reflect the slightly warmer year and are excellent as well, though perhaps not reaching the heights of the 2023s, at least not yet. If you enjoy the more elegant, lower-alcohol side of Napa wines, these wines will delight you. Notes on all these follow below. Tasting Notes 2023 Raventos i Blanc “De La Finca” White Blend, SpainYellow gold in the glass, with medium-fine bubbles, this wine smells of lemon and ripe apples with a hint of herbs. In the mouth, a voluminous mousse delivers bright floral lemon and pastry cream flavors across the palate while excellent acidity and a stony wet-pavement minerality make for an elegant, refined quality. Very pretty. A blend of 60% Xarel·lo, 30% Macabeu, and 10% Parellada fermented in stainless steel and concrete. Malolactic conversion inhibited. Secondary fermentation in the bottle, where the wine ages on the lees for 30 months. Certified organic. 12% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $39. click to buy. 2022 Raventos i Blanc “Textures de Pedra” White Blend, SpainBronze-gold in the glass with medium-fine bubbles, this wine smells of berries, herbs, and baked apples. In the mouth, a muscular mousse delivers flavors of baked apples, dried orange peel, dried herbs, and wet chalkboard as excellent acidity and a hint of salinity round out this savory experience on the palate. There’s a faint aromatic sweetness that lingers in the finish. Certified organic. A blend of Xarel·lo Vermell and Sumoll fermented and aged for 9 months in concrete. Malolactic conversion inhibited. Secondary fermentation in bottle. Aged on the lees in the bottle for 42 months. 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $50. click to buy. 2024 Barboursville “Reserve” Vermentino, VirginiaPalest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of pears, white flowers, and dried herbs. In the mouth, silky flavors of pear and linalool mix with hints of herbs and a touch of citrus pith. Very good acidity and a nice chalky underbelly round out the package. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $25. click to buy. 2024 The Winery at La Grange Petit Manseng, VirginiaLight yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of honeysuckle, yellow apples, and lemon curd. In the mouth, candied lemons, apple, and a hint of pineapple are all bright and juicy thanks to excellent, even slightly electric acidity. Juicy and delicious. 13.9% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $39. click to buy. 2024 CrossKeys Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Shenandoah Valley, VirginiaDark garnet in color, this wine smells of black plums, crushed nuts, and a hint of struck match. In the mouth, juicy and bright flavors of black plum and pencil lead are wrapped in fine, powdery tannins that coat the mouth. Excellent acidity accompanies chopped green herbs and hints of citrus peel that linger in the finish. Fresh and juicy. 14% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $31. click to buy. 2023 Pollak Vineyards “Reserve” Merlot, Monticello, VirginiaVery dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherries, plums, and oak. In the mouth, black cherry flavors and notes of toasted oak are wrapped in a fleecy blanket of tannins. Very good acidity offers some nice freshness as chopped green herbs and black plums linger in the finish. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $60. click to buy. 2023 Glen Manor Vineyards “Vin Rouge” Red Blend, VirginiaDark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherries, prunes, and blueberries. In the mouth, black cherry and blueberry flavors are wrapped in fleecy tannins and shot through with chopped green herbs. Very good acidity gives a nice freshness to the wine, and the powdery tannins coat the mouth and linger as notes of oak emerge in the finish. A blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot. 13.4% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $35. click to buy. 2023 Troon Vineyard Syrah, Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon, OregonMedium to dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of blackberries, blueberries, and a hint of horse manure. In the mouth, juicy acidity makes blackberry and blueberry flavors bright as fleecy tannins coat the mouth and darker wet earth and dried herb notes surface amongst the fruit. Dried herbs and a touch of that barnyard note linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. Demeter-certified biodynamic. Regenerative Organic Certified Gold. 12% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $44. click to buy. 2024 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa, CaliforniaVery dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blackcurrant and black cherry with a hint of licorice and baking spices. In the mouth, blackcurrant and chopped green herbs mix with black cherry. Fine, powdery tannins coat the mouth, as chopped green herbs and dried flowers linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. 14.2% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $100. 2023 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa, CaliforniaVery dark garnet in color, this wine smells of chopped herbs, blueberries, blackcurrant, and violets. In the mouth, smooth powdery tannins coat the mouth and surround a core of black cherry, blackcurrant, a hint of licorice root, and chopped green herbs. Excellent acidity, floral perfume, and a lovely roundness to the wine. 14.3% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $100. click to buy. 2024 Inglenook “Rubicon” Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa, CaliforniaVery dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blackcurrant and black cherries. In the mouth, mouthwatering acidity makes for a juicy character in plum, blackcurrant, and black cherry fruit. Powdery, even stony tannins coat the mouth but remain supple through the finish. Dried herbs and freshly chopped herbs linger in the finish. 14.2% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $265. 2023 Inglenook “Rubicon” Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa, CaliforniaVery dark garnet in color, this wine smells of blackcurrant, plums, and black cherries with a hint of mocha. In the mouth, black cherry and blackcurrant flavors mix with dried flowers and plums. Seamless, supple tannins coat the mouth, and give a wonderful shape to the wine. Notes of licorice and violets linger in the finish. Excellent, juicy acidity. 14.2% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $265. click to buy. The post Vinography Unboxed: Week of 7/19/26 appeared first on Vinography.

TLDR: Amethyst Vein is a SwiftData inspired database framework, with UI support for SwiftUI and SwiftCrossUI out of the box, with a UI independent surface available too. It's compatible with Apple, Linux, Android and Windows. Links: Repo | Docs & Tutorials The Swift ecosystem is continuously expanding, I love Swift and I love making apps for myself. But I need them on more than just Apple devices, which is not as pleasant as inside the Apple ecosystem yet. Contributing to SwiftCrossUI accounts for the UI part, but storing data is still a bit annoying. There are ORMs, but to me they feel a bit out of place in a declarative UI framework. And aside from SwiftDatas problems (these absolutely exist) I really like the API of SwiftData and how it integrates with SwiftUI. With a combination of underestimating the challenge, curiosity and a goal in mind, I started building the solution: Amethyst Vein. This is an example of how it can look (ignore the content of the example not making too much sense on the clientside, I was lacking ideas): enum V0_0_1: VersionedSchema { static let version = ModelVersion(0, 0, 1) static let models: [any PersistentModel.Type] = [ Post.self, Attachment.self ] @Model final class Post { var title: String var content: String @Relationship( inverse: \Attachment.post, deleteRule: .cascade ) var attachments: [Attachment] init(title: String, content: String) { self.title = title self.content = content } } @Model final class Attachment { @Relationship var post: Post? var name: String var fileType: FileType var sizeMiB: Double @LazyField var data: Data? init(name: String, fileType: FileType, data: Data) { self.name = name self.fileType = fileType self.sizeMiB = Double(data.count) / 1024 / 1024 self.data = data } enum FileType: String, RawRepresentablePersistable { case png case jpg case gif case swift // ... } } } typealias Post = V0_0_1.Post typealias Attachment = V0_0_1.Attachment enum Migration: SchemaMigrationPlan { static let schemas: [VersionedSchema.Type] = [ V0_0_1.self ] static let stages: [MigrationStage] = [] } UI independent use: func setupAndUseVein() throws { // Optional: Setup keyring for Linux support #if os(Linux) Keyring.appIdentifier.withLock { $0 = "com.example.app" } #endif let container = try ModelContainer( V0_0_1.self, // Your VersionedSchema migration: Migration.self, // Your SchemaMigrationPlan at: "path/to/db.sqlite3", // or nil for in memory appID: "com.example.app" // The id of your app ) try container.migrate() let post = Post(title: "How to use Vein?", content: "It's very easy.") try container.context.insert(post) post.content = "What did I tell you?" try container.context.save() let posts = try container.context.fetchAll(#Predicate<Post> { post in post.title.contains("Vein") }) // gives back [post] try container.context.delete(post) } Or with a @Query: struct ContentView: View { @Query(#Predicate<Post> { post in post.title.contains("Swift") }) var posts: [Post] @Environment(\.modelContext) var context var body: some View { Button("Add post") { do { try context.insert(Post(title: "New Post", content: "...")) try context.save() } catch { // Update some error state. } } List(posts) { post in Text(post.title) } } } If you know SwiftData, using Vein should be very easy to you. The (hopefully) more interesting stuff: The first thing you might have noticed is @LazyField. Vein eager loads fields by default, you can choose to explicitly declare that using @Field or, for data that's bigger and/or rarely accessed, you can apply @LazyField instead. It then will fetch the data for that specific field on first access. The next, very obvious difference is that you are required to use a VersionedSchema and provide a SchemaMigrationPlan. It is good practice and since a database is such a critical piece, I wanted to enforce it. You don't have to migrate anything while you only have one version though (duh). Aside from the very obvious API differences Vein is also very different under the hood. It's based on SQLite.swift or rather skip's swift-sqlcipher. Database level encryption is enabled by default on every platform and can be opted out of. The same core engine, SQLite+SQLCipher and SQLite.swift are used on all platforms, the only difference is how the database key is stored. To store the database key, on Apple platforms the keychain via KeychainAccess is used, on Linux it's my own KeyringAccess library using SecretService and on Windows it used CredW. Due to the difficulty with android doing basically everything in their fake JVM you currently need to implement the minimal DatabaseKeyProvider protocol yourself and provide the implementation to the model container when working with android. I hope to resolve that in the future. The next big difference has to do with the discovery of fields. SwiftData heavily relies on runtime magic (as far as I'm aware including the objc runtime, which obviously isn't available anywhere else). Vein instead uses the @Model macro to generate all the information, accessors and protocol conformances needed. No reflection or anything like that is used, I like compiler/type checker guarantees. If you are interested in what is generated, I invite you to take a look at the macro unit test. IDs Vein uses ULIDs. ULIDs are pretty cool, they have a leading timestamp part and a trailing random part, making them lexicographically sortable. This means by default models will always be returned in the order they were created on a fetch. And you can always get the timestamp back, making the ID implicitly a created_at field as well. I love ULIDs (they are also a bit more readable than UUIDv7). Threading Another difference is how threading works. Vein models are Sendable and synchronized through locks. So sharing model instances across threads is completely safe (in theory) I still wouldn't recommend mutating the same instance concurrently on multiple threads though, as you might end up with a mix of data from different threads. It can be done though and if you take care of locking the model while mutating, it is completely safe. Just like SwiftData, Vein heavily relies on it's ModelContext, which in Vein is called ManagedObjectContext. Initially I tried to make it work implementing it as an actor, but I noticed pretty quickly that the combination of an async context and synchronous API doesn't really work. So the context is synchronized via locks too. A context has a weak identity map, to be able to keep the single row, single instance promise (inside a context). Just like in SwiftData, writes are cached until a save() (currently not invoked manually, so please remember to save ;D). The write cache just keeps strong references so they're not freed until saved. Saves, changes to the identity map and the write cache are synchronized through locks too. The identity map and write cache are always locked for the shortest time possible, but a long save on a background thread will block the main thread when a second save is called on the same context. For background threads I generally recommend using a separate context, to avoid that issue. Migrations Now to migrations. Where SwiftData tries to be magic, Vein is always explicit. For simple schema migrations there are single line helper functions, but you will always have to call them yourself, ensuring you and everyone else knows what is happening. Vein also fails and reverts a migration if there is unhandled data left. The rest of the migrations is pretty much the same as in SwiftData. You fetch old instances, create new instances from it and delete the old ones. Since Vein uses ULIDs as identifiers you might want to transfer the ID though. Relationships Just like every proper wrapper around a relational database Vein supports relationships. I did not bother to investigate how SwiftData does it under the hood, but it is probably different. Vein relationships are based on ULIDs. The ULIDs are eagerly fetched with the model and resolved through the context on a get. Relationship information is stored as JSONB on both sides, eliminating annoyances of joined tables and foreign keys. It's not as fast as the "intended" method of foreign keys for filtering large amounts of data (hundreds of thousands of rows) by fields on the relationship's side, but Vein is not intended for server use, so I decided the simpler, more stable solution was the better one. Relationships are managed entirely by Vein, to SQLite it's just a JSONB blob. Since relationships are managed by the context, you can only set and use relationships on an inserted model. Models added to an inserted one are automatically inserted. Filtering I was quite spoiled by the #Predicate macro. To my (pleasant) surprise, it's part of Foundation, so you can use it on Vein, yippieh. Currently it just allows one field deep filtering (meaning no filtering by fields of relationships) and is one of the very few things that can fail at runtime if a non-field property or an unsupported feature are used. Sadly, to my knowledge, there is no way to protocol constrain that. Alternatively, should you need to optimize or do something special, you can also create a ModelPredicate from an SQLiteExpression<Bool> and a runtime filter closure. VeinCore, VeinSwiftUI and VeinSCUI Vein provides 3 API surfaces for public consumption: VeinCore: for CLI apps, or use with UI frameworks Vein doesn't explicitly support VeinSwiftUI: Vein for SwiftUI. Includes @Query and more. VeinSCUI: Vein for SwiftCrossUI. Includes @Query and more. Needs to be enabled with the VeinSCUI trait. VeinCore, VeinSCUI and VeinSwiftUI are thin wrappers around the shared Vein engine. The only changes are additive. Almost all of the macro logic is shared too, it's only UI update related stuff that changes. You can expect consistency. Testing We all know that data integrity is crucial, and one of the most risky things are database migrations. To help with making testing a bit less annoying, Vein ships with VeinTesting, which includes some tools for validating migrations. I highly recommend unit testing your migrations in some way. To learn how to use VeinTesting please see the Tutorial. Where is Vein currently? I'm happy with the API and some future features are already considered (sync required fields fore example are already generated, so a version upgrade won't require a complicated migration later). I decided to make a feature cut to get it out there, so you might miss some things, like SortDescriptor. I have 150+ unit tests I run on macOS, Linux, Android and Windows. On macOS and Linux tests are ran with thread sanitizer. The full test suite is ran on VeinCore, VeinSwiftUI and VeinSCUI on at least one platform. There a no known bugs at the moment. Due to the nature of a 1.0 release or software in general there likely will still be bugs, somewhere. If you encounter one, please report it, to help improve Vein for everyone. Vein is designed in a way to fail fast and crash if irrecoverable to protect the integrity of data. A crash in case of an issue is therefore more likely than data corruption. There is documentation and tutorials at vein.amethystsoft.de Plans for the future In the next few weeks I will add things like SortDescriptor, support for pagination and other smaller features you can request via discussions on the github repo. Long term the goal is, to have end to end encrypted, selfhostable sync. How to support the project? As you can probably imagine, developing such a framework takes up a lot of time. There are three main ways to support the project: reporting issues (in some cases maybe also helping to fix them) exposure. If you like the project, it would be a huge help if you could share it. I believe this is an important piece of software for Swift apps outside of the apple ecosystem. Sponsorships on GitHub or purchasing a commercial license (Vein is MPL 2.0 licensed, but if your company requires it or you just want to support the project, that is possible.) Vein + Skip? There currently is an issue with Swift 6.3 and FoundationMacros.Predicate on android. Swift 6.4 works in CI, but I haven't tried to use Vein with Skip yet. I plan to do so in the future and officially support it. If you want to try it and VeinCore or VeinSwiftUI already work with Skip Fuse, please let me know. Thank you for reading ~Mia 6 posts - 5 participants Read full topic

We’ve rounded up cheap afterschool programs (some of which are FREE) for kids and teens in Atlanta and around the area. Atlanta afterschool programs also help parents with the daunting process of juggling kids’ school schedules with work schedules. Afterschool programs provide safe solutions by keeping Atlanta kids mentally stimulated, providing homework assistance, and allowing social interaction among peers in a supervised environment. But they can add up for parents! We’ve rounded up cheap afterschool programs (some of which are FREE) for kids and teens in Atlanta and around the area. Atlanta afterschool programs also help parents with the daunting process of juggling kids’ school schedules with work schedules. Besides offering financial relief for families, some of these cheap and free afterschool options, offered through school districts and non-profit organizations, provide transportation to a central location. Check out free and cheap afterschool programs in Atlanta for kids to learn, thrive, and make friends after the dismissal bell rings! Read more.

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Serious appetites finally have a real event to plan around, and one massive New York food festival built entirely around all-you-can-eat access delivers exactly that kind of paradise. Vendors line up by the dozens, each one plating something different, daring visitors to actually make it through the whole lineup in a single day. Strategy matters more than people expect walking in. Pacing yourself becomes a real skill once you realize how much food is actually available across the whole event. Lines move fast enough that waiting rarely eats into your eating time. Portions stay generous instead of the sample-sized bites some festivals try to get away with. Walking in hungry isn’t just encouraged here, it’s basically the whole point of showing up in the first place. A Food Event That Rewrites The Rulebook © Famous Food Festival Let’s get into uncovering this amazing place, because there is certainly a lot to say about it. Spread across a massive 175,000 square foot outdoor space, the festival transforms what is ordinarily a parking lot into a buzzing culinary city. Over 100 vendors set up shop, each bringing something genuinely worth your attention. The range is staggering, covering cuisines from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond. What separates this event from a typical street fair is the clear intention behind it. Every vendor is chosen to add something distinct to the lineup. The result is a curated experience that rewards curiosity and generously feeds adventurous appetites. New York has plenty of food events, but few are built with this level of ambition and follow-through. The Famous Food Festival does not just gather vendors in a field. It builds an entire world around the shared joy of eating well, and that world is one you will want to return to every single year. Famous Food Festival At Tanger Outlets, Deer Park © Famous Food Festival The Famous Food Festival calls Tanger Outlets home, and the address is 152 The Arches Circle, Deer Park, NY 11729. The southwest parking lot becomes the festival grounds, and the transformation is genuinely impressive every time. Getting there is easy. A complimentary shuttle runs from the Deer Park Long Island Rail Road station directly to the shopping center, making it accessible for anyone coming in from the city or surrounding areas. Tickets are available online at presale prices, which is always the smarter move since gate prices run higher. Children aged 7 and under get in free, and kids between 8 and 12 receive a reduced rate. Upcoming dates include June 19 through June 21, 2026, and October 9 through October 12, 2026. Gate times on opening Fridays run from 1 PM to 8 PM, while subsequent days open at 11 AM and close at 8 PM. The festival also welcomes service animals and small pets, which is a thoughtful touch that many event organizers overlook. Planning ahead and arriving early gives you the best shot at covering the most ground before your stomach calls it a day. Over 100 Vendors And Zero Boring Bites © Famous Food Festival One hundred vendors sounds like a number someone made up to sound impressive. At the Famous Food Festival, it is just the reality. The sheer volume of options means you could attend three times and still discover something new on every visit. The vendor selection spans an extraordinary range of culinary traditions. Fresh seafood from Cousins Maine Lobster sits a few stalls away from Thai-inspired dumplings. Italian pasta dishes share the same festival air with vegan empanadas and plant-based comfort food that genuinely satisfies. Mini doughnuts, fried ice cream, and other sweet treats round out the lineup for anyone with a serious dessert agenda. On select dates, the festival offers an All You Can Eat Sushi Pass, which has occasionally been paired with a live tuna cutting display. That is the kind of unexpected detail that makes the Famous Food Festival feel special. Every vendor is encouraged to offer sampling-sized items priced accessibly, so even budget-conscious attendees can graze widely. The variety here is not just for show. It reflects a genuine commitment to representing global food culture in one energetic, delicious, and thoroughly satisfying outdoor setting. The Flavors That Travel The World © Famous Food Festival Every dish at the Famous Food Festival carries a passport. The culinary geography covered across the vendor lineup is genuinely remarkable, pulling from traditions that span multiple continents and countless cooking styles. Pineapple jasmine rice with shrimp sits comfortably alongside Korean street food like twisted potato on a stick, seasoned with cheddar or parmesan garlic. Fresh lobster rolls bring a taste of coastal New England straight to Long Island. Chicharron, BBQ pulled pork baked potatoes, and bold street food classics fill out a menu that feels endlessly explorable. The festival’s tagline is Taste The World, and that phrase actually holds up under scrutiny. Attendees regularly discover cuisines they have never tried before, served by vendors who clearly care about authenticity and quality. Food here is not an afterthought or a backdrop to entertainment. It is the main event, the reason people plan their weekends around specific festival dates and come back season after season. The diversity of flavors is what keeps the Famous Food Festival feeling fresh and worth revisiting, even for those who have attended multiple times and already know their favorite vendors by name. Live Music That Feeds The Soul © Famous Food Festival Good food deserves good company, and at the Famous Food Festival, the soundtrack is always worth mentioning. Live music plays throughout the event each day, and the quality of the performances consistently keeps the energy high from opening to closing time. Bands rotate across the day, covering a range of styles that suit the diverse crowd. Attendees frequently report staying far longer than planned simply because the music makes it hard to leave. The combination of great food and genuinely entertaining live performances creates a rhythm to the day that feels natural and celebratory rather than forced or commercial. Beyond the bands, the festival features circus performers, line dancing, and various live acts that pop up throughout the grounds. Entertainment is woven into the experience rather than cordoned off in one corner. The result is an atmosphere where something interesting is always happening nearby, no matter where you are standing. For families, friend groups, or solo food adventurers, the entertainment lineup adds serious value to an already compelling day out. The Famous Food Festival understands that feeding people well is only half the job. Keeping them smiling and moving is the other half, and it delivers on both fronts reliably. Family Fun That Goes Way Beyond Food © Famous Food Festival Bringing the whole family to a food festival can feel like a gamble when kids are involved. The Famous Food Festival removes that uncertainty entirely by building a dedicated section designed specifically for younger attendees. Bouncy castles, face painting, henna tattoos, and carnival rides give children plenty to do between bites and snack breaks. The kids’ area is well-organized and genuinely engaging, which means parents can actually enjoy their food without managing boredom at the same time. That balance is harder to achieve than most event organizers realize, and the Famous Food Festival gets it right. For older attendees looking for something more adventurous, the festival also offers rock climbing, axe throwing, and virtual reality experiences. A red carpet photo booth and psychic readings add quirky, memorable touches that make the day feel distinct from any ordinary outing. Games and activities are scattered throughout the grounds, keeping the energy lively in every section. The festival welcomes children of all ages, service animals, and small pets, creating an inclusive environment that genuinely lives up to its family-friendly reputation. Fun here is not an afterthought. It is baked into the entire structure of the event from start to finish. Artisan Vendors And Unique Shopping Finds © Famous Food Festival Food is the headline act at the Famous Food Festival, but the artisanal and craft vendor section adds a genuinely enjoyable layer to the overall experience. Scattered throughout the festival grounds, these booths offer handmade goods, creative products, and one-of-a-kind finds that make for excellent keepsakes. The craft vendors bring a different kind of energy to the event. Browsing through handmade jewelry, art, and unique goods between meals gives attendees a natural reason to slow down and explore the grounds more thoroughly. It also breaks up the eating pace in a way that actually helps you enjoy more food by the end of the day. Shopping at Tanger Outlets is already a draw on its own, with stores like Coach, Gap, and Under Armour available right on the property. The festival adds another dimension to the retail experience by bringing independent makers and small businesses directly into the mix. Supporting local and independent artisans while also grazing through dozens of food vendors is a genuinely satisfying way to spend a full day. The Famous Food Festival also supports local charitable organizations through the event, which gives the whole experience a sense of community purpose that goes beyond great food and good vibes. The post This Massive All-You-Can-Eat New York Food Festival Is A Paradise For Serious Appetites appeared first on Taking The Kids.

Hi everyone, I'd like to introduce Passage, an identity management and authentication framework for Vapor applications. It has recently moved under the vapor-community organisation, and I'd love to get feedback from this community before the API settles. Status: alpha (0.5.x). It's functional and heavily tested, but the API is still subject to change before 1.0. Please don't treat this as "ready, ship it" – treat it as "ready, please tell me what's wrong with it." The problem it solves Every server-side project needs the same authentication substrate: registration, login, password hashing, token issuance and refresh, email/phone verification, password reset, OAuth, and – increasingly – passkeys. Every project also gets to reimplement it, and every reimplementation is a fresh opportunity to get token rotation or account linking subtly wrong. Passage aims to provide that substrate as a Vapor-native library: secure defaults out of the box, and a protocol seam anywhere you need to substitute your own infrastructure. What it looks like // configure.swift app.views.use(.leaf) app.middleware.use(app.sessions.middleware) try await app.passage.configure( services: .init( store: DatabaseStore(app: app, db: app.db), emailDelivery: MailgunEmailDelivery(...), phoneDelivery: nil ), configuration: .init( origin: URL(string: "https://example.com")!, sessions: .init(enabled: true), jwt: .init(jwks: try .fileFromEnvironment()), tokens: .init( issuer: "https://api.example.com", accessToken: .init(timeToLive: 15 * 60), refreshToken: .init(timeToLive: 7 * 24 * 3600) ) ) ) // routes.swift app .grouped(PassageSessionAuthenticator()) .grouped(PassageBearerAuthenticator()) .grouped(PassageGuard()) .get("protected") { req async throws -> String in let user = try req.passage.user return "Hello, \(String(describing: user.id))!" } That's a working auth backend: routes for register / login / logout / refresh / me, plus server-rendered Leaf pages at /auth/register and /auth/login if you want them. Every route path, TTL, and template is configurable; features that need a service you didn't supply simply don't register their routes. Standards compliance, not just "secure by default" This is the part I'd most like scrutiny on. Passage targets NIST SP 800-63B Authenticator Assurance Level 1 – https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3-Implementation-Resources/63B/AAL – and ships an executable compliance suite under Tests/PassageTests/AAL1/. Each of those tests cites the specific clause it asserts in its name, so the suite doubles as a machine-checked compliance ledger rather than a prose claim in a README: §5.1.1 – memorized secrets (length, composition rules, breach-list behaviour) §7.1 – session management §4.1.3 / §7.2 – reauthentication §5.2.2 – throttling of online guessing attacks Alongside it, docs/AAL1/ carries the claim statement, a threat model, a conformance matrix, and a revision process for when the interpretation of a clause changes. If you think a clause is being read too generously – or that a passing test doesn't actually demonstrate what it claims – that's exactly the feedback I'm after. The concrete behaviours that fall out of this: BCrypt password hashing, opaque refresh tokens stored hashed with rotation and family-wide revocation on reuse detection, verification codes hashed before storage, one-shot WebAuthn challenges persisted as SHA-256 rather than plaintext, per-account and per-source login throttling returning 429 with Retry-After, and password reset revoking every refresh token for that user. Features Account – registration, login, logout, current user Tokens – JWT access tokens with JWKS, opaque refresh tokens with rotation, one-time exchange codes Verification – email and phone codes with configurable length, TTL, and attempt caps Restoration – password reset over email or SMS Passwordless – email magic links, with optional same-browser enforcement and auto-create-on-first-login Passkeys (WebAuthn) – three ceremonies: public guest signup, authenticated "add a passkey", and discoverable sign-in Federated login – OAuth/OIDC via Google, GitHub, or custom providers Account linking – automatic linking on verified email/phone match, with manual fallback on ambiguity Throttling – sliding-window rate limiting per account and per source Views – Leaf templates for login, registration, reset, magic link, linking, and passkeys; 4 styles × 17 themes with light/dark variants Hooks – async will* / did* lifecycle callbacks; throw from a will* hook to gate a flow on your own policy (suspended accounts, licence checks, MFA step-up) Architecture: six protocols, and nothing else The core Passage target depends only on Vapor, JWT, Leaf, Queues, swift-crypto, swift-log, and NIO. No ORM, no WebAuthn library, no mail SDK. Everything else arrives through six service protocols: Protocol Required? Companion package Store passage-fluent (Postgres / MySQL / SQLite) EmailDelivery optional passage-mailgun PhoneDelivery optional – (bring Twilio / SNS / Vonage) FederatedLoginService optional passage-imperial PasskeyService optional passage-webauthn (wraps swift-webauthn) RandomGenerator / Throttle.Service optional sensible defaults ship in-package Only Store is mandatory. Supplying an optional service is what enables the corresponding feature – no separate feature flags to keep in sync. Two consequences worth calling out: Passkeys are library-agnostic. PasskeyService is a four-method protocol covering the ceremony boundaries. passage-webauthn implements it over swift-webauthn, but core has no idea that library exists, and swapping it costs one type. You can keep your existing user table. passage-fluent runs in two modes. Island mode creates its own users/identifiers tables around a built-in model. Overlay mode lets you conform your app's existing Fluent user model to PassageUserModel – any IDValue (UUID, Int, String) – and inject it, so Passage adopts your schema instead of demanding its own. That was the single most-requested capability from early users. There's also Passage.OnlyForTest.InMemoryStore, shipped as a separate product, so you can integration-test your auth routes without a database. Testing ~1,500 tests across unit, integration, and the AAL1 conformance suite; CI and Codecov badges are on the README. Swift 6.3, strict concurrency, macOS 13+ / Linux, Vapor 4.121+, MIT licensed. What I'm looking for Honest, specific criticism, particularly on: API shape before 1.0. The services / configuration / hooks split, and whether Configuration has grown past the point where nested initialisers are pleasant to write. The AAL1 claim. Under-tested clauses, over-generous readings, or clauses I've missed. The Store protocol. It's a composite of eight sub-stores. Is that the right granularity for someone implementing a non-Fluent backend? Missing features. TOTP/MFA and AAL2 are the obvious next frontier – I'd like to know what else is blocking adoption for you. Links: Core: https://github.com/vapor-community/passage Examples: https://github.com/rozd/passage-example Issues and discussions are open, and PRs are very welcome. Thanks for reading – and thanks to the Vapor community for taking the project in. 1 post - 1 participant Read full topic

Find the best after-school programs in Connecticut that fit a family budget! After-school programs offer Connecticut children the opportunity to participate in flexible (and fun!) learning activities, get physical exercise and establish friendships with peers. They also fill up those afternoon hours during which kids need after-school care while parents are at work. Many programs will bus the student directly from the school. Some are even held on school grounds–an ideal solution for working parents! Be sure to peruse our calendar which is updated weekly and check out the Connecticut Fall Fun Guide for more fun with school-age children. Read more.

Speaker: Dietmar Bisch, The Vanderbilt UniversitySince Vaughan Jones introduced the theory of subfactors in 1983, it has been an open problem to determine the set of Jones indices of irreducible, hyperfinite subfactors. Jones’ rigidity theorem establishes all indices between 1 and 4, but above 4, there are many open questions. Caceres and I have recently shown that all indices of finite depth subfactors between 4 and 5 are also realized by new hyperfinite subfactors with Temperley-Lieb-Jones standard invariant. They are non-amenable, but have certain nice asymptotic commutativity properties. Our work leads to a conjecture and some results regarding Jones’ index problem. The construction involves new families of commuting squares, a graph planar algebra embedding theorem, and a few tricks that allow us to avoid solving large systems of linear equations to compute invariants of our subfactors. I will explain (somne of) these results, and I will try to make the talk accessible to non-experts in subfactors.

Hi everyone, I maintain offpdf, an open-source, offline PDF toolkit built with Tauri and Rust. We are trying to support HEIC/HEIF-to-PDF conversion on Windows, but we have reached a native crash that we have not been able to explain yet. What we know: Two independent real-device HEIC files—one from an iPhone and one from an Android device—immediately terminate the packaged Windows 11 x64 application during import. Both crashes produce exception code 0xc0000005 at the same executable offset: 0x0000000000809d06. A synthetic HEIC/HEIF fixture successfully decodes and converts in the same Windows release workflow. The decode path uses one bounded decoder, limits compressed and decoded size, validates dimensions before allocation, uses a single decoder thread, and serializes image conversions. Rust tests, the Windows build, installation, startup smoke test, and Microsoft Defender scan all pass. The failure happens before a PDF is produced and appears to cross the Rust/native-library boundary. We are currently missing a symbolicated native stack trace and a shareable real-device fixture. The original test images contain personal metadata, so we will not publish them. We would especially appreciate guidance on: Capturing and symbolizing this kind of 0xc0000005 crash in a packaged Tauri/Rust application. Checking for ABI, codec-plugin, or runtime-library mismatches in the Windows HEIC decoder. Known differences in real-device HEIC files such as grids, orientation, auxiliary images, HDR or gain maps that synthetic fixtures may not exercise. Tracking issue and implementation details: github.com/McanKul/offpdf HEIC-to-PDF import crashes the application opened 08:41PM - 06 Aug 26 UTC McanKul bug priority: high ## Summary Importing a `.heic` image for conversion to PDF can cause OffPDF to …exit instead of completing the conversion or showing a recoverable error. HEIC and HEIF use the same decode path, so both formats should be covered by the fix. Support for these formats was introduced in #1. ## Steps to reproduce 1. Launch OffPDF. 2. Add a `.heic` image with the file picker or drag and drop. 3. Wait for the automatic image-to-PDF conversion. 4. The application exits during conversion. ## Expected behavior A valid HEIC image is converted to a one-page PDF and added to the workspace. If the file cannot be decoded or is too large, OffPDF should stay open and show a useful error. ## Details to capture - OffPDF version/build - OS and architecture - HEIC source/device - Image dimensions and bit depth - Single-file or batch import - Crash report or terminal output ## Acceptance criteria - [ ] Representative `.heic` and `.heif` files convert on the shipped Windows x64 and macOS arm64 builds. - [ ] Invalid, truncated, or unsupported files return an in-app error without terminating OffPDF. - [ ] Large images are rejected safely or converted without uncontrolled memory use. - [ ] Single-file and batch imports do not crash. - [ ] A regression test covers decode, JPEG conversion, and PDF creation. - [ ] Release smoke tests perform an actual HEIC conversion. We are happy to create a minimal standalone reproducer once we identify the most useful diagnostic path. Thanks for any pointers—and if our integration is wrong, we would genuinely like to understand and fix it properly.

By Shannon Thomason | UAB News Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr. will perform at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center in 2027. The Tony and Grammy award winner will bring his extraordinary voice, magnetic stage presence and genre-spanning artistry to the Alys Stephens Center stage, Friday, June 25, 2027. Tickets from $55. Buy tickets. The Alys Stephens Center is part of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for the Arts. The center’s upcoming season, which will kick off this fall, marks 30 years of unforgettable performances. More performances will be announced in the coming weeks. See the current season lineup and check back often as more exciting performances will be added. Odom, who received an Academy Award nomination for his acclaimed portrayal of Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami,” captivates audiences with his signature charm, stunning vocals and heartfelt storytelling, creating an intimate, inspiring and unforgettable live experience. For his Alys Stephens Center show, he will perform selections from the American songbook, reimagined pop favorites and beloved musical theater classics. That includes songs from “Hamilton,” the Broadway phenomenon that earned him a Tony Award for his iconic portrayal of Aaron Burr. Join the Alys Stephens Center for a soulful, sophisticated and deeply moving night of timeless music, powerful emotion and the unmatched artistry of one of today’s most celebrated performers. UAB staff and student discounts are available. For tickets or more information, call the ASC Box Office at 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org. For the latest updates and announcements, follow the Alys Stephens Center on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, a Republican candidate for governor, violated state campaign finance laws by donating more than 60 times the maximum amount of money to his own campaign, according to disclosure documents filed this week.

By Tommy Yarrish | dallascowboys.com The Cowboys and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams have agreed to terms on a three-year, $105.9 million extension, making him one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the NFL. Williams, 28, joined the Cowboys at the trade deadline in 2025 after Dallas traded a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick and Mazi Smith to the New York Jets. In seven games for the Cowboys, Williams posted 21 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks plus an interception. The Birmingham native is a graduate of Wenonah High School, and the school honored him in 2022 by retiring his jersey during its spring game versus Fairfield. After his high school career, he attended the University of Alabama, where he was a red-shirt freshman in 2016. He entered the 2019 NFL Draft, where he was selected third overall by the New York Jets. Williams played with the Jets until his 2025 trade to the Dallas organization. The Cowboys now have Williams under contract through the 2030 season. Early in training camp, Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones said that Dallas would be open to holding negotiations with Williams and his representation. He is more than happy to have seen that cross the finish line. “It’s a big part of all the moving parts that went with our trade last year,” Jones told DallasCowboys.com “I think this kind of, at the end of the day, puts a bow on top in terms of knowing that we’re going to have Q here for the next five years long term, and have Kenny [Clark] out there rolling, the deal we made with Rashan Gary and how we used the pick on [Malachi] Lawrence. All these things, you can’t say they were all tied to just that, but it’s a big deal. And certainly he represents everything that we want in a Dallas Cowboys football player. He’s not only a great football player, but he’s a man, he’s a leader who people in the locker room look to every day. I was just talking to Christian [Parker], he’s the best player out on the field.” National Football League star and University of Alabama Crimson Tide legend Quinnen Williams returned to his alma mater Wenonah High School in 2022 as the school retired his number. (File, Birmingham City Schools) Williams is now set to make $35.3 million in average annual value, the second-most among NFL defensive tackles trailing only Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter. From the outset, Williams made clear that he too wanted to remain a Cowboy for a long time. “For sure, man,” Williams said when asked if he wanted to stay with the Cowboys long-term. “Especially being here with these guys, man. You’ve got a phenomenal group, a phenomenal staff, organization wise, it’s unbelievable. And then having guys that you can call and lean on, like DeMarcus Ware is one of my guys, it’s unbelievable man. Like I said, I’m not focused on no contract, I definitely want to be here for the long haul, I definitely would enjoy and love being here for the long haul, but I want to win, and that’s kind of the only thing I’m really focused on.” Williams is paired up front on Dallas’ defensive line alongside Kenny Clark, and the two have now had a full offseason to work together. In that, the veteran Clark had high praise for his now long-term counterpart. “I haven’t played with a d-tackle like that my whole career,” Clark said of Williams. “I played with a lot of great players, but a guy that’s dominant like that at the defensive tackle position, he’s a great player. I’m looking forward to that, I hope they slide to him and I can get me some one-on-ones, and we do what it do.” And in just over a month, they’ll line up together against the New York Giants in Week 1 for their first full season playing alongside one another. Last season, Williams finished sixth in the NFL among defensive tackles in quarterback pressures with 45 while facing double teams 40.2% of the time. As a run defender, Williams led the league in run stuffs with 19, adding 36 run stops as well.

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By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times There are concerts you attend, and then there are concerts that feel like an experience. Masego’s “Fix Your Face” tour stop in Birmingham was undoubtedly the latter. Originally scheduled for Avondale Brewing Company, the show was moved to Iron City, a change that ultimately worked in the concert’s favor. The smaller, more intimate setting brought the GRAMMY-nominated musician closer to his Birmingham audience and created the kind of atmosphere where every note, saxophone riff and interaction felt personal. By the end of the night, the verdict was simple: 10/10. The evening began with an opening performance from Lekan, who helped set the tone for a night rooted in soul, rhythm and musicianship. Birmingham’s own Love Moor also made a special appearance, giving the hometown crowd an added reason to celebrate. Then came Masego. Masego brought his “Fix Your Face” tour stop to Iron City Birmingham. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times) Born Micah Davis in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in Virginia, Masego has built a sound that refuses to fit neatly into one box. His music blends elements of R&B, jazz, soul and hip-hop, but seeing him perform live offered an even fuller appreciation for his artistry. Throughout his set, fans were treated to the smooth, soulful crooning that has become synonymous with Masego, but his voice was only one part of the experience. The musician moved effortlessly between instruments, showcasing his talents on the saxophone and piano before briefly picking up the guitar. Each transition felt natural, reminding the audience that Masego is not simply a singer who happens to play instruments. He is a musician in every sense of the word. The saxophone became a character of its own during the performance. There was something almost conversational about the way Masego played. The instrument seemed to speak back to the crowd, weaving through the vocals and creating moments that felt less like a concert and more like a late-night jam session shared between friends. And Birmingham was clearly enjoying every minute of it. Masego repeatedly expressed his appreciation to the crowd throughout the evening, acknowledging the energy in the room. At one point, he made it clear that Birmingham could expect to see him again, a declaration that was met with the kind of enthusiasm one would expect from an audience that had already decided it wanted an encore before the show was over. The connection between artist and audience was perhaps the most memorable part of the night. Iron City’s intimate environment allowed Masego to engage with fans in a way that might have been harder to achieve in a larger venue. Rather than feeling like thousands of people watching an artist from a distance, the room felt collective — as if everyone was participating in the same musical conversation. And then came the moment many fans had been waiting for. Masego closed his set with “Tadow,” his 2017 collaboration with FKJ and one of the songs most closely associated with his rise as an artist. The familiar opening notes immediately transformed the room, with fans recognizing the song before Masego even had to say much. It was the perfect closer. Masego closed his set with “Tadow,” his collaboration with FKJ. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times) “Tadow” encapsulated everything that made the evening work: smooth vocals, infectious rhythm, jazz-infused instrumentation and the unmistakable chemistry that Masego brings to his live performances. For a Birmingham audience, the night offered more than just a stop on a national tour. It was an opportunity to experience an artist whose musicianship is best appreciated up close — and Iron City provided the perfect backdrop. The venue change may have been unexpected, but it ultimately made the evening feel more special. Masego came to Birmingham with the “Fix Your Face” tour and left with a crowd asking for his return. Judging by the response, Birmingham will gladly welcome him back. Masego performed at Iron City Birmingham. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)

We’ve already seen that Raku understands characters like ∞, and it would be logically that you can use them with ease, similar to any other constructs of the language. Take, for example, a sequence with no definite end. You define a pattern and take as many items as you need. say (1, 1, * + * ... ∞)[^10]; Here, the pattern defines a Fibonacci sequence and we only take the first 10 elements of it: (1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55) You don’t know upfront what the 10th element will be, so just say that the sequence is defined by the rule * + * and goes towards ∞. Need a stop at a given point? You can make the stop rule explicit: say 1, 1, * + * ...^ * > 100; Here we see the same sequence, but it stops as soon as the next number overcomes 100: (1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89) If you want to manipulate data a bit more elaborate than just taking the first few items, save the whole infinite list in a variable, why not? Use it as any other array in a Raku program: my @fib = 1, 1, * + * ... ∞; say @fib[5]; say @fib[55]; The program prints the requested 5th and 55th items of the sequence: 8 225851433717 The main difference with other elements is that the sequence that @fib hosts is lazy. It only computes the values when you demand it. Raku offers an easy way to check if it’s lazy indeed: my @fib = 1, 1, * + * ... ∞; say @fib.is-lazy; # True Working with lazy computations is very similar to any other “non-infinite” data. It’s possible to map the values of an infinite sequence, say, square the numbers: my @squares = (1 .. ∞).map(* ** 2); say @squares[^5]; say @squares[999]; The program first prints the first five squares and then the item number 999, which is 1000²: (1 4 9 16 25) 1000000 Let’s try filtering a lazy sequence: say (1 .. ∞).grep(*.is-prime)[^10]; say (1 .. ∞).grep(*.is-prime).first(* > 1000); In this case, not only the original sequence 1 .. ∞ is lazy, but also it’s filtered version (1 .. ∞).grep(*.is-prime). Use it in a similar manner as before: (2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29) 1009 That’s all for now. In Part 2, we’ll see some more interesting things that you can do with lazy sequences.

Multiple counts

Short of rejecting most code without review, the only conceivable solution is to use AI to do most of the work of reviewing. By applying our human creativity we can think of other solutions besides substituting AI automated review for human reviews. The OP seems to have some good ideas.