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For eight long and tiring years, Ashley and Tyson Gardner from Utah have struggled to conceive. The couple admits that their infertility journey has been difficult, yet, Ashley wanted to share their story as a beacon of hope to those in similar situations.
In July 2014, Ashley and Tyson had enough money to go for one last round of IVF (in-vitro fertilization). For two weeks, the couple was privy to anxiety, regular ultrasounds, blood tests, and more. At this time, the doctor told Ashley that her endometriosis had compromised her eggs. Only two embryos were transformed.
It would take 10 days before Ashley and Tyson would know the fate of their last two embryos. Tyson arranged a photo shoot to capture Ashley’s reaction when the doctor would finally confirm that they were pregnant.
The surprise wasn’t going to stop there. In fact, it would only get bigger.
On the day of their first ultrasound, Ashley and Tyson were expecting to see one glorious heartbeat. The cameras were rolling, and the doctor revealed that their last two eggs from the IVF treatment had split. Ashey wasn’t pregnant with one baby or two but….four identical baby girls.
This was a one in 70 million chances of happening in an IVF treatment.
Watch the video below to see how Ashley and Tyson reacted to the news of their surprise quadruplet girls. |
As of December 22, 2023
Our Basic Vision for Corporate Governance
Prestige International understands corporate governance within the Group to be the basic framework for corporate management in relation to each stakeholder, including end users, client companies, shareholders, employees, and local communities.
The Group regards enhancing and strengthening corporate governance as our responsibility in order to improve shareholder returns and corporate value and have therefore established the following policies.
- Respect the rights of shareholders and ensure equality
- Work together with each stakeholder in an appropriate manner
- Disclose corporate information appropriately and ensure transparency
- Endeavor to build structures for the Board of Directors and other bodies that enable fair, transparent, swift, and decisive decisions
- Engage in appropriate dialogs with shareholders
Corporate Governance Report (updated on December 22, 2023) (Japanese only) [PDF: 1,969KB]
Group Corporate Governance and Internal Control Systems
Click to open expanded view
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors prescribes the responsibilities and duties of each business area and administrative department in order to clarify responsibilities and accelerate decision-making in the execution of business operations. In accordance with the Regulations of the Board of Directors, regular meetings of the Board are held once a month with ad hoc meetings held as necessary. Directors discuss and make decisions on items prescribed by law, the Articles of Incorporation, and the regulations of the Board of Directors, as well as report on the status of directors’ execution of duties. There are currently 6 directors (including 3 outside directors and 3 female directors). The term of office of directors is set at one year in order to reflect the wishes of shareholders in a timely manner.
Board of Corporate Auditors
The Board of Corporate Auditors holds regular meetings once a month in accordance with laws/regulations, the Articles of Incorporation, and the Regulations of the Board of Corporate Auditors, at which the auditing policy, annual auditing plans, and other matters are determined. In addition, with regard to audit content, each auditor reports monthly to the Board of Corporate Auditors to share information and confirm the progress of the audit plan. There are currently 4 corporate auditors (including 2 outside corporate auditors).
Board of Executive Officers
Prestige International functions as a holding company with two main group companies: Prestige Core Solution Inc., which oversees domestic BPO business activities, and Prestige Global Solution Inc., which oversees international BPO business activities. Prestige International appointed the directors of major group companies as executive officers of the Company to enable flexible business execution in response to changes in the business environment surrounding the Company and main group companies, as well as to promote the identification and nurturing of candidates to succeed senior managers. The Board of Executive Officers has been established for the purpose of achieving integrated management.
Prestige International established an Internal Audit Office under the direct control of the CEO to conducts audits of individual business departments and Group companies.
Dedicated personnel conduct audits from the perspective of management diagnoses based on the annual internal audit plan and exchange information with corporate auditors and accounting auditors as necessary to ensure the audits are implemented efficiently.
Risk Management and Compliance Committee
Prestige International established the Risk Management and Compliance Committee as an advisory body to the CEO as an organization that comprehensively and exhaustively manages risks for the Prestige International Group overall.
Nomination and Compensation Committee
In order to strengthen the fairness, transparency, and objectivity of procedures related to nomination and remuneration, as well as to further enhance corporate governance, Prestige International established a voluntary Nomination and Compensation Committee as an advisory body to the Board of Directors.
Participation Rate of the Board of Directors
In addition to the number of meetings, the Board of Directors adopts written resolutions that are deemed to be resolutions of the Board of Directors in accordance with Article 370 of the Companies Act and Article 27, Paragraph 2, of the Prestige International’s Articles of Incorporation.
For newly appointed directors, calculations are based on meetings of the Board of Directors held after their appointment.
The composition of the Board of Directors, etc. for the year ended March 31, 2023 was as follows: |
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I recently decided to convert my Thunderbird email to Outlook and didn’t have a lot of luck finding a tool that actually worked. Maybe it’s because I have a pretty complex Thunderbird configuration with emails dating back to my first messages I sent/received using Netscape Mail (remember that from the 1990s?) .
I came across a tool that was a perfect fit what I needed: Aid4Mail Professional by Fookes Software. It seemed too good to be true but it actually worked! Aid4Mail was relatively quick and I ended up with a .pst file that I could use in Outlook. What I appreciated just as much as the software was the service. I ended up needing some extra help and Julian was very prompt in his replies.
If you’re going to buy it, pay the $20 extra and get the 1-year license rather than the 1-time use license. My decision to purchase the latter was part of why I had to bug Julian several times but he ended up geting me out of the bind I was in. I’m probably going to need to acquire another license (1 year this time!) because I still have some work to do but at least I now know what tool to use for this purpose.
Definitely a tool worth checking out if you’re one of the prideful few like myself who is still using Thunderbird or any of the other old-school email clients that Aid4Mail supports (i.e. Windows Mail, Apple Mail, Eudora, Pegasus, etc).
“A business associate referred our company to Principle Logic when we were seeking a resource to perform vulnerability /penetration testing for our external and internal networks. We found Kevin Beaver to be professional, well informed, and easy to work with. His testing did not disrupt our networks, and his progress updates were timely.
His final report was very thorough and included security recommendations for our network environment. The executive leadership was so impressed with Kevin’s security expertise, they have extended their agreement to continue to perform periodic testing. We highly recommend Kevin Beaver and Principle Logic as a resource for network security testing.” |
Florence Latest News (Italy) + Feed Topics Locations Industries Dates
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A plethora of multinational organisations will be speaking at the 23rd Annual Military Airlift and Air-to-Air Refuelling Conference in Florence, Italy, in November 2022. |
Analizy stosunków stabilnych izotopów węgla (δ13C) i azotu (δ15N) pochodzących z niespalonych szczątków ludzkich ze Świbia / Analyses of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios from unburnt human remains from Świbie
1 – Instytut Archeologii, Wydział Historii i Archeologii, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie, Plac Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4A, 20-031 Lublin; Fundacja Archeolodzy.org, ul. Bolesława Prusa 81/3i, 50-316 Wrocław; 2 – Politechnika Śląska, Instytut Fizyki – Centrum Naukowo-Dydaktyczne, Zakład Geochronologii i Badań Izotopowych Środowiska, ul. Konarskiego 22B, 44-100 Gliwice
In: Michnik, M., Dzięgielewski, K. (2022). Cmentarzysko z wczesnej epoki żelaza w Świbiu na Górnym Śląsku. Tom 2, pp. 173-179. Gliwice: Muzeum w Gliwicach, Wydawnictwo Profil-Archeo.
Reconstructing the palaeodiet of populations associated with the Lusatian Urnfields is an important part of the study of prehistoric communities. It is particularly important because of the limitations arising from the widespread use of cremation in this period, which precludes the determination of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios in bone collagen.
The stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) were analysed in bone samples selected from the 23 individuals recovered from inhumation burials in the bi-ritual cemetery of the Lusatian Urnfields in Świbie, Gliwice District. Samples from preserved fragments of long bone shafts and cranial bones, and in one case a fragment of the last lumbar vertebra, were selected for analysis. Due to the very poor state of preservation of the skeletons, it was impossible to carry out palaeodiet reconstruction studies for many of the individuals. No animal bones with diagnostic characteristics were preserved in the Świbie cemetery, so the trophic background was determined based on the published data for fauna from Neolithic and Late Bronze Age sites. All bone samples were mechanically cleaned. The obtained samples were then subjected to the standard collagen extraction procedure used in the Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, which is based on the modified Longin method.
For most of the individuals examined, some measurements of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were obtained despite their clear, macroscopically determined contamination with organic compounds. Most of the samples analysed showed a C/N ratio that met the quality criterion, which ranged between 2.9 and 3.6. Samples of two individuals, from graves 2 and 259, were contaminated, with subsamples for the individual from grave 2 well outside the range obtained for the others. The δ13C values ranged from -21.22‰ to -17.63‰ (X = -18.86; S.D. = 0.825), while the δ15N values ranged from 4.62‰ to 9.5‰ (X = 8.25; S.D. = 1.003), excluding the data for the contaminated samples.
The sample selected for an adult of undetermined sex, from grave 2, came from a pre-WWII excavation carried out around 1936. The contamination, shown by isotopic testing, most likely came from a preservative, which was probably isinglass (fish glue). It was most likely made from the swim bladders of freshwater fish. Most of the individuals examined to establish their palaeodiet were characterised by a high trophic level, indicating a balanced diet based on food of inland origin, with C3 plants and a high proportion of food of animal origin. The individual of undetermined sex and age at death from grave 79 was characterised by a plant-based diet. Individuals falling into the Infans I, Infans II and child age categories, due to their likely high milk consumption, were characterised by the highest δ15N parameters, which are characteristic of a ‘pastoral diet’. The range of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values obtained for the male individuals placed them at a slightly higher trophic level than the females, but these differences were not statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U test: for δ13C p-value 0.88076; for δ15N p-value 0.64552). Individuals of indeterminate sex and age at death displayed a wide range of carbon and nitrogen isotope values. |
(This piece was originally written in the summer of 2007.)
Awareness of how our environment shapes our neurological, chemical, socio-economic state may seem like cutting edge social science to some, but this practice has been around for many years under different names. A current title for such awareness is Environmental Justice. As a combination of social justice and new environmentalism, Environmental Justice synthesizes some very important elements the old and the new, intellect and intuition, contemplation and action. A separation has always existed in this country between the haves and the have-nots. Environmental Justice, like Hip-Hop, is here to help bridge this divide.
In exploring this idea, it is necessary to ask ourselves a question: Are communities that have been traditionally marginalized both economically and socially subjected to more environmental hazards than those communities nestled within enclaves of green grass and local chapters of the Rotary Club
The term has been circulating more and more since its emergence in1982 surrounding an event in Warren County, North Carolina when a group of citizens stood up against the government’s decision to dump over 60,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil in the local landfill. Recent years has seen a groundswell in EJ activism. Many key players have stepped to the forefront as leaders in this grassroots form of social justice. In New York City, the most prominent figure in Environmental Justice is Majora Carter.
When some hear the name South Bronx their mind may reel off visions of the New York Yankees, or conjure images of the spate of fires that decimated countless buildings in the area in 1977. Others might recall that the South Bronx is the birthplace of Hip-Hop. All are common associations made with this small region of New York City’s northernmost borough. And now, it seems to me, there’s another distinct happening occurring there, with big implications for the world at large. At the center of this is the organization that Majora Carter and her friends founded in the late 90's Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx).
I sat down with Majora to discuss the current projects of Sustainable South Bronx, and to get her opinion on most things New York. I also found out a little about her favorite Hip-Hop artists.
Prop: I’d like to briefly go over some of the projects SSBx is currently working on. Firstly, there’s a program for “green collar” job placement called B.E.S.T the Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training. You are also working on something called “Green-Roofs,” which is an initiative to conserve energy and reduce sewage runoff by covering urban rooftops with plots of grass. Finally, you are involved in something with the Sheridan Expressway is this the Greenway Project?
MC: No, there’s the Greenway Project that grew out of a$1.25 million federal transportation grant that I wrote 8 years ago now. This was a design for an 11-mile network of waterfront path for bicycles and pedestrians. Right now that plan is done, and it’s fantastic. At the moment, we have about $20 million to begin construction for the first stage of this project. And that’s what’s happening, starting next year.
The Sheridan is a completely different project, involving the work of a bunch of local community groups and technical supporters. SSBx got involved because we discovered that the state was planning to “fix” the Sheridan Expressway, which was one of Robert Moses, Master Builder projects.
* * *
(At this point in the interview, I’d like to give some background on the personage known as Robert Moses. The man’s legacy in New York is monumental. As an urban planner from the 1930s to the 1950s, Moses managed to drastically alter the landscape of New York, for better and for worse.
Robert Caro, in the book, The Power Broker, depicts a man driven by the desire to attain as much power as possible. He was an urban planning genius, the “go-to” guy when it came to getting things done, and also an outspoken racist whose prejudices found their way into many of his mega-projects.
Moses codified and cemented such prejudices into how he designed his expressway and housing projects. Today this can be described as “Institutional Racism.” As opposed to one-on-one racist behavior, institutional racism reverberates through the generations and stacks the deck in an uneven fashion, leaving the “haves” with considerably more comfort, and the “have-nots” with a lot more chaos.
As a kid growing up in Long Island, spending time at Jones Beach during the summers, I remember hearing stories about how Moses designed the parkway overpasses to be too low for city busses to clear. This was done with the aim of preventing people who were dependent on public transport from getting to the beach. It just so happened that a lot of these people were also Black and Latino. This is but one of many instances of racism that can be linked to Moses’ projects. Along with the members of the New York State city planning commission, Moses vocally opposed African-Americans taking residence in Stuyvesant Town, a Manhattan housing development created for WWII veterans.
When it came to the building of the thirteen roadways in New York that he developed, Moses made sure that he steered clear of building these paths near the wealthy landowners, while he sanctioned the total transformation of whole working class neighborhoods, like in the South Bronx, through the building of giant roadways that barreled straight through the community. For example, the Brooklyn Queens Expressway violently tore through poverty-stricken neighborhoods so the city could build high-volume transport readily accessible for other New Yorkers. The results were devastating to many communities situated alongside the highways. For one, the increased traffic sharply increased the air pollution, and other industrial contaminants helped create a generally toxic environment. This toxicity, recent research suggests, actually causes neurological damage and increases the rate of crime.
Towards the end of his career, Moses even attempted to build a roadway through the site where the Bronx Zoo is located. This was in the 1960s, however, and as his political clout was waning, the plan was rejected as absurd.
Moses demonstrated an allegiance towards attaining power and money by cozying up to the rich owner-class of a society that was outright racist, and most definitely elitist. And these prejudicial personal perspectives fed directly into the institutions that were created from them, marking the career of Robert Moses perhaps as the finest example of Institutional Racism.
Reflecting on Moses’ legacy, I return to SSBx’s humble office over looking the South Bronx horizon, where, in the distance New York State has plans to build a prison in Hunts Point. This is slated for construction right here in the community Majora comes from, and it is also something that she and SSB are aggressively fighting. Their alternative is to build a recycling plant instead.
Majora told me about when the “Car became King,” and how the US economy started to be built around the automobile. Highways were being built at any cost and sometimes the human cost was the greatest of all. There were huge displacements and uprooted communities in the wake of car culture’s takeover.
“One of the shadier things I’ve ever heard was that even if they weren’t planning on doing highway construction when they said that they were going to, they would just bring a crane in and pull the top of the building off, even though they knew people were living on the lower floors. Because what happens when there is no roof? The elements come in and completely destroy your building. It was just such a shameful period in New York City’s history.
SSBx realized that what the State wanted to do was to “fix” the Sheridan Expressway, which would have jeopardized all of the Bronx river park projects we were working on. We then came up with an alternative plan that removed the highway so that you could use that land, all 28 acres of it something along the lines of community economic development, or housing, or open space. And we put together a plan that showed that there could be 650 permanent jobs created as a result of it, another $30 million in projected wages, as well as an increase in property values. We just discovered this summer that the state has to look at our plan the same way it looks at others, so we are really excited about that.
Has it been received well?
Yes, but it was a fight, though. First, we had to make sure the state would even review it as a viable option. It took us from the late 90s up until earlier this summer just to get them to say that they would review it. Because once it goes through that process, then you can make a determination about it. But if it didn’t make it that far, then we would have had no chance.
So that’s the Sheridan
I found this quote of yours, in which you said, “Understand that this is an ownership society, and if you don’t own, you don’t have rights.” You also say that you want people to attain more land rights.
One question I always get is how do you use that to stop gentrification. And you do this by working with people who either own the land, or by owning a piece of it yourself. So part of this is to work with developers who have an understanding that you can do decent affordable housing. To understand that there is a viable economical supportive way to do things the right way, even as a developer, and to make sure that they have permanently affordable housing within the mix of their developments. The other piece is community land trusts.
Is that related to the website Policy Link?
Yes, that’s right.
So, you also are working on the Solid Waste and Energy Project. Explain what this is about.
We have been a part of campaigns since I started SSBx. The goal is to create a more effective and more equitable solid waste management for the city of New York.
The role that we play is in making sure that we do a bunch of the research that makes it move to the point that folks in the neighborhood know what’s going on. That’ s why we’re connecting with other community groups, and it’s actually a really fascinating process. To date, we have done pretty well. The mayor adopted our plan that every borough should handle it’s own waste, which is the crux of it.
Oh yeah. Guess what? Manhattan is really resistant, particularly the Upper East Side and the area in Tribeca. It’s what they are not saying, actually, that I find most repellent: “Real Estate Values are really high; there is already a park there; all the sites down there were used as waste facilities before real estate values across the street got really high.”
What they want to build now in Tribeca is this amazing state of the art recycling facility if we had those things [in the South Bronx] we never would have started speaking here about how miserable the system works. We would like one of these facilities in our neighborhood. I’d be very honored. It’d be so cool that you can actually take school kids through it to show then how we recycle our waste. We don’t do that here.
Manhattan needs to recognize that they produce more waste than any other borough. It’s a fight, but we’ll get it.
Does SSBx have a plan to ensure more up-to-date waste transfer stations?
Yeah, that’s what our plan calls for. We already recognize that the mistakes of the past don’t need to be revisited on wealthy people, anymore than we want them revisited on poor people. The point is that the situation has to change for everybody.
If you continually have places like the South Bronx where you put the bad things that nobody else wants to deal with, then you’re adding to the collective failures that we all make. For instance, if you continuously create repositories for waste then there will be public health impacts. To have to deal with not just the public health impacts, but also the knowledge of knowing that your community is used as a garbage dump, does add a psychic weight to what the people here already deal with everyday.
So when you talk about building a 2,000-bed jail here, what are you trying to say to folks in our community? Consider that, along with all we now know about how pollution affects communities. There is a direct relationship between various types of pollution, from fossil fuel emissions and brain damage in kids along with the activation of a gene that produces obesity. That’s the stuff coming out.
I don’t expect the powers that be to give a crap about communities like ours. Which is why we spend a lot of time talking about money. If you really look at the value of what it’s going to cost to care for such an environmentally-ravaged community, and all the public health costs associated, along with the social costs associated with it, and add that up, it’s going to cost you a lot more than trying to clean up the mess that we have collectively made.
And that’s the triple-bottom line that you speak of.
Yes, exactly. That’s why working on the B.E.S.T. program is so cool. Especially when you’re talking about folks who are really poor. They’ve been marginalized from the more traditional ways of making a living.
With unemployed or underemployed people, you want to make sure that they understand the causality between their actions and the environment, and I think the best way to that is helping them understand the links between their personal and financial well-being. Clean up your environment, and you are getting paid for it. That’s why B.E.S.T. is our single biggest program.
What has been the response to the BEST program? Are kids in the community taking to it?
Yes, especially since we’ve been able to hire some folks to go out there and teach people. We hired them to be “Green Way stewards” so they are heralding the coming of the Greenway. There are just two of them right now, but they’ve taken on various projects in the neighborhood. They do particular street planning projects or care projects. And they did this project called “The Green Line Project,” where they painted this green line that leads pedestrians down to The Hunts Point Riverside Park, which SSBx was integral in building.
So they do projects like that to connect people to the fact that they are doing some things to take care of the environment. And that’s been an incredible success. People ask what we are doing, and we tell them.
How can people start a Green Roof installation company?
It’s hard. We have been working on it for four years. At this point there is no market for it, because it is more expensive than a more traditional roof. People see the value in it, but because it’s still considered a niche market, the prices are that much more expensive.
I’m actually putting a Green Roof on my house, because I realize that what I’ll spend on the green roof will end up being more affordable.
Are there any other communities that have contacted about starting their own versions of SSBx?
Yes, a lot. In Philadelphia there is a group called The American Cities Foundation that works with a bunch of different groups around Philly. I think they are amazing, and I totally bonded with them. I’m probably going to be on a task force in Newark to help Cory Booker, because he’s just trying to green up the town there.
We also work with folks in Oakland, people like Van Jones he’s my West Coast partner in a lot of ways. I call him my little brother. He’s just amazing. And we’ve done some work in Biloxi, after the flood.
What we are trying to do is actually create our own case studies, so folks can take them and replicate them. We get so many requests, and I’m so honored, but we’re not set up enough yet to help them. So we are thinking of setting up a consulting arm, for people who can afford to pay, and there are plenty of people who can. Also, we want to make sure that we have some sort of step-by-step guidelines for people who are in the same situation we are in right now. Some people just need to know about good management practices that they can incorporate in their own communities.
The South Bronx is the birthplace of Hip-Hop, and it was born here nearly 35 years ago. I’m curious what Hip-Hop artists are you into right now?
I like Common. Mos Def is cool, I like him. When I was a kid I went to the jams. They were in everybody’s backyard. Sugar Hill was going on then, RUN-DMC, Grandmaster Flash. All those guys.
Thank You Majora
* * *
After the interview, I went outside to check out the Green Line. It’s not hard to miss! It’s a thick Kelly green line about two feet wide, painted onto the pavement. I had no pressing engagements so I decided to follow the green line to the end.
The Green Line led me through the South Bronx. I walked past a baseball field and some basketball courts outside of what looked like a new recreation center, where mothers walked with children and some people chilled on the fence drinking beer from their brown paper bags and smoking cigarettes.
I walked through some zones of residential houses, where the block was quiet, yet in full swing of life. Some bachata music blasted out of radio speakers propped up against open windows above. Kids were riding their bikes, some other guys were talking to each other around a parked car. My mind oscillated between thoughts about SSBx’s mission here in the Bronx, Environmental Justice in general, and the snippets of passing conversations I was hearing as I continued walking the Green Line.
I also thought about Hip-Hop and its roots here in the South Bronx. This is where it all started. I contemplated the idea of SSBx as an extension of Hip-Hop culture.
Hip-Hop has circled the world like nothing ever before it and it all started right here!
If Majora and the rest of SSBx are able to accomplish only half of what they are setting out to do, their impact could be substantial. We all have the opportunity to help set the template for how ecological standards will be set, so everyone can lead a more healthy life.
The Green Line led me to this nice spread of green grass where a soccer team was practicing their drills, and a few people walked lackadaisically along the perimeter of the field.
The sun was slowly setting behind some clouds to the west, yet the sky had not yet shifted to twilight. The evening chill had not really set in. I had just spent forty minutes walking through an industrial area. I walked past a huge, smelly sanitation lot, where garbage trucks spit and sputtered their noxious fumes. I walked past numerous car repair shops and some apartment houses, to finally find myself here at this park on the water in the South Bronx. I stopped and took a deep breathe, looking at the Manhattan skyline over the water. I also spotted Riker’s Island, the infamous NYC prison. It stood like a solitary island to my west. And I spotted the cars speeding along the Cross-Bronx Expressway to my east. I had to take a moment and thank SSBx to myself for creating this park.
After the sun set, I left the quiet park. I hopped into my car I had to deal with the rush hour traffic on the highway and I have Robert Moses to thank for that! |
The current article is also available in Estonian and Russian. Propastop starts with a new section, the purpose of which is to shed light on the various narratives used in propaganda – to show where they come from, why they are used as such and what is intended to be achieved by their dissemination. First, … Continue reading Narrative X-ray: russkii mir (russian world)
The concept of a ‘russian world’ is increasingly promoted by the Kremlin, underpinning much of its propaganda. We explore where it came from, how it’s used by propagandists, and what it hopes to achieve.
The annual recalling of the Night of the Bronze Soldier in the Russian media was buried under other themes this year, from reactions to Czech issues to the Finno-Ugric Congress.
The Pealtnägija story of US Special Forces stationed in Estonia was used to spread one of the Kremlin’s basic propaganda myths.
At the end of September, Arnold Meri, a hero of the USSR and an organizer of the March mass deportations had a monument erected in his memory. Read how the Estonian Russian language media wrote about the event.
So far The Estonian E-state has been discussed very little in the Russian media. Recently the TVC talk show discussed the digital nation, of course thickly in the propaganda channel’s characteristic way. Read about here!
The propaganda horoscope will focus this time on four topics that may be actively reported in the Russian media over the coming months.
In the beginning of November, the Russian media blamed the Baltic nations of rewriting history. The accusations on this topic were published by RuBaltic as well as shown during a one hour propaganda campaign on the Russian Defence Ministry owned television station Zvezda
Today we offer an overview of the people who are representing Estonia on Russian television channels. At the same time, we are offering an idea on how to find new opinion leaders who are associated with Estonia. Read about it here!
A cemetery in Estonian town Jõhvi caused lots of discussion on Russian media. This case has become a pretext for blaming Estonians as being Russophobe, minority discriminations, fabricating history and practising fascism. |
In this episode, renowned property management expert Tiffany Rosenbaum and seasoned host Bob Preston delve into property management failures and entrepreneurs' struggles. Drawing from their extensive experience, they underscore the importance of learning from failures and mistakes encountered in the journey of growing businesses.
- Failures are part of the entrepreneurial journey.
- Self-doubt is common among entrepreneurs.
- Effective processes are crucial for success.
- Micromanagement can hinder the growth.
- Anticipating customer needs can set a business apart.
- Continuous learning and embracing struggles are essential.
02:00 Introduction and Background
04:02 Importance of Discussing Property Management Failures
04:50 Struggles and Self-Doubt in Entrepreneurship
14:07 LeadSimple Midroll Commercial
17:20 Common Failures in Property Management
20:50 Implementing Procedures and Processes
28:30 Embracing Struggles and Continuous Learning
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Transcript of This Episode
Bob Preston (00:00)
Hello, brainstormers. This is Bob Preston, your host, broadcasting from our Property Management Brainstorm Studio in Del Mar, California. If you're new here, please subscribe for ongoing access to our great episodes. And if you like what you hear, please forward it with a positive review. Before we dive in today, I would like to give a quick shout-out to our amazing sponsors for helping to support the podcast, Upkeep Media, SureVestor, VPM Solutions, RentScale, Second Nature, Showdigs, Blanket, APM Help, Zinspector, and today's feature sponsor, Lead Simple, who you will hear more about in a brief mid-roll about halfway through the episode.
Today's episode is a departure from the norm, offering a unique perspective on property management. Rather than focusing on success, we delve into the realm of failure. Our guest, Tiffany Rosenbaum, co-founder of Rosenbaum Realty Group, Repairmasters, and Stunning Stays, shares her insights on property management failures. We explore the valuable lessons that can be learned from these missteps and why they are crucial in the property management business. This unconventional approach promises to make this episode a standout, so don't miss it.
Bob Preston (02:55)
Hey Tiffany, welcome to Property Management Brainstorm.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (02:58)
Thank you for having me, Bob. It's exciting.
Bob Preston (03:00)
I've been looking forward to this because we chatted about it before we started. I'm confident we've crossed paths before in this industry, but we've never actually met. So, this has been fun. And I want to thank you so much for being here. I always like to start with my guests introducing themselves, so let's roll with that. Can you please tell our guests about yourself?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (03:17)
Yes, my name is Tiffany Rosenbaum. I'm out of Arizona, originally from Texas, born and raised, but I have started three different companies and love doing it and love to speak about the challenges that come with that because I think the true story behind any entrepreneur has many struggles and I want to put that out there, that it's okay to have struggle. That's a little bit about me.
Bob Preston (03:41)
When we started chatting about this podcast and topics we could discuss, you floated the concept of property management failures. It's an exciting topic. As I said in my preamble, most podcasts focus on success, how to get better, and all this kind of stuff. And I'm sure we'll touch on that today, too. But why did you suggest this topic? And why is it so important for us to discuss this?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (04:02)
Because I don't think we put out what we see on social media. We see all the perfect, and everybody's having success. No one has failures, but in reality, every single person has a story. And anybody successful has had many failures because they've learned every shot they don't take, they fall anyway, and they don't win. So, to win, you've got to be able to fail, learn from it, grow from it, and understand that it's part of the process.
I enjoy telling people about my failures because I hope they can learn from them and skip those steps, getting farther in the game a lot faster.
Bob Preston (04:42)
Some people don't want to reveal their vulnerabilities or the places where they may have failed or had or struggled. Right. You know, one of the areas I always struggled with was self-doubt. Like, am I doing this the right way? Am I sure about this? Oh, my gosh. I wonder if people are going to think I'm an idiot. You know, this kind of thing. And this is because I'm harsh on myself. And so that was what led to this, you know, self-doubt aspect.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (05:07)
Many people have self-doubt and learn that they either have to get a coach or know how to work through that. When you're an entrepreneur and a business owner, if you don't have partnerships, you must figure out your decisions, how you will make them, and how your company will go. And so if you're not careful, you can get into that self-doubt. Is this the right decision? If it's not, I talk about that a lot. We often have to make a decision and run with it, and we're going to learn and grow from it, or it was the right decision, and we'd continue.
Bob Preston (05:40)
I've been on many podcasts, too, as have you. And people have always asked me, well, what was it like starting your business? And I always compared it to climbing a set of stairs. You take your first step based on what you've learned from others and what you've heard at NARPM meetings. But often, in the early stages, you can only afford a few of the resources you might have later, you know, as you grow the company. Right. So you take your first step based on what you've learned from others, what you've heard at NARPA meetings, whatever. But often, in the early stages, you can only afford a few of the resources you might have later as you grow with the company, right? You have tools and resources you can afford when you implement those. And then, you know, things eventually break, like whatever you've implemented breaks or fails, or you come up with some failure based on the feedback you're getting, and then, you know, you don't always know until you have that problem, right? So we regroup, review, re-evaluate, excuse me, how we do things, and then take a step forward. And that's that quantum leap up to the next step. And then you run for a while; something breaks; you get what I'm saying, right? Can you relate to that analogy?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (06:39)
100%. Oh, yes. In property management, I find about 500 units; you're going to break completely, and you have a lot more money to hire the team. I mean, it's like there are stepping zones, as far as I can see. There is a break before that, but like 750 and then a thousand, and then to continue to level up, you have to continue to be willing to break it and go, okay, this only worked for this, now I have to break it, reanalyze it, revamp and continue. Otherwise, you either stay or start diminishing.
Bob Preston (07:08)
I'm curious about where you were on this spectrum because I've talked to many property management owners. I was always very conservative. I wanted things to be in place and a solid foundation before I grew. So I was willing to spend a bit in advance, more than I should have. Other property management owners are signing all the doors; we'll figure the rest out later, right? And then all of a sudden, there's chaos, right? Bring your team to the knees while you figure things out. Where are you on that spectrum?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (07:37)
Oh, now or when I started? That's two different answers. When I started, I started from a place of no money, like I couldn't feed my child and had no AC and heat in the house. I started from an investor's perspective. Then, we realized that there was a company behind us and decided to bring on owners. And when we brought on owners, we needed to figure out what we were doing. We were bringing on owners. We became a part of NARPM. We were learning, but we were failing probably every day. And then we realized, OK. And we were trying to hire the cheapest people. How inexpensive can I get it? Because I want to make these margins. But in reality, it created turnover. It created chaos. And then it was like, OK, we need processes, procedures. We need an audit team; we need all these things that develop my team and realize the people are actually what elevate your company. It's not you; it's the team behind you. So, I took time to understand that and realized it took me time. It wasn't like when I started my company; my team was the best thing in the world. I lost a lot of outstanding players because I didn't understand that.
And I also fired people because I needed to give them the toolbox to be successful. And so now it's all about the team. It's all about the processes. It's all about the procedures. It's all about that. But when I started to know, it was probably a bit of chaos because my husband and I were doing it. So, we can do it. It's all in our heads, right? Yeah. It wasn't the smartest thing, but we learned and grew.
Bob Preston (09:12)
That's an interesting point because it depends on what you can afford to do in the early stages. I was fortunate enough to have the resources from another company I've been involved in and did pretty well at that I could invest upfront. Right. Only some people can do that. It sounds like you couldn't, so you have to bootstrap it. And maybe that's when you make all the mistakes. But you learn you get religion quickly. Right. OK, now, wait a minute. We can't do this again. Let you know that this is unacceptable. So, let's figure this out. But that's interesting. Those are some of the stairsteps we talked about just a minute ago.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (09:42)
100%. And yeah, you can bootstrap it, but what you said is very important. You have to invest in it. I had the mindset of how cheap I could hire someone because that meant my bottom line would be better. But in reality, those two things don't equate because when you hire the cheapest, you get turnover, you get unsuccessful, and you get chaos. But when you hire people who have been in the industry, know it, or have the education behind them, they all say they help elevate your company. So that's where we made it, and I was. When we started, we didn't have processes and procedures, so I was a micromanager. It wasn't fun. I made all the mistakes but quickly realized that that has to change. It has to be about the numbers, the KPIs, and things like that.
Bob Preston (20:35.055)
Well, that's good. You learn that along the way. So, looking back then, what is the biggest failure or mistake you've experienced in your businesses?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (20:47.885)
Oh, I could say a lot. There's a lot, but it's micromanaging and not understanding that the people are what it's all about. That's where I started wrong. I would micromanage and ask them, hey, was this done today? And I created a bottleneck because they would come to me and say, is this how it's done? And something needed to be documented better. So it was like chaos, and it became an unempowering place to work instead of an empowered place. And so, I changed it. I realized that the people were number one, but that was my biggest issue because we created a revolving door at the beginning. And that's what's important to realize: with the people, your company will go somewhere.
Bob Preston (11:25)
That's interesting because I had similar problems when I started my business. I called it the hub and spoke, right? I was the wheel's hub, and then the people were the spokes, going out to the wheel, and everything had to run through Bob. That is the wrong way to run a company. Once you have people in that mode, it's tough to break them, so get them out of that mode. And so you're right. One of the ways we had to do that was by eventually letting people go and bringing people in who could have a little more autonomy. And I realized, wow, I didn't spend enough time training these people or giving them the time or the patience to get better at their jobs. So, that was my biggest failure along the way as well. And making hiring mistakes, right?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (12:12)
Oh man, oh, I have one of the worst. Do you know that hiring mistake where it's like the worst hire you've ever had, and you still get a pit in your stomach when you think about the person? Yeah, I've had that one, but it was in my accounting department, so it was even worse. It wasn't good. But I didn't have the documents or anything to prove, but I started auditing my bank account, started going down, and I was like, something's wrong here. And so finally, I did have someone behind the scenes that came to me and said, hey, Tiff, here's all your proof. And I said, okay. And so I fired on the spot, but it took too long. So it cost us a lot of money. But you talk about hiring. You know Starbucks has a 30, 60, 90-day hiring process. And let's be honest here: they sell coffee and a little food. In the property management industry, your cycle is like one month. And how many of us train for more than a month? Most property management companies I've talked to and attended conferences are like, oh, you know, a couple of days. I'll train for a few days, and then they'll be good. And so we throw them, we used to call it the fire hose. We used to say, just be ready for the fire hose. It will hurt for a little bit, but it'll be better. But I thought about that. I looked at Chick-fil-A and Starbucks, and I'm like, they have such an intense training program. So does Ritz Carlton. If they're doing it this way, there's something important about it because they keep their people, and their people find it essential. I made every mistake in the book on training, but that's one of the places where companies have to realize. You wait to see the return, but you do over time.
Midroll Commercial, LeadSimple (14:07)
Bob Preston (15:00)
Yeah, I was probably batting around 500 on hiring. About one out of every two stuck and landed. Then, the other big failure I had, or a mistake, was when I knew I had someone unsuitable for the company, not handling that sooner or waiting too long. And I know I've had people on the episode on the podcast episodes before where we've talked about this, and you have this sort of toxic person in the environment. As the business owner, I would always recognize it, but I'm like, well, it's okay. You make all these excuses for yourself. And then, finally, when I would take action, I could feel the relief on the team, almost like a veil was lifted. And even some people commented, well, it's about time. And why'd that take you so long? This kind of thing.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (15:49)
And you know what's sad about that? Usually, the reason why we don't fire them, as for me or other people I've talked to, is like, I don't want to get thrown back into that position because usually the owner at the very beginning of the stages, not now, but as the owner, I find that people are like, but that puts more work on my plate really in reality, it puts more work on your plate no matter what. Because if you don't fire them, you're going to have to clean up the mess, which I find that if you keep someone on every day, You keep them it's like a, it's like three thousand dollars that you're losing because a person is creating a bad work environment for other people. Hence, you lose the good players because they also want to avoid being around the weak players.
Bob Preston (16:35)
No question about it. And typically, if someone else is the right person, they're not happy either, probably causing more problems. And then you're right; the cost of having the wrong person on your team increases daily. And I've learned, you know, that the hard way over the years, that it's almost better off not making a hire or not having a person in that role than having the wrong person. So, you know, slow to hire, quick to fire. That's what I've learned, and I made many mistakes.
So, in my consulting business, I also see a few areas where problems arise, or failures are made, mistakes, or whatever we want to call them. And, you know, tenant screening, lack of legal compliance. I mean, across the board, I've seen the whole gamut. What are some of the common aspects of the property management business where you see things can break down or fail?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (17:27)
Oh man, I find property management is like a domino effect. If the first leg isn't working, the second one won't work. And so you almost have a whole thing of breakdowns unless you hit it first on the head. So, for instance, if you move a tenant in and it's a horrible experience from the moment they move in, you suddenly have an issue that lasts almost an entire stay.
It costs the owner more money because guess what? If they move in badly, they'll be nitpicking everything, and more maintenance requests will come in. But then, also, what does that do? It bogs down the team. So, hitting upfront and anticipating is where property management has issues.
We sometimes anticipate the owner's need or the guest's need, I mean the resident's needs; we wait, and so it becomes defensive instead of offensive. And in big companies like Ritz Carlton, Walmart, and Amazon, they anticipate. They want to anticipate what the customer needs and wants, and that way, they create a wow factor. And so I know I thoroughly answered that entirely differently. But you can have a breakdown in every little bitty thing, like maintenance, which is a massive breakdown. It's a vast breakdown if it's not run smoothly. Um, leasing, um, owner communication can be a huge breakdown. We use Help Scout to make sure we can monitor that. Um, and we love it, but we transitioned from Gmail cause that was a massive breakdown because I couldn't monitor how fast our response was. I thought I knew, but you can't tell without actual data, right?
Bob Preston (19:17
It's an interesting response to the question, though, because if you don't pick your starting point, I think tenant moving is a perfect example because then the problems can continue to cascade through the entire tenancy, beginning with, okay, the person's already riled up. So then you will generate more angst about the property condition or things aren't in great shape when you move them in. So then you have this ongoing, well, I'm going to show them, and it's almost never-ending because then the problems can continue to cascade through the entire tenancy. Beginning with, okay, the person's already riled up, so then you're going to generate more angst about the property condition, or maybe things aren't in great shape when you move them in, so then you have this ongoing, well, I'm going to show them, and it's almost never-ending. And then your people need help responding. So, these problems or failures continue to cascade through the whole process. So that's a perfect point.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (19:54)
Yeah, and the same thing happens with owners. The property management company is so excited that they want to bring on this owner. So they're like, oh, you know what? He doesn't have a few papers, not a big deal. I'll start advertising. I'll start working through this. But then the communication drops slightly, meaning he still owes you stuff. You're doing stuff. So, all of a sudden, it becomes chaos. And then, guess what? It's not the owner's fault.
It's the property management company's fault. And when you have an owner come on that is not smooth, that whole transition becomes chaos and becomes already distrust. So, the owner process of bringing someone on is so important to dive into. And we've made every mistake. We've made that mistake. Oh, bring them on. We want the properties. Then we bring them on, and chaos ensues. And then, guess what? When their contract is done, they leave after a year anyway because the trust was broken from day one.
Bob Preston (20:49)
So, is it possible to fight against failures and mistakes without becoming ultimately OCD in your business?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (20:57)
Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. When you can fight back against mistakes, you have a solid team and create value and empowerment in your team. So, I made a SWOT team. It's my data analysis, process architect, and audit team. And so they audit calls, all these things, and they get feedback from my team, the residents, and the owners. And so we're constantly evolving and realizing we want feedback so we can get better. We can only get better if we're asking for feedback. And it's always hedging the mistakes. No one's perfect, but we want to minimize the errors to get better. And that's what entrepreneurship is, right? It's trying to figure out how we continue to improve and keep the mistakes from overtaking our companies.
Bob Preston (21:46)
I like that because it's almost like a peer review, too. Right? Some team members audit or make up the SWAT team. So you know, you're allowing the team to point out the flaws or maybe the weaknesses in the processes and procedures that you've established instead of you, Tiffany, saying, do it this way, it's got to be done this way, and being on top of every little point along the way.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (22:11)
Yeah, my audit team is impressive, and I'm very grateful for them because they're over my culture, audits, and everything. After all, as business owners, we either create jobs for ourselves or breathe life into the company and step out.
So we can create jobs for ourselves or breathe life and go, okay, who do I need? What do I need to make this generating asset per se? And how can I empower my team to love it as much as I do?
Bob Preston (22:38)
So, we've identified some problem areas, breaking points, and common failure areas and talked philosophically about running a business. So, what's the solution here? Let's talk about the flip side. What do you do, and what are the main takeaways from this conversation?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (22:54)
To hedge the mistakes that companies make?
You have to hire the SWAT team. I do. No one talks about it, but all the big companies have auditors, process architects, etc. As I was researching Ritz-Carlton, Amazon, and these big companies that were Fortune 500 and grew exponentially, I realized I needed a SWAT team.
And I think an owner needs help to do it. It's not possible. Otherwise, you're working around the clock. Because I have four people on my SWOT team, and they work 40 hours, sometimes longer, to ensure things run smoothly. You are so, hiring process architects, auditors, and data analysis. Hence, having your numbers at your fingertips daily is vital to hedging companies' mistakes. Otherwise, we're always on the defense. And you have to transition to the offense instead of defense if you want to hedge the errors.
Bob Preston (23:56)
Okay, so do they take it to the next step and then put in place the procedures and processes and the workflow, if you will, because I mean, ultimately, that's the solution, right? You have to have all this stuff in place and then have a way of monitoring how your business is doing against those benchmarks, as you call it, right?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (24:14)
So, we hired a process architect first and then developed the SWOT team. So, I need to build the processes. I am involved with what they do because I want my company to run a certain way. I have one meeting with them. They build it out. They audit it, and then they manage it. They also culture and audit everything that goes into my property management system daily. So our property management system is PropertyWare, and then we link up to LeadSimple our processes and procedures. And so they build all that out, handle it, and then I get reports. Then I have my data analysis individual who builds all my data for all my companies into one location so I can see everything on Microsoft Power BI.
Bob Preston (25:00)
Very cool. We've used LeadSimple, too, and it's a powerful solution. Have you had any experience where people don't try to use LeadSimple or log in and follow the process? And what happens when that goes down? It's as if someone needs to do it the way the architects have outlined.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (25:27)
So that's why my architects are also overmanaging it and giving statistics on who's in it and who's not. If they're not, then it's verbal, and then it's a write-up, and then it's a let-go. I discussed this with my team. It's not an option. It's your LeadSimple as a must, whether you're on board or not, because you can't put a system in, and only half your company does it. Otherwise, it doesn't work. It breaks horribly when you do it that way.
Bob Preston (26:00)
Yeah, that's a good point. And you know there's training upfront. You've taught them how to use it. You know, the architects have designed the processes.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (26:09)
So, I needed to train my process architects. They got trained by Lead Simple, and then it came through. I hired my second process architect, who worked with a property management company, and then I had them trained because I'm not a process architect. It would have gone better, so I ensured someone could train them because a business owner can only be good at some things.
It's different from how it works, so you must find the people who can train them and ensure smooth operation.
Bob Preston (26:38)
Yeah, it's interesting because we had systems manuals in the beginning, and they were, you know, in PDF files on the file server. So, it was good that we had the processes captured, and I always had people come in and study them, and they had to sign off on, okay, here's your procedure. But, you know, I never saw somebody in the middle of a job or the middle of a day pull out the binder and go, like, look to the specific page or try to find it. It would be impossible anyway. So, the move to Lead Simple was huge. It was pretty easy for the most part because once we learned how to program LeadSimple, I had some people on my team who could take what was already in writing and then implement it. And the other thing that I liked about LeadSimple was that you could correct it or alter it, modify it, if you will, in real-time versus the old PDFs, you know, you had to release a new version.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (27:40)
Yeah, the PDFs were horrible. And, as you said, no one looked at them, so they became unusable. And then, guess what? It came to me, and questions came to me instead of being happy and like it should be. I was the book instead of them using the book.
Bob Preston (27:55)
Right? Yeah. Or the person who was out correcting like, Hey, you didn't do it the right way. Let me show you where it is. Then you flip to the page and point to, you know, section five, item one. It's ridiculous, right? So many people are still doing it that way, and worse yet, some people I know that I follow in my business still need to capture processes. It's still floating around in people's heads. So those listening, you know, take this as a word of advice.
Hey, Tiffany, I'd love to keep chatting. This is fun and a very passionate conversation. But in the interest of time, I'd like to wrap up today because we both have things to do in our busy days. What are your thoughts? Would you like to share them with our listeners when wrapping up?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (28:32)
Be okay with the struggle. Bring it in, harness it, and get through it. Continue to grow and learn. No matter, we all went to high school or college. After college, get a Ph.D. in the business that you're in and keep running with it. Be excited about it because you'll have struggles, but on the other side, there's a beautiful rainbow waiting for you.
Bob Preston (28:55)
I like that a lot. And don't be afraid to be vulnerable and admit you're struggling. That's key.
Tiffany Rosenbaum (29:00)
Everybody does, but I appreciate you having me on, Bob. You are a joy to speak to, and I love the passion behind all this.
Bob Preston (29:07)
All right. If someone wants to contact you to discuss it further and learn more about it, how would they do that?
Tiffany Rosenbaum (29:14)
People can find me on Instagram and social media, Tiffany Rosenbaum. Then, you can email me at [email protected]. I answer all the questions that people reach out to me personally.
Bob Preston (29:26)
Great conversation. It has been a pleasure having you on the show, Tiffany. Today's episode was excellent. Thanks so much for being on the show. All right, take care. |
Coffee Culture in Doral: The Best Cafés and Breweries
Hidden amidst Doral's luxurious settings and opulent spaces lies a thriving coffee culture. Whether it's the aroma of freshly ground beans or the lure of intricate latte art, Doral's coffee shops are gaining notoriety as must-visit spots for every coffee aficionado. Offering a unique blend of authentic recipes and modern twists, the best cafés in Doral have something for everyone.
Doral's Rise in Coffee Fame
Doral has historically been known for its golf courses and elite neighborhoods, but recently, it's the city's coffee shops that have been stealing the limelight. The streets of Doral now brim with passionate baristas and cozy corners, giving coffee lovers a reason to extend their visits. Doral's commitment to quality and authenticity has propelled it to the forefront of Miami's coffee scene.
The Best Cafés in Doral: A Flavorful Journey
- Pasión Del Cielo: If there's one name that resonates with Doral's coffee enthusiasts, it's Pasión Del Cielo. Known for sourcing beans from the world's top coffee regions, this café tops the list of best cafés in Doral on various websites like Wanderlog. Each cup promises an unparalleled experience, transporting drinkers to far-off lands.
- Macondo Coffee Roasters: When Doral residents talk about their favorite coffee shops, Macondo often pops up in the conversation. Listed on the Eater Miami's guide, this spot is a nod to Doral's penchant for excellence. Its specialty? Handcrafted brews that capture the essence of the bean.
Unique Coffee Creations: A Doral Special
The best cafés in Doral aren't just about the regular cup of joe. Here, innovation meets tradition. Some coffee shops in Doral are known for their out-of-the-box concoctions, offering a refreshing change to regular brews.
- Café Caramel with a Twist: Some of Doral's coffee shops are adding their unique spin to this classic, infusing it with flavors ranging from vanilla to coconut, ensuring every sip is a delightful surprise.
- Affogato Delights: Combining the richness of coffee with the creaminess of ice cream, this Italian treat is fast becoming a favorite in Doral's coffee shops.
Pair it Up: More than Just Coffee
The best cafés in Doral know that a perfect coffee experience is about the complete package. Many coffee shops in the city are upping their game by offering a range of pastries, sandwiches, and desserts that perfectly complement their brews.
- Croissants and Macchiatos: A combination that's hard to resist. Several coffee shops in Doral are serving up freshly baked croissants, making them the perfect accompaniment to a strong macchiato.
- Tarts and Espressos: If you're looking for a quick bite in Doral's coffee shops, a tart can be a delightful choice. The tangy flavors are a delightful contrast to the robustness of an espresso.
Relax at Provident Doral at the Blue Miami
After spending a day exploring Doral's coffee culture, Provident Doral at the Blue Miami offers a serene environment to relax and reminisce. Nestled comfortably in Doral, it ensures visitors are never too far from their next coffee adventure. The luxurious surroundings combined with Doral's rich coffee offerings make for a memorable stay.
Doral's coffee culture is vibrant, diverse, and ever-evolving. As the city continues to grow and flourish, its coffee shops and best cafés stand as a testament to Doral's commitment to excellence and innovation. Whether you're a seasoned coffee connoisseur or someone looking to explore new flavors, Doral promises an experience that's both enriching and invigorating. So the next time you're in Doral, make sure to immerse yourself in its coffee scene — one cup at a time. |
BILL: HB 961
TITLE: State Department of Education - School Psychologist Recruitment Program
DATE: March 1, 2023
COMMITTEE: Ways and Means
CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM
The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, supports House Bill 961.
House Bill 961 seeks to establish the School Psychologist Recruitment Program within the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Additionally, the bill requires that the Program provide professional development programs and aid for school psychologists and individuals seeking to become school psychologists, as well as reimbursements to school psychologists for professional conference expenses.
Maryland’s superintendents recognize the importance of promoting the positive mental health of all students through the development of impactful relationships and by teaching resilience. Student mental health is of particular importance as students are faced with the post-traumatic effects of a global health pandemic. School counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, pupil personnel workers, and school nurses collaborate with staff, parents/guardians, and the community to overcome barriers to learning for students. The emphasis on multi-tiered systems of support, which also include Section 504 accommodations and restorative practices, further supports these efforts to emphasize relationships, rigor, and readiness for all Maryland students. By removing barriers, providing resources, and teaching appropriate social and emotional skills, students gain the tools to be productive citizens.
School psychology is currently a critical shortage area for all local school systems in Maryland. Therefore, systems would certainly benefit from a Statewide recruitment efforts outlined in this bill. PSSAM appreciates the language in this bill that emphasizes the recruitment and support of historically underrepresented candidates. Diverse school psychologists are a benefit to our diverse student population as they navigate a variety of issues, including discrimination, bias, and cultural barriers; lack of access to resources and mental health providers; mental health stigma; poverty; social media; and trauma.
For these reasons, PSSAM supports House Bill 961 and urges a favorable report. |
The embarrassing development happened on Friday, September 9, 2022, when Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, sat in state to receive homage from all chiefs who owe allegiance to the Asogli State.
Togbe Afede rejects Kennedy Agyapong’s gifts at yam festival (videos)
Gifts presented to the chiefs and people of the Asogli State in the Volta Region during the ongoing Teza (Yam Festival) by the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, were publicly rejected.
According to Graphic Online, Kennedy Agyapong was there in person in Ho to pay homage to the traditional leader, but his gifts were rejected, and he was told that his presence and the gifts were unsolicited.
The state-owned news outlet added that right at the durbar ground, some sub-chiefs, serving as intermediaries to receive the gifts on behalf of Togbe Afede, rejected them and the NPP flagbearer hopeful, lawmaker, and businessman and asked him to take them away.
The Asogli State chose to reject Agyapong’s gifts because of some disrespectful utterances about Togbe Afede.
Explaining the basis for the rejection of the gifts to Graphic Online, the palace spokesperson said it was a result of “his gross lack of respect” for the Agbogbomefia.
“A few years ago, Kennedy referred to our Agbogbomefia as a corrupt person who used his position as the chairman of the National Investment Bank board to do fishy deals.
“We have also not forgotten the comment Kennedy Agyapong made some years ago about the Ewe and Ga people,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson dispelled reports that Agyapong was chased out from the festival being held as the Asogli Palace at Ho-Bankoe.
“He left without anyone running after him soon after we told him that his presence and homage were unsolicited.”
Videos and photos shared by the news outlet show the gifts, including cartons of bottled water, being packed back into the car in which they were conveyed to the durbar ground.
Kennedy Agyapong, who was sitting close to the Volta Regional NPP Chairman, Kafui Woanya, is seen leaving the place with his entourage after waving goodbye to a few people at the durbar ground.
The one-month festival seeks to highlight unity, reconciliation, stocktaking, and development and is also a platform for the annual reunion with the ancestors and the re-affirmation of allegiance by all chiefs and their subjects in the Asogli State to the Agbogbome Stool.
This year's yam festival of the chiefs and people of Asogli State is being climaxed this weekend under the distinguished patronage of Togbe Afede XIV.
The festival started on August 6, 2022, and is expected to end on Sunday, September 11.
A State Grand Durbar at the Jubilee Park in Ho has been scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2022.
A large number of corporate bodies, including banks and other business groups, political and religious groups, as well as individuals from far and near, flocked to the Asogli Palace to demonstrate their love and respect to Togbe Afede XIV and pay homage to him when he sat in state on Friday (September 9, 2022).
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What’s the Healthier Snack: Fruit or Nuts?
Page Last Updated: 22nd October 2021
Fruit and nuts are healthy — a simple statement that’s hard to disagree with. But when it comes to the question of which is best, things become quite a bit more complicated.
‘Healthier’ in what way? ‘Better’ for what?
It should come as no surprise that different fruits and nuts do different things, and each can be great depending on the time and situation they’re consumed in.
Here, we consider some of the major health benefits of both fruit and nuts to showcase reasons why each makes a fantastic snack option.
The Health Benefits of Eating Fruit
Well, where to start? Fruits provide a sweet tasty snack, or can easily be integrated into meals or nutritious shakes. And they are simply packed full of vitamins and minerals that are fantastic for your health. There are so many incredible benefits to including fruit in your diet, we won’t list them all here, but here are a few of our favourites:
Decrease the risk of diabetes: Studies have shown that a fruit-rich diet can help to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes, thanks in no small part to the boost in vitamin C it can provide. Grapefruit is a particularly good choice for this, with around 69 mg of vitamin C in just one small fruit.
Lower cholesterol: Are you concerned about your cholesterol levels? Fruit can actually help to lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and increase ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. Just two apples a day could be all you need to see great results.
Improve digestion and aid weight loss: Fruit is a quick and delicious way of supplying our bodies with dietary fibre, which helps to normalise bowel movements, control blood sugar levels and potentially help to lose weight (amongst many other fantastic benefits). Although pretty much all fruit and veg will be good for your gut health, one single pear is packed with 20% of your daily fibre requirement (around 5.5g) so add this to your everyday meals to keep your tum in working order.
Boost bone density: As we age our bones can get weaker, causing a greater risk of injury. While strength training is great to future proof against this, getting your five a day is another excellent way to consume the minerals needed for stronger bones. Try including 50g of prunes in your daily diet for results (particularly great for postmenopausal women).
Healthy teeth: Although sweet tasting, fruit can also actually help to decrease your risk of cavities. In fact, fibre-rich cranberries have been shown to halt the activity of cavity-causing bacteria (as well as increasing gut health and vitamin C levels).
The Health Benefits of Eating Nuts
A Christmas staple, perfect in a buttery paste to smear on your toast and great for sprinkling on sweet and savoury dishes, nuts are a quick and convenient snack food. Here are some of our favourite health facts about them.
Improve heart health: Packed with unsaturated healthy fats, nuts help to keep cholesterol in check. They’re also great sources of omega 3. As a result, people who regularly eat nuts are less likely to have heart attacks or die from heart disease. While most nuts have benefits here, studies have shown that walnuts can improve blood pressure and circulatory blood flow.
Great source of calcium: Snacking on nuts will also help you to hit your daily calcium goals, helping to strengthen your teeth, bones and muscle function. Of all the nuts, almonds pack the highest calcium punch. 22 nuts will help you with around 8% of your recommended daily intake.
Boost your immune system: Nuts are an excellent source of vitamin E, which helps to maintain healthy skin and eyes, while strengthening your immune system. It’s also believed to protect against cell damage that could cause cancer. If your vitamin E levels are too low, you could leave yourself prone to infections and muscle weakness. Hazelnuts are an excellent source, and one 28g serving equates to around 28% of your daily vitamin E requirements.
Aid weight loss: While many types of nuts are quite high in calories, they also have a high protein content which helps you to feel fuller for longer. A 2007 study showed that people who consumed more healthy peanut products passed significantly higher amounts of fat in their stool, showing a lower absorption of calories. Including a small handful of peanuts as part of your afternoon snack might help to control your weight.
Supply your body with antioxidants: Nuts contain a range of powerful antioxidants that can help prevent chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity. Enjoy some delicious pistachios, which, relative to other nuts, are a particularly rich source of these antioxidants.
So as you can see, both fruits and nuts offer a wealth of incredible health benefits - we’d recommend including both in your daily diet if you can.
Still wondering which is best for your fitness goals?
Here’s a look at a few common fitness scenarios and the healthy snacks best suited to them.
Looking for a low carb treat?
Berries. Berries are sweet and delicious, so it’s easy to see why so many people assume that they’re chock-full of sugar.
As a matter of fact, though, berries are among the least sugary, most fibre-rich, fruits out there.
100g of blackberries contains 4.88g of sugar and 5.3g of total dietary fibre. For raspberries, that number per 100g is 4.42g of sugar and 6.5g of fibre, while 100g of strawberries - possibly the sweetest berry of them all - nets you 4.89g of sugar and 2.0g of dietary fibre.
This low sugar content makes berries the ideal sweet treat and nutrient-bomb for any dessert-lover on a ketogenic diet who’s carefully counting their carbs.
Bulking up with extra calories?
Walnuts. Walnuts are a delicious crumbly snack, and undeniably one of the easiest types of nuts to gorge yourself on in a single sitting. Like all nuts, they’ve got a great nutrient profile, boasting enormous quantities of Omega 3 fatty acids, as well as nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
They also contain a whopping 654 calories per 100g, with almost all of that being in the form of healthy, satiating fats.
For the bulker or hard-gainer who can’t seem to eat enough no matter what, a few handfuls of walnuts will prove more than enough to get the job done.
Fuelling up pre- or post-workout?
Bananas. Bananas are one of the most filling fruits by far. A snack perfectly suited to the busy-but-health-conscious man or woman on the go; they’re also famously high in the mineral potassium.
Bananas happen to be one of the most calorie and sugar-dense fruits out there, with 100g of banana containing 89 calories and 12.23g of sugar5. The sugars in bananas are simple, and combined with the fruit’s incredibly low fat and protein contents (0.33g fat and 1.09g protein per 100g), they digest rapidly.
Bananas are the perfect food for getting a quick sugar release pre- or post-workout, either to top-up or replenish the body’s glycogen stores for a max effort endeavour, or to begin recovering following one.
Interested in more food tips? Check out our Nutrition & Diet pages for more info, learn about some common diet and nutrition myths, or browse all of our Recipes to find healthy meal and snack ideas. If you’re learning about nutrition as part of a healthy living regime, then heading to your nearest PureGym and booking a session with one of our expert Personal Trainers is a great way to start. |
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, GoT actors gave deep insight into the epic season eight battle. It’s the first time most of the main characters will come face to face in one scene since the show’s debut in 2011.
The battle will take place at Winterfell and pits an “uneasy collection of allies” against the Night King’s army. It will be the longest consecutive battle sequence ever committed to film and required 11 weeks of grueling night shoots, nearly 800 people working through the night and training nearly a year in advance.
The battle is one of two episodes in the final season directed by Miguel Sapochnik, the man behind the life-altering “Hardhome” and Emmy-winning “Battle of the Bastards.” (So, yeah, we’re in for a nightmare.) |
About my services
Hello, my name is Star. I specialize in love and all types of relationships. I use your name and date of birth, as well as anyone's you'd like to find out about, to spiritually tune into your energies. I will answer any questions you may have. I also provide dream analysis. Having a dream that you can't figure out, but feel as if it's trying to tell you something? Let's take a look and see what messages your guides have got for you🙂 Speak with you soon!
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SP 20 GHF
Powerful machines for large self-levelling floor tasks
The SP 20 GHF is a worm pump for self-levelling floor screed applications. Equipped with a 4 cyl. Kubota 50 hp (37 kW) gasoline engine compliant with Stage V emission standard, this machine is more powerful and allows high delivery distances. To guarantee continuous flow rate, even with metallic or synthetic fibers contained in the liquid screed, a new corner grid has been designed and a vibrator is equipped as standard. This pump can reach an output of 26 yd³/hr (20 m³/h)* and all needs of the users are fulfilled.
The design has been optimized for more user-friendly service and maintenance. We use reliable and high quality components which increase the lifetime of your self-levelling floorscreed pump.
- More powerful – meets all requirements of the current “Stage V” emission category
- Powerful and quiet gasoline engine
- Lower maintenance cost compared to an equivalent diesel engine
- Large gasoline tank with 40 liters volume
- Large hopper with safety grid – ideal to be filled by truck mixer
- Light and robust plastic canopy
- Large tool box
- Infinitely adjustable delivery rate
- Service-friendly, due to easily accessible parts |
In North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC, 135 S. Ct. 1101 (2015), the Supreme Court held that the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners (“Board”), a state agency, was not exempt from federal antitrust laws when it prohibited non-dentists from providing teeth whitening services in competition with the state’s licensed dentists.
The Court, thus, concluded that the antitrust laws apply to state agencies and regulatory boards comprised of market participants if the Board’s challenged conduct is not actively supervised by the state.
In the wake of that decision, state officials have sought advice from the FTC regarding antitrust compliance for state boards responsible for regulating occupations. In response to such requests, on October 14, 2015, the FTC Staff (“Staff”) issued guidance addressing the parameters of the “active supervision” requirement under the state action doctrine and its proper application, including the Staff’s perspective on when a state regulatory body requires active supervision in order to invoke the state action defense, and the factors that are relevant to determining whether the active supervision requirement is satisfied.
This guidance is an important tool to help state officials assess – and perhaps revise – the structure and operation of their regulatory boards to ensure they provide the necessary antitrust protection under the more narrow scope of the state action immunity doctrine.
Full content: Federal Trade Commission
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world. |
Subtitle With More Than 25 Activities, A Fold-out Poster, and 30 Stickers!
Description Description Little explorers can celebrate the most important people, places, histories and wildlife that the USA has to offer with this fact-packed activity book all about national monuments.
Create your own welcome message to inscribe on Lady Liberty’s plinth, search for T. rex fossils at Dinosaur National Monument, and visit the home of President Lincoln.
Along the way, you’ll find word searches, spot-the-difference puzzles, math games, colouring pages
and more ways to explore these special pockets of US history.
The National Monuments of the USA Activity Book
comes with over 25 unique activities, dozens of facts about US culture and history, and a fold-out poster featuring a list of all the monuments and a map of where they can be found. Plus, get creative with 50 spectacular stickers of the monuments and the people and animals they honour
Chris Turnham’s true-to-life art adds a colourful dimension to this fun yet educational workbook that inspires and captivates. This book is perfect for a rainy afternoon during summer holidays, for little travellers excited for those long road trips
, or for planning vacations across the country. History is made every day, and the National Monuments are there to be explored – so what are you waiting for? Take the first step on your journey across the states with the National Monuments of the USA Activity Book
!Also in the series:
- National Monuments of the USA
- National Parks of the USA
- National Parks of the USA Activity Book |
Ubuntu comes with iptables, a configuration utility that allows you to manage rules for Netfilter, the Linux Kernel firewall. Using iptables you can manipulate packets as they leave, enter, or are forwarded across network interfaces on a Linux operating system. Today we’ll look at how to block SSH traffic going through an Ubuntu 20.04 system acting as a router.
I have a basic configuration here with three IP subnets – 192.168.0.0/24 where the SSH client lives, 10.0.0.0/30 is a transit network between routers, and 172.16.0.0/24 where the SSH server lives. We will be configuring
Ubuntu20.04-Firewall with iptables to block SSH traffic.
Iptables requires no external package installation with apt-get or otherwise, it comes stock-and-standard with a fresh Ubuntu 20.04 Server or Desktop OS. You can verify the status of your iptables rules like so:
iptables -S -P INPUT ACCEPT -P FORWARD ACCEPT -P OUTPUT ACCEPT
By default, iptables is configured to pretty much do nothing. No packets are filtered and no NAT (network address translation) is configured.
The syntax for iptables can be quite confusing, and since I myself am not configuring them on a daily basis, I always need to reference documentation (or someone else’s blog) for how to configure something specific. It’s a good idea to take a quick look at the basic syntax though. The command structure looks like this, taken straight from the iptables manual page:
iptables [-t table] [mode] [chain] [rulenum] [rule-specification] [options]
tableis which type of table you want to use. Usually it’s filter for dropping disallowed packets, or nat for translating packets. Filter is default if none is specified.
modeis an action, -A (append), -I (insert), -D (delete), -R (replace), -L (list), -P (set policy, is default action) are all valid modes.
chainis the part of the routing process to which your rule applies, there are five chains – PREROUTING, INPUT, FORWARD, OUTPUT, POSTROUTING.
rulenumgives the rule a sequence, rules are applied one-by-one and when there is a match, the corresponding action is taken and all subsequent rules are ignored.
rule-specificationis the actual rule itself. There are many parameters that can be specified here, like protocol, source, destination, etc.
optionsgive you some customization – for example, you can add
-vfor verbose output.
Now that we have a basic idea of what iptables does, let’s drop some SSH packets.
Verifying what we’re blocking
On Ubuntu20.04-Firewall in my topology, I can see that Ubuntu20.04-SSH_Client at 192.168.0.2 has SSH access to Ubuntu20.04-SSH_Server at 172.16.0.2:
james@client$ssh [email protected] [email protected]'s password: james@server$
SSH is an network application protocol that usually uses TCP port 22 to establish an encrypted command-line session between two computers. If we do a quick wireshark betwen the Ubuntu20.04-Firewall and CiscoIOSv15.6(1)T-1 router, we can see this SSH traffic traversing the link:
Starting at the top you can see the TCP handshake on port 22 starting with the SYN flag. A few packets later SSHv2 packets begin. All packets use a randomized source TCP port (source is different per session) and a destination TCP port of 22. So we can safely say that in this experiment, if we drop TCP destination port 22, we will effectively block SSH traffic between the client and server.
Configure the iptables rule
A rule to drop SSH packets on TCP 22 can be configured in one line on Ubuntu20.04-Firewall:
iptables -A FORWARD -p tcp --dport 22 -j DROP
-Aspecifies we are appending a rule.
FORWARDapplies the rule to packets being forwarded from one interface to another
-p tcpis a rule-specification to apply the rule to TCP packets
--dport 22applies the rule to destination TCP port 22
-j DROPtells iptables to drop the packet if the previous conditions match
Let’s see if the client can connect now:
james@client$ ssh [email protected] ssh: connect to host 172.16.0.2 port 22: Connection timed out
It worked! Packets on TCP port 22 are being dropped at the Ubuntu firewall.
Please keep in mind – this is a simple block on TCP destination port 22. TCP and UDP ports use the concept of “well-known” which means servers running protocols use a port that everyone “knows”. This is so that someone connecting to a server for the first time with no previous knowledge of its configuration will be able to connect, since they both assume that TCP port 22 is used for SSH. However if someone configures SSH on the client and server in this example to use any other port, it will go right around the filter.
Reach out if you have issues or something to share! |
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Illustration: Sean McCabe; Above: Fiat; Average: Christine Balderas / iStockphoto; Below: Bugatti Automobiles SAS
High-circulation magazines do some things well, but serious coverage of technology is usually not one of them. First, these are business stores for which technology coverage usually means financial development reports of companies that accidentally offer technology-related products or services, as opposed to, say, plumbing fixtures or hockey puck. The following are popular science magazines that offer a monthly holiday with boyfriends, vehicles and dreams. One of them takes UFOs seriously; another put the Bugatti Veyron supercar on its cover recently to present its annual innovation review.
Now, the Veyron is truly wonderful engineering, as we said when we wrote about it – 10 months ago in our “Top 10 technical cars”Report. But technological innovation is more than just cars, gadgets and thick IPOs. There are software and semiconductors to begin with, most of the important technical advances of the last 30 years. Without software and semiconductors, boyfriends, flying things and monstrous technical successes would not be possible.
For confirmation, take a look at the five technology projects we have selected for this issue as “winners” in our annual list of winners and losers. You will find a great deal of remarkable semiconductor technology and software used in brilliant ways.
Innovative Silicon’s new super-dense memories promise to increase the performance of all types of microprocessors and may even make them cheaper as they do. Vanu’s cellular base station project pushes the boundaries of software-defined radio, allowing mobile phone providers to expand and improve their services with a simple software upload rather than an extremely expensive hardware repair. RapidMind, a cheeky Canadian company, has put together a software development platform that helps programmers cope with the difficult task of fully unleashing the astounding power of IBM’s radical new microprocessor. And BT Group is taking advantage of its high position in telecommunications by embarking on a bold plan to transform its telephone networks – every last meter of them – into one of the greatest triumphs of software innovation, the Internet Protocol.
Perhaps best of all, it has a new Magneti Marelli engine controller that can automatically detect and hold any mixture of gasoline and ethanol – from 100 percent ethanol to none. It even allows the engine to burn natural gas. Everything is done in software that changes the amount of fuel in the cylinders and the weather. The controller is already mounted on a 1.4-liter engine in a version of the Siena sedan sold by Fiat in Brazil.
Sienna is so ordinary that it makes the Chevy Aveo look bold. Unlike the brutal Bugatti, Sienna cannot travel 408 kilometers per hour. And unlike the Terrafugia Transition concept vehicle, also described in this issue, it cannot fly. What Sienna can do is provide affordable and economical transportation anywhere in the world, no matter what type of fuel it has. If your definition of “innovation” goes beyond development, which immediately satisfies investors, lovers of rich cars or lovers of gadgets, you should love home Siena. Beauty really is not deep in the skin.
Go to Winners and losers articles. |
Heating Oil – Shrewsbury, MA
Shrewsbury, a part of Worcester County, is home to just over 35,000 residents. The town was incorporated in 1727. The town was named after Shrewsbury, England.
Radio Oil services the town of Shrewsbury and frequents the area several times a week. We provide the area with heating oil, diesel fuels, gasoline, and lubricants and metalworking fluids. As a one-family owned business since 1922, we stand to deliver only quality products to local homes and businesses.
Did you know… Lillian Asplund was the last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. She was also the last survivor with memories of the sinking. She died in her home in Shrewsbury, MA on May 6, 2006 at the age of 99. |
The Vaccines' Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations album & 2024 UK tour dates
2 October 2023, 13:00 | Updated: 21 November 2023, 12:46
The Vaccines have announced the details of a new album and a UK & European tour. Find out how to get tickets.
Listen to this article
This month saw The Vaccines announce their new album Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations, which is set for release on 13th January 2024.
The album is preceded by the lead single Heartbreak Kid, which is our Radio X Record Of The Week, and will be accompanied by an extensive EU/UK tour.
Find out everything there is to know about The Vaccines' new album, their 2024 dates and how to buy tickets.
See The Vaccines' 2024 UK tour dates:
- Mon 5th Feb - BIRMINGHAM, O2 Institute
- Tue 6th Feb - MANCHESTER, Academy
- Wed 7th Feb - NOTTINGHAM, Rock City
- Fri 9th Feb - LONDON, Troxy
- Sun 11th Feb - MARGATE, Dreamland Margate
- Tues 13th Feb - FOLKESTONE, Leas Cliff Hall
- Weds 14th Feb - SOUTHAMPTON, O2 Guidhall
- Thurs 15th Feb - BRISTOL, O2 Academy
- Sat 17th Feb - OXFORD, O2 Academy
- Sun 18th Feb - BRIGHTON, Dome
- Mon 19th Feb - SHEFFIELD, O2 Academy
- Weds 21st Feb - LEEDS, O2 Academy
- Thurs 22nd Feb - GLASGOW, Barrowland Ballroom
- Fri 23rd Feb - NEWCASTLE, NX
How to buy tickets to The Vaccines' 2024 tour dates?
Tickets for The Vaccines tour dates go on general sale on Friday 29th September from 9am on Ticketmaster.
- The Vaccines and The Snuts bring live music back to London
- The Vaccines break down their Back In Love City album Track By Track
- Watch Radio X Presents The Vaccines & special guests The Snuts with Barclaycard live
The band's new album title comes from a misremembered lyric from Don McLean's American Pie (“I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck / With a pink carnation in a pick-up truck”. Frontman Justin Young explains: “I was living in LA while writing this record, and American Pie is a song about disillusionment with America and the American dream, and his feeling that something had died. I guess I was coming to terms with similar things – my understanding of what the real West Coast of America was, after growing up on a diet of American pop culture. That was all coming to a head as various relationships were ending. That was the seed of it. It’s about the loss of dreams.”
On the single Young explains: "There are two types of people in the world - people that have had their heart broken and people that haven’t had their heart broken yet. Heartbreak Kid is a call to arms. A reminder that in a world where too many of us feel too detached too often, facing your feelings head on can make you feel more alive, even if it feels like the world is ending. It’s a song to keep you company on the busy freeway that connects loss to discovery."
The Vaccines perform If You Wanna |
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Our service and commitment to excellence have served our families well, and you can rest assured that we will assist you in your time of need. Whether you have come to our site for information about an upcoming service or to plan for one, we hope the information you find here will be helpful.
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One of the great revelations of the rallycross scene last year thanks to his third place overall in the Supercar Lites category of the RallyX championship, Lukas Andersson seems more determined than ever to prove that last year’s performances were no coincidence.
A transfer from the Junior CrossCar category, the 15-year-old Swede set the record books on fire in 2023. With three wins in the first four races of the championship, Lukas Andersson had even established himself as a strong favourite for the title, before the experienced Simon Olofsson and Martin Enlund managed to push him back in the Supercar Lites hierarchy.
With less than two months to go until the RallyX championship kicks off at Tierp, the JC Raceteknik driver is looking forward to his second campaign at this level of competition.
“I feel good. Now that I’ve got a bit more experience with the car, I think it will help me to reduce the mistakes I made last year and become more consistent,” Lukas points out.
Ahead of the Tierp event, Lukas is taking advantage of the final weeks of the off-season to fine-tune his preparations for the 2024 campaign.
“Apart from a few trips on the ice this winter behind the wheel of old Volvos, I haven’t competed in a single race since the end of last season. I’m just making sure that I stay in top shape by taking care of my physical condition. But before the championship starts, I’ll do some tests with the car to get my bearings so that I can start the new season in the best possible condition.”
Although Martin Enlund has decided to leave Supercar Lites for Supercar, Lukas will be up against two of the category’s heavyweights. As well as Casper Jansson, fresh from his Nitrocross title, he will also have to take on two-time RallyX champion Simon Olofsson.
“The good thing is that I know what I have to do if I want to compete with these drivers,” continues Lukas.
“In any case, my strategy will be the same as last year. I don’t know how things will work out, but I will do everything I can to be among the fastest. Like everyone else I want to win races, but I also know that I still have a lot to learn in this category. On the other hand, the big difference with 2023 is that I can go into the championship knowing that I feel completely at home behind the wheel of this car.”
“I know I can achieve great things this year. As always, I’m going into this championship with the intention of showing the best version of myself every weekend. I want to continue to progress and make the most of every moment.” |
Mudra means "To Please", and is a way to invoke the unseen forces for health and happiness. You can literally manifest your destiny with the palm of your hands. Mudras are a type of sign language to the angelic realm. Every day, hire the angels of Light and fire the angels of darkness with Mudra Therapy.
The month of June is the 6th month of the year, and the number 6 corresponds to the planetary frequency of Venus. Venus is the planet of harmony, Love, and play. This month, we are challenged to stay in our center and live from a place of Love and flow. In the physical body, this is represented by the glandular system that is in charge of the hormones. When the hormones are in balance, the rest of the body flows in harmony. The hormones effect every system of the body.
The RaMa Mudra pick of the month serves to support hormone balance and overall wellness in the body, mind, and spirit. It involves the left hand being in Shakti Mudra with the thumb at the base of the pinky. This stimulates the water element and the hormone glands that manifest creative and fertile thoughts and ideas. Bringing the hands together allows the left and right hemispheres of the brain to align as one. Stimulating the thumb is activating the brain and the Pituitary and Pineal Glands, which are the higher, "Master" glands that effect the entire system. Together, this hand posture brings neutrality and balance to the entire being.
How long do I hold a Mudra for? One moment to several minutes is standard timing for holding a Mudra. Mudras work based on one's level of consciousness. The higher the consciousness, the less one needs. All mudras are suggested to be held for 1-3 minutes and up to 11-120 minutes with a mantra meditation. Listen to your intuition and feel your mind, heart, and body while you are practicing Mudras. You will learn for yourself what is best for you. Smile, relax, and receive healing from your own hands.
How To Perform This Mudra:
1. Straighten the spine in a comfortable posture sitting, standing, or laying down.
2. Rub your hands together vigorously.
3. Put the left hand into Shakti Mudra (place the thumb at the base of the pinky, and close the fingers into a fist).
4. Cup the right hand around the left.
5. Place the right thumb inside of the hole created by the left fist.
6. Relax your shoulders and elongate the spine, allowing the chest to rise and the chin to gently relax in and up. Close the eyes and focus at the brow (3rd eye) point.
7. Smile, breathe long deep breaths, or practice Three Part Breath (See Below).
3-Part Breath (Optional):
Inhale slowly into the belly, rib cage, and upper chest for a count of 20. Hold the breath (unless you are pregnant) and squeeze the rectum for a count of 20. Exhale from the chest, rib cage, and belly, drawing the navel in toward the spine for a count of 20. Repeat the breath for a total of 3 minutes. SMILE! |
The mind is a Divine tool that we have been given to create our lives. It is filled with thoughts that have been influenced by our karmic history and present-day reality. Inside of the vastness of the mind dwells our highest hopes, deepest fears, and everything in between. We can create the space in our day to fill our minds with Hope and envision all of our greatest dreams coming to fruition. We can also find many things in each moment to trigger a fear reflex that can debilitate us into a frozen state of consciousness. Fear on a healthy level is good because it keeps us from doing things to harm ourselves. However, looking at different phobias, there are an abundance of things ranging from a fear of heights to a fear of one's toaster oven that stop people from being able to live a happy life. As a human-kind, we have become very vulnerable and fragile to the environment around us. Experts say that this has evolved from a lifestyle of stress and anxiety that stems from our ability to fulfill our needs on a day to day basis. With the human lifestyle centering around consuming, we have somehow moved away from the security of living off of the land around us, and there is now a need to acquire "things" to improve our way of living. Fears also birth out of an unhealthy identity of self. When we see ourselves as one with all life, we move into a mindset of interconnectedness that results in thinking outside of selfishness and more in alignment with the greater good. When we see ourselves as separate or superior, then fear of the "other side" is born. We see this manifesting in our current government system of two sides. Matters move back and forth between the two parties, and it separates by causing fighting between the two sides. No one wins in the end.
There have been many psychologists and spiritual leaders that have addressed the idea of letting go of fear so that Love can manifest. The best advice has been summed up into three steps:
#1: Become the master of your own mind. This means that by using tools like breath and sound to clear negativity, we can develop a neutral mind. The breath is the "King of the Mind". Choosing to only expose your mind to that which is helpful and healing instead of that which creates fear, doubt, and worry is the key to maintaining a positive mental attitude. Creating vision boards, reading positive and inspiring literature, and listening to uplifting words and sounds support a healthy and happy mind.
#2: Let go of the past and stop worrying about the future. Fears come from not being present. Our past may have stories of pain or discomfort that we may fear will repeat again in the future. We will never know what the future holds because we are creating it now. The best way to ensure a wonderful future is to stay present.
#3: Live Your Best Life! Go for it. You have this one life in this body suit with this mind and this heart, so make the very best of it. Wake up every day with the intention to be better. Never fear failure and never give up on what you believe in. Take leaps of faith, be daring, and get comfortable being vulnerable. Live your truth and follow your heart. You are important, you are valuable, and you are needed on the planet to be yourself.
By working on these three things each day, we can move away from that which creates fear and move closer to that which invokes unconditional Love. We can literally shift our physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health, as well as our relationships with others when we can find healthy ways to relate to our fears. Since we are the ones creating them, we have the responsibility to care for them. Pay attention to them, breathe into them, and choose to let them go and take a leap of faith when confronted with the choice. Love the self and take the energy and time to find what brings you peace.
"The mind is a garden, and thoughts are the seeds. We can grow flowers or we can grow weeds." |
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Great company and timely transaction. Legs were exactly what I expected and looked great with the perfectly imperfect elm table tops I made for my niece! Will use Raymond’s Workshop again!Chris
heavy duty Handsoap
Dirt infused formula contains high quality cosmetic grade clays which absorb grease and toxins. Dirt also exfoliates your skin going deep into your pores, latching onto grease/toxins and rinsing clean. |
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"We were able to remain focused on our primary goal, donor solicitation, as the unparalleled team at Rayze.It ensured a successful execution of our Rayze-A-Thon with their website seamlessly processing over 3,700 donors and $1.2 Million in donations in just 36 hours!"
Yaakov Yitzchak Trainer, Tomchei Shabbos of Lakewood
“Not a single issue with our entire campaign!”
Boruch Bender, Achiezer
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"The professionalism and courtesy of the team on your end is great. Looking forward to working together on many more projects in the future!"
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"Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with the capable team behind Rayze.It on many different projects, most recently on a complex, high stakes time-based matching campaign. Their professionalism, knowledge and attention to clients' needs, always with a calm and confident demeanor, is truly impressive and notable."
Y. H.(Izzy) Levovitz, Profound Business
If you're hesitant, or even clueless, about making the transition to electronic fundraising, Rayze.It by Duvys Media is just what your organization has been waiting for. As pioneers of the web media industry, we wrote the book on fundraising platforms.
Rayze.It puts the power of today's most cutting-edge fundraising tools right at your fingertips, no matter how un-tech savvy you or your organization may be. Best of all, we don't charge a transaction fee!
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Languages and Humanities / Social and Behavioral Sciences Engagement Center
How to find your Languages Humanities and Social Sciences (LHSS) support team!
Connect with your Educational Advisor, Peer Mentor, or LHSS Counselor via Zoom! We are here to answer your questions regarding academic programs, RCC's LHSS Division and events on campus.
For information about upcoming conferences, events, and workshops visit our Instagram!
|Monday - Friday
|8 am - 5 pm
|Virtual Chat Hours:
|10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Drop-ins are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and are intended to be for quick questions only (15 minutes max). You will be asked to wait in the Zoom waiting room until the counselor is available to call you in. Please be patient. Comprehensive Student Education Plans cannot be created during a drop-in. Please note: students must have their student ID numbers ready.
LHSS Engagement Center Course
Enroll in the LHSS Engagement Center Canvas shell to easily access all the resources offered.
Engagement Center Events
Cinthya Gonzalez, Educational Advisor
My name is Cinthya Gonzalez; I am one of your LHSS Educational Advisors. As a former RCC student, I know firsthand the struggles our students face. While attending RCC I was a mother of three children participating in as many programs and organizations as I could while working multiple jobs. As a result, I learned so much about myself and learned to support my community with passion and a life of purpose. I am a UCR graduate with a bachelor's in Sociology and Administrative Studies, I have acquired a holistic approach to supporting our students and I believe that our past experiences help shape the resilient humans we are today. I am here to support you and your academic success. Please visit us in Music 104.
Tony Ortiz, Educational Advisor
Hello, my name is Tony Ortiz and I enjoy working with students from all walks of life. I am a strong believer that education can open doors and provide you with the strong mind and vision for your future. I am an RCC and Cal State Fullerton graduate with a BA in Communications/Public Relations. Currently enrolled at Claremont Graduate University in pursuit of a PhD in American and Comparative Politics.
Dr. Doris Namala, LHSS EC Faculty Coordinator
Welcome to the LHSS Engagement Center! I'm a Professor of History and also the new LHSS EC Faculty Coordinator. I look forward to meeting all of you in the coming weeks and support you. See you at the center on Mondays 4:00-6:00 pm.
Send Dr. Namala an Email ([email protected])
Doug Johnson, LHSS Clerk
I’m Doug Johnson, the Language Humanities and Social Science Engagement Center Clerk. I am happy and excited to join the staff at Riverside City College and my team members in the LHSS Engagement Center to connect with, support, and serve our students. I attended RCC and transferred to UCLA, where I graduated with a bachelor’s in African-American Studies. While attending RCC, I was involved on campus as the President of the African American Student Alliance, the predecessor to UMOJA. I was in student government in the Supreme Court, which held campus and district elections. I was also a member of the Model United Nations at RCC. At UCLA, I was Chair of the Afrikan Student Union ASU. As a former RCC student who navigated my way through campus and the transfer process, I know the journey may not always be smooth. In my new position, I am eager to assist students on their educational path.
Experience RCC professors through personal interviews that inspire students to look backwards while thinking forward! Our goal is to showcase RCC professors and students who offer intellectual insight into academic studies while inspiring you to become more driven and inquisitive. Please enjoy this broadcast of Looking Backward Thinking Forward.
Season 1 of Looking Backward Thinking Forward is available now and new episodes will be available every semester. Please visit our YouTube channel and keep up to date with LHSS Engagement Center activities. |
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Leonardo made greater advances in his study of anatomy than in any other scientific pursuit. In April 1489 he sectioned a human skull to study the relationship between its external and internal structure.
The drawing shows the skull sawn first down the middle, then across the front of the right side. With the two halves juxtaposed, the viewer can locate the facial cavities in relation to the surface features. In the left margin Leonardo drew, described and enumerated the different types of teeth – molar, premolar, canine and incisor. |
A path to mining secrets in SEO is to pay close attention when Google’s reps share information.
Official materials tend to be tame, as Google doesn’t want spammers to know, for sure, how to manipulate search rankings.
Sridhar Ramaswamy, previously SVP of ads & commerce at Google, has co-founded a new ad-free search engine called Neeva.
In a company blog, he mentions among other nuggets how Google is biased toward “websites with a high volume of content [that] can manufacture the appearance of authority by linking to its own pages.”
How can we benefit from this insight?
Through content produced on a regular schedule, always be internally linking to your essential pages. Furthermore, think creatively such as by adding footer links, an HTML sitemap, related articles, etc.
At the least, this will help users find your key pages while, for now, further appeasing the largest search engine in the world (right from the horse’s mouth). |
Here’s a great SEO practice: write a keyword-rich business description to use across external pages, especially profiles.
Anchor text, or the words for a clickable link, is still an important ranking signal…
John Mueller has said that context matters but adds little detail beyond this, probably because it dilutes a signal’s worth when blackhatters have reason to exploit it.
This all explains why a keyword-rich business description is so valuable… you improve relevancy for all those backlinks yourself!
Make sure to tinker with the base copy depending on the website. This avoids duplicate content. You also better target each site’s audience this way. |
Welcome to my website. I am Carolyn, live in California, USA. I Love listening to audiobooks the whole day long. I’ve finished most of my favorite audiobooks already. Since 2013 I start listening to audiobooks on Audible and still listening to the new audiobooks, originals, podcasts, and news. I love to sing and watch fiction movies. In my pleasure time, I tried to write something new for my visitors.
On this website, I try to write how-to guides as well as new books update and the most popular legendary books that everyone should have to read. In the Audible Guide section, most of the articles are related to audible as I mention I am a big fan of audible audiobooks. The reason is very clear that Audible has a large number of original audiobooks, podcasts, and magazines that have not anywhere.
Audiobooks those I’ve included on my website for information purposes are populated by millions of readers on audible, amazon, Goodreads. After analyzing user’s reviews properly, I listed them on my website for review and information purposes.
Most of you come from the google search that you are seeking audiobooks of someone. I try that way if someone searches for something my website would come on the first page.
Most of my articles are searched by the users on google and I tried to help them reach their query.
My mission is to give the best possible information to my visitors related to newly released audiobooks, popular audiobooks, book reviews, upcoming books, and new and popular audiobooks apps.
Contact me if you have any queries or abuse by the following:
carolyn.readers (at) gmail (dot) com |
On Oct. 10, 2023, three days into Israel’s brutal war on Gaza that followed a Hamas-led attack on Israel, Ontario MPP Sarah Jama published a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire. The statement also condemned Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestine, Israel’s system of apartheid and its systematic violations of Palestinian human rights.
The next day, Jama apologized for “the pain that many Jewish and Israeli Canadians, including my own constituents, must be feeling,” and condemned both Hamas’ actions and Israel’s massive bombing campaign, which to date has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and resulted in allegations of genocide being brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Jama said in October that “there is no military solution to this conflict.”
On Oct. 23, 2023, the Doug Ford government voted to censure Jama, after she refused to verbally apologize for and delete her original statement. She was also kicked out of the Ontario NDP Caucus.
Since then, Jama has been sitting as an independent MPP. In the following interview, The Maple spoke to Jama about her plans for the new legislative session as an independent, her thoughts about the NDP, and the possibility of creating spaces for left-wing politics that exist independently of the party.
The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Alex Cosh: You’ve been back in the media lately, and there’s been a focus on two key motions that you’re bringing forward in the Provincial Parliament of Ontario. Tell us about those motions, and some of your other plans for the upcoming session as an independent MPP.
Sarah Jama: Over the last three months, since I became an independent member, I’ve been focused really deeply on my community. We’re still knocking on doors; we have a very active riding association with about 60 members; we raised about $35,000 for the riding association without much of a financial push.
Hamilton-Centre is the poorest riding in all of Ontario. It’s a very working-class city. So the issues folks care about the most right now are kind of obvious, but I think our approach will be a bit different: On housing, health care, education and social assistance. 60 per cent of people in my riding are renters. So my plan for this session, which starts [today], is to work very closely with community groups, to table legislation, but also to use my platform to explain how we got here, as a province, and to really just make sure that my platform exists to amplify work that other folks are already doing.
So with that being said, I reached out to the ODSP Action Coalition, and they said there are two things we want to see right now, beyond the conversation of doubling Ontario Disability Support Program payments. One is we want to see the housing benefit portion of ODSP tied to the average market rent in the city that a recipient resides in, because it’s one thing to just say we should increase the amount, but it’s another thing to say the amount should be livable no matter where you live.
The second piece is making sure that ODSP is not clawed back just because of who is in your household, or what kind of intimate relationships occupy your personal life. You often see folks who are disabled and get married, and then they get half of their income clawed back because there’s this weird, outdated idea that the person you marry is supposed to take care of you as a disabled person. And that’s not true. We know from studies written by the Disabled Women’s Network of Canada that disabled women very specifically are more likely to experience sexual, emotional and financial abuse. And so making this change so that your ODSP is not tied to who you’re with is one step to protecting women from gender-based violence.
We’re going to put forward more things in the future around social-systems reform that are needed, and so far, it looks like the Greens are supporting it. The NDP said they’re willing to work together and the Liberals said they’re discussing it in their Caucus meeting. So what that tells me is when we put forward ideas that are good for my community, that has the ability to push others into supporting good ideas, too. So I’m excited about what that means for my other plans around air quality, because Hamilton-Centre has some of the worst air-quality issues in the city.
AC: It’s great to hear that other parties are willing to at least talk with you about some of these motions. Obviously, this is coming in the context of a Conservative majority. But are you optimistic that these motions will at the very least be talked about in the other parties?
SJ: I don’t know. Clearly, I can’t debate [because of the censure], but I’m not too worried about that, because the Ford government never listens to anyone except for themselves anyway. And in most of the debates, we’re staring at empty chairs across the aisle. So a lot of debating motions is super performative. But it’s nice to see that the independents as well as the Opposition folks who agree with me are willing to work on this issue and other issues.
AC: As you mentioned, this is also going to be coming in the context of you being censured. What does this actually mean in practice? And how does this impact your ability to be a voice in the legislature and to represent your constituents?
SJ: So for context, October 7 happened. And then I waited three days. I thought that was even too long, because for anybody who was paying attention to what was going on at the time, by day three, you could see that the Rafah border was closed, white phosphorus was being used. Food and water weren’t allowed into the region. You could tell what was about to happen; that Israel, at that time, had genocidal intent.
So I looked around, and I saw that every other political leader in this country was saying that Israel had the right to defend itself, devoid of any context in terms of what was going on in Palestine. I’ve helped the [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] pass on my campus. I thought it was important to say something. I think the act of being censured for putting up the statement, calling for an immediate ceasefire, on Twitter and Instagram, was completely ridiculous, and completely about political theatre. It had nothing to do with what I actually said in my statement.
If you listen to the eight hours of debate about my statement, the Conservatives spent all of their time talking about decorum and me being a terrorist sympathizer without actually naming what I said in my statement. It sets a really terrible precedent that a majority government can just take someone’s right away to speak, using the censure process, even though censures are typically used to police the behaviour of someone in the house. This was about a thing outside the house, about something, they argue, we don’t even have jurisdiction over as a province.
As I said, I come from a riding that is the poorest in the whole province. I’m also one of the very few elected Muslims [in the Ontario legislature].
These are people who constantly tout their right to speech and the right to say and do whatever they want to do for the good of the people. And then the minute it’s afforded to them, they don’t like what someone’s saying, or they disagree with what someone is saying, they can just take away that voice.
It’s before the courts; my first hearing date is on the 22nd, and I have intervenors on my behalf: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, as well as a second group of intervenors — which is Independent Jewish Voices - Canada, the Jewish Faculty Network of Canada, and the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association. They will all be arguing that the courts have the right to weigh in. We’re not at the judicial review argument yet.
We’ll see where this ends up. I’m very hopeful that on the heels of the prime minister finally uttering the statement ‘we need a ceasefire’ that the censure will be overturned. And if it doesn’t, it’ll definitely get overturned when I’m re-elected in 2026. Until then, I’m able to still vote; I’m able to still participate in committee, which is where the bulk of legislative work actually happens. I don’t get my 30 second clip for Question Period, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do the job.
AC: Of course, you weren’t only censured; you were also kicked out of the Ontario NDP Caucus. Can you walk us through what happened there?
SJ: I think a lot of what was made public should have been handled internally.
October 7 happened, and then I was watching very closely, as I tend to do. I have a history doing work supporting Palestinians, and I believe in a free Palestine. So that’s not new to anybody who elected me in my riding, or anybody who has worked with me as an organizer. This is not new information to the party, either.
I watched every political leader in the country use the very dangerous language of Israel having the right to defend itself, and in the back of my mind, I was asking myself the question, ‘to defend itself against what?’ By day three, I was waiting to see if anyone who had put out statements about Israel was going to say anything about the right for Palestinians to exist, and access food and water, and to not have their houses decimated.
At the same time, Palestinians in my riding were sending me very long emails about their families being stuck under the rubble. And I had meaningfully tried to engage with [NDP] staff saying, ‘I would like to put something out. Can you work with me on what I’m going to put out?’ There was a lot of back and forth and constant rhetoric around strategy, and there is this idea that permeates across the party that there are some issues that don’t matter to everyone, and therefore we shouldn’t weigh in on them.
And at some point, I was like, you can see the genocidal intent. I’m getting letters from people in my riding; I understand how y’all calculate risks, but I think we need to show political courage; we need to show that political strategy doesn’t always have to supersede decisions based on morality. So that was the crux of the back and forth between myself and the staff.
What I didn’t anticipate was the ways the public was used to have these internal conversations, or the government censuring me, I didn’t anticipate that either. I really thought that I would look around and other people would be saying the same thing, too, not that I would be one of the first in the country. I got a lot of death threats; I got a lot of rape threats. I actually had to go into hiding for a bit. So it was a terrible time.
The censure debate happened for eight hours. I watched it from home. And one of the stipulations of the censure was that in order to undo the censure, I should apologize for what I said, which essentially called for an immediate ceasefire, and asked folks to question settler-colonialism and the narratives that were being perpetuated about Palestine. I even quoted the United Nations in my statement.
To apologize for that would have meant to agree to what Ford was saying at that time when he said that I was supporting the beheading of babies and the raping of Israeli women, which is wholly untrue. It would have meant that I don’t stand by what I said. So I didn’t apologize.
I don’t know exactly why I was kicked out [of the NDP Caucus] because no one really had that conversation with me. I found out the same way everybody else did, which was in an email minutes before it happened, and minutes before the censure vote.
I think it had a lot to do with, from what I gather, people feeling like I was operating as an individual without also taking into consideration that this issue wasn’t an issue of individuals. We’re talking about whether or not to comment on genocide happening.
So after that happened, I went into hiding; I kept my head down. I didn’t really do interviews, but I listened to a lot of the rhetoric that was perpetuated about me, that had to do with me being difficult or had to do with me being new, and discounted a lot of my experiences. Before this job, I was the executive director of an entire organization. I was a sessional instructor at McMaster University. I’ve been able to work with teams. It wasn’t a question of me being difficult. It was a question of me being willing to sacrifice saying the right thing to make other people comfortable for a short amount of time, and then not being able to sleep at night.
People said that I made others unsafe by my statement. But really, I was the one who felt unsafe. I literally disappeared after the fact; I didn’t even participate in the censure debate that was about me. I’m glad that it’s behind me.
AC: Anyone who knows anything about the way Israel conducts itself knew, as you mentioned, very early on what was coming after October 7. There was obvious genocidal rhetoric from Israeli officials, from Israeli media, from Canadian media. The fact of the matter is, if people in power had listened to you and other voices who were calling for a ceasefire at the time, nearly 30,000 Palestinians would still be alive. What are your feelings about the NDP right now?
SJ: I think there are individuals in the party who really get this issue. In my riding, for example, there’s MP Matthew Green. We collaborate a lot. He actually went to Palestine, to see for himself, recently, what was going on, and has really, really moved the federal party along on this issue very specifically. And I’m seeing a lot of good work coming out of [NDP Foreign Affairs Critic] Heather McPherson as well, who also went to Palestine, too. I think that since then, her language has gotten so strong.
What I would like to see are things that exist in almost every left-wing party. In talking with [former leader of the British Labour Party] Jeremy Corbyn, at least there’s a clear mechanism for how MPs can dissent within their party and have difficult conversations. We don’t have those structures in place. So as much as people keep saying conversations are important, there’s no mechanism to actually be able to dissent as an MPP within our party.
Secondly, there’s no appeal process for when people are kicked out of their party. I think there are very structural changes that need to happen to save the party, and I don’t think those two things are difficult asks.
Until then, I’m going to be just doing my best to operate independently. But yeah, there are very real structural changes that need to be made. I’m leaving the door open for some of these reforms to be taken up within the party. On a provincial level, I just haven’t heard back from anyone; there’s not really been a conversation internally about what happened and where to go from here. Until then, I’m putting my head down and I plan to run regardless of having a party or not.
AC: It sounds like you’re open to the idea of reforming the NDP, but also, it seems like what you’re doing right now, and what you’re focused on doing right now, is your work as an independent. Is part of that work trying to foster the ability to imagine doing leftist politics outside of the NDP?
SJ: I definitely think that it should be possible for people to exist independently. We see that a lot in other countries. Canada is not really set up for that. But it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be possible. I’m excited to test that out and see where this goes in my current role as an independent. But again, I think the bigger threat in this conversation is Doug Ford. He’s decimating our healthcare system. He’s decimating any chance we have of a real climate justice policy. He is the most ineffective premier this province has ever seen, and wastes a ton of money. So I do think it’s important to challenge him before more lives are lost. He will set a precedent in terms of how other provinces are treating their people.
I think the system is not set up for a good way to challenge someone like Doug Ford. I’m not shutting the door to working with anyone. We’re willing to work with anyone who’s willing to collaborate and have conversations, and we’ll see where that goes. I don’t have an honest answer in terms of if outside [the NDP] is better, or inside. But what I do know for sure is I’m not taking back my statement. And I won’t shy away from making other important statements as well. I’m going to continue to operate, and how everyone chooses to address themselves around that is up to them.
I didn’t kick myself out of the party. It shouldn’t be on me to create stipulations for how to re-enter. So until such a time that people want to have real, adult conversations in terms of what’s good for the province, I am going to continue to conduct myself as an independent and do this job the best that I can with the resources that I do have. I really do want to do this job well and represent people in my riding who feel super marginalized for a variety of different reasons.
I’m trying not to make this about personalities, because the one thing I do regret out of this whole situation is how much airtime me putting up a statement took from Palestinian voices at the time. So many interviewers were just talking about my statement, but not talking about what was going on in the region, or even interviewing Palestinians. That’s something that I need to do better going forward, is making sure to centre Palestinian voices. But again, I’m not going to shy away from making difficult statements. And I think I would like to have a political home in terms of a party, but I don’t know what that looks like or what that means.
AC: It sounds like the ball is in the NDP’s court, I guess. Maybe it’s more helpful to think of this as a test for the NDP, rather than for you. You’re willing to work with them, and the question is now: Are they willing to reciprocate that? Would that be a fair assessment?
SJ: I think so. I think everyone else needs to decide how they want to deal with or interact with me. And until everybody decides what it is they want to do, I’m just putting my head down and doing the work, regardless.
To win the nomination [to run for the NDP], I signed up, along with my friends and comrades, 600 members within a couple of weeks to be members of the NDP, and handed in those memberships. And it was one of the most successful and fastest membership drives of that scale that Hamilton-Centre has ever seen. And most of the people that we signed up were new to the party.
I think there is interest in engaging with these political systems. I wasn’t headhunted by the NDP. The community decided that I should be here in this political role to fight Doug Ford on key issues that impact the riding.
AC: You raised that big membership growth that your campaign brought in. I’m reminded somewhat of Anjali Appadurai’s campaign for leadership of the B.C. NDP in 2022, and how she attracted thousands of new members to her campaign. It seems that this is an approach of making the party a home for people who otherwise don’t have a political home.
SJ: I think so. There are many people who would feel at home in the NDP. But I think the structural changes that I’ve mentioned would make it easier for folks who don’t always agree within Caucus to be able to have meaningful conversations.
The structural changes that I’ve recommended will help create a space that’s navigable to new folks and to new members down the line.
I worry about extracting ourselves at this moment from political spaces entirely. I worry about people saying they’re never going to vote again. There’s just too much at stake to not try to engage in these systems as a form of harm reduction. I’m someone who grew up on ODSP for most of my life. I think it does people who are the most at a disadvantage in our communities a disservice if we’re all like, nah, bro, there’s no point in voting because the whole system’s broken. Well, what are we going to do about it?
Let’s opt out if that’s the only option. If there’s a way to work with people, let’s do that.
I refuse to feed the narrative that I’m difficult to work with. At the end of the day, I’m an organizer. I’m willing to try to figure out the best way to head into 2026, because regardless of all the personalities, one thing we can all agree to is that Ford is completely dangerous for this province. And we can’t afford another four years of that. |
Shaded by ancient oak woodland on the edge of the South Downs there is a special room with spectacular views. A garden building with a difference, with open fields to the front and a leafy canopy at the back, Helen Moore’s shepherd’s hut is the ultimate writer’s retreat.
‘We’d been in our new home for a few weeks when I looked out of the kitchen window and spotted something odd and large covered in black plastic,’ she says. ‘I must have walked past it a hundred times as I directed our removal men and even placed a cup of coffee on it as I pondered where to put plants and containers in the garden.’
Helen decided it must be something to do with her husband Gary’s work and thought no more about it. ‘Although he dropped a hint a few days later, saying that it was a gift to help me with my blog,’ she says. Weeks went by and on Christmas morning, Helen unpacked the large parcel.
‘There it was, my own shepherd’s hut and I felt so lucky,’ she says. ‘My daughter Olivia named her Belle, which is perfect as she is so beautiful!’
Owners Helen and Gary Moore live with their grown-up children Olivia and Harris, and Spencer the Dalmatian. Gary is a construction manager for a building company and Helen is a blogger, stylist and crafter (whitewoodandlinen.com and Instagrammer @whitewoodandlinen).
Property A shepherd’s hut in the grounds of the couple’s 1990s bungalow, not far from the village of Liphook in Hampshire.
What they did Carpenters built the shepherd’s hut from a flat pack. The couple insulated and painted the internal walls, ceiling and exterior and installed a wood-burning stove. They also created a cottage garden with a picket fence and a path edged with bricks.
With help from Gary’s contacts in the building trade, the couple excavated the site and built a concrete base. Then one sunny April weekend, two carpenters assembled the shepherd’s hut. In the winter that followed, Belle was battered by extreme wind and rain, which resulted in a leak. The couple decided to insulate and line the inside with pine tongue-and-groove panels with a water membrane underneath, ensuring that each pine knot was treated before painting the walls and floor.
Helen also wanted to install a stove. ‘Given the fact that the entire hut is made of wood, we asked an expert to check all the work and stove parts, to make sure it was safe,’ she explains, ‘and our little potbelly stove was up and running exactly a year after Belle first arrived.’
Helen’s ethos on decorating is to make-do-and-mend, reuse and recycle. Her appreciation for upcycling and anything thrifty comes from her childhood. ‘I was extremely close to my grandmother, who used to give me scraps of material to make dolls’ clothes,’ she recalls. ‘I cherish my photographs and memories of her.’
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Twenty years of renovating homes has taught Helen to be imaginative with her budget and with other people’s discarded treasures. ‘I tend to follow my heart and trust my instincts,’ she says.
‘I love faded floral linens and fabrics that tell the story of their past. And I can’t resist the patina of vintage wooden furniture, decorative French rococo swirls and timeless English country houses. I like lived-in homes with a sense of charm and informal design; all inspiration for my own individual style.’
It’s hard to imagine improving on the shepherd’s hut’s setting, but earlier this year Helen decided to plant a cottage garden and a winding path to the steps. ‘At the height of summer, the long grass and wildflowers looked perfect,’ she says, ‘but it wasn’t so good in winter, with so much bare earth.’
The couple cleared 20 rubble sacks as Gary dug the new garden’s foundations. ‘He also cut and sanded 94 posts for our new picket fence as I painstakingly primed all four sides before applying the paint,’ says Helen. ‘Olivia and Harris held spirit levels as directed, while Gary fixed all the posts in place and our cottage garden began to take shape.’
Through her blog followers Helen has established firm new friendships and with more than a little help from her friends the cottage garden is thriving. ‘One friend gave me some bulbs and my friend Sara, who has one of the loveliest gardens I’ve ever seen, supplied endless plants and cuttings,’ says Helen.
‘We have sown lots of cornflowers and borage, which looks so pretty frozen in ice cubes for a summer jug of Pimms.’ Helen says that of all the plants she grows, hydrangeas are the hardest working and longest lasting. She loves the colours that sweet peas, verbena and dahlias add to the garden and likes to display them as cut flowers in jam jars and dry garden blooms to enjoy all year round.
Helen’s shepherd’s hut and garden renovation has been a labour of love. Now complete, Belle is a weathered shade of blue-grey that blends in perfectly with the garden, while inside it’s white and bright and packed with thrifty finds, each
one telling a story.
‘Belle is my retreat, the most magical place where I never fail to be inspired,’ she says. ‘On warmer days I love to throw open the doors, enjoy the garden and farm views and listen to the birds sing as I’m writing my blogs.’ |
Rustic bathroom ideas are making a revival in powder rooms, primary baths and washrooms all around the globe.
No longer are homeowners looking for modern bathroom ideas and sleek white suites. Instead, we're reaching for weathered and bleached wood, natural materials and organic decorations found on nature's front doorstep.
But cozy country decor doesn't have to be be boring. So go bold with the old, and embrace the imperfections of a raw and edgy washroom.
Rustic bathroom ideas for a cozy country feel
1. Create a rustic bathroom idea with textured paint
When facing with a decision on how to decorate your bathroom, many of us opt for tidy, uniform wall decor. Whether we choose a bathroom paint idea, or opt for bathroom wallpaper – the majority of us will want a clean-looking result.
For a rustic bathroom idea, go against the grain with a chalk paint design. By introducing visible paintbrush strokes and paint drips you can create a plaster effect, that doesn't require professional decorators. It's one way to create impact, especially if you're thinking about budget bathroom ideas.
2. Mismatch textures for rustic decor
If you're looking to inject rustic charm into your bathroom scheme, then it's time to mix things up a little. Rather than opting for a cohesive design, make way for mismatched motifs and textures.
And, if you're only adding details to a small space, consider going to yard sales to bag a bargain. Don't stress over scuffs and scratches though. The condition of these hand-me-down items will only add homely, lived-in character to the space.
3. Add natural wood panels to your walls
While we've seen loads of colored wall panels in period living rooms and bathrooms, but we think there's also a place for bare timber wall cladding. So rather than using varnished wood wall panels with a deep stain or lacquer, save time and go naked -just as you would in your bathroom!
If you have the urge to add some color into this scheme, the key is to keep it simple. Cream paneling would work well as part of a beige bathroom idea to add some interest and authentic country vibes to a white enameled bath. As would a pale blue bathroom tile idea as seen in this shower to create a watercolor effect.
Less is definitely more for this rustic bathroom idea. So strip back the accessories and accompany with a wooden stool to sit or display towels on. Hooks also provide a handy spot to hang a loofah or bamboo body brush.
4. Invest in farmhouse storage solutions
Want to add fruity farmhouse fun to your rustic bathroom decor? Then grab yourself a couple of boxy wooden crates to store your washroom essentials. Traditionally used to carry fruit and veg, these vessels will add cool ranch vibes to this room.
And if you're a creative that can't resist adding a little extra personality to your space, consider upcycling this bathroom storage decor with white or pastel paint to add a feminine accent to these boxes.
Don't forget your smaller items too. Glass mason jars and colored soap dispensers make all the difference when designing a rough and ready bathroom scheme.
5. Consider a color scheme inspired by nature
If you want your rustic bathroom to look more suave and less Shrek's swamp, you'll need to pay close attention to your color scheme. Often the best bathroom color ideas are foraged from Mother Nature. So we've turned to her as our muse for hues.
With distressed wood effect LVT, a wooden bath bath and a bounty of greenery, this is a Midsummer Night's Dream. Paired with framed wall art and a ladder storage idea, it's a scheme that even Shakespeare would swoon over.
6. Choose a window treatment made from natural materials
Wooden shutters are a window treatment that burst with rustic character and romantic charm. What's more, they can be customized to fit any window size and shape. And boy, do we love this arched design!
This window treatment from Apollo Blinds is perfect for a rustic bathroom idea as they are 100% waterproof and can withstand steamy showers and long soaks in the bath.
Today's technology and manufacturing means that they won't bow or warp so you can rest assured that this is a durable design that will look good for years.
Alternatively, if the size of you bathroom doesn't make fancy window treatments feasible, go for a cotton, burlap or linen curtains for a light option in a small bathroom design. Just because the space is snug, don't be afraid to use color and pattern. Styled correctly, gingham and plaid add a punchy pop to an otherwise plain space.
7. Add interest to your space with rustic bathroom lighting
If you want to add a bathroom lighting idea to your rustic bathroom decor, you'll need to remember that less is more. Because this trend pays homage to the natural world, you'll want to avoid anything that looks artificial.
So swap harsh, cool lighting for a soft glow. To do this, you'll need to buy warm bulbs and ditch any task lights for fixtures that will create a welcoming ambiance.
Want to add a little fairy tale glamour? A beaded chandelier will not only add a focal point to a pared back scheme, but will also add pearl-like silhouettes to your interior space too.
8. Add wooden fixtures for a classic look
Classic, hard-wearing and sustainable. There are so many benefits to wood. If you want a rustic bathroom idea that will last for years - it's time to take to timber.
From golden teak to maroon-hued mahogany, rich-grained walnut and light ash, different trees have their own charming characteristics. So it's worth doing your research to decide what time of finish you'd like for your bathroom furniture.
Your budget may also influence your buying decision. While engineered wood can be enhanced with decorative laminates and finishes to fake a certain look and feel, reclaimed wood and antiques are stunning, but less affordable options.
If your bathroom remodel has made a significant dent in your savings, you'll want to be thrifty with your rustic bathroom decorating ideas. And for a trend that's sole purpose is to appear aged, why bother buying new?
By looking to online marketplaces such as Etsy, Ebay and Gumtree, you can purchase pre-owned rustic bathroom furniture for a fraction of the original price. What's more, it's a sustainable way of shopping for your bathroom homewares.
Pair with brass faucets and bathroom cupboard handles to complete the look.
9. Add stone effect wall and floor tiles for a cave-like aesthetic
If you want to create a rustic bathroom that is awash with soothing spa bathroom vibes, then look no further than stone walls and tiles.
Whether you choose limestone for a coastal bathroom feel or Travertine for an authentic stony scheme, these rocky, whitewashed textures will add a contemporary touch to your space.
Simply add Himalayan salt accessories and natural finishes to style your oasis. Think macramé wall hangings, slate displays and other organic ornaments. Plants are the perfect companion for this material too.
10. Add framed wall art for an instant hit of rustic decor
Wall art can do wonders for your imagination, especially in a space where we spend our time in solitary reflection.
So if you've forgotten your phone or book to keep you entertained, framed landscapes can give you something to reflect on when indulging in a long soak or when visiting the restroom.
But if you've young children using this space, add a Moo-moo here and a moo-moo there with farmyard animal prints. This will certainly add some fun to bath time in true Old McDonald style.
How can I make my bathroom look rustic?
We interviewed Sofia Charalambous, sales and marketing director of Bathroom Origins. She says: 'What better way to bring the outside in, than with a rustic style bathroom!'
'Recreating this look in a modern space can be as simple as painting your walls in natural earthy textured tones and as easy as introducing rattan or wicker baskets and accessories to store your towels and toiletries in.'
'Choose organic materials and rough, unrefined textures such as a stone basin and an upcycled wooden vanity unit or timber shelves. In an older house, look to see if you can expose and restore woodwork, pipes bricks and flooring.
'The key to the rustic look is that it should be perfectly imperfect.'
'Traditionally, rustic bathrooms we’re about what materials were available - stone, reclaimed wood, slate and fitting them into the a room which didn’t hide exposed surfaces such as beams and pipework.'
'The modern rustic look is about embracing the old and updating to create a warm clean contemporary feel - think uncluttered and pared down.' |
A sweet and spicy grilling and dipping sauce from the heart of the Caribbean. Cook it. Glaze it. Eat it. For more great recipes visit: www.CaptainRodneys.com. Centuries ago, in the Caribbean, pirates developed a way of preserving wild boar for their long sea voyages, seasoning the meat with wines and spices, while slowly cooking over allspice wood. The result was a delicious meat they called boucan. These pirates became known as boucan-neers, or as we know them today, buccaneers. Captain Rodney has bottled these spices, along with fresh ginger and lime juice, in a glaze that can be used on any game, fish, or vegetables, or use as a dipping sauce. Our very best, you have the Captain's word on it. - Captain Rodney, Pirate, Retired. www.captainrodney.com. Captain Rodney's glaze recipes. Made in USA.
You will have to select a store or login into your Reasors.com account before accessing recipes. |
Senior Plumber Scheduler
Title: Senior Plumber Scheduler
Location: South of the River based office
Start Date: Immediate
Our client is looking for a go getter, someone who can take this role and own it!
Working closely with the Managing Director you will be provided all the tools and support to achieve success.
The company is well established in the the delivery of projects and offer their expertise to ensure every detail, budget and construction deadline is met to the highest professional standard.
In this role, you will:
- Prepare comprehensive and accurate quotes for residential and commercial plumbing projects.
- Schedule appointments and ensure smooth workflow between scheduling tradesmen and subcontractors and liaising with suppliers, builders and plumbing supervisors.
- Manage project timelines and budgets, cross-checking plumbing designs, ensuring timely and accurate project execution.
- Assist the daily operations of the plumbing team, including assigning tasks and monitoring performance.
- Maintain clear and concise communication with project teams, suppliers and customers, keeping them informed throughout the project.
You are a perfect fit if you have:
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in plumbing estimation and scheduling.
- Proven ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritise effectively.
- Excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills.
- Strong understanding of plumbing systems and construction principles.
- Tech savy in the use of scheduling systems like Beams, Simpro, or Build Exact
- A highly motivated and supportive team environment.
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
- Opportunity to own and drive a multitude of projects.
- Opportunity to increase salary and benefits.
How to Apply
If this sounds perfect for you and will provide you with reward and recognition you deserve, we need to chat!!
Register your interest, by clicking the apply button below.
General enquiries are welcome. Call Mira on 9368 9813 for additional information.Apply for the Senior Plumber Scheduler position
Website RecruitWest Pty Ltd
Join a highly motivated & supportive team based South of the River. Apply today |
Going from being arraigned for breaking the COVID-19 precautionary rule to becoming the highest-grossing actress, producer and director, Funke Akindele has become a legend in Nigeria’s entertainment industry. On this week’s episode of #WithChude, the multiple award-winning producer, director, screenwriter, and actress discussed the work behind the production of her blockbuster movie Omo Ghetto, her work ethics and more with host and co-founder Joy Inc., Chude Jideonwo.
Talking about the process that went into the making of Omo Ghetto, Funke Akindele said, “I became the PA, makeup assistant, wardrobe manager. I styled the movie, designed the production, because this is what I live for. I gave my everything to Omo Ghetto: The Saga. I had sleepless nights, swollen eyes.”
Playing multiple roles paid off but it took a toll on the actress. She revealed that shuffling in between roles required her learning new things and constantly going beyond her capacity. She said, “I trained for a month for all the fight sequences. I had to fight for a month with everybody. I had to jog. I had to shed weight. I had to be in the picture. I was directing, acting- at some point, I almost passed out. They had to bring ice and put all over me.”
However, this did not stop the actress’ pursuit of making the now blockbuster movie. She told Chude about how she kept pushing and giving her team the motivation they needed to keep going. The result was the highest-grossing movie in Nigeria entertainment history.
This phenomenal feat was accomplished a year after she was dragged in the mud for allegedly breaking the COVID-19 rule. Funke disclosed that that period was so tough for her that at some point she considered death.
“When I was told to write my statement, I said, ‘I wish I could just die. I didn’t do anything wrong. Let me just die so it will cover the whole thing”, she said.
She further revealed that she had spent a lot of time crying and wondering what she could have done differently. Her mom and husband, however, helped her get through it with words of encouragement.
Today, Funke Akindele is a household name in the movie industry and continues to support other upcoming actors and actresses.
#WithChude is a special series of targeted multimedia conversations and investigations focused on narratives that enable and strengthen the mind, heart, and spirit.
All past and new episodes of #WithChude premiere on Saturdays at 7 am on watch.withchude.com. You can also watch the show every Saturday on Channels TV at 1 pm, with reruns every Sunday on Wazobia TV Channel 98 at 5 pm, every Wednesday on Pop Central Station DSTV Channel 189 at 8 pm, and every Thursday on EbonyLife TV StarTimes Channel 189/191 at 7:30 pm.
An extended play podcast is up on listen.withchude.com, as well as on Apple Premium and Spotify.
Everyone can join the conversation. |
When our agents work with you, they become your business partner. Our success is only measured by yours. We will Exceed Your Expectations.
Your company is unique. A one-size-fits-all approach will not help you reach your marketing goals. We will help to deliver a custom solution to your needs.
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RED understands the unique opportunity that advertising, trade shows, or promotions can offer our clients in generating business. RED is skilled in the art of increasing your visibility and executing an effective message for you.
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Ed Reckers is founder of Red Bridge Internet .
Red Bridge Internet – San Francisco, CA
Web Development and Internet Marketing, 2006 – Present
Red Bridge Internet is a Web Design and Development firm delivering high quality, extensible Web sites and applications built on robust Content Management Systems.
Grant Media, LLC. – San Francisco, CA
Web Applications Developer, 2002 to 2006
Grant Media, LLC. provided paid search advertising across its premier branded portal network. I helped maintain and and extend tools and usability on one of the first highly accessed Paid Search advertising engines on the net. I helped create a suite of tools and reporting for an affiliate program which ballooned into more than half the company’s revenue.
In helping build out and maintain a number of critical core business functions, I executed projects involving client side administrative and internal administrative tools, financial transactions/commerce implementations, front end web development on extremely high traffic networks, interface and design on the main web properties as well as micro-sites. All development was LAMP stack, in full version control with a driven development process providing robust solutions to daily business problems.
Jon Bar Point – San Francisco, CA
Project Management/Production, 2000 to 2002
Managed scheduling and delivery of a number of Web site creative outsourced by a larger engineering firm dealing in Web stores. Would output creative of 1 to 2 sites per week, delivering design, broken down components, and usability guidelines to engineering firm.
Bravo! Marketing – San Francisco, CA
Producer Interactive, 1998 to 2000
Worked as a Producer, interacting with the client, account managers, designers, and programers on a number of interesting startups. Handled some production and delivery to the client. Handled training of client with new site. Calculated budgets, scheduling, creating teams best suited for completing the job.
CSU, Monterey Bay – Monterey, CA
First professional level work with Internet and Web sites. Managed and did design of Adminissions Web site. Creating the creative and helping put templates into work over the underlying programming. Created and managed Alumni Web site and FOAA Web site for alumni students and Fort Ord military alumni. Handled design, production, planning and maintenance. |
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Welcome to ReflectionsEnroute!
We are Corinne and Jim, an American couple who slow travel around the world. We’re currently living in Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam but we’ve been lived in many countries around the world.
Luckily we are trained school teachers, which gave us the opportunity to live in these countries Japan, Germany, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands as teachers of American military children. We did this for over 20 years.
Living in these far-flung places has allowed us to learn to travel and explore to our heart’s content. We’ve traveled together to over 90 countries. We’re not truly nomadic, yet, but we’re close. We use HCMC as a base, but we still are on the road for a good portion of the year. We like to think we get the best of both worlds with a solid home base to return to while still living large out in the big wide world.
We love to design our own travel. During our available time we fill up our travel with road trips, one or two-week country explorations, African safaris, and weekend breaks to new cities, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and other local treasures. For some of the details about where we’ve been and what we’ve done, visit our Places page.
We have traveled the globe riding horses, camels, elephants, electric bikes, automobiles, vans, trucks, trains, float planes, jet aircraft, boats, and ships. Our travel philosophy focuses on the journey as part of the adventure while keeping the budget low and the experience quality high. While we are traveling we want to see it all, do as much as we can, and eat as many local foods as our stomachs can handle.
Much of traveling is taking in the iconic structures and places in the world. There’s no doubt that when we are in Paris, we seek out the Eiffel Tower, or when we are in China, the Great Wall.
However, seeing it is much more than getting to those global icons to us. In the city, it includes preparing for the day, and visiting markets and parks. Outside of the city, it’s seeing the beauty of the backcountry, the way people live in the towns and villages, farming and agriculture, just getting a glimpse into everyday life.
Seeing it is just not enough. The things we remember most are when we’ve done something or met somebody in a place. Spending time in someone’s kitchen where we’ve had a cooking lesson, visited a specialty museum, road-tripped through the mountains, or done something fun really cements that locale in our memories.
Food is a big part of our lives at home and while we’re traveling. So it makes sense to seek out the local dishes and the best local restaurants, and delve into the cuisine of the country to help understand the culture.
As we travel, we make it a point to learn about everyday food and special foods. We take cooking lessons where we learn about the people and the dish we are making. We try to bring home some world-inspired recipes from each place that we can incorporate into our meals in order to remember our time and tastes of that place.
ReflectionsEnroute showcases the amazing places we’ve been. We do this by providing information on places to go, things to see, what activities to do, and highlighting the amazing local dishes we’ve tried.
Through our writing, photography, and videography, we aim to inspire everyone on how to get out and travel (DIY) regardless if they are married, single, have children, or are on a luxury or tight budget. With our travel guides, itineraries, road trips, and practical tips, we do our best to provide you with current information at the time of publication and perform routine updates to keep our articles as up-to-date and as complete as possible.
We believe anyone can find a way to get out and see the world and discover new things about themselves and the world they live in. Travel opens the eyes and the mind to new things, new ideas, new tastes, and new experiences.
Work With Us
Traveling is not only about the destination, but it is also about meeting new people, making new friends, and creating collaborative partnerships. We actively seek out new opportunities to bring our travels to our growing online audience (nearly 200,000 across a variety of social media outlets).
We have partnered with private organizations, official tourism offices, and private individuals around the world. Our goal is to make all travel and any destination accessible through trip planning, reviews, press or fam trips, and social media takeovers.
We love traveling to places that most people only dream of going, like visiting the Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar. |
RESIDENCES AT MANDARIN ORIENTAL, Grand Cayman is spectacular. This 9th floor three-bedroom, three and one-half baths Residence located on the east corner of the West Tower features 3,572 sq ft of interior living area and 954 sq ft of oceanfront terrace, combining for 4,526 square feet of indoor and outdoor living. The unique lateral floor plan provides direct ocean views from all major rooms. Imagine a world where you enjoy the incredible turquoise waters of the Caribbean from all of your opulent living spaces. The entry gallery opens onto the living room and dining area. Elevated ten-foot ceilings frame floor-to ceiling retractable glass opens onto the front and corner terraces. Gourmet kitchen with seating bar features custom mill work cabinetry, Calacatta counter tops and back splashes with Wolf, Sub-Zero and Gaggenau appliances.The primary bedroom suite has a large 5-fixture bathroom featuring a windowed seating area, windowed soaking tub and spacious shower room with ocean views. Second and third bedrooms offer ocean views and en suite bathrooms. Baths are appointed in a selection of natural stones including Travertine and Clef Cut Limestone. Seven-inch-wide Grey Oak flooring is hand-laid throughout the interior, seamlessly integrating with the Grey Wood Plank Porcelain tiling the outdoor terrace. Wrap-around corner terrace and grilling area is good for catching the sunrise and outdoor dining. The decadence of living at the Mandarin Oriental, Grand Cayman offers world class living experience. Ask yourself – how do you want to live your life
Mortgage Calculator lets you estimate your monthly mortgage payment input different prices, terms, interest rates, and down payments and see varying monthly loan amounts. |
Carrer Mas Moreneta, 08160 Montmeló, Barcelona
|Open route planner
|Has Gas Station
Opened in 1991, the Circuit de Catalunya with its 1.1 km long straight and many long bends is one of the current TOP circuits for both motorbike GP and Formula 1. Conveniently located on the extended outskirts of the city, it can be easily reached by car or via the airport El Prat, 35 minutes away. A visit to the city centre with its many cultural sights is always recommended. Due to the mild temperatures in winter and spring, the course is particularly suitable for preparing for the season.
From now on, all winter events in Spain require a confirmation of a current health insurance or an official race licence. Please send it in advance by e-mail ([email protected]) or leave it at the office at the latest when you register. Without such a confirmation, a daily health insurance must be taken out at the race track for a fee.
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The Classic room can be either a Single or Double.
Even the Classic Roomsat the Relilax Hotel Terme Miramonti immerse guests in a unique and charming atmosphere, offering carefully chosen furnishings, and the prevalent colors are blue and green.
The bathroom is fitted with a bathtub and shower with two sinks for maximum comfort. The spacious balcony overlooking the swimming pool or the green garden of the Hotel permits enjoying breakfast and the splendid landscape at the foot of the Euganean Hills.
|B & B
|monday to sunday
|from sunday to thursday
|friday and saturday
|from 3 nights onwards
|Full board with diet
|with diet plan
Prices per day per person. Lunch / dinner served at the “Ginco” restaurant
* Prices do not include the tourist tax, which is applied in the amount of € 2, per day (out of VAT number) and for a maximum of 7 days. (excluding children under 13)
Prices valid until 10 January 2022 |
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A true story of an African boy, an American lawyer, and their long road to justice
narrated by Angela Bassett.
"Uganda is in a period of transition. We have reached the point of no return."
Chief Justice (ret.) of Uganda
"It's much, much bigger than one person. It's much bigger than one case. This is a transformation that the Ugandans are engaging in."
Professor of Law
Pepperdine University School of Law
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BEST SHORT FILM
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Updated January 7th, 2024 at 15:15 IST
Cong forms election committees in 8 states ahead of polls, sets up war rooms for strategic campaign
Congress is gearing up for elections by establishing state committees, central war rooms, and a publicity committee for strategic campaigning.
New Delhi: The Congress party, ahead of the upcoming elections, has established election committees in eight states, according to reports on Sunday, January 7. These committees have been formed for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Tripura. Additionally, a Political Affairs Committee for Madhya Pradesh has also been constituted.
An official statement released by the party read, "The Congress President has approved the proposal for the constitution of Pradesh Election Committees for Rajasthan, Kerala, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Tripura, and Pradesh Election Committee and Political Affairs Committee for Madhya Pradesh, with immediate effect." Telangana's Pradesh Election Committee will be chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Jitu Patwari and Govind Singh Dotasara will lead the Pradesh Election Committees for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively.
These committees feature prominent figures such as former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, former Union ministers Sachin Pilot, and Jitendra Singh among their members. The list of committee members also includes Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Mohan Prakash, C P Joshi, Harish Choudhary, Ramlal Jat, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajan Lal Jatav, Murari Lal Meena, Ashok Chandna, Neeraj Dangi, Zubair Khan, Dheeraj Gurjar, Rajkumar Sharma, Rohit Bohra, Indra Meena, Dungar Ram Gedar, Shimla Devi Nayak, and Lalit Yadav.
According to reports, to portray a more focused and strategically planned approach, the Congress party has also established a Central War Room for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. This war room comprises an organisational war room and a communication war room. Sasikanth Senthil S will head the organisational war room, while Vaibhav Walia has been appointed as the Chairman of the Communication War Room.
Additionally, the party has formed the Publicity Committee for the upcoming General elections. This committee includes key positions such as the Treasurer of AICC as the Convenor, along with the General Secretary (Organization), General Secretary (Communication), In-charge of Administration at AICC, Chairperson of the Media and Publicity Department, Chairperson of the Social Media Department, and any Special Invitees, if required.
Published January 7th, 2024 at 06:58 IST |
Unraveling the Mysteries of Asymmetric Topography at Gabilan Mesa, California
- Journal Article
We investigated the potential causes of topographic asymmetry at Gabilan Mesa, CA, a site that exhibits large aspect-dependent differences in hillslope gradients and microclimates. Competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the asymmetry observed at Gabilan Mesa. One hypothesis states that different microclimates on opposing slopes are responsible for differences in runoff or soil strength, which generates asymmetric topography. A second hypothesis states that differences in sediment flux from opposing slopes causes southward lateral channel migration and oversteepening of north facing slopes. To test these hypotheses, we carried out numerical modeling experiments, terrain analysis, and field measurements. We also considered the role of initial tilting in causing the asymmetry. We found that saturated hydraulic conductivity is considerably lower on south facing slopes in one highly asymmetric basin. This is consistent with the hypothesis that aspect-dependent runoff is responsible for the asymmetry. We also used cosmogenic radionuclide-derived erosion rates and topographic characteristics at Gabilan Mesa to test predictions from numerical landscape evolution models that incorporate asymmetry-forming mechanisms. The aspect-dependent models reproduce the erosional and topographic characteristics of Gabilan Mesa better than the lateral channel migration model. We conclude that aspect-dependent runoff is the most likely explanation for most of the topographic asymmetry at Gabilan Mesa. Our results do not rule out tilting as a possible influence on the initial development of asymmetry nor do they rule out the possibility that lateral channel migration has contributed to the asymmetry, but we suggest that tilting and lateral channel migration are not primarily responsible for it. © 2020 American Geophysical Union. Show more
Journal / seriesJournal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Pages / Article No.
PublisherAmerican Geophysical Union
Organisational unit03798 - Kirchner, James W. / Kirchner, James W.
MoreShow all metadata |
Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney Samantha Kucher Releases Comprehensive Article on Personal Injury
Brooklyn personal injury attorney Samantha Kucher of Kucher Law Group Injury Attorney has recently published an extensive article on the multifaceted aspects of personal injury. The article, spanning various categories of personal injury cases, is aimed at equipping victims and their families with vital knowledge on their legal rights and possible recourse.
The article provides in-depth insights into different types of accidents, including car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall accidents, bicycle accidents, and construction accidents. As a seasoned Brooklyn personal injury attorney, Samantha Kucher elaborates on the common causes of these accidents and the devastating effects they have on victims and their families.
“Nearly one in five car accidents in New York City results in an injury,” the Brooklyn personal injury attorney states, highlighting the significance of the problem. “After a car accident in Brooklyn, it can take a victim weeks, months, and even years to heal and get back some semblance of normalcy.”
The Brooklyn personal injury attorney further elaborates on the complexities involved in dealing with truck accidents, the dangers of construction accidents, and the intricacies of slip and fall accidents. In each of these sections, Samantha Kucher emphasizes the role of an attorney in navigating these complex situations and ensuring victims get the compensation they deserve.
The article also delves into the concept of compensation for pain and suffering in personal injury cases. Samantha Kucher explains the considerations that influence the amount of compensation a person may be able to recover. “The value of the case will depend on many factors such as the liability of negligent defendants, the severity and permanence of the injuries, and the loss in income,” she notes.
The Brooklyn personal injury attorney further highlights the potential impact of social media on a personal injury case and the types of evidence used in proving fault in personal injury cases. From police reports and physical evidence to witness testimonies, Samantha Kucher provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence that can strengthen a personal injury claim.
Being equipped with the right knowledge can be empowering when dealing with personal injury cases. The article by the Brooklyn personal injury attorney Samantha Kucher is a valuable resource for anyone seeking guidance and understanding on the matter.
About Kucher Law Group:
Kucher Law Group is a law firm in Brooklyn, New York, committed to providing top-notch legal assistance to victims of personal injury. With a team of highly skilled attorneys led by Samantha Kucher, the firm strives to hold negligent parties accountable and ensure just compensation for their clients. Kucher Law Group offers a no-cost consultation to discuss potential injury claims and operates on a contingency basis, requiring no payment unless they secure compensation on behalf of their clients.
Kucher Law Group Injury Attorney
463 Pulaski St #1c
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Research Raptor journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article. |
The colour scheme was designed to pull elements from different aspects of underground transport.
AND Limited has been designing Barkers clothing stores since 2008 and were also an integral part of their rebirth in 2011. They were engaged once again to assist with their newest store at Commercial Bay.
The latest concept store is another in long line of successful nationwide stores, each with their own theme and story. The aim with the Barkers team is to always create a unique retail experience that draws on its locale to form the core identity of the store. The recent Newmarket store for example, expands on the existing 'Chop Shop' theme. Barkers 'Underground' at Commercial Bay is a nod to the busy inner-city hub and draws inspiration from the future underground network as well as the daily commute.
The City Rail Loop extension to Britomart Station passes directly through the building below. We saw this as unique to this site and a natural fit with the other nationwide store themes. The bustling nature of the city commuter also reflects the customer type who the store is geared for, with the product range curated to suit this market.
The store design acts as a gallery, with the product as the art on display. The architectural elements and materials are carefully selected to reflect the concept theme. A large archway and suspended curved bulkhead emulate traditional London and New York underground archetypes. These gestures are complemented by an exposed concrete structure including slab, columns, and overhead beams.
The barebones of the base build architecture played into the concept theme. The colour scheme was designed to pull elements from different aspects of underground transport, such as the London Underground Tube system and New York's famous Subway. These places have muted overall tones, with exposed architecture, celebrating the industrial nature of underground transport. These spaces are also accented with design touches such as the prevalent subway tiling that injects a touch of independence to each station.
Contrasting subway tiles are complemented by Resene Half Sea Fog to the existing walls, while the exposed concrete structure is paired with Resene Concrete. Resene Half Sea Fog was selected as the primary wall treatment as it has a slightly darker tone than the vivacity of Resene Alabaster or the like. It also behaves nicely as a backdrop, allowing the product and feature elements and materials to stand proud. Walls are finished in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen and Resene SpaceCote Flat, with Resene SpaceCote Flat continued on ceiling areas.
The large archway at the rear of the store is designed to reflect an underground train entrance, with a sympathetic white subway tile lining and black aluminium capping to the internal face of the arch. This leads into a contrasting black tiled fitting area with traditional fitting room doors, coated in Resene Deep Fir. These doors are traditional in nature and the aim was to finish them in a way that is reminiscent of subway car and train body colouring. The Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss finish also gives them a nice sheen, while being practical and easy to clean. This space also features a concrete plaster render finish with Resene Concrete to the suspended ceiling overhead. The collection of these materials paired with the brick bond tile floor embodies an underground station waiting area. The selected Resene colours represent the spirit of these underground stations, without associating with a specific spot.
The suspended curved bulkhead in the retail area is a nod to the cylindrical train tunnel passing nearby, while the lowered nature creates a more intimate area to browse. This is finished off with a signature lighting detail running the length of the store that references New York subway platform lighting.
The Barkers Underground concept store delivers an exciting and dynamic shopping experience that utilises its surroundings to form its theme.
Resene case studies/awards project gallery
View case studies that have used Resene products including many from our Resene Total Colour Awards. We hope these projects provide inspiration for decorating projects of your own... view projects |
About Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo (pronounced MAN-TEE-OH) is a charming charismatic waterfront community on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Most people who visit the Outer Banks don’t usually venture over to Manteo as it is primarily a residential town…but there is plenty for visitors to see and do in this charming little town. Manteo is part of Roanoke Island and is about 13 minutes southwest of Nags Head.
This town is most famous for being home to the same historical events in different formats. The Lost Colony is an English colony that arrived on Roanoke Island from England in 1587 and mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Still a mystery, the story of The Lost Colony has been transformed into an outdoor drama with a long history in and of itself. The Lost Colony Outdoor drama has been performed during summer nights for nearly 90 years.
Things To Do In Manteo
Along with taking the family for a performance at The Lost Colony, there’s so much to do in Manteo. From adventuring around Downtown to learning more about the history of Roanoke Island, there’s something for everyone to do. Head to Roanoke Island Festival Park to learn about the first military settlement that arrived in 1585; 2 years before the Lost Colony arrived.
You can also visit the North Carolina Aquarium. There, you’ll learn more about animals that are native to Roanoke Island, the OBX, and North Carolina as a whole. Manteo is also home to some pretty stellar small shopping. From bookstores and locally made art to shopping boutiques, it’s worth it to bring some extra money for a little retail therapy.
Along with rich history, there are some pretty stellar dining options in Manteo too. You won’t find many chain restaurants here but places like Poor Richard’s and Darrell’s are great places to grab lunch. For dinner, check out Ortega’z. In 2016, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives actually featured Ortega’z on an episode!
Manteo is full of little hidden gems. If you’ve been lucky enough to come across this page, you know just about all there is to know about this quaint, waterfront town. Oh! One more thing. Never ask the locals for directions…they already lost the first colony!
Stay in Manteo
Although Resort Realty doesn’t currently offer any rentals in Manteo, we do offer a wide array of Nags Head rentals! Nags Head is the closest town to Manteo and with it being only about a 13-minute drive, a rental home in Nags Head allows you to be close to all there is to see and do in this wonderful OBX town! |
- Consumers feel more brand intimacy toward Chick-fil-A than any other fast food brand, according to MBLM's 2019 Brand Intimacy Study.
- Dunkin' ranked second for brand intimacy, followed by Starbucks, which had ranked first in both 2018 and 2017.
- Fast food brands ranked sixth out of 15 industries examined in the study, which examined consumers' emotion-based perceptions of branding. The study defines brand intimacy as "the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love."
It's not the largest QSR in the country, but Chick-fil-A may boast the most loyal fan base. Its customers voted it as the top fast food brand in another study on emotional engagemnet and loyalty earlier this year, while another report concluded that Chick-fil-A has the strongest brand personality of any QSR.
The secret behind Chick-fil-A's cult-like following lies primarily in its strong emphasis on customer service and ability to appeal to a wide swath of consumers. Chick-fil-A is also investing in human interaction with personal touches. For example, the chain is testing a tableside button that allows customers to call for a server to take a second order, demonstrating its ability to build an evolved emotional connection with its customers while remaining tech savvy.
The brand also builds rapport through its loyalty programs. It incentivizes consumers to download its app by offering a free sandwich for each download. In 2016, the company launched its app and a 'Mom's Valet' program to let young parents order via a drive-thru before being served in the store to minimize parents' stress of waiting in lines to order.
Chick-fil-A has taken heat for donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations and for its CEO's open stance against same-sex marriage, but despite subsequent boycotts, its politics haven't stopped its national growth. It in fact saw a boost in sales at the height of the controversy in 2012 as some customers flocked to the store to demonstrate loyalty, often as a political statement. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, for example, hosted a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day", in counter protest to an LGBTQ kiss-in held at the store earlier that year.
The brand has claimed that it has since wound down its donations and the CEO said that he would stay out of politics, but Think Progress reports in 2017 and 2019 based on the company's IRS tax filings found that the company has continued to quietly donate to discriminatory groups.
Dunkin' has cultivated a similar sense of brand loyalty through its loyalty program, which has 10 million current members according to the brand. It allows users to scan a DD Perks loyalty ID QR code to pay using a variety of methods and helps users accrue program points. It also recently added a plant-based breakfast option to its menu, a Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, making it one of the first QSRs to bring the alternative protein offering to a breakfast menu. |
Want to donate to help those in Houston who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey? Below is a compilation of resources from sites we trust with some places to go.
Organizations Focused on People of Color
The Black Women’s Defense League is a Dallas-based organization that works directly with community members to determine needs. Click here for a list of supplies that can be donated; head here to donate money.
RAICES, a Texas-based nonprofit group, is working with Texas shelters to find housing for woman and children stranded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Although ICE stated they were suspending non-criminal immigration enforcement, they also left at least 50 women and children stranded at an empty bus station. Want to help? Donate to them here.
A San Antonio city council member has also set up a collection to send clothing, toys and toiletries to them. You can mail boxes to the Collins Garden Library in San Antonio.
ICNA Relief, also known as Muslims for Humanity, is a nonprofit that has been on the ground helping victims of Hurricane Harvey.
BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund benefits individuals and families who are victims of publicly declared disasters.
Living Hope Wheelchair Association serves many low-income and immigration community members with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. The organization has been conducting direct rescue efforts.
SHAPE Community Center says its organization aims to “improve the quality of life for people of African descent (all people) through programs and activities, with emphasis on unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.” Since the storm made landfall in Texas, it has mobilized to help the people of Houston stay safe and find shelter.
South Texas Human Rights Center is committed to keeping immigrant families intact and preventing migrant deaths along the Texas-Mexico border through community initiatives. The border—and those living on it—were in the direct path of Hurricane Harvey.
Organizations Helping Other Marginalized Communities
Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund was created by the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, to help community members.
The Way Home works to end homelessness in Houston, Harris County and Fort Bend County. It has partnered with a network of area shelters to achieve this. Donate directly to The Way Home or to its partners.
Portlight assists people with disabilities who have medical needs or require shelter as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
Texas Diaper Bank provides emergency diaper kits (which are not distributed by relief agencies) for babies, seniors and people with disabilities.
Organizations Helping with Menstruation and Other Needs
Aquí Estamos RGV, a youth-led LGBTQ people of color org and Neta, another community led org based in Texas have teamed up to collect monetary donations that will be used to purchase and send menstrual hygiene products to people displaced and affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast.
The Homeless Period Project Houston strives to donate feminine hygiene products to disadvantaged women all around Houston. With all the devastation Harvey has caused, the organization is focusing on getting menstrual supplies to those who need them. You will find links to an Amazon Wish List and fundraiser on their social media. You can follow the local page on Instagram and Facebook for updates or donate via their Amazon Wish List.
Support the Girls collects and distributes donations of new/used bras and new sealed packages of tampons and maxi pads to homeless women and girls across North America (and in four locations worldwide) and is accepting donations for those affected by Harvey. If you need period products or bras or would like to donate either, you can contact them at [email protected].
Want to Volunteer? Volunteer Houston is connecting folks who can lend a helping hand through their volunteer portal.
Note: Information is subject to change due to need in the co |
La Carpio: Sensationalist Reporting and Clear Voices
Thousands of Nicaraguan poor live in La Carpio, Costa Rica,
and all are fodder for sensationalist news stories in the national press.
Is such reporting due to racism, class scorn or simple media superficiality?
The book Voices of La Carpio reveals the damage such coverage produces,
the pain it triggers.
Karina Fonseca Vindas
A sprawling community called La Carpio has sprung up northeast of San José’s central canton. It is home to some 23,000 people, about half of them impoverished Nicaraguan immigrants. This 236-square-kilometer urban settlement has become one of the areas most feared and repudiated by Costa Ricans.
Negative public opinionCosta Rica’s Mixed Social Aid Institute has estimated the monthly income of the majority of La Carpio’s families at between 60,000 and 75,000 colons (US$130-165), not enough to cover the cost of basic provisions and services for a family of six, according to the National Statistics and Census Institute. In addition to figuring out how to cope with such adverse economic conditions, La Carpio’s residents have had to deal with police raids and get used to their community frequently appearing in the crime sections of the country’s media, which tend to emphasize crimes committed by foreigners.
Police agents and journalists feed the negative public opinion about La Carpio. Many Costa Ricans who have never visited the community often speak disrespectfully of the people who live there based solely on what they see, hear or read in the news. Between 1999 and October 2004, the digital edition of La Nación, the country’s most important newspaper, carried an average of one negative article a week related to La Carpio.
In the first half of 2004, La Carpio acquired even greater notoriety due to several violent acts that occurred there and the abundant news coverage of them. On January 22, Wilberth López, a Nicaraguan whose wife had accused him of domestic violence, broke into the house they shared in La Carpio, violating the restraining order she had taken out against him. Once inside he killed three of his children and wounded his wife and her brother, then killed himself. The multiple homicides shook the country, particularly the Nicaraguan population, which attended the children’s funeral in La Carpio’s church in droves. The Costa Rican media covered this violent crime for days, turning it into a veritable media event.
Operation BroomOn January 30, the Public Security Ministry conducted a sweep operation in La Carpio it aptly dubbed “broom,” in which it rounded up 620 people, the vast majority of them Nicaraguans. Beyond the stigmatizing nature of its name, since what is usually swept up with a broom is garbage, the operation can be interpreted as a repressive police response to the previous week’s domestic violence that served to identify the image of poor Nicaraguan immigrants as synonymous with crime.
Is there any basis for this identification? Investigations into the issue have discarded it. In the nineties, for example, Nicaraguans committed only 10.3% of the reported acts of violence against women in Costa Rica, with the rest committed by nationals. While no case of domestic violence can be justified, these figures are almost exactly proportionate to the percentage of Nicaraguans in the country’s total population, belying the stereotype that Nicaraguans are significantly more violent than the host population.
According to Costa Rican police authorities, the aim of the sweep was to review the migratory situation of the foreigners and verify whether fugitives from justice were living in La Carpio. Of the over 600 picked up, it was determined that 22 would be deported immediately, 21 were carrying false documents, 73 were undocumented and 173 had applied for and were waiting to receive the documents that would legalize their situation. Nicaraguan lawyer Carlos Coronado Vargas filed a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of 65 of his compatriots who had been prejudiced in the operation and three months later Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court ordered the state to pay them costs and damages. The justices reasoned that the operation had been caried out on public streets and with no prior indication that those picked up had committed any crime. They further concluded that the operation had violated article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits the arbitrary arrest of foreigners.
The capital’s garbage dumpThe last of the scandalous media episodes related to La Carpio during that period began on May 31, 2004, when residents blocked the community’s only access road. They claimed that a company called EBI was not complying with a series of promises relating to the contract it had negotiated with 12 of the community organizations in coordination with Costa Rica’s central government and the San José mayor’s office for a project called the “La Carpio Environmental Technological Park” This attractive sounding name is in fact a euphemism for a new landfill project administered by EBI, a subsidiary of the Canadian Berthierville Co. Inc. Starting in 2000, 700 tons of garbage from different parts of the metropolitan area have been dumped in La Carpio every single day.
The main “compensatory” social benefits stipulated for the community in exchange for going forward with the landfill were to pave the streets, create a trust fund into which approximately US$0.15 would be deposited for every ton of garbage processed and title the lands on which the residents had built their houses.
The only street the company paved was the one its garbage trucks went back and forth on every day, leaving the parallel ones that connect the various sectors of La Carpio unsurfaced. But the greatest controversy is that EBI has failed to continue depositing the agreed-upon quota into the fund, alleging bad management of the money by the community leaders. In addition, the government has stopped titling the lands, one of its main reasons being that at least 2,000 resident families do not qualify to receive the deeds due to their migratory status. The disagreements over these commitments have generated ill will on all sides.
Brief sympathy for La CarpioThe May blockade was designed to exert pressure for the reestablishment of talks with the authorities responsible for implementing the agreed-to offers. When it became obvious that no dialogue was possible among the parties, the Costa Rican police threw teargas bombs, supposedly to “reestablish order” and disarticulate the “rebel group,” which only frayed tempers even more. In an area with only one access road and houses built chockablock, the effects of the teargas were far greater than intended. The final count was 102 people in need of medical attention, many of whom had not even been involved in the events. In fact, children were the most affected. The media images shown the next day were powerful: front-page stories by journalists covering Red Cross posts about boys and girls with respiratory problems, and numerous photos of mothers and fathers running with their children in search of urgent medical care.
There was also coverage of violence between the police and the demonstrators following the use of the teargas, which had enraged La Carpio’s residents. Dozens of teenagers confronted police officers with sticks, rocks and even a number of firearms. Six officers received gunshot wounds, fortunately none of them serious. The newspapers showed police flogging demonstrators. All these images encouraged public opinion not only to denounce the police actions, but also to insist that the unresolved claims of La Carpio’s residents be put on the public agenda.
Gangs in Costa Rica!Regrettably, repudiation of the police action was forgotten within a week, as was the discussion about unkept promises that had led to the blockade. They were erased by a fresh media attempt to link La Carpio’s youth to an allegedly imminent invasion of Costa Rica by the violent youth gangs known as maras plaguing other Central American countries.
This information took two fear-mongering paths. One was insistence on the idea that the repressive measures being imposed by neighboring countries to combat the maras would push their members into Costa Rica. The other, even more refutable focus was that poor communities such as La Carpio represented a breeding ground where gangs—which indeed do exist there and in other poor Costa Rican neighborhoods—could develop into maras. Several of the most influential media described the maras as the new threat to “peaceful” Costa Rica. Journalists visited prisons in Honduras and El Salvador and spoke with mara members, inducing them to confess their intentions to set up shop
in Costa Rica. Some gang members interviewed by television and newspapers were happy to comply.
Voices of La CarpioThe massive presence of Nicaraguan immigrants in La Carpio makes it more susceptible than other similar urban areas to being criminalized. In a vicious circle, the media turn to La Carpio to fill their crime section, using acts committed there to feed already existing paranoia about the danger of certain poor neighborhoods.
The hostility of many Costa Ricans toward foreigners living in their country and this abundance, sensationalism and reductionism of most news about La Carpio have become powerful formulas to exclude this community’s residents even more.
One of the forms this exclusion takes is a lack of educational opportunities, and that led to the creation of “A Snack and Shoes,” a program for migrant children who are excluded by both their poverty and their nationality. The objective is to consolidate a scholarship system to support immigrant primary and secondary school students who are about to drop about of school by providing them a monthly stipend to cover the cost of transport, food, necessary clothing and school supplies.
The program tries to create a solidarity network between Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans to encourage respectful coexistence between the two communities. One fruit of this initiative is the publication of the book Voices of La Carpio, which has begun to circulate in La Carpio with support from the UN International Organization for Migrations and the UN Development Program. Starting with the next school year it will be given out as discussion material in schools with an important immigrant population.
Voices of La Carpio includes opinions gathered from different meetings of resident groups, particularly in the community itself. The aim is to counteract the negative images in the Costa Rican media, giving both Nicas and Ticos the opportunity to explain what their coexistence is really like, what they think and feel about the role of the media, the government and private enterprise in their community and how they envision that La Carpio can improve.
“They only see the bad part”The comments reveal that Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans in La Carpio have forged a respectful relationship despite initial difficulties. As one resident recalls, “The struggle has been very hard; those of us who’ve been here for ten years have been struggling right from the start, when we had to dig wells and haul water, when we had to sneak out at the crack of dawn, putting up posts to steal current because they didn’t want to give us electricity… It’s been very long, very painful, very tearful for many people, and there have even been fights within the community itself. It’s been a very sad and very tough struggle, but also a very beautiful experience. It’s a pity that people only see the bad part.”
One of the main complaints from the inhabitants of La Carpio is that the media only show people “the bad part.” This is how they tell it: “The journalists have marginalized us without even being aware that many working people live here, people who leave their houses at dawn to earn their daily bread, including Ticos, Nicas and people of many different nationalities. This is what they should focus on so we aren’t looked down on when we go to the clinics or just out into the street and find it so hard to tell people that we’re from La Carpio...”
Is life really Like that?One of the episodes of “That’s Life,” a daily talk show on Costa Rica’s Channel 7, illustrated how the media commonly reinforce the relationship between criminality and poor barrios. One resident described how she felt about the way the program dealt with the issue of the maras: “I’d been suspecting it for some time, when they started carrying feature stories about the Salvatruchasand La Dieciocho [names of notorious Central American gangs] and other stuff about the maras. I immediately analyzed it psychologically and said to myself: ‘They’re going to say that they’ve infiltrated La Carpio as well, or at least that these criminal and problematic people are more likely to come here. To be honest, it’s very depressing and really undermines your self-esteem. It also makes all of us living here more afraid and even generates more violence by putting us on the defensive.”
Another woman from the community went even further: “I’m certain that some people who came, I don’t remember from what newspaper, bought toy weapons and handed them out in Cueva del Sapo [one of the sectors of La Carpio]. When they did their report, the little kids were playing with these plastic pistols and they focused on that, just so they could show that the kids go around playing with guns from such an early age. I saw it. I was coming back from the butcher’s when I saw it, but I didn’t tell anybody because I don’t want them to pick me up.”
What Voices of La Carpio tries to show is that while the socioeconomic conditions
of low-income urban areas do indeed influence the generation of criminal acts, the media have been incapable of looking beyond that focus. They aren’t interested in understanding the structural causes that make these areas more susceptible to being focal points of delinquency. For them, if it bleeds it leads; it’s as simple as that. They have a hard time separating criminality from class condition. It’s easier to discredit those who have less “rights” or less possibility of responding and the criminality-poverty binomial dominates their collective vision of the social reality on which they are supposed to report.
“If the TV people could see what La Carpio is like”“I’m going to share an experience I suffered. About four years ago, we wanted to study in the INA [National Learning Institute, a center that offers training in different fields as an alternative to those who aren’t in a formal academic system]. Six of us housewives got together and went off to the class. When we got there, we all decided not to tell them that we lived in La Carpio so we wouldn’t be snubbed. And it’s really like that. We didn’t tell them and they all shared with us in the nicest way. We drank coffee together, shared materials and everything. But there’s always one drunk at a wake; one day a woman came and said, ‘Ooh, these people are from La Carpio.’ And just like that, they turned their backs on us. For two years running they didn’t want to give us financial aid, just because we were from La Carpio.”
This fear of admitting where one lives is recurrent. “If the TV people could see what La Carpio is like, if they could come and film all this... But no; first they show all the dirt and only then do they show the good stuff, if at all, because they usually only go after the bad. If they’d show the good part, people would support La Carpio more and we wouldn’t have so much trouble when we apply for a job: ‘Er, you’re from La Carpio?’ Even being Costa Rican, I had to lie just recently and say I’d gone back to live in Pavas...”
Negative impressions of La Carpio based on the media images are commonplace among Costa Ricans who have never visited the community: “I don’t know La Carpio, but they say you can’t even set foot there,” or “that place has been taken over by Nicas.” Personal experience is substituted with appropriation of what circulates in the media. If delinquents are the only subjects in news stories about La Carpio and Nicaraguans commit crimes, then the same glove fits all Nicaraguans living there. This stereotyping does enormous damage to all the men and women in the community who are trying to make something of their lives, which is unquestionably the great majority.
“People don’t leave out of fear, Public security is central to electoral campaigns all around the world these days. The fear of insecurity, the terror of terrorism in the United States has allowed President Bush to win a second term. In addition to legitimating government actions, public insecurity draws attention away from far more important issues for which no solutions are being offered. In the Costa Rican case, La Carpio has become the reference point for many Costa Ricans’ fears. The authorities’ fight against crime in poor communities is a focus of the struggle to generate favorable public opinion regarding police presence, a factor that wards off feared evils and attenuates the anxiety felt by many Costa Ricans who are finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy its basic needs.
but out of pain”
Knowing that at least one is “protected” by the police is a way to feel the state’s existence, even if the security one really needs to live a dignified life has nothing to do with the police. La Carpio’s residents intuit the existence of this “culture of fear” that is being propagated at the cost of their community. “One day a priest came and he said that people were leaving here out of fear. I told him, ‘No, it’s not just fear; people are also leaving out of pain.’ The fact is that seeing what’s going on hurts you both internally and externally, because you not only have to suffer what is happening, but also listen to the comments from outside; and that’s what hurts the most.”
Public security, understood as the fight against crime, is not the most important concern of La Carpio’s residents. “You ask if we’ve lived with fear. The only fear I’ve come to feel as an immigrant was when Migration came here and carried people off in a big sweep; people who were going off to work and lost the day’s wages.”
The greatest of the urgenciesIt’s a positive surprise for Costa Ricans to see La Carpio residents requesting childcare facilities, improvements in the area’s only school, the construction of a secondary school and upkeep of sports or recreation areas for young people. Hardly anyone there fears falling victim to the gang that hangs out all day on one of the corners. The real fear is that their children will continue to be victims of increasingly accentuated exclusion caused by government indifference.
“La Caja Farm” is La Carpio’s only school and the largest institution in the community. It provides classes for over 2,000 children in three separate sessions, including Saturdays. The groups are made up of a minimum of 35 students, and they only receive three classes a day. The school’s annual program includes none of the special subjects such as physical education, music or English offered in the majority of metropolitan area schools, but these limitations do not exempt the students from having to fulfill the same Public Education Ministry requirements for graduating as the other primary schools.
A professional from the school’s inter-disciplinary team describes the discouraging road the children of La Carpio face over the course of their academic formation. “Just imagine that over four hundred children enter first grade here every year, but only two thirds of these 13 or 14 groups graduate each year. Look at the percentage that drops out along the way. And the real possibilities of those who do graduate going on to secondary school are minimal. We’re talking about some 20% at best. The closest high schools are the Julio Fonseca or the Luis Dobles and some go to the San José Lyceum in Barrio México, but they all involve an economic investment for the family. And they can’t get into INA until they’re 15. At least 80 adolescents leave with nothing to do, which makes them fertile fodder for the gangs. We have students whose families are in very difficult economic straights, and it’s important for them to be productive. Given the very characteristics of the place, these families are already demanding that their kids start making an economic contribution, which makes it very hard for them. There are students who have made it to fifth year, but they are the minority.”
The value of the only schoolThe limited possibilities the children who go to primary school in La Carpio have of improving their lot are alarming. Some of the critical factors limiting the students are the deteriorated and overcrowded school premises, the lack of classrooms for preschool lessons, the absence of any training center for adolescents and the disposition that prevents INA from accepting youths under 15 years old, leaving adolescents who graduate from sixth grade when they are 12 with nowhere to go. The fact that the majority of families urgently need their children to help provide for the household further reduces their possibility of starting much less finishing secondary school.
For all that, this single educational center is highly valued in La Carpio. As an official from the school itself says, “It’s the only school and I’m always impressed when I hear that the boys and girls don’t like to leave when vacation rolls around. The only place they want to go on Saturday is school. The children aren’t happy if the teachers can’t come to work. They want the teacher to come Saturdays so they can go to school. They need this space.”
Yesterday they attacked Nicas, Costa Rica is living through an historic moment right now. Two former Presidents are in custody pending trial on accusations of corruption and another will soon join them. Several of their cohorts and subalterns are in a similar position. One of the latter is Dr. Eliseo Vargas, former executive president of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), the public entity responsible for providing medical attention to the country’s inhabitants.
today they’re accused of corruption
Vargas faces charges of having “contracted” some politicians to help smooth the way in the Legislative Assembly for approval of a certain Finnish credit and has admitted to the Costa Rican Public Ministry that he received a luxurious house as a “reward” for his effort. To wind up this now famous credit, the Fischel Corporation, a commercial group representing the Finnish company in Costa Rica, provided medical equipment to the CCSS billed at nearly US$38 million, an enormous expenditure for the CCSS that is now being looked into by the country’s judicial authorities. Vargas was one of the main promoters of this financial decision, which has triggered criticism from the heads of many of the CCSS’s medical dependencies. Some say the CCSS could have assumed the purchase without indebting itself while others focus on the fact that they weren’t consulted and that many of the purchases did not address their units’ most urgent needs.
Vargas’ lack of reticence in making free with CCSS resources contrasts with the image he had so carefully built up on other occasions. When he first headed up the CCSS, for example, Vargas presented the media with figures demonstrating the high cost for Costa Rica of providing medical services to Nicaraguan migrants, thus becoming one of the main public inciters of anti-immigrant sentiment. It is an ironic paradox: the proclaimed guardian of the public health sector’s finances reaps a substantial personal windfall by misspending the public funds under his charge. In fact, Costa Rican taxpayers may today be paying a higher cost for the corrupt actions of only one of our state officials than for the medical attention provided to the thousands of poor Nicaraguans residing in our country. Unfortunately, the national media have a very short memory when it comes to making these necessary comparisons to the public.
Is the recent reporting shiftThis case—only one of many recently questioned acquisitions—illustrates an informational switch in the country. The media have let the urban spaces and rural poor off the hook as the main source of their daily hard-hitting “red news.” Today the alleged criminals reside in the highest official spaces.
just a one-day bloom?
It would be ingenuous to hope that such scandals will lead to a shift in the age-old way criminality has been reported by the media, but while the charges against these top Costa Rican officials occupy a great deal of media space, there is no clarity in defining what category these news stories belong in. In Nacionales and El País, both informative arenas for the voice of the country’s political class and economically powerful, the stories were found exclusively on the front page at first, confirming how hard it is to abandon certain ideological structures and accept that the country’s political-economic “elite” commit crimes too. But more recently, things are turning around, with these two newspapers giving the stories the same sensationalist treatment as Sucesos, Costa Rica’s crime rag, and placing them in the crime section of those two papers, also aptly called Sucesos, traditionally where the offenses committed by the poor are found.
It’s hard to imagine that these accusations against high officials will convince the communicators of the urgency of rethinking the news treatment they give to a social phenomenon as complex as criminality or the damage they do to poor people by recurrently turning them into subjects, or rather objects, of negative news. Regrettably, the impact of various penal processes against top representatives of Costa Rica’s elite won’t be enough to do the job, given that peoples’ ways of thinking about criminality doesn’t change overnight. Criminalizing will probably remain a class affair and the accusations of criminal acts by the powerful a one-day bloom after which the media will go back to “business as usual.” This could be seen as pessimism, but pessimism could turn out to be a motor force of change.
Karina Fonseca Vindas is a journalist. |
2 min read
You’ve probably heard of Lunchtime Learning before - it’s usually a training session focussed on skills training, product training or professional development hosted by someone in the business during a lunch break. This format has a lot of positives; it gives employees a chance to share ideas, work on presentation skills or update colleagues on projects.
However; after spending time researching how a lot of businesses design their Lunchtime Learning, there is often one missing piece - inspiration!
As work life balance continues to blur it’s critical to take a human approach to your learning and development strategy including how you host your Lunchtime Learning. For the most part work is no longer only in the office between 9 and 5, it extends to commutes, lunch breaks, after hours, weekends and more. In the same vein, we need to make sure there is some time spent in the office discussing and learning about things that not only benefit people as employees, but in every part of their lives.
By shifting away from topics based on a strict definition of professional development you’ll be able to share opinions, ideas, and thoughts on things your team doesn’t normally discuss together. The point is that by moving from just professional development to “human” development you will help spark new ideas, creativity and inspiration.
When you work at building an environment where people feel inspired and motivated they will also feel engaged.
One way we at Reward Gateway have used Lunchtime Learning to inspire our staff is through Ted Talks. Ted Talks are a set of global conferences that are free to view online, they cover a huge range of topics. We have also done sessions around our values, team building exercises, and on occasion even a game of Heads Up!
In terms of inspiration, creativity and great discussion Ted Talks have been the best format for us - we watch the video, discuss the content and share ideas about how it could be applied to our lives and to the business.
The traditional format of Lunchtime Learning does offer opportunities for professional development. However, taking time to design a session around inspiration and development for the entire person will help your team become more creative, passionate and engaged.
What do you do to inspire your team? Let us know in the comments below. |
Young men from Chechnya are being drafted into Russia's armed forces for the first time in 20 years.
Some 500 men aged 18-27 will be drafted this autumn.
Officials at Russia's Southern Military District said on October 1 that drafting commissions had started working in Chechnya's 17 districts and that the first group of conscripts will be sent to military units in 10 days.
Mandatory military service in Russia is 12 months.
Chechen youth stopped being drafted to the Russian Army in late 1994, when the Kremlin sent the military into Chechnya to try to crush its separatist leadership.
Government forces drove separatists from power in a second war and Moscow announced in 2009 that its "counterterrorist" operation in Chechnya was over.
Chechen separatist fighters gradually turned into Islamic insurgency and spread to other parts of Russia's volatile North Caucasus region.
Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops intermittently over the past six months near its border with Ukraine, which is battling a pro-Russian separatism that Western governments accuse Moscow of supporting and supplying.
Western leaders and NATO say Russia has also sent its troops into Ukraine, a charge echoed by Russian NGOs organized by the families of Russian soldiers though denied by Moscow. |
Customize Your Ride with Our Name & Flag Stickers and ID-Tags. Elevate your biking gear with personalized decals from Rider Tags. Whether you're marking your bike, helmet, or accessories, our high-quality decals combine your unique identity with your choice of social media icons or country flags. Our decals aren't just about looks. They're crafted to endure the toughest conditions, with a lifespan of up to 7 years, scratch and UV resistance, and an overlaminate finish as standard. Choose from various options: a single pack with two decals for a subtle touch or a fully stacked sheet for maximum impact.
Our decals are more than just a product; they're a statement of your passion for riding. Each decal is a reflection of our commitment to quality and your love for the sport. Whether you're cruising the city streets or tackling rugged trails, our decals ensure your ride stands out in style and substance. Explore our range and find the perfect match to express your unique riding persona. |
Discover Dylan Taylor’s indie-country heartbreak on ‘Rather Watch Me Burn’.
Dylan Taylor ‘Rather Watch Me Burn’
‘I don’t wanna leave, babe, but I don’t wanna stay, if it means feeling this way any longer’ opens ‘Rather Watch Me Burn’. It’s a line that captures a classic, relatable feeling towards the end of a relationship when the end is night but you just don’t want to see it. Many listeners will be familiar with the emotions portrayed on Dylan Taylor’s track.
Dylan Taylor is a singer-songwriter with roots in Atlanta and Nashville. With a steady stream of releases under her belt, this single sees her gearing up for her next EP.
‘Rather Watch Me Burn’ is a punchy indie-country ballad, with a catchy chorus and classic themes. ‘
I love you when you’re around, but the in-between times got me losing my mind’ sing Taylor’s insistent lyrics as she realises it’s the end for her and her distant, possible abrasive lover. The chorus is memorable with its ‘Gotta be a way out, gotta be a reason, gotta be an answer, gotta be a why’ refrain, as she looks for meaning in the situation, with a nice bit of angst on the titular ‘how you gonna say you love me, when you’d rather watch me burn’ line. The melodies are well crafted and singable, led by Taylor’s assured vocals with a strong influence of folk and country twang.
The production centres around ambient guitar picking and chugging rhythm, with steady beats and a gentle bass holding it together. An evocative guitar solo ends the track on a pleasantly low-key note. Anyone with a taste for country or Americana should listen to this one.
Discover more from Dylan Taylor
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Words Eden Tredwell |
The Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana (UL) (Ljubljana, Slovenia) is the leading centre in the HPV research in Slovenia. Aside from performing routine clinical diagnostic of HPV in national cervical cancer screening programme, the Department has also a research focus on the development and clinical evaluation of HPV molecular tests, including triage strategies, and is conducting studies of molecular epidemiology of HPV on a global level. The Department currently consists of five fulltime PhD candidates and post-doctoral researches. In the last 25 years, Slovenian HPV researches have been actively and successfully incorporated in the international HPV community and have contributed small but significant achievements in the field. The team at the University of Ljubljana will be involved in workpackages 2, 3 and 6.
Prof. M. Poljak
Prof. Mario Poljak, MD, PhD is Head of the Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana and for more than 25 years one of the leading HPV researchers in Eastern/Central Europe. He was president of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) with 9,000+ members (2016–2018) and a member of the ESCMID Executive Committee (2012–2020). His bibliography comprises more than 2,000 bibliography units, of which 320 are research studies and expert publications in scientific journals included in the Science Citation Index. His papers received more than 12,000 citations (h index=52).
Dr. Oštrbenk Valenčak
Dr. Anja Oštrbenk Valenčak is a microbiologist at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology at Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her primary research interest is the role of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in the pathogenesis of different benign and malignant tumours, development of new molecular diagnostic methods, improvement and evaluation of virological methods/assays for detection of HPV and cancer prevention. Throughout her career and extensive research in field of molecular diagnostics, she was a coordinator of the several European and other national and international projects and published over 30 papers in peer-reviewed publications. |
The Youth Ice Hockey Programs at Riverbank State Park offer the most affordable introduction to and training in recreational ice hockey in New York City. Program fees are $212-$247 for the entire winter season from November through March. There are two 90-minute midweek practice sessions for 8U Mites, 10U Squirts, 12U PeeWees, 14U Bantams and 18U Midgets. Teams are co-ed. Games are played on weekends, and teams often have more than one game per weekend. Coaches provide structured training and drills for all levels of ability in both recreational and competitive hockey. Coaches encourage individual development, teamwork and foster a natural, healthy competitive spirit that comes from within.
Riverbank participates in the Hudson Valley Hockey League, and competes against teams across New York City, Westchester and New Jersey. Riverbank teams also play friendly, non-league games against clubs throughout the region.
Riverbank hosts the annual Lightning Tournament, and Riverbank teams participate in tournaments throughout the region.
All are welcome! We have a diverse group of participating parents and children who love the sport. The games are exciting for the parents as well as the children. Try out one season of ice hockey at Riverbank State Park to see if your child loves to move and fly over the ice.
IF you have already signed up for Riverbank Hockey in-person and paid, please click to register with SportsEngine for this season to be rostered to your team and receive team communications.
All players must register with SportsEngine each season. Previous seasons' registrations do not roll forward.
You cannot sign up for the Riverbank program using this link, you must contact the Park directly - see the bottom of this page.
You cannot sign up for Riverbank Hockey online. If you're interested in playing with us, please contact the program heads directly using the emails at the bottom of the page. |
Embarking on a career journey is like setting sail on an odyssey, filled with exploration, learning, and personal growth. Mentorship serves as a guiding star in this voyage, providing direction, insight, and support as you navigate through the myriad of choices and challenges that define your professional path. This article delves into the pivotal role of mentorship in charting a course toward career success, the strategic setting of goals, and the integration of personal passions with professional endeavors.
- Mentorship is an indispensable tool for professional development, offering tailored guidance and support on the journey to career success.
- Setting SMART goals with the aid of a mentor ensures that career objectives are clear, attainable, and aligned with personal values.
- Continuous learning and embracing challenges under mentorship can lead to seizing career opportunities and skill enhancement.
- Fostering a strong mentor-mentee relationship is fundamental for reciprocal growth and effective career navigation.
- Adapting career goals to accommodate personal and professional changes is vital, with mentorship providing the flexibility and support needed for such transitions.
Charting the Course: Setting Career Goals with Mentorship
The Role of Mentorship in Career Navigation
Mentorship is a vital tool in the professional toolkit, offering not just guidance but a partnership that fosters career progression. Mentorship programs support career growth by providing resilience and strategies to navigate the complexities of the professional world. With a mentor’s insight, you can craft a career path that is both ambitious and achievable.
italics Mentorship is more than advice; it’s a collaborative effort that enriches both mentor and mentee. Career mentors offer networking opportunities and personal development, which are essential for career advancement and satisfaction. A mentor’s experience can help you identify opportunities and avoid potential pitfalls, making your career journey smoother and more informed.
By leveraging the wisdom and experience of a mentor, you can align your career aspirations with actionable goals, ensuring a journey marked by continuous learning and success.
A comprehensive guide on mentorship is not just about finding someone to follow but about engaging in a strategic partnership. This partnership helps in achieving long-term career goals, navigating career aspirations, and fostering professional growth. Remember, the right mentor can illuminate your path, turning every challenge into a stepping stone towards your aspirations.
Crafting a Career Path with SMART Goals
Embarking on your career odyssey requires more than just setting goals; it necessitates crafting them with precision and foresight. Setting clear and precise goals with the SMART criteria is essential for career success. This methodical approach ensures that your objectives are not only well-defined but also trackable and attainable within a realistic timeframe.
The SMART acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Applying each element to your career planning can transform a mere wish into a tangible plan of action. Here’s a simple breakdown:
- Specific: Define what you want to accomplish with as much detail as possible.
- Measurable: Determine how you will measure progress and know when the goal is achieved.
- Achievable: Ensure that the goal is within reach, given your current resources and constraints.
- Relevant: Align your goal with your broader career aspirations and values.
- Time-bound: Set a realistic deadline to create a sense of urgency and focus.
By breaking down your long-term career goals into actionable steps, you can navigate the path to professional growth with clarity and purpose. Utilize frameworks like the SMART criteria to ensure your goals are attainable and aligned with your career progression.
Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish. Make your ambitions come true by making them SMART. Seek mentorship to adapt your plan, ask key questions, and hold yourself accountable. With mentorship as your compass, you can prioritize impactful goals and create an action plan for success.
Embracing Challenges as Opportunities for Growth
In the journey of professional development, embracing challenges is pivotal. These hurdles are not just obstacles but are, in fact, the stepping stones to growth and success. A mentor’s role is to guide you through these challenges, transforming them into valuable learning experiences.
- Mentorship: Seek out mentors who can provide guidance and share their expertise.
- Challenges: Embrace new challenges at work to test and expand your abilities.
- Continuous Learning: Dedicate time to learning, whether through formal education, online courses, or self-study.
Embrace change, stay open to opportunities, and enjoy the evolving process of building your career.
Remember, success is not a static destination but a transformative journey of growth and learning. Embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth, reflecting on past experiences while focusing on the future. By doing so, you ensure that your career remains dynamic and adaptable to the ever-changing professional landscape.
Identifying Clear Objectives
Defining Personal Success and Setting Milestones
Success in one’s career is a deeply personal concept, often reflecting individual values, aspirations, and definitions of fulfillment. Define Clear Objectives: Before setting milestones, it’s essential to clarify what you aim to achieve. This clarity forms the foundation of a career trajectory that is not only successful but also personally rewarding.
- Define what success means to you and how it aligns with your values.
- Envision your future and the achievements you wish to attain.
- Set specific, measurable, and time-bound goals that challenge you.
- Regularly review and adjust your goals to stay on course.
Mentorship plays a pivotal role in this process, offering tailored guidance and support. A mentor can help you set SMART goals—those that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—ensuring that your career objectives are clear and attainable. With their support, you can prioritize impactful goals and develop a structured approach to your career advancement.
Embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth, reflecting on past experiences while focusing on the future. By doing so, you ensure that your career remains dynamic and adaptable to the ever-changing professional landscape.
The Importance of Continuous Learning in Career Advancement
In the ever-evolving professional landscape, continuous learning is the compass that keeps your career on course. It’s not just about staying current with industry trends; it’s about expanding your capabilities and seizing new opportunities that arise. By dedicating yourself to lifelong learning, you ensure your skills remain relevant and your expertise grows, providing a competitive advantage in the job market.
Emphasizing continuous learning is not just beneficial; it’s essential. It aligns with the capability concept, which posits that our ability to learn and adapt is a key driver of success.
Here are some steps to integrate continuous learning into your career path:
- Identify areas for growth and set learning objectives.
- Seek out resources such as courses, workshops, or webinars.
- Apply new knowledge and skills to real-world scenarios.
- Reflect on your learning experiences and adjust your goals accordingly.
Embrace change, stay open to opportunities, and enjoy the evolving process of building your career. Each opportunity is a chance to learn and grow, unlocking career opportunities that lead to a fulfilling professional journey.
Utilizing Mentorship as a Roadmap to Success
Mentorship serves as a vital navigational tool in the professional journey, providing clarity and direction towards achieving career objectives. A mentor’s guidance can transform a daunting career landscape into a series of manageable steps, ensuring that each milestone is purposeful and aligned with one’s career vision.
- Be Approachable and Supportive
- Align Skills and Personalities
- Identify Growth Opportunities
- Develop Essential Skills
By establishing a mentor-mentee relationship, individuals gain access to invaluable insights and advice tailored to their unique career path. Mentors offer a wealth of knowledge, from navigating company dynamics to identifying opportunities for skill development. It’s a partnership that fosters not only professional growth but also personal enrichment.
The essence of mentorship lies in the shared journey towards success, where the mentor’s experience lights the way for the mentee’s aspirations.
Embracing mentorship as a roadmap to success is about more than just receiving advice; it’s about actively engaging in a collaborative process that encourages continuous learning and adaptability. With the right mentor, career goals become more than aspirations—they evolve into tangible achievements.
Leveraging Mentorship for Professional Development and Growth
Mentorship Success Stories: Learning from the Best
Mentorship success stories often serve as a beacon, illuminating the transformative power of mentorship within organizations. These narratives underscore the importance of targeted programs and authenticity for personal and professional growth. By unlocking growth through quality interactions, mentors and mentees navigate career challenges with adaptability and resilience, utilizing mentorship programs for guidance and perspective.
Mentorship is not just about transferring knowledge; it’s about shaping the future. The sharing of success stories within the mentorship framework is not just about celebrating victories; it’s about illustrating the path that led to those achievements. These narratives often reveal the transformative impact of mentorship, extending beyond career shaping to fostering personal growth for both mentors and mentees.
- Unlocking Professional Growth: Real stories of mentorship success demonstrate the profound influence a mentor can have in steering a mentee towards their career objectives.
- Authenticity and Expertise: Successful mentoring is rooted in authenticity, compassion, and expertise, which are crucial in setting clear SMART goals and accelerating professional development.
- Inspirational Figures: Figures like Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, credit their mentors for significant career advancements, highlighting the power of mentorship.
To maximize mentorship, it is essential to set clear goals, maintain open communication, embrace challenges, and follow best practices. This approach ensures that the mentorship experience is not only beneficial but also transformative, providing the mentee with the guidance, skills, and network necessary for career success.
Strategies for Navigating Career Paths
Navigating the complex landscape of career opportunities requires a strategic approach. Mentorship builds trusting relationships and is a cornerstone in guiding career pathways. A mentor’s presence and encouragement can be transformative, especially when you’re charting new territories in your professional journey.
Identify your passions and align them with your career goals. This alignment is crucial for long-term satisfaction and success. Here are some steps to consider:
- Unmasking Your Passions: Identify what ignites your soul and aligns with your professional pursuits.
- Exploring Career Paths: Open your eyes to the diverse range of opportunities that match your skill set and aspirations.
- From Insights to Action: Create a personalized roadmap that translates your insights into actionable steps.
Embrace new challenges and continuous learning as part of your career strategy. This proactive approach can lead to unexpected opportunities for growth and advancement.
Effective mentorship involves open communication, trust, and the setting of clear expectations. This partnership can help in identifying and unlocking potential, providing a fresh perspective on career decisions. Remember, embracing a proactive approach to career development is key.
Achieving Aspirations with Guidance from Experienced Mentors
The journey to realizing one’s career ambitions can be a winding and challenging path. With the guidance of an experienced mentor, you can gain access to exclusive opportunities and strategic insights that might otherwise remain out of reach. Mentorship is a beacon, illuminating the steps to success and offering a roadmap to navigate the complexities of professional growth.
Remember, a well-defined career vision not only directs your path but also inspires continuous learning and development. It’s the foundation upon which mentorship can build, transforming aspirations into tangible achievements.
- Clear expectations set the stage for a structured and goal-oriented mentorship. Adopting frameworks like REAL goal-setting can align individual aspirations with actionable plans, ensuring organizational alignment and personal development.
- Effective communication is the pillar of progress, enabling continuous feedback and adjustment. It’s essential for expressing needs, providing guidance, and celebrating milestones together.
When it comes to matching ambitions with expertise, it’s essential to find a mentor who not only shares your career goals but also possesses the experience and knowledge to guide you effectively. A mentor with relevant expertise can provide insights that are tailored to your specific career path, helping you to navigate challenges and seize opportunities with confidence.
The Art of Setting and Pursuing Career Goals
Clarifying Career Goals with the Help of a Mentor
Embarking on a professional journey can often feel like navigating through uncharted waters. A mentor acts as a lighthouse, providing guidance and illuminating the path towards your career aspirations. With their experience, mentors can help you identify and articulate your goals, ensuring they are not just dreams but achievable targets.
Italics are used here to emphasize the transformative nature of mentorship in professional development. Mentorship is not just about achieving goals; it’s about understanding the deeper why behind them, which often leads to more fulfilling and sustainable success.
- Define your career vision
- Align your goals with personal values
- Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals
- Develop a step-by-step action plan
- Regularly review and adjust goals with your mentor
By regularly reviewing your career goals with a mentor, you create a dynamic and responsive approach to your professional growth, ensuring that your objectives remain relevant and inspiring.
Aligning Personal Values with Professional Aspirations
At the core of a fulfilling career is the alignment between your personal values and your professional aspirations. Reflecting on what truly matters to you can illuminate the path towards a career that not only meets your ambitions but also resonates with your core beliefs. Mentorship plays a pivotal role in this alignment, offering guidance to ensure that your career trajectory harmonizes with your personal ethos.
Aligning personal and professional goals is a continuous process that requires you to find the balance between your convictions and your career. It’s about creating a career path that is in harmony with your personal beliefs and priorities, leading to a more satisfying professional life.
To improve your work-life harmony, consider these steps:
- Understand your values and priorities
- Identify career options that align with these values
- Reassess and realign as your career progresses
By aligning your career goals with your personal values, you create a foundation for job satisfaction and personal fulfillment that extends beyond the workplace. Effective goal-setting begins with clarity in purpose. By aligning goals with values and aspirations, you create a strategic framework for career growth. Adapting to changing professional landscapes is essential, and a mentor can provide the support needed to align aspirations with actionable steps.
Remember, each opportunity is a stepping stone towards turning your passions into professional achievements. By staying informed and proactive, you can unlock career opportunities that lead to a fulfilling professional journey.
Fostering a Thriving Mentor-Mentee Relationship
A thriving mentor-mentee relationship is the bedrock of professional development. Building trust is essential, as it allows for open and honest dialogue, where challenges can be shared and victories celebrated together. It’s important to establish clear goals and expectations from the outset to ensure both parties are aligned and can measure progress effectively.
By prioritizing communication, mentors and mentees can build a foundation of trust that paves the way for meaningful progress and achievement. It’s through this dialogue that challenges are overcome, and victories are shared, solidifying the bond and the shared journey towards success.
Here are some key steps to foster a strong mentor-mentee relationship:
- Establish clear goals and expectations
- Encourage open and honest feedback
- Practice active listening and empathy
- Maintain regular communication and check-ins
Respect is mutual and acknowledges the value of each person’s time, experience, and contributions. This respect motivates both parties to invest in the relationship, leading to a transformative experience that resonates on a deeper level.
Adapting Career Goals to Life’s Evolving Landscape
Navigating Career Transitions with Mentorship
Career transitions can be daunting, but with the right mentorship, they become opportunities for remarkable growth and learning. Mentorship empowers career transitions by providing a unique blend of support, from identifying transferable skills to exploring new industries. It’s a process that aligns career paths with personal values and aspirations, supported by research.
Seeking mentorship is not just beneficial; it’s crucial for career growth. Mentors offer invaluable guidance and insights, fostering resilience and adaptability—qualities essential for navigating the challenges that come with any career change.
- Personalized support and guidance
- Insights for acquiring new skills
- Navigating organizational cultures
Embracing a mentoring culture within organizations or seeking a personal mentor can significantly ease the process of career transitions.
Good mentors also recognize the importance of conflicts that sometimes arise, using them to help mentees master career-enriching skills, including complex problem-solving and effective communication.
Maintaining Work-Life Harmony through Supportive Networks
Achieving a healthy balance between your professional ambitions and personal life is essential for long-term success and satisfaction. Mentors and peers play a pivotal role in helping you navigate the demands of your career while ensuring that your personal well-being is not neglected. They can offer strategies and insights that lead to a more fulfilling career journey.
Supportive networks are not just about professional guidance; they also provide emotional backing and a sense of community. By being open to feedback and constructive criticism, you can foster a culture of support and open communication, which is crucial for workplace resilience.
Techniques such as deep breathing exercises, stretching, or practicing mindfulness for a few minutes can boost your focus and energy levels, contributing to both your physical and mental well-being.
To cultivate such a network, consider these steps:
- Engage with mentors and attend industry events to unlock new opportunities.
- Share experiences and strategies with peers who understand the demands of your role.
- Listen to feedback and take it as an opportunity to grow and adapt your career goals.
Revising Goals in Response to Personal and Professional Changes
In the dynamic landscape of professional life, it’s essential to revisit and adjust your career goals periodically. This ensures they remain aligned with your evolving personal circumstances and the ever-changing job market. Reflecting on your career path allows you to maintain a trajectory that is both ambitious and realistic, utilizing frameworks like SMART and HARD to set a purpose-driven path.
Continuous goal-setting is crucial for keeping your aspirations in sync with your values. As you encounter new opportunities and challenges, consider these steps to stay on course:
- Evaluate your current goals and their relevance to your personal growth.
- Seek feedback from mentors and peers to gain different perspectives.
- Identify new skills to develop that will prepare you for future roles.
- Embrace resilience and adaptability as you navigate through changes.
Remember, ensuring your career goals are relevant and fulfilling is a testament to your commitment to personal and professional development. It’s about striking a balance that allows you to pursue your aspirations without compromising your well-being.
As you navigate the ever-changing terrain of your professional life, it’s crucial to have a mentor who can guide you through the complexities of career growth. At River, part of MentorcliQ, we specialize in providing state-of-the-art mentoring software and services that empower individuals and organizations to achieve their career aspirations. Don’t let your career goals become stagnant; adapt and thrive with the support of our expertly designed mentoring programs. Visit our website to learn more about how we can help you align your career trajectory with your evolving life goals and to schedule a demo of our award-winning mentoring software.
Navigating Towards Success: The Role of Mentorship in Career Development
As we conclude our exploration of the profound impact mentorship has on professional development, it’s evident that having a mentor is akin to having a lighthouse guiding us through the often tumultuous seas of our career journey. The insights and strategies discussed throughout this article underscore the importance of setting clear, SMART goals and the invaluable role mentors play in helping us achieve them. Mentorship is not just about receiving guidance; it’s about building a relationship that fosters growth, resilience, and the ability to adapt to life’s evolving landscape. Whether you’re just embarking on your career odyssey or navigating through its peaks and valleys, remember that mentorship can be your career beacon, illuminating the path to success and fulfillment in alignment with your personal values and aspirations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does mentorship contribute to setting and achieving career goals?
Mentorship provides guidance, support, and a structured approach to navigating career challenges, helping to set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It ensures that career objectives are clear, attainable, and aligned with personal values.
What are the benefits of having a mentor in professional development?
Having a mentor fosters personal and professional growth, aids in developing leadership skills, offers a roadmap through career challenges, and facilitates clear goal-setting for success. Mentors provide wisdom, experience, and a supportive network to help mentees reach their full potential.
How do you define personal success in a mentorship relationship?
Personal success in a mentorship relationship is defined by setting and achieving goals that align with your individual values and passions. It involves continuous learning, embracing challenges as opportunities for growth, and leveraging mentorship to navigate career transitions and advancement.
Can mentorship help in navigating career transitions?
Yes, mentorship can play a pivotal role in navigating career transitions by offering insights, support, and guidance. It helps in reassessing goals, developing new skills, and maintaining work-life harmony as personal and professional landscapes evolve.
What makes a mentor-mentee relationship thrive?
A thriving mentor-mentee relationship is built on reciprocity, trust, and effective communication. It involves aligning personal values with professional aspirations, holistic development, and a mutual commitment to growth and learning.
How can continuous learning impact my career advancement?
Continuous learning is essential for career advancement as it allows you to stay updated with industry trends, acquire new skills, and adapt to changes. It positions you to seize career opportunities and is a key strategy for achieving long-term professional goals. |
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Here in Arizona, having a functional air conditioning system isn’t just for comfort, but for your health! The southwestern region of the United States has some of the hottest climates in the country, and when people are left without climate control for any length of time, it can result in dangerous situations like heat stroke. Rather than struggling to keep an aging unit running, why not upgrade with a modern solution from our team at River Valley Air Conditioning, Inc. We have been in business since 1955 and stock the best units on the market today. Learn more about how we can help you get the perfect AC unit below.
With decades of experience in both residential and commercial settings, we know how to properly diagnose the needs of a building and come up with the right solution. When you hire us to find you a new air conditioning unit, we will take into account the size of your building, your budget, and your brand preferences. We will then pick a unit that checks all these boxes for you. Best of all after you buy the unit from us, our fourth-generation staff of skilled technicians can install it for you so it is set up to perform for years to come.
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Tips And Guidelines That Will Help You To Find Cheap Land For Sale
You can be sure that you will not be the lucky person who will be buying a cheap land for sale if a real estate agent finds it before you and this is why it is very important to learn how to find one very fast and buy it before anyone else does. When you want to make profit by finding and buying he planned it will be very important for you to make sure that this is exactly what you have looked for and found. When you are looking for a very cheap land for sale there are a couple of reasons why you may be looking for it or there are a couple of land that you may be looking for which may be hunting lands farmlands or even residential lands.
In order for you to be able to look for and also find a very cheap land for sale there are a couple of things that you can do and it is important for you to know this. The very first option that you can use on the very first thing that you can do when you want to find this kind of Ireland is to look in the offline classifieds. You can also go ahead and look in the online classifieds since this is also another method that you can use when you want to find cheap land for sale.
Craigslist is also something else that you can definitely use when you want to find a very cheap land for sale and you can be sure when you use this you will not regret because you will be able to find what you are looking for. It is very important for you to contact your county clerk’s office if you know that you want to find land that is in foreclosure. You can be sure that you will actually be able to get any kind of information that has to do with any kind of a pending foreclosure sale the moment you contact your county clerk’s office.
Another thing that you can do is to conduct any bank that use in your local area so that you can find out if they have any cheap lands that they own and that they are selling. When you want to find a cheap land for sale there are very many options that you have as you have said above on this article apart from the ones that we have mentioned and the other one is asking anyone who is near you and that you trust whether they have heard of any cheap land that is being sold and the people that you can ask are people like your friends, your colleagues or even your family members.
Why No One Talks About Sales Anymore
If You Think You Get Land, Then Read This |
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- Model is 173cm/5"8in and is wearing a size 8
Online Returns Australia
If you change your mind, we are happy to provide a refund, exchange or gift voucher within 30 days of purchase provided they are NOT final sale, unused condition, accompanied by original tags and a valid original receipt. For hygiene reasons, we are unable to exchange or refund earrings, underwear or swimwear.
Return your way! Pick from the following options to return your item. Please ensure you enclose your completed returns form.
Free Store Exchange
Looking to exchange your item? Simply head into any of our Rockmans stores for a free exchange of your items within 30 days of placing your order. *Applies to Rockmans Product only. This excludes Final Sale Items and Third Party Seller Items. No refund, exchange or gift card will be provided, online or in store, for change of mind on all Final Sale Items or Third Party Seller Items Find my local store
Print your label and drop your return into your local parcel Point store in over 1,100 locations, open 7 days a week, early until late. Fully tracked with return processed within 20 business days once we have received your return.Book my return
Print your pre-addressed label and lodge your return. Trackable shipping methods are recommended for your peace of mind.Print my label
Final Sale Items
All Final Sale items are non-refundable for change of mind, instore or online. Please contact us by emailing our customer care team if you have any further questions.
Sister Brand Returns
Items purchased from Millers, W.lane Autograph, Rivers, Crossroads, Beme Katies & Rockmans cannot be returned to a Noni B store. They must be returned using our online returns process.
For details on returns options for sister brand products, please visit our |
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The ZAR strengthened last week on the back of an unexpected SARB rate hike as well as weaker than expected US PCE data.
The Rand traded to a strongest level of 17.7000 last week before the USD finding support and retracing to 17.9100.
- Markets under pressure in early Monday trading, after OPEC+ surprised with an unexpected 1 million barrels per day production cut.
- Oil prices surging as much as 8% with Brent Crude at $84/bl and US WTI at $79.50/bl.
- Analysts adding that this complicates the outlook for inflation and interest rates, as investors had been betting that easing price pressures would give central banks room to pause the current tightening cycle.
- The Dollar also rallying to 103, after trading lower following last week’s US PCE report that surprised lower.
- On the back of the OPEC+ news, reigniting fears that the Federal Reserve may need to keep raising interest rates to keep inflation under control.
- This likely to keep the dollar bid in the early parts of this week.
- In addition we have the key US Jobs report on Friday.
Data this week
- 11h00 : SA ABSA MANUFACTURING PMI 52.8 EXPECTED VS 48.8 PREVIOUS
- 16H00 : US ISM MANUFACTURING PMI 47.5 EXPECTED VS 47.7 PREVIOUS
- 11H00 : EUROZONE PPI 13.5% EXPECTED VS 15% PREVIOUS YOY
- 16H00 : US JOB OPENINGS 10.4MIO EXPECTED VS 10.82MO PREVIOUS
- 14H15 : ADP PRIVATE PAYROLLS 205K EXPECTED VS 242K PREVIOUS
- 16H00 : US ISM NON- MANUFACTURING (SERVICES) PMI 47.5 EXPECTED VS 47.7 PREVIOUS
- 14H30 : US WEEKLY JOBLESS CLAIMS 200K VS 198K PREVIOUS
- 14H30 US NON FARM PAYROLLS 238K VS 311K PREVIOUS
- 14H30 US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 3.6% EXPECTED VS 3.6% PREVIOUS
Market Movement Today:
- The Rand continued its recent run on the back of the SARB and weaker than expected US PCE data.
- The local unit reaching 17.7000 before reversing.
- This morning’s news about OPEC’s surprise production cuts sending oil prices higher as well as bond yields.
- Inflation immediately a topic as traders worry about the Fed’s next steps.
- If oil remains higher, the direct correlation indicates the potential for higher inflation and likely more FED hikes.
- The banking crises a distant memory as monetary policy once again dominate trader sentiment.
- Adding to volatility for the week is the surprise release of the NON FARMS PAYROLLS REPORT on GOOD FRIDAY this week.
- In what would be very thin liquidity conditions, to have such a high risk data release could only lead to wide ranges.
- It is important for short term importers and exporters to cover at least 50% to 100% before the data release.
- The surprises in the numbers have seen the ZAR decline or strengthen nearly 50cents on numerous occasions.
- Trade : the oil spike likely to provide dollar support and we expect a weaker ZAR on Monday.
- Dollar short likely covering and booking profits.
- Buy 17.7000
- Sell 18.0000
- USDZAR : Expect a range 17.5100-18.1400
- Importers 17.7200-17.5100
- Exporters 17.9300-18.1400
- EURZAR : Expect a range of 18.9000-19.6200
- Importers 19.1400-18.9000
- Exporters 19.3800-19.6200
- GBPZAR : Expect a range of 21.4500-22.3500
- Importers 21.7500-21.4500
- Exporters : 22.0500-22.3500
- USDZAR 17.9100
- EURZAR 19.3600
- GBPZAR 22.0000
- Former Johannesburg mayor, Mpho Phalatse, has rubbished claims that she’s about to leave the Democratic Alliance (DA).
- She lost out to John Steenhuisen, who was re-elected as DA leader at the party’s congress in Johannesburg over the weekend.
- Phalatse said that she was considering her next move in the DA and would not be heading to ActionSA as speculated. EWN
- Urgent action is needed to fix SA’s crumbling rail network
- It’s time to stop talking about policy and get the private sector involved, says Africa Rail Industry Association.
- South Africa’s 21 000km rail network used to be a matter of national pride, accounting for some 80% of Africa’s total network.
- This massively over-specked network needs to be pruned to no more than 5 500km and operated with the kind of financing and efficiency that the private sector.
- according to the Africa Rail Industry Association (Aria). Moneyweb
- ESKOM : South Africans are bracing for another hard winter with more load shedding on the way.
- This after more delays Koeberg 1 and its return to active electricity generation.
- Unit 1 of the Koeberg nuclear power station was supposed to return to service 45 days after the latest deadline of 23 July.
- The new target date of 13 September is a full 90 days after the original date of 8 June, when the 180-day outage was supposed to end.
- This means the project team is overshooting its deadline by 50% and extending it to 270 days. Moneyweb
- US stock futures fell on Monday ahead of the first trading day of the second quarter, as investors continued to assess the outlook for inflation, growth and interest rates.
- Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures dropped 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, while Dow futures were flat.
- Meanwhile, Wall Street came off a winning quarter, with the Nasdaq Composite surging 16.8% in the three months to March, while the S&P 500 and Dow climbed 7% and 0.4%, respectively.
- Investors navigated volatility markets during the period marked by turmoil in the banking sector highlighted by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March.
- Still, technology stocks performed well and served as a safe haven bet for traders despite heightened economic uncertainties.
- Investors now look ahead to a number of US economic releases this week such as jobs openings data on Tuesday,
- ADP private payrolls report on Wednesday and the monthly jobs report on Friday.
- The US 10 Year Bond Yield was 3.52% on Monday April 3, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity.
- Yields finding support after OPEC’s surprise production cut and also once again bringing inflationary fears to the front of the discussion.
In the UK
- The yield on the UK’s 10-year rose above 3.5%, hitting its highest level since March 10th.
- This after trader expects another interest rate hike by the Bank of England looks more likely in May.
- Governor Andrew Bailey stressed on Monday that interest rates may have to move higher if there were signs of persistent inflationary pressure after UK inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February.
- The Dow gained 415 to 33,275
- The SP500 unchanged 4,109
- The Nasdaq added 208 to 12,221
image: Trading economics
The US Dollar
- The dollar climbed to around 103 on Monday, rising for the second straight session after OPEC+ surprised markets by announcing further production cuts.
- The cuts reigniting fears that the Federal Reserve may need to keep raising interest rates to keep inflation under control.
- Meanwhile, data released on Friday showed that US core PCE price growth, the Fed’s preferred gauge to measure inflation, slowed more than expected to 4.6% in February, the lowest in 15 months.
- US consumer spending also rose moderately in February after surfing in the previous month.
- Markets are now pricing an over 50% chance that the central bank will deliver a quarter-point rate hike in May, while expecting rate cuts by the end of the year. Fx news
Asian markets mixed and undecided following the OPEC CUTS.
- In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.52% to close at 28,188, rising for the second straight session to the highest levels in three weeks, helped by gains in energy, financial and consumer stocks.
- Oil prices surged as much as 8% after OPEC+ announced a surprise production cut of more than 1 million barrels a day.
- Meanwhile, investors reacted to data showing Japan’s business sentiment tumbled to an over 2-year low in the first quarter as the banking crisis in the US and Europe added to uncertainty over already slowing global growth. Reuters
- US WTI crude futures surged about 7% to above $80/bl.
- Prices hitting its strongest levels in over two months after OPEC+ announced a surprise production cut of more than 1 million barrels a day.
- This complicates the outlook for inflation and interest rates, as investors had been betting that easing price pressures would give central banks room to pause the current tightening cycle.
- A dispute involving exports of around 400,000 barrels a day from Turkey also tightened the market since last week, and seemed unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.
- On the demand side, investors remain optimistic about China’s recovery, further supporting prices. Gulf energy news
- Gold weakened past $1,960/oz on Monday, extending losses from the previous session after OPEC+ surprised markets by announcing further production cuts.
- the spike in bonds yields on the back of inflationary fears, sending Gold prices lower.
- The group of major oil producers announced additional output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day.
- Investors now look ahead to a number of US economic releases this week such as jobs openings data on Tuesday;
- ADP private payrolls report on Wednesday and the monthly jobs report on Friday. Kitco metals |
Engraved cutting boards are a unique and thoughtful way to add a personal touch to your kitchen. Whether you're looking for a gift for a special occasion or simply want to spruce up your own kitchen, engraved cutting boards are a beautiful and functional option.
Engraved Cutting Boards
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WHAT ARE ENGRAVED CUTTING BOARDS?
WHAT ARE CUTTING BOARDS MADE OF?
Each board is made from a beautiful white oak construction that promises lasting quality, while the personalized design provides a unique look. This board is ideal for chopping and slicing your way to a feast, or adding a homey touch to your wall. |
Introducing Cricut cuts - Steamboat Willie SVG file. Pair this download with our Steamboat Willie Clear Stamp Set! This free Cricut file features die cuts of fun and enchanting designs that offer endless creative possibilities for card-making, scrapbooking, journaling, and beyond.
Cricut die cut files are perfect for scrap booking, card making, and various craft projects. These files are ideal for creating perfect die cuts to pair with your stamped images. Use with photopolymer clear stamp sets for a professional look to your card-making designs.
- 5 piece cut file
- Pairs with: Steamboat Willie Clear Stamp Set
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The Portland Track Festival will be held on June 10 and 11 this year. The meet continues to grow in terms of stature and reputation. This year, Skechers Performance has come on as the title sponsor, allowing meet management to expand the meet. To find the schedule, and early entries, please go to : www.portlandtrack.com.
I couldn’t see the clock at the conclusion of the @garrettheath @evanjager duel at #portlandtrackfestival 2015 but the crowd reaction lifted from general thrill to shock and awe when 3:32 scrolled across the ticker. You could just feel it from acrosss the track; another all-time PTF moment. Photo: @tafphoto #pdxtrack #roar |
A hilly challenge at the Night Owl Trail Marathon
By Henry Howard
I’d wanted an early trail race in 2023 to test my fitness, challenge me and give me a goal before the spring race season kicked in.
The Night Owl Trail Marathon (Waynesville, Ohio) provided all that and more.
It had been awhile since I’d lined up at the start of a night race. This one had a start time of 4 p.m., which gave the marathon runners about 90 minutes of daylight before darkness (my old friend) descended on the trail.
Originally the course was going to be two 13.1-mile loops. However, the previous night, the race director sent out an urgent message. Due to high waters at a creek crossing the marathon, half marathon and 10K courses had been changed. The rest of the message was a mix of hieroglyphics and codes developed by the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II. They may have made sense to someone familiar with the course but meant nothing to me.
Simply put, the new marathon course started with doing the 10K out-and-back, which was actually 6.8 miles. After returning to the start area we did two 10-mile out-and-backs for a total of roughly 26.8 miles. (My watch showed 27.3. It's always an -ish when it comes to measuring trail races.)
The first out-and-back section had the muddiest portion of the course so it was good to get it out of the way early.
Early on, I had a ton of people pass me. I tried not to think about what place I was in. But it was somewhere in the 20s. I tried not to think about getting passed repeatedly and instead focused on running strongly and consistently throughout the race.
Patience and Joy are not actually strippers at a nightclub. They were the mantras I embraced.
As runners were approaching me on their return loops, I greeted each one with a “great job” or other kudos. That was a staple throughout my race. And with three out-and-backs, I offered quite a bit of greetings.
After emerging from the muddiest section on the return loop, I was feeling good, exuding positivity and passed a couple of runners. That gave me the confidence that I would need.
During the first 10-mile out-and-back, I worked my way up the field. I figured I was in around 12th place but it was hard to tell as the half marathoners joined us an after we started.
After turning around at the start/finish area and beginning the final loop, I pressed on, running hard. I was thankful that it was a repeat of the first loop since it would be completely in the dark. Nothing really notable occurred during this loop until the very end.
While I was disappointed that another runner passed me with about a quarter mile to go, he was the first to do so since very early in the race.
As I approached the finish line, I realized how close I was to my race time guess. When my wife asked me about a finishing time, I told her I had no idea since the course had changed — and the new turn-by-turn directions meant nothing to me since I had never run in that area before. I told her maybe around 5 hours but that’s just a guess.
Finishing time: 5:00:52.
Place: 7th male, 8th overall.
Elevation gain: 2,500 feet
Six lessons learned or relearned from this race:
Focus on the long haul: The race is not won in the first 10K. Focus on consistency and moving forward.
Train for the race: All the hills I did in training paid off. The course didn’t have any steep climbs. It was a long set of rolling hills with a few short but welcome flat sections.
Patience pays off. The only walking I did was up a steep section or through tricky footing. My goal was to keep moving and being patient as I clicked off the miles.
Be kind, spread joy. I know I got a boost by wishing other runners well. I hope they did also.
Protect thyself: The wet conditions in some spots threatened blisters and chafing. Thanks to my Squirrel's Nut Butter and Drymax socks, I emerged unscathed once again.
Lock in nutrition, hydration and caffeine: For a night race, approaching nutrition, hydration and caffeine takes on a different look. I reversed my caffeine intake for the day. Starting with a cup of decaf then switching to caffeinated Long Run Coffee closer to race time. paid off during the race.
Next races for me pose two big challenges:
• Up first is the Blue Ridge Marathon in Virginia in April, which has more than triple — 7,800 — feet of elevation gain. Thanks, I think, do RunChat. for the race entry when I was selected as the winner of a recent contest.
• In July, I will be running the 100-mile Burning River in Ohio as this year's Western States qualifier. In support of the trail system we will be running on, I am raising money for the trail to ensure generations of runners, hikers, walkers and others can enjoy it. I'd be honored if you would support my journey with a kind donation to the trail, which you can do at this link.
Time to heal from the race, then begin training for my next adventures while continuing to exude patience and find joy. |
In our litigious culture, many people live in constant fear of being sued. Especially those who live or work in a public arena, it seems that anything someone says or does could be the fodder for an aggressive lawsuit.
However, there need not be this degree of fear. There are ways to avoid and defend against defamation.
A recent lawsuit against the New York Times
According to a report from Fox News online, online influencer Ariadna Jacob is suing the New York Times and reporter Taylor Lorenz for defamation. Jacob, who represents TikTok stars and other online influencers, claimed that Lorenz’s article misrepresented facts about Jacob and resulted in the loss of her client base.
The article in question, “Trying to Make It Big Online? Getting Signed Isn’t Everything”, painted an unsavory, and allegedly false, picture of Jacob, claiming, among other things, that “Jacob withheld money from clients, failed to come through on promises made to other clients and regularly pressured or intimidated her roster of influencers.”
How to defend against such a claim
For anyone who is facing a defamation claim of this kind, it is important to know how to defend against it, as some of the strategies need to be implemented long before the lawsuit comes to your door:
- Be right: One of the essential elements of defamation is that it is a false statement of fact. Therefore, showing that the statement is true will stop a defamation claim cold. In the Jacob-New York Times article, if Lorenz can show that the information publicized was true, it would immediately negate a defamation suit about the published statements.
- State opinions rather than fact: Since defamation is a false statement of fact, the other critical defense against a defamation claim is to show you were not trying to report facts at all, but merely your opinions, which by definition cannot be defamation. It doesn’t seem that the Times or Lorenz could make a credible case that their news report was actually an opinion piece, and even if it was, clearly some facts were alleged in the article.
- Dispute another aspect of the suit: In some cases, you might be able to dispute the damages claimed by the plaintiff. You might be able to claim that the report, while potentially damaging to the subject, was of such importance to the public that it justified the offense.
Whatever route you choose for your defense, you will need the counsel and help from an experienced attorney handling defamation defense. |
How do drugs affect the nervous system?
How does the consumption of psychoactive substances influence our nervous system? Let's take a look.
Drug use and abuse is a serious social and health problem worldwide. Substance abuse kills, directly or indirectly, some 11.8 million people annually.
Alcohol and nicotine take the dubious prize in terms of lethality.Alcohol and nicotine take the dubious prize for lethality: because of them, 11.4 million people die earlier than expected each year. According to the WHO, up to half of the people who use tobacco end up dying because of it.
The prevalence of substance use disorders is estimated at 1.5% of the world's population, although in some disadvantaged regions this percentage rises to 5%. However low these figures may seem, don't be fooled: one in five people in the world (20%) use tobacco. The fact that addictive behavior is not reflected in epidemiological data depends solely on whether the person is lucky in not paying for this dependence at the physiological level.
With all these statistics we only want to make it clear that the consumption of addictive substances claims as many lives and causes as many pathologies as many pandemic events caused by viruses and bacteria. With the intention of taking a more biological and anatomical approach to this global problem, here we will review the issue of how drugs affect the nervous system.
The basis of drugs
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a "drug" as any therapeutic or non-therapeutic substance that, when introduced into the body by any route of administration, produces an alteration, in some way, of the natural functioning of the individual's central nervous system and is also susceptible to creating dependence. It should be noted that the dependence developed may be physiological, psychological or both.
The American Psychological Association (APA) recognizes several types of drugs in use, grouped into 10 categories alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics (including anxiolytics), stimulants (cocaine and others) and tobacco. These are the substances that are considered addictive today, but certainly not the only ones.
Among the activities that can generate dependence, only one is currently considered potentially pathological: gambling. Surprisingly, it has been shown that the altered reward circuitry in a patient addicted to gambling responds similarly to the stimulus (winning a cash prize) as a cocaine addict does when receiving a new dose. Other activities that could share mechanisms with drugs, such as video games, compulsive shopping and chronically practiced exercise, are still being evaluated.
Drugs and their effect on the human body's nervous system.
Let's start with the most basic: nicotine. When a person smokes a cigarette, the nicotine passes into the bloodstream, then into the brain and in just 7 seconds it produces excitation in part of the neurons located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which send signals to the nucleus of the brain.which send signals to the nucleus accumbens. The latter is responsible for producing dopamine, the neurotransmitter and hormone that makes us feel that "rush" or shock of well-being.
In the case of tobacco, this sensation is very ephemeral, because as soon as the nicotine acts, it stops: the physiological peak of this drug is 7 seconds and its downward range is another 7 seconds, the more the neurons and circuits of the nucleus accumbens are exposed to the substance, the more of it is needed to elicit the desired response. to elicit the desired response. This is how tolerance and long-term dependence are generated.
To find out how drugs affect the nervous system, we can turn to another, rather more aggressive drug: heroin. This drug enters the brain quickly, attaches to the opioid receptors of cells located in different areas and causes changes in the excitability of neurons, stimulating the presynaptic release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), among other things.
When in contact with this drug at the nervous level, there is a generalized sedative effect and an indescribable well-being (the level of dopamine in the reward system described is increased by 200% in experimental models). All this causes euphoria, drowsiness, a feeling of warmth and gradual loss of consciousness, accompanied by a powerful analgesic effect. People who have taken it are not lying when they say they are "on a cloud". claim to be "on cloud nine" in the in the moments after the injection.
Finally, we can dissect the effects of cocaine on the nervous systemcocaine, the third of the drugs most present in general culture. Once consumed, the effects on the central nervous system are felt within 10 seconds (inhaled) and 3-5 minutes if consumed intranasally. This compound inhibits the action of monoamine transporters, resulting in vasoconstriction in the Blood system, elevated blood pressure, tachycardia and increased cardiac output. All this reports a very characteristic feeling of activation and euphoria.
Chronic cocaine abuse puts the patient at risk of many events, such as suffering a stroke (cerebrovascular accident), subarachnoid hemorrhages, intraparenchymal hemorrhages and many other things. In general, every drug addict is seven times more likely to suffer an ischemic infarction, a value that is multiplied even more in those who use cocaine.
Beyond all these mechanisms, it should be noted that dependence itself also modifies the functioning of the patient's nervous system. When the abstinence syndrome occurs (within 72 hours of cutting off the use of a substance altogether), the person experiences anxiety, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, nervousness, stress and other associated sensations. The addict's brain can only function "normally" with the presence of the chemicals described. When they are withdrawn, the nervous system fails.
As you have seen, drugs function similarly to the neurotransmitters circulating in the human body: they reach an area, stimulate or inhibit cellular activity, and generate a short-term response.. When their peak activity ceases, the individual physiological state returns to normal, but as dependence is generated, reaching this "normality" is increasingly complex.
In addition, you must keep in mind that we have moved into purely physiological terrain. Addiction to a substance can also have a psychological basis and, therefore, there are people who can manifest addictive mechanisms towards substances that the body does not really need at the moment of crisis. Undoubtedly, we still have a lot of research to do as a society to elucidate the mechanisms of dependence in the human mind.
(Updated at Apr 12 / 2024) |
How is an elastic material synthesized? Summary of the process
A summary of the steps involved in the synthesis of elastic polymers.
Elastic materials are something that is present in our everyday life. There are elastic materials for everything, such as elastic bands for tying bags, rubber bracelets, balloons, tires...
In the following we are going to see how to synthesize an elastic materialWe will explain what are its components, the polymers, in addition to indicating its molecular properties and some indexes that are taken into account in the industry.
What are elastic polymers?
The elastic materials, known as elastic polymers, are those that can be deformed by the application of a force while the force is applied.. As soon as the elastic object is no longer subjected to this force, it will return to its original shape. Otherwise, if the material is permanently deformed, we would not speak of something elastic, but of a plastic material.
Elastic materials have been known to mankind since time immemorial, since they exist in nature. However, although polymers are naturally present in objects such as rubber, human beings have found it necessary to create some of them synthetically, i.e. in the laboratory..
Some examples of elastic materials, apart from the one already mentioned, we have elastic bands to close food bags, balloons, rubber bracelets, latex...
What are polymers?
Polymers are macromolecules formed by the union of covalent bonds of one or more of the simple units, which would be the monomers.which would be the monomers. Normally these macromolecules are organic, i.e. they contain carbon atoms in their structure. These chains are usually long, and are linked by Van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions.
One way to classify polymers is according to their mechanical response to elevated temperatures. Thus, there are two types of polymers.
1. Thermoplastic polymers
Thermoplastic polymers soften when subjected to high temperatures, even melting.They may even melt. At low temperatures they harden. These processes are fully reversible and can be repeated over and over again.
However, if a very high temperature is reached, irreversible degradation can occur, since the molecular vibrations between the monomers of the substance are so violent that they can break their covalent bonds.
These materials are normally manufactured with simultaneous application of high temperature and pressure. As the temperature increases, the strength of the secondary bonds weakens, facilitating the relative movement of the polymer chains.This facilitates the relative movement of the chains that make up the polymer.
Most linear polymers and those with branched structures, with flexible chains, are thermoplastics, which are soft and ductile.
2. Thermosetting polymers
Thermosetting polymers are those that remain hard regardless of how much temperature is applied to them..
When they begin to be subjected to heat, covalent crosslinking occurs between adjacent molecular chains. Because of this, movements between the polymer monomers are limited, preventing vibration and rotation of the monomers. However, if the temperature is excessively high, the crosslinks break and polymer degradation occurs.
Thermoset polymers are generally harder compared to thermoplastics. Examples of such polymers are epoxy, vulcanized rubber and phenolic polyester resins.
How are elastic materials synthesized?
Elastic materials are made of elastomers, which are generally thermoplastic polymers, giving them their main characteristics: elasticity and easy but not permanent deformation..
There are many substances that make it possible to manufacture an elastic material. Some of the polymers used to synthesize elastics are: polyol-polyester, polyisocyanate, ethylene-propylene copolymers, polyisobutylene, polysulfides and polysiloxane, to name just a few.
When these substances are mixed, they react with each other by different polymerization mechanisms.These include condensation, addition or the free radical pathway.
Molecular characteristics of elastomers
In order for the combination of certain polymers to ultimately generate an elastomer or elastic material, it is necessary that the combination of these polymers make some kind of synergy, resulting in something greater than the simple sum of its parts.
The first requirement is that they must have asymmetric structures and, therefore, that they be as different as possible. Their structures at the molecular level must be linear and flexible, allowing, as we have already mentioned with thermoplastic polymers, the molecule chains to vibrate without breaking bonds.
The second requirement is that that the polymer is not too polar, i.e., that it does not have too much charge of one sign or the other.If this is the case, the intermolecular interactions will be stronger and there will be greater rigidity due to attraction (just like a positive magnet with a negative one).
The third requirement is that these polymers should be flexibleThe third requirement is that these polymers be flexible, that they admit some deformation when some kind of force is applied to them. If these polymers meet these three requirements, then the perfect situation is created for the synthesis of an elastomer.
Synthesis of elastomers
The polymers that will ultimately result in an elastomer must undergo a series of physical and chemical processes.
In this process the molecular chains are joined to each other by means of bridgeswhich are capable of forming two or more strong covalent bonds.
These molecular bridges allow the elastomer to roll up on itself when it is in rest or static mode, while, when subjected to some kind of stretching, it could be in elastic mode thanks to the flexibility of these bonds.
Although this is a process that would be found within crosslinking, it is interesting to give it a more detailed explanation separately.
Vulcanization is one of the best known processes for obtaining elastomers. In this process the polymer chains are interconnected by means of sulfur bridges (S-S-S...)..
3. After obtaining the elastomer
Once the elastomers have been synthesized, the next steps consist of subjecting them to different treatments to give them certain characteristics.
Each material will be used for a different purpose, which is why it will also receive different treatments.The process can include heating, molding or other types of physical curing, i.e., shaping.
It is at this stage of the process that pigments are added to give color to the resulting elastic object, as well as incorporating other chemicals that will ensure its elasticity. to give color to the resulting elastic object, in addition to incorporating other chemical substances that will ensure its elasticity. It is also at this stage where three fundamental aspects are evaluated to ensure that the elastic material is of high quality: Young's modulus, glass transition temperature (Tg) and yield strength.
Young's modulus is an index that indicates how an elastic material behaves according to the direction in which a force is applied to it.
Tg is the temperature at which thermodynamic pseudotransformation occurs in glassy materials.. The polymer decreases in density, stiffness and hardness at this temperature. This can be observed in glasses and amorphous inorganic materials.
The yield stress refers to the maximum stress that an elastic material can withstand without irreversible deformation. that an elastic material can withstand without irreversible deformation.
Once these indices have been checked and the elastomer is functional, it is then usually called rubber of all kinds: silicone, nitrile, urethane, butadiene-styrene...
Some elastic materials
Here are some elastic materials and what they are made of.
Polyester is a manufactured fiber, and is composed of any long-chain polymer of synthetic origin. In this polymer about 85% of the compound is a tereflalic acid ester..
Nylon is an artificial polymer belonging to the polyamide group. It is generated by polycondensation of an acid such as a diamine. The best known is PA6.6.
Lycra is a synthetic fiber known to be a very elastic and resistant substance. It is a urethane-urea copolymer, consisting of about 95% of segmented polyurethanes.. A great variety of raw materials are mixed in its production, such as prepolymers, which constitute the main structure of this fiber.
- Odian G. (1986) Introduction to Synthesis of Elastomers. In: Lal J., Mark J.E. (eds) Advances in Elastomers and Rubber Elasticity. Springer, Boston, MA
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024) |
When you ask people who did their real estate closing, or who handled it, some will mention real estate attorneys. But others will mention title or closing companies. But if a title company can handle a real estate closing, why use an attorney?
What is a Title Company or Closing Agent?
A title company or agent-sometimes called a closing company-handles all the paperwork necessary for your real estate closing. They will make sure funding is in place, contracts are signed, and check on any liens.
Many title companies are owned by, or headed by, real estate attorneys, and many attorneys have title companies. But title companies do not have to be owned or managed by an attorney, so just because a company is a closing company, settlement agent, or title company, does not necessarily mean that any attorney is actually involved in your closing.
There are some big advantages to using a real estate attorney that you will not get with a closing company or settlement agent.
A title company can certainly inform you when there are liens on the property. But as far as answering your questions about those liens, the title company often cannot help, if they are legal questions. For example, you may want to know whether the liens have to be paid, whether they are legally enforceable, or who is responsible for them.
These are all legal questions that an attorney can answer for you.
Many real estate closings have special situations. For example, maybe the seller will want to remain in the home for a time after the closing. This may require a separate Use & Occupancy agreement. Or, you may be purchasing the property at foreclosure, or short sale, or in relation to a tax deed sale—all specific situations that have their own specific legal issues that go beyond just a traditional, straightforward real estate closing.
Problems and Disclosures
The title company will help you fill out disclosures on your property. But many sellers may wonder what legally has to be disclosed, and how. A buyer may want to know what exactly the seller has to disclose, and what happens if things are not properly or fully disclosed. These are again questions best suited for a real estate attorney.
If an inspection goes without any problems, then a title company may work just fine. But what if there is a problem? What problems will allow you to get out of the contract (or allow the buyer to pack out of it)? And, if you need to negotiate an inspection issue, such as a price reduction, or extension of a closing date, it is always best to have an attorney by your side, doing that negotiation—not just a title company.
Remember, there is nothing dangerous about using closing or title companies-so long as they are owned by, or headed by, an attorney willing to represent your side in your real estate closing. Contact our New Jersey real estate law attorneys at The Law Office of Agnes Rybar LLC today to help you handle your closing the right way. |
VIEW IN MY ROOM
LYCRA The softness of the fabric handled and managed with resin, assumes the consistency and hardness of the portraits of the fictional characters, in reference to the artistic style that distinguishes the artistic path of Stefano Mazzolini
Sculpture:Fabric on Canvas
Size:19.7 W x 63 H x 23.6 D in
Ready to Hang:Not applicable
Packaging:Ships in a Crate
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships in a wooden crate for additional protection of heavy or oversized artworks. Crated works are subject to an $80 care and handling fee. Artists are responsible for packaging and adhering to Saatchi Art’s packaging guidelines.
Customs:Shipments from Italy may experience delays due to country's regulations for exporting valuable artworks.
Stefano Mazzolini was born in Parma in 1968. At the age of nine he was nominated for the "Design and City" award organized by the municipality of Parma. In 1989 he graduated as a Master of Art in pictorial decoration at the Paolo Toschi Institute in Parma. He dedicated himself for several years to the restoration and conservation of wall paintings. In 1990 he first lived in London and subsequently moved to New York for a short period. He manifests his graphic style in a gestural and immediate way, the dynamic line creates drops of acrylic on paper. Piloted stains well managed without following drawings and projects, thus replacing the brush with ampoules and spatula. Intriguing portraits, fairy-tale environments and mythological animals are formed, fantastic figures animate a controlled chaos. He creates silhouettes of androgynous subjects, using paper collages to assemble and glue layers of faces that are always hidden and minimal. With mixed acrylic colors and enamels he obtains fabrics, colored skins which he applies on canvas wrapping the work, metal grafts, application of various elements, the subjects are always deliberately ambiguous and free to be interpreted, input to reach our dreams. By cutting the canvas and superimposing it he constructs the painting into sculpture. He manipulates the fabric of the painting bringing the image to three-dimensionality. While on the canvas with oil he expresses his vision of the hidden, evanescent color backgrounds, shaded by transparencies but precise in representing objects, people and intrinsic things and formed by a very complex structure like everything that lives and forms. Hints of cities, landscapes between nature and animals that empathetically interact with detailed objects, convulsive scenarios of neo-modern plans and perspectives, where the vision of man is absent, but still rich in his humanity in every circumstance. With sculpture he strengthens artistic identity. Thus inventing a new three-dimensional representation, an exclusive invention of Lycra sculpture. Resin, a treated and consolidated synthetic fabric, offers a new conception of sculpture, human and alien figures, stylized silhouettes, always suspended between the sacred and the profane, draperies to form characters out of past and revisited in a modern key.
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Have you recently moved into a new house or changed the office? Are you wondering whether you should opt to change the locks entirely or simply rekey what you already have to enhance security?
Here's what you need to know about changing locks and rekeying. Learn these two options to decide which one suits your situation best.
When to Opt for Rekeying Locks
Rekeying involves changing the tumblers in the lock cylinder to render older keys ineffective. it doesn't need to replace all of your locks and hardware. Rekeying changes the internal mechanism of the locks so that the existing key no longer works.
· If you're moving to a new house
· If your business office changes to a new one
· if you have lost the key to your property
You'll want to rekey locks to prevent previous owners or employees from gaining access to your place.
It is much cheaper to rekey your lock instead of buying a whole new one. Alternatively, you can change or update your locks, such as a deadbolt or an electronic lock.
When to Opt for New Locks
Changing or upgrading your locks is a great option to enhance security.
· If your lock is old, broken, or worn out
· If you are seeking enhanced security
Upgrading to new locks can bring you better protection and peace of mind.
When installing new locks, always look for a certified and experienced locksmith. They have the expertise and right tools to install the locks, they also can recommend the best type of locks to meet your needs.
Secure Your Property
Whether you opt for changing locks or simply rekeying them, you'll ultimately be making your property much safer. You won't need to worry about someone having old keys to your place and gaining access.
Safe-Guard Locksmiths Ltd. provides expert locksmith services in and around Toronto. Our services include rekeying locks , new lock installation, and emergency locksmith services. We also have a wide range of door hardware products. Contact us today; our experienced staff can help you find the best solution for your property. |
Workplaces differ from each other; therefore, the way they conduct inspections and observations will vary. Regarding scheduling, some workplaces require daily and pre-operational inspections, while others perform inspections and observations only periodically. Workplace policies and regulations play a huge role into the chosen frequency. Other factors that influence the methodology chosen for performing inspections and observations include the structure of the workplace, the type of service provided, and the level of hazards involved. It is also important to remember that one of the desired outcomes of an inspection and observation program is continuous improvement/learning. The way to achieve this result is for inspections and observations to be carried out systematically. However, once an approach has been chosen and the assessment has been completed, what’s next?
Write a report detailing the approach that was adopted, including the following action points:
- Inspection Details (e.g., Location, Date, Conditions, etc.)
- List of Hazards
- Preventive Action Plan
- Corrective Action Plan
Using a productive inspections and observations platform with customizable checklists and reports allows for ease in capturing and exporting these essential details. When listing out observed issues in the report, it is best for these observations to have data (images, GPS coordinates, audio recordings, etc.) presented in an easy-to-understand format. A cloud-based inspections platform’s offline capability and mobile accessibility extends flexibility to this part of compiling reports. Additionally, a robust inspection and observation platform’s ability to track corrective actions in realtime makes assigning and adjusting these assignments easier. Listing each hazard with the most viable corrective action plan and suggested completion date is the most straightforward way to organize such information, making the document digestible and accessible to policy makers, management, or workers. An effectively applied inspections and observations program is the means to sustained workplace productivity and growth (Howard and Hearl, 2012).
As inspections and observations are a team effort, all contributing members should review the report to ensure it is a true reflection of their efforts and observations. Employees should engage in the review to make sure there are no inconsistencies in data collection and presentation, exaggerated or underrated hazards, impracticable correction plans, or overdue completion dates. The team should look out for anything that could tamper with the integrity of their report. With an effective platform, team leads can mandate electronic signatures from team members to keep on top of review participation. Schedules and reminder notifications for reviews can also be effortlessly communicated.
While compiling current reports, it is necessary to have context for observations made. Considering past reports will help ensure that no previously prescribed corrective action was missed and no hazard was left unaddressed. Including data from older reports can also reveal trends for more effective risk management. Given that the intent behind inspections and observations is to achieve continuous improvement, recurring trends can be dealt with by applying the principles of the PDCA Cycle. An inspections and observations software platform compiles data from all previous inspections, making it simple to access for verified users. Then, when displayed with a digital dashboard, relevant trends can be more easily identified and actions/training created to address them.
When the report has been written and reviewed, the next step is communicating this information to the appropriate parties. An effective inspections and observations platform is designed with the entire process in mind, including methods for post-inspection communication. One of the benefits of using a cloud-based inspections and observations module is the ability to utilize native applications that perform on Android and iOS, for easy access from phones or tablets. This makes a much simpler process of recording data, digitally exporting the report, and accessing the follow-up information through secure emails and notifications.
The best reward for a well-planned and executed inspections and observations process would be a sterling, accurate, and report-ready finish. Prompt data gathering, processing, and follow through (with corrective actions implemented as soon as possible) is ideal for forestalling any incidents from hazardous situations. A “whole picture” approach also take into consideration the factors of sustainability, productivity, and potential for growth. Implementing a comprehensive inspections and observations software platform can assist every aspect of the entire “What’s Next?” process. Features such as customized checklists create ease in compiling and submitting reports. Tools like dashboards can help with data analysis. The processes of assigning, reviewing, tracking in real-time, and communicating preventive and corrective actions are all made extremely efficient when coordinated through a single, secure, and fully-integrated platform.
Howard, J. & Hearl, F. (2012). Occupational Safety and Health in the USA: Now and the Future. Industrial Health. 50. 80-3. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.ms1356. PMID: 22498727.
United States Department of Labor. (2010, April 27). Field Operations Manual: Chapter 3 INSPECTION PROCEDURES. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/directives/cpl-02-00-164/chapter-3
The SafetyStratus Research Advisory Group (RAG) brings together thought leaders from the global environmental, health, and safety community to promote best practices and provide key insights in the profession and the industries they serve. The Research Advisory Group also advocates, where practical, the intersection of and advances with the use of technology, such as the SafetyStratus enterprise EHS software platform. Group membership consists of representatives from across varied disciplines and market sectors as well as select members of the SafetyStratus team.
The primary objectives of the SafetyStratus RAG partnership are to:
- Build a strategic partnership between EHS practitioners and the SafetyStratus team.
- Provide engaging and practical content to the global EHS community.
- Provide discipline and market feedback specific to SafetyStratus products and services.
While the objectives of the RAG are varied, the primary public-facing outcome will be available through engaging and practical content found on the SafetyStratus resource pages. Various articles, papers, and other valuable resources will be produced and shared as part of an ongoing effort to cultivate a robust community. Ultimately, the SafetyStratus RAG will expand to have a broader reach and provide opportunities for more inclusion by all interested EHS professionals in a collaborative community environment. |
BACKGROUND ON THE
CRADLE OF HUMANKIND
Declaration of the original 12 National Heritage Sites: 5 November 2004
Inscription as a World Heritage Site: 1999
Known as The Cradle of Humankind, this collection of 15 (originally 12) declared National Heritage Sites, together with the Makapan Valley site in Limpopo Province and the Taung Child site in North West Province, constitute the serially-listed sites inscribed by UNESCO as the Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa.
Located in the Muldersdrift area, about 40km northwest of Johannesburg these palaeo-anthropological sites have some of the richest concentrations of fossil hominid bearing sites in the world. This wealth of significant hominid fossils that have been unearthed here include Mrs Ples (Australopithecus africanus), Little Foot (Australopithecus prometheus), Karabo (Australopithecus sediba) and, more recently, Homo naledi. One of the earliest evidence of the controlled use of fire has also been found at Swartkrans, indicating an important shift in human evolution.
The sites occur mostly in association with dolomitic caves that have produced and continue to produce an abundance of scientific information on human evolution from the past 3.5 million years.
The hominin fossil finds, together with the rich record of other animal animal and plant fossils, provide us with a window into the past into a time when our earliest ancestors were evolving and changing, proving that the African continent is undoubtedly the beginnings of humankind. |
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Every parent throughout the generations would agree: no matter your age or background, profession or family situation: raising a child costs money. Even the most scrupulous parents will find themselves with a lot of bills to pay – not to include extra, non-essentials such as tuition to a private school, sports, or vacations. Children need a lot of time, money, and attention. They are absolutely reliant on their parent/guardian to care for them. Accordingly, when two parents decide to divorce or otherwise separate, California law has been developed to protect the needs of the growing child and help to ensure that the changing family dynamic does not result in a decline in care. The courts in California have a baseline expectation for both parents to contribute toward the costs of raising a child. The court also endeavors to be fair. This has culminated in the court considering various factors when calculating how much child support should be paid. These factors include the incomes of both parents, as well as their expenses and the amount of time each parent spends with their child.
This article is meant to serve as a high-level discussion of what you can expect child support to go towards in California.
What Does Child Support Cover?
The California court system presumes that a child should receive equal support from both parents. However, when discussing matters like child support, it is very important to remember that not all support is monetary. Parent “A” may make significantly less money than parent “B” and cannot contribute to their child’s care financially the way that parent B can. However, it may very well be that the child spends 90% of their time being cared for by parent “A,” not parent “B.” The time a parent spends caring for their child is seen as valuable by the court – the child gains the benefit of the care, and the other parent gains the benefit of not having to seek out and employ childcare.
As shown above, it is important to remember that every family is dynamic. What constitutes a fair child support order in one case will not necessarily work in another scenario with different parents, children, and obligations. Accordingly, the California court system takes many factors into consideration when creating a child support order. The court’s primary concern is always ensuring that the best interests of the child are met. But you can rest assured that they will approach that goal with the intention of treating both parents as fairly as possible.
Along with reviewing the income and expenses of both parents, in determining a child support amount, the court will also consider factors such as:
- The monthly cost of food, shelter, and clothing
- Health insurance costs
- Childcare costs
- Education (fees, registrations, etc.)
- Medical care costs
- Extracurricular/entertainment expenses (music lessons, sports, etc.)
Time and Money
As discussed briefly above, in some circumstances, one parent may have custody and care for the child the vast majority of the time. This can happen, for instance, when one parent solely has visitation rights. The court endeavors to give credit to the parent with custody by accounting for the cost associated with providing for the majority of the child’s food, housing, and other expenses. The other parent’s child support payment is meant to contribute to those costs.
Contact the Law Office of Bradley S. Sandler
Divorce has far-reaching consequences. Ensuring that you retain a knowledgeable, skilled divorce attorney can help you be certain that you will navigate through every twist and turn of the process with your best foot forward. Contact our office today. |
Sandra Wagner-Wright holds the doctoral degree in history and taught women’s and global history at the University of Hawai`i. Sandra travels for her research, most recently to Salem, Massachusetts, the setting of her new Salem Stories series. She also enjoys traveling for new experiences. Recent trips include Antarctica and a river cruise on the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel.
Sandra particularly likes writing about strong women who make a difference. She lives in Hilo, Hawai`i with her family and writes a blog relating to history, travel, and the idiosyncrasies of life. |
Beautiful Place, Delicious food and such friendly helpful staff made our holiday special
Reviewed on TripAdvisor
The location is fantastic. Right on then beach and just a 2-3 minute walk to some shops and restaurants. The resort is peaceful but if you want something more lively its very close to Cattolica.
The hotel is spotless and modern with a good sized pool and you can always get a bed by the pool. I thought the room size was good. we were 2 adults and a child and there was plenty of space in the wardrobes for a weeks worth of clothes for all of us.
We went half board and we all loved the food. Delicious fresh fish and lots of different options my husband and daughter loved it. As a vegan I thought I might struggle but the buffet had such a great variety I had lots of options.
Saving the best to last the staff are who made the holiday for us. Every day at the desk you get a warm greeting we got lots of good suggestions on where to go and borrowed the free bikes a couple of days to see more of the area.The restaurant and bar staff were equally friendly.The people are what make a hotel great and this is a great hotel.
Thanks everyone at Sans Souci for helping us make the most of our holiday.
Claire, John and Beth. |
The parliament fire has reportedly been started by a 42-year-old man who found his way in through a back window. According to BBC, security and police are not being paid overtime. Suspect Arrested On The Premises This individual that is suspected of starting the fire is currently being questioned by the police and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday 4th January. He also needed to be saved from the burning building. President Cyril Ramaphosa went and visited the building today to check the damage to the building himself. This tragic incident comes just the day after the late Desmond Tutu had been laid to rest. At this time, It is noted that the fire alarms only went off when the firefighters were already on the site. In addition, the sprinklers didn't work due to a malfunction. Parliament Fire Is The Second Fire In The Building Currently, the fire at the parliament house would be the second time the building has been set alight. The first fire was due to an electrical fault. The fire took an intense amount of time to put out the fire because of the wooden floors as well as carpets within the building. The fire started on the third floor and continued to spread through to the lower parts of the building. The national assembly building is completely gutted at this time. |
Andre Leon Talley has had quite the career and has made a name for himself wherever he sat foot. He described the world to be a hard place for black people but regardless, he sought to make his known regardless of circumstance. About Andre Leon Talley Before his passing, Andre Leon made sure he did everything in his power to own his place in the world. Particularly in the fashion world. For many years, Andre Leon found himself as an Editor for Vogue but has done plenty more than that. Standing tall as an LGBTQ spokesperson In his lifetime, Andre Leon Talley supported and stood firm for the LGBTQ community. He also opened up about being a black person in his industry. His existence to fans and others has been a great motivation thus far and will continue to carry weight in many hearts. Read More: Ari Lennox Uncomfortable In MacG Interview During his successful career, Andre Leon released a memoir. In his memoir, he describes living with his grandmother. He also opened up about being abused by a neighbor. He further relayed that he never told anyone about the incident for fear of being blamed. In his successful career, he has met many A-list celebrities and has also been a stylist for former President Barak Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. These are but a few of the many things he has accomplished in his life before passing. So, while some might say I'm satisfied, Andre never ceased to give up on anything and played a big role in recruiting black models for photoshoots. You could say that he paved the way for many black models as they come under-represented in the fashion industry. Andre died at a hospital in New York. His cause of death is yet to be determined. |
Editor’s Note: As one of his first acts as SL’s new president, Christopher Hays established the Ukrainian Relief Fund to help client seminaries during the current crisis. We continue to pray earnestly for our courageous sisters and brothers in Ukraine.
It is my joy and privilege to introduce Christopher Hays as our next president. Christopher, an American, comes to us from Medellín, where he served as a professor at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (FUSBC) and led a program that draws on insights from faith and social sciences to foster recovery of victims of civil war. Christopher is also well-known as a Biblical theologian focused on wealth and equity. Our entire board is impressed by his thoughtful leadership.
Christopher has worked with scholars we support through LeaderStudies. FUSBC is a client of our Vital SustainAbility Initiative. He will be a strong participant in our Catalytic Ventures (Islam and Women in Theological Leadership) and has much to contribute to the InSights Journal. He also has promising ideas for new ways in which we might enable our Majority World clients as they serve the Global Church.
Please join me in welcoming Christopher and his family.
With appreciation for your partnership in this ministry,
We give thanks to God for bringing ScholarLeaders and Christopher together after a long search process. We also give thanks for the diligent work of the search committee, which was composed of board members dedicated to ScholarLeaders’ long-term well-being.
Let us join in prayer for Christopher and his family, and for ScholarLeaders and our clients, in this time of transition:
- Pray for Christopher, his wife Michelle, and their three children as they establish a new home in the US after 16 years abroad. Pray for them as they settle into North Carolina.
- Pray for Christopher to steward FUSBC’s Faith and Displacement project faithfully to a successful conclusion over the course of 2022. Pray for Michelle as she seeks to join a ministry serving migrants and refugees in the Raleigh-Durham area. Pray for Judah (17), Asher (13), and Zoe (9) as they adjust to new schools and make new friends.
- Pray for Christopher to know God’s blessing in his new role with ScholarLeaders, to be filled with wisdom and grace, and to lead with freedom and joy.
- Pray for God to bless the ScholarLeaders ministry and our many clients around the world through Christopher’s leadership.
- Pray for Christopher and the rest of the ScholarLeaders team as we get to know one another and learn to work together. Pray for God to unite our hearts and minds in discernment and passion for Christ’s Church throughout the world.
Thank you for your faithful intercession! |
CLT Series Rectangle Chair Height Butcher Block Cafe Tables
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11 things to know before you watch Hamilton on Disney Plus
The #HamFam Insider’s Guide
by Melissa Clifton
Since it’s star-studded opening night in August, 2015, Hamilton has blown open the gates of Broadway, reimagining the role of people from all backgrounds, creeds and races, while redefining how American’s learn about history.
The genre-bending story, script, music and lyrics were painstakingly perfected over several years by the show’s creator, who also happened to have opened the show as it’s star and leading actor. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a Grammy, Tony and Emmy-winning composer and actor who has captivated America, and possibly saved the real-life Alexander Hamilton from future obscurity (Hint- read #10).
Read on to reveal fascinating inside info, trivia and behind-the-scenes information before you watch the historic debut of the theatrical release on July 3rd.
11. Eleven is the number of Tony awards the show won in 2016.
The Hamilton production captured the coveted Tony for Best Musical in 2016. As if this wasn’t enough, the show proceeded to take home Tonys in 10 other categories, including but not limited to: Leading Actor in a Musical by Leslie Odom, Jr, earned for his portrayal of Aaron Burr; Best Score, a second win in this category for Lin-Manuel Miranda; Best Costume Design of a Musical; and Best Choreography. With subsequent awards including Lin-Manuel’s Pulitzer Prize, you know you’re in for a great show when you get the chance to see it for yourself!
10. The show may have saved the man...
…from being removed from the $10 bill that is.
According to Wikipedia: “In 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a redesign to the $10 bill, with plans to replace Hamilton with a then-undecided woman from American history. Because of Hamilton's surging popularity, almost exclusively due to the musical, United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reversed the plans to replace Hamilton's portrait, instead deciding to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.” Speaking of, when are we going to see that new $20 bill?
9. You can TRAVEL along with the cast, digitally for now.
PBS's Great Performances released the documentary Hamilton's America, which “delves even deeper into the creation of the show… [F]leshing out the story is newly shot footage of the New York production with its original cast, trips to historic locations such as Mt. Vernon and Valley Forge with Miranda and other cast members."
The Mount Vernon Estate takes this a step further, allowing visitors to examine the relationship between George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the estate itself throughout the songs from the Broadway musical: https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/alexander-hamilton/hamilton-the-musical/
8. Miranda acted-out wildly popular Hamilton performances Off-Broadway.
Hamilton originally premiered Off-Broadway, at The Public Theater, for the first half of 2015 before making it to Broadway in August of the same year.
Also, during the sold-out Broadway engagement, Lin-Manuel Miranda spent nearly a year hosting free mini-performances for audiences of eager patrons waiting in line for the Hamilton ticket “lottery”. The crowds that formed became so large that congestion took over West 46th Street, eventually forcing an online lottery to take its place with a website. The first day of the online lottery, more than 50,000 people visited the website, ultimately leading it to crash and be replaced by an app.
Here's one of those Ham4Ham street performances:
7. The rights to Hamilton cost Disney $75 million.
In 2020, Walt Disney Studios purchased the distribution rights of Hamilton with a winning bid of $75 million dollars. The original plan was to debut the theatrical release in late fall of 2020 or 2021. Due to the closure of Broadway as an impact of COVID-19, the theatrical release was moved up to July 3, 2020 so we could all enjoy the show over the Independence Day weekend.
6. Details of Hamilton’s real life are glossed-over or inaccurate.
Although Ron Chernow, the historian and author of the Alexander Hamilton biography, was on-hand for consulting, there has been criticism of some historical inaccuracies in the plot. Most instances of “artistic license” used in the show were credited as having been used to add drama, or were deemed as necessary for the arc of the storyline to fit within the context of a Broadway show.
One interesting fact that is not well known is the strange synchronicity of Hamilton’s death in the duel to protect his honor, which took place in Weehawken, New Jersey- the same exact place his oldest son, Phillip Hamilton, died defending the honor of his father, Alexander.
5. The show continues to break records.
Daveed Diggs, who plays the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette & Thomas Jefferson, holds the record for the fastest rap on Broadway for rapping 19 words in just 3 seconds in the song Guns and Ships.
The show was also nominated for a record-breaking 16 Tony’s in 2016.
Hamilton set records each week, including a Broadway box office record for the most money grossed in a single week, when it grossed $3.3 million in eight performances. The show is currently the 6th highest grossing show, but based on its relatively short run compared to other shows on the list, it has potential to surpass The Lion King for the top spot in overall earnings of all time.
4. The theatrical recording was filmed to mimic a major motion picture.
Don’t be surprised to witness a play that looks more like a movie. The cast was filmed over 3 days, two of which included regularly scheduled live-performances with real audiences and varying camera set ups. A third day of filming was performed in a closed-stage environment for close-ups and pans which allow for the angles and shots that movie-goers expect to see.
3. Hamilton is in the house- your house.
“EduHam” is on mission to improve the teaching and learning of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Institute has partnered with producers of Hamilton and the Miranda family to offer the Hamilton Education Program online with #EduHam at Home.
“The goal is to help students see the relevance of the Founding Era by using primary sources to create a performance piece (e.g., a rap, poem, dramatic piece), following the model used by Lin-Manuel Miranda to create the Hamilton musical.” Students and teachers can access a variety of inspirational activities, resources and curriculum to further their creativity around history and to inspire creation of their own unique masterpieces.
2. Disney is not the only place to explore Hamilton.
Disney may own the rights to the theatrical release of Hamilton, but don’t let that stop you from digging deeper on other platforms. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs and play after reading the inspirational Hamilton biography written in 2004 by historian and biographer Ron Chernow, available online or at most major bookstores.
For a deep dive on the musical itself, PBS's Great Performances exhibited the documentary “Hamilton's America”, and a compilation of interviews with theater critics in “Hamilton: One Shot to Broadway” is available on Amazon Prime Video. Not only that, but the award-winning score is available on Spotify and YouTube. That’s right, all 46 songs recorded by the original cast can be listened to for FREE:
1. You have access to a new song that no one has heard.
In anticipation of the theatrical release of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda released a never-before heard song that was cut from the original writing of the show before Director Thomas Kail even heard it. Picture Alexander Hamilton seeking advice “for a friend” from his dear friend George Washington. You can listen to Miranda singing the first draft, titled “I Have This Friend” here: https://soundcloud.com/lin_manuel/cut-hamilton-tune-i-have-this-friend |
The DOG 2013 – Seeing in Focus 19 to 22 September 2013, Hotel Estrel Berlin
With the slogan “Seeing excellent – promoting excellence” the DOG 2013 offers ophthalmologists from all over the world a conference program of the highest international level. The Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG) is one of the most important professional medical societies in Germany with over 6,300 members. At the annual conference in Berlin ophthalmologists from research, clinics and practice discuss the newest discoveries in diagnostics and therapy as well as activities of the professional society.
Aside from the known and proven agenda the participants of DOG 2013 can expect new formats as for example the „DOG-Update – State of the Art 2013“, plus as a variety of new, practice-oriented courses, outside of ophthalmological education. The course program “skill building” is especially designed for young scientists; the program “medicine & management” focuses on doctors in leading positions.
Founded 1857 in Heidelberg by Albrecht von Graefe, the DOG is the most ancient medical scientific association in the world.
HAI 2013 – Between Economics & Progress 19 to 21 September 2013, ICC Berlin
HAI is the Capital City Conference of the German Society for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI). It developed into the second largest annual meeting of German Anesthesiology and also attracts a high number of international participants. Doctors can get up to date on the current developments in terms of specialized intensive care. In turn nurses get an insight on the newest developments in anesthesia and intensive care.
“Between Economics & Progress” is the slogan of the 15th HAI. With economic aspects on one side, a high-quality care is on the other side: How are these two aspects combined best within medical action? This is the leading question of this year’s City Conference of DGAI.
For all medical conferences in Berlin – SCLS – is your reliable and exclusive partner for all travel related services: Book our individual airport or conference shuttle, or take an interesting sightseeing tour with us. With our exclusive limousine service you can go for a relaxed trip through the capital. Book easily through our website www.scl-service.de/en/contact/ (see contact form) or via e-mail at [email protected]. |
This document provides an overview of geospatial PDFs and their basic features, as well as some of the tools available to interact with these files, using USGS US Topos as a case study. 2nd edition, published in 2019.
Sources of Wisconsin elevation data derived primarily from LiDAR.
Historically, satellite observations of the Earth’s atmosphere, land, and oceans have been acquired via satellites operated by federal agencies and space programs. Commercial sources are increasingly available and can supply very high resolution imagery to users for a fee. Both real-time and archived data are available from a variety of public sources.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) produces 1:100,000-scale county maps for each of the 72 counties in Wisconsin. These maps show topographic features including contours and elevation in meters, highways, roads and other manmade structures, water features, woodland areas, and geographic names. These maps vary in size depending on the particular county. USGS county maps in Wisconsin were generally produced between 1976 and 1990.
The U.S. Geological Survey will host a set of public Webinars to introduce a FY17 LiDAR funding opportunity and provide a summary of the “Broad Agency Announcement” application procedures.
The USGS National Geospatial Program is excited to announce the inclusion of U.S. Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) roads data for the new US Topo maps, starting with the state of Wisconsin.
The U.S. Geological Survey recently issued the FY15/FY16 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for their 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). The BAA provides detailed information on how to partner with the USGS and other Federal agencies to acquire high-quality 3D Elevation data.
The USGS has announced a series of public meetings around the next phase of the 3DEP LiDAR program.
Details on US Geological Survey awards in Wisconsin for the 3D Elevation Program.
The US Geological Survey’s LiDAR partnership grant opportunity has been extended to September 30, 2015. |
He’s a stand-up comedian, actor, columnist and musician. And now Vir Das is the first Indian comedian to have a special show on Netflix titled ‘Abroad Understanding’. But that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing even more dreams.
“I was doing a show which was setup by my agency and then Netflix offered me a special. I was really happy to get the offer and was quite determined to do it in Delhi in a stadium.
“But Netflix wanted me to think in terms of building the international market. So we decided to shoot in two countries– America and India. In India, the event was held at Indira Gandhi Stadium but in America, a small basement comedy club in New York,” Das said.
He also explained what audiences can expect to find in the show.
“The show really is about the journey across the world. It is called ‘Abroad Understanding’. The show talks about personal issues, about myself, my childhood while growing up, about my failures, meeting different women and meeting ‘the’ woman. It also talks about relevant things in the world such as racism, homophobia, article 377, religious phobia and much more.”
But it’s not the success of the Netflix special that’s on top of his mind.
“I am not worried about Netflix show at all. I am currently on a world tour. Plus, I am worried about the film I am shooting next, along with Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. I am not thinking about the Netflix show at all. There’s nothing I can do yaar..Abhi jootey padenge toh padenge, galiya milni hogi toh milengi. So I am looking forward (sic),” said Das.
Das initially wooed audiences with shows such as Ek Rahin Vir and News on the Loose.
Then he created waves on the internet with his pot-cast (where he casts live from a toilet seat) videos on his YouTube channel.
The comedian, who often gets conscious when he sees himself on-screen, feels that his work can get better. And he’s not the biggest fan of the pot-cast.
“The podcast? Arrey, it is a very stupid show. It is just an impromptu sort of thing. Netflix special is much more prepared, a much more rehearsed show done in front of a large audience. I feel a lot of thought has gone into this show. Pot-cast needs a lot of improvisation,” Das said.
“Most artists including me look back at their work. And when you do so, you’re not noticing what you did right. You often tend to notice what you did wrong. So, whenever I watch a stand-up show, pot-cast or a film that I have done, I mostly think whether I should have done it differently or better. I don’t know how many artists go and watch themselves and say ‘Arrey, I am fantastic’. That’s a pretty dangerous thing to do,” Das added.
The trailer of his Netflix show was released on April 18
Das also picked some favourite responses to the trailer
When asked if he ever had an encounter with someone who got offended by his jokes, Das explained how he dealt with them.
“People get offended by anything these days in India. And that’s okay. You should just listen to them and keep cracking jokes until they understand that they aren’t suppose to take the joke seriously and that the jokes cannot hurt people. They can only make them laugh or not make them laugh. So I think the more comedy happens in India, the more people would understand that,” he said.
Being a news junkie, most of his comic videos on YouTube are centred on current affairs.
“The weirdest comment that I have come across in my career is people telling me to stop talking about politics in comedy. And I always reply by saying that only ‘when politicians will stop doing comedy then we’ll start speaking comedy’,” Das added.
“My favourite news channel I would say is BBC because of their unbiased and clear reporting. And I miss Arnab Goswami on his show ‘The NewsHour’. I hope he comes back soon,” he said.
Being a multi-talented artist, Vir Das even has his own band that plays music for the song lyrics he writes.
While Johnny Lever remains his first choice, George Carlin, he says is the greatest comedian that ever lived.
Keeping the ‘humour’ quotient alive, the Netflix star concluded the interview saying:
“If ever a film was to be made on me, I would call it a ‘Short’ film because I am short.”
Can’t wait, already!
(Image Source: YouTube/Netflix Trailer, AFP & Instagram) |
Believe it or not, babies are feeling the impact of the pandemic - Dr Suzanne Zeedyk
Many people may feel confused by this suggestion. “Babies are too young to be aware of it. They won’t remember it. How could they be affected?” It is this question that leads me to celebrate the Scottish Government’s Parent Club’s new campaign Wellbeing for Wee Ones. Although the initiative is aimed at parents, the scientific insights it shares hold outcomes for the whole of our society.
Babies are born already connected to other people. They pay attention to facial expressions, follow conversational turns, read meaning in our emotional tones. All these experiences are built into their brains, which are growing more rapidly than they ever will again. When experiences feel safe, that’s what’s coded in their brain synapses. When experiences feel scary, that’s what gets coded. What makes a baby feel safe? Well, the way their parents and carers interact with them.
It is fascinating to realise that one of the fundamental things a baby is learning when parents talk or sing or read to them is that the world is safe and that they are safe. They won’t have to cope with big overwhelming feelings alone. They’ll have help and comfort and company. Not all that long ago, even scientists didn’t realise how tuned in babies are. One of the challenges is to communicate these discoveries to the public. That’s what the Scottish Government’s Parent Club’s Wellbeing for Wee Ones campaign seeks to do.
Over the last year, young children will have encountered people with masks. They will have heard more tension in parents’ voices. Maybe less laughter? They may have grieved the loss of grandparents. They might have wondered if they did something bad and that’s why they can’t see their friends at nursery anymore. As a society, we tend to put uncomfortable things out of our mind. Yet, many of our children will have experienced exactly these things. So, we need to stay alert to that, so that we can take their feelings seriously and help. Babies will be fine as long as life teaches them they aren’t facing these tough feelings alone.
And that really is true for all of us. We get through tough times better if we don’t feel we’re facing them alone. The last year has put immense strain on families. Human beings are not meant to raise our babies in isolation. Yet that is precisely what heroic, pressured parents throughout the world have done in 2020. As we begin to exit the pandemic, we need to remember that babies are carrying their personal experiences of this time in their brains and bodies. If we remember this, we can help.
I am proud to live in a country where the government has responded to this pandemic by launching a campaign for infant mental health. That’s why I want everyone, not only parents, to know about it. The Wellbeing of Wee Ones matters to us all.
To learn more about how you shape your baby’s brain growth, visit: parentclub.scot/wellbeing
Dr Suzanne Zeedyk, Developmental Psychologist and Research Scientist, Parent Club
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article. |
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"My berries cluster black and thick
For rich and poor alike to pick.
I’ll tear your dress, and cling, and tease,
And scratch your hands and arms and knees.
I’ll stain your fingers and your face,
And then I’ll laugh at your disgrace.
But when the bramble-jelly’s made,
You’ll find your trouble well repaid."
~ The Blackberry Fairy, Cicely Mary Barker, 1927
September 12th is Blackberry Day, a traditional berry picking day, related to the statistical date when blackberries reach their peak ripeness in the English Midlands. There are many modern cousins and crosses of blackberries with delicious flavours. The Tayberry is a Scottish cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, In the US, delicious descendants are the Ollalieberry (a cross between the Black Logan blackberry and the Youngberry, itself a cross between a blackberry, raspberry, and dewberry; and the Marionberry (a cross between the California blackberry, loganberry, and the Ollalieberry). According to traditional folklore in the British Isles, make sure you pick your blackberries before Old Michaelmas Day, also called "Devil's Spit Day", October 10th, traditionally, the last day to pick blackberries before they are fouled by evil spirits!
Blackberry, Bramble, Bumble-Kite, Bramble-Kite, Bly, Brummel, Brameberry, Scaldhead, and Brambleberry ... whatever name you use for these delicious berries, September 12th is Blackberry Day, a traditional berry picking day.
The name of this dance comes from the traditional tune of the same name.
The Tayberry (see photo below) is a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, patented in 1979 by Derek L. Jennings of Dundee, Scotland, and named after the river Tay.
The fruit is sweeter, much larger, and more aromatic than that of the loganberry, itself a blackberry and red raspberry cross. The tayberry is grown for its edible fruits which can be eaten raw or cooked, but the fruit do not pick easily by hand and cannot be machine harvested, so they have not become a commercially grown berry crop.
Tayberries have a naturally high level of pectin, so they're perfect for jam and pie fillings.
So if you are harvesting your blackberries today (or before Devil's Spit Day, reckoned on either Michaelmas (September 29th) or Old Michaelmas (October 10th), when blackberries are no longer deemed to be safe, having been fouled by the Devil), and are looking for recipes, try the perfect late summer desert, Michaelmas Blackberry Dumplings, from Lavender & Lovage.
Folklore in the British Isles suggests that Michaelmas day (or old Michaelmas Day, October 10th or 11th) is the last day that blackberries can be picked. It is said that when St. Michael expelled Lucifer, the devil, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. Satan cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, and stamped and spat on them (or worse), so that they would be unfit for eating. As it is considered ill-advised to eat them after 29 September, a Michaelmas pie is made from the last of the season.
Click the photo below for the recipe.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance! |
“The decision will be handed down in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook on December 19”
Funded by cutting Landcare, a risible fig leaf for the Coalition’s nakedness on climate policy, and underfunded as a proper employment program, there were lots of reasons to facepalm Tony’s Green Army plan. But I can’t celebrate its demise. “It is not an environmental program. It is an employment program, and a bad one at that” said Greens leader Di Natale, Shouldn’t we be trying to develop programs that are both? Sounds like it was a good experience for many participants; was there scope to improve it? A voluntary scheme for unemployed kids, working with local groups, add a little more citizen science training to the environmental remediation work, and improve the pay rates?
(The Canberra Times, 6 December 2016 | Gallery of most recent cartoons) |
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Two 25in long heavy-duty silicone ladder-style bungee straps
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February 11, 2018
I go through all the steps: search and find my controller, set up departments - personnel - access groups and so on. When I go to upload the info to the controller it tells me that the communication fails. Any ideas?
I am assuming that you are speaking about the DX Software and the DX Board. Please state all necessary data including model numbers and software used as well as OS on your computer and any A/V software.
This could be an issue with your computer's firewall. Please contact us at 866 573-8878 option 3 for Technical Support or open a chat here "LIVE CHAT"
Jose Malave - IT Director| Toll Free: 866-573-8878 | E-mail: [email protected] |
Subsets and Splits