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Last night, Saturday, April 2, 2011; Darnette and I watched the new DVD “The Klaus Dona Chronicles – Secret World 1” and the photos, data presented and described by Klaus Dona were incredible….! Images, artifacts, data of never seen before shelved items that will open your mind to the SECRET WORLD that was here before US…! And the questions that want answers quickly come to mind as these artifacts, created by WHOM? and showing in great detail WHAT? Before Us….!
I have known Klaus Dona for a number of years and to talk with him is a pleasure beyond understanding, as Klaus shares ‘hidden’ data for the inquiring mind to consider..? The Klaus Dona website is http://www.unsolved-mysteries.info and just click onto language you know to read…New DVD out: “The Klaus Dona Chronicles – Secret World 1” can be purchased from Amazon: http://amazon.com with artifacts that will shock as Klaus explains the many enigmas surrounding the artifacts, data, truth!
The photo image at the top of today’s Blog is a recent image taken of the Sun and posted on the Space Weather News website http://www.spaceweather.com where you can keep up with the latest Sun activity & data, with the ever changing reports and the WAITING for an EVENT from same….!
Stan & Holly Deyo work many hours, producing UPDATED news from around the world on a daily basis. Holly must never sleep…? Their website http://standeyo.com is updated as quickly as news changes and I’ve never seen Stan so busy with radio shows…! Stan was recently on Coast To Coast AM with George Noory, warning of connections he found in data between Japan’s quakes and Yellowstone. http://www.coasttocoastam.com Also with recent reports from Guy, Arkansas region/New Madrid and West Coast trouble….!
YEA!!!!! Can hardly wait to here you talk with GeorgeAnn!
LARRY, LATELY I HAVE FELT THE EARTH CHANGES IN MY BODY AND SPIRIT.
UNDER A STRAIN TOO SPEND A LOT OF TIME OUT , CAN SHE BE TELLING US SOMETHING IS IN THE WIND . THANKS FOR LISTENING LOVE YOU ALL .
I have also been having a lot of body pain and feel so drained…more than usual!! I was to move north from the city on May 1st and for some strange reason, i was stopped from doing so….life gets stranger and stranger!! I dont know what is next for me!
I know exactly what you are saying Vaughn. I have been feeling really run down for the last 6 weeks or so. The weeks are passing by very quickly and by body cannot play catch up. Anyone else feeling run down?
Hey that is what I got for the day. Maybe there is something to it maybe not. I believe the Lord has just led me to that. Take it for what it is.
When we see all these things happen the Lord says to hold your head up cause your redemption draws nigh.
Hey Hey Hey I gotta go.
Looking forward the your talk with George Ann Larry!
Re the delusion..I think (here at least) many refuse to acknowledge through fear. Like an ostrich they bury their heads hoping it will all go away. Unfortunately, the rest of their backsides remain in full site so they will end up with a whuppin’, as you guys say over the pond. There was a 3.5 earthquake in Blackpool – a resort on the coast of Lancashire (west coast). Never known one there before? Still, that’s our mini Las Vegas these days. Maybe a warning? Who knows.
Yes the winds of change are blowing Larry, picking up speed and blowing stronger. Here in Alliston, Ontario/CDA, what with the Japan ( manipulated or natural) catastrophe, we are just starting to reap the domino effect. Honda CDA is not receiving there auto parts from Japan. As of right now work has been reduced to 4 hour days for us at Simcoe Parts Services. We are a 400.000 sq. ft. 2/warehouse. All Honda vender’s ship there parts to us and we sequence them in lot ranges and then send them to Honda just in time. We are hearing that by April 15/16 we will run out of parts from Japan. Here we go, what will happen next, because Honda supports all this area, similar to GM and Detroit. I know the NWO bunch are not structured, they are flexible, so this could be 2 steps forward and 1 step back. All in all my faith is on Jesus Christ our solid Rock, all other ground is sinking sand, Amen. Come Lord Jesus come. I know there will be an economic collapse and then WW3. They will set up there NWO. But at the end Jesus will come back and destroy it by pouring down His wrath on them. Glory be to Jesus, for His bride is NOT appointed unto wrath.
Thank you for your continued posts. I have been listening a lot lately to Steve Quayle’s shows that he did in March and WOW, if you haven’t had a chance to listen, I hope you will. I’m sure it’s a lot of things you already know. He’s been on Omegaman and Hagman & Hagman on blog talk radio. I love your & Stewarts updates, thank you for all your hard work.
Outstanding DVD!!! Nothing is a surprise anymore…but it is amazing that we can still buy the truth such as described by Klaus.
is an outstanding complimentary site to review after watching Klaus’ DVD.
Larry, I enjoyed watching the klaus Dona. Movie with you. These are the things we all have thought about or dreamed of.
Outstanding movie and I enjoyed our time together. Love you…..D.
Can you believe it Larry? My move didnt pan out and i dont know what is in store for me now…i wait on the Lord! God bless you and Darnette!!
Re the comments on tiredness etc. I was told about Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) and wheatgrass. Since I have been taking this daily, I have found my health improving. I suffer with arthritis in my joints and spine and even the pain there has eased. These also remove metals from the body and, in light of what is happening today, we need that! Check this out folks. I prayed Father would show me, as He created our bodies and knows what we need for health and I was innundated with information. Read it all up folks!! You will not regret it!
Can you stand one more complaint. I live in Kentucky, and I am literally exhausted. From what, I do not know. I am a stay at home retired registered nurse, and it is all I can do to make myself get out of bed. When I get out of bed, I go directly to my recliner. I am not depressed and I am not an old lady. My husband still works, and he sleeps in his chair like an 80-year-old man, even though he is in his fifties. We are both very active and exercise faithfully every day. The last several weeks have played a toll on both my husband and I. Our three grown children are also complaining of this strange lethargy that has bombarded us. We are not idle folks, and this is what makes it so unsettling. I have a constant roaring in my right ear, and I feel like I am walking on uneven ground. I have daily aches and pains that have also increased. I have noticed that even the children seem detached and faraway looking. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. Something is blowing in the wind. We have strong gusts of wind happening right now as I type. My eyes are burning as well. Soon we will all be walking around like zombies. I already feel like I am a walking zombie, and my husband will concur that he feels the same way.
Soon Jesus will come back to gather His Saints to Himself, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
foods into the diet and getting rid of white flour and sugar and a lot of red meat.
I too live in KY and this unnatural tiredness has affected people around here also.
Since we have been doing all this juicing and DE, Kenneth no longer takes any of his meds…none!!! He is on heart meds, BP, cholesterol, sugar pill, potassium and a water pill.
He took one dose when he had to go to the doctor as he figured they would draw blood.
When he came home he was so dizzy he could not walk across the floor, and he got in his recliner and could not hold his eyes open. I told him that was his proof, it was the medicine that made him old and infirm. He is 68 and has lots more energy since juicing. And his white hair is starting to turn black, he has not had black hair since he was 19. A little perk of wheatgrass juice. My nails are strong and shiny, my skin soft and supple like baby skin, my hair is softer and shinier. Within just a few minutes of taking wheatgrass juice you will feel the energy. Like Pam says…check into these things. You will not regret it!!!
My juicing book had one thing to say…..there is only one disease, malnutrition. All other diseases are rooted in malnutrition. By juicing you can take in many nutrients very quickly. For instance a 4 oz glass of juice may consist of half pound of carrots, a large bowl of lettuce, several radishes, a couple stalks of celery, and an apple. There is much information on the web, just google…you will be amazed at what you find.
Something else to consider is sprouts…little tiny sprouts…jam packed with concentrated nutrients. A little dab will do ya….lol.
Another thing I noticed just lately. I found myself feeling very rageful, murderously so. Then other women around the neighborhood would come in and they would be full of rage, wanting to go off and hurt something. Yes we all had a few problems, but this crazy rage we were feeling was really wierd, as usually we balance one another out. If one is crazy, we talk each other down, so to speak, but when everyone is feeling that way, then it makes you wonder. So I wondered if maybe we were affected by EM waves coming from the sun or if they had ramped up some cell towers or something. Then we all got to talking and we came to the conclusion that it hit us all on a Friday afternoon and we were like that until Tues when we all noticed that it had just dissipated. What ever it was didn’t seem to affect the men, only us women. Hmmm…made me think of a movie I saw recently The Signal…it was about a signal, similar to the emergency broadcast thing they do on TV, well when the people saw this on TV it did something to them and they would walk off somewhere like a zombie and then start killing people. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I read somewhere that all this would drive some people mad as these solar flares increase and the electro magnetic field gets stronger as these planets align and the comet or planet x or whatever it is comes closer.
I’ve been speaking to a whole slew of people who for the past while have been doing nothing but sleeping. (including myself) Since I think we are all in North America, I am wondering if they have stepped up their ‘spraying’ program and have added an extra ingredient to either knock us all out or make us utterly useless???
Thanks for all your hard work Larry with the alerts and this blog…much appreciated!
Also, Pam…thanks for the ‘heads up’ on wheat grass! I heard it’s good for energy poor folks like us..LOL!
I live in the UK and it’s the same over here re trails and effects. My friend in Kentucky told me about DE and wheatgrass and other juicing recipes. It’s sure tasty. I’m still tired a lot, but at least I know why. I just have to keep going till it all kicks in. I noticed at the weekend there were thicker (thus more trails from each plane) lines in the sky. I’m wondering if anything had been added. I know phosgene is one of them. I warn folks here, particularly with breathing problems. But the testimonials of the juicing and DE are amazing – specially from my friend and her family and friends.
This is why God has told us to stay close to Him these days and follow His leading. I think even in our food and water intake we should be careful. Nothing has been mentioned for a long time re the gulf, although that matter is still ongoing and folks are sick and dying down there. That poison is still floating around in the air and water and rain. Could be that as well ya think?
I too have noticed I am so much more tired than normal. I do not want to go anywhere extra except to work. I work in human resources for a company which has about 500 folks and there is more people on leave of absence than ever before at one time. I sure treasure my weekends when I do not have to go to work. I spent last weekend soaking on teachings from The Byte Show and drinking ice tea, very blessed time for me.
Dear Sadie, and others commenting on this forum. Yesterday, April 4, 2011, my husband and I felt so drained that we thought we might have been drugged somehow. I know this sounds really creepy and paranoia on our part, but the drugged feeling lasted for hours and hours. My husband who is in his fifties, and fit, came on and slept until I made dinner. After dinner, he sat in his recliner and slept until it was time for bed. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open as well. The drowsiness became so intense, that I was thinking we might have to go to the emergency room. My husband is not a complainer, but he kept saying “I cannot keep my eyes open. What is wrong with me.” I shared his same sentiments. My eyes felt like they had a pound of sand in them and my eyes were watering. Every time I wiped my eyes they would start burning. All these symptoms went along with the extreme sleepiness. At one point, I thought maybe I might be escaping from reality. It was like I was spectator, watching my own life. It was the strangest sensation. My husband and I feel a little better today on April 5, 2011. It seemed with every step I took, I was wading through thick molasses. Strange indeed. When I went to sleep, I slept over 14 hours. My husband slept less because he had to go to work. Even as I got out of bed at 3:4o PM, I wanted to go back to bed and sleep, sleep, sleep. My husband and I have also been feeling very agitated. Something is not right.
We will try the juicing. I love veges and fruit anyway you can prepare them.
God help us all! Something weird is really happening.
Please excuse my poor grammar and sentence structure. I am still a bit lethargic today.
The other day, our skies were covered in chem trails. The sky looked so unnatural, that it was plain scary. Sometimes the chem trails are done in geometric shapes, and other times they are done cloud wisps. Any one with a half a brain could tell something was not right with the skies. My husband likes to ignore the fact that something is amiss with our skies. I have noticed that a lot of folks just shake their heads and go on.
ONLY THOSE BEING PART OF THE BRIDE OF JESUS CHRIST ARE WORTHY TO ESCAPE ALL THINGS COMING ON THE EARTH!
Who Does Jesus Christ Reckon As Part Of His Bride?
While reading the study titled “Dark Light” from Stewart Best It became increasingly clear to me WHO the Bride of Jesus Christ really is: those people who are bestowed with Agape Love, who have become in their inner core being, their inner heart, not their conscious outer heart, THE SAME AS Jesus Christ. Only people who ARE pure faithfulness will never betray Him (again), don’t they?
I believe the 5 Wise Virgins were clothed with the Agape Love of Christ; they had become in their character pure undefiled faithfulness. Oil is actually a picture of Agape Love. The Holy Spirit “only” helps us to walk the narrow road of self-crucifixion, so Jesus Christ eventually is able to feel at home in our inner core being (the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle), and stays there to live with us like in marriage while we still live on earth/ during our earthly live. When this happens we are clothed with Him, like in marriage. I believe only those people are sealed with the Holy Spirit to receive their inheritance in Heaven.
The error/false doctrine/false teaching/the leaven in the majority of Churches is that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the converted person is taught the be the end goal, but it isn’t.
We are only saved by being clothed with Jesus Christ, literally Him living in our inner core being/spirit, also called the subconscious that is in reality the driving force of everything we do, think and say. We are not aware of this subconscious, or inner heart/ being. The Holy Spirit is “only” the Helper to lead us on the road to crucifixion of our evil fallen nature, pulverizing to dust our fallen nature, that resides in our inner core being. Only the few walk this road, because this difficult and painful road exposes us to the evil nature in our inner core being, the evil creatures we REALLY ARE, and that we are oblivious of with our conscious being/heart, so that the Holy Spirit can rebuke and chastise us for who we really are, and drive us to despair over who we are, so we start begging Jesus Christ to have it replaced with HIS nature. The “MANY”, who are rejected by Jesus Christ as mentioned in Matthew 24, are deceived via false doctrine into thinking they have already arrived at this destination of having their evil SELF replaced with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, when in REALITY they are only displaying gifts of the Spirit after their conversion, while their evil fallen nature is still IN TACT, alive and kicking. Conversion is “only” an intellectual agreement with what the Bible teaches about salvation, after which a person decides with his or her fallen will to follow Jesus Christ, thinking they know what this following of Jesus Christ really means, but they don’t, because of the false Gospel that is taught in most Churches.
The REAL BIBLICAL GOSPEL IS: We are called, after conversion, to be led by the Holy Spirit on the road to our literal self-crucifixion, so our evil fallen nature can be increasingly replaced by the Spirit of Jesus Christ Himself, literally. Then and only then are we really changed into His image, displaying Agape Love in what we do and say. ONLY THEN can we say we TRULY have been reborn, that the REBIRTH has taken place. CONVERSION and REBIRTH are NOT THE SAME, as is taught in most Churches. Hence the Lord HATES our “solemn assemblies”/church services, etc., just like in Israel under the Old Testament.
We are not saved through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit ALONE, but by REALLY being clothed with the character of Jesus Christ, Him having taken residence in our inner core being/heart.
Only then ARE we in our core being essence Faithful, and we will never betray Jesus Christ and God the Father (again). Hence we are fit for Heaven.
Earthly marriage is a picture of the marriage between Jesus Christ and His Bride. What does the Lord require of married couples? That they are absolutely faithful to each other. With/through our natural love this turns out to be very difficult, because our natural love is not absolute or PURE, but relative and conditional, which God calls EVIL. I believe many professing Christians are deliberately led into a difficult marriage, because that’s the narrow way for them to be “forced” to have their by nature unfaithful character replaced by the absolute faithful character/ essence of Jesus Christ. This narrow way simply exposes their unfaithful nature to them, so it can be dealt with, IF they cooperate with the Lord. That’s why I believe that the Lord even allows the spouse of professing Christians, who REALLY want to become like Christ, to be unfaithful to them, in whatever way, so the Lord can increasingly transform these Christians into walking in absolute faithfulness (Agape Love) to their spouse and therefore also to Jesus Christ Himself.
If we are faithful in “small” matters, like our earthly marriage, we will also be faithful in “big”, and “huge” matters, like reigning with Jesus Christ for eternity.
Should The Bride be taken away from this earth, I believe that most people on earth will not notice it, because it will probably be a (very) small number of people. I might not be among this group of fortunate people either.
BUT……that does not necessarily mean that I and other Followers of Jesus Christ have to go through The Tribulation (with the “Visitors” presenting themselves as our creators and saviors on the earth). Because the Lord can take us Home before this happens, simply by postponing End Time events like Elenin and Nibiru influencing/hitting the earth, etc. He is Lord over these events. I believe in my heart that the Lord gives us more time so people who have come to knowledge of the truth about REAL SALVATION, but have not as of yet sufficiently being transformed into the likeness/ the essence/ core being of Jesus Christ, ABSOLUTE FAITHFULNESS, can be transformed: really born again.
This brings me to the impression I had in 2005 that I had another 10 years to live, bringing the time that I would part from this earth (hopefully into the permanent presence of the Lord) to 2015. I can very well imagine that it takes another 3-4 years before I have been sufficiently transformed into the likeness of the Lord, into the essence of absolute faithfulness, to have been proved in REAL LIFE HERE ON EARTH my absolute, indestructible unwavering faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The color BLUE that the Holy Spirit seemed to have pointed me to through all kinds of situations and things, like clothing, music lyrics, etc. represents the LAW OF GOD. The law of God is fulfilled in AGAPE LOVE, the character of Christ formed IN our inner core being/ our TRUE, REAL character. Not as we perceive our self with our conscious heart/ being, or as we THINK we are.
And it comes full circle……..
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for all these insights!
I pray for the sufficient transformation (of everyone reading this message) into the likeness of Jesus Christ in the inner core being, should this not have happened as of yet.
PS: I am reading the Wuest Translation of the New Testament, and this translation brings about/into the light/confirms the whole issue of the TOTAL absence of AGAPE LOVE in the fallen human being, and the way to be transformed into an AGAPE loving being (again). | 2019-04-19T06:53:30Z | https://larrywtaylor.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/larry-taylor-blog-news-april-3-2011/ |
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It is important to keep your private key details safe and secure. Extreme caution must be taken whenever selecting, storing or transmitting private keys. If another person learns your private key, they can steal your funds. Also, if you forget or lose your private key or password details, Dasset cannot provide a back-up and this can result in the loss of your Digital Currencies. We strongly recommend you use secure cold storage. Also note that careless selection of a private key can lead to theft just as easily as its accidental release, so choose your private key wisely."
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Terms and Conditions Our Terms and Conditions, as updated from time to time, legally bind each User and Approved User. The current Terms and Conditions are set out in full here and are deemed to incorporate the Fee Schedule which is available here.
Transactions The term Transaction means any transaction undertaken using the Services or otherwise through the Site. It includes a Buy Transaction, a Sell Transaction, and an Exchange Transaction.
Users A User is any person who visits our Site or who uses any of our Services.
You The term you means each Approved User and, where the context permits or requires, each User. | 2019-04-19T10:27:48Z | https://dassetx.com/terms.html |
Notes from the Beachbody Bandwagon, Part 1: The food | Wake Up, Mama!
At age 45 with a 20-year career in health care, it’s crazy that I’m only now learning appropriate food portions. It’s kind of embarrassing, really, but I’m glad I finally am. It’s motivating and empowering.
Beachbody is one of those multi-level marketing companies. I’m not a seller and I doubt I ever will be, but who knows?
OK, without further ado, here’s how I got involved in this program and my experience so far. In this post, I’ll talk about the eating plan, and in Part 2 I’ll focus on the workouts.
After baby number two, I lost all the baby weight and then some without trying. Over the next few years, I slowly and steadily packed on 30 pounds. Having never lost weight on purpose, I had no experience with how to deal with it once I realized how much weight had snuck up on me while I didn’t even have a working scale. I’ve never believed in diets, and I still believe the diet industry has caused great harm to women and girls, so a structured diet plan was not going to be my first go-to solution.
I figured the weight would come off at some point without me having to do anything, as it had in the past. Maybe because I’m well into my 40’s now, vaguely stepping up my exercise and “eating healthy” only resulted in gaining another pound every couple months. I was eating clean—lots of organic produce, mostly grass-fed meat, healthy fats only, minimal starchy carbs, and almost no processed foods. I was exercising a few times a week. I didn’t see what else I could realistically do.
I tried counting calories, and even using the My Fitness Pal app, I could only do it for a few days before it drove me crazy and led to obsessing over what I could and couldn’t have and when. I did the Whole30 (a paleo cleanse) a couple times. That was a worthwhile lesson on how too many grain carbs and sugar affect my energy level and moods, but I didn’t lose any weight because (I now realize) I learned nothing about how to stop overeating all that clean, healthy food.
I figured all I could do was accept my new normal. I read Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth, which I highly recommend (even though I eventually went on a “diet,” and she would probably not approve). I vowed that with practice, I would become finely tuned in to my body’s real hunger and fullness cues. I would know intuitively what foods my body needed, and how much. Mindful eating. Self-love. I was all in.
I hoped the weight would naturally come off this way (pretty please?), but if not, I would fully accept my current size and learn to love my curves.
Then I discovered (TMI alert!) that I couldn’t walk down the beach without this dreadful thigh chafing problem, which I found out actually has a name—“chub rub.” I also noticed there were certain yoga postures I could no longer do because I was mechanically impeded by body fat. Now it was no longer about cultivating self-acceptance and rejecting societal ideals about the female form. My weight was directly interfering with some of my favorite activities.
I did the BMI calculation and it was 30. The BMI calculator isn’t perfect—it doesn’t take frame or each person’s unique proportions of fat to muscle mass into account, but I was at least in the ballpark of clinical obesity, with the attendant health risks. I was done.
How did I choose this program? If not for a couple random turns of events, I probably never would have considered it because the program includes shakes. I’m not a believer in liquid meal replacements because to me, sustainable lifestyle change means being able to lose weight and keep it off by eating regular food, not to mention the fact that most nutritional shakes are full of chemical crap. I learned that a) the shakes are optional—you can do this plan on regular food only, b) a shake replaces a protein snack (and a fruit if you add that), not a full meal and c) most importantly, the ingredients in Shakeology are far superior to other shakes.
I got started when a friend who is a total nutritional purist gave me about a ¼ bag of Shakeology to try. She loves the workouts, which have helped her stay consistent with exercise. Another friend (also the super granola sort) put me in touch with her coach, a like-minded person who understood and addressed my reservations around diets in general and my skepticism about any program that includes processed shake powder. I decided to try it for one cycle of the 21-Day Fix and take it from there.
Is this really a “diet?” Yes and no. Yes, because you are tracking what you’re eating, portions are controlled, and if you’re following it strictly, some things are off limits. No, because it’s clean eating in healthy proportions and it can be followed indefinitely, with a little leeway certainly, as a permanent lifestyle change.
The eating plan is about portion control and getting the right proportions of macronutrients—proteins, carbs and fats—so that you’re well nourished, energy levels are even and you’re not hungry, even at an overall calorie deficit. There’s no calorie counting or weighing—portions are measured using containers of different colors and sizes for each type of food: proteins, veggies, fruits, carbs (grains and starchy veggies), healthy fats, seeds and dressings, and oils/nut butters. Depending on your current weight, you get so many of each color container per day.
This obviously involves tracking everything you eat in some way, so I thought it would drive me crazy the same way calories counting does. But it doesn’t, and I think there are three reasons for that.
It’s not quite as fussy as counting calories. I don’t have to add or input every single ingredient. Tracking macro food groups is less involved and quicker. And the app makes it even easier.
The containers make it easier to work with the question, “What do I have left for the day?” “I have a protein, a carb, 2 veggies, and a fat left.” feels a lot saner and more manageable than “I have 600 calories left, what can I eat?” (It’s also a lot easier to estimate when eating out).
I’m learning portion control habits I can use for the rest of my life. I used the containers religiously for the first couple weeks. Then I started to practice eyeballing my portions by putting the food on the plate first, then putting that amount in the container to see how close I was. I’m getting really good at it. Now, when I eat out or at someone’s house, I know I’m spot on or pretty damn close.
My plan was to get one 30-day supply of Shakeology as part of the package I bought, and then continue the program without it. It’s not cheap—one 30 day supply is about $120, so about $4 per shake. Some people spend that on a latte every day anyway, but I don’t. The sales pitch is, if you bought all the ingredients as superfoods and supplements, it would be many times the cost. That argument doesn’t work for me, because I’m not otherwise going to buy all that stuff, so the shakes are an extra expense, period.
I wish I didn’t like Shakeology so much, because my 30-days only plan is not working out. I ordered another bag, thinking I’d have it a few times a week and make it last, but I’m still drinking it almost every day.
I feel energized after my shake, and I feel great in general since I’ve started this program. The shakes are full of superfoods, so maybe that’s why. It could also be the placebo effect. Or it could be more from the workouts, or getting the right proportions of macronutrients without overeating, or some combination of two of these or all three. I started all three changes at the same time, so who knows?
Whatever it is, I like the shakes, and right now I don’t feel like messing with what’s working for me. That said, I do like knowing this program is not dependent on them. If I decide to quit buying it at any time, I can replace it with a Greek yogurt or some other protein.
Strict ANYTHING is not for me. That said, if I only had 5-10 pounds to lose, I might follow the 21-Day fix to the letter, get it done in one round (two, tops) and move on to maintenance. I can follow anything for three weeks.
Half and half in my coffee. I tried giving this up when I did my first Whole30. Nope. I added it back after two weeks (my only cheat on that program) and I’m never giving it up again. My coffee is my last surviving vice, and I’ll have it exactly the way I like it (which is at least without sugar).
Eyeballing combination foods. I’m not going to get all stressed out from looking at a bowl of chili. I’m going to estimate how many protein and carb portions are in it and move on.
Deviating from the suggested food lists, just a little. There are lists of suggested foods for each food group. For the red container (proteins), it says skinless chicken breast. Sometimes I have dark meat with a little skin (gasp). It also says extra-lean ground beef. I eat the grass-fed beef that’s already in my freezer, and I have no idea what the percentage of fat is. Probably more. Oh, well.
A little less of this and a little more of that. Occasionally, I subtract a carb portion and add a fat portion in its place. Because some days, I want some avocado AND some cheese.
Ice cream. If everyone is having it, I have might have a few bites and really savor it. Or I might not. Knowing I can if I want to makes it easier to forego it some of the time.
Taking a day off occasionally. Last week, I had a potluck brunch date with five girlfriends I never get to see and another potluck party at dinnertime with a dozen sister midwives. I vaguely watched my portions but mostly ate what I wanted and had some treats.
All this means my progress is slower than it is for some people doing this program. Many people lose more in one round of the 21-day fix than I’ve lost in 2 months. That’s OK with me. It took me three years to gain this weight. Even if I only lose a couple pounds a month, I’ll still lose all of it in half the time it took to gain it.
For some people, following the eating plan strictly might feel better since it takes some decision-making out of the equation. Also, “tweaks” (AKA “cheats,” if you want to put a negative spin on it) could be a slippery slope starting with minor deviations and ending with barely following the plan. I could see this happening with the holidays coming up because yes, I have eaten a little Halloween candy—not nearly as much as usual, though! Honestly, if I don’t gain any back before the end of the year and then go back to losing after the holiday season, I’ll be happy with that.
It seems counterintuitive, but after some time measuring and tracking my portions via the containers, I’m becoming more tuned in to my body’s hunger and fullness cues than I was when I was trying to practice that awareness without any structure around what and how much to eat. My guess is, that’s because I’m no longer overriding that subtle “enough” signal by habitually overeating.
So as long as it keeps coming off, I don’t care if it’s slow, because I’ve found my sweet spot with a healthy way of eating I can maintain indefinitely. For me, it’s all about sustainable lifestyle change. Oh, and sanity.
In Part 2, I’ll talk about the workouts, and some considerations for parents.
Camille, great blog. Your focus on healthy eating as a lifestyle change is so on target, and if Beachbody gets you there, then go for it. What I hope people hear when they read your article is that it’s about living a healthy life and feeling good because of it. We’ve been on that path for a couple of years now, and the difference is profound. Thanks for a well-written, encouraging posting.
Pingback: Notes from the Beachbody Bandwagon, Part 2: The 21-Day Fix Workouts | Wake Up, Mama!
How are you getting on with it now? | 2019-04-25T16:45:32Z | https://camillewilliams.net/2016/11/02/notes-from-the-beachbody-bandwagon-part-1-the-food/ |
I rarely make muffins at home and never order one when I’m out and about as I find they’re often far too sweet and never truly that satisfying. I realize, too, in looking back at my cookbook that there’s only one muffin recipe throughout. Case in point: I’m tentative on muffins. But not these. We’ve been pretty thrilled to have this healthier version of Morning Glory muffins on the counter this week; they have little bits of apple, raisins, walnuts, and grated carrot and are cloaked in a buttery oat crumble topping — quite the opposite of your boring coffeeshop fare.
I thought long and hard about doing a Valentine’s post, some festive cookie or confection that would be share-worthy this weekend, but the more we talked about what our weekend would really look like, it involved something special for breakfast instead. I don’t remember the last time a Valentine’s Day fell on a Saturday, so we have big plans to have breakfast in bed and if your plans are even remotely similar, these muffins would be a fine inclusion.
I remember when Sam and I were first dating long distance, and occasions or holidays would feel like a hurdle: I’d so wish we could be together and fell into the trap of constantly thinking towards the next birthday or the next Valentine’s Day and assuring myself it’d be different the following year — envisioning the grand places where we might celebrate (if we were in San Francisco maybe at Zuni to share the famous chicken and a few oysters; if in Seattle, perhaps Spinasse for a plate of that simple, buttery pasta). The funny thing: now that that period in our lives is over, I think much less eagerly towards grand dates or sweeping gestures, and look forward to the smaller dates and moments. Sam asked last night if we should think about going out to dinner on Saturday and we both glanced at each other with the same look in our eye: I hope the other says no; let’s stay in.
This is not to say that we don’t love going out because we love trying new cafes around town and visiting our favorite neighborhood spot, but there’s something almost more special about planning the quieter moments — figuring out what kind of pancakes we’ll make and how to balance the coffee on the bed without spilling it, making homemade whipped cream, catching up on the week.
I have a quote taped to the computer in my office at Marge; it’s an Annie Dillard quote that reads “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” It’s possible I’ve shared this quote here before, but I can’t remember and maybe it’s a good one to revisit regardless. Instead of inspirational photos of people and places, this alone serves as a good reminder when I start to feel overwhelmed by all of the Bigger Things in life (success of a business, taxes, celebrating holidays and occasions). While fancy dates and dinners are nice, it’s really the everyday meals (and occasional breakfast in bed) that comprise most of our life — and when focusing too much on the grand and fancy, you lose sight of most of the really good stuff. Like muffins in bed. I hope you have some this weekend, solo or joined by someone you love.
Megan’s Note: I know the ingredient list for these muffins looks long, but a handful are spices alone and I imagine a few are things you already have in your pantry. I know some of you are hesitant about coconut oil, but it really is so wonderful in these muffins; it has a sweet fragrance that adds so much. If you don’t have it or would rather not use it, I imagine that butter would work just fine as well. I haven’t tested these with butter, but I can’t think of any clear reason why they’d be negatively affected (if you try it, let me know!) The one thing to remember about the oil: do make sure it isn’t very hot when adding it to the wet ingredients as you don’t want to curdle your yogurt and milk — I let mine cool to almost room temperature while still making sure it’s in its liquid state.
My best advice for these muffins is not to be conservative with the crumble topping; as the muffin tops spread in the oven you’re going to wish you had more of it, so feel free to really layer and even lightly press it onto each.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the two flours, oats, sugar, baking powder and baking soda, spices and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, yogurt, milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Fold in orange zest, apple, carrots, raisins and walnuts.
Scoop batter into 12 paper-lined muffin tins, filling each almost to the top. Spoon crumble filling on top.
Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown around the edges and feel firm to the touch, even in the center. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Muffins will keep for 2 days if stored covered at room temperature.
These look scrumptious!If I replace the whole wheat and all purpose flour with a gluten free all purpose flour do you think they'd turn out the same? Or use all oat flour maybe? Would love to try them but can't have gluten.
Your morning glory muffins look like such a delight. Definitely need to try these!
These look fantastic! Our house is filled with smiles and cheers when I bake your pear and hazelnut muffins...look forward to baking these beauties this weekend :) Thanks for sharing!
I'm running home to bake these, pronto.
I'm not normally big on muffins either - and I'd definitely eat them as a snack rather than breakfast - but these look so good. I love the little apple-y chunks and the ingredient list is so wholesome.
I love your breakfast muffins, along with every other recipe in your cookbook. I have fun experimenting with the mix-ins. Can't wait to make these! Recipes like this really help me add variety to breakfast and snack time.
Morning glory muffins are my go-to, and my recipe is remarkably similar BUT! I've never tried a crumble topping! Kills a bit of the health factor but my guess is that it's well worth it. I'll try it out and see!
love the crumble topping! such a good idea.
I think these might be added to the weekend "To Make" list. They will be my sustenance in between shoveling another mountain of snow here in Boston... oy. Crumble toppings: I can't get enough! Thanks for the recipe, Megan! Happy weekend to you and Sam!
Made them on Sunday and they were SPECTACULAR! I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free cup for cup flour and the texture was perfect. Just the right amount of sweetness, crunch, and I love how moist they turned out. I'll be doubling the next batch for sure!
Hello! I've been reading your blog for almost a year now but haven't yet commented before. I'm not sure why, but today, I finally decided that I need to as I love your posts. I truly get excited when they come out - how you write and the recipes you post are always unique and very special. Thanks for another great one today - these look delicious!
My husband and I love our weekend morning rituals, and when we are having a particularly grueling work week, we often celebrate the weekend morning by staying in bed for a couple of hours, drinking coffee or tea and watching the cooking channel. Bliss.
These look like lovely muffins with the perfect amount of spice. They would go so well with our weekend coffee or tea.
These will be perfect for our family weekend brunch! Yum!
What a wonderful post. I often forget how wonderful life's everyday moments are until I see pictures of my kids goofing off and think...tomorrow, I'm really going to pay attention. The muffins look like Saturday morning to me!
This is my second time making these muffins. First, they were a hit at a baby shower and tomorrow I'm bringing them for a birthday brunch at work. They are definitely labor intensive on the front end, but SO DELICIOUS!
Yes, the ingredient list is long, but most of it is pantry staples (for me, at least)! I used a tablespoon of orange marmalade because I didn't have any oranges for the zest and I pureed an apple with a little apple juice because I didn't have applesauce. The muffins turned out beautifully and my family made them disappear in record time. This recipe is absolutely a keeper! | 2019-04-21T02:54:20Z | https://asweetspoonful.com/2015/02/morning-glory-crumble-muffins.html |
One of the new features in DB2 version 9 which got a lot of attention is certainly 'Row Compression'. While compression algorithms are in place already in DB2 before version 9 (for instance backup compression, value compression), row compression is unique for several reasons. But first let's distinguish between value compression and row compression. Both methods are used to compress table data and therefore save space in the database. Value compression, available since version 8.1 of DB2, does so by introducing a new row format which saves space for certain data types if they are empty or SQL null.
applicability in SAP systems Row compression on the other hand uses standard data compression algorithms to compress a row. This includes the creation of a 'dictionary' which defines symbols for particular groups of bytes which appear frequently in the table data.
To be more precise, row compression in DB2 uses a lossless compression technique with a static dictionary and works on a 'per table' basis. Static here means that the dictionary, once build, is fixed and will not change upon INSERTs or UPDATEs. The dictionary must exists before the table can be compressed. Creation of the dictionary and compressing the table is done in one step with an offline table REORG. To create the dictionary, the algorithm looks for repeating entries (or patterns) in rows. These entries may span over several adjacent columns. They are replaced by a symbol and the symbol is stored together with the repeating entries in the dictionary. During decompression (which is completely transparent to the database user) the DBMS replaces the symbols found in a row with the entries which are stored in the dictionary for this symbol. This way, a row gets shorter on disk and more rows will fit into one page. The dictionary itself is stored together with the table data and is not accessible from the outside. Upon access to a compressed table the dictionary is loaded into (DBHEAP-)memory for faster decompression. Dictionaries can not exceed the size of 150 KByte, they are usually about 75 KByte in size.
As indexes are used for fast access to records index data will not be compressed. Also, long and LOB table data is not compressed.
Compressed data is represented as it is in the buffer pool. In other words, the content of the buffer pool is also compressed if it is related to a compressed table. This allows for a more effective memory usage.
As already mentioned, row compression works on a per table basis (it can be switched on for single tables). In case of a multi partition environment, it works on a 'per table/per partition' basis in the sense that every compressed table has their own dictionary on every partition.
DB20000I The INSPECT command completed successfully.
Compression dictionary size: 56832 bytes.
Expansion dictionary size: 32768 bytes.
The two lines 'Percentage of pages/bytes saved from compression' tell us here that a space reduction by 87% is expected from row compression which is certainly a lot. (I can now admit that I selected this table as it constitutes a very good showcase for row compression :). Also, the complete dictionary size for the table (on this partition) is estimated with 56832 + 32768 = 89600 Bytes = 87,5 KByte. This table is identified as an rewarding object for row compression.
The next step is to switch on row compression. This is done with the new addition 'COMPRESS YES' for the ALTER TABLE statement. Note that this addition is also available for the CREATE TABLE statement. In both cases the table will not be compressed with this statement! Instead it is more that the specified table is now 'eligible' from compression. The field 'COMPRESSION' in the SYSCAT.TABLES view tells us if compression is switched on for a table or not.
REORG has the two new options RESETDICTIONARY and KEEPDICTIONARY. So it is possible to do a reorganization without running the compress algorithm again by retaining an existing dictionary. For the exact meaning of these options please lookup REORG in the DB2 Command Reference.
With ADMIN_GET_TAB_INFO I can check the size of the dictionary. Exactly like estimated by INSPECT it's size is 87.5 KByte. The table now occupies only (273184*100)/2075296 = 13.1% of the original space on disk so that indeed 100% - 13% = 87% of the disk space are saved.
Now you may think that every good thing has a downside. Do we have to pay for these space savings? It is very difficult to find a general answer for the costs associated with row compression. Obviously, we need more CPU time for decompression. If on the other hand your database is more I/O bound the savings from less I/O may (and in most cases will) outperform these additional CPU cycles. So there is no universal answer.
Otherwise we can examine how the various SQL statements are affected by row compression. Remember that the algorithm works with a static dictionary which is not changed by DML statements issued against a compressed table. From measurements conducted by our IBM colleagues here at SAP (thanks!) we found out that there is nearly no overhead for SELECTs and only a small overhead for INSERTs. UPDATEs to existing rows need a bit more attention. If the update changes the table data in a way that a compression symbol must be expanded to the original entries the row will to be larger after the update than before. As a result the row will not fit in its original location. If there is still free space left on the data page DB2 will do a page reorg to assemble the free space and fit the row back in. If there is not enough free space DB2 will need to create an overflow record (that means that only a pointer will be left on the page and the remainder of the row will be stored on another page). These additional operations will bring along some additional cost if they occur. You therefore may see a slight decrease in update performance compared to an uncompressed table. It very much depends on your actual data and your update frequency if you see a decrease in update performance.
Regarding the compression ratio, 87% like in this example is certainly a very good showcase. For the most tables which are suitable for row compression a compression rate around 70% would be more realistic.
Row compression is a very useful feature and it will be supported by various SAP products.
Starting today you can transparently enable row compression for any table in your SAP system through a manual DBA action. To find suitable candidates for row compression in your SAP system the new UDF 'INSPECT_TABLE_ROWCOMPESTIMATE' is available. UDF can be used. The note also describes how to create DB2 scripts to enable row compression on multiple tables.
SAP BI will fully support DB2 row compression starting with it's next version. Row compression will become the default for BI fact tables. Support for existing versions of SAP BI/BW is also available soon, There will be more information about row compression in SAP BI posted on SDN soon.
R3load has the new option '-loadprocedure fast COMPRESS'. Started with this option it loads part of the data, does a REORG to create the compression dictionary and then loads the rest of the data. This way the table does not grow up to it's full size before it is compressed.
The SAP DBA Cockpit (transaction 'DBACOCKPIT') will fully support row compression starting with the next release of SAP Netweaver. See below a sneak preview from one of our development systems. Note that the development is still ongoing here and there might be changes!
The 'Single Table Analysis' shows if a row and/or value compression is switched on for the table. The picture shows the state of our table after row compression took place.
On the new compression tab you can find all information regarding row compression. All the things I did above manually (including the INSPECT run) can be scheduled very easy via the DBA cockpit.
Johannes Heinrich Johannes works as a developer in the 'DB2 UDB for Unix and Windows' porting team at SAP.
Excellent piece of information. we look forward for more such papers from the author.. | 2019-04-19T02:53:25Z | http://globalguideline.com/articles/analysis.php?k=New_Features_in_DB2_UDB_V9 |
I have often heard people saying that why convolutional neural networks are still poorly understood. Is it known why convolutional neural networks always end up learning increasingly sophisticated features as we go up the layers? What caused them create such a stack of features and would this also be true for other types of deep neural networks?
Actually I guess the question is a bit broad! Anyway.
What is learned in ConvNets tries to minimize the cost function to categorize the inputs correctly in classification tasks. All parameter changing and learned filters are in order to achieve the mentioned goal.
They try to reduce the cost by learning low level, sometimes meaningless, features like horizontal and vertical lines in their first layers and then stacking them to make abstract shapes, which often have meaning, in their last layers. For illustrating this fig. 1, which has been used from here, can be considered. The input is the bus and the gird shows the activations after passing the input through different filters in the first layer. As it can be seen the red frame which is the activation of a filter, which its parameters have been learned, has been activated for relatively horizontal edges. The blue frame has been activated for relatively vertical edges. It is possible that ConvNets learn unknown filters that are useful and we, as e.g. computer vision practitioners, have not discovered that they may be useful. The best part of these nets is that they try to find appropriate filters by their own and don't use our limited discovered filters. They learn filters to reduce the amount of cost function. As mentioned these filters are not necessarily known.
In deeper layers, the features learned in previous layers come together and make shapes which often have meaning. In this paper it has been discussed that these layers may have activations which are meaningful to us or the concepts which have meaning to us, as human beings, may be distributed among other activations. In fig. 2 the green frame shows the activatins of a filter in the fifth layer of a ConvNet. This filter cares about the faces. Suppose that the red one cares about hair. These have meaning. As it can be seen there are other activations that have been activated right in the position of typical faces in the input, the green frame is one of them; The blue frame is another example of these. Accordingly, abstraction of shapes can be learned by a filter or numerous filters. In other words, each concept, like face and its components, can be distributed among the filters. In cases where the concepts are distributed among different layers, if someone look at each of them, they may be sophisticated. The information is distributed among them and for understanding that information all of those filters and their activations have to be considered although they may seem so much complicated.
CNNs should not be considered as black boxes at all. Zeiler et all in this amazing paper have discussed the development of better models is reduced to trial and error if you don't have understanding of what is done inside these nets. This paper tries to visualize the feature maps in ConvNets.
ConvNets use pooling layers not only to reduce the number of parameters but also to have the capability to be insensitive to the exact position of each feature. Also the use of them enables the layers to learn different features which means first layers learn simple low level features like edges or arcs, and deeper layers learn more complicated features like eyes or eyebrows. Max Pooling e.g. tries to investigate whether a special feature exists in a special region or not. The idea of pooling layers is so useful but it is just capable to handle transition among other transformations. Although filters in different layers try to find different patterns, e.g. a rotated face is learned using different layers than a usual face, CNNs by there own do not have any layer to handle other transformations. To illustrate this suppose that you want to learn simple faces without any rotation with a minimal net. In this case your model may do that perfectly. suppose that you are asked to learn all kind of faces with arbitrary face rotation. In this case your model has to be much more bigger than the previous learned net. The reason is that there have to be filters to learn these rotations in the input. Unfortunately these are not all transformations. Your input may also be distorted too. These cases made Max Jaderberg et all angry. They composed this paper to deal with these problems in order to settle down our anger as theirs.
Finally after referring to these points, they work because they try to find patterns in the input data. They stack them to make abstract concepts by there convolution layers. They try to find out whether the input data has each of these concepts or not in there dense layers to figure out which class the input data belongs to.
ConvNets work because they exploit feature locality. They do it at different granularities, therefore being able to model hierarchically higher level features. They are translation invariant thanks to pooling units. They are not rotation-invariant per se, but they usually converge to filters that are rotated versions of the same filters, hence supporting rotated inputs.
I know of no other neural architecture that profits from feature locality in the same sense as ConvNets do.
One should never forget the other components in a typical ConvNet. The convolution filters pick out the spatial invariant features, like edges and circles. These features are quantified in a pooling layer which follows the C layer. Finally, they are fed into (usually) multiple fully connected layers (fc). Credit must be given to these fully connected layers which are nothing more than what you find in any ordinary MLP.
Convolutional neural networks work because it's a good extension from the standard deep-learning algorithm.
Given unlimited resources and money, there is no need for convolutional because the standard algorithm will also work. However, convolutional is more efficient because it reduces the number of parameters. The reduction is possible because it takes advantage of feature locality, exactly what @ncasas writes.
Is it known why convolutional neural networks always end up learning increasingly sophisticated features as we go up the layers?
This is pure mathematics. A neural network, at the end of the day, is a big mathematical function. And the deeper the network, the bigger the function it represents. And by bigger, I obviously mean high-dimensional. The features learned are more sophisticated because they are the results of more sophisticated functions.
Interestingly enough, conventional neural networks were inspired by our own, actually cat's, biology. Hubel and Wiesel conducted experiments on the visual cortex of cats, and they realized that light was perceived by stacks of optic fields. This is what inspired convolutional layer and a deeper architecture.
They are invavriant to geometrical transformations and learn features that get increasingly complicated and detailed, hence being powerful hierarchical feature extractors thanks to the convolutional layers.
They combine the extracted features and aggregate them in a non linear fashion to predict the output and therefore being robust classifiers thanks to the fully connected layers.
If you want to learn more about convnets and the different blocks building them as well as the intuitions that underly, here's a post I recently wrote on my personal blog that goes through the details.
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What is exactly meant by neural network that can take different types of input? | 2019-04-21T04:27:30Z | https://datascience.stackexchange.com/questions/15903/why-do-convolutional-neural-networks-work/15907 |
We often wonder how often we should go to confession. The answer is simple—whenever you have a serious sin on your conscience. Examine your conscience and beg God to show you’re your faults; if you don’t know who you are then you don’t know what Christ came to save you from. This can be a difficult process, but a necessary one. Such study reveals our self-love by which we blind and deceive ourselves.
Our sins offend the Almighty God. He wants to forgive us and share His mercy. We must be satisfied not just with avoiding serious sins, but even the smallest, in an ongoing striving for holiness. Our sins cause ourselves and others unhappiness—why would we want this?!
St. John of Kronstadt says that if you live just one day in obedience to all the commandments then you’ll have a foretaste of Heaven. Once we know and detest our faults we can begin to replace them with virtues, but know that this won’t happen all at once. Be the simple, difficult, weak creature that you are, and start small—to try to stop sinning all at once is actually a manifestation of pride. Start with the baby milk of spiritual struggle before moving on to the strong wine.
How should we examine our conscience? You should do this daily, taking time at night to reflect. You can use the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and so on, as a guide. My spiritual father, Fr. Seraphim Rose, taught me to consider: How have I sinned against God? against my neighbor? and against myself?
Through examining our conscience we begin to discover what is our predominant passion(s)—that sin we fall into most frequently, which tries to master us. This can be the love of ease, love of power, complaining, judgmentalism, and so on. One of the worst things that can happen to us if when someone asks our advice, so we give “learned advice,” but in the end they don’t follow it and we get very upset.
To overcome vice we must practice the opposing virtue. The Ladder of Divine Ascent is a great help in this regard. St. John Climacus analyzed each virtue and vice as a master of psychology, seeing cause-effect relationships in a theocentric framework. Identify your predominant vice, locate its opposite virtue and begin to cultivate it. Simply avoiding vice won’t work because then the passion will simply be replaced with other passions. If we do this we will see that the spiritual life works! We don’t like anyone to point out our faults, but in actuality we need our spiritual father to do this.
We each have our predominant virtue too. Studying and practicing this tends to draw the other virtues along with it. We can overcome vice by practicing the presence of God, by beginning to develop an awareness that at all times we are in the presence of God and He observes us. The icon corner serves this purpose. It is a two-way window to Heaven. Before doing or saying anything, think to yourself: “Would I do this in Church in front of the altar?” If the answer is “no” then don’t do it. Church is the place par excellence where we come into God’s presence and receive Him.
The Theotokos practiced the presence of God more perfectly than anyone else. Her virtues grew and she thus had a powerful influence on other people. People were made better by her mere presence.
The predominant passion is pride; it is the mother of all sins. Its opposite is humility. No soul can have any holiness without some humility, and yet pride will lurk in our darkest recesses our whole life. Adam and Eve fell because they listened to the serpent and thought that they knew better than God. This is pride, and now most of us follow two masters—a little pride and a little humility. Pride is the love of self, the beginning of all sin, and the neglect of the fact that we depend on God for everything.
What separates us from death is so little. Our lives are very fragile, and pride places us in opposition to God because by it we work only for our own glory.
Pride places false regard on the opinion of others, and of ourselves, when the what you think matters more than what God thinks. It is also manifested as desiring a good reputation—to be thought well of, to be honored—and this is a great temptation for priests, with people looking for the latest guide or guru. A priest must do everything to remain humble about what people say. Actually, criticism against a priest is a blessing to keep him humble, which is in turn good for the whole parish. Pride is also seen in being overbearing towards others, insulting or critiquing others, being argumentative, and getting angry easily.
The Holy Fathers give us the antidote for going from vice to virtue. The spiritual life is a science, not an art form. Most of us aren’t so spiritually talented so we need laws and cause and effect in order to learn the spiritual life. St. John Climacus says that the antidote for pride is prayer. Identify where the pride is in your life and ask for strength against it. Human effort can do very little. We must realize that everything depends on God. In prayer we make use of God’s grace, and then we can do almost anything—we can move mountains!
Pride can also be turned into humility by acts of humility, and especially by accepting humiliations. If someone criticizes you, even unfairly, if someone insults you or talks about you behind your back, instead of becoming defensive, accept it! This cheerful bearing of small failures on the part of ourselves and others is bearing one another’s burdens (see Gal. 6:2). It is important to bear the misunderstandings of others without complaint or self-justification. All too often we’re prone to excuse ourselves and urge our opinions on others. When we learn to accept the humiliations that come our way then we’re learning to be humble. As pride is the mother of all sins, humility is the mother of all virtues.
Another serious vice is avarice, which is the opposite of detachment and denunciation. It is the desire for many goods, for power over people, and so on. This passion is combated by cultivating a spirit of generosity. The Lord’s command to give up your coat is quite literal (Mt. 5:40). St. John Maximovitch would often come back practically naked because he had given his clothes away to the poor and starving. St. John of Kronstadt did the same. You don’t have to give away everything, but we should strive to not possess our possessions with our heart. We can have the spirit of poverty even if we aren’t poor—only buying what is absolutely necessary.
There was a German Lutheran pastor named Richard Wurmbrandt who was a prisoner of Romanian and Russian Communists. When asked how he could manage solitary confinement he answered that he had had practice beforehand. He suggested that Americans with much wealth go into a store where they have no intention of buying anything, and every time they see something they like, they should go up to it, look at it, and say “I don’t need this.” Do this repeatedly and you train yourself to be detached from worldly goods. He realized that who he is isn’t dependent on what he owns, whereas most of us really do define ourselves by what we surround ourselves with.
The Desert Fathers had a Psalter and a vigil lamp and that was it, and they were free and belonged to God.
Cultivate generosity and have a spirit of detachment. You can practice this by not using credit cards. We live in a world where it’s possible with a little imagination and a credit card to create an environment straight out of another time, such as colonial America, Tudor England, and so on. Never before was this possible. There’s something very abnormal about it when you think about it. Let’s just live simply and love and care for one another and use our blessings to care for the Church, for the poor, and so on.
We need a spirit of detachment from people too. You can have affections that are not immoral but simply too strong. Don’t define yourself in terms of other people. The spirit of Christian poverty allows for what is genuinely needed, but don’t go out and get something just because someone else has it. Of course detachment doesn’t mean laziness, dirtiness, slovenliness, chaos, carelessness, or anything less than orderly and clean—this is a form of self-love. Christian poverty isn’t stinginess—this is avarice.
Possession can be a passion that spreads even to things not worth keeping. Avarice regrets that you don’t have what others have. Avarice is stinginess. When you give to a beggar it’s for you. It’s not so much for the beggar—if you’re not willing to give that tells you something about yourself. We cannot rest in our diligence—there is always some way there for avarice or pride to creep in. And the antidote to avarice is prayer.
What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of His soul—put this in a frame in your house!
Regarding lust, we are taught that the clean of heart shall ascend the mountain of the Lord and see God, which refers to modesty and chastity according to our state in life, not just big things like fornication and adultery, although Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God is specifically about sexual sins. Our culture is awash in a cesspool of immorality and lust, dominating every aspect of our entertainment, commerce, and so on, but Christ encouraged chastity and celibacy amongst His disciples.
Even seemingly “innocent” things need more discipline, such as too much hugging in churches. For instance, monks and nuns don’t hug—they greet one another with a kiss of peace. I never hugged my spiritual father, Fr. Seraphim, but we loved one another. Of course, hugging is not an awful thing, but what I’m talking about is part of a general looseness of our culture, with looseness of dress, especially in Church, and so on. We see women in church in pants, men in shorts, women with uncovered heads—there was a time when this would never have happened.
If we had tea with the Queen we’d wear our absolute best, but we walk into Church with the Almighty God as if we’ve just come from a picnic. We need to rekindle the higher standard. Men shouldn’t wear short sleeves, or shorts, or pants that are too tight, and you don’t need a tie, which St. John called a noose.
You can combat lust by fasting. St. John of Climacus says in his Ladder of Divine Ascent that gluttony is the mother of many sins, particularly lust. If you struggle with lust you can begin fasting with the lessing of your spiritual father, beyond the fasts of the Church even. If you fast you will find that lustful temptations go away.
We need to learn how to guard our eyes. Monastics know not to look all around—keep your eyes on where you’re going. In photos of the saints we see that often they are not looking directly into the camera; they learned to discipline their eyes so that what comes into the soul via the eyes would not harm them. In the evening prayers we ask for forgiveness if we have seen anyone and been wounded thereby in our hearts. We seek to control our minds too, in disciplining the imagination, day-dreaming, curiosity, and so on.
The antidote for lust is prayer. The spiritual life is a constant battle that will end only at our death. We battle not against flesh and blood, but against the fallen angels (see Eph. 6:12). Examine your conscience, identify your predominant virtue and vice and seek the guidance of a spiritual father. The soul is a garden, though often choke with the weeds of the vices. Our task is to learn how to pull out the weeds one-by-one and plant flowers of virtue.
Question: If you’re on the path but still have passions will you see the Kingdom of Heaven?
Answer: We must make sure that we’re really on the path. We often delude ourselves into thinking we’re on the path when we haven’t actually repented. We don’t have to achieve absolute perfection, but we need some victory that shows our heart.
Question: Surely we can’t give to everyone who asks or we’ll go broke.
Answer: We are called to give but we do need to be discerning. Of course we need to keep some money to provide for our families, to give to charitable organizations, and so on.
Question: What is the difference between self-respect and self-love?
Answer: Some have the special grace to stay in and redeem abusive situations, but this is very rare—it’s almost like martyrdom.
We must be very careful about this, as our culture tells us we’re just a little higher than animals, or even less worthy than animals. We see people saving whales but not babies. Until 150 years ago we believed we were a little lower than the angels, and people tend to live up or down to the image they are given of themselves.
We must work with people very carefully to give them self-respect that isn’t pride. Self-respect comes from being made according to the image of God and knowing that He redeemed us. We should not define ourselves by other people.
Question: How can we safeguard ourselves to keep a healthy balance? Is it a sin to decorate your house and things like that?
Answer: We have the responsibility as good stewards to make a pleasing environment, but we should use common sense about how much money we spend. Of course there are those who have lovely homes but are also very generous. Such questions are on a case-by-case basis.
We have to surround ourselves with beauty—that is a Christian virtue.
The eagle flew onto the roof of the country house and saw how gallantly and merrily the rooster was strolling amidst his hens. And the eagle began to speak to rhe rooster of the world’s beauty and wealth. At first, the rooster listened with attention, but did not understand anything. The eagle, seeing that the rooster did not understand anything, was saddened, and it became hard for him to speak with the rooster; while the rooster, not understanding what the eagle was saying, began to be bored, and it became hard for him to listen to the eagle. | 2019-04-24T12:17:11Z | https://orthodoxcityhermit.com/category/20th-century-saints/ |
In Aztec cosmology, the soul’s journey to the Underworld after death leaves them with four destinations: the Sacred Orchard of the Gods, the Place of Darkness, the Kingdom of the Sun, and a paradise called the Mansion of the Moon. The most common deaths end up on their way to Mictlán (Place of Darkness) with its nine levels, crashing mountains and rushing rivers, and four years of struggle. This pantheon of gods and goddesses and the expanse of the 13 Heavens provides the cultural basis for the Day of the Dead customs and celebrations.
José Clemente Orozco’s monumental mural, ‘The Epic of American Civilization,’ with the panel commemorating the Aztec Underworld gods in ‘The Coming of Quetzalcoatl (1932-34).
The following is provided as a lesson at a fictional school for noble boys and girls, but presents the cosmology quite comprehensively, where the manner of one’s death determines their Land of the Dead destination.
Today we will talk of Mictlán and the other mansions of death.
Time to start the #LeyendasMexicas.
Today I will talk of the Four Houses of the Dead. In particular the journey we have to do while reaching Mictlán.
But, before that, you need to know that Mictlantecuhtli, the skeletal Lord of the Land of the Dead is the supreme ruler of Mictlán. He oversees the place of eternal smoke and darkness, along with his consort Mictlancihuatl.
El Zapotal, Veracruz, Mexico: Clay sculpture of Mictantecutli, Lord of the Land of the Dead, Mictlan, from the Totonac culture.
At sunset, Mictlantechutli, along with Tonatiuh, take their place upon the sun, to illuminate the world of the dead.
Tonatiuh, the Star God, becomes Tzontemoc at dusk to light the world of Mictlantecuhtli at night.
The legend says that, after Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca created the world, the day and night, they placed Mictalntecuhtli and his wife Mictlancihuatl as Lord and Lady of the underworld.
The counterpart of Mictlán is the paradise known as Tlalocán, the home of the god Tlaloc, where the people dead from drowning or lightning would arrive.
The Chichihuacuauhco was the first mansion, the place of the dead children. In its middle there was a large tree, whose branches dripped milk, so the children could feed and gain strength.
Chichihuacuauhco: Paradise orchard of the gods, full of unique sustenance giving trees, but only available to children. Also known as Tonacacuauhtitlan, it was home to those who had died whilst still suckling.
These children would return to the world when the race that is inhabiting the Earth, our world of the Fifth Sun, will be destroyed. That is why their death was necessary, because they were chosen to populate the Earth in the future, when no one will be left alive.
It was believed that these children reincarnated after their death in this mansion, where they lived physically until they were called by the gods.
Then Mictlán was the second house. People who eventually succumbed to illness and old age went to Mictlán. In order to reach it, the soul has to make a four year journey, passing through nine layers of the Underworld and various daunting tests.
First, the dead would come to a place where a great river called Apanohuaya (where one crosses the river) roared along, wide and gushing, intimidating and impossible to swim across.
To cross it one needed the help of an Itzcuintli (xoloitzcuintle), a special dog each family raised and cremated alongside the mourned deceased.
Dogs were associated with the deity Xolotl, the god of death. The roundness of the body might suggest its value as food for the posthumous soul. Image: Xolotl from the 15th century Codex Fejervary-Mayer.
Upon recognizing his dead master, the dog would bark, then rush to help the deceased to cross the river, carrying its master upon his back while swimming.
After the crossing, the deceased was stripped of all his clothes, beginning the second part of his journey between two mountains that conflicted with each other. This pass was called Tepetl Monamiclia, and the deceased would make his way warily, haunted by the fear that the two mountains would clash, crushing the passing traveler.
At the end of the pass, the deceased would be forced to walk down the hill strewn with flints and sharp obsidian, made of the same material as our knives, called Ilztepetl. The stones would cut the dead them as they passed, merciless and relentless.
The next stage was the walk through Celhuecayan, eight mountains, covered with perpetual snow that would fall on and on, whipped by strong winds. It was said that the winds in these moors were so cold and strong it would cut the body as obsidian blades.
After this the dead would arrive at the foot of the hill, the last stop in the first part of the journey called Paniecatacoyan. These moors were cold and large, where the dead would have to walk endlessly, crossing the desolated land.
Done with the first test, the dead would take a long path, where they would be struck with arrows. This place was called Temiminaloyan and the arrows were fired by unseen hands, trying to harm the passersby.
At the end of the path, they would arrive at the place inhabited by thousands of fierce beasts. When any of the beasts reached them, the passersby would have to throw open their chests and let the beasts eat their hearts, Tecoylenaloyan.
Afterwards, they would be force to dive into the Apanuiayo, where the water was black, and where the lizard called Xochilonal had lived. The dead would have to swim in this lake, dodging the animals, including the terrifying lizard to get to the next test.
Next, they would have to wade through nine rivers, on a path of mist and dark, called Izmictlan Apochcalolca. The sun never rose in this place.
Finally, tired, injured and exhausted with suffering, they would reach their final destination on Chicunamictlan, where they would meet Mictlantecuchtli, the fierce God of the Death, who would receive them with vengeance.
Here the cycle would end forever and here they would live until their bodies and their lives would extinguish.
The long journey lasted for four years, in which the deceased came to his eternal rest.
This was the mansion to which came most of the dead, people who would die of natural causes.
The third house was the Kingdom of the Sun.
Here the warriors, slaughtered at the hands of their enemies, would rest. Also included were the souls of those women who died in childbirth. Among the Aztecs, the pregnant woman was like a warrior who symbolically captured her child for the Aztec state in the painful and bloody battle of birth. Considered as female aspects of defeated heroic warriors, women dying in childbirth became fierce goddesses who carried the setting sun into the netherworld realm of Mictlán.
This place was outside the time, a wonderful infinite place, a beautiful plain, and every time the sun would come up, they would hear the sound of the warriors beating their shields.
After four years, these warriors would turn into rich bird-feathers, small, living creatures eating the flowers.
The iconography of Tonatiuh’s attire provides a visual explanation for what his role as the sun god entailed. The deity is usually depicted with arrows and a shield to show that he is a warrior. Tonatiuh often carries a maguey spine in one hand to signify that he takes part in bloodletting practices as a means of sacrifice. The importance of sacrifice is also reinforced by depictions of balls of eagle feather or the eagle itself, which were markers of sacrifice. Tonatiuh’s connection to the sun leads us to believe that the eagle is a reference to the ascending and descending eagle talons, which is a visual metaphor for capturing the heart or life force of a person. [From Townsend, Richard (1979). ‘State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan’. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks].
Upon the Earth, in our world of the Fifth Sun, these birds were treated with honor, because we knew they were the souls of the warriors who had died in a battle. These birds are hummingbirds. Some would also become butterflies.
The fourth house was what Catholics took for a paradise.
Those who had died by drowning, lightning, and other deaths related to water and rain would arrive at Tlalocán, the Mansion of the Moon, a place of unending springtime and a paradise of green plants. This place belonged to Tlaloc (Nahuatl: “He Who Makes Things Sprout”).
The dead arriving here would live happy, fresh and unconcerned. These dead were not cremated, but buried, interred with a piece of wood which was believed to sprout leaves and flowers once the person had entered Tlalocán. Here people enjoyed food and fruits in abundance, a luxury deserving the realm of the supreme god of rain and agriculture.
And so, between those mansions the dead Mexica were divided, each person going to his designated place in the Mexican Underworld.
There were other pseudo-mansions to which people arrived if killed in special situations. For example, noble women dead in childbirth were going to Cihuateteo.
Mictlán was located below our world.
The Ilhuuicatl-Tonatiuh was upon the sun itself.
The Chichihuacuahco location was unknown, but it said it was out of this world.
And those were the mansions of the dead, and the journey that the dead suffered when they were in Mictlán.
And so today ends the night of #LeyendasMexicas.
Neumann, Franke J. (1975). “The Dragon and the Dog: Two Symbols of Time in Nahuatl Religion”. Numen, Vol. 22, Fasc. 1 Apr 1975. Brill Publishers: 1–23.
Townsend, Richard. ‘State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan’. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, (1979).
I am interested in the image of (Mictlantechutli ) you have here. What role does this God play out during the last days, judgement day, doomsday? Also please email me if you have a moment to spare.
I am comparing what I have found to known ancient gods relating to underworld, serpents, and judgement related information.
This looks and could be a possible, but need the information which will confirm. | 2019-04-25T12:50:08Z | https://www.wilderutopia.com/traditions/mythological-journey-to-the-aztec-lands-of-the-dead/ |
Switzerland does not have a CFC regime. However, according to the case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, companies with statutory seats located abroad, but who have little or no local substance and are effectively managed in Switzerland may be subject to Swiss income tax.
For finance companies, the maximum debt allowed is 6/7 of their total assets.
In addition, the FTA publishes annually safe harbour interest rates for loans granted to related parties.
Interest paid on debt exceeding the maximum debt allowed and interest rates exceeding the safe harbour interest rates are requalified as a hidden dividend if paid to a shareholder or a related party. Consequently, such interest is not a deductible expense for federal and cantonal income tax purposes and is subject to withholding tax at a rate of 35% (which may be reduced under a relevant tax treaty).
However, the rules set out above are merely safe harbour rules and allow the taxpayer to prove that different arm’s length debt-to-equity ratio and interest rates apply.
Swiss codified tax law contains very few rules relating to transfer pricing questions. As a general rule, Swiss law states that (i) expenses of a company must be commercially justified and (ii) profits not shown in the profit and loss statement of a company must still be included in its taxable profit.
Based on these general rules, Swiss tax authorities can correct intra-group transactions that are not at arm’s length. In determining whether an intra-group transaction is at arm’s length or not, the Swiss administrative practice generally follows the OECD transfer pricing guidelines.
As previously mentioned, the FTA publishes yearly rules regarding safe harbour interest rates for loans and advances between related parties, in various currencies. This publication provides for maximum rates regarding loans from the shareholders or related parties to the company, and minimum rates regarding loans from the company to shareholders or related parties.
It is possible to obtain an advance pricing agreement (‘APA’) with the Swiss tax authorities. In general, the cantonal tax authorities are competent for granting unilateral APAs, whereas bi- or multilateral APAs, as well as unilateral APAs regarding Swiss withholding tax, are negotiated with the involvement of the FTA.
The US has comprehensive CFC rules, which have been further expanded by TCJA to include a global minimum tax of 10.5% on most CFC profits of a US corporate shareholder.
Under longstanding CFC rules, a controlling US shareholder of a CFC is subject to current US taxation on any so-called Subpart F income of the CFC. Subpart F income is intended to capture what Congress perceived to be “tax haven” income, and thus includes certain interest, dividends, rents, royalties and gains, as well as certain income from sale of property and provision of services involving related parties. An exception to subpart F income is provided for income subject to a local country tax of at least 90% of US the corporate rate (now 18.9% = 90% * 21%).
In addition, the TCJA introduced a new category of income captured by the CFC regime – so-called “Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income” (GILTI). GILTI consists of all income of the shareholders’ CFCs that is not subpart F income (or eligible for certain limited exceptions), to the extent that such income exceeds a 10% return on the CFC’s investment in tangible assets used in its trade or business (measured by tax basis). GILTI is fully included in taxable income of the US shareholder on a current basis in each year, with a 50% deduction provided for US corporate shareholders that results in an effective US tax rate of 10.5%. Foreign tax credits are allowed against US tax on both subpart F income and GILTI.
The TCJA also added the US’s first comprehensive thin capitalization test through amended Code Section 163(j). As amended Section 163(j) limits interest deductions of corporations and other businesses to 30% of adjusted taxable income. New Code Section 163(j) applies to all debt, whether third party or intercompany, whether the lender is US or foreign, and regardless of the US corporation’s debt-equity ratio. “Adjusted taxable income” is defined generally as US taxable income without regard to interest expense, loss carryforwards, and for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, depreciation or amortization (i.e., EBITDA). After 2022, deductions for depreciation or amortization are no longer added back, so that interest expense is limited to 30% of EBIT. Interest expense deductions that are disallowed carry forward indefinitely.
As noted above, Code Section 482 and the regulations thereunder provide a comprehensive set of transfer pricing rules. In addition, strict liability penalties apply to transfer pricing adjustments in excess of certain thresholds, unless the taxpayers has maintained contemporaneous documentation with the filing of the original tax return in a form specified by the transfer pricing regulations.
Advanced Pricing Agreements (APAs) are available from the IRS on a prospective basis. In the case of transactions between the US Company and an affiliate in a treaty country, bi-lateral and multi-lateral APAs are also available involving the IRS and the other competent authorities.
The FTC provides for a CFC rule that constitutes an exception to the territoriality principle: only profits derived from activities carried out in France are taxable in France. According to this rule, profits realised by an entity, which is, directly or indirectly, more than 50%, owned by a French company and which is located in a privileged tax regime country, are deemed to be received by the French company in due proportion of the shares owned and therefore, are to be taxed in France. An entity is considered to be located in a privileged tax regime country if the effective corporate tax rate applied in this country is at least 50% lower than France’s.
the amount of interest paid to related parties exceeds the amount of interest received from related parties.
The portion of interest paid which exceeds the highest of the three set criteria is not deductible. These rules can be extended to interest borne with respect to a bank loan when certain guarantees have been granted by affiliated companies to the lender.
Anti-hybrid stipulation, which forbids the deduction of interests, if the creditor is not taxable, at least at 8.33% (i.e. 25% of the French CIT) on the financial proceeds.
The FTA applies the arm’s length principle: prices applied to transactions between related parties must be similar to prices that would have been agreed upon for transactions between independent companies. If not, the FTA may presume an indirect transfer of profits from the French company to its foreign affiliate and reassess its taxable income accordingly, that is to the extent of the amount deemed to have been unduly shifted. The burden of proof regarding an indirect transfer of profits lies with the tax authorities.
The rules aiming at limiting the deductibility of the interest should be deeply amended by the 2019 Finance Bill in order to transpose the Anti Avoidance Directive ('ATAD') into the French interest limitation regime. The Finance bill should limit the deduction of net financial charges (including debts subscribed with a Bank or a third party) to either 30 % of the entity's EBITDA or 3 million euros (if higher) with a calculation made at the group level. The "rabot" would be removed and the thin-capitalization rules would be deeply amended.
The FTC provides for the possibility of a bilateral advance pricing agreement between multinational companies and the tax authorities which would aim at fixing the transfer pricing method to be used in cross-border transactions.
The State Aid action has not dramatically changed the situation, but just increased the already thorough examination of the APA requests.
Interest paid to related parties located in a tax haven or privileged tax regime jurisdictions is deductible provided that the expenses are necessary and the debt with such related party does not exceed 30% of the Brazilian company’s equity.
Additionally, Brazil does also provide for CFC rules, which in general, impose taxation on undistributed profits from foreign controlled and affiliated companies. Accordingly, profits from foreign controlled companies should be considered deemed distributed to the Brazilian controlling company by December 31 of each calendar year. On the other hand, provided that some conditions are met, profits derived from foreign affiliates not located in tax haven or privileged tax regimes jurisdictions are only subject to taxation in Brazil when they are effectively distributed.
Moreover, Brazilian transfer pricing rules were enacted by Law 9,430/96 and its subsequent amendments. Such rules introduced transfer pricing controls, in order to avoid undervaluation of export prices, or overvaluation of import prices, for purposes of calculating corporate income taxes (Income tax – “IRPJ” - and Social Contribution on Profits Tax – “CSLL”). Transfer pricing rules are applicable to any import or export of goods, services and rights, performed between a Brazilian company and a related party abroad, or a party located in a tax haven or privileged tax jurisdiction.
There are five methods to calculate import transfer price, as well as there are four methods to calculate export transfer price. For import transactions, if the actual import price is higher than the calculated transfer price, the taxpayer cannot deduct the difference for purposes of IRPJ and CSLL. For export transactions, if the actual price is lower than the applicable transfer price, the difference shall be computed for IRPJ and CSLL purposes.
It is worth mentioning that the Brazilian transfer pricing rules differ from the OECD Guidelines related to the referred subject. Accordingly, Brazilian rules adopt fixed margins to calculate the transfer price, instead of the arm’s length principles.
Finally, please note that the transfer pricing rules do also apply to loan transactions between foreign related parties.
(iii) the income of the controlled foreign corporation is low-taxed, which means that the tax levied is below 25%.
However, the German CFC rules provide for an exemption for corporations which have their statutory seat or their place of effective management within the EU or EEA. Such corporations may prove that their business has economic substance, they exercises genuine commercial activities and adhere to the arm’s-length-principle. In that case, the EU/EEA corporations will not be deemed to constitute a controlled foreign corporation under the German CFC rules.
Germany operates a thin-capitalization regime, the so-called interest barrier rule. Generally, the interest barrier rule is applicable if the annual net interest expenses amounts to or exceeds EUR 3 Million. Under the interest barrier rule, the tax deductibility of interest expense on any debt of a company is restricted to the amount of the interest income plus 30% of the company’s EBITDA for tax purposes. The taxable EBITDA differs from the financial EBITDA because it is based on the taxable income of the company only. Therefore, any tax free income is not part of the taxable EBITDA. There are various exceptions and counter-exceptions to the interest barrier rule, e.g. for non-group companies.
There is currently a proceeding pending before the Federal Constitutional Court whether or not the interest barrier rule is in line with German constitutional law.
Germany operates a transfer pricing regime. As a matter of principle, transfer prices and any transaction between related parties have to be in line with the arm’s-length principle. There are several statutory rules to determine the transfer prices for products, services or the transfer of functions. According to these rules, the prevailing methods for determining transfer prices are the cost plus method, the comparable unrelated price method and the reselling method. In principle, the full range of the values calculated by the different methods can be applied.
Germany has strict rules with respect to the documentation of transfer prices. Violations of the documentation rules may lead to adverse consequences as the tax authorities are authorized to adjust transfer prices. Furthermore, there are penalties in case certain transfer pricing documentation requirements are not met.
(iii) a country-by-country reporting (if group consolidated revenues of at least EUR 750 Million).
Unilateral as well as multilateral advance pricing agreements are available in Germany.
Ireland does not have a thin capitalization regime.
Ireland has had transfer pricing rules since 2010. The transfer pricing rules must be interpreted in a manner consistent with the OECD transfer pricing guidelines. Somewhat unusually the Irish transfer pricing rules only apply to “trading” transactions that benefit from the 12.5% corporation tax rate. Ireland has a formal advance pricing agreement (“APA”) program. Only bilateral or multilateral APAs are possible. It is not possible to agree a unilateral APA with Irish Revenue.
The Mexican Income Tax Law provides several General Anti-Avoidance Rules, including thin cap rules, transfer pricing policies and CFC, to name a few.
The Mexican Income Tax Law establishes that income obtained by Mexican residents or foreign residents with a Mexican permanent establishment through foreign entities or vehicles in which they participate, directly or indirectly, is considered to be derived from a preferential tax regime or “Refipre” and must therefore be taxed according to the Refipre rules, if such income is (i) not subject to tax abroad or is subject to tax at a rate lower than 75% of the income tax that would have been due and payable in Mexico on such income, if it had been obtained directly by a Mexican resident, or (ii) earned through foreign legal vehicles or entities that are tax transparent abroad.
For such purposes, the Refipre rules take into account income obtained in cash, in kind, in services or in credit through foreign legal entities or vehicles and those which are presumptively determined by the Mexican tax authorities, even when such income has not been distributed to Mexican residents. In general, Mexican residents who obtain income from a Refipre must recognize it as taxable in Mexico during the year in which the income was derived, even if such income is not distributed to them by the foreign legal entity or vehicle that received it.
The Mexican Income Tax Law provides, as a general rule, that interest expenses incurred by Mexican entities are deductible on an accrual basis, subject to certain limitations amongst of which is that if interest expenses are paid to a non-resident related party, a 3 to 1 debt to equity ratio must be met; otherwise, any portion of the interest payments to foreign based related parties exceeding such ratio shall be non-deductible. This rule does allow for exceptions when it comes to debt contracted by taxpayers that are part of the Mexican financial system or that are engaged in the construction, operation or maintenance of productive infrastructure linked to the development of strategic sectors or electricity generation.
Transactions between related parties should comply with the arms’ length principle and be properly supported from a Mexican transfer pricing perspective (i.e., by a transfer pricing report), following the essential principles established under the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines.
Under current legislation, it is in fact possible for companies to obtain APAs with the tax authorities. These rulings may be effective in the fiscal year during which the relevant request was made, in the preceding fiscal year and up to the three fiscal years following the year in which the request was made.
The Norwegian CFC regime (No.: NOKUS) is applicable to Norwegian shareholders (i.e. shareholders, corporate or individual, resident in Norway for tax purposes) that directly or indirectly own at least 50 per cent of the shares or capital of a foreign company which is resident in a low-tax jurisdiction. For the purposes of these rules a jurisdiction is considered to be a low-tax jurisdiction if the effective taxation of the company is less than two thirds of what would be the effective taxation had the company been resident in Norway. It is not the headline tax rate but the effective tax rate which is relevant. The profits of the foreign company are attributed proportionally to the Norwegian shareholders irrespective of whether any distributions are actually made. A binding black list and a non-binding white list of jurisdictions with sufficient/insufficient taxation levels are issued by the Norwegian tax administration annually.
The CFC rules are not applicable to companies resident within the the European Economic Area (EEA), provided the company is genuinely established and actually performs economic activities. The analysis must be based on an overall assessment, and the Norwegian shareholder must provide evidence to the tax authorities that the substance requirement is met. In addition, if the company is not resident in a country with which Norway has entered into a tax treaty, which contains an information exchange clause, the company must present a statement from the tax authorities in its country of incorporation which confirms that the information provided is correct.
Further, the CFC rules are not applicable in situations where the company is resident in a country with which Norway has entered into a tax treaty for the avoidance of double taxation, and the company's income is not mainly of a passive nature.
Norwegian tax law contains no specific statutory or regulatory prescriptions on thin capitalisation but refers to the arm's length principle. All interest paid is, as a main rule, deductible. The tax authorities may contest the deductibility of interest paid to a parent company if the paying company is thinly capitalised. There is no general rule or safe harbour rule prescribing when the company is thinly capitalised or not. The assessment must be based on a number of factors such as the business sector of the company, the EBITDA of the company, and the debt-to-equity ratio of the company.
The interest deduction limitation rules state that interest expenses exceeding interest income (i.e. net interest expense) could be fully deducted if the total amount of net interest expense does not exceed NOK 5 mill. during the fiscal year, or if the interest is paid to a non-related party. Otherwise, net interest expense paid to a related party is deductible to the extent that internal and external interest expense combined does not exceed 25 per cent of the taxable EBITDA of the company. Parties are considered related in cases where one party has ownership or controls 50 per cent or more of the other party.
External loans guaranteed by a related party of the borrower (tainted debt) are also covered under the rule. The interest deduction limitation rule applies to limited liability companies, and other similar companies and entities. It also applies to partnerships, shareholders in CFCs and foreign companies with permanent establishments in Norway. Financial institutions are exempt from the interest deduction rule.
The Norwegian Ministry of Finance has proposed to extend the interest deduction limitation rules to include external debt, and a consultation procedure on the proposal was completed in 2017. The proposal was expected to be followed up in the national budget for 2018. However, the ministry has announced it still worked on the proposed amendments. The rules are expected to be introduced with effect for the income year of 2019.
Transfer pricing documentation rules impose an obligation for companies to prepare specific transfer pricing documentation as an attachment to their tax returns. Reporting requirements and transfer pricing documentation rules apply to companies that own or control, directly or indirectly, at least 50 % of another legal entity. A Norwegian permanent establishment with its head office in a foreign country, and a foreign permanent establishment with its head office in Norway, are covered by the rules. Furthermore, partnerships where one or more of the partners are taxable in Norway are also covered by the rules. The taxpayer must generally be prepared to file transfer pricing documentation (type and volume of the transactions, functional analysis, comparable analysis, and a report of the transfer pricing method used) within 45 days of a written notice from the tax authorities.
Norwegian tax authorities do not have a formal procedure to issue unilateral APAs. It is, however, possible to discuss the transfer pricing principles with the tax authorities. The Ministry of Finance has announced that they are considering introducing APA regulations, but they have not yet done so. In the case of sales of gas between related parties, a special APA procedure exists within the oil tax authorities, but so far this has not been used much in practice. Recently, Norway has opened up for mutual APA negotiations with other countries, but only a handful of pilot cases have so far been dealt with under such MAP/APA approach.
Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules may apply to Italian resident persons controlling non-resident companies, partnerships or other entities established in jurisdictions (other than EU Member States and EEA Member States) where the nominal tax rate is lower than 50 per cent of the Italian nominal tax rate. They may apply also in respect of companies, partnerships or other entities established outside the above jurisdictions if (i) the CFC is subject to a foreign effective tax rate lower than 50 per cent of the effective tax rate that would have applied if the CFC were resident of Italy, and (ii) the CFC realizes profits that qualify as passive income or profits from intra-group services for more than 50 per cent.
Italy repealed its thin cap regime as from tax year 2008. Italy applies an interest limitation regime whereby, in each tax year, companies can deduct interest expenses up to the amount of their interest income. The excess can be deducted for an amount equal to 30% of EBITDA of the relevant year. The excess 30% EBITDA as well as the interest expenses non-deductible in a given tax year can be carried forward and used or deducted in following tax years.
Italy applies transfer pricing legislation largely consistent with the OECD arm’s length standard. The legislation has been recently endorsed in order to reflect the latest changes to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and the tax authorities usually make reference to such Guidelines. As above indicated (see answer to question 1 above), a taxpayer may apply for a unilateral advance pricing agreement. If the other country involved in the cross border transactions signed a double tax treaty with Italy, the taxpayer can apply for a bilateral advance pricing agreement.
the annual total gross revenue of the foreign company in the related period in foreign currency exceeds the equivalent of TRY 100,000.
If these conditions are fulfilled, the profits of the CFC will be included in the corporate tax base of the controlling resident company, and it will be subject to taxation in Turkey without consideration of whether or not the profits are distributed.
The thin capitalization issue is covered in Article 12 of the CITL. According to this article, if the borrowings from shareholders or from persons related to shareholders exceeds three times the shareholders equity of the borrower company at any time within the relevant year, the excess portion of the borrowing will be considered to be thin capital. “Related parties” is defined as shareholders and persons who are related to the shareholders that own 10% or more of the shares, voting rights or rights to receive dividends of the company. The shareholders equity of the borrower company is defined as the total amount of the shareholders equity of the corporation at the beginning of the fiscal year, or the difference between the assets and liabilities of the company. If the company has negative shareholders equity at the beginning of the year, then any borrowings from related parties will be considered to be thin capital. If thin capitalization exists, the interest paid or accrued, foreign exchange losses and other similar expenses calculated for the loans that are considered to be thin capital are treated as non-deductible for CIT purposes. Moreover, the interest paid or accrued and similar payments on thin capital will be treated at the end of the relevant fiscal year as dividends and will be subject to withholding tax.
Specific transfer pricing rules are valid in Turkey as of 1 January 2007 under Article 13 of the CITL, entitled “Disguised Profit Distribution through Transfer Pricing”.
The regulations in Article 13 follow the arm’s-length principle established by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (OECD Guidelines), and are applicable to all financial, economic and commercial transactions and employment relations between related parties. Details on the application of Article 13 are provided in a communiqué regarding disguised profit distribution through transfer pricing.
Turkish transfer pricing (TP) legislation is part of the CITL. The arm’s-length principle, which is defined in line with OECD Guidelines and Article 9 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, is described in Article 13 of the CITL, along with a detailed definition of related parties and the introduction of methods to be applied to determine arm’s-length prices. According to the CITL, related parties must set transfer prices for the purchase and sale of goods and services equal to those they would have agreed to had they been unrelated parties. A comprehensive definition of what constitutes a related party is found in Article 13 of the CITL. The definition of related party in Turkish transfer pricing regulations is very broad, and it includes direct and indirect involvement in management or control, in addition to the existence of a shareholder/ownership relationship. In addition to transactions with foreign group companies, the scope of the law also includes transactions with entities that are based in tax havens or jurisdictions those are considered harmful tax regimes by the Turkish government.
Principles of transfer pricing documentation are covered in a TP communiqué. The communiqué introduced two different types of documentation liability for taxpayers. Accordingly, taxpayers need to fill out the form in the appendix of the corporate income tax return with information on the goods and services purchased and sales transactions they perform with their related parties in each accounting period. Furthermore, taxpayers registered with the Directorate of Major Taxpayers Tax Office are obliged to prepare an annual transfer pricing report including the information and documents stipulated by the communiqué and in the format defined in the same communiqué. These reports are completed to reflect the domestic and overseas transactions carried out with related parties in each accounting period and overseas transactions carried out in a given accounting period with other corporate income tax payers and their related parties. They need to be completed by the submission date of the corporate income tax return and to be submitted upon demand to the authority or officials authorized to carry out tax inspections after the end of these given periods.
The legislation requires documentation as part of the transfer pricing rules describing how Turkish taxpayers should keep documented evidence within the company in case of a request from the tax authorities. The documentation must show how the arm’s length price was determined and the methodology selected and applied using any fiscal records, calculations and charts available to the taxpayer.
An advance pricing agreement is a method used to determine the prices for purchases or sales of goods or services between related parties, and may be agreed upon with the Ministry of Finance upon a taxpayer request. This approved method will be fixed for a maximum period of three years within the terms and conditions of the agreement. If the administration finds the agreement interests more than one country, and if there are already APAs with another/other country/countries, the administration may consider a bilateral or multilateral agreement. In practice, the APA process changes according to the complexity and type (unilateral, bilateral or multilateral) of agreement, and the process cannot be completed in fewer than 18 to 24 months, on average.
A) As for the CFC rule, Japanese tax law has “anti-tax haven” rules, or a Japanese version of the CFC rules. These rules have been overhauled by the 2017 annual tax reform in response to the BEPS Action Plan 3, and applies to Japanese shareholders from the fiscal years of the CFC beginning on or after April 1, 2018.
If the Japanese CFC rules apply, the Japanese corporation that is a shareholder of the CFC will be taxed upon its pro rata share of certain adjusted income of the CFC (to be calculated based on the CFC’s total income and gains) . In general, Japanese CFC rules apply if (i) Japanese resident individuals and Japanese corporations collectively own directly or indirectly more than 50% of the total issued shares, voting rights or rights to receive dividends of a foreign corporation; (ii) a particular Japanese resident individual or a Japanese corporation (which is the subject taxpayer) owns directly or indirectly 10% or more of the total issued shares, voting rights or rights to receive dividends of that foreign corporation; and (iii) the effective income tax burden (rather than the face or nominal tax rate) of that foreign corporation in a given fiscal year is less than (i) 30% for certain shell-company CFCs and cash-box-company CFCs or (ii) 20% for all other CFCs. Typical examples include Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore subsidiaries of a Japanese corporation. It should be noted that tax-exempt income and gains in the foreign jurisdiction will lower the effective income tax burden; for example, if a Dutch subsidiary of a Japanese corporation is exempt from substantial amount of capital gains by the Dutch participation exemption, the effective income tax burden in that fiscal year could be less than 20%, despite the Dutch statutory corporate tax rate of 25%. That will make the Dutch subsidiary a CFC for that fiscal year. However, exemption of dividends received by the Dutch subsidiary from foreign companies by the participation exemption will not lower the effective income tax burden (this treatment is only limited to dividends).
Even if the Japanese CFC rules apply because all the conditions explained above are met, there is an active business income exemption. That is, if the CFC meets all of the following criteria, the Japanese CFC rules apply only to the extent of the CFC’s certain enumerated passive income (rather than the CFC’s total income including active income): (i) the principal business of the CFC is other than financial investments in shares, bonds or IPs or leasing of vessels, (ii) the CFC is managed and administered on its own within the jurisdiction of its incorporation, rather than from Japan, (iii) the CFC maintains physical fixed premises such as offices and factories within the jurisdiction of its incorporation that is necessary to do its business, and (iv) depending on the type of business, the CFC does business principally within the jurisdiction of its incorporation (e.g., manufacturing) or deals with unrelated third parties to account for 50% or more of the total business transactions (e.g., distribution, transportation). If all these elements are met, the CFC’s income to be aggregated with the Japanese shareholder’s income will be limited to passive income, such as (a) dividends and capital gains from shares (but excluding those where the shareholding ratio is 25% or more for at least 6 months), (b) interest on deposits, bonds and loans (excluding interest from certain qualifying group-financing), (c) income from derivatives (excluding certain qualifying hedges), (d) foreign exchange gains (excluding those arising in the ordinary course of business), (e) royalties and disposition gains from IPs (excluding those where the IP is developed on its own) and (f) leasing income from real properties and fixed properties (excluding real properties located and fixed properties used in the jurisdiction of incorporation of the CFC).
The active business income exemption has been expanded to a certain qualifying regional headquarters or intermediate holding company; that is, if a foreign subsidiary incorporated in the Asian-hub low-tax countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong operates as an Asian regional headquarters or as an intermediate holding company for the Japanese parent corporation, subject to certain requirements being met, the CFC will not be disqualified from meeting the condition (i) above (i.e., the principal business of the CFC is other than financial investments in shares), merely because it is a holding company.
If the debt giving rise to the interest is owed to a foreign corporation, which is a controlling shareholder (owning directly or indirectly 50% or more of the total shares) of the Japanese corporation, the ‘thin capitalization’ rules apply, and, generally speaking, interest payable upon the portion of the debt exceeding three times the shareholders’ equity of the Japanese corporation will be nondeductible. The ‘thin capitalization’ rules apply not only in the case of direct financing by the controlling shareholder, but also in other similar cases, such as financing by third parties with a guarantee provided by the controlling shareholder.
Transfer pricing rules also apply to interest payable to affiliated foreign corporations of the Japanese corporation in order to require that the interest rate be arm’s length (i.e., the portion of the interest exceeding the arm’s-length rate will be denied deduction). One Japanese court precedent indicates that the arm’s-length interest rate generally refers to the rate available in the market for substantially similar finance transactions.
Further, as a result of the 2012 annual tax reform, a Japanese version of the ‘earnings stripping’ rules has been introduced, and applies from fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2013. There, if the ‘net’ amount of the interest paid to certain foreign related parties of the Japanese corporation in a fiscal year exceeds 50% of certain ‘adjusted income’ (substantially equal to EBITDA, i.e., taxable income before that interest deduction, depreciation, etc.) of that Japanese corporation in that fiscal year (i.e., interest paid to foreign affiliates is excessive as compared to the taxable income), the excess portion of the interest will not be deductible in that fiscal year. The excess portion will be carried forward for seven future fiscal years, however, and will be deductible to the extent the above conditions are met in the relevant future fiscal year. There is a certain de minimis exception, as well as an exception where the gross amount of interest paid to foreign related parties does not exceed 50% of the total gross amount of interest (including interest paid to third parties). The Japanese government is now reviewing whether these earnings stripping rules should be more tightened, in response to the BEPS Action Plan 4, by lowering the threshold percentage rate from 50% to some 10-30%.
It should be noted that interest deduction can be denied, even if none of the foregoing regimes is applicable, if the Japanese tax authority considers the relevant debt transaction as avoiding Japanese tax and invokes the anti-avoidance statute applicable to closely-held corporations in the corporation tax law. The Universal Music case mentioned above is an example.
C) As to the transfer pricing regime, generally, the Japanese government is of the position that Japanese transfer pricing rules as well as enforcement thereof should closely follow the OECD standards. For example, Japanese transfer pricing rules repealed priority of the three basic methods (CUP, RP and CP) over other methods (PS and TNMM), and adopted the “best method” rule. In addition, it has been made clear that the concept of a “range” of arm’s length profit level can be used for Japanese transfer pricing purposes (provided that it means a “full range” predicated upon full comparability, rather than the statistical approach of interquartile range) for the purpose of issuing a transfer pricing assessment. In addition, as a matter of enforcement or transfer pricing audit, it is very common that taxpayers make defensive arguments by referring to the OECD Guidelines along with Japanese local laws and regulations, and the Japanese tax authority generally accepts such arguments as legitimate. Indeed, some tax treaties, e.g., that with the United States, expressly provide that transfer pricing enforcement shall be made in accordance with the OECD Guidelines.
It is possible to obtain an advance pricing arrangement (APA) from the tax authority, and it is a very common practice. In an APA, there generally is even more flexibility as compared to transfer pricing audit; e.g., the statistical approach of interquartile range is very commonly used and accepted. However, as an APA requires substantial time, cost and burden to deal with the tax authority (e.g., for responding to information and document requests), taxpayers generally concentrate on intra-group transactions that have significant volume and a large amount of tax at stake in applying for an APA. It is not rare that an APA takes two or three years until concluded.
There are no CFC rules in Gibraltar. However, under the general anti-avoidance provision in our Tax Act, the Commissioner may disregard any CFC or transaction with such CFC where the Commissioner believes that it is fictitious or artificial.
Interest paid on a loan by a company to related parties (which are not themselves a company) or loans where security is provided by related parties, where the ratio of the value of the loan capital to the equity of the company exceeds 5 to 1 is considered as a dividend payment and thus not a deductible expense for tax purposes.
The amount of interest payments to connected persons which is in excess of that payable at “arm’s length” is deemed to be a dividend.
(iii) 75% of the pre expenses profit.
The UK CFC regime is based on rules designed to prevent diversion of UK profits to low tax territories. Where UK profits are diverted to a CFC, those profits are apportioned and charged on a UK corporate interest-holder that holds at least a 25% interest in the CFC. There are a number of exemptions to reflect the fact that the majority of CFCs are established for genuine commercial reasons. The Finance Act 2004 abolished the separate thin capitalization requirements that had existed previously and subsumed them within the general transfer pricing rules in the Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010 (TIOPA 2010).
The UK transfer pricing (TP) regime is contained in Parts 4 and 5 of Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010. The UK TP regime must be considered in light of the recently implemented Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) rules, which were introduced by the Finance Act 2015. There is also an advanced pricing agreement (APA) programme through which unilateral, bilateral and multilateral APAs can be obtained. The process by which such an agreement can be obtained is detailed in HMRC’s Statement of Practice 2/2010. HMRC will determine the taxpayer’s DPT position before agreeing to an APA.
As a result of the Starbucks and Apple decisions, any business which has secured a favourable APA could, potentially, be at risk of having those arrangements reviewed under the State Aid rules and be faced with having to make significant payments to repay tax benefits received under APAs that, allegedly, do not comply with State Aid rules. | 2019-04-23T10:12:38Z | http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/wgd_question/is-there-a-cfc-or-thin-cap-regime-is-there-a-transfer-pricing-regime-and-is-it-possible-to-obtain-an-advance-pricing-agreement-2/ |
I have just finished a course of steroids due to an aggressive breakout of eczema. Stress triggers it. I have been waiting for it to arrive for over a year. I woke up one morning & both of my ears were red, swollen, hot & chronically itchy & very quickly it started to spread down my neck; I looked like Shrek’s long lost cousin.
One thing I have learnt over the years is that no matter how straight I try to keep my mind my body often tells a different story. Keeping it all together is not straight forward.
“How do you do it?”, they ask.
“Stay strong”, they say…I say it too.
It is mainly a question of how.
After the initial denial of Dylan’s diagnosis (which lasted about a day) I had to skip anger, there was no bargaining power & so I went straight into some form of acceptance. It is a strange sort of acceptance because it still feels like a bad dream & to this day it shocks me to the core; I believe it always will. Nonetheless, I of course know & therefore accept that Dylan has cancer.
Through this process so far there are a variety of things that I have tried to keep my mind steady. However, I do think that from a very young age certain elements of my past have set me up with a depth of strength & a certain amount of resilience.
I remember aged four being subject to racial abuse whilst walking down the street with my paternal grandmother; I remember circa age seven being subject to passive racial abuse from said grandmother as she removed photos of me & other members of my family when she put her house on the market; she thought it would help the sale go through faster.
In August 1990 my father (who had worked in the Middle East since 1980) was taken hostage in the Gulf war. I was seventeen, my middle sister was fifteen & my little sister was six.
My father was finally released in December of the same year but not before a group of ten women flew to Iraq to ask Saddam Hussein to release their husbands. One of those ten women was my mother; she took my six year old sister with her, left me with the house keys, the car keys, her credit card & a reservation at a local hotel for my middle sister & I to have Christmas dinner if they weren’t back in time for the festive season. I was studying for my A levels & at boarding school. My middle sister was at a different boarding school just over an hour away. At one point I knew they were all still alive as I walked into the common room of my boarding house where everyone was watching the news on tv. They all turned to stare at me as I slowly realised they were looking at my parents standing next to Saddam Hussein & my little sister sitting on his knee. The entire episode was horrendous in so many ways & eventually paved the way to so many other issues that I would basically have to start another blog. This is just one of many difficult incidents that has required me to keep my head. I had no idea if I would see my mother, my father or my darling little sister ever again but I chose to keep going. I wrote a diary at the time; it was another situation that nobody could empathise with completely…I mean what do you say to a teenager in those circumstances?
Years ago whilst battling the demons of a drawn out custody battle for my eldest son, Eckhart Tolle put into words what I already felt I knew. Reading his book The Power of Now calmed my fears & set my heart & mind to rest. There was nothing I could do but wait; I had no control then & I have no control now.
More recently I have read books to try to find perspective. Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl is his story of his personal struggle to survive in Nazi concentration camps. The clarity of his mindfulness in such horrific circumstances is astounding. Obviously that is not me, it is not a suggestion that one experience is worse than another; it is all relative. I cannot begin to imagine being in a concentration camp but I can relate to how Frankl chose to deal with his ordeal; I am a mother watching my child with cancer & waiting to see if he lives longer than I do.
There always has been something to fight against or fight for in my life.
Lying in a hospital room with my sick child watching endless episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond & Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares whilst wondering what his fate is was bizarre. It is not right, it is not what what I had imagined for myself; nothing can prepare you for wondering whether you need to plan a funeral for your child. It is just not normal. It hurts & it hurts hard, a hurt that cannot be described. Each day brings tiny new bits of hope so I wait for each day & see what will come; each day is tainted with an inescapable fear. This sort of existence is not healthy & I have to find ways to see each day through. What works one day may not work the next as my mind rarely settles.
Wherever I am, whatever I do this ache is with me. Whoever I am with, whatever I am talking about cancer is sitting next to me & I know I have to live alongside it but I am still learning how. I feel as though I am in a tunnel with the occasional flickering lightbulb dotted around here & there, but the reality is that there is no end to the tunnel neither is there light. It narrows & it widens but I know that it will go on forever in some form or another & so I need to find ways of walking it.
At school I used sport as an outlet; it helped. If only it was that simple now, age & experience bring so much more than the naivety of youth.
Before Dylan was diagnosed I used to go to the gym four times a week. I stopped the moment he was hospitalised. I have thought about going back & I think I might do soon but I am scared that the moment I get on the treadmill I will not be able to stop running, I feel that it would start a torrent of tears that would never stop falling. However, I know that the endorphins released could in theory have the opposite effect, at least for a moment.
I yearn for time alone but when I am alone I want company; but I don’t want company, I want to be alone. It is a conundrum to which there is no straight answer. I do what I need to do when & if I can; I need to be me so I can be the best I can for Dylan, Ruari & Nick.
I have moments of fleeting anger. Anger so harsh that there is nowhere to put it; anger so potentially damaging that I could never let it out. I breathe deeper, I stand taller & I work harder. I give as much goodness as I can muster at the same time as I fight my demons. I choose to hold onto me, whoever that is on any given day; I am not who I once was. Elements of myself have disappeared only to be replaced by new elements that I do not recognise but simultaneously have to accept. Each day brings new thoughts, new chapters, new challenges but my focus remains the same; my child has cancer.
I find solace in the wisdom of Maya Angelou who despite her life’s unimaginable difficulties still managed to rise. Her attitude is inspirational.
Six years ago, after a minor (it seemed major at the time) complication with a couple of members of my very dysfunctional family I suffered from anxiety & had a six week course of counselling. It helped to talk to a stranger, I found it refreshing & whatever problem I thought I had is no more. I have sought counselling again since Dylan started maintenance but it has changed nothing; wherever I go & whatever I do my child has cancer. This problem is here forever.
My short term memory feels diminished; shrouded in darkness as it now is it retains almost nothing, I have to work so hard to remember the smallest of things.
Looking at Dylan makes me so happy & so sad all at once. Happy because I am watching him grow & develop as he is doing right now; sad because I no longer have the privilege of watching him just grow & develop as he might have done before all of this inflicted our lives. What would have been? What could have been? Two very poignant questions that haunt me daily. As things stand today, Dylan is visibly as well as we could hope. There was once a time when I took that for granted.
I have drunk more wine than the Languedoc region can produce in a month, I have cried, I have shouted, I have screamed but nothing changes the very testing fact that Dylan has cancer…nothing. So I choose to deal with my thoughts & my demons the only way I know how. I stand as tall as I can. I take a deep breath every morning & I search for myself everyday so that Dylan can be himself. There are no specific techniques, there is no manual, there is no right or wrong. I have to live for today & have hope for tomorrow.
Asking people to understand what I perceive to be the madness in my head that I cannot wear openly everyday is a big deal for me & for them because nobody can save me from this; it’s down to me & how I choose to save myself.
I feel that my existence is a series of opposites; I want to behave in a certain way & choosing to be mindful is key to me behaving in a socially acceptable manner because I know absolutely that I could easily do the opposite; I really could go mad.
Choosing to stay sane could possibly drive me mad; it’s that simple. My head may remain mindful enough to not let that happen but my heart may not.
I throw it right back on me.
Timshel. I mayest or I mayest not; it may well be the most important choice in the world.
You are an absolutely exceptional woman. Live has dealt you some cruel cards, cards that most of us never see or experience, but all the time you have acted with great dignity and courage. May you continue to do so and may you find some relief in your reading, and running if you can bear to go back to the gym.
I totally get it Siobhan…. | 2019-04-22T02:20:03Z | https://thelittlebigc.com/2018/02/18/timshel/ |
Footprints on Rock. Sydney: Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. 1997. ISBN 0-7313-1002-0.
Frankel, David (1982). "Earth rings at Sunbury, Victoria". Archaeology in Oceania. 17 (2): 89–97.
Fuller, Robert S.; Hamacher, Duane W.; Norris, Ray P. (2013). "Astronomical Orientations of Bora Ceremonial Grounds in Southeast Australia" (PDF). Australian Archaeology (77): 30–37.
A dukun is an Indonesian-Malay term for shaman. In Malaysia, they are referred to as bomoh. Their societal role is that of a healer, spirit medium and tradition experts. In common usage the dukun is often confused with another type of shaman and it is often mistranslated into English as witch doctor or medicine man. The dukun is the epitome of the kejawen or kebatinan belief system indigenous to Java. Beneath the thin superficial practice of Islam, very strong and ancient beliefs of animism, ancestor worship, in the pre-colonial past, dukun were exempt from paying taxes, as with Hindu priests and Buddhist monks. Many highly prominent and highly educated Indonesians and Singaporeans, even those with Western doctorate and masters levels degrees will still consult dukun or soothsayers. Dukun are most common on the island of Java, though the island of Madura is especially feared for being very powerful practitioners of dark magic, the Dayak people of Kalimantan are feared for their use of dukun when head-hunting.
In Sabah, the Kadayan community are renowned for their dukun who are said to look waif-like with red eyes, in common practice, a dukun is consulted when a person perceives they have an issue that has a supernatural or paranormal association. If a dukun is not known to the individual, their family or friends, word of mouth often creates a situation where the dukun will appear as if summoned, the dukuns knowledge is passed down orally, but the specific customs differ from one community to another. Initiates may voluntarily decide to learn the craft, or the position might be inherited. Proto-Malay dukun often serve the role of both shaman and village chief, known as a tok batin. Dukun who inherited their knowledge from their parent or grandparent is held in higher esteem than one who served as another dukuns disciple, typically the initiation ritual involves meditation at a mountain, cemetery or some other location away from people. In some communities, such as the Kadayan of Sabah, dukun are required to learn silat before they can be initiated, the purpose is both for the purpose of self-defence and for the spiritual training.
The slametan is the communal feast from Java, symbolizing the social unity of those participating in it. Clifford Geertz considered it the core ritual in Javanese religion, in particular the abangan variant, the feast is common among the closely related Javanese and Madurese people. A slametan can be given to celebrate almost any occurrence, including birth, death, moving to a new house, depending on the intention, the mood and emphasis may vary somewhat, but the main structure is the same. This is what the host intends for himself and his guests, by experiencing the egalitarian structure of the slametan and the petitions of supernatural protection from spirits. In Geertzs fieldwork in Mojokuto in the 1950s, he found that costs of slametans varied from 3 to 5,000 Indonesian rupiahs, depending on the type, slametans are generally held in the evening, after evening prayer is finished. The date is determined either by the occurrence it is celebrating, the guests, always men, are always close neighbors, and the selection of guests is based entirely on proximity, and not whether they are friends or relatives.
They are called by a messenger of the host only five or ten minutes before the slametan is to begin, when they arrive, the guests sit on floor mats around the food which has been placed in the center, while incense fills the room. The ceremony begins with a speech in high Javanese. During pauses in the speech, the audience responds with solemn inggih, following the speech, somebody present gives an Arabic chant-prayer. Many will not know how, but the host makes sure that there had attended a religious school. Fragments of the Koran, especially the al-Fatiha, are most commonly used, at pauses the audience says amen. The prayer leader receives a small payment, at last, the food is served. While the ceremony is strictly for men, the food preparation falls upon the women in the family, each guest receives a cup of tea and a banana-leaf dish containing each sort of food in the center of the room. The food is fancier than average, and each variety has a symbolic meaning, the host himself does not eat, nor does he serve the food, which one or two of the guests does.
A rite of passage is a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society, in cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of rite de passage, a French term innovated by the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep in his work Les rites de passage, The Rites of Passage. The term is now fully adopted into anthropology as well as into the literature, in English, Van Genneps first sentence of his first chapter begins, Each larger society contains within it several distinctly separate groupings. In addition, all these groups break down into still smaller societies in subgroups, the population of a society belongs to multiple groups, some more important to the individual than others. Van Gennep uses the metaphor, as a kind of house divided into rooms, a passage occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another, in the metaphor, he changes rooms. Van Gennep further distinguishes between the secular and the sacred sphere, many groups in modern industrial society practice customs that can be traced to an earlier sacred phase.
Passage between these requires an ceremony, or ritual hence rite of passage. He is able to find some universals, mainly two, the separation between men and women, and the magico-religious separation between the profane and the sacred. He refuses credit for being the first to recognize type of rites, in the work he concentrates on groups and rites individuals might normally encounter progressively, childbirth, betrothal, marriage and the like. He mentions some others, such as the passage, a crossing of borders into a culturally different region. Rites of passage have three phases, separation and incorporation, as van Gennep described, in the first phase, people withdraw from their current status and prepare to move from one place or status to another. The first phase comprises symbolic behavior signifying the detachment of the individual or group, from an earlier fixed point in the social structure. There is often a detachment or cutting away from the self in this phase. For example, the cutting of the hair for a person who has just joined the army and he or she is cutting away the former self, the civilian.
Robert Ranulph Marett was a British ethnologist. He was an exponent of what is called the Evolutionary School or more precisely the British Evolutionary School of Cultural anthropology. Marett focused primarily on the anthropology of religion, asserting with Tylor the evolutionary origin of religions he modified Tylors animistic theory to include the concept of mana. His anthropological teaching and writing career at Oxford University spanned the earlier 20th century prior to the Second World War and he trained many notable anthropologists. He was a colleague of John Myres and through him connected to the world of Aegean archaeology. Marett was the son of Sir Robert Pipon Marett and Bailiff of Jersey. He was born in Saint Brélade and he belonged to a family, originally named Maret, that settled on Jersey from Normandy in the 13th century. The Saint Brélade branch came finally to build a house for themselves. They were substantial in wealth and position, contributing high-level magistrates to the government of Jersey, roberts father had been Bailiff of Jersey.
He was one of the founders of La Patrie, a patriotic newspaper, Philip Maret, 3rd son of the 2nd Seigneur of La Haule, born in 1701, had emigrated to Boston, where he became a merchant captain. His subsequent family participated in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, roberts mother, Julia Anne, bore the name of Marett before marriage. She was one of the eight children of the Janvrin sisters, Esther Elizabeth and Maria Eliza, by one Philip Marett, Philip was a name often used by the Maretts. Thus Julia Anne was only a distant cousin of her husband, the house, came into Robert Ranulphs possession through his mother. Her mother was Maria Eliza Janvrin and she and Robert Pipon had four children, Robert Ranulph, Mabel Elizabeth, Philippa Laetitia, and Julia Mary. Robert Ranulph may have been a son, but he had three sisters and a large number of cousins. He came from a large-family environment, nature in her kindness endowed him with good brains, good memory, lively imagination and abounding physical vigour.
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Divination can be seen as a method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed. Fortune-telling, on the hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion, divination is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition. Psychologist Julian Jaynes categorized divination into the four types, Omens. Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of births, the tracking of natural phenomena. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategies and it is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination, Joseph Needhams work considered this very idea. This consists of the casting of lots, or sortes, whether with sticks, bones, coins, modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination.
This ranks a set of given possibilities and it can be qualitative, for example, dowsing developed from this type of divination. The Romans, in times, used Etruscan methods of augury such as hepatoscopy. Augury is normally considered to refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, the answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy, they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as intuitive and fuzion. In this practice, the examines the hands of a person for whom they are divining for indications of their future. The Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis was made famous when Alexander the Great visited it after delivering Egypt from Persian rule in 332 BC, deuteronomy 18, 10-12 or Leviticus 19,26 can be interpreted as categorically forbidding divination.
A ceremonial pole symbolizes a variety of concepts in several different cultures. For example, in the Miao culture in Yunnan China, in The Evolution of the Idea of God, Grant Allen notes that Samoyeds of Siberia, and Damara of South Africa plant stakes at the graves of ancestors. A maypole is a wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals. The festivals may occur on May Day or Pentecost, although in some countries it is erected at Midsummer. In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is utilised during the festival. It has been a practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Today, the tradition is observed in some parts of Europe. Some scholars classify maypoles as symbols of the world axis and it is known that, in Norse paganism, cosmological views held that the universe was a world tree, known as Yggdrasil. There is therefore speculation that the maypole was in some way a continuance of this tradition, the floor of the Mære Church, was excavated in 1969, and found to contain the remains of a pagan cult structure.
The nature of that structure was not clear, lidén felt this represented the remains of a building, but a critique by Olsen in the same work suggested this may have be been a site for pole-related rituals. A recent review of the evidence by Walaker concluded that this site was similar to the site in Hove and was likely the site of a ceremonial pole. A jangseung or village guardian is a Korean ceremonial pole, usually made of wood, jangseungs were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark for village boundaries and frighten away demons. They were worshipped as village tutelary deities, an Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess Asherah, consort of El. The relation of the references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. The insertion of pole begs the question by setting up unwarranted expectations for such an object, we are never told exactly what it was.
The word shaman probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552, Mircea Eliade writes, A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be, shamanism = technique of religious ecstasy. Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul, alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. The shaman enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community, Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements. The shaman operates primarily within the world, which in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the elimination of the ailment, hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism.
The word shaman probably originates from the Evenki word šamán, most likely from the dialect spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples. The Tungusic term was adopted by Russians interacting with the indigenous peoples in Siberia. It is found in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman Avvakum, adam Brand, a merchant from Lübeck, published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China, a translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word shaman to English speakers. The etymology of the Evenki word is sometimes connected to a Tungus root ša- to know, other scholars assert that the word comes directly from the Manchu language, and as such would be the only commonly used English word that is a loan from this language. This proposal has been thoroughly critiqued since 1917, ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen regards it as an anachronism and an impossibility that is nothing more than a far-fetched etymology. Ethnolinguists did not develop as a discipline nor achieve contact with these communities until the late 19th century, there is no single agreed-upon definition for the word shamanism among anthropologists.
Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the human experience, Campbells magnum opus is his book titled The Hero with a Thousand Faces in which he discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies. Since publication of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbells theory has been applied by a wide variety of modern writers. His philosophy has been summarized by his own often repeated phrase, Joseph Campbell was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Josephine and Charles William Campbell. He was from an upper-middle-class Irish Catholic family, during his childhood, he moved with his family to nearby New Rochelle, New York. In 1919 a fire destroyed the home in New Rochelle. In 1921 Campbell graduated from the Canterbury School in New Milford, while at Dartmouth College he studied biology and mathematics, but decided that he preferred the humanities.
He transferred to Columbia University, where he received a BA in English literature in 1925, at Dartmouth he had joined Delta Tau Delta. An accomplished athlete, he received awards in track and field events, in 1924 Campbell traveled to Europe with his family. In 1927 Campbell received a fellowship from Columbia University to study in Europe, Campbell studied Old French, Provençal and Sanskrit at the University of Paris in France and the University of Munich in Germany. He learned to read and speak French and German, on his return to Columbia University in 1929, Campbell expressed a desire to pursue the study of Sanskrit and Modern Art in addition to Medieval literature. Lacking faculty approval, Campbell withdrew from graduate studies, in life he said while laughing but not in jest that it is a sign of incompetence to have a PhD in the liberal arts, the discipline covering his work. With the arrival of the Great Depression a few later, Campbell spent the next five years living in a rented shack on some land in Woodstock.
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures and objects, performed in a sequestered place, and performed according to set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community, Rituals are characterized but not defined by formalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance. Rituals are a feature of all human societies. Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying hello may be termed rituals, the field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term. One given by Kyriakidis is that a ritual is an outsiders or etic category for a set activity that, to the outsider, seems irrational, non-contiguous, or illogical. The term can be used by the insider or emic performer as an acknowledgement that this activity can be seen as such by the uninitiated onlooker, the English word ritual derives from the Latin ritualis, that which pertains to rite. In Roman juridical and religious usage, ritus was the way of doing something, or correct performance.
The word ritual is first recorded in English in 1570, there are hardly any limits to the kind of actions that may be incorporated into a ritual. Catherine Bell argues that rituals can be characterized by formalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, Ritual utilizes a limited and rigidly organized set of expressions which anthropologists call a restricted code. Maurice Bloch argues that ritual obliges participants to use this formal oratorical style, which is limited in intonation, vocabulary, loudness, in adopting this style, ritual leaders speech becomes more style than content. Because this formal speech limits what can be said, it induces acceptance, Bloch argues that this form of ritual communication makes rebellion impossible and revolution the only feasible alternative. Ritual tends to support forms of social hierarchy and authority. Rituals appeal to tradition and are concerned to repeat historical precedents accurately. Traditionalism varies from formalism in that the ritual may not be yet still makes an appeal to historical.
The Hamar are known for their custom of "bull jumping," which initiates a boy into manhood.
St. Aubin in 1890. The railway is visible just above the beach. La Haule Slip is the first one, just before the clearing.
View of the beach from St. Aubin's Bay. La Haule is the large building on the left. Out of sight to the left is the village.
The miko's attire consists of a white haori and a red hakama. The hair is tied in a ponytail with a white and red hair ribbon.
An artist's representation of "Muhammed's Paradise". A Persian miniature from The History of Mohammed, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
The Islamic prophet Idris is shown the afterlife places by an angel. In hell, the inmates are tormented by a demon.
French Edition of Geertz' "Local Knowledge"
A Nepali jhākri with a dhyāngro, a traditional frame drum.
The Ghost Dance of 1889–1891 by the Oglala Lakota at Pine Ridge. Illustration by western artist Frederic Remington, 1890.
A dukun (left) during the Bambu Gila (Mad Bamboo) ceremony in Liang Village, Ambon, Maluku.
A slamatan in a mosque in Java during the colonial era.
A Slametan in a mosque in Cibodas, with tumpeng as its main menu. ca. 1907.
Han Dynasty tomb-tile showing "long-sleeved dancers" and attendants.
The Oroqen shaman Chuonnasuan in July 1994.
Teenage girls being initiated into the Sande society, Sierra Leone, West Africa. Text: "The dancers all wore fetishes peculiar to the order, each having special significance. These consisted of several ropes of cane cut into beads and of rows of seeds which had been bored and filled with Bundu (Sande) medicine."
The first edition of Enchanted Feminism. | 2019-04-26T08:19:33Z | https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Bora_(Australian) |
If you would like buy Tiara End Table By Mistana , try to find good quality timber joinery. If a item is stuck jointly or if perhaps fingernails or toenails and screws are widely used to retain the furniture piece jointly, it does not very last lengthy. It is advisable to spend more money to get a Tiara End Table By Mistana with some excellent timber joinery work on it. Definitely check out the thighs and legs for any Tiara End Table By Mistana you are looking for purchasing. These thighs and legs will need not only to support excess weight, they'll be also in contact with your flooring surfaces. When they appear to be they'll do harm to your flooring due to supplies employed (like aluminum), then you may want to decide on a various fashion. When choosing Tiara End Table By Mistana for the living area, choose fairly neutral hues. You may change the hues and other design of the space by altering features, color along with other issues. For that reason, it is possible to transform up the look of your living room area without spending a lot of cash.
In this quick evolving world of competition and advancement, it has been a undeniable fact that people barely get enough time to spend in their homes, looking after themselves. It is mandatory for us that people invest the vast majority from the times time in workplace, doing our job. If the workplace does not have in proper equipments and facilities for that employees, the employees get serious health issues. Likewise, the decorum and also the tools of the workplaces are provided enormous significance. These days, almost all the tools are chosen inside a careful manner in order to make sure the workers comfort. One such important item in the office may be the ergonomic desk workplace chairs. As most of the offices have turned out to be smart, meaning they rely more about device than manual labor, ergonomic desk office seats are specifically designed for such offices. Those are the chairs employed for the use of the workplaces having computer workstations. These are specially designed seats that help in the reduction of demands around the a number of anxiety from the spinal cords, therefore limiting the risk of muscle and neural illnesses. Also they assist in maintaining the correct physique posture. It aligns the forearms, wrists, back, throat and the head in the appropriate jobs, therefore decreasing back pain, work associated bone and joint problems and other such illnesses. And when you simply searching for a seat to unwind, then consider among the recliner chair from your checklist. In this article we will discuss about the top fifteen best ergonomic chairs to be able to provide the readers using the accurate understanding to ensure that once they buy this kind of chairs, it might be simple for them to select the correct one.
This set includes a one remaining equip couch established, two armless sofa models and something corner couch established. This gives enough space to support your friends and relations. The material is 100Percent polyester for sufficient durability and comfort. The advantage of this couch established is the matching and mixing of seats within the available space within the room for a ideal shape. And also allows for fitted even just in small rooms. It takes just mild putting together.Additionally, it features drive cushions for optimum comfort. You might want to do this set. It does the job well.
This couch is worked with the gong-shaped shape along with the upper armrest of the cushioning. In addition, the top is based on blocked part edges. The thighs, however, have became a member of the fake wooden wrapping. The sofa gives a comfortable and extravagant feeling. This is actually the direct consequence of extremely versatile padding within the polyester furniture. You can take a seat effortlessly for the moment to relax. Each one of the shades provided with this sofa demonstrates its significant component, Flexible style. The red sculpt could be well suited for both topics with mild and dark tones. That remains constant for various tones it offers as well. The couch is situated in room. Regardless of whether its Thanksgiving or a large family reunion, you can rely on it. Race-watching yet still time collapsing in your sofa with your buddies is really a legitimate choice.
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This is actually the next couch on our checklist. It's additional comfy and incredibly ideal for small rooms or loft living. It's upholstered in polyester fabric, prospects inset control keys that give an elegant diamond-tufted style. It is made from durable materials and the thighs are constructed with long lasting wood to increase its durability. The loveseat comes with an espresso discolored wooden thighs and non-marking foot caps. It offers a comfortable foam padding and polyester material upholstery which makes it very magnificent. It has a longue place that provides an exceptional space for resting.
If you are looking for some severe rest, this loveseats solid pillow back and folded arms will deliverbut at a higher cost. Every chair cushioning contains 30 individual pocketed circles for springtime and support, and high strength chair foam for an additional layer of plushness and durability. Plus, the froth soft cushions are topped with extremely soft, blended lower feathers. For your extra comfort, there are three standard positions: sitting, a slight lie down with an elevated footrest, along with a complete lie down with an raised foot rest. It does not harm that this reclining loveseat appears lux, either. Its all-leather furniture and ornamental toe nail head trim give it a vintage look that can work with lots of home dcor styles, from conventional to nation to arts and crafts. In addition, leather-based holds up nicely against everyday use, children and pet locks and nails. Just be sure you situation the leather-based each and every six to twelve months.
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This RTA loveseat provides different types of upholstery depending on the material. That considerably includes bed linen and velvet. Advanced shades, Marzipan, Stoneware-Beige and Rye-Brown enhance design for the couch. Choose the shading and also the materials that will depend around the stylistic style of your room. Not only the shading, the fabric may also reflect the difference in fashion. Make sure that the material you choose matches the theme of your room. This loveseat ballots in favor of mixing the current style by having an exemplary design. It's been moved up through the arms that begin to feed the sofa. With this particular blend, you only see improved comfort and stylish design when lights the patches.
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The Lawson could be called quintessential United states couch design. It's comfy and straightforward: The boxy shape is generous and usually has 3 back again soft cushions as well as three chair cushions. The traditional Lawson also has A taller back again and container-formed cushions that have welts in the sides, just like the back pillows. Ideal for snuggling and sleeping, this couch design was created for Thomas Lawson, a united states copper mineral magnate at the change from the hundred years. He wanted a settee which was quite different from the picky Victorian styles that were typical at that time. Current versions of the Lawson can also incorporate metal or wood contained in the arms. Most importantly, this sofa style is the one which will change its vibe with the fabric you select for that upholstery. The form is really flexible that it may be glamorous, magnificent, industrial, informal or official based on your material choice.
This established comes with the entire power of Sleeper Sofa with an exemplary couch style. It incorporates tight hands, firm seat soft cushions and full-size sleeping pad with internal springs. It is removed beneath to clean it and remove it having a easy raising device. This sleeping pad is reinforced having a durable steel advantage. is really a measuring guideline and it has a Bi-collapsing emphasize. Among the deserving items to point out is the convenience! Location this super comfortable couch in your comfortable living room. Apart from providing a natural and stylish atmosphere, it gives an attractive personality to your site visitors. You can make your companions remain for a fun nights films. The sofa has carcasses with obstructed corners and fake-finishing on its thighs. The cushions are, however, adjusted and can include excellent flexibility. It's wrapped having a thick polyethylene dietary fiber with a drawstring advantage.
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This version (06 Jun 2017 17:03) was approved by dmercer.The Previously approved version (31 Jan 2014 16:31) is available.
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), a process known as rectification. Rectifiers have many uses including as components of power supplies and as amplitude modulation detectors (envelope detectors) of radio signals. Rectifiers are most commonly made using solid state diodes but other type of components can be used when very high voltages or currents are involved. When only a single diode is used to rectify AC (by blocking the negative or positive portion of the waveform), the difference between the term diode and the term rectifier is simply one of usage. The term rectifier describes a diode that is being used to convert AC to DC. Most rectifier circuits contain a number of diodes in a specific arrangement to more efficiently convert AC power to DC power than is possible with only a single diode.
In half wave rectification, either the positive or negative half of the AC wave is passed, while the other half is blocked. Because only one half of the input waveform reaches the output, it is only 50% efficient if used for power transfer. Half-wave rectification can be achieved with a single diode in a single phase supply as shown in figure 6.1, or with three diodes in a three-phase supply.
A full-wave rectifier converts both the positive and negative halves of the input waveform to a single polarity (positive or negative) at its output. By using both halves of the AC waveform full-wave rectification is more efficient than half wave.
When a simple transformer with out a center tapped secondary is used, four diodes are required instead of the one needed for half-wave rectification. Four diodes arranged this way are called a diode bridge or bridge rectifier as shown in figure 6.2. The bridge rectifier can also be used for translating a DC input of unknown or arbitrary polarity into an output of known polarity. This is generally required in electronic telephones or other telephony devices where the DC polarity on the two phone wires is unknown. There are also applications for protecting against accidental battery reversal in battery-powered circuits.
Figure 6.2 Bridge rectifier: a full-wave rectifier using 4 diodes.
For single-phase AC, if the transformer is center-tapped, then two diodes back-to-back (i.e. anode-to-anode or cathode-to-cathode) can form a full-wave rectifier. Twice as many windings are required on the transformer secondary to obtain the same output voltage compared to the bridge rectifier above. This is not as efficient from the transformer perspective because current flows in only one half of the secondary during each positive and negative half cycle of the AC input.
Figure 6.3 Full-wave rectifier using a center tapped transformer and 2 diodes.
If a second pair of diodes is included as in figure 6.4 then both positive and negative polarity voltages with respect to the transformer center tap can be generated. One can also view this arrangement to be the same as adding a center tap to the secondary winding in the full-wave bridge rectifier from figure 6.2.
Figure 6.4 Dual polarity Full-wave rectifier using a center tapped transformer and 4 diodes.
Half-wave or full-wave rectification does not produce a constant-voltage DC as we have seen in the previous figures. In order to produce a steady DC voltage from a rectified AC source, a filter or smoothing circuit is needed. In the simplest form this can be just a capacitor placed across the DC output of the rectifier. There will still remain an amount of AC ripple voltage where the voltage is not completely smoothed. The amplitude of the remaining ripple depends on how much the load discharges the capacitor between the peaks of the waveform.
Sizing of the filter capacitor, C1, represents a tradeoff. For a given load, RL, a larger capacitor will reduce ripple but will cost more and will create higher peak currents in the transformer secondary and in the supply feeding it. In extreme cases where many rectifiers are loaded onto a power distribution circuit, it may prove difficult for the power distribution grid to maintain a correctly shaped sinusoidal voltage waveform.
A half-wave rectifier, figure 6.5(a) will only give one peak per cycle and for this and other reasons is only used in very small power supplies and where cost and complexity are of concern. A full wave rectifier, figure 6.5(b) achieves two peaks per cycle and this is the best that can be done with single-phase input. For three-phase inputs a three-phase bridge will give six peaks per cycle and even higher numbers of peaks can be achieved by using transformer networks placed before the rectifier to convert to a higher phase order.
To further reduce this ripple, an LC π-filter (pi-filter) such as shown in figure 6.6 can be used. This complements the reservoir capacitor, C1, with a series inductor, L1, and a second filter capacitor, C2 so that a steadier DC output can be obtained across the terminals of the final filter capacitor. The series inductor presents a high impedance at the ripple current frequency.
A more usual alternative to a filter, and essential if the DC load requires a very smooth supply voltage, is to follow the filter capacitor with a voltage regulator which we will discuss in section 6.3. The filter capacitor needs to be large enough to prevent the troughs of the ripple getting below the drop-out voltage of the regulator being used. The regulator serves both to remove the last of the ripple and to deal with variations in supply and load characteristics. It would be possible to use a smaller filter capacitor (which can be large for high-current power supplies) and then apply some filtering as well as the regulator, but this is not a common design strategy. The extreme of this approach is to dispense with the filter capacitor altogether and put the rectified waveform straight into an inductor input filter. The advantage of this circuit is that the current waveform is smoother and consequently the rectifier no longer has to deal with the current as a large current pulse just at the peaks of the input sine wave, but instead the current delivery is spread over more of the cycle. The downside is that the voltage output is much lower - approximately the average of an AC half-cycle rather than the peak.
The simple half wave rectifier can be built in two versions with the diode pointing in opposite directions, one version connects the negative terminal of the output direct to the AC supply and the other connects the positive terminal of the output direct to the AC supply. By combining both of these with separate output smoothing capacitors it is possible to get an output voltage of nearly double the peak AC input voltage, figure 6.7. This also provides a tap in the middle, which allows use of such a circuit as a split rail (positive and negative) supply.
Figure 6.7 Simple voltage doubler.
A variant of this is to use two capacitors in series for the output smoothing on a bridge rectifier then place a switch between the midpoint of those capacitors and one of the AC input terminals. With the switch open this circuit will act like a normal bridge rectifier with it closed it will act like a voltage doubling rectifier. In other words this makes it easy to derive a voltage of roughly 320V (+/- around 15%) DC from any mains supply in the world, this can then be fed into a relatively simple switched mode power supply.
Capacitors are used to smooth out or filter the ripple present in the rectified DC, and sometimes more complex filters using inductors as well as capacitors are used.
Zener diodes are widely used as voltage references and as shunt regulators to regulate the voltage across small circuits. When connected in parallel with a varying voltage source, such as the diode rectifier we just discussed, so that it is reverse biased, the zener diode conducts when the voltage reaches the diode's reverse breakdown voltage. From that point on, the relatively low impedance of the diode keeps the voltage across the diode at that value.
In the circuit shown in figure 6.8, a typical shunt regulator, an input voltage, VIN, is regulated down to a stable output voltage VOUT. The reverse bias breakdown voltage of diode DZ is stable over a wide current range and holds VOUT relatively constant even though the input voltage may fluctuate over a fairly wide range. Because of the low impedance of the diode when operated like this, series resistor RS is used to limit current through the circuit.
In the case of this simple reference, the current flowing in the diode is determined using Ohm's law and the known voltage drop across the resistor RS.
RS must be small enough that the current through DZ keeps DZ in reverse breakdown. The value of this current is given in the manufacturer's data sheet for DZ. For example, the common BZX79C5V6 device, a 5.6 V 0.5 ? zener diode, has a recommended reverse current of 5 mA. If insufficient current exists through DZ, then VOUT will be unregulated, and less than the nominal breakdown voltage. When calculating RS, allowance must be made for any current through any external load that might be connected to VOUT, not shown in this diagram.
A load may be placed across the diode in this reference circuit, and as long as the zener stays in reverse breakdown, the diode will provide a stable voltage source to the load. Zener diodes in this configuration are often used as stable references for more complicated voltage regulator circuits involving buffer amplifier stages to supply large currents to the load.
Shunt regulators are simple, but the requirements that the ballast resistor, RS, be small enough to avoid excessive voltage drop during worst-case operation (low input voltage concurrent with high load current) tends to leave a lot of current flowing in the diode much of the time, making for a fairly inefficient regulator with high quiescent power dissipation, only suitable for smaller loads.
These devices are also encountered, typically in series with a base-emitter junction, in transistor stages where selective choice of a device centered around the avalanche or zener point can be used to introduce compensating temperature co-efficient balancing of the transistor PN junction. An example of this kind of use would be a DC error amplifier used in a regulated power supply circuit feedback loop system.
As a side note: zener diodes are also used in surge protectors to limit transient voltage spikes. Another notable application of the zener diode is the use of noise caused by its avalanche breakdown in a random number generator that never repeats.
An output voltage of 5V is required and the output current required is 60mA.
We first must choose a zener diode, VZ = 4.7V which is the nearest value available.
We need to determine the nominal input voltage and it must be a few volts greater than VZ. For this example we will use VIN = 8V.
As a rule of thumb we choose the nominal current through the zener to be 10% of the required output load current or 6mA. This then determines the current Imax = 66mA which will flow through RS (output current plus 10%).
The series resistor RS = (8V - 4.7V) / 66mA = 50Ω, we would choose RS = 47Ω which is the nearest standard value.
The maximum power that could be dissipated in the zener when there is zero current in the output load can be calculated as PZ > 4.7V × 66mA = 310mW, so we would choose PZ = 400mW. | 2019-04-20T18:11:50Z | https://wiki.analog.com/university/courses/electronics/text/chapter-6 |
Saving energy is good for our planet and good for our wallet. So how can you become more energy efficient at home?
You can start by monitoring your energy use at home. Did you know that heating and cooling account for nearly half of your home’s energy costs? It’s true. And if you can cut the cost of heating and cooling your home, you’ll make a big difference in your bottom line.
Here are a few things that you can do to help you save energy.
A dirty or clogged filter will make your air conditioning unit work harder, using more energy. Over time, the stress of clogged filters can result in increased costs for repair or replacement of your HVAC unit.
Dust, mold and other contaminants can build up in your air ducts, making the system work harder (and lowering the air quality in your home). Have your ducts cleaned annually to keep your HVAC unit running in peak condition.
A programmable or smart thermostat can save you up to 10 percent on heating and cooling costs.
If your home has single-pane windows, consider replacing them with more energy efficient windows. Also, think about adding solar shades or tinting film.
Call the experts at ASAP Heating an Cooling for more information or to schedule an appointment. ASAP Heating and Cooling provides quality heating and cooling services to homes and businesses in Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Naples, Southwest Florida and surrounding service areas.
Do you have a smart thermostat? If not, this is something you should definitely consider. Heating and cooling account for nearly half of your home’s energy costs. Smart thermostats are the next generation of temperature control. They offer automation and more control over your home’s temperature and climate, which can save you money on your energy bill.
Your smart thermostat’s Wi-Fi connection enables so much more than just temperature automation. Here are some of the advantages to owning a smart thermostat.
A smart thermostat makes it easy to be energy efficient. Smart thermostats learn your schedule and your preferences, so they can handle the dropping and raising of your home’s temperature while you come and go.
Your smart thermostat can also save you money by making you more energy efficient. Letting your smart thermostat manage your home’s climate automatically will push you toward energy-saving settings and help save you money.
With some smart thermostats, you can get a monthly report that can help you to analyze your energy use. The report can tell you how much energy you used that month. It can compare your usage to that of other users and reward you for using energy-efficient settings.
When you’re away from home, your smart thermostat can help keep you connected. Check the companion app while you’re away from home to see if the air conditioner is running and to check the temperature in your home. It’s a great way to make sure that your home is running smoothly while you’re away.
With a smart thermostat, you can adjust the temperature in your home from anywhere. If you’ve got a mobile device, you’ve got control of your home thermostat. Some smart thermostats will even send email alerts if your home’s temperature rises or falls outside of your pre-determined range. It can also notify you if your thermostat is disconnected from its network, which can happen during a power outage.
Smart thermostats are also great for vacations. They make it easy to set the temperature while you’re away without messing up your existing settings.
Most smart thermostats are very easy to use. They have modern screen designs and great companion apps. If you’ve had issues dealing with programmable thermostats in the past, you’ll appreciate this new generation’s easy-to-use design.
No matter what kind of thermostat you have, keep your air conditioning unit running in tip-top condition. Call the experts at ASAP Heating and Cooling to schedule an appointment. ASAP Heating and Cooling provides quality heating and cooling services to homes and businesses in Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Naples, Southwest Florida and surrounding service areas.
What constitutes an HVAC emergency? If you experience an HVAC system that fails to cool or heat, you’ve got an HVAC emergency on your hands, especially in unusually hot or cold temperatures. You may notice unwanted sounds or strange odors. This is also a problem that should be addressed immediately.
Unfortunately, HVAC problems can occur at all hours of the day or night. When your air conditioning system breaks or malfunctions, you should know what to do to ensure the well being of yourself and your family. Here are some tips to follow when you need emergency HVAC repair.
Before calling for a professional service company, it’s best to understand the problem. Check for any small problems you can fix on your own.
If troubleshooting has not fixed the problem, it’s time to call in the professionals. Do not attempt to fix your HVAC unit by yourself. Trying to fix the problem yourself can lead to much bigger problems – and what begins as a small repair bill can turn into a much higher cost.
If it is extremely hot or cold outside, you will want to fix the problem as soon as possible. Call for a professional HVAC technician – and if it’s after hours, make sure they have 24/7 emergency service. While you wait for the technician to arrive, make yourself as comfortable as possible. In hot weather, use fans to help cool the area and wear light clothing. In cold weather, use layering to keep heat in and use blankets to stay warm. If available, a space heater will help to keep a small area warm.
At ASAP Heating and Cooling, we are happy to provide emergency services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you’ve got an HVAC emergency, our helpful technicians will have your system up and running again in no time.
The air conditioning coils are one of the most critical components of your air conditioning system. These AC coils are very delicate, and they need to be properly handled to preserve their cooling power. With regular maintenance, well-preserved AC coils will help keep indoor air quality higher and utility bills lower.
Your air conditioning system has two sets of coils – evaporator coils and condenser coils.
The evaporator coils are located on the indoor portion of your AC system. They are responsible for absorbing heat from your home’s air and transferring it to the refrigerant that carries it out of your home.
The condenser coils are located in the outdoor portion of your air conditioning system. They are responsible for transferring heat from the refrigerant to the air outside your home or building.
Over time, both your evaporator coils and your condenser coils can suffer from dirt buildup, which can have a big impact on the performance and efficiency of your air conditioner. With dirt buildup on the coils, it is harder for the system to transfer and absorb heat. So your air conditioner will have to work harder, and it will have to run more often, which means it will use a lot more energy to keep your home cool.
Here’s what you should know about air conditioner coil cleaning. Much of your air conditioner’s coils are tucked away inside the system, making it difficult to effectively clean them on your own. Also, the coil fins are delicate and extremely sensitive. Improper handling could potentially lead to a very costly repair. That’s why it’s best to have a professional air conditioning company do the job. At ASAP Heating and Cooling, we’ll give you a free estimate for your system.
Two primary benefits of a proper AC coil cleaning are an increased system efficiency and cooling power, plus improved indoor air quality. This maintenance should be done annually, before summer.
Call the experts at ASAP Heating and Cooling for more information or to schedule an appointment for coil cleaning. ASAP Heating and Cooling provides quality heating and cooling services to homes and businesses in Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Naples, Southwest Florida and surrounding service areas.
Did you know that you can reduce your HVAC system use by as much as ten percent by raising or lowering your thermostat? In the summer months, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends keeping your home’s temperature at 78 degrees.
Another good way to keep your HVAC usage in check is to maintain the system. A well maintained AC unit will run more efficiently, use less energy and cost less money to run. A properly maintained system will also last longer before needing to be replaced.
Your air conditioner’s filters, coils and fins require regular maintenance to keep your AC unit functioning effectively and efficiently throughout its years of service. If you neglect necessary maintenance, you will have a steady decline in air conditioning performance – and your energy usage will steadily increase.
Here are 5 ways to help maintain your air conditioner.
This is your most important maintenance task to ensure the efficiency of your AC unit. Clogged or dirty filters will block normal airflow and reduce the efficiency of your air conditioner, and it can hinder the air quality in your home. A dirty filter will make your AC unit work harder than it should have to. Airflow through the system will become dustier, and it can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms. Replacing a dirty or clogged filter with a clean filter can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by 5 to 15 percent.
Over time, your air conditioner’s coils can become dirty, which reduces the amount of heat they can absorb. That means your AC system has to work harder to keep your home cool. It is important to keep the coils clean to avoid placing any unnecessary strain on your AC system. Start by keeping the area around the condenser unit outside your home clear of any debris. Cut back any shrubs or plants that may be impeding air flow. Wash the unit and clean it with a brush. Do not use a power washer and be careful not the bend or damage the fins on the coil.
Both the condenser and the evaporator have fins, which can bend over time causing insufficient airflow. Check the fins regularly to make sure they haven’t bent. If the fins have bent, you can use a fin comb or call your professional air conditioning company for help.
The condensate drain allows the condensation created within the AC system to drain outdoors. Over time, the condensate drain can become clogged. If you check your condensate drain and notice that water isn’t draining properly, unclog the obstruction or call your professional air conditioning company for assistance.
To keep your air conditioning system running in top condition, schedule a professional maintenance appointment. During that maintenance appointment, your entire air conditioning system will be cleaned, inspected and tuned to ensure that it is functioning at optimal levels. Regular maintenance appointments are a great way to protect your investment and to keep your AC unit working its best.
Call the experts at ASAP Heating and Cooling for more information or to schedule a professional maintenance appointment. ASAP Heating and Cooling provides quality heating and cooling services to homes and businesses in Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Naples, Southwest Florida and surrounding service areas.
It’s important to keep your home fresh and clean. But have you thought about cleaning your air? If your air conditioning system is not properly maintained, it could affect the air quality inside your home. This could lead to a variety of health conditions, including respiratory conditions like allergies or asthma.
It’s important to keep dirt, dust and mold out of your home, and properly maintaining your air conditioning system will help you to do just that. It is recommended that you have your air conditioning system cleaned once a year to help reduce health problems and to help keep your home fresh and clean.
Remember, by taking the proper steps to maintain your air conditioning system you are protecting yourself and your family from air contamination that is caused by a dirty air conditioning unit. Here are some steps you should take to ensure that the air inside your home is fresh and clean.
Your air conditioner’s filter keeps out dust, pollen, spores and other airborne problems that can lead to health issues. Changing the filter on a regular basis is important because a dirty filter causes less airflow, which makes your system work harder and costs you more money in energy bills. A dirty filter can also cause your air conditioning unit to overheat, or lead to other permanent damage. As a rule, you should replace or clean your air conditioner filter once a month.
It is impossible to get all the areas of your house clean and free of allergens and microbes that can cause illness. That’s why it’s a good idea to clean your ducts. Dust mites, pollen and other allergens hide within the air ducts of your heating and cooling system, and it’s important to eliminate these impurities from your home.
ASAP Heating and Cooling will clean your air ducts using a specialized portable vacuum system and a special brush that removes any materials within the duct walls. Remember, cleaning your ducts will help keep your home free from allergy-causing particles.
Excess moisture in your home can lead to damage, and it can encourage harmful mold and mildew growth, which can cause health problems for you and your family.
The ideal relative humidity for your home should be somewhere between 30 and 50 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you keep humidity levels no higher than 50 percent all day long. If humidity levels rise above or fall below that range, you may begin to experience issues like mold growth.
Modulating systems remove more moisture from the air, preventing mold growth. While a fixed speed HVAC system can only run at full speed, a modulating system can have two or more speeds. A fixed speed AC system allows relative humidity to go as high as 60 percent, while modulating systems do not break 50 percent. So a modulating HVAC system prevents harmful mold growth by removing moisture from the air.
How Do You Reduce Pollen in Your Home?
When pollen counts rise, your allergies go into overdrive. Protecting your home from allergens is not an easy task, but there are some things you can do to help reduce the pollen count inside your home.
First of all, cut down on the clutter. The less stuff you have in your home, the fewer places allergens can hide. Limit the number of knickknacks, magazines, newspapers and other dust catchers in your home. Make sure to dust often, and to dust those hard to reach areas, like ceiling fans.
Fabrics and carpets are also dust collectors. If you have allergies, your best bet is wood or tile flooring, not wall-to-wall carpets. Use a damp mop regularly to keeps floors clean. If you must have carpeting, choose a short, tight pile and make sure to vacuum weekly. A vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter is recommended. If you have a bagless vacuum cleaner, make sure to empty it outdoors, not in the house.
If you’re concerned about pollen, make smart decisions for your landscaping. Choose low-allergy trees like dogwood, cherry and magnolia. Female ash and maple trees are also considered low-allergy, but make sure to buy them from a reliable source to make sure of the tree’s gender. If you like flowers, choose low-allergy flowers like impatiens, columbine and viola.
Keep your windows closed in the early morning hours and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when pollen counts are highest. Also, keep your windows closed when it is windy outside.
If you have a car, keep it in the garage or give it a quick rinse whenever you can. Pollen settles on your car, and every time you touch your car, you will be spreading that pollen to your hands or clothing.
When you’re coming in from outdoors, be careful to bring in as little pollen as possible. Make sure to thoroughly wipe your feet on the mat and take off your shoes as soon as you enter the house. Pollen can also attach itself to your clothing, so remove your outer garments in the mudroom and take a shower. Your hair is also a magnet for pollen, so make sure to wash it before you go to bed, or wear a hat or scarf when you go outside and remove it as soon as you enter the house.
Remember that your pets can also bring pollen into the house. Make sure to brush your pets and wipe their paws before bringing them into the house.
Make sure that your home is well ventilated and that the ductwork doesn’t leak. It is also a good idea to clean your ducts. Dust mites, pollen and other allergens hide within the air ducts of your heating and cooling system, and it’s important to eliminate these impurities from your home or place of business.
Use a HEPA filter in your air conditioning unit and keep it clean. Replace the filter once a month. Keep the humidity level inside your house at no more than 50 percent.
Call the experts at ASAP Heating and Cooling for more information or to schedule an appointment for duct cleaning. ASAP Heating and Cooling provides quality heating and cooling services to homes and businesses in Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Naples, Southwest Florida and surrounding service areas.
In today’s world, everything that we do and use is moving to “smart technology,” through the use of apps on our phones. These changes to our lifestyle are actually helping to make us more efficient. Technology has influenced all aspects of our daily lives, the way we learn, the way we interact, the way we read, the way we bank, even the way we shop; everything is now at the click of a button. So why would we not use technology to help us regulate the temperature in our homes? Smart thermostats not only make heating or cooling your home more convenient, they actually help you save money and conserve energy.
Smart thermostats are automated devices that control your home’s heating and/or air conditioning. They perform the same functions as a traditional thermostat by allowing you to control the temperature of your home throughout the day. What makes a smart thermostat different is that it connects to the internet and allows you to control your home’s temperature from your smart phone.
Most smart thermostats have other features that a traditional thermostat does not. A smart thermostat can show you how long it takes to make the change you’ve requested, so you can see how effective your climate control system really is. It actually works to discourage you from making changes to your home’s temperature that you should not make such as, turning the thermostat all the way down to try “cooling off the house faster” (which never works). Some of the models of smart thermostats will actually learn from your behavior and adjust themselves accordingly (and therefore don’t even need you to program them). The biggest difference and benefit of smart thermostats is, of course, that you can manage them right from your phone or a web-app. This feature is what gives you full control to tweak the programming, allowing you to save money, and see the financial benefits immediately.
One of the most popular brands of smart thermostats is the Nest Thermostat. This one was the first of its kind and therefore the most widely known. This product came out of the gate with a lot of great features, making it a powerful pioneer. The Nest thermostat has a lot of positives; it combines a good-looking design and a bright LCD that provides a wealth of useful data with powerful remote management apps and tools to help you save money. In addition to that it has key features that make it a great contender to other brands. It is a learning thermostat, which can sense whether someone’s home, whether the air is suddenly getting humid, or someone’s fired up the oven, and adjust itself accordingly.
As this thermostat picked up in popularity other smart thermostats followed, brands like Ecobee Smart Thermostat, Honeywell Prestige series, Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat, and Emerson Sensi Wi-Fi Thermostat are all other popular smart thermostat brands. Each of these brands are slightly different in price, features, and benefits. It’s important to research each thermostat to find which one will be the best solution for you.
If you are wondering if there is a down side to these wonderful devices, it is important to mention that the initial purchase of these thermostats is quite pricey. The price of these thermostats can range from $150 – $500 which makes them way more expensive than a traditional thermostat which would only range from $100 – $150. Keep in mind that these thermostats are investments and the EPA’s Energy Star program concluded that homes with programmable or smart thermostats could save up to $180 per year on heating and cooling, which is a sizable chunk of change. | 2019-04-25T02:36:44Z | https://asapheatingandcooling.biz/blog/ |
Do you live and make decisions from your head or from your heart? We can feel the difference right? Decisions from the heart feel warm and fuzzy and full of love. Decisions from the head usually feel steeped in logical thinking and can at times be devoid of compassion. Decisions from the heart seem risky and vulnerable, while decisions from our heads feel safe, cautious and reasonable.
What would the world look like and feel like if we ventured down that long 12-18 inch space from our head to our heart? Making decisions and choices guided by our heart.
Why is it that leading with our heart feels so vulnerable and risky? Why is it that we feel a need to protect ourselves and put up walls? The need to protect our power, our privilege, our dreams, our money. We are cultured to believe that leading from our heart would not be beneficial, that it would be irresponsible and even stupid.
How many times have we received advice or given advice based on sheer logic and intellect with a disregard for the teachings of the heart?
I'm not suggesting that we be reckless and dangerous, but I am suggesting that we allow ourselves to be guided by our heart. That we listen to our heart and the wisdom that is has to offer and is teaching us. That we be guided by compassion, forgiveness, love and grace, instead of fear.
I like how authors Ed and Deb Shapiro explain it, "The heart has been described as the king, with the mind as the king's adviser. When faced with a decision, the king may ask his advisers for advice, may even send them out into the world to gather information, but ultimately it is the king that makes the final decision. Even though the advisers do not always agree with the king's decision, the king is invariably right, because the king's view not only sees the bigger picture but is also aware of the needs of others."
They go on to explain, "In the same way, when faced with a decision or conflict, your mind may come up with numerous, different and quite logical reasons why you should act as it advises, but if you listen to and trust your heart—however illogical or irrational it may seem—it is usually right and you are happier as a result."
Your heart is where your intuition resides. If we get still and listen, it is full of wisdom. The heart and its powerful energy is what I believe our world needs more than anything our minds can conjure up. When we tap into the wisdom of our heart we are in alignment with the truth of our being. The essence of who we are, our higher self. There is so much value to listening to our hear,t as it is the essence of our spiritual being.
Before you make that decision or choice, take time to pause, be still and listen to the guidance of your heart. Ask yourself what you value and what is in alignment with the truth of your being. Will your decision support these values, will it be in alignment?
I invite you to practice letting go of your fear and your need to control, and to listen more to the wisdom of your heart. Let it guide you while your mind advises you.
Next week's post will include a process for making decisions that are led by the heart. Typically, these are decisions that will help to support your overall happiness.
This week I want to share with you a really important and impactful daily practice that I learned from Brene Brown's book Braving The Wilderness. It goes hand-in-hand with some affirmations that I also love to use (more on these later).
Here is Brene's recommended daily practice, "Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don't belong. You will always find it because you've made that your mission. Stop scouring people's faces for evidence that you're not enough. You will always find it because you've made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don't negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you."
Do you consider yourself to be your worst critic? I think a lot of us are hard on ourselves, probably a lot harsher than anyone else (most of the time anyway). We often take this self criticism and reflect it outward by looking for confirmation from others that we don't belong, or that we are not enough. It then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.
I don't know about you, but I can still sometimes get caught up in bashing myself for things I wish I wouldn't have done or said from decades ago. Things I can in no way change and that no one, besides myself, is even remembering let alone thinking about anymore. Do you do that too?
What if we quit walking around each day looking for reasons that we don't belong or that we're not good enough? What would life look like?
There are a few affirmations that I've worked with over the years that I really love and have helped me walk through life with a different mindset. The first one is super simple, it's "I am enough." That's it, short and sweet, "I am enough." Repeating it over and over to myself until it sinks into my bones.
The second one is a little longer, but it carries with it magic. This one is thanks to my friend Haywood Simmons. It goes like this, "I am enough and I bring creative solutions everywhere I go." If I'm faced with a challenge of any kind this is my go to affirmation. Repeating it over and over to myself until it seeps into my bones..."I am enough and I bring creative solutions wherever I go."
This simple "I am enough" affirmation can be modified however it works for you. It's a powerful reminder that we belong and we are enough, just the way we are...perfectly and uniquely imperfect. Just the way God created us to be.
Imagine how we might show up for the world if we were all feeling adequate. Imagine if our mindset was in place to believe that we were enough and could bring creative solutions wherever we went. What might be possible if we felt whole and complete? What if we didn't let our own fear take over and rule us? Imagine the possibilities.
I invite you to give it a try. Walk through the world with affirmations of being enough and stop looking for confirmation that you are not. See how you feel. I would love to hear how it goes!
Do you feel lonely? Loneliness and being alone can be very different things. We can feel lonely even when we are amongst a crowd. It can actually be a more painful feeling, a lonelier feeling than when we are physically alone.
Have you experienced feeling lonely when you are with the people or when you are alone? I know I have. Maybe it's because you feel like you don't fit in, or that you aren't accepted, aren't seen or heard, maybe because you don't feel like you're enough.
Neuroscience researcher John Cacioppo has been studying loneliness for over 20 years. He defines loneliness as, "perceived social isolation." We experience loneliness when we feel disconnected. Therefore, loneliness is not just being alone. Loneliness is a state of mind.
Did you know that loneliness is bad for your health? Based on the results of numerous studies on loneliness, researchers have found that: Living with air pollution increases your odds of dying early by 5%. Living with obesity by 20%. Excessive drinking by 30%. And living with loneliness increases your odds of dying early by a whooping 45%. The need for social connection is so fundamental in humans that without it we fall apart, down to the cellular level.
According to Brene Brown in her book, Braving The Wilderness, in 1980 approximately 20% of Americans reported feeling lonely. Today, it's more than double that percentage. Rates of loneliness are rapidly increasing not only in America, but also in countries around the world.
It seems strange doesn't it that in 2018 we would be feeling more lonely? I mean we are more "connected" than ever aren't we? We have email and cell phones, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Snapchat, we have airline travel all making staying "connected" so much easier.
In recent years our society has been promoting the idea of sorting ourselves into groups of like-minded people. As Bill Bishop in his book, The Big Sort, states, "We’ve geographically, politically, and even spiritually sorted ourselves into like-minded groups in which we silence dissent, grow more extreme in our thinking, and consume only facts that support our beliefs. As a result, we now live in a giant feedback loop, hearing our own thoughts about what’s right and wrong bounced back to us by the television shows we watch, the newspapers and books we read, the blogs we visit online, the sermons we hear, and the neighborhoods we live in.".
Brene Brown goes on to explain, "This sorting leads us to make assumptions about the people around us, which in turn fuels disconnection. Shouldn't 'You're either with us or against us' have led to closer ties among the like-minded? The answer to these questions is a resounding and surprising no. At the same time sorting is on the rise, so is loneliness."
Brown continues, "Clearly, selecting like-minded friends and neighbors and separating ourselves as much as possible from people whom we think of as different from us has not delivered that deep sense of belonging that we are hardwired to crave."
Loneliness tells us that we need social connection, something as important to our well-being as food and water. Cacioppo explains that, "Denying you feel lonely makes no more sense than denying you feel hunger."
Brown goes on to explain that, "When we feel isolated, disconnected, and lonely, we try to protect ourselves. In that mode, we want to connect, but our brain is attempting to override connection with self-protection. That means less empathy, more defensiveness, more numbing, and less sleeping. The brain's self-protection mode often ramps up the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening, creating stories that are often not true or exaggerate our worst fears and insecurities. Unchecked loneliness fuels continued loneliness by keeping us afraid to reach out."
Lonely people tend to find greater fault with themselves and with those around them. Their expectation is that others will be less friendly and less kind. This expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Loneliness is also contagious, it's spreads out from one small ripple of interaction to the next.
Have you noticed your brain's response to feeling lonely? I have witnessed my brain going into self-protection mode and the exaggerated stories that I replay to myself causing me to experience more isolation.
Brown sums it up this way, "We seem to have forgotten that even when we're utterly alone, we're connected to one another by something greater than group membership, politics, and ideology...that we're connected by love and the human spirit. No matter how separate we are by what we think and believe, we are part of the same spiritual story."
In the end, people want to be connected, we are wired to need and desire human connection. We want to experience real connection. Cultures of "us versus them" have created feelings of disconnection and a diminished sense of shared humanity. We have normalized dehumanizing groups of people. In many cases the only thing that binds us together in these like-minded groups is shared fear, anger and hatred.
I will explore the idea of developing real connection more in future posts.
www.dreamfearlessly.com/event/dream-big-the-power-of-small-ripples-with-tracy-traeder/. I would love to have you join me! | 2019-04-26T10:50:54Z | http://www.bravingthehotmess.com/blog/archives/01-2018 |
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Nadine P. Oct 03 .
I don't typically write negative reviews about anyone, but this case Omar merits one. i can sum it up in one word...BUTCHERED! My hair was midway down my back.. all i wanted was some shorter more textured layers. Seems pretty simple for most pros . What i got was a mushroom cap. Its as if he gave me two different haircuts, one in back and one in front, The problem is on the crown, i suppose he calls it texturing, however there's a huge chunk of hair cut right out of the crown, not even in a place you can hide. So basically i have 2 layers, almost like a bowl cut on top, long on the bottom with a big piece missing in the crown. The biggest problem for me is he had to know this during my blowout, as I sure did the next day when i went to blow it our myself. As he was blowing he said to me "oh it falls like a natural bump in the back". Well i did not ask for a bump, hence he knew he screwed up and said nothing, just tried to cover it up. Then just took my money. I know that people make mistakes, but when i called and went in for him to address it he kept saying , "oh i know what WE did" WE? really? no apology, just kept saying it does not look bad. But it is bad! Really bad, probably the WORST cut have EVER had! I also had to add ...someone who reviewed him stated "I would strongly recommend Omar to anyone that is looking for a NY quality stylist in the Raleigh area!", Well i am from NY and there is NOTHING NY quality about the way he does hair. Where were you getting your hair done ,,,on the A train?, even then it would probably still be better than what i got!
Adam is absolutely amazing! I have gone to him twice and he has done exactly what I asked for. He even did bangs for me for the first time. They came out awesome. MUST VISIT.
WHERE TO BEGIN...I WENT IN THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY. I went becuz my neighbor had her virgin hair bleached by him. it took him 6 hours but it looked wonderful and the price was cheap. so, i make an appointment.
Took a chance and got burned...literally!!
by dawn43nc at Citysearch Nov 10 .
Worst haircut I have ever had. Nothing more to say. Don't go.
by c25 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
He cut all my hair off, colored it red ( I wanted it blond) and wouldn't repair it. I didn't have any bangs. My friends couldn't believe what a hack job he did. Maybe he didn't like me. I would have gladly left if that was the case. It took forever for it to grow. When I went to another salon that couldn't beieve what a rotton job he did. Don't go.
by EllenCustomer at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I thought I was dealing with professionals, I should have walked out the minute that man gave me attitude. Not only was he rude, but he chopped off all my hair when I only wanted a trim. I am now stuck with a bad haircut until I can get a new style when it grows back out!
I will be very careful next time I want to try a new salon!
Cons: Not prefessional, nor talented.
by CherylO at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I have lived here for almost 4 years and have not been able to find a stylist who is reasonably priced that does outstanding work until I came to Hair Champs and met Adam.
He is simply amazing. He listened to me and we actually spent about 20 minutes discussing my lifestyle and what I was all about.
He said he knew just what to do and to trust him. I gave it a whirl and WOW the result what just what I wanted both in color and style.
I can't wait to get back in to see Adam.
I finally found a place that I will continue to visit!!!
Jamie S. Feb 05 .
had! If you aren't sure exactly what you should do with your hair, you just need to trust him. He is that talented! Tell him Jamie sent you! He will hook you up!
Go Once & You'll be Hooked!
by ohbe at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I prefer to do my hair in this salon for several reasons. First, it's easy to make an appointment, no long waiting period as in other salons with comparable services. Second, Larissa, the owner and stylist, is extremely pleasant and professional. My hair is thin and flat, but with the haircut from Larissa, styling is easy, beautiful shape and added volume. You can trust her taste and skills, just relax in the chair, and she will choose the style that flatters your face and personality. And third, the place is clean and cheerful. And all this for a very reasonable price. What else to look for? I and my both daughters love this salon. Thank you , Larissa!
by deena13 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
Walid did a great job with my hair. Medium-length haircut - very stylish (I didn't give him specific instructions, so he was creative) and suits my face really well. He also corrected my hair color: I had a terrible mix of highlights, colors etc. - all with about 2inches routes (disaster, yes). He did some highlights and colored the rest, was very meticulous, worked on my hair forever, carefully selecting each strand... Overall, I was VERY pleased. Price was very reasonable too.
by hannah801 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
From the first time I met Walid, I was really impressed. He is simply the best hairstylist I have ever had. I have gotten my haircut with Walid 4 times now since serendipitiously stumbling upon him. And each time I come to Hair Champs to get my haircut, I always leave feeling completely satisfied and pleased with what an absolutely amazingly job Walid does on my hair. I have never received so many compliments before on my haircut as I do when I get it cut with Walid. Walid always takes his time...sometimes spending more than an hour and a half on my hair...the longest I have ever had any stylist spent on my hair. He is very meticulous and such a perfectionist always making sure that every strand falls in the right place. Not only is Walid very talented and creative, he is also a caring and thoughtful individual constantly making sure that you are doing alright. I would highly recommend Walid to everyone.
by jatnc82 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
Only place in Raleigh that can cut my hair with clippers. Great if your ex-military! Walid is awesome, he is the consummate professional. The conversation amongst the staff is always interesting and funny. If you go here, take the time to get to know the staff, it definitely make each visit that much better. The price is also the best in town for the quality you get. Their goal is quality, not quantity, you don't pay for frivolous things that other places charge you. You get a cut and a shampoo for $15.00. You might have to wait a bit longer, however when its your turn in the chair, you know that they will take all the time necessary to do the job correctly and to your likening!!!!! If you do not believe me just go get your hair cut here and see for yourself.
Best Price, Great Atmoshpere, Amazing Staff - Walid is Great!!!
by eyceman at Citysearch Nov 10 .
Being new to the area and not knowing too many places, I had gotten a couple of really bad hack-jobs. I stumbled across this place by accident one day (after a movie at the Raleigh Grande) and what an awesome experience! I didnt have an appointment so I waited about 20 minutes (not bad at all). Larissa immediately made me feel at ease. When she was done with my haircut after about 25 minutes it was perfect!! I'm very finicky about my hair and wa a bit nervous at first, but she did such a great job that I talked my wife into going there. She absolutely loved her haircut/style by Walid. Infact now, I even have my little 5 year old going there as well, and he won't go anywhere else!
Hair Champs is definitely tops in my books. I highly recommend it for Women, Men AND Children.
One of the Best Haircuts... ever!
by nyinnc1 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I went to hair champs about a week ago and just wanted to write about my great experience! I wanted to get a cut and highlights. They both turned out amazing! I was amazed at how much time Walid spent with me. He is a perfectionist and took his time. For having meduim length hair, he spent almost 3 hours on me. I know other places that charge more and just want you out of there so they can wait on someone new. I'm very impressed and def. will be back!
by sshaefer31 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
Great w/ color. I royally screwed up my hair by dying it myself, and they did an excellent job repairing the damage. A little pricey - but worth it!
by jennjohnson at Citysearch Nov 10 .
The service was excellent and I love my new cut and style!! I was greeted and served promptly and the prices are fantastic. I am so happy to have found a new place so close to home!
by iteachk75 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
This was my 3rd visit to Hair Champs and I've never been happier! Stephanie helped my choose a new, easier, and quicker style that was just as hip! My highlights are absolutely perfect and the cut is really cute and so easy.
by dandlkagan at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I am not the kind of person that writes reviews but I can't sit back and read another bogus attack against this salon. Me and my wife are loyal clients and have been since discovering this little gem on City Search two years ago. Most salons in Raleigh are ridiculously over priced. They try to jam products down your throat and treat you like you are on a production line. Hair Champs is the only salon in this town that gives you the best of BOTH worlds, great service and a great price. I have watched this business grow from scratch. Larissa has a genuine concern and appreciation for her customers and she has one of the highest work ethics I have ever seen in a business owner. Keep up the good work Hair Champs! We love you guys and we'll never go anywhere else.
How can anyone not like this salon?
by sunsurfergl at Citysearch Nov 10 .
My hair is thick and it grows very fast. I refuse to pay over 35 dollars for a haircut. I have been to just about every salon in Raleigh more than once and this place beats them all. They charge me 32 and 18 for my hubby. They gave me exactly what I wanted because I don't get out of the chair until I am happy. My husband goes the Elvira or Larissa and I go to Stephanie. One word of advice, you should make an appointment, or you will probably have to wait. My husband walked in today and had to waited over an hour for a haircut. Other than that, I say go for it, GOOD SALON at a good price.
by pjplayer76 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
by helly2 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I dont usually take the time to write reviews but the lack of quality service at this salon prompted me to do so.
I wanted a new, chic looking hairstyle. Unfortunately, I decided to try Hair Champs solely based on Citysearch reviews.
First of all, the stylist acted very unprofessionally by complaining about one of her clients that had just left the salon.
The haircut I ended up with looked nothing like the pictures that I showed the stylist. The method in which she cut and styled my hair displayed an obvious lack talent and up-to-date training. My hair looked frizzy, puffy and just plain unattractive after she styled it.
I do not recommend Hair Champs to anyone looking for a trendy new look. It may be an o.k. place for a guy to get a trim but not for a girl that needs an attractive hairstyle.
by tomk421 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I was recently in Raleigh, N.C. and stopped at Hair Champs for a quick cut. After a few minutes I decided to stay a while. The staff included a friendly group of guys and gals that gave me top notch treatment. I was lucky enough to be serviced by the owner, Larissa, and opted for a wash and stylish cut and even came out with a cup of coffee. What a treat for a guy who is used to being rushed in and out of most places. The experience was truly wonderful.
by emmiekins at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I would definitely recommend checking out Hair Champs. The service is great as is the talent of the stylists on staff. Elli is fantastic!
My only caveat is to be 100% certain of the style you are asking for. Other than that, press on for a great cut!
by loreren at Citysearch Nov 10 .
The stylists at Hair Champs are amazing - especially Tonya, who not only gives me a consistantly natural looking highlights (blonde highlights on a dark brunette!) but also gives an amazing cut.
I would pay twice as much to look half as good! If you want the most attractive style perfect for you, then you'd be crazy to trust any other salon.
by andreaw1972 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I took a chance on this place. Had my hair colored and got some red high lights on top. The salon was recomended by a freind. Wow am I happy! You couldn't ask for better quality. I saw that someone (below) didn't like their highlights, but I can say that I got GREART service. Guess you can't please everyone. I would try this place.
by atorgofan at Citysearch Nov 10 .
This place is great! I went in for a haircut only, despite having recently dyed my own hair from brown to blond, ending up with...well, kind of something interesting. Adam suggested doing an all over color to correct the mess I'd made, and I thought what the heck. It turned out a very nice dark blond, pretty close to my natural color and a billion times better than the interesting gradients of blond I'd had! Not to mention I loved the haircut - I have a short bob with bangs and he trimmed it up perfectly. He added some subtle stacking that I would not have expected but looks great. They know their stuff about color and cuts for sure! Also a fun place to get your hair cut - everyone is VERY entertaining to say the least. I also got a great deal due to their color service sale - run, don't walk down there if you need color done! Also they're very willing to spend a lot of time with you to get things done right.
by wlarring at Citysearch Nov 10 .
The atmosphere and the service at Hair Champs were great for a haircut. I am a guy and therefore don't need thermalionic-colordye straightening or whatever it is but the staff at Hair Champs, especially Larisa, the owner, give great men's haircuts. The staff works with you on scheduling and the price is very reasonable.
by devi22 at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I am thrilled with my hair, and the service is unbeatable. I came in and didn't have to wait at all, they were actually ready for me- as we all know this is unlike most salons! My hair stylist was very professional, friendly and did exactly what I asked her to do on my hair. I don't usually write reviews over places I have recieved service at, but this place was so commendable that I thought it deserved some great feedback. I will be a returning customer.
by agule at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I happened to be a walk-in and they immediately took me, Stephanie did a wonderful job with the highlights they are beautiful and actually healthy looking! She taught me how to take care of my hair & now I have a perfect hair cut to frame my face. It was a wonderful experience and I can now style my hair easily. Also the service price was great and these products really work! Can't wait for my next visit!
Very Pleased & I look Gorgeous!
by soniapeters at Citysearch Nov 10 .
I didn't even get seen for 45 minutes, and when I did, I asked for an overall chocolately brown color with auburn highlights, and when I showed the woman the picture of the hair I wanted, she said, "Okay, pick out the colors." WHAT? Who's the professional?
So, I chose an auburn red for my highlights, and she ruined my hair with adding FIERY RED-ORANGE highlights. Then, she tried to fix the disaster by putting toner in my hair, which after 45 minutes did NOTHING. Then she put brown all over my hair and added some copper highlights, and now my hair looks like a purple/black color with red and yellow highlights on top.
To top it off, they charged me $144 for this eyesore. They wasted 6 hours of my time; don't let them waste yours!
They took me for a ride.
Hair Color Image is a professional hair salon that specializes in cuts, color and highlights. Our main line of service is Redken. Call for an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome.
If you've been to or used Hair Champs Salon, leave a review. | 2019-04-21T01:24:26Z | http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3717366976/hair-champs-salon-raleigh |
By now, most Americans know about the desire of GM management and labor unions to have the taxpayers give them billions of dollars. The plan is to keep the Detroit automobile manufacturers going for a while longer. Not even the staunchest advocates of the Detroit bailout believe that giving them billions of dollars will yield any permanent results; everybody plans to re-visit the issue next year.
GM and the UAW find themselves in this position because of a long history of lavish pay and benefit packages for union workers - twice the labor costs of the competition and about three times the non-automotive labor cost. Although there's been a lot of complaint about high-paid managers, there are relatively few of these high-paid people. Plant-floor workers don't get paid as much as the executives, but there are a whole lot more of them. In the grand scheme of things, plant-floor labor cost matters a whole lot more than executive pay but that fact gets lost in the yelling and screaming about making workers sacrifice their livelihoods.
The desire to provide workers with a dignified old age via some sort of pension is a noble and humanitarian impulse, but UAW-type pensions simply aren't practical given that people are living so much longer than expected. The way GM pensions work out, people receive pensions for longer than they worked. One way to look it this is to assume that if people collect pensions for only as long as they work, their actual productivity while working is cut in half. Since the company has to pay the worker one year of retirement for every year of work, their actual productivity in terms of work done per dollar of wages and benefits is cut in half. How well would our economy work if every worker's productivity were cut in half? That's the bottom-line, long-term effect of UAW-style pensions - productivity is cut in half and our lifestyle will suffer.
People are expected to continue living longer and longer unless government regulations make medical research unprofitable. This immense pension cost has driven GM to the point of bankruptcy and makes it impossible to operate the business at a profit even if government continues to shovel billions of tax dollars to Detroit.
As vast as the problems of GM are, and as great the potential damage to our economy should it finally collapse, however, GM's problem with the cost of pensions is nothing compared to the pension problems at all levels of American government.
While GM was mortgaging its future to retiree pensions and health care, politicians were doing the same thing by awarding unaffordable pensions and health care to public employees. The difference was that while the UAW was not able to force GM to fire managers who wouldn't give the UAW what it wanted, public employee unions could and did vote politicians who didn't cave on pensions out of office. As a result, New York City employees have been promised pensions which are even more generous than GM's.
The book While America Aged by Roger Lowenstein (New York, Penguin Press, 2008) gives some numbers on page 140. In 2005, the New York City Actuary noted that the city transit system contributed $381 million, or 14% of payroll, to pensions; this was expected to reach $620 million by 2009. Medical costs in 2005 were an additional $410 million. It's interesting to compare these numbers with income tax which runs roughly 30% of payroll. Health care and retirement each cost more than income tax.
The rest of the city was no better off; the fire department paid $490 million in health-care costs, for example. Health care for retired fire workers has been rising fast enough that the taxpayers will soon be paying more for all the retired fire fighters than for all the working fire fighters!
During the recent financial boom, New York City made enough money from income taxes paid by high-flying Wall Street workers that they were able to meet these obligations. Then 2008 happened. With Wall Street bonuses a matter of history and the state facing a corresponding shortfall in income tax receipts, these expenditures are simply not sustainable.
There's a fatal flaw in offering benefits 20, 30, or 40 years out - nobody knows what economic conditions will be like when the bills come due. Consider social security. Although the law called social security an insurance program, courts have repeatedly declared it to be a welfare program because Congress can change the benefits at any time. Even if it were an insurance system, there'd be no money in it because our legislators have spent the entire fund, leaving only treasury IOU's; they simply won't leave the money alone. In its greatest high-profit days, GM wasn't able to put enough money aside to fund its pensions. New York City couldn't either. California has been tapping into its employee pension fund, CALPERS has lost a quarter of its value since June and is talking about demanding additional contributions. New Jersey is billions of dollars in the hole yet Gov. Jon Corzine wants county and municipal governments to skip more than $500 million in pension payments to avoid higher property taxes. In an article "The Land of Liabilities," the Economist lists immense unfunded pension liabilities in many states. Maine and New Hampshire have raided the teacher's retirement fund for current expenses, and so on. The overall situation is serious enough that some Congresspersons are calling on government to nationalize everyone's private 401(k) retirement accounts to try to paper over the holes in the public pension problem by snatching private retirement savings.
We see that a) most of the public and private pension systems are under-funded, the money simply isn't there; and b) even if the money were there, what could it be invested in which won't get confiscated or misallocated by government action over a 40 year period? As a nation, as companies, and as individuals, we're trapped between a rock and a very hard place indeed.
So how are all these pension claims going to be paid?
The Economist article ends, "Taxpayers will have to ante up. The main question is when, and how much." There are only two choices: a) pensions won't be paid or b) taxes will go through the roof, collapsing the economy and eventually resulting in (a). Our lawmakers don't dare raise taxes nearly enough to fund the pensions they've already promised, but that doesn't stop them from promising more, regardless of party. George W. Bush, supposedly an arch-conservative, pushed through the largest entitlement expansion of all time in the form of his Medicare drug bill. People we've talked to say, "There's no way this won't be paid, it's protected by law!" No matter what the law says now, however, when pensions start to eat up, say, half of everyone's income, voters will instruct their elected representatives to change the law. There'll be a massive train wreck between taxpayers, public employee unions, and retirees; the longer it's delayed, the worse it will be.
The discussions about bailing out Detroit have inspired state and city governments to ask for bailouts, too. The GM bailout is all about protecting workers' pensions; there is simply no way that any profit-making company can cover the cost of operating an automobile business and pay such generous pension obligations at the same time. Even governments which don't have to make a profit and which cavalierly exact taxes at gunpoint are finding it impossible to keep up with their pension obligations.
Tennessee's Sen. Corker was correct in pointing out that unless the UAW accepts cuts in labor costs which get close to labor costs at Toyota, Honda, and the other transplants - which is to say, having their pay and pensions slashed roughly in half - there's no way any amount of money can do anything more than postpone the inevitable collapse of GM, at vast public expense.
When a private firm goes bankrupt, its pensions are dumped on an agency of the federal government, called the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). This agency uses taxpayer dollars to make sure retirees continue to receive a minimum level of benefits, but not nearly as much as they were promised; it usually cuts pensions in half. Even after such a severe pension haircut, so many airlines have dumped their pensions that this agency is well under water.
Lacking the same power to threaten confiscation or print more money, New York State's taxing authority has not been able to handle the cost of meeting its pension obligations while maintaining public services during the downturn; cuts are projected. Could any force other than bankruptcy or acute poverty give New York the strength to stand up to the unions and cut costs? Obviously not; bankruptcy or poverty it shall be, perhaps both. Just the other week we saw an astonishing list of new taxes to clobber New Yorkers when they can least afford it; anyone familiar with the Laffer Curve will not be surprised when these egregious exactions fail to raise the revenue intended and drive still more businesses and residents across the river to more reasonable jurisdictions.
Some politicians are beginning to catch on. New York's Gov. David Paterson called for reduced pension benefits because of budget problems, saying, "We've made too many promises and asked for too few sacrifices. We're going to have to change our culture as we know it." He has the right idea, but one wonders how long New York would tolerate a transit or garbage strike? Nearly a hundred years ago, London suffered a railway strike; the commuters saw this as an opportunity for train-lovers to finally try their hand at running locomotives. Service carried on, more or less, under the hands of amateurs. The famous author C.S. Lewis reported there being "surprisingly few accidents," but one shudders to think of what OSHA would think of such a solution.
It's clear that lifetime pensions of the GM or New York City form are simply unsustainable; there's no way we can afford the loss of productivity implied by having workers collect pensions, which can be close to their final pay levels, for more years than they spent working. Even with city taxes that are high enough to drive many citizens to move elsewhere, neither New York City nor California are able to fund a pension system that covers only a few; GM can't make enough money to fund its pension obligations either.
Neither private business sales nor public taxation authority are able to fund pensions and health care for even a fraction of the overall population. How do we expect the Federal government to be able to handle pensions and health care for the entire population - particularly if they've already spent the "Full Faith and Credit of the United States" to prop up ill-advised pension promises made to the lucky few? How democratic is it to take Joe the Plumber's money to fund a UAW worker's early retirement?
We have to go back to the traditional means of social security - not because we want to, but because it's the only road left. There is only one investment that's likely to hold value over a 50 year period without government stealing it, and that's children. In the past, old people were cared for by their children; in some countries, it's a crime for children not to take care of their parents.
The men who designed the Social Security system deliberately set out to break the bonds between generations so that people would have fewer children, but they overdid it: our birth rate has plummeted, and uneducated illegal immigrants working for starvation wages in sweatshops aren't going to pay the difference. When the real crash comes, and nothing can stop it, old people who don't have enough children to care for them will be SOL. There's going to be a great many childless yuppies wishing, in their old age, that they had someone to care for them; or, God forbid, standing beside them bearing arms.
Why Does Your Devalued Home Have Such a High Tax Rate?
Being a pastor and having a wife that works with the elderly your point on childless families and retirement is right on. Even today we are seeing seniors that are slipping through the cracks, and are struggling to get some basic services that families once provided. Even more disturbing is the mindset of some children to abandon their parents to the system because of inconvenience. We at the church have prepared some basic services for our widowed people, but if a full-scale collapse hits everything will be overwhelmed. The Worse thing of all is that our city, state and federal governments seem to be if not blind then criminally ignorant to what is happening.
"... In 2005, the New York City Actuary noted that the city transit system contributed $381 million, or 14% of payroll, to pensions; this was expected to reach $620 million by 2009. Medical costs in 2005 were an additional $410 million. It's interesting to compare these numbers with income tax which runs roughly 30% of payroll. Health care and retirement each cost more than income tax."
If 14$ of payroll is $381M then payroll is $2.72B and 30% of that is $816M. Neither health care ($410M) or retirement ($381M) is more than income tax($816M).
Also, the statewment, "...if people collect pensions for only as long as they work, their actual productivity while working is cut in half" misuses its terms as badly as it mangles its arithmetic. "Productivity" is universally understood to be the work done per hour, not work performed per dollar paid, and even if that malapropism is excused the cost per hour of a pension would only equal the cost per hour of the wage under much more limited assumptions about how the contributions and payout are made than that the terms of work and retirement are equal. That the pensions are excessive (and underfunded) may very well be true, but the claim made is arithmetic ignorance on stilts. | 2019-04-26T04:51:01Z | http://www.scragged.com/articles/the-traditional-retirement-plan |
Extract from Escott Reid’s new book Strengthening the World Bank being published in September by the Adlai Stevenson Institute, Chicago, III., U.S.A., $7.50, £3, or Rs. 40. Mr. Reid was director of the South Asia and Middle East Department of the World Bank from 1962 to 1965.
“There is general agreement that the purpose of aid from the World Bank Group and other agencies is to make it easier for the governments of developing countries to pursue sensible development policies. The disagreement is over who is to be the arbiter of what are and what are not sensible development policies. There are two extreme theoretical positions. One is that the government of the poorer country should be the sole arbiter; that it alone can be considered by an international agency or by another government as the interpreter of the country’s system of values and development priorities, its social goals, and the aspirations of its people; that aid agencies must not question that government’s decisions but must assist it to carry them out expeditiously and efficiently. The other extreme position is that the aid agencies know what is best.
“Neither of these two positions will come within the scope of practical politics in the foreseeable future. Both of them are non-starters. Until aid on concessional terms can be financed largely from sources other than taxes imposed by the governments of rich countries on their citizens, these governments will be compelled by the realities of the domestic political process to adopt policies on aid which will enable them to convince the taxpayers that they are making reasonable efforts to ensure that the aid financed out of their taxes is being well used. This applies to their own bilateral aid programs and to the multilateral agencies they contribute to, such as the World Bank Group, the regional banks, and the UN Development Program. As for the other extreme position, sentiment in the poorer countries limits both the willingness and the ability of their governments to accept intervention by aid agencies in their affairs. They are compelled by the realities of their domestic political processes to adopt policies which enable them to assure their citizens that they are not sacrificing the independence of their country in return for aid.
“Proponents of all the schools of thought on international aid are compelled to accept, however reluctantly, the need to apply some system of rationing to the flow of aid money, since this money is scarce, and the softer it is the scarcer it is….
“What is at issue is not the need to establish a rationing system but the nature of the rationing system and, in particular, the extent of intervention in the affairs of aid-receiving countries which it entails. Those, both in the poorer countries and in the rich countries, who favor a relatively high level of intervention… believe, however, that aid agencies should limit their intervention to broad and central aspects of development policy, and express opinions on these only after penetrating investigation. Aid agencies, in striving to come to agreement with the poorer country, should make all reasonable concessions to reach agreement. If a reasonable compromise cannot be reached, the agencies should, in the interest of the poorer country, substantially reduce the flow of aid. Those who favor intervention ask whether it is to the advantage of the people of an aid-receiving country that aid agencies accept the development priorities of the government even when it is obvious that the government is assigning high priority to prestige projects which promise less economic and social returns than other, less ostentatious, projects….
“Many who would most vehemently deny that they are interventionists believe that since international efforts to help developing countries will be of no avail unless those countries make major changes in their political, social, and economic policies and institutions, aid should depend on the extent to which a country meets such performance criteria as equitable income distribution, land and tax reforms, effective trade and exchange rate policies, limitation of military expenditures, and the promotion of social justice….
Excerpts from a speech by Richard H. Demuth. Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, to the Association of Directors of International Agriculture Programs in Raleigh, N.C., U.S.A., June 14, 1973.
“In the early days of the postwar development assistance effort, it was the conventional wisdom that what the developing countries needed to modernize their agriculture was not so much additional research as the organization of adequate extension services which could deliver to the farmers of the Third World the scientific expertise already available in the developed world. It was assumed that appropriate technology already existed that could be readily transferred from north to south. Experience has shown that, to a large extent, this was a false assumption—in other words, that appropriate agricultural production technologies for the poorer countries must for the most part be developed within and not outside the ecological zones in which those countries lie.
“This meant emphasizing research and training within the Third World. A good deal of effort was then put, and is still being put, into the development of strong national research programs—and in a few countries notable progress has been made: Mexico, Colombia, Chile, India, and Thailand are outstanding examples. But moving on a country-by-country basis, particularly with the limited human and financial resources available, promised to be a slow procedure, wholly inadequate to the urgency of the world’s food production needs.
“So, under the leadership of the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, an alternative strategy was developed: namely, to assemble a critical mass of scientific talent in a few places within the Third World to launch a multidisciplinary attack sharply focused upon the most urgent technological problems facing agricultural production in the developin countries. The international agricultural research and training center was the means devised to implement this alternative strategy.
“The family of international centers now numbers six, with one associate member. The full members of the family are the International Rica Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines; the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico; the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), for the lowland tropics of Africa, in Nigeria; the International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), for the lowland tropics of Latin America, in Colombia; the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru; and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), with special responsibility for sorghums, millets, chick peas, and pigeon peas, in India. The “associate” member of the family is the Asian Vegetable Research Center located in Taiwan.
“The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research was formed in 1971, when it became clear that the base of both financial and technical support for the centers need to be broadened beyond the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations and the U.S. and Canadian Governments which, up to then, had provided almost all the finance and back-stopping. The basic purpose of the Consultative Group, which is co-sponsored by the FAO, IBRD, and UNDP, is to mobilize such broadened support. Essentially, it seeks agreement among its members as to what agricultural research programs should be considered as having priority in the allocation of scarce development assistance funds, on the extent of the funds which should be provided each year, and on how the burden of financing might be shared. As a result of invitations issued by the three co-sponsors, some 13 donor governments, 7 international and regional development assistance agencies, and 4 private and public foundations have become members of the Group. The Group also has as members 10 developing countries, representing the 5 major developing regions of the world; these 10 LDC’s among them occupy 5 seats at the Consultative Group table. In its mixed composition of public and private organizations, of donor and recipient countries, and of regional and international agencies, the Consultative Group is a unique institution.
“The Consultative Group has no funds of its own nor has it any authority to make decisions binding on its members. Yet, despite these limitations and despite the size and diversity of its membership, the Group has thus far succeeded in reaching very general agreement on the issues with which it has grappled. Perhaps the best indication of this is that funding for the international centers rose from $9 million for 1971 to $15 million for 1972 and to about $24 million for 1973. In addition, ICRISAT was created in 1972 under the aegis of the Consultative Group and this year is likely to see the addition of a seventh member of the family—ILRAD—an International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, to be located near Nairobi in Kenya.
“To the extent that the Consultative Group has been successful thus far, it is due, in my judgment, principally to two factors. The first is the existence of an excellent Technical Advisory Committee, popularly known as TAC, composed of six scientists from the developed countries and six from the developing countries, who meet under the chairmanship of Sir John Crawford of Australia. The TAC, the Secretariat for which is provided by FAO, considers the technical merits and priority of all proposals put forward for Consultative Group financing, and advises the Group on the principal research gaps which it believes need to be filled. The second factor is more elusive to define—but essentially it is that almost all the members of the Group are enthusiastic about the international center approach. The Group’s meeting are therefore singularly free of debate for the sake of debate, and are instead devoted to a common effort to find practical and constructive solutions. Agreement has been reached on such matters as having a single review conducted on behalf of the donors by the Consultative Group staff of the progress of each center in carrying out its approved program and in living within its budget; arranging for each center to have its program of research reviewed periodically by external panels of outstanding scientistis; helping the centers to present their budgets in a more or less uniform manner, so that meaningful comparisons can be made; and arranging for an appropriate division of labor as among the centers, so that there will be no unnecessary or undesirable duplication of work.
Most importantly, of course, the Consultative Group, with the assistance of TAC, must seek agreement on what new or expanded programs should be supported. In addition to the agreement to set up an animal disease laboratory (ILRAD) in Kenya, there is near-agreement on setting up an overall International Livestock Center for Africa (ILCA), probably to be headquartered in Ethiopia, which, if established, would eventually absorb ILRAD as an integral part of its operations. The problems of the Middle East are also receiving attention; a mission organized by TAC has just returned from an investigation of the major constraints on agricultural production in that area and will shortly be reporting to TAC its view on whether an international research center would be an effective way of seeking to remove those constraints. The TAC also has under review, among other things, the desirability of promoting additional research on upland (rainfed) rice, probably as an extension of IRRI’S activities; of establishing relay stations for ICRISAT in the semi-arid zones of Africa; of expanding the research work now being done on food legumes; and of the possible utility of an intenational research center on aquaculture.
Let me conclude with a few words of speculation as to the future. My firm belief is that we are only at the beginning of a very considerable effort. The Chairman of TAC made an informed estimate in 1972 that, by the late 1970’s, total financial requirements for programs which should be supported by the Group might well reach a level of about $70 million a year: $50 million for the core and capital requirements of the centers themselves and another $20 million for outreach. (Outreach is primarily working with national research programs in adapting to local conditions the research findings of a center.) This estimate envisages an international effort about twice its present size. I am inclined to think that, if anything, the estimate may be on the low side, particularly for outreach.
Excerpts from an address, given by Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the Fund, to the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on April 19.
“In a situation in which there are conflicts of views between major countries, the power of an institution like the Fund to deal with such conflicts quickly and flexibly depends to a large extent on the nature of its decision-making process. In an institution which confers financial rights and responsibilities, it is almost inevitable that there will be weighted voting. Not to acknowledge relative economic strength would be patently unrealistic. It is also probably essential to have qualified majorities for certain important categories of decision. The creation of special drawing rights, for example, needs a majority of eighty-five percent.
“The reluctance of countries to accept limitations on sovereignty is not, of course, peculiar to the monetary sphere. Nearly all international institutions find difficulty in preserving their authority in situations where their rules and procedures come into conflict with what their members regard as vital national interests. In the field of international financial relations, the types of problems which began to present themselves in recent years were simply not adequately catered for in the Articles of Agreement. For a while, of course, inappropriate rules can be made to work by constitutional interpretation. But there comes a point when rules cannot be patched up any more, and then they simply stop being observed.
“However, as experience is demonstrating, the vulnerability of a system without clear and accepted rules makes it uncomfortable to live with for any extended length of time. There is always the worrying feeling that unwise policies on the part of individual countries might spark a retaliatory move that could trigger off a vicious spiral of restrictions and declining world trade.
“The desire to have an internationally agreed and accepted new set of rules has been widely voiced, and has found expression in a number of resolutions of international bodies, particularly of the Fund itself. The world community, through the Fund, is presently engaged in what will certainly be the difficult task of drawing up this new set of rules.
“It is possible to see in general terms the conditions, both economic and political, which will have to be met, if the new system is to be successful.
“From an economic point of view it is important to promote the objective of a free trading environment. This means that countries must eschew placing restrictions on certain kinds of trade and payments by unilateral action. Although we cannot expect to move immediately to a world free of all restrictions, whatever restrictions are imposed should be justified on the basis of some internationally accepted criteria, subject to the scrutiny of the international community, and approved by some international regulatory authority.
“The next prerequisite is that traders and investors should be able to use resources which they earn in one currency to make payments or investments in another currency. This is sometimes referred to as the convertibility of currencies. Convertibility is a term that is used with two somewhat different meanings. In a general sense, it means that there should exist a network of markets where traders can exchange currencies, free of administrative restrictions on the currencies or the amounts in which they deal. In the more technical sense in which it is usually used by monetary experts, it means that governments should establish an agreed value for their national currency and stand ready to buy and sell it at the fixed price against some agreed international reserve asset. Now clearly, convertibility in the general sense does not depend directly on convertibility in the technical sense. And since it is convertibility in the general sense that is important for international trade and investment, it could well be asked whether we could not live without convertibility in the technical sense.
“Many economists, it must be admitted, believe we can, and indeed many major currencies are inconvertible in the technical sense at the present time. But if such inconvertibility should be prolonged and should give rise to additional uncertainties and risks, private traders and investors would probably be less willing to engage in international transactions. The monetary system would then have failed in its objective to create the best environment for the international interchange of resources. And if individual countries, having no fixed par value for their currency to which they are committed, try to influence their exchange rates in mutually incompatible ways, we run the risk of sliding back into a destructive spiral of measures which would not only hamper the growth of world trade, but could produce political frictions as well.
“Acceptance of official convertibility as an objective implies the next prerequisite of a new monetary order: agreement on the form in which the international reserves which give effect to convertibility should be created and held. The important initial step of delegating to an international body authority over the creation of purchasing power has already been taken in the establishment of the special drawing right facility within the Fund. This is one area in which there is a strong consensus that there should be international decision making. It is widely agreed that reserve creation should be under deliberate international control, and not subject to haphazard influences such as the supply of gold or the state of the balance of payments of the United States or any other major country.
“Increases and reductions in international reserve assets are the means whereby countries can meet deficits and surpluses in their balance of payments without imposing restrictions or abandoning convertibility. But international reserves cannot be expected to be unlimited. Another prerequisite for the international monetary system, therefore, is that it should have some mechanism to ensure that the relative values of currencies do not get out of line with basic or underlying forces of supply and demand. Since no country can influence the value of its currency in world markets without simultaneously affecting the currencies of its trading partners, this is another area in which international rules or understandings must qualify national discretion.
“We have learned a number of lessons from postwar experience which at least point to the broad lines of how responsibility should be divided in this matter. We know that countries will not accept a system that, in the name of international balance, requires them to follow policies that are seriously at odds with their domestic objectives in the realm of employment or price stability. We know that, by and large, they find it easier to live with some agreed conception of what relative exchange rates should be, rather than to allow currencies to float in an uncoordinated way. And we know that a system in which the burden of adjustment is not equitably shared between surplus and deficit countries produces strains and frictions which may be political as well as economic.
“It is tempting, of course, to make precise rules which specify that if a country experiences such and such a development, e.g., a prescribed deficit or surplus, in its balance of payments, such and such a consequence should follow. The difficulty is that such a system would almost certainly be too inflexible in operation to be either acceptable or appropriate. Given this, I expect that the new rules will provide for a greater degree of consultation and cooperation in the framing of what I have called adjustment policies, with mandatory provision being invoked only after continued failure to reach agreed solutions.
“It should be apparent from what I have already said that a successful reform of the international monetary system will inevitably mean that countries will have to submerge a considerable amount of national sovereignty in an internationally agreed and administered system of rules. But we have reached a stage in our understanding of the nature of economic interdependence where I believe countries are prepared to take a significant step forward in internationalizing decision taking.
“There is a willingness to acknowledge international authority provided it is not exercised in such a way as to come into direct conflict with what individual nations regard as their vital interests. For example, simply to outlaw exchange restrictions would risk being counterproductive unless action is also taken to remove the circumstances in which countries might wish to introduce restrictions. This means that the range of policies permitted to members to deal with balance of payments difficulties must be wide enough to ensure success without recourse to restrictions.
Fund Activities covers member countries’ use of Fund facilities, actions of the Executive Directors, and efforts toward reform of the international monetary system.
Brief Notes, from a variety of official and unofficial sources, places the Fund’s activities in the wider context of world economic and financial developments.
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The Secretary, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. 20431, U.S.A. | 2019-04-22T06:31:26Z | https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/IMF022/12445-9781616353131/12445-9781616353131/12445-9781616353131_A014.xml |
Lance Benedict brings twenty-six years of health care experience to the leadership position of Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners as he evolved from a practicing physician with his own clinic, to owning and operating a pain clinic, surgery center and family practice. That experience has given him intimate knowledge of the day to day challenges physicians face within their practices, which allows him to be able to position Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners to best serve those physicians. Responsible for all facets of operation for Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners, including being the chief compliance officer, Lance has a wealth of knowledge which he willingly shares with clinics daily. His vision is for Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners to be known as the top service oriented lab, with the highest compliance standards, in the market today.
As President and CEO of Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners, Lance brings determination, hard work, honesty and a vision towards the future to the lab every day. His core belief is that success is earned, not handed to you. His willingness to be held accountable generates an atmosphere of trust with anyone he works or does business with.
Lance was a scholarship football player at Michigan Technological University and graduated in 1983 with a major in biology, a teaching certificate, and minors in chemistry and exercise physiology. His history as a college instructor of anatomy and physiology as well as a teacher of high school chemistry and biology, prior to entering the health care field, allows him to approach the training of clinics and providers about toxicology testing, in a non threatening manner. He believes in partnering with clients in a manner which clearly defines why they should use Industry Diagnostic Lab Partners as their toxicology lab. His open communication style of leadership creates an environment of cooperation with the lab professionals, which produces quality results and service for clients.
When not at ILDP, Lance can be found mentoring local high school coaches and athletes. He and his wonderful wife Kay also spend time enjoying their children and grandchildren.
After working in the medical industry for six years, Mark Campbell foresaw a tremendous opportunity to partner with experienced medical professionals to create Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners. Mark realized that he could help guide physicians, practices, and hospitals to make medical decisions based on patient toxicology results. His dedication to improve healthcare and patient specific efficiency through innovation and responsiveness drive his ambition. These characteristics are the premise of Mark Campbell and all Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners staff.
As the Vice President of Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners, Mark is responsible for the efficiency of the laboratory, along with supporting the Executive Board with the vision and strategic planning of the company. As a natural leader, he believes in the value of people and the trust of his clients. He oversees and tracks the company’s progress towards the vision and planning expectations while focusing on the greater view of financial and operational management. His experience, responsiveness, work ethic, and anticipation create answers to the transforming healthcare landscape.
Prior to the evolution of Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners, Mark co-founded Medkinect, a medical ancillary service provider that improves financial efficiency while providing outstanding products and services. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Medkinect. Mark also held positions at Nuvasive for five years and as a professional athlete for a ten-year career in the National Football League. He was a representative for numerous years in the National Football League Players Association as voted by his teammates. These prior positions have prepared Mark to understand the importance of preparation and follow through. Mark holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan.
Mark attributes his success to the constant support and encouragement from his wife (Michell), children, parents, siblings, and numerous mentors. Mark and Michell have three wonderful young children that always seem to have more energy than their parents.
Troy Evans entered the medical community after a ten-year career in the National Football League. He brought the same attributes to Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners that made him a team captain of the 2010 Super Bowl Champions, the New Orleans Saints. While believing in building a platform of medical knowledge and as an avid learner, Troy has grown rapidly and instinctively in a transforming medical market. It did not take long to realize Troy was a special attribute in the future of the company. He drove an incredible advancement in Industry Lab Diagnostic Partner’s growth by leading with business experience and respect from all whom he has worked with. With a storied and successful professional career, Troy possesses the essential spirit of the Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners atmosphere.
As the Secretary of Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners, Troy is responsible for the attention to core business principles and company operations. With his vast experience in business, Troy positions the company with efficiency standards and partnerships that focus on patient care while addressing the turbulent financial climate of today’s providers.
Troy graduated with honors from the Business College at the University of Cincinnati with a finance degree focused on entrepreneurship. In 2008, he founded MMT Properties, which buys and manages properties in the Detroit metro area. In 2011, he created LBS Busing, which provides school bus transportation to communities that have failed levies or lost their busing programs. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Applaud Inc., a company operating in the shared memories space. Troy is also a senior consultant at Healthcare Contracting Services, which aids and negotiates managed care contracts for large physician groups and hospitals.
He lives every day proud and grateful to be a husband and father. Troy and his wife, Jill, have three young daughters. In his free time, Troy enjoys playing golf and watching his daughters take part in all their activities.
With 25 years of experience working in the field of management and development of medical practices, Faye Smith recognized a great opportunity to utilize her many skills by joining Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners. Faye’s entrepreneurial spirit has lifted her to the upper tier of her profession. She has a dedicated professionalism which is one of the attributes that makes her a valuable team player with Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners.
As Executive Administrator of ILDP, Faye’s responsibilities include daily support of all client clinics throughout the country, as well as all ILDP staff. Her unlimited energy allows her to make multi-tasking look simple. The attention she pays to detail enables her to handle finances, human resources, payroll management for multiple states and direct the fulfillment center at the lab. Faye pours her unlimited energy into making this company a success. Her professional and immediate responsiveness to all clients is a clear indication as to her loyal commitment to Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners.
In the years prior to her employment in the medical practice management field, Faye cut her business teeth in Real Estate, where she was a top Broker. Well respected by bankers, multiple joint venture groups and residential developers, Faye has a sterling reputation in the local business world. Opportunity led her to join a large hospital based urgent care company which was in the process of expanding its sites, ancillary services and community outreach programs as Director of Contracting and Development of twenty two sites. Faye’s diverse and colorful experience in the business world also includes the development and management of an ambulatory surgery center from inception to finalization with a perfect inspection record.
As is her nature, Faye spends her personal time caring for the needs of her daughters, grandsons and extended family members.
Erin Denney brings over 15 years of experience to ILDP. Prior to joining the team, Erin started her career as Director of International Sales and Marketing for Synermed Diagnostics and had a pivotal role in growing the Company from a start-up to a profitable Organization. Erin’s solution driven leadership and strategic account management expertise contributed to all of the companies initiatives. Erin’s background also encompasses various Sales and Management roles with Quest Diagnostics, Ventana Medical, and Select Labs, with a focus on Molecular testing and Toxicology. Erin’s extensive knowledge and experience in the lab diagnostic arena, with both small and Fortune 500 companies, adds valuable insight and guidance in all aspects of Sales, Processes, and Client Service for Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners.
As National Account Manager of ILDP, Erin is responsible for sales, training, account management and client support. She has a strong, organized and relentless work ethic, and a “whatever it takes attitude” when it comes to serving the client. She brings with her a passion about education, a fervor to listen to the Client’s needs, and an unyielding effort to make ILDP the best Client focused lab in the Country.
Erin graduated with Honors from Indiana University with a degree in Education. She spent 5 years teaching Science and English prior to entering the medical industry. She was awarded Most Influential Teacher in the District, and Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners benefits from the many attributes that made her a top level teacher, including enthusiasm, creativity, good communication skills, organization and responsibility. Erin and her fiancé Jeff will proudly show you pictures of their four legged daughter Reagan, a beautiful King Charles Cavalier Spaniel.
In addition to his thirty-five years of laboratory experience, Joe Morgan’s vast amount of laboratory knowledge, exemplary leadership ability, and superior organizational skills makes him a great addition to Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners. A Medical Technologist licensed as a General Supervisor by the State of Tennessee, Joe is also nationally accredited as a Medical Laboratory Scientist by the American Society of Clinical Pathology. He received his degree in Medical Technology from Middle Tennessee State University.
While serving as Chemistry/Urinalysis Supervisor, Joe’s desire for perfection led him to a perfect score by the College of American Pathologists during an initial accreditation survey. After serving as a Core Laboratory Supervisor for over ten years, Joe’s unquenchable pursuit of knowledge took him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he attained extensive training and experience in Toxicology, Gas Chromatography, Liquid Chromatography, as well as Mass Spectrometry. Joe operates as the Laboratory Supervisor/Manager at Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners and he oversees all aspects of the laboratory testing, result interpretation, compliance, and accreditation.
His calm, self assured, yet unassuming manner conveys confidence without arrogance. Any client who has the pleasure of speaking with him on the phone quickly gets the sense they are speaking with someone who has a desire to offer them quality service as well as the answers they need to make informed medical decisions for their patients. Joe’s skill set along with his affable personality make him an ideal fit for ILDP.
Joe makes his home in Murfreesboro, TN with his lovely wife LeAnn and their three children, Samuel, Katie, and Ashlyn. In his down time, Joe enjoys time with his family and listening to music of all types.
With a Bachelors of Science Degree in Forensic Science from the University of North Dakota, Lauren Gamel’s inquisitive and investigative nature made her a perfect fit for Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners. Lauren earned her undergraduate degree from UND in 2015, after an intensive internship at the Forensic Toxicology division of the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin, TX. Training under Texas Department of Public Safety manager, Anna Mudd, Lauren was given the critically important task of analyzing body fluids in order to detect drugs in criminal investigations related to driving while intoxicated, sexual assault, homicide and drug overdose. Thus, her passion for the study of chemistry and toxicology started.
Moving to Nashville TN with her husband Bradley, Lauren started her career as a toxicologist at Aegis Sciences Company. With the well earned title of Forensic Mass Spectrometrist, she gained extensive training and knowledge in Gas Chromatography, Liquid Chromatography, Toxicology and Mass Spectrometry. Lauren’s desire to constantly improve led her to do a considerable amount of self study in instrumentation troubleshooting, making her a valuable asset to any laboratory. Her sharp critical thinking as well as a self starting attitude quickly led to her current position as Senior Scientist at ILDP. Lauren runs the mass spectrometer, the immunoassay analyzer, interprets results, certifies reports and communicates with clients on a daily basis.
Outside the lab Lauren and her German Shepard rescue dog, Dexter, can be found volunteering at various local animal shelters as well as joining her husband exploring the numerous hiking trails surrounding Nashville.
Having interned at three different environmental and chemical laboratories since 2012, while attending high school and then college, Abigail Costa brings her extensive organizational skills as well as her relentless attention to detail to Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners. After finishing her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the spring of 2017, Abigail joined the team at ILDP as a laboratory assistant. Her constant desire to acquire new knowledge, along with her can do attitude has made her a welcome addition. A few of Abigail’s many tasks include sample preparation, organizing incoming requisition orders, new client data entry, as well as performing any other supporting role that might be required by the lab’s scientists. Her unwavering desire to do things the right way the first time creates an atmosphere of trust and confidence with her fellow workers and makes her a valuable asset to the company.
Abigail currently resides in Murfreesboro, TN and enjoys spending time with close friends at local coffee shops. | 2019-04-20T18:10:39Z | http://ildp.com/about-us/ |
"Bill Eger is a flight attendant who has suffered from debilitating back pain on and off for 15 years. After just three SLM Bodywork sessions he is functioning like a normal person again and is so impressed he has signed up to do the SLM therapist training, initially as a part time job and then full time as he retires from flying in the coming years."
"My career as a World Champion Boxer was destined to be cut short by hand problems before I discovered SLM. I had consulted some of the best surgeons, physiotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists for help but none could relieve my pain and keep me fighting until I found Steve Lockhart and SLM Therapy."
Three times World Boxing Champion.
"Steve thanks for all the miracles you have performed for me this year, without them I would have never have won the World Cup."
For almost a year I struggled with a nagging groin injury that seemed as difficult to diagnose as it was to treat. After countless visits to anyone with a different perspective and method of treatment for this enigmatic injury, my girlfriend sent me to Steve Lockhart. He not only addressed and removed imbalances in my body (allowing me to move strongly, securely and painlessly once again), but educated me on how to prevent them from plaguing me in the future. Steve has given me an extra 5-6 years of work in a demanding industry.
"After suffering a mountain climbing accident my lower back become a chronic problem. I had many treatments from Chiropractors, Physiotherapists and Osteopaths all to no avail. I felt that the exact nature of the injury and consequent symptoms were overlooked. No one even came close to Steve's ability in reading the body and feeling the knotted spasms in the muscles, providing instant relief. Steve was able to diagnose and then correct this imbalance. For those with any type of injury , weather muscular or joint, I would not hesitate to send them straight to Steve. SLM has been the difference of regaining my previous strength, flexibility and peace of mind. He has also assisted greatly in strengthening my core muscle group and provided welcome advice on how nutrition helps the rehabilitation process."
"As a former National Track and Field Athlete I incurred an injury which I sought treatment for over a period of 5 years. I supposedly saw the best of the best- physiotherapists, acupuncturists, sports doctors, massage therapists, alternative therapists and so on. After years of running around and spending thousands of dollars no one could help my injury. I saw Steve intensively for just one month and he not only understood the dynamics of my injury he worked to alleviate my pain in this short period of time. And the results have lasted. I recommend Steve as the most knowledgeable and talented massage therapist I know. He is in tune with the body, passionate about his work and dedicated to fixing any problem you have. A truly amazing healer!"
"When Dave ruptured the disc at L4/ L5 in his lower back the top neurosurgeon and physiotherapist he saw told him there was no way he could avoid surgery as his injury was as bad as they had seen.
Desperate to avoid the knife he chose SLM Bodywork and 4 months later he is well on the way to a full recovery, back at work and improving every week. The doctors now cannot believe his improvement in such a short time, see for yourself." I am sure you would agree if I could help Dave fix a ruptured disc and avoid surgery then I can help you with your back problem.
"Deborah was having lots of problems sleeping with her back pain which came on after she broke her rib. She had been suffering for 8 weeks before she had her first SLM treatment and hasn't looked back.
Just wanted to let you know how excited I am about the results I am getting from your program. I have had really terrible sciatica pain for a year and have tried physio, acupuncture, osteo, chiropractic and various other remedies all with no results, until I got your book and DVD.
I started the SLM Yoga exercises about three weeks ago and started noticing improvement within days and now some days are completely pain free. I am looking forward to a complete recovery soon. I was getting really desperate for some relief from the pain until I found your program on the internet.Thank you so much.
I commenced Steve's program on 5th December, 2006 with the objective of correcting a long standing pelvic imbalance. I experienced an immediate relief in several tight, painful areas after the first session, and by week three, my pelvis had rotated forward and my 1cm leg discrepancy was almost corrected. Steve's program contains the most coherent, constructive advice and self-help treatment plans I have ever found on this subject. I am delighted with my progress so far, and am highly motivated to continue. I encourage others who want to help themselves to use this program as a path to regaining wellness.
Graduate Certificate Infection Control FRCNA (Ret'd).
Just wanted to say a quick thank you for your Self-Treatment program. I have been using this for about about a month and have noticed a big improvement all round!
I was being treated by a chiropractor for a workplace injury I sustained some 12 years ago. My pelvis was unaligned causing fairly severe pain over the past few years. Anyway I received your self-treatment program and am thrilled. I have much more mobility on a day to day basis, as well as essentially non-existent pain (comes and goes, but greatly reduced). When a feeling of soreness or stiffness comes, I pop down onto the floor, do some SLM Yoga and the pain is gone. Thank you so much!
I have followed your DVD conscientiously nearly everyday, and have benefited quite noticeably- better posture, stronger muscles and therefor better spinal support resulting in freedom from pain and more mobility.I keep reading portions of both books as there is such a lot of practical information in them both.
My scenario is- am 74, suffered a lumbar disk lesion about 40 years ago, and, to avoid surgery, spent some weeks in traction. Have consulted many chiropractors and various therapists with (as you would expect) only marginal results, and, really have learnt mainly by painful experience what I can and cannot do, and am really grateful that eventually I came in contact with you.
I've been in trouble with my back for almost 4 years & have only recently been able to function again socially, dress myself etc. I still can't put my own shoes on, or look after my own hygiene properly without my husbands assistance. I haven't launched completely into the program, but I have been using the SLM Yoga now for several weeks once a week.
My first reaction to using the SLM Yoga, is that it is so........ easy to do. I have always found stretching to be hard work for so little gain, but the SLM Yoga technique feels good while I'm doing it. It just feels right. The biggest problem I have is muscle spasms in the QL's, & it feels fantastic to actively isolate them and work on them. Not to mention how great it feels in every other tight part of my body. (Which by the way is everywhere from my neck to my toes) In the last two weeks I've discovered also that by doing the SLM Yoga workout after I have a flare up (which is at least once every few weeks that I go into Spasm & irritate the disc in L5/S1), that the technique relaxes the spasms & minimizes the effects of the flare up. So I get back on track much quicker.
I've also passed you web link on to two work colleagues who have recently developed problems with their back. I recommend it highly to people. I strongly believe in your theory in relation to muscle imbalance. It just makes a lot of sense to me & has helped me make sense of what is going on in my body.
I used to participate in competitive sport, specifically, alot of cycling. I have had a 'bad back' for years, but always dismissed it as just something I have - and then, after a significant injury 2 years ago (snowboard related), I thought I would never cycle again. I was on the floor for weeks at a time, in pain, unable to move. After considering as many options as I could and visiting many different therapists, Myotherapy proved to be the most helpful.
Still with the occasional day with a crook back, I was eager to try the SLM Yoga system. The benefit was immediate: from being on the floor to sitting up and capable of moving about - after just one session. After practising the yoga for several weeks now, it is evident to me how muscular imbalances play such a significant part in the pain associated with, and the recovery from, an injury.
The SLM yoga system has helped me deal with both the chronic back pain I have had for years, and also recovering from an injury that at one point I was considering having surgery to try and fix.
I can now ride my bike again :-) and did the Gong ride on the weekend: the first 'event' I've done in 2 years.
I'm very appreciative Steve, that you have developed such a helpful system. It has helped me immeasurably, and I have learnt alot in the process.
I am a triathlete who has achieved success on the world stage in the 40-44 age group on two occasions. I got hit by a car on my bicycle June 2005 suffering compressed fractures of L4 L5 and nerve /muscle damage. I would be happy to endorse your self treatment program as I feel that I have progressed and really know what you are on about with the treadmill of practitioners. To me my body is still recovering but I am achieving this thru your program and a positive outlook.
I have experienced a BIG learning curve since my Sciatic pain played up several months ago thanks to your Meditative Exercise - SLM Yoga CD plus read your books and found them filled with very easy to follow common sense information for the lay-person.
Somehow I knew the information was out there in this technological world but I was really looking for something natural and simple - bringing things back to basics - which you succinctly do.
Armed with the new information on your exercise regime and a change of a better choice of foods - your meditative exercise program now has been given a greater chance to do its magic.
With my new awareness of these various facts I can now play tennis again as my body feels healthier and lighter.
A lot of studies have been done by his father Dr. James D'Adamo on the Anthropology of Blood types.
I realised that my cupboard was half full of foods that had been bought just because I had been conditioned to do so. You guess it - some were thrown out - and the rest to the chooks.
My next change will be to try the detox regime you recommend in Dr. Sandra Cabot's book "The Liver Cleansing Diet" to give my body an even better head start and get it back to its normal healthy perfect state.
I am very happy to tell my friends about your program and hope they also try it not just when they have pain but as a preventative measure.
After years of upper back and neck pain I am finally getting some relief with your self treatment program. I've been to chiropractors for years getting immediate relief but always had to go back and never actually fixing the problem. Your SLM yoga hits the exact spots where my weaknesses are, you can actually feel it being so good for your back and strengthening it where it is weak. The rubber ball massages are great too, can't believe I can actually give myself a deep tissue massage, as soon as I get a pain from the gym or sport I get the rubber balls onto it and it goes away, normally my vertebrae would be affected. I get great benefit from the exercises that also hit the exact areas that need strengthening. After getting an SLM massage my back and neck were unbelievably pain free, I had never had a massage like it, you can actually feel the whole of the muscle letting go. Thanks Steve so rapt to be able to see light at the end of the tunnel and finally be pain free.
Thank you for your follow up after my purchase of your wonderful system. I think your program has helped me greatly and I would be happy to endorse it.
I am 53 this year. About 20 years ago I use involved in an automobile accident that left me with fractures in my pelvis, a broken shoulder, 8 broken ribs and a punctured lung. I also sustained many internal injuries. Considering the extent of the damage, I have almost no physical complaints today except nagging aches in my lower back and right shoulder. Also, my right leg became 1/2" shorter then before. I count myself truly lucky.
However, as a typical 53 year old American woman, I have spent years at a job that required a long commute to and from the office as well as hours each day sitting at a desk. Lots of sitting, stress, and old trauma add up to pain that simply wouldn't respond to typical treatments. I have had physical therapy, x-rays, massage. Nothing could find the real problem or help for very long.
However, after 5 sessions with your video, I can feel my lower back gaining strength and balance that I haven't felt in years. For the first time in a long time, I sleep through the night without pain. I am still sore in the morning but that is lessening now. I think very soon I will feel like really exercising again.
I have told my massage therapist about your program and he wants to see your tape thinking it might be able to help other clients of his.
Thank you for producing this "help yourself" system. In my case, it's been really wonderful.
I am extremely pleased that I am now capable of a good days physical work.
Almost two years ago I pinched my sciatic nerve and could barely move an inch because of the intense pain. With much difficulty I managed to drive to the doctor who informed me there was not much I could do but allow it to heal and he gave me a local anesthetic to remove the pain. That was fine for about eight hours and the pain returned. I began alternate day visits to the chiropractor and many good dollars later, in my frustration I researched to find out the cure and I located your site.
Since then the road to my recovery has been only positive. I am amazed at how well I have improved my physical being and learned to manage the back pain that I have suffered in total for approximately ten years. My wife and I do the wall sits together and then follow with the stretching SLM yoga style. Each morning I have been driving to our block of land and working a full days manual labour. My latest project is treefelling some very large grey gum trees which requires constant back fatigue and lots of backbending work.
When the day is complete it becomes a relief to get home and complete the SLM yoga program and feel the relief of any pain.
I still have a constant awareness of my spine. In all activities I am thankful that I now have a confidence that soon I will have a complete and total recovery. Till then we will continue to benefit from this treatment.
This product has my full recommendation to it.
For the first time in over two years, I've not taken any painkillers for 3 weeks straight. The tingling and numbness in my feet has gone as has the pain down my legs. I can now walk at my normal speed for several hundred metres. I have started swimming again, doing the exercises as suggested in the book. The ball exercises for my back are the best thing that I have ever learnt. None of the specialists like physios, osteopaths, doctors, chiropractors ever suggested anything like it. The exercises you have given in your book are the best I've ever used - this is evidenced by better walking and better sleeping.
I started the exercise program as soon as I finished reading the 'Do It Yourself Guide'. Your guide confirmed everything I believed was happening with my back and reinforced to me how it should be treated. Your book is the sort of information I have been looking for, for a long while. A book that takes a holistic approach to not only your back but your body and its health in general. Your book just makes so much sense. I have also recommended to people I have met to visit your web site.
I am much more in tune with the muscles and certainly notice the difference under stress.
Thank you very much Steve, I almost lost hope for a while and contemplated surgery, which of course all the physio's and chiropractors I had seen were saying.
Just completed the SLM Yoga session. Wow what a good workout. I can certainly feel area's were I am weak and need some strengthening. So will definitely try and do it on a regular basis now.
I have been prone to mid back pain for more than 10 years & in that time with the help of a good chiropractor I have been pain free for long periods.
In recent times it has been taking more sessions with my chiropractor & more intensive treatments to attain the same level of relief.
This time when my back pain returned I had purchased your self treatment book & with it & your clear answers in the forum I was able to treat the pain myself for the first time in 10 years without the need for any other outside help & for less than the cost of one visit to my chiropractor.
Just wanted to let you know how effective I have found this program in a short period of time.
Thanks Steve, I've been using the self-help program for 3 days now to correct rhomboid pain which has been ongoing for 3 months now. This is the second episode, the first one last 8 months in 2005/06!!!. I have had something like 30 chiropractic adjustments over the last few months, the effects of which barely lasted a few days. Also, I have been doing stretching programs for this entire period with little success. I have had really good results in just the 3 days since starting your program. I have found that doing the rubber ball work has really helped, just like your book says. Also my triceps in my left arm are still quite sore (again as the book outlined they would be).
I had a perforated disc incident just over 20 years ago from which it took about a year to recover. I never had back problems again until now with this reoccurrence of sciatica down the right side, from the lower back to the ankle. My doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory, which helped somewhat but not for long. After about 4 months of this I sent for your book, then your SLM program.
I had major relief within two weeks of starting the exercises and also found the ball treatment very effective. It is now about six weeks and have virtually complete recovery except for the occasional niggle at the buttock.
In my opinion this type of treatment should be the first thing anyone with a back problem should try. I was prepared to put up with the pain forever before considering having surgical intervention, as I have seen the sad results of surgery on two friends, one of which as been virtually bedridden for the past 5 years.
Thank you for your program.
Pat Jarvis. Mt Isa, Australia.
I work at a desk on a computer for about 9 hours a day and am fairly sedentary. As a result of this I have been suffering pain in the upper back which radiates to the front of my left shoulder I have put up with this for 18months. On holidays in November, I pulled something? in my lower back and my movement was severely restricted. Since then I have been having fortnightly visits to my chiropractor, mobility returned, but has been still somewhat restricted.
I received your self help program about a month ago. I have been following the yoga program about 3 times per week. Last week I forgot and missed my Chiro appointment, my back felt pretty good hence the appointment wasn't in my mind. I visited her (Chiro) yesterday. I sat on her bed as usual and she gently prodded my lower back, spine area, normally this is very painful but this time nothing. She then felt the area in my middle back that is always inflamed and swollen and asked me what I have been doing. She said my lower back and pelvis is back in alignment and she didn't need to do anything and my inflamed and swollen bits of my spine had improved significantly. She praised me for taking control of my own pain and told me to keep doing what I have been doing. Thanks Steve, although I was at first skeptical and reneged purchasing the program and SLM Yoga DVD, I am now very happy indeed.
I want to say to you, that I am most impressed with your SLM system. In place of a SLM therapist here in Toronto, which I would happily visit once a month for tuneups, I've had good success with a shiatsu therapist, along with faithful adherence to SLM bodywork. Your two books and the DVD are exactly where it's at for my back and sciatica problems. They present the needed solutions, not understood in my experience with two medical doctor and three chiropractor visitations over a period of years. Your theories and knowledge of how muscles work, and how to cater to their needs for long-term relief of my pain has, to say the least, been most gratifying. Had you been available with your SLM system forty years ago ( I'm 74 now ), I'm confident that my pain-free years would have been increased by 40.
Again, thanks Steve for the results of your successful efforts in the art of bodyworkings.
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you....been a busy few weeks.
Yes, its been 4 weeks (at the time of this email) since I started your program. I've been really impressed! After 4 weeks of following your advice, I'm at the stage where I am back to around 95% recovered. Some minor pain occasionally but I still working on getting rid of that!
I previously had the same disc buldge injury some 9 months ago & did lots of intense physio to fix the problem. This took 4 months before I was at the stage where I am now.
I would highly recommend your book & advice to anyone with any sort of back problem.
I have found that your program makes perfect sense and have done a little with results felt immediately. My knees and hips no longer give so much pain when I walk. A little stiffness near the end of my hour of walking instead of constant pain. I still have a shoulder problem that has been giving me problems for over a year and many visits to chiropractors has done nothing to help.Now that I have sold my business I intend to spend some time getting myself back in shape using your program. I have lost 8kgs by walking and improving my diet and I have been able to avoid blood pressure medication by getting my blood pressure down. I will send a picture etc when I come back from my Easter break to Mildura. I am going to try to see one of your therapists as well.
Please note: Results are not typical and may vary depending on the effort and time they are done and also on a persons age, condition and general health. People who carry out the exercises and follow the advice on this site do so at their own risk and those with existing health conditions should always consult their Doctor before they undertake the exercises in the programs or videos contained on this site. | 2019-04-21T00:36:17Z | http://www.sciaticpain.com.au/getrehab/ |
Candidates can check the list of the shortlisted candidates here !
उम्मीदवार यहाँ क्लीक कर हिंदी में मेरिट लिस्ट देखें !
The Union Public Service Commission has officially released the merit list for the second phase of Civil Services Recruitment. The exam held from 28th September to 7th October. UPSC candidates who appeared for UPSC Mains Examination can check the list and see if their roll number has been mentioned.
The shortlisted candidates will now appear for the final stage i.e. the personality test, after which, the final merit list will be prepared for UPSC Civil Services Recruitment 2018.
NOTE: Personality Test of these candidates is likely to commence from 4th February 2019.
The UPSC civil services exam, considered one of the toughest exams in the country is attempted by lakhs of people. Out of them, only a tiny fraction emerges successful after the long-drawn process concludes. The IAS exam is so rigorous that the toppers generally create much curiosity every year. Aspirants are eager to know the toppers’ mark. So, we bring you IAS toppers’ marks in all the subjects in the civil services exam.
UPSC सिविल सर्विस में सफल उम्मीदवारों के अंक (हिंदी में) : यहाँ क्लिक करें !
Union Public Service Commission or UPSC has declared the final result of IAS 2017-18 as of today. The final list consists of roll number of candidates selected for Indian Administrative Service (IAS). As per the result, Anudeep Durishetty topped the UPSC IAS 2017-18 examination, followed by Anu Kumari, on the second rank. Anu Kumari is topper among all the female candidates too.
As per the result IAS 2017-18 final result the top 25 candidates include 17 men and 8 women. The background of these candidates belongs to Engineering; Sciences; Anthropology; Management; Law; Mathematics; Medical and Commerce. Also, these top 25 candidates have graduated from premier Institutions of country.
As per the result, we can clearly state that the written part of the examination conducted in between October-November, 2017 and the interviews for Personality Test held between February-April, 2018, as many as 990 names were recommended for appointment.
The Civil Services Main Examination is the second stage of the Civil Services Exam. Only those candidates who clear IAS Prelims are eligible to sit for IAS Mains. It comprises 9 papers, out of which marks for only 7 are taken into consideration while preparing the merit list & the remaining 2 are merely qualifying in nature.
Each candidate who is eligible for taking the Main Examination has to choose an optional subject, in addition to General Studies & Essay Paper, which are mandatory for all candidates.
The Civil Services Exam is considered to be the mother of all exams. The syllabus is very vast and each part of the syllabus calls for a detailed strategy which may be unique for each candidate. However, Onlinetyari has set out a new initiative wherein we guide IAS aspirants by providing detailed strategies to tackle the IAS Exam.
As per UPSC, the General Studies papers are so designed as to test the general awareness of a candidate on a variety of subjects. These subjects have been so chosen that they would be relevant for a career in the Civil Services. The nature & standard of questions asked would be such that a candidate would need no specialized study to answer them.
The Civil Services Mains exam calls for simply a basic understanding of issues that are relevant to the exam. What this essentially means is that, you have to be aware of the issues that are relevant from the exam point of view and know certain basics around them. Since, there are issues too many, you can not afford to get into the details of all of them. IAS Mains syllabus would come in handy here. Always remember to go through the UPSC Syllabus while you prepare.
Merely remembering facts around the issues is not sufficient. Candidates must be able to analyze those events in context of the larger picture.
All candidates besides knowing and analysing issues must also have the ability to form their own opinion around them. This is very critical to your scores in the General Studies Papers. As a candidate, you would have to look at all issues from a very balanced perspective. You can not afford to have a partisan approach. While framing your opinions, it is always advised that you must weigh both the pros and cons and then come to a conclusion.
How to crack General Studies for IAS Mains?
All those candidates who give relevant, meaningful and succinct answers to the questions asked are likely to score better than the rest. UPSC is very serious around the Word Limits that are predefined for each question. Besides, the number of questions that are asked in the General Studies Paper is also a lot. Thus, there is a time constraint that you need to take care of.
So, remember, as an IAS aspirant, you do not need to have a doctorate in each of the subjects that are a part of IAS Mains syllabus to crack General Studies for IAS Mains. Just make sure you read the question well, write only relevant & succinct answers, present them wonderfully.
NOTE: More on Strategy for General Studies IAS Mains on OnlineTyari Blog.
जलवायु परिवर्तन से संबंधित प्रमुख अंतर्राष्ट्रीय सम्मेलन : मुख्य तथ्य !
राज्य सभा : परिचय , मतदान प्रक्रिया और शक्तियां !
IAS साक्षात्कार परीक्षा में कैसे पाएं प्रथम प्रयास में सफलता !
UPSC CSE (IAS) मुख्य परीक्षा में प्रभावी उत्तर कैसे लिखें ?
GS पेपर 4 के तहत एथिक्स आधारित केस स्टडी प्रश्नों का समाधान कैसे करें !
which include 32 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category, i.e.
2 Vacancies : for (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (c) including deaf-blindness.
Candidates do not have to register separately for IAS Mains Exam. Candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified for admission to the Civil Services (Main) Examination will have to apply online again, in the Detailed Application Form (DAF) which would be made available to them. The DAF has to be filled very carefully because the candidates are required to submit their Post & Cadre preferences besides other important details through the detailed application form only.
Successful candidates appearing for IAS Mains are sent out an auto generated e-mail by the UPSC, with their login credentials. Candidates have to fill the DAF online and also take a print out of the same & send it over to the Union Public Service Commission in the manner as prescribed by the UPSC.
1. For IAS & IPS: A candidate must be a citizen of India.
e. A Person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
For Physically Handicapped Candidate: 42 years for General candidate, 45 years for OBC candidate and 47 years for SC/ST candidates.
There would be a 5 year age relaxation if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st December, 1989.
In order to appear for IAS Mains exams, candidates must have cleared the IAS Prelims the same year. Also, in order to appear for the IAS Prelims exam, candidates must meet the educational qualifications. Click here to know more about educational qualifications for IAS Prelims.
As per the revised UPSC pattern, candidates have to appear for 9 descriptive papers as part of IAS Main Exam. And out of these nine papers, marks for only 7 are counted. The remaining two are merely qualifying in nature and the candidate has to score minimum marks prescribed by UPSC, each year, to qualify.
Candidates have to qualify two papers: Paper A: English & Paper B: Indian Languages (mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution). These two exams are of 300 marks each. It is important to note that if a candidate fails to qualify any of these papers, his answer scripts for the remaining papers will not be evaluated. The Commission will have the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all papers of the examination.
The essay is to be written in the medium or language of the candidate's choice. Candidates will be required to write essays on specific topics. UPSC will give the choice of topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
General Studies I: Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society.
The Civil Services Main Examination is subjective type in nature. As per the latest IAS Exam 2017 pattern, there are 9 descriptive papers in IAS Mains, out of which marks for only 7 are taken into consideration while preparing the final merit. The remaining two are merely qualifying in nature and the candidate has to score minimum marks prescribed by UPSC, each year, to qualify.
The 7 papers whose marks are counted towards the final merit are of 250 marks each. While the two qualifying papers are of 300 marks each.
Paper-A: Language -300 Marks : One Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
What is the objective behind conducting the Main Examination?
According to the UPSC Civil Services Notification, the objective of the Main Examination is to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than their information, memory and recall only. This means the candidates are evaluated not only on the basis of the information they possess but also their ability to understand, analyse and relate their knowledge in the context of the questions asked.
What is the Nature & Standard of Questions asked in the IAS Mains Exam?
As regarding the nature and standard of questions asked in the IAS Mains Exam, the general opinion that prevails is that UPSC can ask anything & everything under the sky. This is because they feel that the UPSC Syllabus leaves nothing untouched. However, there is a science behind this and the questions asked in the Civil Services Mains Examination are not so random after all.
There would be two papers for Optional Subjects in IAS Main Examination. One for Paper-I & Paper-II each and both would be 250 marks each. i.e. If you have Sociology as your optional, you'd need to appear for Sociology Paper-I & Paper-II. Same goes for all optional subjects.
The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) for IAS Mains is broadly of the honours degree level i.e. one level higher than the Bachelors' degree and lower than the Masters' degree. In the case of Engineering, Medical Science and law, the level corresponds to the bachelors' degree.
Each of the Candidates sitting for UPSC Mains Examination has to choose one optional subject from amongst the list of optionals provided by the Union Public Service Commission. It is not mandatory to choose your Optional Subject, the same as your Graduation/Post-Graduation subject. For example, an Electrical engineer can choose to appear for IAS Mains with Kannada as an Optional Subject, a Doctor can pick History as his/her optional, a humanities student can choose Medical Science if he so likes.
Each of these Optional Subjects comes with its own detailed syllabus.
(xvii) Indian Information Service(Junior Grade), Group ‘A’.
*Cut off marks on the basis of GS Paper-I only. GS Paper-II was of qualifying nature with 33% marks as per Rule-15 of Civil Services Examination, 2017.
Ques.- What items are banned at the Examination Venues?
(a) Mobile phones, smart watches, bluetooth, pagers or any other communication devices and IT gadgets are banned items and are therefore not allowed inside the premises where the examination is being conducted. Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examinations.
(b)Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the banned items including mobile phones/bluetooth/pagers to the venue of the examination.
(c) Candidates are also advised not to bring any valuable/expensive items to the Examination Halls, as safety of such items cannot be assured. Commission will not be responsible for any loss in this regard.
Ques.- To how many services am I eligible to be recruited on the basis CSE?
The above mentioned services are categorized / classified into (i) Technical Services and (ii) Non-Technical services. Based on your medical report, you are either eligible/fit only for all nontechnical services (not fit for technical services), both eligible/fit for technical as well as all non-technical services (fit for all services) or eligible/fit for non-technical and some of the technical services or eligible/fit for none of the technical as well as non-technical service (unfit for all services).
Ques.- What is a TECHNICAL SERVICE?
Ques.-Which are the Non-Technical services?
The Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group 'A', Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise) Gr. "A", Indian Revenue Service, (IT) Group 'A', Indian Postal Service, Group 'A', Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group 'A', Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group 'A', Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group 'A', The Indian Defence Estates Service, Group 'A', Indian Information Service, Junior Grade Group 'A' Indian Corporate Law Service. Group 'A', Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep. Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group 'B'.
Ques.- Whether a candidate who is allocated to one of the services participating in the Civil Service Examination can again appear in the Civil Service Examination for improvement?
Ques.-How are candidates shortlisted for being called for interview for a particular post?
The candidates must fulfill the prescribed minimum essential qualifications required for a particular post to get shortlisted. However, in case there are a large number of Applications, the Commission adopts a shortlisting criteria to restrict the number of candidates to be called for interview to a reasonable number in accordance with the methods mentioned in the detailed advertisement (Note-II under “INSTRUCTIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO CANDIDATES FOR RECRUITMENT BY SELECTION”).
Ques.-How shall I get information regarding interviews?
The call letter will be sent on your e-mail provided in the Online application. The practice of sending interview Call letters by post has now been discontinued. The candidates who have applied are, therefore, advised to check their e-mails regularly.
Ques.-What documents should I carry at the time of interview?
The candidates are informed about the list of documents required to be produced at the time of interview. This list is annexed to their Interview Call Letter sent through e-mail.
Ques.-Can I carry my mobile, laptop or any other communication devices, with me for the Interview or Recruitment Test?
No. Such gadgets are strictly prohibited during interviews or for Recruitment Tests.
Ques.-How are candidates assessed by the Interview Boards?
(a) The objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for the post for which he/she has been called for interview. The idea is to judge the candidate through a fair and impartial assessment and award marks based on his/her overall performance. (b) The interview is not merely a test of knowledge (whether general or in subject matter) but an attempt to assess the potential of the individual for being shaped into a competent, dedicated and honest officer who can be entrusted with the tasks and responsibilities associated with public service. (c) Candidates are judged on the basis of their overall records (educational qualifications, knowledge, experience, interests, activities etc.) and performance in the interview. However, marks are awarded on an overall basis and not on individual attributes separately.
Ques.-What is the composition of the Interview Board?
An Interview Board is headed by a President, who is generally assisted by three Advisers who are Experts in their respective field(s)/discipline(s).
Ques.-Can I know the details like designation, academic qualifications etc. regarding Interview Board Members?
No. These details are not disclosed in compliance with Orders of Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 9052 of 2012 [arising out of SLP(C) No. 20217 of 2011], filed by BPSC Vs Saiyed Hussain Abbas Rizwi & Anr.
Ques.- What are the Maximum Marks and the minimum qualifying marks in the interview?
Ques.- Do the President and the Advisers give marks separately to a candidate?
No. Marks are assigned by consensus.
Ques.-Can a candidate belonging to one of the reserved categories viz., Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes/Physically Handicapped be recommended for selection against an unreserved vacancy?
A candidate belonging to one of the reserved categories can be recommended against an unreserved vacancy if he/she meets the criterion adopted for the unreserved category candidates and does not avail of any relaxation.
Ques.-How is the seniority of candidates recommended by the UPSC determined?
The UPSC only recommends selected candidates in the order of merit. The fixation of seniority of recommended candidates in their respective cadres/grades falls within the purview of the Ministries/Departments concerned and is determined by them.
Ques.-Who verifies the character and antecedents of candidates recommended by the UPSC?
The Ministries/Departments concerned and the Cadre Controlling Authorities are responsible for verification of the character and antecedents of the candidates recommended by the UPSC.
Ques.- What is the main function of the All India Services (AIS) Branch?
The main function of the All India Services Branch of the Commission is to assist the Commission in induction of State Services Officers into the All India Services through Promotion or by Selection.
Ques.- Does the AIS Branch deal with the regular promotion cases/disciplinary cases/other service matters of the All India Services?
No. AIS branch deals only with appointment by promotion of State Civil Service (SCS)/State Police Service (SPS)/State Forest Service (SFS) Officers to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)/Indian Police Service (IPS)/Indian Forest Service (IFS) respectively and appointment by Selection of Non-State Civil Services (NSCS) Officers to the IAS.
Ques.- Whether medical examination of candidates qualified in CSE (Mains) is mandatory?
Ques.- From where a candidate can get an access to Appendix-III to CSE Rules as well as information relating to his/her medical examination?
Ques.- What are the instructions for the candidates to follow before appearing the central standing medical board (CSMB) for medical examination?
Candidate belonging to Physical Handicapped (PH) category is advised to bring along the appliances being used by him/her for his/her disability.
Ques.- Whether the candidate can leave the medical examination incomplete?
Ques.- Whether formal permission of the Chairman of the Medical Board would be required by the candidate before leaving the medical examination?
Ques.- Whether medical examination report should be shared with the candidate?
Ques.- Is there any provision for appeal against the findings of medical examination?
Ques.- Whether it is mandatory to enclose certificate in support of his/her of being a fit candidate?
Ques.- Where will the medical examination by the Appellate Medical Board be held?
Ques.- When a candidate would be required to present himself/herself before Appellate Medical Board?
Ques.- What will happen if a candidate fails to present himself before Appellate Medical Board on the scheduled date?
Ques.- Whether there is any opportunity to file the appeal for review of the findings of Appellate Medical Board?
Ques.- Whether there is provision for appeal of PH candidate against findings of CSMB?
Ques.-Whether any fee will charged from PH for filing appeal against CSMB ?
Ques.- Who will constitute medical board?
Ques.- Whether Chairman of CSMBs may consult specialists of other designated hospitals before giving a medical report?
Ques.- Whose decision as regards to fitness of the candidates shall be final?
Ques.- What will be the constitution of the Appellate Medical Board?
Ques.- Who will examine PH candidate on their appeal?
Appellate Disability Medical Board (ADMB) constituted by Government would examine PH candidate on their appeal.
Ques.- Whether it is mandatory to have lady doctor in the medical examination of lady candidate?
Ques.- What is the procedure for the candidate having temporary unfitness?
Ques.- In how many months such candidates would be re-examined?
Temporary unfit candidate would be re-examined within a period not exceeding 6 months. After the re-examination final report as regards to his/ her fitness or otherwise for appointment to service would be given. Issues relating to candidates belonging to PH category.
Ques.- What should be the degree of disability for claiming reservation in posts/services under the Central Government?
Ques.-Who is the competent authority to issue Disability Certificate?
Ques.-What is Physical Requirement and Functional Classification (PR & FC)?
Ques.- Where PR and FC are for various services participating in CSE have been indicated?
Ques.- Who is PH for the purpose of service allocation on the basis of CSE?
Ques.- Who can issue the disability certificate?
Ques.- Whether there is prescribed format for disability certificate?
Yes, there is a prescribed format for issue of disability certificate.
Ques.- What is the date by which disability certificate should have been issued to a candidate appearing in CSE?
Ques.- Whether PH candidate would be medically examined after interview?
Ques.- Who is competent to give permanent disability certificate?
Ques.-Whether the disability certificate can be denied without giving an opportunity to candidate?
Ques.- For how many services one can indicate his/her preference?
Ques.- Whether change of preference of services once indicated is permitted?
Ques.- I have not indicated preferences for all the service for CSE 2012. What will happen if I do not get service for which I have indicated preference?
Ques.- Who is General Merit (GM) or Meritorious Reserved Category (MRC) candidate?
Ques.- What is Service allocation from Reserve List ?
Ques.- When requisitions are sent by DOPT to UPSC for recommending names from Reserve List? Requisition is sent to UPSC when after service allocation from CSE (Main) List, it becomes clear as to whether a particular GM candidate has been allocated service against unreserved vacancy or has switched over to his/her category.
Ques.- What are the parameters on which service allocation to a particular candidate is decided? Service allocation to a particular candidate is depending on rank of the candidate in CSE, his/ her order of preference for service, his/her category, availability of vacancy in his/her category at his /her turn and findings of Medical Board/Appellate Board in respect of him/her.
Ques.- Whether success in Civil Services Examination creates indefeasible right for appointment? No. Success in the examination does not confer indefeasible right for appointment unless Govt. is satisfied after such enquiry as may be considered necessary that the candidate having regard to his character & antecedents is suitable in all respects for appointments to the service. | 2019-04-20T14:18:40Z | https://onlinetyari.com/ias-mains/ |
The best mini fridge can prevent perishable foods or drinks from spoiling when you don’t have room for a larger refrigerator. The greatest benefit of owning a mini fridge is the convenience because you can easily move it between rooms. It can be used in a backyard, near a swimming pool or in a bedroom. You can place them under your work desk to keep your lunch and your drinks cold. In your study, or next to your couch, the applications are plentiful.
A small mini fridge is lightweight and requires minimal space. If you’re renting a room or living at a college campus, a mini refrigerator can be very convenient.
There are living environments that aren’t large enough for a standard refrigerator, so your only option is a smaller alternative. It’s not uncommon for consumers to use mini refrigerators for extra storage space. They can hold bottled drinks, frozen foods and extra meat. An additional benefit offered by the best mini fridge is electricity savings. If your living environment doesn’t permit the use of a large refrigerator, a miniature model could be a great product for you.
You can use it to store all the foods that you’d place inside of a normal fridge, and a small mini fridge doesn’t cost a lot of money. Below, you’ll find reviews for some of the best mini fridge models on the market, and by selecting a product from the list, you can save yourself precious time and energy.
The Danby Designer DAR026A1BDD is a compact fridge, and it features a capacity of 2.6 cubic feet. It carries the Energy Star label and uses less electricity than many competing products. The door inside of this refrigerator can hold up to eight cans, and it will hold all types of beverages.
It features a scratch-resistant worktop and has no trouble holding tall bottles. If you’d like to add some class to a small office or bedroom, this miniature refrigerator might be a good fit. With a height of two feet, it can hold a wide range of products, and it features a powerful cooling capacity.
To keep track of temperatures, it uses a mechanical thermostat. The Danby Designer DAR026A1BDD is a compact refrigerator, so it can fit in almost any small space. Despite its smaller size, it can hold a lot of perishable food.
The RCA IGLOO 3.2 platinum fridge has an interior capacity of 3.2 cubic feet. It features a platinum finish, but you can choose from several different colors.
For superior performance, this fridge uses compressor cooling, and since it has a reversible door, it can fit into almost any small space. With an adjustable thermostat, the RCA IGLOO platinum fridge gives you full control over the cooling temperature.
A set of slide-out shelves make cleaning easier and provide plenty of space for perishable foods. This compact refrigerator is designed for reduced power consumption, and with a built-in bottle holder, it’s great for drinks.
If you’re looking for the best mini fridge that you can use in your playroom, kitchen or dorm room, then this product is worth considering. It can keep drinks at the perfect temperature, and it even has a built-in freezer that can be used to store ice cream and leftovers.
The Midea WHS-65LB1 compact refrigerator has a capacity of 1.6 cubic feet, and it’s available in several different colors. It uses an adjustable thermostat to give you full control over the cooling temperature, and it has built-in technology to keep the temperature constant.
With a reversible door and adjustable leg, this fridge can be used almost anywhere, and when compared with many competing models, it saves energy. It’s also one of the quietest mini refrigerators on the market, so it’s a suitable choice for a rented bedroom or similar environment.
It comes with a separate chiller compartment, which is designed for cold beverages. The Midea WHS-65LB1 compact fridge comes with a great warranty, and although it’s one of the smallest mini fridges available, it big enough to hold a few meals and drinks.
The Hisense RT33D6BAE compact refrigerator has an average capacity, and it offers 2.3 cubic feet of interior storage. However, unlike many competing models, it includes a built-in freezer compartment, which offers one cubic foot of storage space.
To make food easily accessible, the Hisense RT33D6BAE has two glass shelves, which are designed for easy cleaning. For those nights when you’re half asleep and stumble your way to the fridge for a snack, the Hisense RT33D6BAE has an interior light that illuminates the contents.
This small mini fridge has compact doors, and since it’s certified with the Energy Star label, it uses less electricity than many competing models.
There are several other mini fridges on the market that claim to have a working freezer, but the freezer doesn’t work nearly as well as you’d think. The Hisense RT33D6BAE is one of the only compact refrigerators that has a freezer that works well.
The Igloo FR326M-D-BLACK is a unique mini fridge because it comes with a built-in dry erase board. You can write on the board and leave important messages for family members. Since the front door is a dry erase board, everybody will see the messages left on it.
Although the dry erase board is useful, it’s the capabilities of the fridge that are most important. The Igloo FR326M-D-BLACK has an interior storage capacity of 3.2 cubic feet, and it also has a built-in freezer compartment.
A reversible door makes it easier to place in compact spaces and delivers additional convenience. An adjustable thermostat allows you to fully control the temperature and choose an ideal temperature for your perishable food.
The Igloo FR326M-D-BLACK also has a tray for ice cubes, and the glass shelves slide out easily. This best mini fridge is engineered for use in a play room, dorm, kitchen, small office or bedroom.
The Midea WHD-113FB1 is available in several different colors, and it comes with an adjustable temperature control. To make it easier to quickly identify your food items, it has a powerful interior light. For greater convenience, it has adjustable legs, and the door is reversible.
Since it has a drawer, you can separate your fruits from vegetables, and the entire fridge comes with a one-year warranty. With 3.1 cubic feet of space, this compact refrigerator can hold a variety of different items. It’s designed to save energy and produce minimal noise.
Unlike many competing products, it has a working chiller compartment. Midea makes and sells some of the best refrigerators on the market and focuses on creating high-quality products.
The Culinair Af100s has an interior capacity of 1/7 cubic feet and uses thermoelectric technology. To give you full control over food temperature, this small mini fridge is equipped with a convenient temperature controller, and it also has a built-in feature for automatic defrosting.
The Culinair Af100s features a flush back and has adjustable feet. For convenient positioning, it has a reversible door, and it’s designed to produce almost no noise.
Since it produces minimal noise, it’s a great compact refrigerator for small bedrooms. If you rent a room and need a way to keep your food cold, then this refrigerator is worth considering.
The Culinair Af100s can cool its contents down to 51 degrees Fahrenheit, which is cold enough to keep most types of perishable food in good condition. This compact refrigerator could be a great fit for a nursery, bedroom, bar, office or dorm room.
Haier is known for making high-quality products, and the Haier HC27SF22RB is one of the best compact refrigerators that they offer. With a capacity of 2.7 cubic feet, this best mini fridge has enough space for several food items.
For greater versatility, it has a half-width freezer compartment and ice cube tray. It has two full-width interior wire shelves, which are ideal for beverages.
It also comes with two full-width door storage shelves, and they can be used for storing beverages. The Haier HC27SF22RB is large enough to store two-liters and large bottles, and it’s designed to save space.
It has adjustable leveling legs and gives you full control over the temperature with an adjustable thermostat. The Haier HC27SF22RB isn’t the largest mini fridge sold by Haier, but it’s one of the most popular.
If you’re looking for a true compact refrigerator, the Cooluli mini fridge is worth considering. It can be purchased in several different colors, and it can be switched from heating to cooling.
With a thermoelectric system, this fridge is easy to switch between heating and cooling modes. Depending on your needs, you can use it as a beverage cooler, or you can use it to warm milk.
Although this best mini fridge is designed for beverages, it can also hold perishable food. However, due to its tiny size, you won’t be able to fit a lot of food inside of it. You might find this product useful for a dorm room, office or nursery.
Here we have a compact refrigerator that is an excellent choice for any Star Wars fan. Since it’s officially licensed, you can purchase and use it as a collectible item, and it’s great for preventing your perishable foods from expiring. This mini fridge can heat and cool products, and it can even be plugged into a car.
Although it’s ideal for holding up to 18 canned beverages, it can be used to store a small amount of perishable food. With special lighting effects for the exterior part of the door, it’s an excellent product for any fan of Star Wars. | 2019-04-20T23:17:32Z | https://www.toptenselect.com/best-mini-fridges/ |
While my law practice in Atlanta is focused on representing people who are seriously injured when they are hit by commercial trucks and buses, I get a lot of calls from truck drivers all over the country who are concerned about employers requiring them to drive unsafe equipment or to drive beyond their legal hours of service.
Partly to save myself some time on the phone, below the break is a copy of 49 US Code, Section 1536.
I don’t personally handle these matters. If you are a truck driver concerned about such issues, I suggest that you read this post, then contact Truckers Justice Center , 900 West 128th Street, Suite 104, Burnsville, MN 55337, Telephone 952.224.9166, Fax 678.791.1728.
(E) the employee furnishes, or the person perceives that the employee is or is about to furnish, information to the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the National Transportation Safety Board, or any Federal, State, or local regulatory or law enforcement agency as to the facts relating to any accident or incident resulting in injury or death to an individual or damage to property occurring in connection with commercial motor vehicle transportation.
(2) Under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of this subsection, an employee’s apprehension of serious injury is reasonable only if a reasonable individual in the circumstances then confronting the employee would conclude that the hazardous safety or security condition establishes a real danger of accident, injury, or serious impairment to health. To qualify for protection, the employee must have sought from the employer, and been unable to obtain, correction of the hazardous safety or security condition.
(b) Filing Complaints and Procedures. – (1) An employee alleging discharge, discipline, or discrimination in violation of subsection (a) of this section, or another person at the employee’s request, may file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor not later than 180 days after the alleged violation occurred. All complaints initiated under this section shall be governed by the legal burdens of proof set forth in section 42121(b). On receiving the complaint, the Secretary of Labor shall notify, in writing, the person alleged to have committed the violation of the filing of the complaint.
(2)(A) Not later than 60 days after receiving a complaint, the Secretary of Labor shall conduct an investigation, decide whether it is reasonable to believe the complaint has merit, and notify, in writing, the complainant and the person alleged to have committed the violation of the findings. If the Secretary of Labor decides it is reasonable to believe a violation occurred, the Secretary of Labor shall include with the decision findings and a preliminary order for the relief provided under paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(B) Not later than 30 days after the notice under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the complainant and the person alleged to have committed the violation may file objections to the findings or preliminary order, or both, and request a hearing on the record. The filing of objections does not stay a reinstatement ordered in the preliminary order. If a hearing is not requested within the 30 days, the preliminary order is final and not subject to judicial review.
(C) A hearing shall be conducted expeditiously. Not later than 120 days after the end of the hearing, the Secretary of Labor shall issue a final order. Before the final order is issued, the proceeding may be ended by a settlement agreement made by the Secretary of Labor, the complainant, and the person alleged to have committed the violation.
(iii) pay compensatory damages, including backpay with interest and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees.
(B) If the Secretary of Labor issues an order under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and the complainant requests, the Secretary of Labor may assess against the person against whom the order is issued the costs (including attorney fees) reasonably incurred by the complainant in bringing the complaint. The Secretary of Labor shall determine the costs that reasonably were incurred.
(C) Relief in any action under subsection (b) may include punitive damages in an amount not to exceed $250,000.
(c) DE NOVO REVIEW. – With respect to a complaint under paragraph (1), if the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final decision within 210 days after the filing of the complaint and if the delay is not due to the bad faith of the employee, the employee may bring an original action at law or equity for de novo review in the appropriate district court of the United States, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to the amount in controversy, and which action shall, at the request of either party to such action, be tried by the court with a jury.
(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW AND VENUE. – A person adversely affected by an order issued after a hearing under subsection (b) of this section may file a petition for review, not later than 60 days after the order is issued, in the court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which the violation occurred or the person resided on the date of the violation. Review shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5. The review shall be heard and decided expeditiously. An order of the Secretary of Labor subject to review under this subsection is not subject to judicial review in a criminal or other civil proceeding.
(e) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE. – If a person fails to comply with an order issued under subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary of Labor shall bring a civil action to enforce the order in the district court of the United States for the judicial district in which the violation occurred.
(f) NO PREEMPTION. – Nothing in this section preempts or diminishes any other safeguards against discrimination, demotion, discharge, suspension, threats, harassment, reprimand, retaliation, or any other manner of discrimination provided by Federal or State law.
(g) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE. – Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under any Federal or State law or under any collective bargaining agreement. The rights and remedies in this section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment.
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, or with the written consent of the employee, the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary of Homeland Security may not disclose the name of an employee who has provided information about an alleged violation of this part, or a regulation prescribed or order issued under any of those provisions.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary of Homeland Security shall disclose to the Attorney General the name of an employee described in paragraph (1) of this subsection if the matter is referred to the Attorney General for enforcement. The Secretary making such disclosure shall provide reasonable advance notice to the affected employee if disclosure of that person’s identity or identifying information is to occur.
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCESS.-The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish through regulations, after an opportunity for notice and comment, a process by which any person may report to the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding motor carrier vehicle security problems, deficiencies, or vulnerabilities.
(2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT.-If a report submitted under paragraph (1) identifies the person making the report, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall respond promptly to such person and acknowledge receipt of the report.
(3) STEPS TO ADDRESS PROBLEM.-The Secretary of Homeland Security shall review and consider the information provided in any report submitted under paragraph (1) and shall take appropriate steps to address any problems or deficiencies identified.
(2) is not an employee of the United States Government, a State, or a political subdivision of a State acting in the course of employment. | 2019-04-21T14:25:42Z | https://www.georgiatruckaccidentattorneyblog.com/motor_carrier_employee_protect_1/ |
Macrolithic technologies for grinding, pounding and otherwise pulverising foodstuffs have their origins in the very earliest of percussive technologies: it is well established that non-human primates use stones in extractive foraging, thus it requires no great leap of the imagination to connect our earliest hominid forebears with this technology as well, and indeed the morphology of the earliest stone tools suggests that they would function suitably as plant-processing tools. And yet ‘grindstones’ (to use a shorthand term) are widespread among human societies even today, particularly in small-scale agricultural groups, to whom the grindstone is an essential domestic object, situated alongside the pot, the spoon and the fire as objects without which we simply cannot do. Were it not for a grindstone, many families in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, would not eat.
The importance of these objects appears to have been constant: in southern Africa, grindstones are ubiquitous on hunter-gatherer sites, and yet paradoxically we know very little about them. Their very ubiquity has rendered them invisible and in archaeology we see them used solely as proxies: they have been variously (and contradictorally) cited in the literature as evidence of behavioural modernity, domestic presence on site, or presence on site of domesticates. My doctoral research aims to interrogate these neglected yet important objects, focussing on items from a 40,000 year occupational sequence at the rockshelter of Ha Makotoko in western Lesotho (southern Africa), using functional analysis (residues and usewear) as well as techno-typological research, in order to understand their full biographies and place in human lifeways. I argue that the grindstone is the most important object to our understanding of the interplay between the ‘gathered’ and the ‘gatherer’.
An essential component of this analysis is experimental work and ethnoarchaeology: since we know so little about hunter-gatherer grindstones, I wished to take advantage of the long tradition of agricultural grindstone use maintained in Lesotho to the present day. While bearing in mind questions regarding uniformitarian assumption, there appear to be enough similarities between the use globally and historically of grindstones to warrant a comparison. Creating an experimental suite of grindstones (overseeing every step from raw material provisioning through to use and discard) with the advice and guidance of local Basotho women, I would be able then to compare these examples with the morphologically different archaeological sample from the same geographical region. I based my plan for fieldwork on previous research in the same region, which had both answered and provoked questions on contemporary economic use of gathered resources (primarily plants).
Although in principle an uncomplicated task, in reality issues of course arouse: other components of my doctoral work (primarily residue analysis of archaeological grindstones) necessitated my presence in the laboratory in Oxford, and I was unable to spend more than six weeks on fieldwork, which was not long enough to compile the corpus of experimental examples. I was extremely fortunate in finding an excellent Mosotho research assistant, Ms Soldart Khantsi (a recent graduate of the cultural heritage studies programme at the National University of Lesotho) who agreed to help me. Following several months in which I devised a suitable programme of experiments, aided by Soldart’s feedback, Soldart then travelled to her home village along the Sebapala river in the mountains of south-western Lesotho and began to create experimental grindstones with the input of local women (who use grindstones themselves every day of their lives) on local raw materials. Soldart documented her work audiovisually and with written notes, and at the beginning of April 2014 I was able to travel to Lesotho to finish up the experimental work and begin in-situ analysis.
Based initially in the university town of Roma, western Lesotho, I travelled south to Quthing district: the unavailability of four-wheel-drive vehicles for rental within Lesotho made things more difficult and so it was that I travelled on dirt roads, up hairpin bends and into the mountains. Arriving with Soldart in her village, Sekhutlong-sa-Lineo, I proceeded to analyse the experimental corpus with a USB microscope, DSLR camera and residue swabs. I was able to see grindstone use in action, observing the way the whole body is used in a skilled and learned way to process various plant materials: to use the language of André Leroi-Gourhan (following Marcel Mauss) the actions and gestures that go to make up the techniques of the body in a societally specific way. Although the techniques of grindstone use are widespread within Lesotho, use in the future will probably be limited due to the advent of mechanised grinders, yet until now the behaviours of use have not been codified either in the academic or lay communities, making the documentation of this living heritage both a privilege and a unique opportunity.
Following the stay in Sekhutlong, once back in Roma, I conducted some further experiments fashioning some grindstones more morphologically similar to those found at Ha Makotoko, in order to compare the bodily actions involved: it emerges that hunter-gatherer style grindstones are unsuitable for the kind of high-intensity and high-efficiency grinding permitted by the Basotho-style variants which much provoke questions as to their use and place in hunter-gatherer lifeways. The residue component of my DPhil is designed to explore questions based on these experimentally generated predictions and is ongoing. At this stage I can say that it offers tentative support for the predictions: grinding of wild grasses is established in the Middle Stone Age at Ha Makotoko, but this is relatively low-intensity in nature, unlike contemporary processing of domesticates (primarily maize and sorghum).
Apart from creating the experimental corpus, I was also able to collect plant reference material from the area surrounding Ha Makotoko and from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town: these reference specimens are essential in order to determine the uses of archaeological grindstones, since residue work is carried out on a morphological basis. Although the area around Ha Makotoko has been substantially diminished by the completion of the Metolong Dam (which has flooded the rockshelter itself, ending use of the cave which has lasted over 40,000 years and into the present day) it was possible to obtain samples of a number of edible geophytes. Samples obtained from Kirstenbosch broaden my collection still further as do those kindly provided by a number of colleagues.
Without funding from the Horniman Award, none of this would have been possible. Travel alone to southern Africa is prohibitively expensive, but thanks to the RAI I was able to comprehensively complete the fieldwork necessary for my DPhil: the experimental work provides a necessary anchor for the residue and usewear analysis, allowing the generation of predictions which the functional analysis can then verify.
I believe that this work will enable me to make a substantial contribution to our understanding of hunter-gatherer lifeways in southern Africa, which for so long has been biased towards the ‘hunted’ end of the spectrum at the expense of the ‘gathered’, a state which is at odds with our understanding of contemporary and historically known hunter-gatherer groups. My DPhil is the first to examine botanical residues of lithic technology in Lesotho, and very much in a minority in southern Africa more generally. It is also among the first to examine grindstone technology (from a functional perspective) within sub-Saharan Africa, which I believe is a key component of the ‘gathered’ part of this lifeway. The coupling of relatively new microresidue techniques in an understudied area, on a very poorly understood class of material culture, is already overturning our understandings of hunter-gatherer lifeways, and the experimental component of this project is an essential part of this.
The experimental material is not the only contribution however: the living (often termed ‘intangible’) heritage of daily life in Lesotho and other areas globally is threatened by large scale development and extractive resource projects as well as increased globalisation. Introduction of mechanised processing increasingly diminishes the need for the ancient craft of grindstone use. While it is hoped that this may make life easier for the women who use grindstones today, as use of this technology diminishes (catalysed also by projects which render raw material sources inaccessible – grindstones cannot be obtained from riverbeds 60m under water) so too do the stories, traditions and beliefs that accompany it. Processing and knowledge of wild plants for medicine and food will also decrease and a rich (and far from intangible) part of heritage will be lost. Documenting this heritage while it is still relatively vibrant will not compensate for this loss, but accessibly archiving for both the source communities and academia, can mitigate it to a certain extent. | 2019-04-18T19:22:11Z | https://therai.org.uk/awards/past-awards/emslie-horniman-award-luiseach-nic-eoin |
This essay is the first of a six-part collaboration between Benjamin Bovarnick (FES ’18) and Sara Harari (FES ’19, SOM ’19). The collection closely examines the barriers facing adoption of new, advanced energy technologies that can revolutionize electric grid operations and utility business models and spark potential solutions to elicit faster transformation in this expansive industry.
When Tesla unveiled the utility-scale Powerpack battery in 2015, analysts and observers excitedly proclaimed the product’s low price point would revolutionize electric grid operations and business models as it set new cost benchmarks for energy storage. But despite the hype, the reception from utilities was tepid at best.
This experience is not unique to Tesla. It leads to a big question: What’s stopping utilities from quickly pivoting to new energy technologies? Unlike other industries that can quickly adopt new technology, utilities and their regulators must make more cautious deliberations.
Utilities operate differently than other industries. They must balance service obligations, regulatory oversight, and investor preferences. And utilities must navigate relationships with third-party stakeholders and technology providers.
In this series of articles, we will closely examine the barriers facing adoption of new, advanced energy technologies that can revolutionize United States electric grids and utility business models. Through interviews with key stakeholders, we will highlight solutions to stimulate transformation in this expansive industry. Let’s kick things off by looking at the key stakeholders in this sector and their top priorities.
Utilities come in all shapes, sizes, and structures.
68 percent of people in the United States get their electricity from investor-owned utilities (IOUs). IOUs are owned and managed by shareholders who receive a regulated return on investment.
After IOUs, government-owned-and-operated utilities serve the next-most electric customers.
Municipal utilities are owned by local governments and managed by elected officials or public employees. They only serve customers within their municipal boundaries or in immediately surrounding areas.
State public power authorities like the Long Island Power Authority and federal power marketing administrations like the Bonneville Power Administration also own and operate electric generation and transmission infrastructure on a not-for-profit basis.
Finally, utility cooperatives are nonprofit utilities that are owned and operated by their customers. This allows the customers to have greater influence over utility operations. Co-ops are particularly prevalent in the central and western United States.
Electric utilities may operate as electric generators, manage transmission and distribution services, or do both. The nature of each utility’s role depends on its state’s regulation. It also depends on whether the state permits vertical integration. Vertical integration allows utilities to provide generation, transmission and distribution services.
Historically, state regulatory commissions oversaw electricity markets within state borders. These regulatory commissions allowed utilities to operate as regulated monopolies which could provide customers with electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. In the 1990s, some states chose to deregulate their generation markets. This allowed competition between existing utilities and independent power producers.
In states that deregulated their electric sectors, utilities are barred or limited from simultaneously owning electricity generation and operating distribution services.
What are their roles in advanced-energy-technology adoption?
Utilities play a central role in fostering demand for new technologies. As electric grid owners and operators, utilities have a crucial say in what is deployed onto the system.
Decisions about how to maintain a reliable, cost-effective grid are largely defined by utilities. When new hardware such as smart meters or software like blockchain data collection is developed, utilities are responsible for evaluating, financing and installing these systems.
They must determine how long-term planning decisions incorporate new technologies. This includes evaluating whether new energy technologies will achieve the reliability and maturity demonstrated by conventional technology. Many innovative technologies have a higher perceived risk that can make utilities cautious. Utilities may also hesitate to adopt technologies if they are uncertain regulators will permit recovery of the investment.
Utilities are obligated to provide safe and uninterrupted electricity access to any customers within their service territories. This electricity must be provided at “just and reasonable” rates and in an indiscriminate fashion.
These obligations form the foundation of the “regulatory compact,” an agreement between the utility and its regulators. The regulatory compact gives a utility the right to operate in a protected, uncompetitive market territory in exchange for meeting its obligations. This structure allows IOUs to recover operating expenses and earn a “reasonable” return on new investments. Utilities are compelled to satisfy their side of the regulatory compact in the most efficient and effective way possible.
However, policymakers and regulators can heavily influence utility actions to maintain this compact. Public officials may also dictate the investments utilities can make.
There are many different government entities that help regulate and guide energy policy. These groups can range from local public officials to international agencies.
PUCs: Each state has a Public Utility Commission (PUC) or similar entity responsible for regulating the rates and services of utilities. Commissioners can be appointed or elected depending on state laws.
When a utility wishes to recoup expenses through ratepayers, the costs must be approved by the PUC. For instance, if a utility wants to install smart meters throughout its distribution network, the utility can petition the PUC to allow it pass the cost along to its customers through electric rates. This gives the PUC a linchpin role in many of the debates surrounding technology adoption. State PUCs regulate other utility services such as natural gas and water, but this series focuses exclusively on their electric regulation.
States: The policy directives from state elected officials and state agencies can change with each election. Some public officials may advocate for incorporating renewable energy and new technologies to the grid. Other officials are more sympathetic towards maintaining the status quo.
In either case, motivated elected officials can influence the way regulators and utilities gauge new technologies. State regulatory bodies generally operate on an independent basis from elected officials. However, they can make policy decisions or recommendations based on directives from elected officials or legislation.
FERC: The United States Constitution gives the federal government oversight in inter-state trade matters. As energy flows freely between states, particularly those within the same electric transmission regions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) also has a say in how the grid is operated.
FERC issues standards on interstate energy transmission and electricity wholesale markets. Although FERC does not typically deal with the day-to-day operations of electric utilities, the commission can have a clear influence on what technologies utilities decide to invest in. This influence stems from decisions the commission makes on who can compete in electricity markets and what technologies get rewarded for participation.
Although utilities ultimately decide what technologies to adopt, government entities can have enormous sway over their investment decisions. Open communication channels between utilities and public officials can create more achievable policy measures. Some of the most interesting programs we plan to review in this series come from states where the utilities view government entities as partners and collaborate on new programs.
Legislators and executive agencies are public servants who are responsible for serving their constituents. Often, they must confer with industry leaders, academic experts, and advocacy organizations about the role of new technologies. This can help public officials better understand how different policies can optimally benefit their communities or society at large.
When working with the electric industry, public officials may push utilities to adopt specific agendas. They may support more environmentally friendly technologies. They may encourage efforts to reduce electricity costs as much as possible for consumers. They may support investments in infrastructure resiliency to mitigate potential power outages. Often, these priorities may contradict each other. For instance, a more resilient grid may result in a higher electricity price. Policy makers must weigh competing priorities to chart a course that best serves their constituents.
PUCs and FERC have more narrow priorities. They are expected to work with electric transmission operators oversee energy markets and regulate infrastructure investment. Their mission is to ensure electricity markets operate reliably and efficiently. They uphold the regulatory compact that exists between utilities and their customers. They evaluate how changes in grid infrastructure might compromise or impede optimal service. PUCs are also responsible for maintaining reasonably low rates by approving prudent grid investments.
NERC, ISOs, and RTOs: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a nonprofit that covers the United States, Canada, and parts of northern Mexico. NERC ensures the reliability of the bulk power system through a series of operational standards.
There are nine independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission operators (RTOs) within the NERC region, seven in the United States, and two in Canada. These ISOs and RTOs support electric grid reliability and operate wholesale electricity markets. The NERC, ISOs, and RTOs are also responsible for regional assessments of future growth. They must ensure that there will be sufficient power in the future to supply load growth.
In parts of the country that do not fall within an ISO or RTO territory, vertically integrated utilities operate the regional transmission infrastructure. They also conduct independent projections of future electricity demand.
The rate base is the electric generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure that utilities own for the purpose of serving customers. It is known as a rate base because utilities calculate the electric rates they bill to customers based on the cost of these investments.
When a utility wants to develop new infrastructure projects, it will typically submit a petition to the PUC to include these new investments in the rate base. Including a new investment in the rate base helps the utility ensure a steady return on the investment and mitigate risk associated with the project.
This petition is often examined by a state-designated ratepayer advocate who considers whether the investment should result in electric rate increases for utility customers. This can help limit the degree to which electric customers see their bills rise after newly proposed utility investments.
Electricity Advocates: Many other groups also work to influence electricity planning and procurement decisions. These groups include environmental advocacy groups, professional organizations, equipment vendors, and industry lobbyists. These organizations can play a vital role in enabling stakeholders to influence technology decisions.
Technology Entrepreneurs: Anyone developing the next new advanced energy technology, from world-renowned companies like Tesla to three guys in a garage, has an interest in electric grid planning decisions. New technology is being developed all the time and most of it, for one reason or another, never makes it to the prime time. Technology entrepreneurs can improve their chances of success by understanding how utilities and regulators consider the role of new technologies in planning and investment decisions.
Independent Power Producers: In deregulated states, utilities are generally subject to limitations on the generation that they can own. Independent power producers (IPPs) own and operate power plants in these states. They sell power to customers under bilateral contracts or to the wholesale electric market through ISO markets.
Power plants must be certified by utility regulators before they can sell to the market. These companies operate similarly to electric-generation utilities and are often subject to similar wholesale-electricity-market regulations. However, they do not set regulated prices for electricity and they are not bound by the utility regulatory compact.
Private Equity: Companies that invest in the energy sector, whether in traditional utilities and power plants or in advanced-energy-technology developers, also have a vested interest in technology adoption. Private equity investors can hold incredible sway in technology adoption. Attracting the interest of equity investors can mean the difference between a good idea and an actionable reality for new technologies.
Each stakeholder, according to their priorities, may advocate for or attempt to block advanced energy technology. Advanced energy technologies will generally, due to their nature, have an uncertain impact on the grid. This leads to heavy debate between all parties about whether different technologies should be incorporated, how to fund demonstration projects, and what is the best way to minimize risk.
Independent system operators typically favor technologies that will maximize electric grid reliability and future planning abilities.
Ratepayer advocates generally support investment and planning decisions that minimize increases in electric rates, and optimize service for ratepayers.
Environmental advocates seek to promote more sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies and practices.
Technology entrepreneurs develop advanced energy technology and seek new market opportunities to deploy their products. These efforts may or may not be advanced through regulatory reforms. Private equity can sometimes sponsor this action.
Independent power producers may have more flexibility to adopt new technology than a traditional utility, but they incur all risks of upfront capital investments. They cannot recover these costs from ratepayers.
Stakeholders are rarely uniform in their interests, particularly when compared with the other sectors highlighted in this piece. Each organization represents the interests of their communities or investors.
ISOs and RTOs may prioritize investments in grid reliability. Meanwhile, technology entrepreneurs are interested in new pilot programs.
Ratepayer advocates tend to resist new investments if the cost burden will be borne by customers. Environmental advocates prefer that investment decisions include metrics for the costs of environmental degradation. These priorities do not necessarily conflict with one another, but they may compete at times. The competing preferences of stakeholders can add complexity and challenges to utility planning processes.
The relationships between electric-industry stakeholders provide the foundation for collaborative approaches which can optimize electric grid operations and services. Understanding the competing priorities of different stakeholders as well as the unique insight each party provides can help accelerate integration of advanced energy technologies into utility infrastructure.
In forthcoming articles, we will delve further into the specific roles of these stakeholders and the ways that each party can help overcome the barriers facing advanced energy technologies. | 2019-04-24T18:26:23Z | https://ceff.archive.square360.pub/2017/09/20/electricity-evolution-meet-the-ringmasters |
Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Dr. Tim and Darcy Kimmel's book, Extreme Grandparenting: The Ride of Your Life, (Tyndale House Publishers, 2007).
Realize that becoming a grandparent isn’t just another season of your life; it’s a God-given calling. Take full advantage of the awesome opportunity to influence another generation of children in your family. Even though you likely have more freedom to live the lifestyle you want than your own grandparents of old did (better health, more money, etc.), you share the same responsibility to be committed grandparents. View your investment in your grandchildren as one of the best investment opportunities you’ll ever have, because it will pay off in significant ways that have eternal value. Don’t let the comforts and freedoms of an empty nest or retirement cause you to neglect your grandchildren. Don’t let other noble causes (like ministry work through your church) divert too much of your time and energy away from your grandchildren. Decide to stay connected, emotionally engaged, and personally involved in your children’s and grandchildren’s lives. Ask God to give you a clear understanding of the great potential good that could occur if you fully invested in your grandchildren’s lives.
Ask God to help you develop qualities that will make you an invaluable asset to your children and grandchildren: maturity, experience, perspective, a willingness to help out, and decision to love unconditionally. Make a deliberate decision to learn from life and keep growing, especially spiritually (such as through reading and living out biblical truth). Use what you’ve learned to encourage and support your family members. Approach problems with calmness and hope. Be willing to help your children with your grandchildren by giving them time, offering them relief from their parenting duties for some much-needed breaks, serving as a sounding board for them to try out parenting ideas (without giving them unsolicited advice), and assist them with money in cases of true need, as God leads you. Love your children and grandchildren so much that you commit your will to their needs and best interests, regardless of the cost.
3. Model your relationship with your grandchildren on God's relationship with you.
Just like God does with you, show your grandchildren kindness, love, patience, and acceptance – no matter what they say or how they behave. Create a comfortable affinity between your heart and theirs by giving them grace. Grant them the same freedoms that God grants to you: the freedom to be different (by refraining from passing moral judgments on what they do or say that, while not biblically wrong, aren’t what you personally agree with), the freedom to vulnerable (by making it safe for them to share their doubts and fears, and to work on their inadequacies with you), the freedom to be candid (by making it safe for them to openly and honestly share their thoughts and feelings with you), and the freedom to make mistakes (by responding graciously when they do).
4. Give them a blessing.
Bless your grandchildren whenever you can, by joining their parents in helping to meet their three key inner needs: a secure love, a significant purpose, and a sufficient hope. Bless your grandchildren with a secure love by letting them know that you accept them as they are, assuring them that you will always do your best to love and honor them, and giving them plenty of affection (such as hugs). Bless them with a significant purpose by regularly affirming them, applauding the things they do well, encouraging them when they’re working hard to overcome challenges, giving them your attention, boosting their confidence in who they are and why they matter, set clear moral boundaries to give them accountability, praise them when they honor those boundaries, and lovingly correct them when they don’t. Bless them with a significant hope by helping them discover the ultimate hope found in a relationship with Jesus; helping them recognize and develop their God-given abilities; encouraging them to try new things, think on their own, and stretch themselves to their limits; and helping them succeed in their various endeavors. Pray for them often. Refuse to show favoritism for one grandchild over another. Approach every point of contact with your grandchildren as an opportunity to bless them in some way, spiritually, emotionally, or physically.
5. Leave a good legacy.
Realize that you’re determining your legacy every day by the choices you make about how to use your resources (time, energy, talents, etc.) and how to respond to the various opportunities God brings your way. Make the most of your chances to do something good in your grandchildren’s lives that will live on after you die. If you have regrets over opportunities you’ve squandered in the past to be a good parent, ask God to bring the healing that’s needed – in your own attitudes and actions, and in your relationships with your children and grandchildren. Repent of your sins, seek forgiveness from God and your children, and forgive yourself after God has forgiven you. Expect that problems in your relationships with your children that took years to form won’t go away quickly; be patient, allowing your children to gradually rebuild trust in you that will hopefully lead to restoration. Learn how to be an ally to your sons-in-law or daughters-in-law; don’t do anything that would alienate them, and do everything you can to build close relationships with them. Respect your grandchildren’s parent’s standards and rules, even if you disagree. Never undermine their parenting authority or the unity in their marriage. Make sure you speak positively about both of them. Bring honor to your family’s reputations by living with integrity, both publicly and privately. Make decisions with an eternal perspective in mind. Demonstrate what faith in action looks like to your grandchildren who are watching you.
Shine the light of the Gospel into your grandchildren’s lives by incorporating biblical truth into every part of your life. Model a faithful life for them, so they can clearly see the light of hope in a dark world. Make right moral choices and lovingly help your grandchildren develop the discernment they need to make right choices themselves. Update yourself on your grandchildren’s culture, becoming informed about their movies, music, video games, fashions, etc. so they’ll know you understand their world and can speak into it in relevant ways.
Use your lifetime of knowledge and wisdom to help your grandchildren set a clear course for their lives. Help them develop these key character traits: contagious faith (by showing them how to take God out of a box and build their whole lives around Him), consistent integrity (by showing them how to do the right thing even when no one is looking), practical poise (by helping them act appropriately in various situations), personal discipline (by showing them the power of self-denial and self-control to achieve what they want), steadfast endurance (by helping them keep going when many others are telling them to give up), and inspirational courage (by showing them how to do the right thing even when they’re afraid). But as you set standards, be careful not to push unsolicited advice on your grandchildren. Instead, earn the right to be heard by developing close relationships with them in which they’re naturally inclined to ask for your advice.
If your children go through a divorce, do all you can to help your grandchildren. Find an outlet for your pain and support from others so you don’t add to your children’s and grandchildren’s pain, don’t torture yourself with regrets and guilt, ask God to give you an objective perspective on the situation so you don’t take sides (especially around your grandchildren), let your grandchildren know that they can trust you to listen without criticizing them as they process their emotions, assure them that your love for them will never change – despite the change in their circumstances, pray for them and ask your friends to pray for them as well, protect your legal rights of access to them, let them know that the divorce wasn’t their fault and that you won’t abandon them, answer their questions, always speak positively about both of their parents, and remain a calm presence in the midst of their turmoil.
9. Respond wisely if your grandchildren come to live with you.
If your grandchildren ever join your household for any reason (such as when their parents are going through a temporary crisis, or if they can’t care for them permanently), trust God to help you every step of the way. Deal honestly with your disappointment from having this responsibility limit your leisure and increase your stress. But don’t take your anger out on your grandchildren; remember that they’re the innocent victims of their circumstances. Don’t make them feel guilty about the sacrifices you’re making. Instead, welcome them warmly into your home. Establish reasonable standards and discipline, working with your grandchildren’s parents if they’re still involved in their lives. Be a grandparent first, before acting as a parent, and keep hope alive that their parents will come to take over their full parenting responsibilities again. Hold the parents accountable for whatever financial and time contribution they’re capable of making, and seek help from whatever assistance programs you can find from the government and charities if you need it. Ask other family members like siblings, aunts, uncles, and other grandparents to pitch in to help. Find a support group for others in your situation, and take advantage of childcare and kids’ Sunday School classes through your church.
10. Love step-grandchildren and adopted grandchildren.
Respond to these family members with just as much love as you would give a traditional grandchild. Ask God to give you His perspective and view your step-grandchildren and adopted grandchildren as vital parts of your family. Refuse to express disappointment or blame over the circumstances or people who brought about your family configuration. Give your new grandchildren plenty of time to figure out where you fit into their lives, and be gentle with them. Speak respectfully about the other adults in their lives. Pray for each of your grandchildren often.
11. Spoil your grandchildren constructively.
While it’s great to want to give generously to your grandchildren, be sure to obey two basic rules when doing so. Make sure what you’re doing is: okay with their parents, and helping your grandchildren grown into better people. Consider giving gifts of time, character building, and prayer rather than just money or things. Don’t undermine your grandchildren’s ability to learn the responsibility that comes from working hard and earning their rewards. And don’t undermine their parents’ authority to teach them that important lesson.
12. Intervene instead of interfering.
Recognize that intervention becomes interference when you push you advice on your children when they aren’t asking for it, when you criticize them in front of your grandchildren, or when you undermine their authority. Diffuse or prevent tension by distinguishing between morally absolute values mentioned in the Bible and personal values that are simply a matter of preference – and choosing not to get upset when your grandchildren’s actions or appearance don’t align with your personal values. If a family crisis requires you to intervene in your grandchildren’s lives, be sure to think and pray about how best to do so before taking action. Ask God to give you the grace you need to resolve conflicts well whenever they come up between you and your children or grandchildren. Don’t put pressure on your children or grandchildren to visit you on holidays like Christmas; give them the freedom to work out whatever schedules are best for them. If you have a grandchild with special needs, get to know his or her condition well and make sure your expectations for your grandchild are realistic.
Be willing to babysit your grandchildren when you can, and do your best to care for them well while they’re with you. Set clear boundaries with your grandchildren’s parents so they’ll know how often and how long you’re available to babysit, and you won’t feel resentful. Before you get together with your grandchildren, have a plan for how to use your time with them in fun and meaningful ways. Protect your grandchildren when they visit you by making sure your house is safe for them (such as by placing medicines and cleaning solutions out of reach) and making sure you’re prepared in case of an accident (such as by having a first aid kit on hand and knowing how to perform CPR). Ask their parents to let you know their schedules, needs, rituals, etc., and show respect for them. Talk with their parents about how to handle discipline whenever you need to correct them for something. Respect the parents’ rules, if you don’t agree with them.
14. Connect with teenage grandchildren.
Know that you can still enjoy close relationships with your grandchildren even when they become teenagers. Just keep in mind that you should accept them for who they are, be patient with them, take the initiative to find out about what’s going on in their lives (such as by asking them thoughtful questions), and getting to know their culture so you can engage in discussions that are relevant to them.
15. Reach out across long distances.
If you live a long distance away from some or all of your grandchildren, keep in touch as often as you can through e-mails, phone calls, letters, notes, exchanging digital photos, etc. Try to visit them for the celebrations and milestones in their lives, like holidays, recitals, baptisms, and graduations.
Adapted from Extreme Grandparenting: The Ride of Your Life, copyright 2007 by Dr. Tim Kimmel and Darcy Kimmel. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Il., www.tyndale.com.
Dr. Tim Kimmel and his wife, Darcy, are cofounders of Family Matters, a ministry dedicated to equipping families for every age and stage of life, and speakers for FamilyLife ministry’s I Still Do and Weekend to Remember events. Tim is also the author of several books, including Little House on the Freeway and Raising Kids for True Greatness. A former radio talk show host, Tim has also appeared on several radio and television programs as a featured guest. He received his doctor of ministry degree from Western Seminary. | 2019-04-25T08:39:28Z | https://www.ibelieve.com/home-page/features/how-to-help-your-grandchildren-become-strong-christians.html |
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Manufacturers added 24,000 workers in April, the seventh consecutive month with robust hiring growth in the sector, averaging 26,571 per month over that time frame. As such, the latest jobs numbers confirm that the labor market has tightened significantly, with manufacturers increasing employment by a rather strong 19,000 per month on average since the end of 2016. Since the end of the Great Recession, manufacturing employment has risen by 1,202,000 workers, with 12,655,000 employees in the sector in this report. That is the highest level of manufacturing employment since December 2008. More importantly, healthy jobs growth is also leading to higher wages. Average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in the manufacturing sector rose to $907.78, up 4.2 percent over the past 12 months.
Despite the healthy increase in manufacturing employment, nonfarm payrolls increased just 164,000 in April. While this represented an improvement from the gain of 135,000 in March, it was below the consensus estimate of around 190,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in April and continued to be the lowest level since December 2000. In addition, the so-called “real” unemployment rate, which includes discouraged, other “marginally attached” workers, fell from 8.0 percent to 7.8 percent, the lowest level since July 2001.
Other measures on manufacturing activity were also heartening, with continued growth and a solid economic outlook. The ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index declined to 57.3 in April, the lowest level since July 2017, but even with softer growth in production, exports and hiring, the latest survey remained consistent with healthy expansions in the sector. Along those lines, new orders were robust, with that measure at 60 or higher—a threshold suggesting very strong growth—for 12 straight months. The sample comments tend to echo that finding, with respondents noting healthy growth in activity and a promising outlook, even as they cite some trade worries. At the same time, manufacturers report accelerated input costs, with the data on raw material prices at levels not seen in seven years. There were similarly encouraging findings in the latest manufacturing survey from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank and in the most recent factory orders data.
Improved international economic growth has also helped, with exports building in the early months of 2018 on the rebound in global demand in 2017. U.S.-manufactured goods exports totaled $280.56 billion through the first three months of 2018, up 6.34 percent from the year-to-date total of $263.83 billion in 2017. In addition, the U.S. trade deficit fell back to earth in March after soaring to the highest level since October 2008 in the prior release. The trade deficit declined from $57.74 billion in February to $48.96 billion in March—a six-month low. More importantly, goods exports rose to a new all-time high, up to $140.88 billion. With that said, it is worth noting that the U.S. dollar has risen 3.4 percent since January 25 against major currencies, according to the Federal Reserve. Still, the dollar remains 8.6 percent lower than it was at the end of 2016, helping the overall competitiveness of U.S. exports.
As noted earlier, manufacturers continue to report a pickup in pricing pressures. Indeed, the personal consumption expenditures (PCEs) deflator has risen 2.0 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest year-over-year pace since February 2017. Excluding food and energy, core PCE inflation rose 1.9 percent year-over-year in March, accelerating for the seventh consecutive month after bottoming out at 1.3 percent in August. At the conclusion of its May 1–2 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) acknowledged that inflation had approached the committee’s 2-percent goal, but as expected, participants chose not to raise short-term rates. The Federal Reserve did note continued strength in the U.S. economy, especially in the labor market, and the FOMC is widely expected to hike the federal funds rate again at its June 12–13 meeting for the second time so far this year.
Given the healthy gains in manufacturing employment described above, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report will be one of the highlights this week. In February, there were 426,000 job postings in the sector, with hiring at the highest level since November 2007. Indeed, manufacturers continue to cite their inability to attract and retain quality workers as the primary challenge for their business, according to the most recent NAM survey. There will also be additional data on inflation, with updates on consumer and producer prices. Other releases out this week include new figures on consumer credit, consumer sentiment and small business optimism.
ADP reported that manufacturers added 10,000 workers in April, easing somewhat but extending the 18,000 gain in March. Through the first four months of 2018, the manufacturing sector has hired an additional 17,942 employees per month, up from an average of 14,823 per month for all of 2017. The data show strong growth in hiring activity since the end of 2016, especially as production and the overall economic outlook have improved. In contrast, manufacturing employment was more sluggish in 2016, illustrating the turnaround in the labor market since then. More importantly, continued strength in job growth is expected moving forward.
Meanwhile, total nonfarm private employment increased by 204,000 in April, off from 228,000 in March. Nonetheless, it was the fifth consecutive month with job growth of at least 200,000 in the U.S. economy, according to ADP’s estimates. Over the past four months, nonfarm payrolls have risen by 228,542 workers per month, up from an average of 185,415 per month for all of 2017. This is yet another indication that the U.S. labor market remains quite robust.
In April, the largest employment growth included professional and business services (up 58,000), education and health services (up 39,000), leisure and hospitality (up 36,000), construction (up 27,000) and trade, transportation and utilities (up 14,000). Small and medium-sized businesses (i.e., those with fewer than 500 employees) accounted for 73.5 percent of the net job growth for the month.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that manufacturers added 24,000 workers in April, extending the 22,000 gain in March. It was the seventh consecutive month with robust hiring growth in the sector, averaging 26,571 per month over that time frame. As such, the latest jobs numbers confirm that the labor market has tightened significantly, with manufacturers increasing employment by a rather strong 19,000 per month on average since the end of 2016. That is quite a turnaround from the sluggish job growth in 2016, and it is a sign that firms have continued to accelerate their hiring as the economic outlook has strengthened and demand and production have improved considerably.
The latest report is very encouraging. Strong job growth in April shows that economic confidence remains high in the wake of historic, pro-growth tax reform. Moreover, manufacturers continue to invest, raise wages and hire more workers as they expand their businesses and plan for the future. Congress and the president delivered on their promises, and now manufacturers, through our “Keeping Our Promise” campaign, are showing how we are delivering on ours.
Along those lines, average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in the manufacturing sector rose from $901.39 in March to $907.78 in April. That translated into a whopping 4.2 percent increase over the past 12 months, up from $871.10 in April 2017, which further illustrates the strength of the labor market right now.
The Census Bureau reported that private manufacturing construction spending slipped for the second straight month, down 1.1 percent in March after decreasing 0.9 percent in February. The value of construction put in place in the sector rose to $67.73 billion at the annual rate in January, the fastest pace since May 2017, but it eased to $67.14 billion in February and $66.38 billion in March. Overall, construction in the sector has drifted lower since achieving the all-time high of $82.13 billion in May 2015. Along those lines, manufacturing construction has declined 6.9 percent year-over-year. Even with some recent softness, construction activity should accelerate in the coming months with the solid economic outlook and robust growth in demand, production and hiring.
Overall, private nonresidential construction spending declined 0.4 percent in March, but with year-over-year growth of a modest 2.2 percent. In the latest figures, the data showed mixed results. There were more dollars spent on construction projects in the amusement and recreation (up 4.5 percent), religious (up 3.5 percent), communications (up 1.6 percent), office (up 1.1 percent) and educational (up 0.9 percent) segments, among others. In addition to manufacturing, the other major sectors with decreased construction spending in March included health care (down 3.5 percent), commercial (down 2.2 percent) and lodging (down 0.4 percent).
Meanwhile, private residential construction spending fell 3.5 percent in March, but with 5.3 percent growth over the past 12 months. In the latest data, single-family and multifamily construction declined 0.4 percent and 2.7 percent in March, respectively. More encouragingly, single-family activity jumped 9.7 percent year-over-year. In addition to those components, public construction spending was flat in March, with a gain of 3.0 percent over the past year.
The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank reported that manufacturing activity continued to expand solidly in April. The composite index of general business conditions declined from 22.8 in March to 21.8 in April, but growth remained strong overall. In fact, most of the key measures of activity accelerated in the latest survey, including new orders (up from 10.3 to 27.9), production (up from 14.4 to 25.3), capacity utilization (up from 11.1 to 18.7), shipments (up from 10.3 to 19.3), employment (up from 11.7 to 17.8), hours worked (up from 10.2 to 14.3) and capital expenditures (up from 18.2 to 23.9). At the same time, the strong economy has lifted both wages and benefits (up from 24.1 to 29.3) and prices for raw materials (up from 43.0 to 46.3). Input costs in April grew at the fastest pace in seven years, mirroring the rise in other data. This trend is seen continuing over the next six months as well, with 53.7 percent of respondents predicting higher costs and just 4.6 percent anticipating declines.
Meanwhile, manufacturers in the Dallas Federal Reserve’s district continued to be very positive in their overall outlook for the next six months. The forward-looking measure inched up from 31.6 to 31.9, which remained encouraging. More than half of respondents anticipate new orders, production, capacity utilization and shipments increasing over the next six months, with 41.3 percent and 39.1 percent planning to hire more workers and spend more on capital investments, respectively.
The Census Bureau reported that new factory orders rose 1.6 percent for the second straight month in March. Strong nondefense aircraft and parts orders helped boost the data in both February and March, and in the latest data, that segment jumped 44.5 percent. Aircraft sales are highly volatile from month to month, however, with orders often bunched around key events. Excluding transportation equipment, new orders for manufactured goods increased 0.3 percent in March. Overall, new factory orders have trended sharply higher over the past year. Along those lines, sales of manufactured goods soared 8.1 percent since March 2017, or 6.6 percent with transportation equipment excluded.
Nonetheless, core capital goods—or nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft—fell 0.4 percent in March. These can often be seen as a proxy for capital spending in the U.S. economy, and as such, the data suggest that capital investments might have been softer in March than we might prefer. Encouragingly, much like the headline number, there was a healthy gain of 6.8 percent over the past 12 months.
Durable goods demand increased 2.6 percent in March, but excluding transportation equipment, new orders edged up just 0.1 percent. At the same time, sales of nondurable goods increased 0.5 percent in March. Looking specifically at durable goods activity in March, new orders strengthened for primary metals (up 2.1 percent), computers and electronic products (up 1.0 percent), electrical equipment, appliances and components (up 0.6 percent) and fabricated metal products (up 0.3 percent). In contrast, sales decreased for machinery (down 1.9 percent), furniture and related products (down 1.5 percent) and motor vehicles and parts (down 1.0 percent).
Meanwhile, shipments of manufactured goods rose 0.4 percent in March, with durable and nondurable goods shipments increasing 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. On a year-over-year basis, factory shipments have risen 6.8 percent since March 2017, or 6.6 percent with transportation equipment excluded. Core capital goods shipments pulled back 0.1 percent from February’s all-time high, but with year-over-year growth of 7.6 percent.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau reported that the U.S. trade deficit fell back to earth in March after soaring to the highest level since October 2008 in the prior release. The trade deficit declined from $57.74 billion in February to $48.96 billion in March—a six-month low. More importantly, goods exports rose to a new all-time high, up from $137.13 billion to $140.88 billion. Also helping to push the trade deficit lower, goods imports dropped from $214.09 billion to $210.37 billion. In addition, the service-sector trade surplus rose from $19.21 billion to $20.54 billion.
More importantly for manufacturers, exports have started 2018 on a positive note, extending the nice rebound in 2017. U.S.-manufactured goods exports totaled $280.56 billion through the first three months of 2018, up 6.34 percent from the year-to-date total of $263.83 billion in 2017. In addition, U.S.-manufactured goods to our top six trading partners were also better year-to-date this year relative to last year: Canada (up from $66.96 billion to $73.19 billion), Mexico (up from $58.70 billion to $63.93 billion), China (up from $29.50 billion to $32.02 billion), Japan (up from $16.03 billion to $17.46 billion), the United Kingdom (up from $13.08 billion to $17.18 billion) and Germany (up from $12.95 billion to $14.76 billion).
Digging deeper into the latest release, goods exports mostly increased, as noted above, led by gains in nonautomotive capital goods (up $1.90 billion), foods, feeds and beverages (up $1.05 billion) and industrial supplies and materials (up $947 million). At the same time, goods imports fell across the board, including declines for nonautomotive capital goods (down $1.51 billion), consumer goods (down $928 million) and industrial supplies and materials (down $704 million), among others.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that manufacturing activity continued to expand modestly in April, even as it pulled back for the second straight month from February’s best reading since May 2004. The ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index declined from 60.8 in February, to 59.3 in March, to 57.3 in April, the lowest level since July 2017. Softer growth in production (down from 61.0 to 57.2), exports (down from 58.7 to 57.7) and employment (down from 57.3 to 54.2) help to explain the weaker headline number in April. The exports figure eased for the second consecutive month, down from the February rate, which had been the fastest since April 2011.
Despite some weakening in other measures, new orders decelerated slightly but remained robust overall (down from 61.9 to 61.2), which was encouraging. To illustrate just how strong demand has been in the manufacturing sector, it was the 12th straight month with the new orders index at 60 or higher—a threshold suggesting robust sales growth. The sample comments tend to echo that finding, with respondents noting healthy growth in activity and a promising outlook, even as they cite some trade worries.
With ever-stronger economic growth, manufacturers report accelerated input costs. Indeed, prices for raw materials remained highly elevated (up from 78.1 to 79.3), with the measure at a level not seen in seven years. More than 61 percent of manufacturing respondents said their costs had risen in April, with just 2.6 percent suggesting they decreased. This reflects a rebound in some commodity costs, even as overall pricing pressures continue to be largely modest, at least for now.
In other news, inventories expanded in April for the fourth straight month (down from 55.5 to 52.9), even as the pace of growth slowed from February’s near eight-year high. More than anything, the recent growth in inventories is consistent with the healthy growth in overall production.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal spending rebounded, up 0.4 percent in March after being unchanged in February. Americans consumed more durable goods in March, up 0.8 percent, but they bought fewer nondurable goods, which fell 0.2 percent for the month. Strong motor vehicle sales helped to boost the durable goods numbers. Overall, consumer spending remained a bright spot in the economy, with personal consumption expenditures (PCEs) up 4.4 percent over the past 12 months, down slightly from 4.5 percent year-over-year in the prior report. In addition, goods spending for durable and nondurable goods also increased at very healthy rates over the past 12 months, up 3.9 percent and 4.1 percent year-over-year, respectively.
At the same time, personal income rose 0.3 percent for the second straight month in March. Since March 2017, personal incomes have risen 3.6 percent. As such, income growth has remained at modest levels. For manufacturers, total wages and salaries slipped from $869.9 billion in February to $857.6 billion in March. Despite some easing, manufacturing wages and salaries have increased by a solid 3.8 percent rate year-over-year, up from $826.3 billion in March 2017.
The saving rate had fallen to 2.4 percent in December—the lowest rate since September 2005—but it has ticked higher since then. With more spending in the latest report, the saving rate dropped from 3.3 percent in February to 3.1 percent in March. One year ago, the saving rate registered 3.9 percent, illustrating an increased willingness to spend over the past 12 months.
In other news, the PCE deflator was unchanged in March, pulling back from a gain of 0.2 percent in February. The drag on the PCE deflator in March stemmed largely from energy costs, which decreased 2.8 percent. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2 percent in March.
More importantly, the PCE deflator has risen 2.0 percent over the past 12 months, up from 1.7 percent in the previous report and the fastest year-over-year pace since February 2017. Excluding food and energy, core PCE inflation rose 1.9 percent year-over-year in March, accelerating for the seventh consecutive month after bottoming out at 1.3 percent in August. This mirrors the recent pickup in other price measures, and since this is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, its appreciation will get a lot of attention.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that manufacturing labor productivity rose 0.5 percent in the first quarter, easing from the solid rebound of 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter. More importantly, it was the second straight quarterly increase in output per worker following a significant amount of choppiness over the past few years. Manufacturing output increased 3.3 percent in the first quarter, led by strong growth in durable goods, which had output growth soar by 5.5 percent. Nondurable goods output increased a more modest 1.1 percent. Overall, hours worked in the sector rose 2.8 percent, with unit labor costs up 2.7 percent. Durable and nondurable goods labor productivity increased 1.3 percent and 0.6 percent in the first quarter, respectively.
The latest release featured revisions to the historical data. In 2017, manufacturing labor productivity increased 0.4 percent, down from the prior estimate of 0.6 percent. Output and unit labor costs rose 1.5 percent and 1.1 percent in 2017, respectively. The annual figure for manufacturing labor productivity growth was slightly better than the average from 2013 to 2017, which registered just 0.2 percent. Indeed, sluggish productivity growth continues to be one of the larger frustrations in the U.S. economy in the aftermath of the Great Recession. In comparison, the average growth rate for manufacturing labor productivity registered 3.9 percent in both the 1990–2000 and 2002–2008 time frames, or the two prior economic recoveries.
Meanwhile, nonfarm labor productivity rose 0.7 percent in the first quarter, up from the 0.3 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Nonfarm output decelerated from 3.7 percent growth in the fourth quarter to 2.8 percent in the first quarter, but that was still a decent figure. Hourly compensation costs jumped 3.4 percent in the first quarter, with unit labor costs up 2.7 percent. Similar to the manufacturing data described above, nonfarm labor productivity has slowed considerably since the recession, averaging 0.7 percent per year from 2011 to 2017. That remains lower than the 2.7 percent annual growth rate average from 2000 to 2007. | 2019-04-19T05:20:47Z | https://www.nam.org/Newsroom/eNewsletters/Monday-Economic-Report/2018/Monday-Economic-Report---May-7--2018/ |
O primeiro passo é reconhecer o problema. Mesmo bons gestores perdem os primeiros sinais de alerta.
It’s next to impossible to come up with one working definition of a company in distress—and dangerous to think that you have one for your own company. Depending on the situation, there are probably 25 different signs of potential distress (exhibit). The problem is seldom made up of just one or two of these things, however. Rather, it is the result of a greater number of them interacting together and with other external factors.
There are numerous signs of distress—and a distressed company is typically dealing with multiple signs.
Such trigger points should be oriented both to operational and market performance as well as to basic financial metrics and cash flow. Look at where you are as a company using basic financial and cash milestones, and then look at where you are with respect to your industry and competitors. If you’re not moving with the rest of the industry (or not outpacing it, if the industry is struggling), then your plan may be obsolete. And don’t forget to look back at your performance over past cycles to identify any trends. If you keep missing performance targets, ask why.
The beauty of a board is that it has enough distance from the company to see the forest for the trees. Managers often treat their board as a necessary evil to placate so they can get on with their business, but that undermines the board’s role as an early-warning system when a company is heading for distress.
It’s also the board’s responsibility to look the CEO, the CFO, and the chief operating officer (COO) in the eye and say, “OK, we like your plan. Now let’s talk about what it would take to cut costs not just by 3 percent but by 20. Let’s talk about all the things that can go wrong—the risks to the business.” Sometimes significant events happen that no one could have foreseen, of course. But in a typical distress situation, a company has usually just had 18 to 24 months of poor performance, and the board hasn’t been aware or hasn’t asked the right questions. Independent board members—truly independent ones—can have a big impact here.
The senior team at one company maintains a list of risks to the business, employees, and the plan. They review those risks with the board on a quarterly basis to ensure that they’re staying top of mind. It’s an excellent way to have conversations that you wouldn’t normally otherwise have in a business operation.
A successful turnaround really comes down to one thing, which is a focus on cash and cash returns. That means bringing a business back to its basic element of success. Is it generating cash or burning it? And, even more specifically, which investments in the business are generating or burning cash?
I like to think about this in the same way one would if running a local hardware store. By that, I mean asking fundamental questions, such as whether there is enough cash in the register to pay the utility bill, for example, or to pay for the pallet of house paint that will arrive next week, or how much more cash I can make by investing in a new delivery truck. When you bring a business back to those basic elements, the actions you need to take to get back on track become pretty clear. In many of the cases I have seen, the management team and board are focused on complex metrics related to earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and return on investment that exclude major uses of cash. For example, variations on EBIT commonly exclude depreciation and amortization but also exclude things like rents or fuel. These are all fine metrics, but nasty surprises await when no one is focused on cash.
Keeping track of cash isn’t just about watching your bank balance. To avoid surprises, companies also need a good forecast that keeps a midterm and longer view. For example, failing to pay attention to the cash component of capital investments routinely gets companies in trouble. Project net present values can look the same whether the return begins gradually at year two or jumps up dramatically at year five. But if you’re not focusing on the cash that goes out the door while you’re waiting for that year-five infusion, you can suddenly find yourself with very little cash left to run the business, sending you into a spiral you may not recover from.
If you can tell that story in a paragraph or less, in a way that means something to the average guy on the front line, then people will get on board. In this case, employees wanted to have their children and their grandchildren work for this company in the same remote mining location, and the change story spurred them to action. The key was a simple message, not fancy metrics.
Without a crisis mind-set, you get a stable company’s response to change: risk is to be avoided, and incrementalism takes over. Your workers are asked to do a little more (or the same) with less. More aggressive ideas will be analyzed ad nauseam, and the implementation will be slow and methodical.
In contrast, a crisis demands significant action, now, which is what a distressed company needs. Managers need to use words like crisis and urgency from the first moment they recognize the need for a turnaround. A company that’s in true crisis will be willing to try some things that it normally wouldn’t consider, and it’s those bold actions that change the trajectory of the company. Crisis drives people to action and opens managers up to consider a full range of options.
The tendency of most managers is to put all of their focus and resources into three or four big bets to turn a company around. That can be a high-risk approach. Even if big bets are sometimes necessary, they take a lot of time and effort—and they don’t always pay off. For example, say you decide to change suppliers of raw materials so you can source from a low-cost country, expecting 30 percent lower direct costs. If you realize six months later that the material specifications don’t meet your needs, you’ll have spent time you don’t have, perhaps interrupted your whole production schedule, and probably burned a bunch of cash on something that didn’t pay off.
In addition to going after big bets, managers should focus on getting a series of quick wins to gain traction within the organization. Such quick wins can be cost focused, cutting off demand for some external service they don’t need. Or it could be policy focused, such as introducing a more stringent policy on travel expense.
Not only do such moves improve the bottom line, they also generate support among employees. In any given company, you’re likely to find that a fifth of employees across the organization are almost always supportive. They work hard. And they will change what they’re doing if you just ask them. These are the people you’ll want to spend most of your time with, and they’re the ones you’ll promote—but you’ll probably spend too much time with the bottom fifth of employees. These are the underachieving ones who actively resist change, look for ways to avoid it, or are simply high maintenance.
What often gets ignored is the remaining 60 percent of the organization. These are the fence-sitters, and they are tuned into action, not just talk. They see the changes going on, and if you proactively work with them, then 80 percent of the organization will be behind you. But if you don’t give them a reason to stand up and be positive about the company, they’ll go negative. That’s the importance of quick wins. When you quickly take real action, and when those actions affect the management team as well, you send a powerful message.
In a turnaround, take a lesson from the private-equity industry and throw out your old plans. Instead, offer managers incentives tied specifically to what you want them to do. Do you need $10 million of improvement from pricing? Then make it a big part of your sales staff’s incentive plan. Need $150 million from procurement? Give your chief purchasing officer a meet-or-beat target. Be willing to forgo bonus payments for those that don’t achieve 100 percent of their target—and to pay out handsomely for those whose results are beyond expectations.
Experience tells me that most successful turnarounds involve changing out one or two top-team members. This isn’t about “bad” managers. In my 20 years of doing this, I’ve only seen a small handful of managers I thought were truly incompetent. But it’s a practical reality that there are managers who must own the decline. And more often than not, they are incapable of the shift in mind-set needed to make fundamental changes to the operating philosophy they’ve believed in for years. Whether they realize it or not, they block that change because they’re bent on defending what they believe to be true. Although it’s difficult, removing those people sends another signal to your stakeholders that there will be changes and you’re not afraid to make tough moves.
Beyond the leadership team, there are two types of people I look for immediately. First are those that have the institutional knowledge. They may not be your top performers, but they know all the ins and outs of the company—and are vital to understanding the impact of potential changes on the business. Many times they are the disgruntled ones, unhappy with the company’s performance. But you need people who are willing to point out the uncomfortable truths.
A turnaround is also a real opportunity to find the next level of talent in an organization. I’ve been through multiple crises where the people who added the most value and impact weren’t the ones sitting around the table at the beginning. I have often found great leaders two and three levels down who are just waiting for an opportunity—and the fact that they can be part of something bigger than themselves, saving a company, is often enough to attract and retain them.
For both groups, it’s important to realize that retention isn’t always about money and bonuses. It’s also about figuring out the individual’s needs. Good turnaround managers actively look for those people and find a way to get them involved.
Doug Yakola is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Recovery & Transformation Services, which focuses on turnarounds and financially distressed companies.
The editors would like to thank Ryan Davies and Bill Huyett for their contributions to this article. | 2019-04-20T15:21:12Z | https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/ten-tips-for-leading-companies-out-of-crisis/pt-br |
The Mirage III (or Mirage 3) was the French answer to a requirement for a supersonic jet fighter aircraft in the fifties. It was fitted with a large delta wing which became a trademark for the famous Mirage series. Delta wings were used beacuse of their good high speed capabilities at the cost of low speed field performance. You will find no horizontal stabilizer on this plane!
The Mirage III can be considered a competitor of the American Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and adversary of the Soviet Mikoyan MiG-21 in the Cold War.
Of the Mirage III various variants appeared including the Mirage V ground strike fighter. Usually the engine was a SNECMA Atar 09 version with afterburner. Intakes have a moveable half shock cone. The ejection seat is usually a Martin Baker RM4 seat (licensed built by the French Hispano Suiza). Usually canon armament was two 30mm DEFA cannons below the intakes.
Mirage IIIB was a two seat version of the A with no radar and a fuselage 60 cm longer to seat the crew. It first flew October 1959 and 61 were built (most for French Armee de l'Air , Peru got 2, 2 BL for Lebanon, 3 BS aircraft for Switzerland, 3 BZ for South Africa).
The Mirage IIIC was the main first operational all weather interceptor and flew first October 1960 and had a Cyrano Ibis radar. Optional was SEPR 841 rocket for dash speeds below the lower rear fuselage. Usually one missile Matra R.530 was fitted and often two 30mm guns. Ground attack missions were also possible. First order of 95 for French AF and also for Swiss AF with a total of 244 built, including CJ for Israel with different equipment from 1963, 16 CZ aircraft for South Africa.
Mirage IIID was the two seat version of the O for the RAAF. Some also delivered to Lebanon, DP with 3 aircraft for Pakistan.
Mirage IIIE version was the long range fighter bomber with the SNECMA Atar 9c engine and optional SEPR 844 rocket. The E had a fuselage that was 30 cm longer in front of the intakes as compared to the earlier C versions. It is easily seen at the cockpit sides. Often a Doppler is fitted below the nose and the radar was the Cyrano. Over 360 aircraft were built with first delivery started beginning 1964. Sub-versions of the E include: EL for Lebanon, EP for Pakistan, and EZ for South Africa delivered 1965 period. The Mirage IIIO was for Australia and had some other systems.
Mirage IIIR is a reconnaissance version of the E. It had 5 Omega camera's in the nose and no radar. The RD had a Doppler below the nose and could carry big 370 gallon tanks. Other deliveries of the R were 3 RP for Pakistan, 17 RS for Switzerland. The RZ was similar to the RD and for the SAAF.
Mirage 5 or Mirage V is a ground attack version derived from the E and no radar fitted flying under VFR. It had simpler systems and probably a simpler landing gear but had no less that 7 stations to carry stores. Some could also fly as interceptors with the Sidewinder missile. The Mirage 5J was for Israel.
Mirage 5BA was for Belgium with again no radar but with a better navigation system. The BD was the two seater for Belgium and the BR the recon version with 5 Vinten camera's. It had an arrestor hook and SABCA made the type in license. Later on, it got ECM systems and flare dispensers.
The Revell kit in 1/32 scale of the Mirage III was issued long ago in 1975 and appeared in various kit boxes. The Mirage III in the kit is of the later Mirage III series.
The basic shapes are all there in the grey aluminium coloured plastic with mostly raised panel lines. You get an engine to be fitted into the fuselage and a selection of stores with fuel tanks, bombs and missiles. All parts are rather basic and crude in some areas like the missiles.
Recently, the some kit popped up as Revell re-issued it in several boxes like the Belgian memphisto scheme (on the left). It also came in a traditional box (# 00185-389N) seen on the right.
The kit parts need cleaning up and carefull removal of their sprues so use a good cutter here. Remove the flash and use sand paper to smoothen things up. The canopy parts are thankfully cristal clear.
Instructions of Revell are acceptable and typical of the age with some colour info. Colours given are generic in nature.
A couple of models will be made of this kit.
First I selected to make an Australian test Mirage IIIO of the ARDU (Australian Research and Development Unit) test squadron based in Edinburg Australia 1985. This plane has some special modifications like camera windows in the nose. It sports an attractive white and orange livery.
The other Mirage IIIE model will be made in parallel and will be for a traditional French Air Force Mirage in a metal finish with red detail markings. Obviously this must simply be in the collection seen in many pictures in the past! (I will try to make a model of the French AF of EC 2/13 ALPES as based on Colmar France in 1965; this means I have to search for decals or make my own).
The kit comes with a simple engine. I installed the engine only to get a long exhaust pipe, but used only half the pipe length. Prior to installation, I added some details at the afterburner. The rear part of the fuselage needs some sanding to get a smooth result.
Although the exhaust itself is a bit simple, I will use it and use various metallic colours here. Alternatively you may buy an aftermarket set that provides you with more details on the insides on the exhaust. If you make a Mirage IIIO, it may be an idea to get a F-104 engine exhaust from another kit.
The kit's cockpit and the ejection seat is very basic and needs a lot of work.
First, I got a resin replacement seat from High Planes (kit AC3201). The seat looks very similar to a Martin Baker seat as found in many Hunters.
The edges on the cockpit sides were made thicker with plastic card. The instrument panel was made from card and I will use home made instrument decals to add detail. Also I added detail onto the side panels like a throttle. The rear bulkhead was also a bit detailed. Overall, the cockpit is small and pretty dark, I used "tyre black" in most areas.
I made an internal "tunnel". This was an effort that turned out not really needed.
The nose is a separate part and does not fit well. I needed to do a lot of sanding to get a smooth and symmetrical result. (Revell supplies you with parts for an extra option for a recon camera nose). The fuselage joints needs putty and you will need to remove some ejection pin marks.
Intakes are a bit simple. I added the supports between the backing plate and the fuselage. Also, the back of the triangle lip was covered with card and putty.
The cockpit area, will be detailed later on.
2/ I also drilled open a small hole in the starboard lower fairing at the tail of both models. Revell indicates this as decal #A39.
The wheel legs need more detail and look at real pictures to improve them. The wheel wells cried for detail.
I added various pieces of card and sprue. On most Mirages the doors actually are open when they are parked on the tarmac.
The crude Magic missiles suggesting " Sidewinders " are best replaced!
Not needed is the recon nose; the normal nose doesn't fit very well. For the model of the ARDU, I drilled open 2 holes on both sides on the nose and added a small open scope fairing under the nose tip. I assume that some camera's are equipped in the nose.
There is a need to position down the wing trailing edge flaps as they droop down for a plane parked on the ground. I simple made some cuts and scored the panellines and than bended down the flaps. When you fit the wings, you will end up with large gaps on the lower sides. Add card and plenty of putty here.
Leave these for after you painted the model.
Adjust the flap fairings as you drooped the flaps; make cuts, sand off and glue at an angle.
Model was given after correcting the flaws with putty, an overal metal coat using ALCLAD II Metalizers. I used "highly polished aluminium" on the majority of the airframe surfaces and darker titanium in smaller areas.
There are not that many different metal colours on the real Mirage III, masking was very limited and so this can be relatively quickly done. Buffing the coating will give a noce shine to it.
Model got the orange scheme of the ARDU test flight. After the white satin colour (using Humbrol #130 ), the orange split pattern was masked off using Tamiya tape and the orange airbrushed using Humbrol #18.
Next steps are putting on the decals and details etc. | 2019-04-23T14:04:18Z | http://designer.home.xs4all.nl/models/mirage-3/mirage3-1.htm |
We always try upon impress to our clients the importance of working with us to develop a complete marketing ecosystem: website, social media, photos, video, and copy. As all of these elements are interconnected and impact each other, it’s important to ensure that each are considered and built with the other in mind when they are being developed or produced, and never in a silo. (read more about ecosystems here). Connecting dots between these different channels and utilizing the assets across the entire ecosystem is the most effective to getting your message across. It's considered best practice, but sometimes we find that our clients are so busy or mired in the details that they have a hard time looking at their project through the 50ft lens, which lucky for them is just a part of our process before commencing any work.
With our good friends over at Parker Services, a local, high-end plumbing company featured in some of the city's best restaurants and homes, we got to work on the complete creative suite together. From cooking up a new brand identity, portfolio photos, optimized social pages and a fresh website, to SEO-friendly site copy, team uniforms and vehicle graphics, we worked head-to-toe with Parker Services. We saw an opportunity to develop a visual and voice narrative that stood out from the competition, drawing on brands outside of their industry for inspiration.
While it's sometimes easier to piece-meal projects together, both mentally and budgetarily, there is a greater risk of working off a disjointed ecosystem. From imagery and video, to copy and graphic assets, optimizing all your channels to work together is the best way to get the most bang for your buck. Check out some of the work we did for Parker Services below, as well as the process we took to get to our end result.
We started with a simple brand identity that spoke to their customer and a heritage feel.
Next we went and shot photos of their latest projects, like Optimism Brewery.
As well as their fine work in private residences.
Then we used their new photo assets to create a slick and manageable website.
And optimized their social media channels.
And nothing says "plumbing company" without some good t-shirts, hoodies, and hats for the crew.
Nate Parker, of Parker Services looks pretty good in his signature jacket and hat, in front of their custom van.
A few weeks back we got to work with one of our favorite clients, Therm-a-Rest, on a series of product videos shot in the North Cascades. If you've never been to the North Cascades, going during fall may be one of the best times to go, but any time of year is worth a visit. We used the quaint and scenic town of Mazama as a basecamp for the week's shoot, which is gorgeous in and of itself, and headed into the hills for three days of on-location action.
We feel lucky to be able to call this work, and even luckier to share these adventures with a crew we get to call friends. Stay tuned for the final videos once they are released, but in the meantime check out some behind-the-scenes photos.
Location scouting days aren't so bad when this is the destination.
Six inches off the ground, or six feet? It's all in your head.
It's well worth waking up at the crack of dawn to capture time lapses from a place like this.
This crew is tight. Like too many people cramped in a #vanlife tight.
Katie is busy setting up the Ronin while Penny poses in the background for an unknown photographer.
It's not all fun and games on a shoot, but a lot of the times it is.
Everyone busy setting up the campsite scene.
Heading downhill for a two mile hike back from our high-alpine location.
Earlier this summer we were fortunate to be able to work with our friends at Therma-a-Rest to produce their latest brand video. After a weekend spent in Leavenworth hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hanging around a roaring campfire, this is what we came away with. The only thing better than getting to work on projects like this is working on them with some of your best friends.
It's been an incredible year almost now that we've been working with these guys and it has been fun to offer our full suite of services and watch all of our hard work come to life! Recently we shot some photos for a new campaign launch up in Bellingham, Washington for their me and GO line of insoles and finally got to see the print collateral come together! Check it out!
As cliche as it may be, we at WAU tend to refer to each other as Swiss Army knives. Complete with a wide range of different tools and functions, adept at handling many different situations, and always able to open a bottle. A perfect example of this broad, yet sharp skill set comes from Ben Lindbloom. In addition to crushing his daily Social Strategist & Client Manager duties, Ben is our principal photographer. Over the last year, Ben's photography skills have hit puberty and blossomed while creating high quality images for many WAU clients as well as for his side projects.
There's so much to say about this one but right now we are incredibly inspired by and proud of his continued work with famed heritage outdoor brand, Filson. Ben's photos have begun to grace both catalog and web pages. Check out some of his work below, on his website, and keep an eye out for Filson's latest print catalogs. With an ever growing adoration for the brand, it has been a privilege and adventure traveling across the plains of Montana, the mountain ranges of Alaska and his very own backyard of the Snoqualmie Pass. Can not wait to see where the next adventure takes him! Take a look at some pictures from his latest shoot in AK, and follow him on instagram.
Plants, animals, water, and us humans are all connected through an important and intricate ecosystem. Remove a species of plants and a species of animals will fail, poison the water and we’ll all have a hard time. The marketing ecosystem is no different. From social media sites, websites, email newsletters, and brick and mortar locations, connecting and utilizing these different channels the best way possible is key to getting your message across.
While not nearly as important to our survival and existence as the natural world’s ecosystem, recognizing and leveraging the balance between different marketing channels is key to a successful marketing campaign. A strong campaign hits the mark across all social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Friendster, and works in conjunction with your other marketing messages like email, your website, in-store POP, etc..
Learning how to leverage, keep track of, and sync up all of your channels is the hard part, but not impossible. It’s not just giant brands with huge marketing budgets making the most noise on the internet, anyone can leverage the tools at their fingertips. With the right goals and intentions in mind, they can inspire masses to take action. Spend time to identify what your message and intended output for your social campaign needs to look like, and look at how to use each of your channels uniquely to push that message. Tailoring those messages to the audience and the channel with an appropriate call to action is key to gaining any traction from your campaign.
These days, there are a lot of marketing buzzwords floating around, (like ecosystem!) and even more people who throw them in conversation to sound intelligent, but being able to execute a plan that works with the ecosystem is another thing. With the right guidance, planning, and an understanding of best practices per channel, even the smallest businesses can launch a colossal marketing campaign. Interested in learning more or extending the reach of your current ecosystem? Hit us up! We’d be more than happy to help!
The balance between your caffeine, alcohol and water intake.
Eating enough fruits and vegetables to balance out that frozen pizza diet.
The balance between aperture, shutter speed, ISO.
The number of people who commute by bus, bike, and car.
The amount of acceptable “sun tan” before you just look burnt.
A professional in every sense of the word, Kimmy Fasani is a true Outlier. Not only one of the most talented female snowboarder of all time, but a stand up citizen and a role model for all. After a pretty bad injury a couple years ago, she could have easily hung up her hat and took it easy, but she rose to the challenge and rehabbed past what her doctors could have ever expected. In the process, she not only was able to snowboard again, but she discovered new passions like mountain biking and rock climbing and became a more well-rounded athlete. In addition to all of this, she is also one of the nicest and most genuine people you could ever hope to meet. She was generous enough to make some time during a trans-oceanic flight to catch up with us about her recovery, filming with her skier husband, Chris Benchetler, and her budding triathlon career.
[Outliers] Being an outlier is pretty important to taking on a career as a professional snowboarder, do you think it was in your DNA to be an outlier, or was it a conscious choice you made to be different?
[Kimmy] I grew up knowing I always wanted to do something unordinary. I loved pushing myself and I was pretty fearless, so it seemed natural to be an Outlier.
[O] You suffered through a couple years of injuries lately, but now you seem to be stronger than ever, that has to be brutal, both emotionally and physically. As someone who depends on their body for their paychecks, what goes through your mind and how do you stay motivated through recovery?
[K] I have gone through a lot of changes and growth in the past three years, and my injury was a big part of that. Just when I thought I had a good balance with my snowboarding, progressing my riding, and my sponsors, I had a major injury take place. The most important thing for me was to stay positive and focus on the day-to-day tasks of rehabilitation and healing. When my doctor said most athletes may not recovery 100% from what I had done to my body, I chose to be the small percentage that would recover beyond 100%.
I worked so hard to get back to full strength, both physically and mentally. I really had to detach from all the goals I had before I got hurt, and realign myself with things that were going to be realistic with my year off snow and a slow progression back into this sport that brought me so much happiness. I tried not to stress too much about my contracts and their longevity because those were elements I could not be in control of, all I could control was my rehab process.
[O] You spent some of your time away from the snow getting into biking and even ending up doing a triathlon, did you ever see yourself getting into that realm? Did your recovery time open those doors?
[K] I had always wanted to do a triathlon and decided it was a fun, very ambitious, but a great goal to check off while I had to be off the hill. Biking and this triathlon gave me a way to see growth and progression as I recovered. They helped me mentally realize I could do anything I put my mind to.
[O] What was it like to get involved with another sector of the active lifestyle industry? Did you notice any major cultural differences between the two sports?
[K] Getting the chance to work with Chris MacCormmick, a professional triathlete, was really cool and inspiring. There are so many ways to push our minds and bodies, and being able to test out my abilities in that arena was a great experience. We share a lot of similarities in how we all push through challenges. I would love to continue to do triathlons for this reason.
[O] In addition to snowboarding and cycling, you seem to be a very active rock climber and hiker, how do those activities help your snowboarding?
[K] Rock climbing and hiking have been really fun activities to keep me outside during the off-season. Both these sports help keep me mentally and physically challenged and strong. They help me stay in the moment and great ways to spend time in the mountains and in nature. Climbing was pretty intimidating to get into because there were a lot of elements I had to trust before I felt comfortable on the rock, and I had to learn to trust my gear (harness, ropes, and belayer). I love climbing because it forces me to be present and stay in the moment. It’s a very mental sport; if your mind isn’t in the right place you may not make it up the route.
Hiking and trail running are other hobbies because I love seeing the mountains by trail. It’s serene, peaceful, and also exhilarating and exhausting. I have a deep appreciation for being able to use my body to its fullest capacity since I got hurt. These two outlets are my favorite ways to stay in shape.
[O] Your health and healthy living seem to be a big aspect of your life, is that a byproduct of getting older, or is it pretty much mandatory to being a professional athlete these days?
[K] I think living a healthy and active life is something we all learn through experience. I have had a lot of people in my family struggle or pass away from cancer, and I want to do as much as possible to stay healthy in the hopes of avoiding it myself. I also find that living a healthy lifestyle makes me and my body feel good. I try to live life to the fullest and eat everything in moderation because of the things I have seen or have gone through personally. I think it’s important to be aware of what we are putting in our bodies, but I don’t think it’s mandatory to be “healthy" to be a snowboarder. However, being healthy and staying fit will probably give some riders more longevity in their careers. I especially noticed that being strong and having a healthy diet before I got hurt helped tremendously as I recovered.
[O] It must be hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you spend most of the year traveling around the world, what are some of the things you do that other people could work into their lives to stay healthy?
[K] Creating a routine while on the road has been really important to maintaining my lifestyle. I always have healthy snacks in my bag and I try to eat pure, unpackaged foods as much as possible. I try to eat mostly organic, and personally have chosen to limit my meat intake unless I know where the meat is from.
As for activity, I always have my running shoes in my bag. Since filming in the backcountry is pretty hard on my body with the hiking, sledding, falling, etc, I don’t stress too much about working out in a gym everyday during winter. If I have a have a handful of down days in a row while waiting for weather to clear, I will go bouldering or workout in a local gym.
[O] Last season, you filmed with your husband, pro skier Chris Benchetler, and the Nimbus Independent crew, how did that arrangement come about? Was that the first time you have had the chance to film with your husband?
[K] It was a really great experience being able to film with Chris and his crew last season. I was having a hard time finding a place on a backcountry crew and these guys were awesome to let me tag along with them. That was the first time Chris and I had spent continuous time in the backcountry together. There were times where we would look at each other standing at the top of a jump and we would just start laughing because we got to share our passions for the mountains and winter sports together.
[O] Did you notice any differences between filming with skiers and filming with snowboarders?
[K] Filming with snowboarders and skiers has a lot of similarities, like terrain and feature choices. However, skiers can generate speed more quickly on an in-run to a jump than a snowboarder because of their poles and being able to skate with their skis. Therefore, some of the jumps and lines skiers pick can have limitations for a snowboarder.
[O] A lot of women and girls look to you as an inspiration, which must be flattering, but who do you look up to and why? Have you had a chance to meet any of your role models the way people get to meet you and get inspired?
[K] I am always very humbled and flattered when others tell me I have inspired them. Some of my biggest role models have been men and women who step outside the norm and have overcome challenges, which have led them to success. I can’t say I have one specific role model, but I am constantly being inspired by others who live life with a positive and ambitious attitude.
[O] Burton released your full part from the 2014 season, which must have been a relief after being out of the action for so long, are you proud of what you were able to put out?
[K] I am so grateful to have something to show for last season and even though my segment wasn’t my best snowboarding or filled with new tricks, I am proud that I was able to get back on my board and push myself out of my comfort zone while staying healthy. My injury played a big toll on my mind, and more than anything I just wanted to know that I could come back and be comfortably scared again. I really struggled to land tricks last year and I think part of it was that my body wasn't ready or strong enough to be hitting the jumps I was hitting. Mentally I had to try, and falling made me realize I was going to be okay! I’m hoping that this season I can start trying new tricks and showcasing the type of riding I know I am capable of.
[O] Can you tell us what you have in store for this season?
[K] This season I will be building a video part for the Transworld Snowboarding movie, which is really exciting! I just arrived in Japan with the Nimbus Independent crew and will spend majority of my season with them again. I am just trying to wait to see what Mother Nature does with snow and let my travel plans be dictated by her weather patterns.
[O] If you could travel back in time and talk to 14-year old Kimmy, what do you think she would think of this woman standing before her? Is there anything you would want to tell her?
[K] 14-year old Kimmy would be astonished that all of her childhood dreams have been fulfilled and that she could accomplish so much in life and snowboarding. At 14-years old my dad had just passed away and I was a mess. I was pretty challenging for my mom and snowboarding was honestly what kept me out of a lot of trouble. At that point in my life I had two choices, one was to stay positive and chase sports as a way to stay sane. The other would have been a dark road that probably would not have ended too well. Having a mom who was so supportive of me and my passions helped me chose the first option.
Looking back I would tell my 14-year old self to stay encouraged, positive, patient, and trust that all the bad will be overshadowed by the good. All of the struggles will be worth it in the end and your life will be even more beautiful than you can imagine! The dark moments in life will only make you a stronger and enlightened person in the end.
A decade ago, "content marketing" wasn't even a thing, yet there were plenty of us already laying the ground work for what would arguably become one of the most pervasive buzz words in marketing. Early on I saw the gap between marketers, the folks creating the strategies and budgets, and those who were expected to execute on those strategies and develop the assets in order to fulfill them. Enter Puget Sound Creative and plenty of other companies who would serve as bridges to those gaps. I have found that having marketers and creators sitting at the same table is crucial to any content and brand marketing strategy. Everyone who works with us has cross-functional backgrounds and, at minimum, a solid understanding of all facets of our business and offering. All our creatives and collaborators have been hand-picked with our values and clients in mind.
2015 marks the 4th year of what has been an incredible journey for myself and all of the people who have trusted and believed in what we have been building over here at Puget Sound Creative. I set out to create a platform to connect creatives, marketers, and individuals pioneering this incredibly inspiring wellspring of ideas and visual narrative, driving the future of marketing to the businesses that need it most. At that time, many saw this concept and my vision as a "unicorn". I too, was not 100% sure how exactly it was going to pan out, but in the least, I knew that we would have fun making magic with some really great people along the way, and off we went.
So here we are. PSC has scaled from being one person in a basement room in a house shared with a couple friends, consisting of long nights and longer days with intermittent breaks for food and play. Now we're up to 5+ full time employees, a collection of incredible collaborators, and an office space! I am pleased to say that we are not your typical "agency". We believe that every single company and individual has a unique story and that deserves a tailored relationship with the tools and mechanisms for which we would expect to help tell their story. We do not have MBA's, we do not have the fanciest tools and buzzwords in our back pockets, (However, I may have a few good ones) and we certainly do not wear ties or power suits (Though I do think I might like one). We do have fun, we are constantly creating for our clients and in our personal lives, and we are certainly inspired by all of our clients, friends, and collaborators. We hope to be able to inspire you and your customers as well. | 2019-04-20T09:16:30Z | http://www.weareunicorns.co/blog?offset=1454704655415 |
At Breit Cantor Grana Buckner, we are committed to providing our clients with the care, attention, and dedicated representation they deserve. For more than 40 years, we have made it our goal to take on negligent entities and hold them accountable for the harm they cause. Browse our client testimonials to see what others have to say about our legal team and if you were injured or lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, reach out to our Virginia personal injury attorneys today for a free consultation.
The team provided my wife and me with the most professional legal advice and representation that in my mind helped us receive the best settlement in our case we could expect.
Ron H. and Jan H.
This attorney is polite, patient, and takes time to listen to what is being said. Makes you feel comfortable. If I need an attorney for a severe injury, he would surely be the one. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate him the highest.
We recently associated Cantor, Stoneburner in a tragic wrongful death case that got resolved for top dollar in large measure because of the legal ability, creativity, and tenacity of Irv Cantor and his team. When you associate Breit Cantor Grana Buckner, you get it all: smarts, diligence, compassion, resources, relationships, and most of all, results!
I was involved in a serious traffic accident. I was fortunate enough to have Scott Bucci recommended to me as an advocate for a fair and just financial settlement with the insurance companies involved. I was totally satisfied with the way my case was handled and would recommend Scott to a friend or relative if needed. [I appreciated] the courteousness and frankness, thoroughness in gathering documentation, availability for inquiries, forthrightness regarding my situation, [and] professionalism in dealing with insurance companies.
I am the senior partner of a 19 lawyer plaintiff’s personal injury firm in West Virginia and Ohio. I have referred cases to Irv Cantor and his team, and Irv has referred cases to me and my firm. There is no one in the State of Virginia that I would rather refer cases to than Irv Cantor. I can also state without hesitation that he represents the highest ideals of our legal profession, and he is a credit to our profession. I have not made such glowing remarks and used these terms I have used above for any other lawyer that I have been associated with, outside my own law firm.
Having gone through my injury and everything else that came along with it, was a very stressful time. Stephanie understood the stress that I was under and tried to make things as smooth and easy as possible. She explained everything so that I would understand what was going on, which step of the process we were in, and what to expect next. If I was uneasy about anything, Stephanie spent time talking through things with me. It was a very emotional period for me, and Stephanie understood that. She put all of her energy into this case, finding excellent experts, researching my injury and related injuries, and building a very strong case. The hours, the research, and the dedication will be appreciated for a lifetime.
My family and I will be eternally grateful for what you have done for our son. During an extremely emotional time, you were understanding, caring, professional, and communicated clearly every step of the way. The amount of work and dedication your firm put into our case was obvious and much appreciated. Nothing means more than feeling like you cared about our son as much as we do. Special thanks to Stephanie Grana and Elliott Buckner.
I was extremely happy with Mr. Bucci’s representation. It was simple yet strong. The other lawyer was ‘way over the top’ and sometimes I thought that would influence the jury toward their side, but in the long run, they saw through it. If you’re truthful you do not need to present your case for hours on end. That was Mr. Bucci’s theory and it worked perfectly. He was professional and polite, and I was very impressed with his presentation and very happy with the outcome. Also, whenever I needed an update before my case went to trial, it was easy to get. Everyone in the office was easy to talk to and gave me the information I needed.
I have had the fortunate pleasure of co-counseling two cases with Irv Cantor and his team. The first, a medical negligence case, settled for $5,900,000 and the second, a wrongful death case, resulted in a jury verdict for more than was ever offered pre-trial. My joint venture with Irv and his team at Breit Cantor Grana Buckner was not only successful but also quite enjoyable. I look forward to my next joint venture with Breit Cantor Grana Buckner.
I didn’t know where to turn. I called one attorney and he said that his firm wasn’t right for me, that I should call Stephanie. In a way, it was easier for me to talk to a woman about my case. I could speak more freely with Stephanie because it was woman to woman. My injury is very hard to talk about. It’s embarrassing and an intimate situation. I handled it the best I could and they helped me through it. They worked together as a terrific team and really went the extra mile for me.
Your law firm is absolutely awesome! I believe you are the epitome of professionalism and action on behalf of your clients. Thank you so much!
We were so blessed when we were referred to your law firm. You're a great lawyer and a wonderful person. We will forever be in your debt. Thank you so much for all of your hard work!
We had interviewed other law firms before choosing one to represent us. During our initial consultation, it became apparent that Stephanie Grana and Irvin Cantor stood out above the crowd. They possessed intimate knowledge of how to proceed with brain injury case and were well equipped to take on our case. Their trial experience is very impressive. They were willing to listen to us and asked probing questions for case preparation. They discussed the possible pitfalls of a lengthy trial. They were upfront about costs and trial timelines. They mapped out a clear cut legal strategy and proceeded to build the case. Stephanie and Irvin sought out viable expert witnesses, deposed them and wrote a superb synopsis of our case. Prior to deposition, Stephanie prepared us well and during depositions was our champion assuring the defense of our rights. We were kept well informed as the case progressed. Stephanie prepared such a fine case that the defense realized the complete futility of going to trial. The defense team made a reasonable offer for an out of court settlement, bringing our case to a successful close. For this, we are very grateful. We highly recommend this firm for representation.
After being involved in a car accident as a passenger in a vehicle that was rear-ended, I was referred to the law firm of Breit Cantor Grana Buckner. I was very grateful that I contacted them early on as they were able to help me through every step of my case. I had the pleasure of working with Elliott Bucker, Lori Tracoma, and Janie Pomfret, who all remained readily available and always willing to answer my questions and walk me through the various phases of my case. I greatly appreciated both their insight and foresight in providing reasonable expectations through the various stages of my case which was very reassuring for me. Never having used any form of legal services in the past, having their guidance significantly helped me in understanding the various processes better. From assisting with issues resolving subrogation to negotiation, trial, and settlement, I always felt confident that my case was in the right hands. They were very attentive and quick to respond to my many questions and truly cared about me not only as a client but also as a friend. I would highly recommend Breit Cantor Grana Buckner as they are remarkably knowledgeable, trustworthy and will use all of their resources to fight to make sure that you get what you deserve.
There is no doubt in my mind that if I had not retained Scott Bucci the outcome would have no way been so favorable. Thanks so very much for a job well done!! From the beginning to end Scott and his team were very professional and eager to answer questions and be truly encouraging. He did an excellent job.
I was retained to represent the family of a woman killed in a tragic accident in Virginia. Due to the high profile nature of the case, I knew it was vital to retain an extremely high-profile law firm. After consideration and discussions with other prominent Virginia attorneys, I chose Irv Cantor and his team. From Day 1, it became crystal clear that I had made the right decision. I have no doubt that the efforts of Breit Cantor Grana Buckner were the primary reason for the case resolving quite favorably.
Stephanie Grana made dealing with a very difficult situation for my family and me much easier. She and all of the staff at Breit Cantor Grana Buckner showed compassion and understanding for our situation and always kept us informed every step of the way. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Stephanie Grana and I would recommend BCGB to anyone who may need their services.
I want to thank you for everything you have done to help my son. I'm very happy to know that we found the best firm to handle this case! I will always refer clients your way.
The first conversation I had with Scott I knew I had the right attorney. He listed to what I had to say and I could tell he was a very caring person. Scott told me what he would try to do and he did it. If I ever need an attorney it will be Scott. I was very pleased with the outcome of my case and this is why I say thank you so much, Scott.
I partnered with Irv Cantor on a wrongful death case with a Virginia decedent. Irv and his team are everything I was looking for in an associating counsel – a keen insight into local courts, lawyers, and businesses; great judgment; a willingness to work through difficult procedural or substantive issues; and empathy for the decedent’s family. He, together with Stephanie Grana and Elliott Buckner, offered the ability to utilize mock juries and to use technology to present a case in its best light. They are very practical and easy to work with – I would work with them again in a minute if the opportunity presented itself.
Having Stephanie on my side made me feel stronger, like Girl Power! All the defense team, including the doctor, were male and I felt like Stephanie was sticking up for me to them. It made it easier to show and discuss my personal injury with a woman and felt that she understood why I felt so violated. The stressful process was a little easier with Stephanie beside me.
I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done, not just for me, but for my whole family. It has made a big difference in our lives and I really appreciate it.
The communication was excellent and I was never left wondering. Even if I could not speak right away with Mr. Bucci, he was always prompt about returning calls. Mr. Bucci was right on top of things from day one. It was a trying time for me but Scott and his entire staff were exceptional. I was never left in the dark and was always well informed. I also believe Mr. Bucci’s expertise resulted in a fair disposition of my case. All turned out as well as I thought it would. Thank you, Mr. Bucci and I would without a doubt refer you to a friend. Five stars. Thank you again.
I am a sole practitioner in Alexandria. When I was referred to a catastrophic injury case, I associated Irv Cantor and his team to assist me. It proved to be a wise decision. The case resolved for $3,000,000. The joint venture was both smart and successful. In 37 years of law practice, I have worked with hundreds of attorneys, and the Breit Cantor Grana Buckner team is at the very top of my list.
Stephanie - It has truly been a pleasure working with you on this case. And, I don't say that lightly. I find most plaintiff's attorneys are really not interested in the client, but you truly were. Working with you as a plaintiff's attorney has been very pleasantly different than many I have either worked with or sat across from. Tracy should be very pleased that she chose you.
My legal representation was led by Mr. Scott Bucci. My case settled at mediation with favorable results. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone who has a personal injury claim, and I would not hesitate to use him in the future.
Mr. Bucci took time to understand my injury situation and to provide expert advice on what actions to take. Your help at a very difficult and painful time was very much appreciated. Thank you for being there for me.
If you need a lawyer call this firm! They are not only lawyers but true friends. They will defend you from the start to the end. Always available when you needed them no matter what. People that you can really trust. Thanks to you!
Breit Cantor Grana Buckner provided regular updates on my case and responded promptly to my phone calls and questions. During the litigation process, BCGB gave me realistic assessments as the facts were developed, and solicited my input and feedback. As we prepared for depositions, the BCGB team clearly explained the process and addressed any anxiety or angst I expressed; at the depositions, I was proud of the way they controlled the situation and represented my interests. The three years encompassing my injury, my relative recovery, and the ensuing litigation were hands down, the most stressful three years of an otherwise very positive long life. BCGB always addressed me with professional concern and compassion, and a good sprinkling of humor. I will not hesitate to work with them again if circumstances require.
Having gone through my injury and everything else that came along with it, was a very stressful time. The attorneys at Breit Cantor Grana Buckner understood the stress that I was under and tried to make things as smooth and easy as possible. They explained everything so that I would understand what was going on, which step of the process we were in, and what to expect next. If I was uneasy about anything, a team member would spend time talking through things with me. It was a very emotional period for me, and the BCGB legal team understood that. They put all of their energy into this case, finding excellent experts, researching my injury and related injuries, and building a very strong case. The hours, the research, and the dedication will be appreciated for a lifetime.
I was very pleased with Mr. Bucci’s professional manner, keeping me informed, explanations, and the help of his staff was awesome!! This was my first and I hope only personal injury, and I could not ask for better representation. I would have gotten nothing without it. A million thanks!!
After the first appointment with Mr. Bucci, we felt at ease and comfortable. We knew that the accident was not our fault, but the insurance company kept giving us the run-around. We trusted the expertise of Mr. Bucci and we can say we are satisfied life-long clients of his law firm. We would and do gladly recommend them to our friends. The whole staff is so polite and nice and very prompt. They provide outstanding customer service – the Five Star treatment.
My attorney has carefully guided me through a few situations that have popped up in life. Very straight forward and trustworthy. Thanks!!
The attorneys are dedicated and thorough. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table for his clients. Always available and always personable. True professionals.
My son was struck by a city truck and sustained a traumatic brain injury. I hired Attorneys Breit Cantor Grana Buckner and they took care of everything. They interviewed every single witness that observed the accident in order to prove how the accident happened which was critical because my son’s head injury prevented him from remembering the accident. Everyone who worked on my son’s case made me feel like it was a top priority. Their diligence allowed me to focus on my son’s health. They did everything else. They are like family.
From the moment I first contacted the attorneys about my personal injury, they treated me like a member of their family, I never felt like a ‘client’. They were always there for me, whether it was to give me emotional support or to answer any questions I had. While I was going through my recovery, they visited me at my home to make sure all of my needs were met and they called me on a regular basis to see how I was feeling and to find out if there was anything they could bring me or do for me. I never once had to worry about my case or had to figure anything out on my own, they were by my side every step of the way until my case was successfully settled. Without their help, I never could have moved on with my life.
Attorney Mike Imprevento represented me in a suit against a windshield manufacturer and the dealership from which my bike (with windshield) was purchased. His extensive experience and expertise led to a fair and just settlement, allowing me to close the door on a most difficult time in my life as a result of a rather severe facial injury. Be assured that Mr. Imprevento and the entire staff at Breit Cantor Grana Buckner provided excellent legal counsel and sound direction on which you can depend. | 2019-04-19T18:35:46Z | https://www.virginiatrialfirm.com/testimonials/ |
I like the word “stuff” . . . it offers an easy out when I can’t come up with a title for a post. It also sports a nonchalantness that speaks to confidence and aloofness while at the same time connects with the ordinariness of life, especially when referencing July 28th, a well known ordinary day.
They call those “helmet urchins” and sometimes “shingle urchins” and they’re found at the boundary formed by immovable rocks clashing with dynamic oceans. These guys know something about holding on for dear life as powerful waves assault the shores of this island.
. . . er . . . actually — at least on this side of the island — waves have been mighty scarce. We’re now on our sixth or seventh week without significant waves. No waves, no surfers . . . it’s been a long spell — a powerful long time — since I last snapped a photo of a surfer. Every day, the water sports a slight chop but is — for the most part — surprisingly calm.
Anyway, on this ordinary day, I walked the shoreline near Casa de Emdeko, the place where we usually stayed when visiting the Big Island. I was hoping for some tidal pools dispersed along the rocky shores, but I came away somewhat disappointed. I mean, I saw some interesting things. Things like, for instance, my old friend Elephant Log . . .
. . . and yet another bleached coral looking like a face (tilt your head sideways; if you don’t see it, try the other way) . . .
In fact, everywhere I looked there were faces . . .
By the way, that’s blatant false advertising . . . that object was easily identifiable; it’s a parasail . . . I could see the people hanging from it . . .
Yes, all of these shots are from the Nikon P900. It was a very hot day and I didn’t feel like lugging around 15 pounds of photo equipment in a black shoulder pack. As it was, after forty minutes, I was literally drenched from dripping sweat.
Here are some shots of the helmet urchins on shores caressed by gentle swells.
I might have left you with the impression that I didn’t see much by way of tidepools, and that is correct . . . but I did see some. I’ll show most of the photos, but all of the photos are both in the gallery below and in the SmugMug Gallery HERE.
A couple of things with those photos . . . those little black fish — they range from half-inch to as long as 4-5 inches — are very quick at hiding whenever you near the pools. You then have to stand there, not moving, for a little while before they venture out again.
The other things to note are all the shells. You can see it in a couple of instances, but those are all hermit crabs.
Something else amazes me about these fish . . . they jump from pool to pool. I’m talking a couple of feet and occasionally more. So, for instance, it was common for me to walk up to a little pool and have the fish take running . . . er . . . swimming leaps into the next pool over. Sometimes, they jump two or three pools in quick succession.
So, here’s the thing . . . how do they know? How do they know about the other pool, where it is, and how far to jump? The explanation I have is that they “learn” the lay of the land — so to speak — when its underwater and then remember it when the tide recedes and all that’s left are the pools.
Still, it seems like a leap of faith because they have no way of knowing if there’s water in the next pool over or — if there is — how much. Leap of faith . . . get it? They jump . . . nevermind, it’s not important.
Anyway, I’m impressed. They always seem to know which way to jump and land in the middle of the next pool. I’ve never seen one jump and land on dry lava.
You might have noticed the water is limpid . . .
Overall, the ocean is pretty clear . . . except, you know, for all the fish excrement, microorganism, and FSM knows what else swims around in there that we cannot see. It also helped that I was shooting with a circular polarizer, thus eliminating most of the reflection from the top of the water.
As usual, lots of crabs around . . .
Most are small, but a few — like that last one — were a good size. They also blend in pretty well.
. . . and they are quick, hence why some of the shots are blurred. Yeah, that’s right. It’s not the photographer’s fault; it’s the subjects that screw things up.
But, back to the pools . . .
It sure looks like there’s not much happening, don’t it?
Don’t you envy them? A pretty simple life, completely unaware of two idiots threatening nuclear destruction on each other.
Oops! . . . I really don’t want to go there. Maybe I’ll do a post about the human condition and the assholes who actively diminish its quality. But not today.
Today, we watch these little suckers — literally.
Here’s another short clip . . .
For them interested, the above — save the limpid water shot — are all from this one pool . . .
A microcosm all onto itself, roughly four feet by one foot wide.
This next shot is of the Kona Body Glove, one of Kona’s tour boats, coming back from an excursion. The photo is grainy because it was at maximum zoom; the boat was about 150 yards or so from my position on shore.
I’m only showing it as an intro to the video of it . . .
I find it interesting that the videos appear better than the still photos. Then again, the videos are seldom shot at maximum magnification.
Let me show you a few more things you see when walking with your eyes looking down.
Something that looks like a potato stuck in the lava . . .
. . . a sea slug in a shallow pool . . .
. . . a very interesting collage of broken coral along with a larger piece that must have been worn smooth by the wave action . . .
Here’s a closeup of the broken coral pieces along with a mixture of shell remains . . .
But, that grapefruit-sized piece of coral really held my interest. I very much wanted to grab it and add it to my 10-20 pounds worth of samples from beaches around the island. Except, I don’t know what I would do with it . . . still, I now regret not grabbing it.
If you click on the photo, you can see its interesting texture. I think it would have made for an excellent macro subject.
These next three shots were snapped because I plan on using them for some of the Deep Dream combinations. Plus, you know, they look interesting.
Same area with a progressively longer zoom. If the sequence seems to get darker, that’s because the sun decided to hide behind a cloud as I was shooting.
I’ll end with a series of shots of a gate. That’s right; one of them rolling gates that keep people from coming into your driveway.
There are three gates I’ve been meaning to photograph, and this is one of them. You got to admit it’s pretty cool.
The waterfront house sits on a small private lot. At 1,400 square feet, it’s larger than most, and it looks well maintained. It can be yours for a mere $1,999,900. A bargain, really; I mean, it looks much better than many of the homes along Aliʻi drive, including some of the shacks directly opposite it . . . plus, you get the neat gate with it. But, you know, it must cost a lot to insure for even a small tsunami will do some damage.
Here are a few close-ups of some of the features. There are a few more photos in the gallery below.
And that was a day of stuff. Well, really, only a few hours of it. The rest of the day we were back at the condo, sitting in front of multiple fans and trying not to move too much.
Here is the gallery of all the photos from July 28, 2017.
This entry was posted in Opinions and Stuff, Photography Stuff and tagged Hawaii, personal musings, Photography, photography stuff, scenery. Bookmark the permalink.
A very impressive gate, weld art! I bet it takes some upkeep as well, although I guess they have someone who comes in and cleans and paints it for them.
Knowing how easily everything rusts here, yes, that gate requires a lot of maintenance.
Thank you, Scott. I’m way behind on these kinds of posts . . . too many interests, have I.
Helmet urchins. Good-looking little … things. The fish that know where to jump for the next pool — fascinating. And that gate is truly inspired. I wonder if some billionaire up in Aspen has done something similar, with an appropriate mountain decor.
The other gates I like (here) have similar sea motifs. I imagine there are others who want a reflection of their environment as decoration to their homes.
I’ve seen wood carvings at the entrances of drives when I was in Colorado (eagles, bears, pumas) but have not seen gates as ornate as this one depicting mountain wildlife.
I’m glad you went exploring on July 28th. Nice pics!
Thanks. Like I mentioned above, I should publish more of my wanderings. I still have stuff from last year and more stuff from this year.
I went to the SmugMug gallery and viewed most of these in Original . . . all the texture shots (most of this post) would do splendid in Deep Dream. The helmet urchins are especially a treat in Original. Good stuff here!
I was pleased with the quality of the P900 shots. Still off from the D7000 with a lens that itself costs more than the P900, but overall very usable shots. I’m thinking of not carrying the full complement of gear for the trip. We’ll see.
Life everywhere you look! Thanks for taking amazing photos of it, Emilio!
Love seeing the helmet urchins! Wow!
Thanks, diem3 and a wish you a nice weekend as well.
We’re also supposed to have rain, but it usually comes overnight.
As for the critters, yes, lots of life everywhere you look. Occasionally, more than one wants, but I suppose that’s better than no life.
One of your better lots of stuff, pity about the sound on those denizons of the deep clips, even blasted my ears, christ knows what it did to those with normal hearing.
Don’t you ever check these things and consider the comfort of the few viewers that you still have?
Thank you. As for the sound, I cannot control the volume on your PC. It’s not playing loud on mine. That, by the way, is the sound of the ocean.
In case you don’t know, the ocean is big. So big that even its mildest susurrus seem deafening to us mere mortals. I say, enjoy the roar, the blast of an immense entity — the Pacific Ocean — speaking to us.
I lived beside the Pacific for 40 years ad it never made so much noise up here in the Southern Hemisphere!
Where you listening? People often “tune out” familiar and repetitive sounds.
Beari, you have volume control in the video window as well as on your computer (or mobile device). Just adjust to a comfortable level.
You watch; he’ll now deny that he goes off his rocker.
I’m sorry; did you say something? I had the volume turned down.
Forgot to mention that your opening reminded me immediately of George Carlin’s routine on “Stuff.” Available on YouTube and elsewhere. | 2019-04-19T17:19:51Z | https://dispersertracks.com/2017/08/12/a-day-of-stuff/ |
Jeremy Corbyn is merely stating the obvious. No, of course we would not go to war with Russia. For anything, ever. Although we did intervene after the Revolution in support of what we still regarded as the legitimate government, we have not gone to war with Russia, as such, since 1856. Owen Smith’s suggestion that we would, should or could do so is as naïve as his suggestion that we should have a nice cup of tea and a chat with the Islamic State.
The Conservative Party failed to support those who were holding the line against what is now IS. Indeed, it wanted to bomb them. But it has understandably issued an attack ad against Smith on the subject. Yes, Smith is soft on IS. Corbyn, however, is not. The Soft Left is called that for a reason. As is the Hard Left. That latter is highly unlikely, for its own reasons, to support almost any war that the Anglo-American foreign policy Establishment is ever going to want to wage. Throughout the last 20 years, it has been right about that. But it is not pacifist. Very far from it. Nor is it anything less than clearheaded. Very far from it.
NATO already revolves around Erdogan’s Turkey, while all and sundry are being let in. The next in the queue in the ghastly regime in Olympically corrupt, but strategically irrelevant, Montenegro. With honourable, but very rare, exceptions, the Labour Right is hopeless on these matters. A kind of chest-beating international hawkishness was one of the ways in which it defined itself as a distinct faction or tendency.
In New Labour, that mixed with the anti-Soviet fanaticism of those who had very recently been Trotskyists or Eurocommunists. Those were perhaps the only two factions or tendencies that ever truly believed that the Soviet Union had either the means or the will to invade Western Europe, as we now know for a fact that it did not. Traditional Tories recognised that the USSR was a ramshackle operation waiting to collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.
Although they were also among those who recognised, when it and Yugoslavia disintegrated, that two geopolitical catastrophes had thus occurred, the unpleasant ramifications of which would be felt for generations, even for centuries. Therefore, the heirs of Enoch Powell and Alan Clark ought to know better about NATO today. They have been as right as Corbyn and the Morning Star in the past. They ought to be so again.
NATO membership causes us to give undertakings that we have no intention of honouring, and in reality could not honour even if we wanted to do so. It causes us to give those undertakings to entities that do not deserve them, whether strategically, morally, or both. And it subjects us to a supranational body that presumes to demand two per cent of our Gross Domestic Product. Not only that, but it really only expects a handful of states, including our own, to meet that in practice.
Imagine the reaction of the NATO zealots in Parliament and the Press, or at least of the Tory ones, if it were so much as suggested that the United Kingdom now accede to a body of that kind. They ought to join those of us who demand that that body be dissolved, and that the United Kingdom begin that process by seceding from it unilaterally, unconditionally, and immediately.
Yet what a far less hysterical time the Cold War was. Everyone with any sense knew that it was all lies. People who could not see that, including those who imagined that a threat of domestic revolution existed, were a joke even at the time. But we shall come back to them. The Soviet Union had neither the will nor the means to invade Western Europe, never mind the United States. It had no desire whatever for alternative centres of Communist power. It would in any case collapse under the weight of its own contradictions, exactly as and when it did.
Consider quite what Britain was like in those decades without the world’s coming to an end, or the United Kingdom’s constitutional order collapsing, or either party of government’s adopting Marxism-Leninism, or anything like that. The intelligence services were so riddled with Soviet agents from top to bottom that it was a standing joke even among the general public. Such penetration extended even to the Royal Households. As the exposure of two dead Ministers as Czechoslovak agents has demonstrated, it also extended to the very right-wing elements both of the Labour Party (John Stonehouse) and of the Conservative Party (Ray Mawby).
Professing oneself a Communist was always perfectly respectable at the very highest levels of British society, where it was treated as just another aristocratic eccentricity. Wogan Phillips, second Baron Milford, sat as a Communist in the House of Lords for 31 years until his death in 1993: throughout most of the 1960s, and throughout all of the 1970s and the 1980s. He still called himself a Communist even after the party had dissolved itself in 1991.
Eric Hobsbawm ended up as a Companion of Honour. Neither Tony Benn nor Michael Foot ever did, even though it would have been the obvious gong for both of them. It is notable that, unlike the second Viscount Stansgate, the second Baron Milford never disclaimed his peerage. In point of fact, the latter’s party was a moderating force, especially over and against sections of the Labour Left, which contained people whose views, Trotskyist and otherwise, were far more extreme.
Throughout its history, the Communist Party of Great Britain was avowedly and actively opposed to a violent revolution in this country, holding, as Lenin had done, that its objectives could and should be attained wholly within and through the British constitutional and parliamentary process.
By the 1970s, especially, by no means everyone on the Labour Left took that view. Most still did. But by no means all. And Labour had had a problem with Trotskyist infiltration for as long as there had been Trotskyists at all. The CPGB was full of intelligence agents, but the intelligence agencies were full of Eastern Bloc agents, and so on, and on, and on, and on, and on. We shall never know the extent to which the turning of those wheels within wheels prevented or resolved industrial disputes, precluded those disputes’ escalation, and so forth.
Certainly, the CPGB was capable of highly fruitful co-operation with the trade union and Labour Right, much of which was very Right indeed and had all the British and American connections to match. Compare and contrast the successful partnership between Mick McGahey and Joe Gormley in 1972 and 1974 (against a Conservative Prime Minister loathed by the overlapping worlds of MI5, MI6 and his party’s own right wing) with the failure of McGahey and Arthur Scargill in 1984 and 1985.
The Communist had wanted to hold a national ballot, and had always remained open to compromise. He had wanted to reintegrate the UDM without rancour once, as he correctly predicted, its patrons had discarded it. He always called Scargill “that young man”, and he declined ever to write his memoirs or to authorise a biography, since “differences must remain within the family,” which said it all.
McGahey used to appear on things like Any Questions. He was as respectable as that. His union, with the closest ties of any to his party at home, and with an unmatched internationalist tradition stretching deep into the Soviet Bloc, effectively controlled around 85 per cent of the nation’s energy supply for many decades. It did not strike at all between 1926 and 1972, or between 1974 and 1984, an extremely unusual approach during those periods even for trade unionists with vastly less, quite literal, power.
The NUM was also a huge voting bloc at Labour Party Conferences, joined by the numerous Constituency Labour Parties that it effectively controlled. It sponsored enough MPs to make a significant difference, considering the normal size of Labour Governments’ majorities, if any, historically. For almost the whole of that period, only MPs had a vote in Leadership Elections. Look at the Leaders elected.
Like those on the mainstream Labour Left Tribune, certain staffers on the Morning Star were and are members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and Lobby, as their Daily Worker predecessors also were. Such membership required and requires full security clearance to go about the Palace of Westminster, and Lobby membership gives access to twice-daily briefings by the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman. The Daily Worker and then the Morning Star participated in all of that throughout the Cold War, as did Tribune. Did the Realm fall? Well, there you are, then.
Joan Maynard managed to sit not only as a Labour MP but as a member of that party’s National Executive Committee while also, with several other MPs, on the Editorial Advisory Panel of Straight Left, a newspaper and a faction that had been set up because of the feeling that the Communist Party was going soft. In 1979. She served with distinction on the Agriculture Select Committee. Her Straight Left colleague James Lamond was on nothing less than the Public Accounts Committee. For many years, all of them under a Conservative Government and most of them under Margaret Thatcher, he was on the Speaker’s Panel, chairing Standing Committees of the House. Parliament survived.
Pat Wall sat as an MP while probably the single most important Trotskyist thinker in the world at the time. His fellow-Militant Dave Nellist won Spectator Backbencher of the Year. Mildred Gordon was an MP while the widow of a leading American Trotskyist and the wife of Trotsky’s bodyguard, who as her husband presumably held a House of Commons pass.
None of this is to condone any of those positions or factions. But all of it does provide some context. Not least, it provides some context to the most uncritically spook-dependent British Government of all time, which came to power in 1997. That Government was both laden with, and surrounded by, veterans of extreme left-wing organisations. Of course those veterans did whatever the intelligence services told them. They were the intelligence services.
The Marxism Today for which Tony Blair wrote is long gone. He was the only politician at the founding meeting of Demos, the think tank founded by its final Editor. Formally, the Communist Party became the proto-Blairite Democratic Left, which became the ultra-Blairite New Politics Network, which became Unlock Democracy, which is still there, in a building bought thanks to the largesse of Lenin.
Unfortunately, however, the spirit of Jimmy Anderson and Major Harry Truscott remains very much a feature of the present age. The party that the Prime Minister leads contains any number of them. Another party, still complete with a member of a House of Commons, has only such people in it, or even so much as voting for it. There would seem to be no shortage of them even in the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Some of them believe that both the Sino-Soviet Split and the fall of the Soviet Union were faked. Many of them believe that the KGB murdered Hugh Gaitskell in order to install Harold Wilson. All of them believe that Wilson was a Soviet agent. They really, truly, honestly believe these things.
They are convinced that Scargill was trying to stage a Red Revolution on the 1917 model, and that Gormley had more or less done so in 1974. It never occurs to them that the Heath Government, which in any case they profess to despise, was “toppled” by nothing other than the votes of the electorate, four years after that same process had installed that Government.
The theory of the Great Red Peril, including The Enemy Within, continues to be propounded, but tellingly by people who for the most part are not employed by academic institutions. The same was true of that theory at the time. As it also was, and very largely still is, of the economic theories to which Thatcher, who was as illiterate economically as she was historically and geopolitically, was so attached.
Across the full range of her agenda, the intellectual guiding lights hated the Conservative Party, not least when they were nominally members of it. They had no roots in it; nor had she. Not uncommonly, they had Marxist roots instead. The Conservative Party hated them back, which led it to hate her, until eventually it became the only organisation ever to succeed in getting rid of her. She then spent 15 years a joke figure, and just under another decade as one of those extremely old people who are only waiting for the end.
But even during her Premiership, it was not as if there were no ties to the Soviet Bloc. Very soon after Polish miners had been gunned down, the Thatcher Government was importing coal from Poland to order to assist in breaking the Strike.
On the other side of the Sino-Soviet Split, Thatcher fully deserved her designation by Red Star as “The Peking Plotter”. She never saw a Maoist whom she did not like. She installed Robert Mugabe, having refused any other settlement, and she even arranged a knighthood for him. Then there was Nicolae Ceaușescu. Then there was Pol Pot. When Nelson Mandela died, her flame-keepers could be heard criticising him and his for their criticism, in turn, of Steve Biko.
We ought to be governed by people who understand all of this. But we are not. Nor would we be under Owen Smith or any of his supporters. But we will be, when Jeremy Corbyn is Prime Minister.
There is no evidence that Corbyn is in any sense a Marxist, and that is rather the point. There are not 10,000 people in every British Marxist organisation put together. Corbyn’s mentor, Tony Benn, found inspiration in seventeenth century Radical readings of the Bible, and in his own Radical readings of the Bible. Michael Foot looked to the literature of the eighteenth century, when numerous subcultures remained unconvinced of the legitimacy of the new Whig State, and of that State’s capitalism and imperialism. At every point of challenge to that State and ideology, those subcultures have recurred.
Benn’s stock speech contained a potted history of the Peasants’ Revolt, the Levellers, the Diggers, the Chartists, the Suffragettes, and so on. It attracted considerable ridicule, but it made an important point. The Radical traditions of these Islands, and not least of England, traditions to which upper and upper-middle-class figures such as Benn and Foot have always been integral, provided and provide the context in which the tiny Marxist minority can participate. Fear of being overwhelmed is altogether misplaced. Both the Radical and the conservative traditions, closer than is often realised or admitted and each present in all of the main parties, are more than capable of standing their ground.
Gramsci called for a broad social movement towards institutional hegemony, for a celebration of the “national-popular”, and for an organic and self-organising working-class culture that included worker-intellectuals. We, on the other hand, already had those things, most obviously in and as the Labour Movement, including, but not restricted to, the extraparliamentary origins and the federal structure of the Labour Party.
Thus, and thus alone, was the CPGB, which in fact started life as a secession from the Independent Labour Party, able to contribute to the General Strike, to the Hunger Marches, to the Battle of Cable Street, to the formation of the International Brigades (although see below on that one), to the occupation of the London Underground during the Blitz, to the Forces Parliaments, to the Dock Strikes after the War, to the Squatters’ Movement of 1946, to the creation of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 1947, to the Clydeside Apprentices’ Strike of 1952, to the foundation of the Notting Hill Carnival, to the work-in at United Clyde Shipbuilders, to the Grunwick dispute, to the three Miners’ Strikes, to the People’s March for Jobs, to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, to the Movement for Colonial Freedom, to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and to the Solidarity Campaigns with Vietnam and Chile.
Thus, and thus alone, was the successor Communist Party of Britain’s Andrew Murray able to preside over the largest demonstration in British history. Does anyone seriously suggest that the CPB, as such, could have brought two million people onto the streets of London, even against the Iraq War, for a rally addressed by the Mayor of London and by several Members of Parliament, including the Leader of the Liberal Democrats and a future Leader of the Official Opposition?
Thus, and thus alone, were British Trotskyists able to find an audience for their guru’s equal opposition to Fascism and to Stalinism (although it was the ILP Contingent that went to fight the former only to be killed by the latter), and then to participate in the movement against the Vietnam War, in the student movement of 1968, in the industrial disputes of the 1970s, in the Anti-Nazi League, in the fully successful campaign against the Poll Tax, in the Stop the War Coalition, and in the anti-austerity movement. Thatcher bitterly regarded the abandonment of the Poll Tax as the British State’s greatest ever concession to the Far Left. Yes, that was organised by Militant. But does anyone seriously believe that Militant could have done it on its own?
Thus, and thus alone, did Ken Livingstone become Mayor of London in 2000. Thus, and thus alone, did George Galloway become MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005, and for Bradford West in 2012; the first candidate to the left of Labour to win an English seat since 1945 is not a Marxist, and his profound religious faith informs the full range of his political positions.
Thus, and thus alone, did Corbyn become Leader of the Labour Party in 2015. By participating in The World Transformed, everyone doing so is acknowledging the point: thus, and thus alone, will Corbyn become Prime Minister in 2020.
A very comprehensive and interesting historical account and analysis. I think the analysis of Labour’s right wing and its service to British imperialism has been a feature in its history. ”The Labour Right is hopeless on these matters. A kind of chest-beating international hawkishness was one of the ways in which it defined itself as a distinct faction or tendency.” But it not just the right wing which was social-imperialist. From the late 19th century onward, reputedly left Firebrands such as Hyndman, Brailsford and Shaw, were unapologetic cheerleaders for the British war in South Africa 1899-1902, the First World War and the surpression of the uprising in Ireland 1916. The tradition continued with the British suppression of nationalist/communist revolutions in India until 1948, and Malaya, Cyprus, Aden, and Kenya until well into the post-WW2 era. Moreover the Labour government saw fit to also intervene in the Greek civil war on the side of the Royalist/collaborationst forces until 1949. NATO ‘socialism’ is a feature of some of the more faux radicals of what is called the progressive left. These are usually found among the ex-Trots now ensconced in centre-left parties like the UK Labour Party and the US democrats, and including even the disgusting German Greens under the tutelage of one Danny ‘the red’ Cohn-Bendit. Home grown cold war ‘leftist’ imperialists include Paul Mason and Owen Smith. In fact it would be true to say that the majority of the PLP supports the NATO/EU agenda vis-a-vis Russia and probably China, without even thinking about it; it is a matter of a dog-whistle conditioned reflex, with little or no understanding of international relations, history or economics.
All of which shows how far the imperialist contamination has penetrated. | 2019-04-20T18:22:03Z | https://off-guardian.org/2016/08/22/corbyn-is-right-we-would-never-go-to-war-with-russia/ |
I do not live in an oral culture. Not reading would not suddenly make me memorize huge chunks of poetry or the history of my people. My memory would not suddenly improve and I would not be challenged to make it improve. The effect of reading, from where I am standing, is quite different than the effects that Thamus feared for his people.
Yet I find the description of Thamus’ fears interesting. I’ve read similar descriptions other times, when I’ve been teaching my children about ancient Egypt. I’ve wondered whether I should be putting more effort into encouraging my children to memorize more, attempting to create an artificial sort of pre-literate appreciation of memorization at home but never being able to do so because even the act of trying to memorize something is for me, to read and re-read it. I’ve wondered occasionally about whether the children sitting at home reading story after story is really any different than watching television show after television show. Reading is mentally active, perhaps, while television is passive but surely both actions discourages healthy physical activity, doesn’t it? Does living adventures vicariously though storybooks really substitute for getting out in the world and exploring?
I remember reading somewhere that when books first became inexpensive enough that private individuals could read them for recreation the concern was expressed that books would promote unsocialness. A person reading is not available for conversation and those the ideas the person gets from the book is not the being experienced also by those around him or her. My oldest son is finally old enough to read chapter books by himself and I have a slight taste of that isolation. Suddenly he’s venturing into imaginary worlds that I have no knowledge of.
I’m not against reading. I love reading. I love that my children are reading. But loving something doesn’t mean I don’t wonder about something’s implications.
My oldest has been reading the Harry Potter series. He’s read to book four and agreed with us to put off reading the others till he’s a bit older. I remember when he came downstairs disturbed at reading that Peter Pettigrew’s finger was all that could be found of him and shipped to his mother. “That’s disgusting,” he said. I shrugged and pointed out that he was okay with Luke losing his hand in Star Wars. “Yes,” he answered, “but that was different. I could see the actor just had his arm pulled up his shirt. I didn’t have to see the finger lying there in the box.” I couldn’t help smiling, because of course the book he was reading didn’t have any picture of the finger lying there in its box. The picture was entirely in his head, and yet there it was so much more powerful to him than the visual effects of the Star Wars movie.
While our son is reading the Harry Potter books, my husband and I have been going back through and rewatching the Harry Potter movies, at night, when the children are in bed. With each movie we’ve sat stumped trying to figure out if we’ve ever watched it before. We were sure we had watched most of them before, but what do we remember? Very little, it turns out. Probably part of that is because we watched them during sleep-deprived stressed out times in our lives, but also because – and I think this is the more powerful reason – we each have such clear images in our mind of how the story goes, images developed from reading the book, that the movies never really stuck. There isn’t room for them. The part of our brains that pictures what the events look like is filled with images we developed from the book.
Reading is powerful but does reading convey wisdom or only the semblance of it? Reading about something can never convey as much as experiencing it oneself. An author can take an experience, transfer some information about it but never the whole of the experience. Yet is not any experience limited? Every person is apt to pick up only a little about what they are experiencing, and perhaps reading a description of something would point out what the individual would miss in their own experience. If an author gathers together evidence from many different people’s experiences of an event or a situation, would they not be able to patch together a more complete picture than the individuals experience themselves?
Reading can flavor our other books and stories. I remember one book on Waldorf education that argued that only one story should be read to a child at a sitting, so that the story’s energy could be experienced untainted by comparison with the other. For myself I do the opposite. I read things in sets and let them contrast with one another. Sometimes meaning appears only when things overlap.
Reading can flavor our own experience. A picture book turned my children into giants and broccoli into trees. Complaining and other dementer-like activities brings about the cry of “Expecto Patronum” and chains of actions each with predictable reactions can bring about joking about “If you give a mouse a cookie…”. Books can provide metaphors and ways of understanding our own lives. A child’s unmet need is like the dragon in There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon. Max from Where the Wild Things Are can help a child make sense of the love-frustration relationship children have with their adults.
Yet do books end up coloring our vision enough that we don’t notice the strangeness of it? Do they prevent us from experiencing a less mediated life? Of course there isn’t any such thing as an unmediated life. If we don’t get our meaning from our books, we’d get it from our friends, the stories our parents tell, television shows or computer games. Books at least can reflect the perceptions of people from a decent span of time, whereas computer games and television shows can only reflect the present or more recent past.
Thamus worried that reading and writing would convey only the semblance of wisdom. I think it might have changed the definition of wisdom. Knowing about something is no longer an impressive act of memory or experience. Now the question is what can you do with what you know. Can you create something of your own out of it? Can you reflect on what it means?
Hi, found you on Friday Follow.
This is quite a post, and I do not mean its length. Reading is a powerful thing that we need. Without reading our knowledge would be limited to our own personal worlds.
To make an intelligent comment to you I need to think about all that you wrote. It’s too much to process quickly. Or maybe, being my first visit, I need to be acquainted with how you think/write by reading other posts, new and old.
What I am trying to say, reading this made me feel like I was back in school. The post is thought provocative , timely, though-out, well-presented, and makes my head pop. That’s a good thing.
Let me just say I loved the post. It is different that most of the posts I read with its depth and double-side logic. I will be back to read future posts and hopefully can write a legible comment.
I am following you through my google account, but my site is on wordpress.
I hope you find my site as interesting as I find yours, and I hope I haven’t said anything that does not read as I meant to say.
I’m glad I came across this post Christy – very thought-provoking. I wanted to react to one thing you say above in particular.
This is an interesting thought regarding how stories can interact to have an impact on your experience as a reader. As I’ve been reading so much more as a result of our blog as well as starting a book club, and just having more time to read in general, I’m seeing trends in my reading. Specifically, I’m realizing that my enjoyment and even arguably, my understanding of a book is affected by what I read previously. And further, my general like or dislike can be molded based on discussions with others about a book. I had just finished reading Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald (which, thematically, is a very, very heavy book) and then I read A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan expecting to LOVE it based on a few factors. Well, I didn’t like it at all and I think it’s because Fall on Your Knees had left such a foul taste in my mouth (so to speak). Reading (at least fiction) has become an activity so far from Thamus’ original intent. Reading to me is a unique experience, and not even always for enjoyment (sometimes I’m left feeling bad, for example). And interestingly, there is a bias in our household, at least, to read fiction. It’s a totally different experience to read non-fiction to the kids as well as reading non-fiction titles as an adult. | 2019-04-23T19:02:18Z | http://housefulofchaos.com/the-meaning-of-reading/ |
Yes, there is a Sisyphean task here; the labors are joint–crucially, involving both a man and a woman–but seemingly infinite and never-ending anyway. The mystery over why Niki is treated as he is by the villagers is never given a satisfactory solution, and indeed, as in the case of those who counterproductively continue digging in holes, efforts to solve this conundrum only heighten its inexplicability. Bafflement, bewilderment, anger, frustration are Niki’s primary responses, and they are all equally efficacious–that is, they are not in the least.
A perplexed protagonist, a brutal, unrewarding task, an unsolved mystery, the realization that deliverance is not forthcoming; yes, this is an existentialist novel.
There are two interesting embroiderings of these basic existentialist themes in Abe’s novel. First, the novel is set ten years after the end of the Second World War, ten years after hell was dragged up from its depths and deposited on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and thus, on the Japanese nation. This is a world in which the firmness of an older universe has been replaced by the shifting and transient sand of a new relationship with the world; sand, as Abe reminds us, is ‘fragmented rock,’ once solid and imposing, now beaten down. The Japanese, of whom Niki and the woman are as good representatives as any other, might yet be buried by this relentless invader of their older world. Second, Niki is not just any man, any Japanese. He is a schoolteacher, and moreover, he is a man of science. He is an entomologist; he studies sand as well, and is fascinated by its physical properties.
As a man of science, Niki expects his situations in this world to be infected by the same reason he sees underwriting the cosmos. He is, precisely because of this intellectual orientation, unprepared for the villagers’ mysterious, criminal behavior: Why have they kidnapped him? Do they really think they can get away with this absurd plot? The villagers do not care; they are absorbed in their task. The woman does not know and she does not too, seem to care too much. If there is a concern for consequences, it is a narrowly circumscribed one: what will happen if the sand is not kept at bay? This encounter, this futile dashing of the hopes of the man of science that a reasonable explanation will be found for all that afflicts us, that the methods which have made so much of the world comprehensible will make the villagers and their task less mysterious, gives Abe’s novel its most acute sense of desperation and despair.
Much of the fascination of the Inferno revolves around Dante’s probing of the covert psychic recesses of his characters’ inner will. The sinners’ great soliloquies are self-serving and fraught with irony. One cannot take them at their word. One must bring to bear on their speeches a “hermeneutics of suspicion” that is alert to the discrepancy between what they tell us and what they show us. Oftentimes the characters themselves are unaware of the way they are masking their true motivations, which makes it all the more imperative that the reader adopt an analytic distance from their self-presentations. In sum, the Inferno educates the reader in the ways of deception and self-deception, and in that respect remains one of the great archives of human psychology. (‘Dante: The Most Vivid Version‘ New York Review of Books, 24 October 2013).
In my post on the ‘Sisyphus of sorts’ a couple of days ago, I had sought to provide an unmasking of projects of self-improvement, which all too many of us find ourselves engaged in with little hope–based on their persistent failure–of bringing them to completion. (I hesitate to say ‘similar unmasking’ for fear of being viewed as comparing my attempt to Dante’s!) That post–hopefully!–speaks for itself, but let me, at the risk of sounding excessively pompous, just embellish its claims just a bit.
Repeated, and failed, attempts at self-improvement and self-help display a familiar pattern: the old behavior is discarded in a burst of moralistic enthusiasm, the old lifestyle is deprecated and disdained, and enthusiastic reports are provided on the glories and attractions of the new path chosen. There is relief at a millstone discarded and this palpable emotion is loudly and visibly noted.
Yet, through all this, all too often, the attractions of the older way of being, which indeed, had made it such a persistently adopted mode of behavior, are not paid their due. We fail to recognize that that path had its own role to play in the forms of life we lived; we fail to note the deep habits it formed; no clean surgical excision of it from our selves has been effected. And then, there is the simple matter of the ‘sophomore effect’; the rapid gains visible in the early days of our new-found virtuous life are quickly replaced by the far more mundane, glacial increments of the life that comes about when such novel behavior has become commonplace.
We remain impatient; we miss the easy pleasures of the older way of being, which suddenly, now seems more attractive than ever. So we lapse. But now we encounter again its pathologies. And so we resolve to change again.
The self-deception here is that we do not seek the publicly avowed goal of self-improvement, but merely the movement away from a kind of stagnation, a state of wallowing. When we encounter yet another one, as is inevitable, for life cannot give us endless novelty, we seek out our ‘fall’ again, so that we may ‘climb’ again. In doing all this, we are reminded again, of Goethe, Burke and Freud’s claims that happiness, for most, is characterized by novelty and rapid transition, not by persistent, quiescent states.
Here is a familiar enough occurrence: you set off on a journey toward a desired destination, perhaps a state of mind, perhaps a bodily accomplishment, a state of excellence in some manner, shape, form or fashion; you make good time, you travel many miles; you amaze yourself with your speed and the distance covered; you are exhilarated by the heights you now experience; you are no longer bound to the earth, the air is cleaner, more invigorating; you congratulate yourself on your journey thus far; you look back on how far you’ve come, on all those you left behind; the solitude of this seldom traveled road strikes you as splendid; you dare to dream of the now-visible goal.
And then, the upward gradient ceases; the plateau begins; the steps grow more measured, more tedious; the miles covered shrink slowly to yards and inches; the feet drag; the euphoria is gone, replaced by ennui; the formerly clean air is still so, but it has a staleness all its own; the novelty, the thrill, is gone. The goal is still visible, but now obscured by the dust kicked up by your dragging feet; the certainty about its attainment is now replaced by a nagging, persistent, doubt over the wisdom of ever having started this journey. The virtuousness that was once the consequence of declining indulgences now strikes you as a foolishness all of its own; what price this sustained flagellation, this persistent self-denial?
And so, you weaken, you hesitate, you seek diversion, an easier slope. The most facile of those is the path downward, the amble downhill. On it, the pace is greater; the wind presses hard against you, refreshing you once again. Soon enough, you are back in the lowlands. You refuse, guiltily, to look up at the tops again; you declined them once, why remind yourself of that turning away?
But soon, you find the air stifling; the oppression that animated you once returns; all is cumbersome. Whence the lightness, the fleet-footedness you had felt in the highlands? You remember the ascent, the coolness, the euphoria, the shedding of all that was heavy and bore you down. You remember the weightlessness, the sense of endless possibility. You regret the escape, the diversion, the flinching and turning away. You resolve to make the journey again.
And so you set off, rolling your rock back up the hill. Those familiar feelings return; you remember why you thought this was a good idea. You remind yourself the plateau awaits; you await its appearance warily; you stiffen your spine in anticipation. But when it does appear, a familiar feeling, a familiar dismay asserts itself. Soon enough, an old path downward is traversed.
Later, after the disgust of the defeat and the claustrophobia of the lower reaches have sent you back, yet again, on your old ascent, as you head upward, you realize that this is what you really wanted, the exultation of the pulling away, the steepness of the first few steps, the first movements upward. That elusive goal, its shape and location often obscured, only served to motivate the first journey. From then on, what you truly craved was the initial ascension, which had the most acute slopes of all, where you made the most accelerated, tangible progress. Not for you the long plodding, slow, grind to the end; you always only sought only the path that made you feel the most fleet-footed.
You don’t really mind being a Sisyphus of sorts. | 2019-04-22T18:47:03Z | https://samirchopra.com/tag/absurdness/ |
It’s always a good sign when an author’s book comes from the requests of readers or hearers to learn more. That’s part of the tale of Ken Shigetmatsu’s book God In My Everything. I’m sure he never imagined, that Sunday morning he filled in for a no-show visiting speaker at his Vancouver church with the unrehearsed explanation of how he orders his life, a full-length self-help volume in the Christian Life / Personal Growth department would be the result.
“Is it possible to follow the monastic way, enjoying God in every area of my life while immersed in the busy routines of modern life?” (p. 17).
Shigematsu begins by envisioning a spiritual ecosystem. He pictures it as a trellis. The three up-and-down slats (Roots) are Sabbath, Prayer, and Sacred Reading. They are our means of relating to God. The cross-pieces are three planks that address three aspects of our lives with each other. The Relate plank includes Friendship, Sexuality, and Family. The Restore plank addresses Body, Play, and Money. The Reach Out plank concerns itself with Work, Justice, and Wisdom. These trellis items then become the structure of the book.
– Take a 24-hour Sabbath once a week.
– Begin each day with Scripture and prayer.
– Pray the Examen before going to sleep at night.
– Run 2-3x a week, swim 2x a week.
– Aim to be home by 5:15 p.m. each day, and to be home at least 4 evenings a week… etc.” p. 220.
Each chapter concludes with two items: a list of questions for discussion, and an empty page which readers are invited to use to create their own rule.
Shigematsu’s emphasis on creating bendable rules, i.e. rules that change as life situations change. He relates how his life rule in some departments changed when he got married and changed again when his son was born.
I liked the way this book addresses every aspect of life.
“Depending on the context and leading of the Holy Spirit, you might choose a particular side of the gospel to lead with and, as opportunity allows, progress to sharing all ‘sides’ of the gospel. The ideal is to eventually share the gospel as an organic whole that encompasses life, deed, sign, and word” p. 204.
For a helpful book on how to order your life in a hectic age, keeping God at its center, Ken Shigematsus’s God In My Everything is an excellent choice.
I received this book from the publisher as a gift for the purpose of writing a review.
A few weeks ago I agreed to read a soon-to-be-released book about children’s ministry with a view to reviewing it for a print magazine I write for from time to time.
Silly me, I didn’t check out the authors or do any background research on the book before signing up for the assignment. If I had, I don’t think I would have gone ahead with it. For, when the book arrived, even reading the introductory stuff showed me that I’d got myself into a potential controversy. This was a book on children’s ministry, not for the type of church I attend but for the emergent, postmodern church.
I have rarely read a book with such close attention, underlining, highlighting, and writing in the margins. It turns out the book has many good ideas. But, as I feared (from the little I had read about the emergent church), they are anchored in, what seems to me, some strange and shaky theology.
That brief foray into the beliefs of the emergent church left me with many unanswered questions, questions like: What do postmodern Christians believe about Jesus and the reason for and meaning of His death? Do they believe in original sin? What about life hereafter? Hell? Why are they so critical of the modern evangelical church? What is the significance of their emphasis on the Kingdom of God? And more.
Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck was a great resource in beginning to answer my questions.. In eleven chapters DeYoung and Kluck tag-team their way through the maze that is the Christian postmodern (emergent, emerging) belief system.
It’s tricky in that it comes from no one spokesperson but a network of people across denominations who endorse each others books, interview each other, and seem to be generally affiliated.
DeYoung is definitely the heavy hitter of the two authors. Using examples from the writings of prominent emergents such as Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Spencer Burke, Leonard Sweet, Doug Pagitt and more, he ferrets out the emergent position. With his gifts for analysis and logic he exposes it as: against formal doctrinal statements; for questions, doubts and uncertainty; super-critical of the modern evangelical church; controversial concerning Jesus especially regarding the significance of His death and resurrection; almost completely silent on what happens after we die, and more. As a Reformed pastor he has a rich and broad-based knowledge of the Bible and church history, and is able to compare the teaching of postmodern Christianity to what the Bible says and previous theological movements.
Kluck is the color commentator of the two. His chapters consist of vignettes of his experiences, visiting an emergent church, interviewing apologist D. A. Carson, attending the funeral of an old saint etc. They give us a break from the DeYoung’s heavy braininess and do a little showing versus telling.
Postmodernity: “The postmodern Way, as Leonard Sweet puts it so candidly, is an experience. The journey is more wandering than directional, more action than belief, more ambiguous than defined” – Kindle Location 417.
Propositions: “Few things are so universally criticized in the emerging church than propositions” – K.L. 1033.
Theology: “The task of theology in the emergent model is to express communal beliefs and values, to set forth that community’s particular ‘web of significance,’ and ‘matrix of meaning’” – K.L. 1161.
Kingdom of God: “For those in the emerging church, Jesus’ message of the kingdom is a manifesto about God’s plan for humanity here and now. It is the secret, and subversive announcement that God is working out His plan for peace, justice, and compassion on earth …. Joining the kingdom is not a move in status (i.e. from unsaved to saved) but a move in practice” – K.L. 2847.
Atonement: “So the atonement did not accomplish anything on our behalf. God’s attitude toward us didn’t change. Jesus simply enacted and represented the forgiveness that was already in the heart of God” – K.L. 3037.
Hell: “…hell is just one imagery among many to describe the negative consequences of rejecting God’s way” – K.L. 3075.
If, up till now, you’ve only heard about the emergent church or skimmed the surface of what its champions believe and teach, DeYoung and Kluck’s book will take you deeper.
It’s July and the season of flowers where I live. One look through my photo collection will show you how much I like them (maybe it’s because I’m named after a flower!).
The shape of almond blossoms was to be part of the decoration hammered into the golden lampstand of the tabernacle – Exodus 25:31-36.
Grape blossoms and pomegranate buds are part of the sensuous imagery of the Song of Solomon – Song of Solomon 7:12.
Mallow and broom are mentioned in Job 30:4.
There is a “rose” in Isaiah 35:1,2 (NKJV) but it is rendered “crocus” by other translators (Isaiah 35:1-2 NASB).
Several Bible writers mention the flower of the grass and flower of the field as reminders of how brief and fragile our life is (1 Peter 1:24-25; James 1:10-11).
– The lily shape was to be the inspiration of the design of the Sea (a huge ceremonial basin that was part of the temple furnishings – 2 Chronicles 4:5).
– A scented lily, dripping “liquid myrrh” was the image the Shulamite used of her beloved (Song of Solomon 5:13).
– A growing lily was the example Hosea used of what Israel would be like after returning to God from her backsliding (Hosea 14:5).
– Jesus referred to lilies as examples of life lived completely free of self-care and dependent on God’s care (Matthew 6:28-30; Luke 12:27-28).
This month let flowers prompt your writing.
Perhaps your main character will be named after a flower, or your story will be set in a garden. That doesn’t mean it has to be a story of sweet innocence. Lots of nefarious things can happen with only flowers looking on.
Perhaps your essay will tell of flower-growing memories, or of how your black thumb makes you feel snubbed by flowers.
Perhaps your poem will take its inspiration from a specific flower becoming an ode to that flower, will make that flower iconic of other things, or will expand on a flower painting or photograph.
Let the flowers of the Bible and July inspire you and your writing. Happy blooming!
Joni & Ken is the story of the relationship of Joni Eareckson Tada, the famous author, quadriplegic, and champion of the disabled, and her husband of 30 years, Ken Tada. Based on primary documents (articles, messages, blogs, interview, emails, radio transcript, out-of-print books of Joni’s are all listed in the “Acknowledgments” chapter) the story is told in third person, orchestrated by co-author Larry Libby. The telling goes back and forth between Ken’s and Joni’s points of view, making us privy to aspects of the events that the other person would not necessarily have been aware of at the time they happened.
The book skips around a bit chronologically but there’s no danger of confusion because each section is dated. The ten chapters deal with different periods in Joni and Ken’s relationship, and are titled descriptively (e.g. “At the Altar,” “The Testing Years,” “Reflecting on the Journey”). There is a middle section of colored photos.
This is a frank and touching love story. It shows this public couple who, from outward appearances may seem to live above the fray, to be human, vulnerable, brave, and above all committed and obedient Christ-followers.
The challenges Ken faced in caring for his quadriplegic wife while teaching school full-time (though he had help), are not glossed over. In the course of the book we see both him and Joni grow in maturity and love for each other.
The way Joni handled her quadriplegia, combined with her continuing siege of excruciating pain, then topped with a fight against cancer had me speechless. I’m glad God knows what He’s doing with lives that seem so unfairly burdened with tragedy. However through it all Joni is a glowing testimony first to Ken, and then to those whose lives she touches personally, in ministry, and now as readers of this book, of God’s sufficient grace.
Ken was a rock. Even through the hardest times, he was determined to keep his marriage vow. The part of the story that tells of his deepening relationship with God and how his heightened spiritual sensitivity became crucial during Joni’s fight against cancer is a heads-up to all of us. We never know when the next trial will come. If we press into God during the ordinary times (though I don’t know if you could label any of this couple’s experiences ‘ordinary’), He will prepare us for the challenges beyond.
“Thirty years have passed since Ken and I began our journey together, and God has used every trial—every hurt and heartache—to entwine us far more intimately than we ever dreamed on the day we married.
… nowhere else—and with no one else—will you have quite the chance to experience union with Christ than through a heard-fought-for, hard-won union with your spouse.
… It’s trials that really press you into the breast of your Savior” – Joni & Ken, pp. 177-179.
How do you view your retirement? As a time of relaxation and indulgence? As a dreaded time of uselessness and idleness? Or as an opportunity to rediscover your passions and live them out in the years you have left?
In Reimagine Your Retirement: How to Live Life to its Fullest and Leave a Lasting Legacy, author Joyce Y. Li challenges new and soon-to-be retiring members of the baby boomer generation to tackle this phase of life with reflection and intention.
Parts One and Two of the book (“Recognize the Many Possibilities” and “Living Your Best”) provide a background to help readers consider what retirement means in North American culture, how the process of aging impacts one’s latter years, and why it’s important to approach this time with a plan.
Part Three (“Discovering Yourself”) discusses the Bible’s view of life in general and old age in particular. It includes numerous self-tests designed to help readers discover their gifts, strengths, and interests with a view to setting a course and defining goals that will give meaning and purpose to retirement years.
Parts Four and Five (“Vision and Calling” and “Put Legs to Your Plan”) lay out an action plan that challenges readers to visualize the future they want, put it into words as a mission statement, and live it out.
Li’s experience as an event planner comes through in this logically organized how-to book. She bases her findings not only on her own experience but also on the expertise of others and includes many studies and research results. Real life examples add interest and show us that retirement can be the exciting, meaningful climax of a well-lived life. Her Christian outlook focuses the reader’s attention on what will matter for eternity and is buttressed by many Bible verses and motivational quotes.
Though I read the book quickly, it contains much that invites rereading and further thought. Readers who answer all the questionnaires and complete all the analyses will come away with invaluable self-knowledge and a blueprint for going forward, designed to give direction and focus to the remaining years of life. Li’s methods will be especially attractive to the retiree who has a good amount of health, drive, and energy.
Reimagining Your Retirement would be a great read for people preparing for, or in the early stages of retirement. I can also see younger folks benefiting from its wisdom and practical advice. All in all it’s a powerful and convincing debut work authored by someone I’m sure we will hear from again. | 2019-04-19T11:01:43Z | https://violetnesdoly.com/tag/non-fiction/ |
After struggling a bit with the first decks I built in the new format, I wanted to try a more controling deck and I came up with this control/ midrange Shaman deck. My record with the deck is currently 12-2, in the ranks 7 till 5, and I am planing to play it further. It performed very strong in the games I played so far. I tried to build it in such a way, that it is good against the decks that are popular right now. So, especially with the popularity of Token Druid, Tempo Rogue and Murloc Shaman, I added a lot of early game.
I first thought about the deck, when I thought that it would be cool to play Earthen Might on Walking Fountain. Then I concluded that an elemental package would be a perfect shell for a control/ midrange style Shaman deck. However, I have not pulled of that combo, but still both cards performed very strong. The higher amount of minions snyergize well with Hagatha the Witch, which is the most important card in the deck, if you plan to grind out the opponent. Most times you win that way. Swampqueen Hagatha and Shudderwock are also ways to win a long game. Shudderwock is manly there, because it is great with Swampqueen Hagatha, as you get both the effect of casting both spells, and an additional horror to the hand. Walking Fountain is also an imortant card, as it is one of the best cards for stabilizing.
What makes this deck so strong (at least in the games I played) is that you have great and efficient ways to keep the board in control with 4 good mass removal spells (Hagathas Scheme is the great addition from the new set) and good and efficient spot removal. Also Thunderhead and Voltaic Burst can help, too. Theay are great against the aggro decks, especially Token Druid and Murloc Shaman. Likkim is also an efficient way to keep the board clean, especially in the early turns. Another great card for this is Sludge Slurper, which seems to be a bit out of place at first sight. But it has synergy with Hagatha the Witch, as it provides you with two spells, and it is great for contesting the board against other aggresive decks. One game against a Mech Hunter I won, because I had two Sludge Slurper on turn one and two and played the curve, such that I was ahead on the board in each turn and won on turn 8.
The main reason, why I like the deck so much, is that it is a control deck in it´s core and you can grind out and stabilize against a lot of opponents, but it also has a good curve that allows you to make some preasure and most importantly have efficient ways to deal with the opponents board.
I will keep you updated and write some more (mulligan guide, detailed card choice explanation), if I see that you are interested in it.
I added a Storm Chaser and Archivist Elysiana and put out one Fire Elemental and the Electra Stormsurge. Elysiana helps a lot against Warrior or other hard control decks. The plan is here to fatigue the opponent: When your deck is empty you can refill it with Elysiana and if the opponent does the same, you can do it a second time with Shudderwock.
I played with the new list in the Brawlisium and went 7-3. My overall record is now 20-7 with a WR of 74%.
First of all, thanks for the upvotes! My overall record with the deck is now 27-10 with a winrate of 73%.
Hagatha the Witch: Probably the most important card in the deck. Good against aggro, as it provides a board clearer and important against slow decks as it provides a lot of value.
Walking Fountain: Also very important. Together with Hagaha the Queen the best way to stabilize, as it gives you heal and takes out opposing minions. Especially imortant, as there are not so many good ways to heal for Shaman.
Cards of choice to win a long game. They synegize quite well with another. Shudderwock and Swampqueen Hagatha can be also useful against more aggresive strategies, but Archivist Elysiana is only good against Control, especially against bomb Warrior, as it removes all bombs from your deck.
Harrison Jones: Quite good in the meta, with all the Rogue decks and Warrior decks. Also provides some card draw in those matchups, which the deck lacks a bit. Maybe if the meta shifts towards more Druid or Mage decks, then something else might be better.
Thunderhead and Likkim are very good against the token decks and other aggresive decks. The many one cost overload cards provides good consistency to it and are generally good against aggresive style decks. With those 10 cards you have a lot of cheap and efficient ways to interact with the opponents board or get some board presence.
I added a bit of an elemental theme, since we have with Walking Fountain and Thunderhead some elementals anyway (Earthen Might is the only payoff card, though. But keep in mind that you can get some other elemental payoff cards with Menacing Nimbus and Earthen Might, like Arcanosaur or Bonfire Elemental). Those cards give you value and can provide you with some board presence.
Storm Chaser: Card draw, elemental. Gives you Hagathas Scheme, which you always want as soon as possible, so that it can tick up.
Both great AoE. Great against aggro/ token decks which are very popular right now. Hagatha´s Scheme also great against Big decks, as you can remove a board of multiple big minions, which is difficult with most other AoE.
Use your AoE, spot removal and other early cards (the Thunderhead package) to keep the board clean and then close out with Hagatha or the other value cards.
Maybe try to preasure the opponent a bit in the early-/ midgame. Swampqueen Hagatha is great for that. If you can´t preasure him enough (which happens most times) play Hagatha the Witch early and generate a lot of value. It might be worth it, to keep some of the cheap minions to play after Hagatha the Witch. If your oppnent wants to fatigue you, play Archivist Elysiana when you have few or none cards in your deck and refill it. If you think that the opponent has also Archivist Elysiana, it might be worth to wait with Shudderwock until you play Archivist Elysiana to refill a second time.
The deck can be quite difficult to play. Especially against control decks, you might need to be patient and evaluate correctly when to commit threads and removal. If you are Hagatha you must also pay attention to the hand size. In general you must also be aware of overloeaded mana crystals. So always think, what you want to do next turn and if you can afford to overload.
I would always keep one Hagatha´s Scheme as you want it as eraly as possible, so that it can tick up. The only class there I might consider mulligan it is Warrior. I am not exactly sue when you want to keep Hagatha the Witch. Against decks there you think you can get to turn 8 I would probably keep it, as it is such an important card. Menacing Nimbus is also a card that is never bad to have on the early turns.
Never keep Archivist Elysiana, Shuderwock and probably Walking Fountain, since they are too slow. I would also mulligan Earthen Might most times. I tried some times to keep it and play it on an early Menacing Nimbus, but it has not worked out that well.
Those clases are most likely more aggresive. Keep any cheap cards and/ or removal. Maybe Zilliax. Against Rogue maybe not Sludge Slurper, as it dies easily against the dagger.
same. I would also keep Hex, as it can be Big Mage, and not Sludge Slurper.
Most likly slow deck. Keep Hex.
Look for Hagatha the Witch.
Against Rogue and Warrior I would also keep Harrison Jones, as that decks have quite important weapons.
I'm working on something similar. I don't have the elektra though.
I need to build a few cards for it still, I will pick up elektra when I can.
I don't have shudderwok yet neither. I was going to craft that today, but if I want to play control I need the spells and stuff first.
you reckon it will fair ok without those 2 cards for now, or should I just craft shuderwok now for my murlocs and then craft the control bits later.
I'm a bit stuck on what order to craft stuff in tbh.
I think the deck also functions well without those cards. Actually, as I mentioned in the guide, I put Electra out, as it has not performed as well as I thought it would. Shudderwock is good to have, but often he doesn´t do that much as you might think. The only important card for the late game is Hagatha the Witch. As long as you have it, your fine and then you can choose, what you want for your top end. I just think that Shudderwock and Swampqueen Hagatha is probably the best choice.
The question is also, since I had some problems with other control decks, even with the addition of Archivist Elysiana, that you focus more on crushing the aggro decks, in which case you don´t need that much top end (maybe some more taunts instead). But it depends obviously on how the meta evolves.
aye I want to get alysiana asap as well. I built a control shaman mainly to beat all the aggro decks while I'm laddering though. I'm not concerned about the control miror right now as I have decks that counter control already. If I play enough this month to ladder high enough to see a lot of control decks, I'll worry about it then.
I built this anyway for now. it's good at whats it's supposed to do.
They're actually quite similar though after comparing them side by side.
What about putting in healing?
Great video. Thank you very much for sharing it!
Year, Control Shaman seems well positioned right now. There are probably many directions to build a controlling shaman deck. I like my list especially against aggro decks. And with my latest addition of Archivist Elysiana, you can have also some good play against other control decks.
Nice deck. I tried it out and was able to win against token druid.
Any replacements for Swampqueen Hagatha?
Swampqueen Hagatha is probably in some way important, but not the most important card in the deck. Without it, you loose one of the best ways to generate value and the possibility of a huge board swing. Additionally Shuderwock gets way worse. To replace it I would suggest Kragwa, the Frog. It fulfills a similar role, but I think it´s a bit worse and more situationally. Or else you can play again the second Fire Elemental.
Great concept, I love decks like this. I'd be interested to try either not running Hagatha's Scheme since you already have Lightning Storms and Hagatha the Witch in this midrange deck. BUT I get that you wanted to make it more control oriented so if that's the case, I think you would need to add Storm Chasers to get those Hagatha's Scheme and help add some card draw because I think currently it might be a little inconsistent due to lack of card draw.
In the first build of the deck I had a Storm Chaser but replaced it, since I wasn´t sure, if it´s worth it with only two targets. But as you said, the deck lacks a bit of card draw, so maybe it´s right to play it.
As I thought about, how I want to adress the late game, I thought that both Hagathas plus Shudderwock is enough. Interestlingly I haven´t played against much control decks and indeed against no Warrior. This might be one reason, why my record was so good.
But in order to be also good against Control, Archivist Elysiana might be worth it.
So will try a list with one Archivist Elysiana and one Storm Chaser, instead of one Fire Elemental and the Electra Stormsurge.
I've been playing similar deck, and yes it's great against aggro/midrange deck. But I just can't win against warrior.. How do you handle them?
I think there's a way to weave in Archivist Elysiana it would great increase your odds, you get double value off her in those late late game if you play Shudderwock after her, and Archivist Elysiana or Shudderwock will remove bombs from your deck. | 2019-04-25T10:27:45Z | https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1265614-86-wr-control-elemental-shaman |
(Photo: Lisa Norwood / Flickr)The country’s biggest banks are happy to make their money from the same governments about which they love to whine.
Bankers love to rail against government interference in the “free market.” Jamie Dimon, grilled this week in front of Congress over JP Morgan Chase’s massive recent losses, famously complained last year that some regulations are “anti-American.” And Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, warned ominously that increased regulations might make the bank seek out another location to do its business: “Operations can be moved globally and capital can be accessed globally,” he said.
Even while some of them occasionally have the grace to admit that they wouldn’t still be around without the massive taxpayer bailouts of 2008 (and continued access to ultra-cheap loans from the Federal Reserve), they still like to claim that they’re free-market entities, subject to the whims of the invisible hand, and that the government’s meddling can only be destructive.
Yet those same banks are happy to make their money from the same governments about which they love to whine. Most of us know about the big, official bailouts. But the banks get much more than that from federal and state governments. Those lobbying dollars and campaign donations aren’t just to keep regulators away; they lead to lucrative contracts where banks are paid to administer government services, and are put in position to skim fees off the very same taxpayers who pay for those services.
The big banks have their tentacles in every aspect of government—despite right-wing hand-wringing about government bureaucracy, the big banks are often actually the ones coming between you and your money. So who’s really getting rich off “welfare”? JP Morgan and Bank of America.
Below are six ways the big banks rake in cash every day from services that are supposed to help working Americans.
Suzanne Merkelson at Republic Reports points out that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—the program formerly known as food stamps, which provides food aid to families—increased to $72 billion last year (from $30 billion in 2007).
JP Morgan spends a bunch of money lobbying the Department of Agriculture on this program, making sure they get what they want—a big paycheck from state taxpayers.
And the best part? When you have a problem with your JP Morgan SNAP benefits card? You call a JP Morgan call center for help—and that call center just might be in India.
So to recap: big bank makes money off a program that helps people who are unemployed—and creates jobs in India with that money, rather than creating them here in the US.
The banks get paid directly by the state to handle the SNAP program, but that’s far from the only program designed to help the victims of the lousy economy that has turned into a cash cow for the banks that created the crisis in the first place.
The bank also collects a 3-cent fee from the state each time it “facilitates” a transfer on a prepaid card. It also gets those fees for direct-depositing unemployment benefits into someone’s bank account.
USPIRG found that 32 of the 50 largest public 4-year universities and 26 of the largest 50 community colleges—the schools in part supported by taxpayers—had deals with banks to provide debit or prepaid cards for students. The campuses often get money from the banks for the privilege of access to students, and the banks then make their money back in fees—and possibly other ways, too. Mela Heestand, writing for AlterNet about the protests at the University of California Davis that drove US Bank to close its campus bank branch, pointed out that “university contracts with banks encourage tuition hikes, because banks stand to profit directly from rising tuition, while the administration comes to rely on funding from bank contracts.” US Bank has agreements at 52 campuses around the country.
Students are the ones bearing the costs of access to money they’re already paying interest on, and USPIRG points out that the fees are “steep and frequent,” including per-swipe fees, inactivity fees (yes, you read that right), overdraft fees and fees to reload their prepaid cards. And financial aid that is paid to students through a debit card is subject, just like any other card, to ATM fees if students use an ATM not owned by the bank that currently has their money. The Department of Education has rules on this practice, banning banks from charging fees if they provide “convenient” ATMs for the students’ use, but their definition of “convenient” is vague—leaving students at the mercy of a single ATM on campus, which produces long lines and leaves no alternative if it breaks or runs out of cash.
It’s not only your unemployment, financial aid, or SNAP benefits that the big banks control these days—they also might come between you and your tax return.
Once again, South Carolina takes the lead, claiming to save the taxpayer money by cutting a deal with Bank of America, this time to send out tax returns in the form of—you guessed it—prepaid debit cards from Bank of America. And just like with unemployment benefits and financial aid (or your regular, consumer bank card), the bank is making its money collecting fees from people trying to access their own money.
“They’re not even nickel and diming people, they’re five-dollaring and 10-dollaring people,” Sue Berkowitz, Director of the Appleseed Legal Justice Center, says.
Oh, and the bank got this deal through a no-bid contract—the Department of Revenue calls them “the best fit” for the program. The program isn’t mandatory but, the Palmetto Public Record notes, it’s opt-out, not opt-in. Which means that unless you request otherwise, your money will be given to you through Bank of America—which in addition to sticking you with ATM fees and other charges, is going to make interest on your money while it’s sitting in their account.
Getting the big banks to refinance mortgages and help people facing foreclosure stay in their homes has been a huge fight, with activists around the country putting their bodies on the line, physically occupying homes to keep residents in them.
Now the program that’s supposed to help those struggling homeowners looks instead to be a big fat handout to the same banks that were preying on borrowers to begin with. According to the Wall Street Journal, banks that service mortgages could make as much as $12 billion by refinancing under the newest version of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0). And the borrowers? Oh, they’ll save money, too—somewhere around $2.5 billion, maybe $5 billion tops.
The program is supposed to let underwater borrowers who’ve made all their payments in good faith refinance their mortgages at current market value. But, Bonnie Kavoussi at the Huffington Post notes, instead those banks are able to charge steep fees and above-market interest rates.
In recent decades, governments and central banks around the world have developed a consistent pattern of behavior when trouble strikes banks that are large or interconnected enough to threaten the broader economy: They step in to ensure that all the bank’s creditors, not just depositors, are paid in full. Although typically necessary to prevent permanent economic damage, such bailouts encourage a reckless confidence among creditors. They assume the government will always make them whole, so they become willing to lend at lower rates, particularly to systemically important banks.
In other words, because we bailed them out once, the expectation that we’ll do it again is actually making the banks money. Other lenders are willing to lend money to the “systemically important banks” (read: banks that got bailed out by the US government because they were “too big to fail”) at lower interest rates because they presume that they’ll always get their money back since the government will make sure the banks don’t go belly up. So the biggest banks are paying less in interest than medium-size and small banks—and that adds up to billions.
So they’re profiting just from being too big to fail. And each time there’s a crisis, the expectation of government support actually grows—as of 2009, Bloomberg notes, they’re saving about 0.8 percent every time they borrow. The total benefit to the big banks just of the expectation that there will be another bailout? About $76 billion a year—which Bloomberg points out is equal to their total profit from the past twelve months, and is more than the federal government spends each year on education.
Dimon, of course, claimed that it wasn’t true, and that he borrowed in the marketplace, “with the smartest people in the world.” But it looks like the smartest people in the world are getting a whole lot of help—and making a whole lot of money—off of college students and taxpayers, off the working poor and unemployed in the U.S. | 2019-04-26T00:03:20Z | https://truthout.org/articles/six-ways-the-big-banks-are-getting-back-door-bailouts/ |
JUST before Google first sold its shares to the public in 2004, Larry Page, one of its founders, excited the nonprofit world with a bold commitment to philanthropy.
In the philanthropy world, many people have a more skeptical view of Google’s experiment.
NOTHING illustrates DotOrg’s approach better than Google Flu Trends, an innovative tool that uses data collected from searches about flu symptoms to predict the location of flu outbreaks. In April 2009, Dr. Brilliant said it epitomized the power of Google’s vaunted engineering prowess to make the world a better place, and he predicted that it would save untold numbers of lives.
Public health officials say the tool is undoubtedly useful.
But “on an individual basis, does Flu Trends save lives? No,” said Ashley LaMonte-Fowlkes, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which helped Google test and develop it.
Instead, she described it as “a really nice adjunct” to other tools that the agency uses to understand the spread of flu. One major shortcoming of Flu Trends is that in poor regions of the developing world, where devastating pandemics are most likely to start, computers are not widely available, so Google has little data to feed into the tool. Even in the United States, during the swine flu outbreak of 2009, Flu Trends had difficulty detecting the relatively small number of H1N1 infections.
Some veterans of DotOrg say Flu Trends is an example of how Google’s engineering-centric approach frustrated and limited them.
Those solutions also had to be something that Google engineers, who represent the cream of the world’s elite universities, believed that only they could create.
For instance, in early 2008, some DotOrg staff members with traditional nonprofit backgrounds proposed a system to track drugs for diseases like malaria and tuberculosis through the supply chain, in order to combat drug counterfeiting and theft. Fake drugs, which can be toxic, are an enormous problem: the World Health Organization has estimated that more than 30 percent of drugs sold in developing countries in Africa and parts of Asia and Latin America can be counterfeit.
The team’s idea was to engineer a FedEx-type system, relying in part on text-messaging, that would track drugs from the moment they left a manufacturer’s control until they reached a patient.
The plan never went anywhere, however, because text-messaging was not sophisticated enough to challenge Google’s engineers, several former DotOrg executives said. The culture clash between the engineers — caustically referred to by former DotOrg executives as “the Brahmin” — and those from development organizations was exacerbated by DotOrg’s leader, Dr. Brilliant, according to a dozen former employees of DotOrg.
Even Dr. Brilliant’s fans — and they are legion in Silicon Valley and the global health arena — say he lacks management skills. A spokesman for Dr. Brilliant’s current employer, the Skoll Global Threats Fund, said last week that he was unavailable for an interview because of a death in his immediate family. Dr. Brilliant did respond to some questions by e-mail, though he did not reply to a question about his management.
He was hired on a whim after he won the coveted TED Prize, awarded annually to someone with a world-changing “wish,” in 2006 for his idea to build a global early-response system to identify new diseases and disasters as soon as they emerge, thus heading off pandemics. Dr. Brilliant was invited to speak to Google employees about his idea, and Mr. Page and his Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, happened to attend.
They were smitten, and Dr. Brilliant was hired almost immediately. It took DotOrg almost two years to define the five areas in which it would work, and they were announced with much fanfare in January 2008: predicting and preventing diseases; growing small and midsize businesses; increasing access to information and public services; developing renewable energy; and helping to commercialize plug-in hybrids. Google.org vowed to spend $175 million in those areas over the next three years.
It troubled several DotOrg executives that the largest grant announced that day, accounting for 20 percent of the $25 million committed at the time, went to InStedd, the organization that Dr. Brilliant had founded with his TED prize money.
“No one seemed to understand that this looked like a tremendous conflict of interest,” said one former DotOrg employee who oversaw programs and asked for anonymity because Google’s severance contract included a confidentiality clause.
During Dr. Brilliant’s tenure as executive director of DotOrg, InStedd received $11 million from the institution, while the Seva Foundation, another nonprofit that he had co-founded, received $2.5 million.
In an e-mail, Dr. Brilliant said the grant to Seva illustrated Google’s “don’t be evil” mantra: Mr. Brin ordered it up to make Seva whole after Google hired Dr. Brilliant away.
Dr. Brilliant also had to deal with other issues. On a personal level, he was distracted during part of his time at DotOrg because two family members were critically ill.
It didn’t help that Sheryl Sandberg, a Google executive who was the architect of DotOrg as it was first conceived, left to join Facebook in early 2008. Ms. Sandberg’s first job out of college was with the World Bank in India, and many DotOrg executives considered her their champion.
When she left, DotOrg became isolated. It operated out of San Francisco, rather than from Google’s campus in Mountain View, Calif. And with its executives spending most of their time in the developing world and thus unable to cultivate allies at the company, DotOrg all but ground to a halt.
Dr. Brilliant lacked Ms. Sandberg’s access to the Executive Management Group, which comprises about a dozen senior Google executives close to Mr. Page, Mr. Brin and Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s longtime chief executive, who is moving to a new role as executive chairman in April. (Mr. Page, meanwhile, will become C.E.O.) Members of this group were usually too busy to attend meetings where grants were presented for approval, so Dr. Brilliant worked out a system of e-mailing the proposals to Mr. Page and Mr. Brin. If they did not respond within 48 hours, he made the decision himself.
LAURENCE SIMON, a professor at Brandeis University and a friend of Dr. Brilliant’s who took a sabbatical to work at DotOrg in 2007, said that in his view, Google’s top executives grew frustrated with DotOrg when they were not being presented with clearly defined problems and solutions.
“I think they expected there would be the same kind of ‘launch early and often’ approach demanded on the business side, but that’s not the way development works,” Mr. Simon said.
When the Google founders did attend a meeting about DotOrg, they spent most of their time fiddling with their BlackBerrys. At one meeting, former DotOrg executives said, they were stunned when Mr. Brin dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.
“DotOrg was like quicksand — every time you thought you’d found your footing, a sinkhole opened,” the former Google.org program officer said.
Jacquelline Fuller, a spokeswoman for DotOrg, said Mr. Brin, Mr. Page and Mr. Schmidt were not available to discuss the organization.
By the end of 2008, many of the DotOrg executives hired from the outside had left in frustration, and morale ratings were among the lowest in the company, according to an employee survey. Mr. Schmidt was prodded by other Google executives to review and restructure the operation.
After the review, Google suspended all grants that were not quite final. Grants were canceled to institutions like Harvard and Stanford for research projects in Africa even though Google’s senior management had approved them and they lacked only a final signature on the contracts.
Mr. Schmidt moved DotOrg to the Mountain View campus in early 2009. That February, Dr. Brilliant was given the title “chief philanthropic evangelist,” and left the organization soon after to join the Skoll Global Threats Fund. Ms. Smith took over DotOrg.
Engineers from outside DotOrg were assigned to review all of the grants it had made. Not surprisingly, they wanted to know why there wasn’t more engineering in, say, a grant made to assess the quality of basic education in Tanzania’s schools. They also wanted to know why DotOrg wasn’t working more to “scale” up small projects to have a broader impact.
“They never understood that technology is a means to an end, and that in the developing world, sometimes basic technology, like the collection and compilation of data, can have enormous impact,” said another DotOrg program officer, who resigned after the reorganization.
In the end, many grants were labeled “legacy” and discontinued when they expired.
IN devising what DotOrg would become after Dr. Brilliant, the company went back to the Flu Trends model. It has developed a series of tools based on existing Google technologies, including PowerMeter, which lets people track their home energy use in real time, and Earth Engine, which uses Google Earth and satellite imagery to monitor aspects of the earth’s environment, including deforestation.
So far, PowerMeter has failed to gain widespread adoption, in part because there are a number of competing products and many utilities did not get behind the idea.
Earth Engine, which Google released last month, offers more promise. It includes years of satellite imagery of the planet, and lets scientists use Google’s cloud-computing infrastructure to analyze it.
DotOrg’s projects related to green energy have received more attention from Google’s top brass, since they are pet projects of the founders and fit with the company’s broader, for-profit investments in clean energy technologies.
The organization’s engineers are working on technology that would make solar energy less expensive and more efficient as part of an initiative to develop renewable energy cheaper than coal. Another effort, to accelerate the development of plug-in cars, has its roots in the original DotOrg. The company worked to modify a fleet of hybrids to draw power from the grid and set up charging stations on its campus.
Google says it cannot easily separate the impact it has had in bringing plug-in hybrids closer to reality from that of others, like General Motors and Toyota, that are also promoting the technology. “Google was one of the entities helping to create the meme that plug-in hybrids are coming,” Ms. Smith said.
DotOrg has also developed tools to respond to disasters, such as a database to track missing people after the earthquake in Haiti. There is also Resource Finder, a map-based tool set up after Pakistan’s floods that helps relief workers locate available hospital beds.
Just as important as the projects themselves, Ms. Smith said, is the formal process for reviewing DotOrg proposals. The ideas, which can now be proposed by any Google employee, are handled very much the way Google handles any idea from its staff — with a rigorous product review. The process lays the foundation for many more projects in coming years, she said.
Google puts its overall giving last year at $184 million, including in-kind contributions. Roughly half that amount went to nonprofit groups as cash. An additional 20 percent went to universities under a program that also gives the company an inside track on promising young engineers and research. Just 15 percent went to DotOrg projects.
“We have ramped up our charitable giving, but it is now being done outside of DotOrg by other teams, which has allowed DotOrg to focus on developing engineering solutions,” said Ms. Fuller, the DotOrg spokeswoman who was recently named Google’s director of charitable giving, in an e-mail.
THE reorganization has made it hard to assess whether Google is living up to its original promise. Many of the grants Google makes to organizations like Citizen Schools, Landesa, Ashoka and Unicef seem more like conventional corporate philanthropy than the revolutionary social innovation that Mr. Page pledged.
Indeed, Ms. Fuller measures the philanthropic success of Google by comparing its giving with that of other companies. “I think the big picture is that relative to its peers, Google has been generous with its time and resources,” she wrote. | 2019-04-18T22:44:28Z | https://www.gainesville.com/news/20110130/google-finds-it-hard-to-reinvent-philanthropy |
Once again, beloved friends, we join together with you because we remain as committed as you are to discovering ever greater depths of God's presence, ever greater depths of our own presence, ever greater depths of what alone is true always, of what alone is unchanged, unchanging, and unchangeable, forever.
Indeed, beloved friends, we would speak unto you in this hour of that which deepens the understanding of abiding in Perfect Knowing, in Perfect Knowledge. We want to address for you a theme that you have heard before, though from a slightly different perspective. That theme goes by a term that most of you are familiar with, and that term is "karma." Karma, as popularly considered, means that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For everything you put out, a similar energy returns.
Now, I have said before that karma can exist only where unconditional loving does not. This means that to the degree that your mind has not been purified of fear, that the mind has not been purified of need, that the mind has not been purified of its tendency toward idolatry - that is, creating something which is a substitute for Love, mistaking form for content - wherever this is occurring you are, indeed, experiencing the creation of karma. What do we mean by that? Each time you hold an unloving thought, you are going to experience the effect or the fruit of that thought. In reality, there are two levels at which this occurs, or two ways in which it occurs. The first is immediate. The second is mediated through the forms of time.
In the first, in that which is immediate, the very moment you think an unloving thought, as you are as a physically-embodied being, you immediately alter the electrical flow of energy throughout the physical system. You immediately alter the chemical balance of the body and, thereby, experience tightness in the body, sadness perhaps, depression, an overall ill-at-ease feeling. For every negative thought, not just the big ones that you really get your attention wrapped about, but even the small ones, this is still true. Depression can only occur in a mind that has been denying its pathway to joy.
Depression, then, is the result of a resistance to the true flow of Life throughout the body-mind. This resistance occurs in many ways. It can result as the result of not feeling a feeling to its completion, withholding a simple truth, and - more often than not - from denying the impulse of the heart. And as you begin to walk a spiritual path, and realize you need to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit - that, in fact, you cannot awaken yourself, because if you could you would have already done so - and then the opportunities are presented that contain within them all that you need to awaken from your illusions... but you resist it because it doesn't conform to your image of yourself.
So, you see, there are many ways in which you can resist and create a blockage in the flow of energy through the system. It is all around some form of a negative thought. And all negativity is an expression of fear. All attempt to control another is really fear. Anger is merely a form of fear. So, the very moment in which the mind is used to think a negative thought, there is a very immediate karmic effect. Given that effect over a period of time, an illness is created in the body, depression is created in the emotional field.
Now secondly, there is a mediated form of karmic response - namely, that the world around you will, over a period of time, coagulate, create itself in a context that will mirror to you that which seems to prove the negative thought that by now you have forgotten you even created. And then you will have the negative thought again and you will mistakenly believe that the negative thought is there because of the conditions outside of you.
Yup, I've always known that that's the way it is. You cannot trust a single politician.
I knew it. I think I must have been right all along. See what they did? This means that politicians can't be trusted.
When in fact, the politicians are merely the manifestation that fulfills the prophecy.
In this way, I want to invite you to look at your life. How are the events that are occurring, the quality of life you are living, how could they possibly be reflecting a self-fulfilling prophecy? Or how, in other words, could it be merely the fulfillment of the karma of how you are using the mind?
What must I have believed previously for this effect to be showing up?
What were the beliefs about money that my parents held?
For indeed, as we have touched on before, each soul drops, in a sense, into this world through the context of the parents. There is a context of perception, belief, and attitude that you begin to be colored by because you are accepting that coloration into the field of your own energy, as a means of making contact with this world and emerging into it. If, for instance, the parents believe that spirituality and material wealth cannot go together and, therefore, to be spiritual means to do without, materially, then look at how your life has evolved. Do you find a block at receiving moneys for being of service to others, but no block in receiving money for doing something you dislike?
Live in that question, beloved friends, and begin to apply it to the whole of your life. Begin to look at your life, look at the effects you experience as your surroundings and your context. Are you alone, with no lover or friends, hmm? What have you believed about the world previously? For somewhere, it is the nature of your thought, the agreements you've made unconsciously or consciously about what things mean, the agreements you have made with the culture in which you have been birthed, the family into which you have been birthed, that has actually generated the energy that is showing up as the effects you experience as your life. What thoughts or beliefs were you holding within the mind?
Oh, I just can't really make it on my own. I need to be taken care of. I don't believe I have what it takes.
Then, twenty-five years later, you wonder why you feel resentment toward the mate. The resentment is merely the recognition that you thought a negative thought about yourself, acted upon it, and have created the effects of someone who is controlling and provides you with all your money. You think there is a fault in them because you have forgotten to see the pebble that you dropped into the pond of omnipotent creativity which is the domain of the mind.
Karma, then, is an effect of how the mind is used.
Now, I have, indeed, said that karma can only exist where unconditional loving does not. What does this mean? When the mind unconditionally loves, it loves first itself and places no conditions upon what it receives as ideas from the universe.
There are many in your world that look up to those who take the greatest chances in life - the actor or the actress who waits on tables at some cheap hamburger stand, sleeps on a park bench, keeps taking acting classes and, finally, gets the part and becomes rich and famous. And yet, that one who became rich and famous is one who received the impulse of a desire to act, and followed up on it, and was willing to do whatever it took to be in the contexts in which something may or may not occur - the willingness to take the risk. Such a one is living, actually, in a state of unconditional Love of the self. And whether they think about it or not, they are carrying the subtle belief that the universe will somehow arrange itself and will support them to follow their heart.
In unconditional loving, karma does not exist. The example I have given you is just a rudimentary phase of unconditional loving. In its mature state, in its spiritual state, unconditional loving means that the mind has awakened and seen that nothing that occurs in life can cause it to contain or withdraw its Love. In the perfection of Unconditional Love, the mind simply loves. Karma, then, cannot be said to exist, because that mind is no longer experiencing effects coming back at it. It has transcended the world of cause and effect and, regardless of what arises, it merely loves. And who can be imprisoned who simply loves?
So there is a transcendence of karma through Unconditional Love. And Unconditional Love is always the fruit of the decision to love oneself - not because it's a duty to do so, not because it will make your husband love you more. You love yourself because you finally recognize that you might as well. That's all. You love the Self because your Creator loved you enough to create the Self.
There truly are no effects that are occurring as the result of a source of power outside of you. In other words, nothing is being done to you. Nothing. And you are free, in each and every moment, through the Power of Love, to free yourself of what looks like the effects of the world. In Truth, you are never at the effect of anything but the illusions of thought and belief that you have learned to project onto the world.
Many of you feel somewhat fearful of telling your friends and neighbors that you listen to tapes in which a human being is channeling the guidance of Jesus, or Jeshua. That very fear that you feel, that constriction, is karmic. Somewhere a long time ago, you decided that following your own pathway must stay concealed and isn't worth very much - that nobody will agree, and that their opinions decide your worth.
Could there be fear in simply sharing with your friends that you listen to channeled tapes of Jesus of Nazareth? Could there be fear of sharing that, if there was no prior belief that the opinions of others have the power to decide whether you are good or bad, worthy or unworthy?
If that was not in place, there could not be the fear. So, somewhere you have believed that there is a world outside of you whose opinions matter. Where, then, in your life do you limit your expression of your joy and your fun of simply being alive because you are concerned about the approval of others?
Karma is a most interesting concept and it shows up in many, many ways.
Where are the effects I experience in my life the result of karmically-induced thought, as opposed to thoughts of unconditional self-acceptance?
Beloved friends, the fact that you are experiencing yourself as a body-mind is, in many ways, karmic. That is, it is the result of the vast expanse of mind to dare to think a tiny, mad idea - and take it seriously - that I could separate myself from the Love of God and create an experience that convinces me that I have succeeded at achieving separation.
And yet, Unconditional Love transforms the experience of the body into something quite different. Unconditional Love of Self translates the life of the body-mind - the life of paying taxes, the life of keeping your car well oiled... all of it is translated so that the world becomes not something that proves your unworthiness, your separation, but rather, as a medium of communication in which magic, in a sense, is always at play, miracle-mindedness is always at play.
Oh, I'm just here pumping my gas. I looked up and saw you. You've got a great smile. You've made my whole day. Thank you!
And then, a conversation is struck and it is discovered that they are looking for someone in their corporation who happens to have your skills. And you're looking for a new job.
The things of the world become translated into that which supports your ever-increasing joy, success, fun, pleasure, material improvement, new friends. It supports all of it when you see through the Eyes of Love. When you literally look at the world around you and finally get that it was never what you thought it was, because you failed to separate yourself from God. And everything you see is there to support your happy experience. You are free to live in your highest joy, to ask for what you want, to open the heart and love - and the universe will respond according to the beliefs you hold about yourself, within yourself.
What must I have believed is true about the world to be living the life I am living now?
Where in the effects I'm experiencing now can I bring a greater degree of unconditional, loving acceptance?
Where am I looking through the eyes of boredom instead of appreciation?
Where can I bring a greater depth of Unconditional Love?
Where can I let go of resistance?
Where can I give up trying to direct my own life and allow the Love of God to direct my life?
I choose to allow these very conditions to be those conditions under which I now learn to choose Love.
What can I appreciate in this moment?
What can I give forgiveness unto?
Where can I overcome fear of speaking out and share a truth with a friend?
What have I been avoiding that I can now embrace?
In that very means, any set of conditions, created as the effect of fear-based thinking, now becomes the very pathway that will lead you to transcend the negative thinking and enter a domain of the use of the mind that will create effects far more enjoyable, far more expansive, than you've ever imagined.
Oh, why did I do that? I should have done this other thing.
No. Appreciate what you have created. Find what can be appreciated within it. Wrap the arms of your Love around it. Bring Unconditional Love to it. And thereby, you will find a window, a doorway, the creation of a new use of the mind that must necessarily require the Universe to rearrange Itself to accommodate the new vibration. Appreciation and Love and unlimitedness require the Universe to show up in a different way.
Why did I buy that stock? It was so silly. I didn't get enough information and now the company has gone bankrupt and I just lost ten thousand dollars. Ah-h-h, let me be in appreciation of this very effect. Yes. Well, this is fantastic! I create experience for myself. I can do more of this. This is great! Oh, I just love myself so much! I can decide. Oh, this is great! I just learned a valuable lesson. Next time I'll get more information. Ah, I'd like another opportunity for a great stock opportunity to make money. Ah, yes! Oh, I'm going to be an expert at this - I can see it coming - through my Unconditional Love. Yes, yes!
In fact, every time you think you've failed, celebrate!Celebrate your so-called failure as though it were a success. For remember, it is up to you to decide what you will perceive. Events are just neutral. Therefore, you are free to celebrate what you call your failures. And when you celebrate them, they are your successes. Any successful person knows that they never fail. They merely learn and become wiser.
Become one, then, who is no longer at the effect of karma. But rather, become one who uses karma wisely by looking honestly at their life, learning what needs to be learned - without judgment, but rather in celebration. Become one who translates their karma into the doorway to an ever-increasing awareness of God's Presence and Perfect Love - spread across the face of the Earth, permeating everything you see, translating the world into the very means that can uplift you, awaken you, care for you and heal you.
And so, beloved friends, again we ask that you listen well to the theme of this hour, to the questions that have been given unto you, that you spend time with them. For you see, in The Way of Knowing, the mind that abides in a perfectly liberated state knows that the world of effects that that mind is experiencing contain within them the very secrets to an ever-increasing delight in the presence of God's Love, that there is no such thing as failure. There is only ongoing success, as Life evolves from good, to better, to best - as the mind learns to be the Presence of Love.
Freedom is Love under all conditions.
And with that, peace be unto you always. | 2019-04-25T04:52:03Z | https://wayofmastery.com/way-of-knowing/lesson-5-way-of-knowing |
The Second Circuit’s recent decision in Stratte-McClure v. Morgan Stanley, No. 13-0627-cv (Jan. 12, 2015) (2015 WL 13631) (slip opinion available here: Stratte-McClure v. Morgan Stanley) (also referred to as Fjarde AP‐Fonden v. Morgan Stanley), stirs the pot on the important issue of private section 10(b) claims based on alleged violations of Item 303 of SEC Regulation S-K, 17 CFR § 229.303. Claims founded on a purported failure to comply with Item 303 are problematic because Item 303 is the SEC’s effort to enhance disclosures of “soft information,” not historical facts, about a public company. It requires that a company evaluate and discuss the future prospect that some developments or uncertainties could be important in future company performance. Because such decisions (i) inevitably involve the exercise of management judgment the need for disclosure, and the nature and scope any such discussion, and (ii) are almost always subject to second-guessing in retrospect, when the future is revealed and the uncertainties become less uncertain, they present serious risks of converting private section 10(b) claims into a form of hindsight insurance against stock price declines.
The SEC at one time excluded forward-looking information from SEC filings, but about 40 years ago started to encourage companies to provide forward-looking information in SEC filings. This eventually led to the development of mandatory disclosure requirements of “MD&A,” the short term for the Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations required by Item 303.
Item 303 arose out of SEC concerns that investors were missing out on key elements of company information if they obtained only purely historical information. Informed investment decision-making could be greatly improved if investors were able to get management insights into areas of company risk and uncertainty that had not yet been realized. This type of non-historical, future-looking evaluation is often referred to as “soft information.” The area of soft information disclosure is problematic because the SEC wants to encourage management to share such evaluative analysis, but to do so in a way that does not expand company and management exposure for not reading the future correctly. Accordingly, along with developing rules encouraging such disclosure, the SEC, Congress, and the courts have taken steps to limit private securities claims based solely on allegedly inadequate forward-looking disclosures.
The SEC adopted so-called “safe harbor” rules (Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), under which a forward-looking statement in a company’s MD&A disclosures could not be found fraudulent absent proof that it “was made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or was disclosed other than in good faith.” In the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), Congress enacted a more general safe harbor precluding liability in private actions for a forward-looking statement if: (i) it is identified as such and accompanied by “meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially,” or (ii) immaterial, or (iii) the plaintiff fails to prove that the forward-looking statement was made “with actual knowledge . . . that the statement was false or misleading.” 15 U.S.C. § 78u-5(c). The first portion of this statutory safe harbor was effectively a legislative adoption of the judicially-created “bespeaks caution” doctrine under which a forward-looking statement accompanied by meaningful cautionary language was deemed immaterial as a matter of law.
Nevertheless, forward-looking statements that turn out to be inaccurate, or the failure to provide advance warning of a likely future impact of a current problem, has been a theory underlying private securities actions for decades. Because this allows a backward-looking theory of fraud to be pursued after events occurring after the alleged misleading statements or omissions are accompanied by significant stock price impact, it is a powerful lure for the plaintiffs’ class action bar.
This theory can be especially powerful in the context of so-called “material omissions.” In those cases, the plaintiff can seek damages supposedly arising out of a company’s failure to provide a prediction about the future – the failure to disclose the potential impact of facts or circumstances that later turn out to harm the company. The most difficult hurdle in these cases is finding a “duty to disclose.” The securities laws do not require the disclosure of all company information to investors, nor even all material company information. Instead, public companies are required to disclose only the specified information mandated in SEC regulations, and to ensure that when they do disclose information, they do not at the same time withhold information without which the disclosed information becomes misleading. In general, companies have no obligation to provide evaluations or predictions about possible future developments, so this “duty to disclose” requirement can be a major obstacle to a private securities action based on a failure to do so.
It is in this context that recent cases have considered the impact on private securities actions of Item 303 of Regulation S-K. Two recent appellate cases adopt very different approaches to this issue: the Second Circuit’s decision in Stratte-McClure and the Ninth Circuit’s decision in In re NVIDIA Corp. Sec. Litig., 768 F.3d 1046 (9th Cir. 2014). It is no exaggeration to say that billions of dollars of future litigation costs and liabilities may turn on which of these approaches ultimately prevails.
Describe any known trends or uncertainties that have had or that the registrant reasonably expects will have a material favorable or unfavorable impact on net sales or revenues or income from continuing operations. If the registrant knows of events that will cause a material change in the relationship between costs and revenues (such as known future increases in costs of labor or materials or price increases or inventory adjustments), the change in the relationship shall be disclosed.
(1) Is the known trend, demand, commitment, event or uncertainty likely to come to fruition? If management determines that it is not reasonably likely to occur, no disclosure is required.
(2) If management cannot make that determination, it must evaluate objectively the consequences of the known trend, demand, commitment, event or uncertainty, on the assumption that it will come to fruition. Disclosure is then required unless management determines that a material effect on the registrant’s financial condition or results of operations is not reasonably likely to occur.
Exchange Act Release No. 34–26831 (May 24, 1989).
NVIDIA involved the company’s alleged failure to include in its Item 303 MD&A disclosures the potential financial impact of a defect in a chip incorporated into various manufacturers’ computers and other devices. Although the existence of the defect was disclosed, the amounts to be paid under warranty obligations were allegedly known uncertainties, and the MD&A allegedly failed to include a required discussion of that prospect. Stratte-McClure involved the alleged failure by Morgan Stanley to include in its MD&A a discussion of the potential future financial impact of long positions it held on collateralized debt obligations or credit default swaps at the time of the housing mortgage meltdown.
Let’s start with a key point on which both courts agree. They both emphasize that information required to be disclosed under Item 303 may not satisfy one of the key elements of a section 10(b) claim: materiality. That is because the SEC instructions make it clear that disclosures may be required “unless management determines that a material effect . . . is not reasonably likely to occur” (emphasis added). As a result, disclosures of immaterial information are required if management cannot “determine” they are unlikely to have a future material impact. Accordingly, plaintiffs will still have the burden of pleading facts showing a required disclosure was, in fact, material. See NVIDIA, 768 F.3d at 1055; Stratte-McClure, slip op. at 18-19.
The difference between the courts – a critical one – is that the NVIDIA court concluded that Item 303’s requirement that certain immaterial information must be disclosed prevents it from creating the “duty to disclose” necessary to support a fraud claim under section 10(b), while the Stratte-McClure court concluded that the “duty to disclose” and materiality elements should be disaggregated for this purpose.
[I]n Basic, the Supreme Court stated that materiality of forward-looking information depends “upon a balancing of both the indicated probability that the event will occur and the anticipated magnitude of the event in light of the totality of the company activity.” . . . As the court in Oran also determined, these two standards differ considerably. 226 F.3d at 288. Management’s duty to disclose under Item 303 is much broader than what is required under the standard pronounced in Basic. The SEC intimated this point as well: “[Item 303] mandates disclosure of specified forward-looking information, and specifies its own standard for disclosure—i.e., reasonably likely to have a material effect…. The probability/magnitude test for materiality approved by the Supreme Court in [Basic] is inapposite to Item 303 disclosure.” Exchange Act Release No. 34-26831, 54 Fed. Reg. at 22430 n. 27. The SEC’s effort to distinguish Basic’s materiality test from Item 303’s disclosure requirement provides further support for the position that Item 303 requires more than Basic—what must be disclosed under Item 303 is not necessarily required under the standard in Basic. Therefore, “[b]ecause the materiality standards for Rule 10b5 and [Item 303] differ significantly, the ‘demonstration of a violation of the disclosure requirements of Item 303 does not lead inevitably to the conclusion that such disclosure would be required under Rule 10b–5. Such a duty to disclose must be separately shown.’” Oran, 226 F.3d at 288.
Item 303’s affirmative duty to disclose in Form 10–Qs can serve as the basis for a securities fraud claim under Section 10(b). Rule 10b–5 requires disclosure of “material fact[s] necessary in order to make … statements made … not misleading.” This Court and our sister circuits have long recognized that a duty to disclose under Section 10(b) can derive from statutes or regulations that obligate a party to speak…. And this conclusion stands to reason—for omitting an item required to be disclosed on a 10–Q can render that financial statement misleading…. Due to the obligatory nature of these regulations, a reasonable investor would interpret the absence of an Item 303 disclosure to imply the nonexistence of “known trends or uncertainties … that the registrant reasonably expects will have a material … unfavorable impact on ․ revenues or income from continuing operations.”… It follows that Item 303 imposes the type of duty to speak that can, in appropriate cases, give rise to liability under Section 10(b).
The failure to make a required disclosure under Item 303, however, is not by itself sufficient to state a claim for securities fraud under Section 10(b)…. Since the Supreme Court’s interpretation of “material” in Rule 10b–5 dictates whether a private plaintiff has properly stated a claim, we conclude that a violation of Item 303’s disclosure requirements can only sustain a claim under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b–5 if the allegedly omitted information satisfies Basic’s test for materiality. That is, a plaintiff must first allege that the defendant failed to comply with Item 303 in a 10–Q or other filing. Such a showing establishes that the defendant had a duty to disclose. A plaintiff must then allege that the omitted information was material under Basic‘s probability/magnitude test….
Stratte-McClure, slip op. at 14-20 (citations and footnotes omitted).
We note that our conclusion is at odds with the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in In re NVIDIA Corp. Securities Litigation…. That case held that Item 303’s disclosure duty is not actionable under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b–5, relying on a Third Circuit opinion by then-Judge Alito, Oran v. Stafford…. But Oran simply determined that, “[b]ecause the materiality standards for Rule 10b–5 and [Item 303] differ significantly,” a violation of Item 303 “does not automatically give rise to a material omission under Rule 10b–5” (emphasis added).… Having already decided that the omissions in that case were not material under Basic, the Third Circuit concluded that Item 303 could not “provide a basis for liability.”… Contrary to the Ninth Circuit’s implication that Oran compels a conclusion that Item 303 violations are never actionable under 10b–5, Oran actually suggested, without deciding, that in certain instances a violation of Item 303 could give rise to a material 10b–5 omission. At a minimum, Oran is consistent with our decision that failure to comply with Item 303 in a Form 10–Q can give rise to liability under Rule 10b–5 so long as the omission is material under Basic, and the other elements of Rule 10b–5 have been established.
It is possible that the differences between these decisions reflect the proverbial “distinction without a difference.” After all, the Stratte-McClure court requires that materiality be pleaded and proved in addition to a disclosure duty, which eventually may lead to the same result. But “eventually” can be a big word. The name of the game is these cases is surviving dismissal and getting into discovery. Materiality is a notably hard element on which to get a claim dismissed. Even scienter-based dismissals tend to be arduous litigated results with multiple amended complaints, and plaintiff’s counsel often manage to survive dismissal by presenting often dubious “confidential witness” allegations that prevent dismissal, even if they don’t stand up in discovery. Dismissing these cases will be much easier if the “duty to disclose” is understood to mean “duty to disclose material information,” as the NVIDIA (and arguably Oran) court ruled. That would require a disclosure duty in an omissions case to be founded in the substance of omitted material, and not just on a disclosure duty not founded in the importance to investors of the omitted information. The practical effect of the two different rules could be enormous, since the issue is not which side will win at trial, or even summary judgment, but will the case survive to the point that a hefty settlement may be the preferred result for both sides.
It is important to remember, as the Supreme Court has done in past private actions under section 10(b), that the section 10(b) private right of action was judicially created, and for that reason is more amenable to judicial interpretation and refinement than statutory causes of action. The Supreme Court has in the past, and likely will in the future, taken into account the policy implications of endorsing one approach or another in determining the precise parameters of the elements of private section 10(b) claims. In doing this, the Court may also place some weight on obvious efforts by the SEC and Congress to limit exposure to private actions from the forward-looking disclosure requirements. As a result, even if the Second Circuit’s disaggregation approach is arguably more sound from the standpoint of pure logic, the practical appeal of interpreting “duty to disclose” to include, at least implicitly, a materiality aspect could ultimately prevail.
This entry was posted in Private Litigation, Securities Law and tagged 17 CFR 229.303, 2d Circuit, 9th Circuit, Basic v. Levinson, CDO, CDS, class action, collateralized debt obligation, credit default swap, duty to disclose, Fjarde AP‐Fonden, Fjarde AP‐Fonden v. Morgan Stanley, forward-looking information, fradu by hindsight, fraud, In re NVIDIA Securities Regulation, Item 303, Item 303 Regulation S-K, Item 303(a)(3)(ii), legal analysis, management discussion and analysis, materiality, MD&A, Ninth Circuit, omissions, private securities litigation, PSLRA, Regulation S-K, Rule 10b-5, safe harbor, scienter, SEC Rule 303, Second Circuit, section 10(b), securities, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, securities fraud, securities law, securities litigation, soft information, Stratte McClure v. Morgan Stanley, Stratte-McClure on January 19, 2015 by Straight Arrow.
On December 11, 2014, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that his court lacked jurisdiction to consider Wing Chau’s injunctive action to prevent an SEC administrative prosecution against him on due process and equal protection grounds. Although the ruling was narrowly confined to the jurisdiction issue, it nevertheless was a significant victory for the Commission.
In October 2013, the SEC commenced an administrative proceeding against Chau and his firm, Harding Advisory, alleging misrepresentations in connection with the sale of collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) that imploded during the housing/mortgage crisis. The allegations essentially charged that Chau and Harding misrepresented the nature of the process for selecting assets that went into the CDOs. After seeking to work within the administrative process to get the kinds of discovery and preparation time that typically would be available if the action were brought in federal court, Chau and Harding commenced a federal action in the Southern District of New York to stop the administrative proceeding. They asserted in their complaint (which can be reviewed here: Wing Chau v. SEC), that the SEC administrative action violated due process because it did not allow a fair defense to be developed, and denied equal protection of the law because they were singled out for administrative prosecution when similar actions against other persons were brought in federal court (and two of three were lost by the SEC).
The court had previously denied a temporary restraining order and the administrative trial went forward and was concluded. The parties are awaiting an ALJ determination.
The threshold issue was whether such an action was permissible — whether the district court had jurisdiction to hear a claim to preempt the administrative action. Applying the standards set forth in Thunder Basin Coal Co. v. Reich, 510 U.S. 200 (1994), Judge Kaplan ruled there was no jurisdiction because (1) the plaintiffs could get meaningful judicial review in an appeal of the administrative action, (2) the claimed constitutional violations were not wholly collateral to the issues to be decided in the administrative action, and (3) the consideration of due process and equal protection claims were not outside of the SEC’s “expertise.” A copy of the opinion can be found here: Chau v SEC Opinion.
The court found it significant that the due process claim “has been that the SEC’s procedural rules . . . are unfair in light of ‘facts and circumstances of [their] case'” and not that “the SEC’s rules are unconstitutional in every instance.” Slip op. at 18-19. The numerous grounds asserted to show that the respondents had been prevented from presenting a fair defense did not provide jurisdiction because they “all . . . are inextricably intertwined with [the] ongoing administrative proceeding and can be reviewed by a court of appeals.” Id. at 20. And because the challenges involve the day-to-day conduct of the proceeding, the due process arguments are not “wholly collateral” to the proceeding under Thunder Basin. Id. Finally, “plaintiffs fail to articulate any convincing reason why the SEC lacks the competence to consider the fairness of proceedings before its ALJs.” Id. at 22. The issue is the fairness of a particular hearing, not a determination that one of the SEC’s “constituent parts is unconstitutional,” and the “SEC is well equipped to evaluate claims of unfairness in proceedings before its ALJs — and if it fails to do so, the courts of appeals stand ready to correct the error.” Id. at 22-23.
The equal protection claim yielded the same result. Although a sister court found jurisdiction for such a claim in Gupta v. SEC, 796 F. Supp.2d 503 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), Judge Kaplan was not convinced to follow that decision. He found the Gupta allegations of discriminatory conduct stronger, but also did “not find Gupta‘s application fo the Thunder Basin factors persuasive in these circumstances.” Slip op. at 25. In essence, he disagrees with the reasoning in Gupta and relied on modestly different facts to rule the other way. He again also found no basis to conclude that the equal protection claim is outside of the SEC’s “expertise.” But he did so with a circular argument. He acknowledged that adjudicating such claims “is ‘not peculiarly within the SEC’s competence,'” but without addressing why equal protection analysis was within the SEC’s competence, stated that the SEC’s attempt to address the equal protection issues in an attempted interlocutory appeal from an ALJ decision “indicate that the SEC is competent to consider plaintiff’s constitutional claims.” Id. at 31-32.
At the end of the opinion, the judge noted that plaintiffs’ challenge “[t]aken to its logical conclusion . . . would upend all manner of administrative enforcement schemes.” Id. at 32. He concluded that because “the normal channels of statutory review are adequate” his court lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
In an epilogue, Judge Kaplan took note that “the growth of administrative adjudication, especially in preference to adjudication by Article III courts and perhaps particularly in the field of securities regulation, troubles some.” Id. at 34. He singled out concerns that this approach could “increase the role of the Commission in interpreting the securities laws to the detriment or exclusion of the long standing interpretive role of the courts.” This is a concern that has been raised by federal district judge Jed Rakoff (see here). He also mentions concern that such SEC determinations might be accorded “broad Chevron deference to SEC interpretations of the securities laws in the determination of administrative proceedings.” Id. at 34-35. Concern about the proper scope of Chevron deference to SEC statutory interpretations was noted recently by Justice Scalia (see here).
Judge Kaplan said “[t]hese concerns are legitimate, whether born of self-interest or of a personal assessment of whether the public interest would be served best by preserving the important interpretative role of Article III courts in construing the securities laws – a role courts have performed since 1933.” “But they do not affect the result in this case. . . . This Court’s role is a modest one” — to determine subject matter jurisdiction. Id. at 35. In reaching its conclusion, the court “has not considered any views concerning the proper or wise allocation of interpretive functions between the Commission and the courts,” which “are policy matters committed to the legislative and executive branches of government.” Id. at 35-36.
But there remains no doubt that this is an SEC victory that, at a minimum, delays consideration of some aspects of the propriety of shifting SEC enforcement actions to its own administrative courts (see posts on this issue here and here).
This entry was posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law and tagged administrative courts, administrative proceeding, ALJ, CDO, Chau v. SEC, Chevron deference, constitutionality, due process, equal protection, Harding Advisory, Judge Kaplan, jurisdiction, lawyer, legal analysis, Lewis Kaplan, Peixoto, Peixoto v. SEC, SEC, SEC enforcement, SEC v. Chau, section 10(b), securities, securities law, securities litigation, separation of powers, Stilwell, Stilwell v. SEC, subject matter jurisdiction, Wing Chau on December 15, 2014 by Straight Arrow.
On June 13, 2014, New York Supreme Court Judge Charles Ramos dismissed a private fraud action brought by investors, or assignees of investors, in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The case is Phoenix Light SF Ltd. v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., No. 652356/13 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. June 13, 2014) (see the decision here). It was the right result because sophisticated investors should vet their investments carefully and not expect to be bailed out when they fail to do so.
RMBS are essentially certificates entitling the owners to payments by borrowers on mortgage loans purportedly made in a manner consistent with stated underwriting guidelines and packaged together in a single security. When the financial crisis hit, borrowers failed to pay at expected levels and investors did not receive their expected returns. The RMBS at issue in this case involved 23 different offerings in the period 2005-2007 totaling more than $450 million.
Plaintiffs alleged the usual assortment of materially false and misleading disclosures or omissions in the sale of the RMBS certificates. These include: (1) the loan originators (e.g., New Century, Countrywide, and the like) failed to comply with stated loan underwriting guidelines for the borrowers’ ability to pay and the assessed value of houses serving as collateral; (2) loan to value ratios on the underlying loans were misstated because they were based on inflated appraisals; (3) offering documents misstated the percentage of homes that were occupied by their owners; and (4) credit ratings on the RMBS were inflated. Plaintiffs alleged that Goldman Sachs knew from its own due diligence efforts that the loans were of poorer quality than represented, and for that reason sold short the RMBS being sold to investors.
The buyers of these RMBS were highly sophisticated investors. The entity that assigned many of these securities to plaintiffs (likely after the financial crisis began, for payments well below the face value of the original certificates) was WestLB AG, an established German bank and investment bank.
Media coverage of the housing crisis tends to follow the lead of politicians who bemoan the greed that led investment banks like Goldman Sachs to sell mortgage-backed securities, or other collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), based on poor quality mortgage loans. It is plain, however, that the market for these securities was highly sophisticated. They promised higher yields than other debt obligations, and were thought to be well-collateralized and diversified. Investment funds, pension funds, and the like, whose investments are (or should be) vetted by professionals experienced in the analysis of such investments, provided an eager market for them. These were not widows and orphans … they were the leading institutional investors of our time. Part of the failure of these investments is explained by the unprecedented nature of the financial crisis that occurred, which caused many market participants – buyers and sellers alike – to discount the likelihood of disastrous declines in housing value. But part of the failure is attributable to sophisticated investors that simply did not do their jobs. When the crisis hit and these investors suffered serious losses, they did what we have come to expect in our society – they looked for other people to point fingers at.
This is just such a case. Judge Ramos gave short shrift to several of the defendants’ legal arguments, then turned to the one that was dispositive, at least under New York law: sophisticated investors who fail to do the basic work required to choose appropriate investments cannot turn to the courts to make others the guarantors of their losses.
It is important to understand that when these huge investments are made, investors typically have the right to obtain a full list of the loans underlying the securities so that they can conduct their own analysis of loan quality, how well the loans conform to the underwriting guidelines, and how well risk is reduced by packaging together loans from diversified geographic areas. Many investors eager to get the projected high yields never did that homework. Plaintiffs in this case carefully alleged that “there was no information available to plaintiffs at the time they bought the certificates – other than the loan files, which defendants did not share – that would have allowed plaintiffs or the assigning entities to conduct an investigation that would have revealed” that the loans did not conform to underwriting standards. But plaintiffs did not allege that they had sought and been denied this information. If they had done so, it was standard practice to provide that information on request. See slip opinion at 15-16.
Here, plaintiffs need to sufficiently allege that defendants were the ones who possessed peculiar knowledge about the misrepresentations and omissions, and that plaintiffs could not have uncovered the misrepresentations and omissions even with reasonable due diligence…. [They fail] to meet the second prong, as the allegations of the complaint itself, actually establish that plaintiffs could have uncovered defendants’ alleged misrepresentations and omissions if they had exercised due diligence by asking for the loan files, which plaintiffs admit was information available at the time they bought the Certificates.
… It does not matter if the failure to seek this information was because of blind faith in the proves of origination and/or securitization, or if it was attributable to the desire to quickly get on board of what the investors thought was a profitable bandwagon, the obligation of a sophisticated investor to inquire cannot be merely excused.
It is strikingly refreshing to see the court recognize that sophisticated investors investing in highly sophisticated and complex securities have to act prudently under the circumstances, and if they fail to do so the courts are not there to prevent appropriate lessons from being learned.
This entry was posted in Private Litigation, Securities Law and tagged CDO, fraud, lawyer, legal analysis, Phoenix Light SF v. Goldman Sachs, private securities litigation, reasonable reliance, RMBS, securities, securities fraud, securities law, securities litigation on June 17, 2014 by Straight Arrow.
Bloomberg View: No Kangaroo Courts at the SEC, Please!
Is it Time To Broaden the Definition of Insider Trading?
The Empire of Edge: How a doctor, a trader, and the billionaire Steven A. Cohen got entangled in a vast financial scandal.
Tippees Turn on Tipper in Insider Trading Investigation – And the Tipper's Penalty is Based on Their Profits!
“Loser Pays”: Who Will Be The Biggest Loser?
Is the SEC Becoming a Law Unto Itself?
Obus Says SEC Attorneys Are "Bullies"
Should Old Subpoena Compliance Rules Apply in the Digital Age?
High Frequency Trading: Is It A Dark Force Against Ordinary Human Traders And Investors? | 2019-04-21T10:57:17Z | https://securitiesdiary.com/tag/cdo/ |
100 Film Festivals in Australia and internationally have screened Metro Screen funded projects, the milestone was clocked up this week and rounds out a very productive 2012. Since 2009 short films screend at 66 Australian film festivals and 34 films screened overseas in many different countries. To top it off Metro Screen funded films also won prestigious awards including, Golden Eye Award 2009, Best Indigenous Film from SBS Television Awards 2010, Best Short Documentary at ImagineNative in Toronto 2011, Best Music for a short Film from APRA/AMCOS 2012 to name just a handful. Highlights from success stories of Metro Screen content and film projects are updated every week in our Congratulations Forum.
Applications for 2013 Breaks funding – Story to Screen are now open with applications due 7 February for six short films up to 10 minutes across drama, documentary, animation and experimental, plus three story based projects created for online or small screen delivery.
Digital Kitchen provides a cash grant for three to five emerging developers to mature their interactive projects beyond concept stage to a 'ripe for investment' or market ready level. Producers with projects that offer a rich interactive experience for audiences and users are encouraged to apply by 8 February 2013.
SBS wants to know why your community matters to you. In a 90 second video (maybe on your phone) tell SBS why your community makes a difference in your life and win the opportunity to tell Julia Gillard on Australia Day. Entries close 4 January 2013.
Congratulations to the graduating class of Certificate IV in Screen and Media Studies 2012. The screening of their final projects at Kino Sydney at the Night Parrot was a great night, Metro Screen wishes the whole class a busy and creative 2013.
Certificate IV in Screen and Media.
This full time course focuses on dialogue, story and character giving you a strong skills base across all aspects of screen production and an industry recognised qualification. Don’t miss your chance to save hundreds of dollars on your enrollment with the early bird discount closing 25 January 2013.
Starts 21 January 2013 for 11 – 17 year olds.
Over three 7hr days be taught the fundamentals of filmmaking all the way from script to screen. Be given the opportunity to write, act, shoot, light, direct, edit and produce either a short film, theatrical trailer, TV commercial or behind-the-scenes documentary.
Starts 9 February 2013 for one day 9.00am to 5.00pm.
This highly practical course is the perfect introduction to basic camera operating and cinematography techniques. You will learn basic camera operating and lighting skills, using our Sony PMW EX1Rs.Topics covered include framing, exposure and white balance, as well as handling techniques, lighting set up and lay out and an overview of shooting formats.
We are very excited to be gearing up with new BlackMagic equipment and an amazing workflow in 2013 with the BlackMagic Cinema Camera, the Hyperdeck Studio for storage and the Decklink 4K Extreme for acquisition. Before the year ends, don't forget our Crazy Summer Holiday Deal - Hire equipment for 12 days for the price of 4 days. Pick up your gear 21 December and you can use it right through until 2 January 2013 for the price of just 4 days hire. First in best dressed. Send us your booking through our online instant quote to redeem this once-a-year offer.
Dean Francis’s [Road Train] upcoming feature film Drown is seeking a keen and enthusiastic Unit Manager from 7th January to 8th March 2013. The Unit manager is a department head and will be responsible for 2 to 3 unit assistants on a daily basis. The Unit will oversea all catering and transport logistics. Applicants must own their own car and hold a valid Australian drivers license.
The CBF TV Content Production Grant applications open 15th December 2012. This grant category is an incubator fund that aims to support content production encouraging greater participation, creativity and innovation in Australian community television productions. Almost $300,000 is available to distribute in this the second round of grants. Submissions close at midnight 15th March 2013.
This year Flickerfest received an unprecedented number of entries from over 21 countries across the globe. In excess of 2300 short films were received at Flickerfest HQ in Bondi, exceeding last year’s total by 200 plus entrants. From these entries, 116 films have been selected for the four official competitions, all representing some of the most innovative, creative and cutting edge short films that the world has to offer.
Written and directed by Melissa Anastasi and produced by Cathy Flannery,'Treading Water' received our Breakout funding in 2011.
Written and directed by Pauline Findlay and produced by Tracey Savage. Together they developed the idea of 'Red Dot' which became 'Liv' and gained a Metro Screen Network Production grant in 2009. 'Liv' had its World Premiere at Palm Springs International ShortFest.
You Like It, I Love It has been selected to screen at the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival 2013. Synopsis: Roberto and Chris are brothers with the house to themselves. Current Certificate IV in Screen and Media Cinematography tutor, Adam Howden lensed the film and 2011 Certificate IV in Screen and Media graduate Pablo Zubieta was 1st AD.
‘Redfern Now’, the exceptional documentary recently screened on ABC and still available on ABC iview credits Adrian Wills, Michelle Blanchard and Jon Bell as episode writers and Wayne Blair as director and amain cast role. These four talented Indigenous filmmakers all made some of their first films with Metro Screen, through our indigenous funding programs.
Winners of the Human Rights Awards 2012 were announced at a Sydney event on Monday 10th December, hosted by The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel. Over the past few years Metro Screen has been very involved with Media RING, a collective of 42 media organisations that aim to improve employment and training outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working or wanting to work in the media industry.
Kiana is the title of a short film, written and directed by Hallam Drury, created with cinematographer Andy Johnson and Producer Luke Sheehan. The film Kiana is an unfolding narrative that reveals an interesting and unique story about the very natural decision to have children.
Starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace and set in the near future, Lockout follows a falsely convicted ex-government agent [Guy Pearce], whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President’s daughter (Maggie Grace) from rioting convicts at an outer space maximum security prison.
After witnessing the brutal murders of a convenience store owner and his son; firefighter, Jeremy Coleman nearly escapes with his life. As he is forced to testify against the crime lord, Hagan, he is placed in the witness protection program under the watch of the U.S. Marshalls.
Charles Dickens died half way through writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and ever since speculation has been rife as to how the tale might have unfolded. For this intriguing two-part adaptation for BBC2, for prime time this December, acclaimed screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes [Five Days, Miss Austen Regrets] scoured the text for clues indicating how the great author might have finished this masterpiece, and has drawn from those leads a seamless, compelling and surprisingly modern story of obsessive love, betrayal and murder.
Transporting viewers to locations across the globe and back in time through hundreds of millions of years, Planet Dinosaur uses the latest technology in computer generated graphics to bring to life the most awesome and amazing creatures that ever lived. Almost all of the dinosaurs featured were recently discovered and forced a rewriting of the prehistory books.
The Prequel Series to All Creatures Great and Small. 30 years after the first book in the phenomenally successful James Herriot series was published, the BBC presents the previously unknown ‘real’ story of the world’s most famous vet from Scotland.
‘Crossfire Hurricane’ directed by Brett Morgen, is released as part of the ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations of The Rolling Stones. This superb new film tells the story of the Stones’ unparalleled journey from blues obsessed teenagers in the early sixties to their undisputed status as rock royalty. | 2019-04-25T19:44:28Z | http://createsend.com/t/j-E7B710C12BE9F887 |
Dorf on Law: Does the Filibuster Matter?
A report on Politico yesterday indicated that some Senate Republicans would like to change the Senate rules to lower the threshold number of votes needed to debate a bill from 60 to 51. The story considers a number of angles, including Tea Partiers versus Old Guard within the GOP. Here I want to raise questions about an unstated premise: that it matters.
Putting aside a number of details about the particular rules that might be changed, the basic premise of the story is that the 60-vote threshold for passing bills in the Senate enables a minority of 41 Senators to block legislation that would otherwise pass. But that's often false. Consider the present moment. Republicans control the House and the Senate, but with fewer than 60 votes, while Democrats control the presidency. In order to block legislation under such circumstances, it might appear that Democrats need 41 votes in the Senate or a majority in the House. But that's wrong. Even with a simple-majority voting rule in the Senate, it would only take 34 Democratic Senators or 146 Democratic House members (assuming party discipline, as these exercises do) to block legislation. Any time the parties divided ideologically, for the Republicans to could succeed in passing legislation they would need at least 67 votes in the Senate and at least 290 votes in the House to override a presidential veto. That's a much higher threshold than the Senate rules impose even without a change.
First, the threshold matters when the same party controls both houses of Congress and the presidency. If a Republican were to become president but the Republicans had fewer than 60 votes in the Senate, then the difference between 51 and 60 in the Senate could be crucial, because the Senate would be the choke point.
Second, presidents do not like to veto legislation. Partly this is a matter of optics. Casting a veto is often a high-profile media event in a way that the killing of a bill on a cloture vote is not, so that a president casting a great many vetoes can be attacked as obstructionist. Perhaps more importantly, a determined Congress can attach ideological poison pills to otherwise-popular bills. Thus, a bill that includes many popular, uncontroversial measures but also, say, a rider defunding Planned Parenthood, can put the president to a difficult choice. The president would much rather that his allies in the Senate filibuster the defunding-of-Planned-Parenthood amendment to the bill when it's being debated in the Senate, so that he can simply sign the clean, popular measure.
How does all of this shake out? In most discussions of the cloture rule(s) and the filibuster, the point is made that Senators understandably take the long-term perspective: The party in the majority today might hesitate to replace supermajority rules with simple-majority rules for fear that the roles will be reversed in the not-too-distant future.
Yet it is quite difficult to predict over the long run which party will benefit from the filibuster and which from filibuster reform. Conventional wisdom now holds that the demographics give Democrats an advantage in the presidencey but that gerrymandering gives Republicans an advantage in the House and the equal suffrage of the states gives them an advantage in the Senate. If that trend were to hold then the pattern we now see--Republican majorities in the House and Senate with a Democratic president--would also hold. That would make the filibuster relatively unimportant, at least where the president is comfortable wielding the veto.
But I see no reason to think that the current alignment is permanent. A generation ago the pattern was reversed. From 1969-1993, Republicans controlled the White House for 20 out of 24 years, even as the Democrats controlled the House for all of that time and held the Senate for 18 of the 24 years. The switch reflects changing demographics, realignment, and a host of other factors, but if you believe in Duverger's Law (and really, who but Canadians doesn't?) then you will think that over time the parties will adjust to be competitive. It can take a generation or more for the dust to settle, but there's no reason to think that each party won't eventually hit upon a strategy that maximizes its strength in each institutional setting (at least until the next realignment).
Accordingly, I don't see the filibuster or cloture rule systematically favoring either party as a matter of simple vote counting.
Nor do I see an advantage to passing versus not passing legislation. If there were no laws on the books, it would make sense for progressives to want to lower barriers to legislation and for conservatives and libertarians to want to raise such barriers. But given a pretty pervasive regulatory state, blocking legislation that aims to repeal regulation will often be a goal of a progressive minority, and so the progressive-versus-libertarian question will not cut strongly in favor of a view about filibusters and cloture.
The one exception to that proposition is that there is a systematic reason why progressives will want to lower barriers to appointments in the executive branch. Especially when barriers to legislation are high but even when they aren't, activist government will depend on having a well-staffed set of agencies. Accordingly, whatever their views about the filibuster and cloture for legislation, it makes sense for Democrats to favor a simple-majority rule for executive-branch appointments, which is exactly what they did in exercising the "nuclear option" two years ago. That change also allowed judicial nominees (except to the Supreme Court) to be confirmed by a simple-majority vote, but the long term politics of the lower federal courts are more complicated, and so it's not obvious to me that lowering the threshold for lower court appointments was systematically beneficial to Democrats.
I have noticed recently more criticisms/challenges regarding the Administrative (regulatory) State from legal academics, including on constitutional non-delegation grounds and not just the Court's "acceptance" of the Administrative State for the most part. I can't imagine Congress taking over with detailed legislation what the Administrative State is capable of accomplishing. This is not to say the Administrative State doesn't have issues to be addressed, but as my late high school and college classmate Joe would pass on his grandfather's wisdom, "Halitosis is better than no breath at all." So the filibuster does matter in this regard.
There is a difference between appointments (used in respect to NLRB by the Republicans, e.g., quite blatantly, to change the law by blocking nominees until the law was changed; Rick Hasen also shows how election reform laws are blocked in part by delays in filling slots for those who enforce them) and the laws themselves.
There is also some difference in degree. The filibuster rule for executive appointments was changed after years of delays taken above and beyond the norm. This includes some average nominees being blocked. This always happened to some degree but the level got to be too much. The same applies to blocking legislation. There is some positives to having bottlenecks since both sides put forth some dubious legislation. But, at some point, it gets to be too much. Some basic Great Society legislation, e.g., would have been blocked by current norms. Filibustering has been taken too far, especially given less bipartisanship.
I would argue that there is a systemic benefit to not moving too quickly. Things are generally better when the rules don't change dramatically from year to year.
If the amount of regulation increased dramatically every time the Democrats took power, this would make it difficult to do business. Similarly, if the amount of government services decreased dramatically every time the Republicans took power, this would be equally problematic for individuals.
It's generally better if the government moves slowly over time and that big changes, if they happen at all, only occur on rare occasions when the population overwhelmingly favors moving in a certain direction.
This is exactly the kind of behavior that policies like the filibuster (and to a lesser extent the veto) create.
It should be noted that even w/o the filibuster, there are lots of bottlenecks in the system. You have committees, parties (majority of majority party required to move certain things), two branches of Congress and the President (the veto not the only way to block in this case on the ground). So, the filibuster is yet another thing. | 2019-04-23T08:34:31Z | http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2015/11/does-filibuster-matter.html |
As architects, we're particularly bound by the laws of thermodynamics. Heat transfers through our walls, through our floors and into our bodies, affecting the thermal comfort of the space and the overall energy use of the building. These laws define the fundamental qualities that define physical systems in buildings, chemical bonds, and the earths atmosphere.
no heat will flow between any two bodies that are at the same temperature.
Matter is always seeking equilibrium. Moisture also moves from high to low, which defines the vapor profile in a building.
That being said, heat also moves from hottest to coldest. Take a boil pot of water, for example. When you drop spaghetti into the water, the water immediately stops boiling. It's not because the spaghetti cooled the water so much that it's below boiling temperature, it's because the heat of the stove immediately transfers to the coldest thing - the spaghetti. Once the noodles match the temperature of the water, only then will the pot continue to boil.
The human body sweats. The transfer of moisture from inside to outside the body is most effective when air transfers that moisture away from your skin through convection. According to the laws above though, air will only transfer this moisture when the surrounding air is not fully saturated. That is why evaporative cooling works in a dry climate, but not in a humid climate - there's nowhere for that water to go!
In class the other day, Shanelle picked up a stainless steel spoon in one hand and a canvas pencil bag in the other. She was asked to decide which item was colder. After a bit of deliberating, she decided that the spoon felt colder at first, but soon felt warmer.
In fact, both the spoon and the pencil bag were the same temperature - room temperature. What Shanelle experienced was heat being transfered from her hand via conduction. Since the metal is more conductive than the canvas bag, it removes heat from her hand. In fact, we don't really comprehend heat until there is a temperature differential.
Why do we give marathon runners metal blankets after they finish their race? A runners body will continue to emit heat (through radiation) and perspire (through evaporation) even hours after the race. The "blanket" serves to keep the runners heat close to their body even after the activity has stopped to prevent hypothermia.
The R-value of a material is an indicator of its ability to resist or retard heat transfer in a given thickness of material. A high R-value is indicative of a insulative material (low conduction) while a low R-value indicates a more conductive material). In calculating the total R-value of a multi-layered assembly, the individual R-values are added together to form the nominal or rated R-value, essentially forming the best case scenario. Typical material R-values can be found in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals and a few of them can be found here (above left). When choosing insulation materials, it is also important to consider the embodied energy that goes into producing the materials.
3. Calculate the temperature difference between each material. Divide the R-value of the material (Rmat) by the total nominal R-value (Rtot) and multiply by the temperature difference.
To retard the flow of heat: introduce voids or microscopic pockets of air. Air is a gas, and its atoms are spaced, on average, further apart than they are in solids. Air can act as an insulator — but only if it remains stagnant.
What is a thermal bridge?... and why do I care?
The thermal image shown here is Jeanne Gang's Aqua Tower in Chicago, IL, which has become the poster child for thermal bridging. Here, the concrete slabs are extended beyond the thermal envelope (largely glass), transferring a huge amount of energy between inside and out.
Thermal heat transfer can be easily calculated at the one-dimensional scale, however this method does not account for thermal interactions between systems, such as between windows and walls. Two-dimensional thermal modeling tools, such as Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s (LBNL) Therm, are used to digitally simulate heat transfer through building assemblies. This is helpful to identify thermal bridges or locate the dew point within the assembly. With this information, the designer can determine where to locate thermal breaks, add insulation, or even feed the results into an energy model for more accurate results.
These conditions can create cold or hot spots within an assembly that may radiate to the interior space, creating opportunities for occupant discomfort.
Extreme temperature differentials within an otherwise uniform assemebly create prime opportunities for condensation to form when the material temperature is below the dewpoint of the air. This can lead to mold if the material is not able to dry thoroughly or material failure if the material is not able to tolerate moist conditions.
The project shown here, located in Italy, had a significant condensation problem along the perimeter concrete beam at the intersection of the wall and roof in the attic. Though this is not a conventional detail seen in the US, the concrete beam was more conductive than the brick masonry, so a thermal bridge was created. The concrete beam was required for seismic purposes.
Not only did the thermal bridge likely increase mechanical conditioning demands, it created a cold spot which impacted the thermal comfort within the space. Additionally, the lower internal temperatures allowed condensation to form and the sustained conditions (and lack of drying) permitted mold to form. Though thermal bridging does not always lead to interior mold issues, it is most common in buildings that are not properly ventilated (Bonilauri 2016).
The Werner Otto Hall at the Busch Reisinger Museum located at Harvard University, shown below, is a token example of building failure due to poor detailing, particularly poor air sealing and thermal bridging. In fact, the building only lasted 19 years – it was constructed in 1991 and demolished in 1991.
The curators of the museum required that the interior air be kept at 70F and 50% RH to maintain the health of the artwork. In addition, the building was pressurized so that air would only leak out, and never in from outside. Over time, cold, moist air leaked into the cavity during winter months and condensed. During the cold Boston winter, the condensation coming from the humid interior air would sometimes freeze.
Adding to the problem, the exterior metal panels were connected to the framing with galvanized ties which rusted and deteriorated. Had the ties been stainless steel, though more expensive, the attachments would have been less susceptible to damage from moisture. Over time, the panels began to fall off the building and onto the sidewalk.Even beore that, there were other visible symptoms that began to appear. There was moisture accumulating in the roof, icicles along the bottom of the parapet, wet stains on the limestone façade, rust spots along the metal wall panels and staining from the glass block windows. Upon first trying to diagnose the problem, the first thought was that the air and vapor barrier had been punctured, potentially by the curators when trying to hang the art. The museum hired Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) to investigate the problem.
Due to numerous lawsuits, the official cause of damage was never released.
The bridge reduces the overall performance of the assembly, meaning more heat will flow across that layer. This reduces the amount of resistivity to the temperature differential between inside and out, creating potentially higher heating and cooling demands to maintain the design conditions within the building (as well as noncompliance with energy codes).
The psychrometric chart is a useful tool to demonstrate the relationship between heat and moisture, providing key benchmarks for successful thermal and hygrothermal management. When designing wall assemblies, the chart is particularly useful in determining the dew point of specific conditions - a useful metric to evaluate and manage moisture - the temperature at which air becomes fully saturated and liquid water forms (condensation).
The following instructions demonstrate how to calculate the dew point using the psychrometric chart. Next we will find the location of the dew point for 75F, 50% RH air.
The horizontal-axis shows dry bulb temperature (the temperature of air measured by a thermometer that is freely exposed to the air, but shielded from radiation and moisture).
The vertical-axis shows the humidity ratio or moisture content (typically in g(water) / kg(dry air). The curved lines through the chart represent the relative humidity (%). Using only temperature and RH, you can then locate the point.
50% RH is shown here.
Move leftward in a straight line from any coordinate (combination of temperature and relative humidity) to reach the saturation curve. Without changing the amount of moisture in the air, you're determining the temperature at which the air becomes completely saturated (the dew point). By moving along the horizontal axis, the mass of water vapor is held constant, but you move towards the 100% RH line.
If you move across the horizontal to the right side of the graph, you'll reach the humidity ratio, or the mass of water in air in g(water)/kg(air). This is the absolute amount of water in the air, regardless of temperature.
Once you reach the point of saturation (at 100% RH), draw a line straight down back to the temperature axis to find the dew point.
Here we see that the dew point for 75°F, 50% RH air is approximately 55°F.
Craig, Salmaan. 2017. “Some Things You Should Know about Heat.” Thermal Tectonics for the Next Billion People, February. https://www.pubpub.org/pub/5882929e97391e003a7fd0e2. | 2019-04-25T20:41:55Z | http://www.buildtestbuildtest.com/building-science-basics-i.html |
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Trading & Contact Address: AffinityDNA, 60 Lansdowne Place, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 1FG, United Kingdom. | 2019-04-24T14:02:33Z | https://www.affinitydna.co.uk/dna-testing-privacy-policy/ |
Keep in mind that during a major “disaster” many of the tools referenced herein may not be available until they are recovered.
This toolkit is not a definitive list of technology resources, nor is it designed to address non-technical issues, such as attendance policies or pedagogical best practices.
You will not need to take action on every recommendation in the toolkit. Simply pick and choose the information that is most useful for your teaching context. As part of your preparations, protect your remote location (home) computers with anti-virus software to help ensure they will be reliable when you need them.
Important: Some of the tools mentioned in this document are not explicitly aligned with FERPA or HIPAA. These tools are marked with an asterisk (*). If you are considering using these tools, you are advised to review UW policy regarding external email and cloud service providers on the Appropriate Use of UW Resources page.
I have a Canvas course or course website for each of my courses that contains the most current course information.
I have a way to distribute assignments to my students online such as a Canvas course site.
I use audio or video materials in class and I know how to share these with my students.
I use the Canvas LMS to make materials available to my students.
Note: the UW Libraries have retired the E-reserve system and now recommend that Canvas be used for this purpose.
If you answered “no” to one or more of the statements above, learn more in the How to Put Materials Online section below.
My students know how to contact me remotely if they have a question.
If you answered “no” to one or more of the statements above, learn more in the How to Communicate Online section below.
My students can turn in homework and take exams online.
I have a way to respond to student work and securely publish scores online.
I know how to submit final grades to the Registrar online.
If you answered “no” to one or more of the statements above, learn more in the How to Conduct Your Class Online section below.
My TAs have the knowledge and capability to remotely conduct their quiz sessions.
If you answered “no” to one or more of the statements above, learn more in the How to Access Your Course Materials From Home section below.
Modern smart phones and cell connected devices provide the best way to access email during emergencies. Cell networks are often buffered from the disruptions in power and are less susceptible to wind damage than cable, phone and fiber networks. When the worst does happen cellular services are some of the first systems to be restored. Microsoft Outlook for IOS and Android provides a modern interface with functionality superior to either UW G Suite Gmail or UW Office 365 Exchange Online. Inbox by Google also provides an updated user experience compared to native phone apps.
Request an email distribution list for your class on MyUW under the Teaching tab. These class lists are created at the time they are requested and will be ready to use the following day. If you want to create a list for cross-listed courses or combinations of courses, submit a Mailman Instructor Class List request. You could also post the class contact list to connect students with one another.
Most social networking services like SnapChat, Twitter and Facebook have wide adoption, but are not safe for FERPA and HIPAA content. These services may be used for some purposes, but great care would need to taken not to expose sensitive information, such as who is in a course. Consider using UW Yammer, which provides a FERPA and HIPAA-aligned environment.
UW Skype for Business, which is both HIPAA– and FERPA-aligned, allows you to conduct a chat with up to 50 participants and a meeting with up to 250 participants. Learn more here.
Zoom makes it easy for UW faculty, staff, and students to participate in group video chat during online class sessions, host virtual office hours, collaborate remotely on research, share screens and host real-time video conversations, host live web broadcasts to thousands of people worldwide and record to the cloud or computer for easy sharing. For more information on Zoom free accounts and Zoom Pro accounts and differences between the two learn more here.
Google Hangouts works with up to 25 people at a time. While you can invite as many people as you want to join a hangout, you can’t have more than 25 people in a hangout at once, while others will get stuck hanging in a lobby. Hangouts is FERPA–aligned, but does not have the BAA required by HIPAA. Hangouts is a feature of UW G Suite. For more about how Hangouts works, see Google’s page about Google Hangouts. Both Google Hangouts and UW Skype for Business or are good tools for chats and conferencing.
Turn your voicemail box into a telephone hotline. Simply update your greeting with timely information about the status of your course(s) or campus operations. Contact UW Information Technology ([email protected]) to create enhanced hotline functionality such as call menus.
The Canvas Learning Management system offers a conference feature, available in every course, that you can use to meet live with students. Conferences can accommodate up to 50 people. Learn more.
You can also use Zoom or UW Skype for Business. Zoom unifies cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings, group messaging, and a software-defined conference room solution into one easy-to-use platform. For more information on Zoom you can learn more here. UW Skype for Business (formerly known as “Lync”), which is both HIPAA– and FERPA-aligned, allows you to conduct a chat with up to 50 participants and a meeting with up to 250 participants. Learn more here.
Panopto is a cloud-based lecture capture service. Panopto lets instructors record and publish lectures and other class activities online. Students can then view (and review) the published materials using a Web browser or mobile device. You can use Panopto in two modes: 1) to pre-record and then post video lectures, or 2) to broadcast a live lecture (with a three-second delay). The first mode allows you to upload supplemental video content and to add notes to your course materials. Panopto is not meant to be used as a conferencing tool. To find out more about Panopto, visit the UW Panopto Help Center.
Canvas Student Groups are like a smaller version of your course and are used as a collaborative tool where students can work together on group projects and assignments. Learn more.
Every Canvas course includes the ability to create and review quizzes. Learn more about creating and managing quizzes in Canvas. Learn more about creating quizzes in Canvas.
The Canvas Gradebook helps instructors easily record student scores online, track student progress and calculate final grades. Grades for each assignment can be calculated as points, percentages, complete or incomplete, pass or fail, GPA scale, and letter grades. Provide secure access to co-instructors and TAs to view and edit student grades. Publish scores for students to view securely online. Learn more.
GradePage is a simple interface for quarterly grade submission, can be used by GradeBook users, Canvas users and those who manage their grades using other software or a traditional approach. Learn more.
Methods are available for accessing on campus materials from your personal laptop or home computer. First check with your departmental support staff; your department may already have a system in place for accessing files from home.
Most faculty connect to the UW network from home through their Internet Service Provider (ISP). Learn more. Connecting to the UW Network will allow you to access most of your class resources and tools from home in the event that you need to conduct your class remotely.
The preferred method of connecting is through Husky OnNet (based on the f5 BIG-IP platform) which provides individual users with a secure temporary connection to the UW network from remote locations. Husky OnNet for MacOS and Husky OnNet for Windows are available for download from UWare. Self-supported Android, iOS,and other f5 BIG-IP apps are available from third-party app stores.
Remote desktop access allows you to access your work computer using another computer with a connection to the Internet. Your icons, programs and printers are all available. You can even transfer files between your systems. (For security purposes, remote desktop should only be used in conjunction with a secure connection to the UW network such as Husky OnNet.) In order to use remote desktop access, your work computer will need to remain on (you can be logged out, but the computer must not be turned off) and you will need to know your work computer’s current IP address or name. If you need help finding your IP address, contact your local IT support staff. Find out more about this option at Connecting Remotely.
Because remote desktop access requires your work computer to remain on when you are not at work, the better option is to store your materials online (see “Store Your Course Materials Online” section, below) and then use Husky OnNet (see “Connect to the UW Networks” section, below).
Contact UW Information Technology ([email protected]) regarding telephones, UW NetIDs, MyUW, email distribution lists, and general help with any of the technologies mentioned above.
Contact the Center for Teaching and Learning ([email protected]) to talk about best practices, whether in or out of the classroom.
Contact Disability Services Office ([email protected]) to ensure all your students with disabilities are accommodated by your technology choices.
For information about campus pandemic planning and communications during a possible pandemic: UW Emergency Management Website, MyUW emergency announcements, UWTV, email. | 2019-04-25T20:47:37Z | https://itconnect.uw.edu/learn/prepare/ |
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Jian Chen had the artifact spirit find a place to hide before entering the artifact s.p.a.ce with Tie Ta to heal. If he only relied on the recovery of the Chaotic Body, he would take a long time to return to his peak condition, so he needed the artifact spirit’s help to recover as soon as possible.
Tie Ta was injured as well, and after using Form-shatterer, he had basically drained away half of his energy. He needed some time to recover as well.
In less than four hours, Jian Chen made a full recovery with the artifact spirit’s abilities as a Cla.s.s 8 Radiant Saint Master. He returned to his peak condition while Tie Ta recovered as well. However, as he had over-extended himself, he held a Cla.s.s 8 Xuanhuang beast crystal to recover his lost energy.
Jian Chen did not disturb Tie Ta and silently left the artifact s.p.a.ce by himself. The Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beast that the two of them had slain was still there with its blood across the ground.
Jian Chen removed the Cla.s.s 10 energy crystal from the Xuanhuang beast after a tremendous amount of effort. He found the crystal to be the size of a chicken egg, and the energy hidden within was so vast that it cause even him to make a different expression. It was incomparable to Cla.s.s 9 Monster Cores.
What Jian Chen did not know was that the energy within the energy crystal had far exceeded what a Cla.s.s 10 Monster Core possessed. However, since this was the first time he had ever seen a Cla.s.s 10 Monster Core, he didn’t notice the difference due to the lack of something to compare to.
Jian Chen put the energy crystal away. He obviously did not miss the corpse either. He put it in the artifact s.p.a.ce and ordered the artifact spirit to store it away. He had already made up his mind. He would give the energy crystal to Tie Ta and take the corpse of the Xuanhuang beast for himself.
Jian Chen then arrived beside the Mortal Energy Fruit Tree and removed three hundred sixty crude, wooden boxes. He collected all three hundred sixty fruits before taking away all the Amethyst Spiritual Bamboo as well.
The sap of the bamboo was a wondrous resource for healing the soul. At the same time, it could refine and strengthen the soul as well, so it was worth far more than the Mortal Energy Fruit. The only pity was that there was not a lot of bamboo, only around a hundred stalks. A single drop of sap could only be extracted from each stalk while healing wounds of the soul would require at least a couple drops if not more. Although Jian Chen had obtained around a hundred drops of sap, that amount would not be enough to sustain many usages.
Jian Chen discovered some other heavenly resources nearby that were of lower grades, but they were all of the Immortal Tier.
Jian Chen continued on. He followed the tracks of the Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beast that they had just killed and discovered another Xuanhuang beast corpse several dozen kilometers away. It was littered with vicious wounds and covered in dried blood. Its skin had been burned to a visible blackness by lightning and the air was filled with a burnt smell.
Jian Chen immediately rejoiced, because the Xuanhuang beast was also Cla.s.s 10, and its energy crystal still seemed to be present.
Jian Chen observed the surroundings before quickly striding over to the corpse after confirming that there were no dangers. Again, he used a tremendous amount of effort to remove the energy crystal that was slightly smaller than a chicken egg.
Jian Chen smiled happily as he stared at the bloodied energy crystal in his hands. Although the energy within was not as plentiful as the previous crystal, it was still a Cla.s.s 10 energy crystal after all. The energy inside was vast enough to shock Jian Chen.
More importantly, he had basically come across this Cla.s.s 10 energy crystal out of pure luck.
Jian Chen happily put the energy crystal and corpse away. He glanced around his surroundings but found no heavenly resources.
“This must not be the territory of this Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beast. I wonder where it came from since it attempted to take over the territory with the Mortal Energy Fruit and Amethyst Spiritual Bamboo. Too bad it was weaker and was slain by an even more powerful Xuanhuang beast in the end,” Jian Chen thought. He looked around and quickly found another set of tracks.
“This should be the tracks of this dead Xuanhuang beast. I should be able to return to its territory if I follow these tracks. I wonder if there’s any treasures there,” Jian Chen thought. After hesitating for a moment, he immediately hurried along the tracks.
Jian Chen moved through the forest carefully with his presence hidden. He had traveled over a thousand kilometers, and after dealing with several Cla.s.s 9 Xuanhuang beasts along the way, he finally arrived in the original territory of the Xuanhuang beast.
Jian Chen, however, stopped very far away and did not get any closer before retreating carefully. He could already sense a very powerful presence in the distance. The territory had already been taken over by another Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beast.
Although he didn’t know the Xuanhuang beast’s exact strength, Jian Chen had no interest in provoking it even if it was the weakest among the tenth cla.s.s. He had almost lost his life to a heavily-injured Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beast earlier, so even if it was not as powerful as the elephant from before, he and Tie Ta were not strong enough to deal with it if it was in peak condition.
At the same time, it was very possible that the current Xuanhuang beast had come first and had driven away the original owner, which lead to the battle between the original owner and the elephant.
Over the next few days, Jian Chen and Tie Ta wandered through the forest and found many heavenly resources. Not only were there various fruits of all five attributes, they even came across a few Comprehension Tea Trees and Violet Cloud Peach Trees, allowing them to benefit even more. Jian Chen had even come across quite a few materials for forging weapons. He did not recognize any of them, so they were all found by the sword spirits. Although they were not needed for forging the Azulet swords, they were important materials for other immortal artifacts.
However, the highest grade he found for the peaches and trees was the fifth grade. It was not that he did not come across any higher grades. The higher grades just happened to be guarded by powerful Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beasts, which limited Jian Chen to only looking from afar.
Jian Chen had already stayed for two whole months within the Xuanhuang Microcosm. He only had a month left before he needed to leave. He would calculate the time every day just to ensure that he would not miss the deadline.
“I can only stay here for another half a month. I’ll need to begin my journey back after that. Half a month should be enough for me to head back,” Jian Chen calculated before carefully continuing on.
Not only were there Cla.s.s 9 Xuanhuang beasts in the forest of unknown size, there were quite a few Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beasts as well, so Jian Chen always had to remain vigilant. He would slay Cla.s.s 9 Xuanhuang beasts when he came across them and avoid Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beasts from far away if he saw them.
Although he was unable to detect any Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beasts who hid their presences with his strength, he had the a.s.sistance of the sword spirits, so he was not worried about Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beasts suddenly appearing before him.
Jian Chen and Tie Ta continued on for over ten thousand kilometers before being stopped by a barrier completely condensed from Xuanhuang Qi. The barrier reached into the sky and deep underground, as if it was a natural wall which separated the place into two different lands.
Xuanhuang Qi revolved within the barrier, which seemed like mist. It was dense at times and thin at others. It was still possible to see things inside, but they were all blurry and hazy, as if they were obscured by mist.
Jian Chen’s eyes immediately lit up with a single glance. He could not help but have his heart thump heavily. A hazy Violet Cloud Peach had appeared before him, and with his understanding of the fruit, he could tell that it was of a much higher grade than anything he had obtained before.
“Zi Ying, Qing Suo, that’s a high grade Violet Cloud Peach,” Jian Chen’s breathing became rather ragged. He could recognize heavenly resources of the sixth grade now but nothing beyond that. Since he was unable to distinguish the grade of the immortal peach within the barrier, it could only mean that it had exceeded the sixth grade.
The sword spirits appeared above Jian Chen. They also saw the barrier that was blocking their path, and they became both surprised and joyful. They then looked at the Violet Cloud Peach Tree within the barrier. Their eyes lit up but dulled soon after. They said, “Master, that’s a ninth grade Violet Cloud Peach. A single one of them can increase your cultivation by four thousand five hundred years. Just one of them is enough for a mortal to become an immortal, but we can’t obtain it,” said Zi Ying regretfully.
“Master, you can see the barrier before you condensed from Xuanhuang Qi. This barrier is known as the domain. Most Xuanhuang Microcosms that have appeared in the past do not possess a domain, and there are extremely few that do, but without any exceptions, all Xuanhuang Microcosms with domains are of the highest grade. In our Immortals’ World, there’s another description of the Xuanhuang Microcosms. The region outside the domain is the realm of mortals while inside is the realm of immortals, because the interior is a high-level s.p.a.ce on the same level as the Immortals’ World. The Xuanhuang beasts inside are so powerful that almost all of them are immortals, incomparable to the ones outside. Some Xuanhuang beast kings have even reached Immortal Monarch or Immortal Emperor,” Zi Ying sternly explained.
Jian Chen gasped with that and felt shocked inside. He could not even deal with Cla.s.s 10 Xuanhuang beasts, let alone Immortal Monarch or Emperor Xuanhuang beast kings. Probably just a breath from these beast kings would be enough to reduce him to nothingness.
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"Ole Miss" redirects here. For the University of Mississippi athletics program, see Ole Miss Rebels.
Not to be confused with Mississippi State University.
The University of Mississippi (colloquially known as Ole Miss) is a public research university in Oxford, Mississippi. Including the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, it is the state's largest university by enrollment. The university was chartered by the Mississippi Legislature on February 24, 1844, and four years later admitted its first enrollment of 80 students. The university is classified as an "R1: Doctoral University—Very High Research Activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and has an annual research and development budget of $121.6 million. The university ranked 145 in the 2018 edition of the US News Rankings of Best National Universities.
Across all its campuses, the university comprises some 23,258 students. In addition to the main campus in Oxford and the medical school in Jackson, the university also has campuses in Tupelo, Booneville, Grenada, and Southaven, as well as an accredited online high school. About 55 percent of its undergraduates and 60 percent overall come from Mississippi, and 23 percent are minorities; international students respectively represent 90 different nations. It is one of the 33 colleges and universities participating in the National Sea Grant Program and a participant in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program.
Ole Miss was a center of activity during the American civil rights movement when a race riot erupted in 1962 following the attempted admission of James Meredith, an African-American, to the segregated campus. While the university was successfully integrated that year, the use of Confederate symbols and motifs has remained a controversial aspect of the school's identity and culture. In response the university has attempted to take proactive measures to rebrand its image, including effectively banning the display of Confederate flags in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 1997, officially abandoning the Colonel Reb mascot in 2003, and removing "Dixie" from the Pride of the South marching band's repertoire in 2016. In 2018, following a racially charged rant on social media by an alum and academic building namesake, former Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter reaffirmed the university's commitment to "honest and open dialogue about its history", and in making its campuses "more welcoming and inclusive".
The "Dead House" was built before the Civil War and was used as a morgue during the war. Bodies were carried from the Dead House across campus to the Civil War Cemetery, which contains more than 430 graves. The building was demolished in 1958, and Farley Hall--which contains the Meek School of Journalism and New Media--was erected in its place.
The Mississippi Legislature chartered the University of Mississippi on February 24, 1844. The university opened its doors to its first class of 80 students four years later in 1848. For 23 years, the university was Mississippi's only public institution of higher learning, and for 110 years it was the state's only comprehensive university. Politician Pryor Lea was a founding trustee.
When the university opened, the campus consisted of six buildings: two dormitories, two faculty houses, a steward's hall, and the Lyceum at the center. Constructed from 1846 to 1848, the Lyceum is the oldest building on campus. Originally, the Lyceum housed all of the classrooms and faculty offices of the university. The building's north and south wings were added in 1903, and the Class of 1927 donated the clock above the eastern portico. The Lyceum is now the home of the university's administration offices. The columned facade of the Lyceum is represented on the official crest of the university, along with the date of establishment.
In 1854, the university established the fourth state-supported, public law school in the United States, and also began offering engineering education.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, classes were interrupted when almost the entire student body (135 out of 139 students) from the University of Mississippi enlisted in the Confederate army, forming an infantry group nicknamed the University Greys. However, all 135 students were killed during the war, a 100% casualty rate. Most died during the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
The Lyceum was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers, especially those who were wounded at the battle of Shiloh. Two hundred-fifty soldiers who died in the campus hospital were buried in a cemetery on the grounds of the university.
During the post-war period, the university was led by former Confederate general A.P. Stewart, a Rogersville, Tennessee native. He served as Chancellor from 1874 to 1886.
The university became coeducational in 1882 and was the first such institution in the Southeast to hire a female faculty member, Sarah McGehee Isom, doing so in 1885.
The student yearbook was published for the first time in 1897. A contest was held to solicit suggestions for a yearbook title from the student body. Elma Meek, a student, submitted the winning entry of "Ole Miss." Meek's source for the term is unknown; some historians theorize she made a diminutive of "old Mississippi" or derived the term from "ol' missus," an African-American term for a plantation's "old mistress." This sobriquet was not only chosen for the yearbook, but also became the name by which the university was informally known. "Ole Miss" is defined as the school's intangible spirit, which is separate from the tangible aspects of the university.
The university began medical education in 1903, when the University of Mississippi School of Medicine was established on the Oxford campus. In that era, the university provided two-year pre-clinical education certificates, and graduates went out of state to complete doctor of medicine degrees. In 1950, the Mississippi Legislature voted to create a four-year medical school. On July 1, 1955, the University Medical Center opened in the capital of Jackson, Mississippi, as a four-year medical school. The University of Mississippi Medical Center, as it is now called, is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi. It houses the University of Mississippi School of Medicine along with five other health science schools: nursing, dentistry, health-related professions, graduate studies and pharmacy (The School of Pharmacy is split between the Oxford and University of Mississippi Medical Center campuses).
Several attempts were made via the executive and legislative branches of the Mississippi state government to relocate or otherwise close the University of Mississippi. The Mississippi Legislature between 1900 and 1930 introduced several bills aiming to accomplish this, but no such legislation was ever passed by either house. One such bill was introduced in 1912 by Senator William Ellis of Carthage, Mississippi, which would have merged the college with then-Mississippi A&M. However, this measure was soundly defeated, despite the bill only seeking to form an exploratory committee. In February 1920, 56 members of the legislature arrived on campus and discussed with students and faculty the idea of consolidating MS A&M, MS College of Women and Ole Miss to be located in Jackson, rather than appropriate $750,000.00 of funds requested by then-Chancellor Joseph Powers which were needed to repair dilapidated and structurally unsound buildings on the campus, which was discovered following the partial collapse of a dormitory in 1917 and a scathing review of other buildings later that same year by the state architect. These funds, plus an additional $300,000.00 were appropriated to the school, which was used to build 4 male dormitories, a female dormitory and a pharmacy building, which partially resolved a longstanding issue of inadequate dormitory space for students. During the 1930s, Mississippi Governor Theodore G. Bilbo, a populist, tried to move the university to Jackson. Chancellor Alfred Hume gave the state legislators a grand tour of Ole Miss and the surrounding historic city of Oxford, persuading them to keep it in its original setting.
During World War II, UM was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
Desegregation came to Ole Miss in the early 1960s with the activities of United States Air Force veteran James Meredith from Kosciusko, Mississippi. Even Meredith's initial efforts required great courage. All involved knew how violently William David McCain and the white political establishment of Mississippi had recently reacted to similar efforts by Clyde Kennard to enroll at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi).
Meredith won a lawsuit that allowed him admission to The University of Mississippi in September 1962. He attempted to enter campus on September 20, September 25, and again on September 26, only to be blocked by Mississippi Governor Ross R. Barnett, who proclaimed that "...No school in our state will be integrated while I am your Governor. I shall do everything in my power to prevent integration in our schools."
After the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held both Barnett and Lieutenant Governor Paul B. Johnson, Jr. in contempt, with fines of more than $10,000 for each day they refused to allow Meredith to enroll, Meredith, escorted by a force of U.S. Marshals, entered the campus on September 30, 1962.
Two people were killed by gunfire during the riot, a French journalist, Paul Guihard and an Oxford repairman, Ray Gunter. One-third of the US Marshals, 166 men, were injured, as were 40 soldiers and National Guardsmen.
After control was re-established by federal forces, Meredith, thanks to the protection afforded by federal marshals, was able to enroll and attend his first class on October 1. Following the riot, elements of an Army National Guard division were stationed in Oxford to prevent future similar violence. While most Ole Miss students did not riot prior to his official enrollment in the university, many harassed Meredith during his first two semesters on campus.
According to first-person accounts, students living in Meredith's dorm bounced basketballs on the floor just above his room through all hours of the night. When Meredith walked into the cafeteria for meals, the students eating would all turn their backs. If Meredith sat at a table with other students, all of whom were white, they would immediately move to another table. Many of these events are featured in the 2012 ESPN documentary film Ghosts of Ole Miss.
In 2002 the university marked the 40th anniversary of integration with a yearlong series of events titled "Open Doors: Building on 40 Years of Opportunity in Higher Education." These included an oral history of Ole Miss, various symposiums, the April unveiling of a $130,000 memorial, and a reunion of federal marshals who had served at the campus. In September 2003, the university completed the year's events with an international conference on race. By that year, 13% of the student body identified as African American. Meredith's son Joseph graduated as the top doctoral student at the School of Business Administration.
The Circle, including its flagpole and Confederate Monument.
Additionally, on April 14, 2010, the university campus was declared a National Historic Site by the Society of Professional Journalists to honor reporters who covered the 1962 riot, including the late French reporter Paul Guihard, a victim of the riot.
From September 2012 to May 2013, the university marked its 50th anniversary of integration with a program called Opening the Closed Society, referring to Mississippi: The Closed Society, a 1964 book by James W. Silver, a history professor at the university. The events included lectures by figures such as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and the singer and activist Harry Belafonte, movie screenings, panel discussions, and a "walk of reconciliation and redemption." Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers, slain civil rights leader and late president of the state NAACP, closed the observance on May 11, 2013, by delivering the address at the university's 160th commencement.
The university was chosen to host the first presidential debate of 2008, between Senator John McCain and then-Senator Barack Obama which was held September 26, 2008. This was the first presidential debate to be held in Mississippi.
The university adopted a new on-field mascot for athletic events in the fall of 2010. Colonel Reb, retired from the sidelines of sporting events in 2003, was officially replaced by "Rebel", a black bear, and then, in 2018, was replaced by The Landshark. All university sports teams are still officially referred to as the Rebels.
The university's 25th Rhodes Scholar was named in 2008. Since 1998, it has produced two Rhodes Scholars, as well as 10 Goldwater Scholars, seven Truman Scholars, 18 Fulbright Scholars, a Marshall Scholar, three Udall Scholars, two Gates Cambridge Scholars, one Mitchell Scholar, 19 Boren Scholars, one Boren fellow and one German Chancellor Fellowship.
The student-faculty ratio at University of Mississippi is 19:1, and the school has 47.4 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at University of Mississippi include: Integrated Marketing Communications, Elementary Education and Teaching; Marketing/Marketing Management, General; Accountancy, Finance, General; Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other; Biology, Psychology and Criminal Justice; and Business Administration and Management, General. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student success and satisfaction, is 85.3 percent.
University of Mississippi Medical Center surgeons, led by James Hardy, performed the world's first human lung transplant, in 1963, and the world's first animal-to-human heart transplant, in 1964. The heart of a chimpanzee was used for the heart transplant because of Hardy's research on transplantation, consisting of primate studies during the previous nine years.
The University of Mississippi Field Station in Abbeville is a natural laboratory used to study, research and teach about sustainable freshwater ecosystems.
Since 1968, the school operates the only legal marijuana farm and production facility in the United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) contracts to the university the production of cannabis for the use in approved research studies on the plant as well as for distribution to the seven surviving medical cannabis patients grandfathered into the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program (established in 1978 and canceled in 1991).
The first commercial blues recording was Mamie Smith's performance of Perry Bradford's "Crazy Blues" in 1920.
The university houses one of the largest blues music archives in the United States. Some of the contributions to the collection were donated by BB King who donated his entire personal record collection. The archive includes the first ever commercial blues recording, a song called "Crazy Blues" recorded by Mamie Smith in 1920. The Mamie and Ellis Nassour Arts & Entertainment Collection, highlighted by a wealth of theater and film scripts, photographs and memorabilia, was dedicated in September 2005.
The Center for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS) delivers academic programming to prepare outstanding students for careers in intelligence analysis in both the public and private sectors. In addition, CISS personnel engage in applied research and consortium building with government, private and academic partners. In late 2012, the United States Director of National Intelligence designated CISS as an Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence (CAE). CISS is one of only 29 college programs in the United States with this distinction.
The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) was established in June 2008 to provide unique opportunities for students interested in manufacturing. The CME is developing interdisciplinary educational opportunities within an innovative academic learning model that provides our students with the practical experiences, fundamental knowledge, and creative skill sets needed to lead the world of modern manufacturing. The CME is working with companies who express a strong desire to become industry leaders and who wish to work with CME staff and students.
The university offers the Chinese Language Flagship Program (simplified Chinese: 中文旗舰项目; traditional Chinese: 中文旗艦項目; pinyin: Zhōngwén Qíjiàn Xiàngmù), a study program aiming to provide Americans with an advanced knowledge of Chinese.
The Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of Mississippi is a privately funded, select-admissions, undergraduate program for high achieving students who pursue a B.A. degree in international studies. Croft students combine a regional concentration in Europe, East Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East with a thematic concentration in global economics and business, international governance and politics, or social and cultural identity. The program emphasizes intensive foreign language training, qualitative and quantitative skills, mandatory study abroad for a semester or more, and a yearlong senior thesis.
The University of Mississippi has several student organizations to help students get to know one another and adapt to life at the university. One organization is the International Student Organization (ISO), which organizes activities and events for international students. Notable events of the ISO include a cultural night, date auction and international sports tournament.
Named in honor of distinguished Ole Miss alumnus, former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, the Lott Leadership Institute offers a wide range of leadership and outreach programs that work to enrich the lives and enhance the abilities of students and faculty, as well as high school students, students from other colleges and universities, and the community.
UM is a collaborator in the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program, designed to attract top students to teacher education programs with full scholarships and professional incentives. The goal is to attract the top high school seniors who want to become mathematics and English teachers in Mississippi. Funded by the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation, the program is designed to create a unique “honors college style” learning experience for high-performing education students and promote collaboration between students and faculty at UM and Mississippi State University.
The World Class Teaching Program is a special program at the University of Mississippi School of Education designed to provide support to teachers going through the National Board Certification process.
The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College attracts a diverse body of high-performing students to the University of Mississippi and prepares citizen scholars who are fired by the life of the mind, committed to the public good and driven to find solutions. Established in 1997 through a gift from the Jim Barksdale family, the Honors College merges intellectual rigor with community action. It offers an education similar to that at prestigious private liberal arts schools and universities, but at a far lower cost. Small, discussion-based classes, dedicated faculty and a nurturing staff enable honors students to experience intellectual as well as personal growth.
The University of Mississippi is a member of the SEC Academic Consortium. Now renamed the SECU, the initiative was a collaborative endeavor designed to promote research, scholarship and achievement among the member universities in the Southeastern Conference. The SECU formed to serve as a means to bolster collaborative academic endeavors of Southeastern Conference universities. Its goals include highlighting the endeavors and achievements of SEC faculty, students and its universities and advancing the academic reputation of SEC universities.
In 2013, the University of Mississippi participated in the SEC Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia which was organized and led by the University of Georgia and the UGA Bioenergy Systems Research Institute. The topic of the symposium was titled "Impact of the Southeast in the World's Renewable Energy Future."
The University of Mississippi was No. 18 on the 2012 Forbes Best Value Colleges list, part of the annual America's Top Colleges section. It was the only SEC school to make the Top 20 list. However, it failed to make the top 300 in best value in 2017. For the last 10 years, the Chronicle of Higher Education named the University of Mississippi as one of the "Great Colleges to Work For", putting the institution in elite company. The 2018 results, released in the Chronicle's annual report on "The Academic Workplace", Ole Miss was among 84 institutions honored from the 253 colleges and universities surveyed. In 2018, the Ole Miss campus was ranked the second safest in the SEC and one of the safest in nation. U.S. News & World Report ranks the Professional MBA program at the UM School of Business Administration in the top 50 among American public universities, and the online MBA program ranks in the top 25. All three degree programs at the University of Mississippi's Patterson School of Accountancy are among the top 10 in the 2018 annual national rankings of accounting programs published by the journal Public Accounting Report. The undergraduate and doctoral programs are No. 7, while the master's program is No. 9. The undergraduate and doctoral programs lead the Southeastern Conference in the rankings, and the master's program is second in the SEC. One or more Ole Miss programs have led the SEC in each of the past eight years.
The Army ROTC program received one of eight prestigious MacArthur Awards in February 2012. Presented by the U.S. Army Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation, the award recognizes the ideals of "duty, honor and country" as advocated by MacArthur. For its life-changing work in 12 Delta communities, the UM School of Pharmacy won the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's 2011–12 Lawrence C. Weaver Transformative Community Service Award. AACP presents the award annually to one pharmacy school that not only demonstrates a major commitment to addressing unmet community needs through education, practice and research but also serves as an example of social responsiveness for others. Ole Miss continues to be the premiere destination for college tailgating as the Grove claimed second place in Southern Living's "South's Best Tailgate" contest in 2012. The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi was honored by the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies with its 2012 International Award. This accolade from the nonprofit organization devoted to promoting civil and human rights around the world was presented in New Orleans.
The University of Mississippi's main campus is located in Oxford. There are also regional campuses in Booneville, DeSoto, Grenada, and Tupelo.
The University of Mississippi in Oxford is the original campus, beginning with only one square-mile of land. The main campus today contains around 1,200 acres of land. Also, the University of Mississippi owns a golf course and airport in Oxford. The golf course and airport are considered part of the University of Mississippi, Oxford campus as well.
The buildings on the main University of Mississippi campus come from the Georgian age of architecture; however, some of the newer buildings today have a more contemporary architecture. The first building built on the Oxford campus is the Lyceum, and is the only original building remaining. The construction of the Lyceum began in 1846 and was completed in 1848. The Lyceum served as a hospital to soldiers in the Civil War. Also on the campus, the Croft Institute for International Studies and Barnard Observatory were used for soldiers during the civil war. The Oxford campus of the University of Mississippi contains a lot of history with the Civil War. The campus was used as a hospital, but also after soldiers died, the campus served as a morgue. Where Farley Hall is now located, the prior building was referred to as the "Dead House" where the bodies of deceased soldiers were stored.
Architect Frank P. Gates designed 18 buildings on campus in 1929-1930, mostly in the Georgian Revival architectural style, including (Old) University High School, Barr Hall, Bondurant Hall, Farley Hall (also known as Lamar Hall), Faulkner Hall, Hill Hall, Howry Hall, Isom Hall, Longstreet Hall, Martindale Hall, Vardaman Hall, the Cafeteria/Union Building, and the Wesley Knight Field House.
Today on the University of Mississippi campus, most of the buildings have been completely renovated or newly constructed. There are currently at least 15 residential buildings on the Oxford campus, with more being built. The Oxford campus is also home to eleven sorority houses and fourteen fraternity houses. The chancellor of The University of Mississippi also lives on the edge of campus.
The University of Mississippi campus in Oxford is known for the beauty of the campus. The campus has been recognized multiple years, but most recently, in 2016, USA Today recognized Ole Miss as the "Most Beautiful Campus". The campus grounds are kept up through the University of Mississippi's personal landscape service.
The different satellite campuses that The University of Mississippi has are much smaller than the main campus in Oxford. The satellite campus in Tupelo started running in a larger space in 1972, the DeSoto campus opened in 1996, and the Grenada campus has been operated on the Holmes Community College campus since 2008. The University of Mississippi campus and satellite campuses continue to grow. There will continue to be progress in construction to accommodate for the large growth in student population.
Archie Manning's uniform number, 18, is the official speed limit of the Oxford campus. In March 2012, Ross Bjork was named the university's new athletics director. The other speed limit on campus is 10, for the uniform number of Eli Manning (Archie's son).
There are hundreds of students organizations, including 25 religious organizations.
The Daily Mississippian (DM) is the student-published newspaper of the university, established in 1911. Although it is located on the Ole Miss campus, it is operated largely as an independent newspaper run by students. The DM is the only college newspaper in the state that is published five times a week. The staff consists of approximately 15 editors, about 25 writers and photographers, and a five-person student sales staff. Daily circulation is 12,000. The award-winning publication celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011–12.
TheDMonline.com is the online version of The Daily Mississippian and also includes original content that supplements the print publication - photo galleries, videos, breaking news and student blogs. Page views average up to 360,000 a month.
The Ole Miss student yearbook is a 368-page full-color book produced by students. It has won many awards, including a Gold Crown.
WUMS-FM 92.1 Rebel Radio, is a FCC commercially licensed radio station. It is one of only a few student-run, commercially licensed radio stations in the nation, with a signal stretching about 60 miles across North Mississippi. Its format features Top 40, alternative and college rock, news and talk shows.
NewsWatch is a student-produced, live newscast, and the only local newscast in Lafayette County. Broadcast through the Metrocast cable company, it is live at 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and livestreamed on newswatcholemiss.com.
These publications and broadcasts are part of the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center at Ole Miss.
Approximately 5,300 students live on campus in 13 residence halls, two residential colleges and two apartment complexes. All freshmen (students with less than 30 credit hours) are required to live in campus housing their first year unless they meet certain commuter guidelines. The Department of Student Housing is an auxiliary, meaning that it is self-supporting and does not receive appropriations from state funds. All rent received from students pays for housing functions such as utilities, staff salaries, furniture, supplies, repairs, renovations and new buildings. Most of the residence staff members are students, including day-to-day management, conduct board members and maintenance personnel. Upon acceptance to the University of Mississippi, a housing application is submitted with an application fee. The cost of on-campus housing ranges from approximately $4,000 to more than $8,000 (the highest price being that of the newly renovated Village apartments) per academic or calendar year, depending on the occupancy and room type. Students (with more than 30 credit hours) have the option to live off campus in unaffiliated housing.
Graduate students, undergraduate students aged 25 or older, students who are married, and students with families may live in the Village Apartments. The complex consists of six two story buildings, and is adjacent to the University of Mississippi Law School. Undergraduates over 25, married students, and graduate students may live in the one-bedroom apartments. Graduate students and students over 25 may live in studio style apartments. Students with children may live in the two-bedroom apartments. Children living in the Village Apartments are zoned to the Oxford School District. Residents are zoned to Bramlett Elementary School (PreK-1), Oxford Elementary School (2-3), Della Davidson Elementary School (4-5), Oxford Middle School (6-8), and Oxford High School (9-12).
Despite the relatively small number of Greek-letter organizations on campus, a third of all undergraduates participate in Greek life at Ole Miss. The tradition of Greek life on the Oxford campus is a deep-seated one. In fact, the first fraternity founded in the South was the Rainbow Fraternity, founded at Ole Miss in 1848. The fraternity merged with Delta Tau Delta in 1886. Delta Kappa Epsilon followed shortly after at Ole Miss in 1850, as the first to have a house on campus in Mississippi. Delta Gamma Women's Fraternity was founded in 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in nearby Oxford. All Greek life at Ole Miss was suspended from 1912 to 1926 due to statewide anti-fraternity legislation.
Today, sorority chapters are very large, with some boasting over 400 active members. Recruitment is fiercely competitive and potential sorority members are encouraged to secure personal recommendations from Ole Miss sorority alumnae to increase the chances of receiving an invitation to join one of the eleven NPC sororities on campus. Fraternity recruitment is also fierce, with only 14 active IFC chapters on campus.
The Associated Student Body (ASB) is the Ole Miss student government organization. Students are elected to the ASB Senate in the spring semester, with leftover seats voted on in the fall. Senators can represent groups of organizations such as the Greek councils and sports clubs, or they can run to represent their school (i.e., College of Liberal Arts or School of Engineering). The ASB officers are also elected in the spring semester, following two weeks of campaigning. A common tradition among Ole Miss students is that, after they vote in ASB elections, they go to local convenience stores to purchase Coca-Cola or PepsiCo brand soft drinks. Following the elections, newly sworn-in ASB officers release applications, conduct interviews, and eventually choose their cabinet members for the coming school year. The student body, excluding the Medical Center, includes 18,121 undergraduates, 2,089 graduate students, 357 law students and 323 students in the Doctor of Pharmacy program. African-Americans comprise 12.8 percent of the student body.
Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner, who attended the university but did not graduate, served as the university's postmaster from 1921 to 1924. In 1929, Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying in the University of Mississippi Power House, where he worked as a fireman and night watchman.
Best-selling legal thriller writer John Grisham received his Juris Doctor degree at Ole Miss Law.
United States Senators Trent Lott, Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran earned their undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Mississippi, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen earned a master's degree.
NFL quarterback Archie Manning attended Ole Miss and played football for the Rebels.
Manning's youngest son, NFL quarterback Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl champion, also played at Ole Miss.
Mahesh Bhupathi, tennis player and winner of 4 Grand Slam doubles titles.
The university has produced three Miss Americas: Susan Akin, Mary Ann Mobley and Lynda Lee Mead.
Charlie's Angel Kate Jackson and longtime As the World Turns star Anthony Herrera attended the university.
Mangan, Katherine (June 25, 2015). "Removing Confederate Symbols Is a Step, but Changing a Campus Culture Can Take Years". Chronicle of Higher Education.
Nick, Bryant (Autumn 2006). "Black Man Who Was Crazy Enough to Apply to Ole Miss". Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 53. pp. 60–71.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Mississippi.
Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about University of Mississippi.
"Mississippi, University of" . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914.
"Mississippi, University of" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. | 2019-04-26T16:04:24Z | http://conceptmap.cfapps.io/wikipage?lang=en&name=University_of_Mississippi |
India’s frontline fighter Sukhoi-30MKI is set to get a lethal edge with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) tonight clearing a Rs 6,000-crore plan to acquire the air-launched version of the BrahMos missile, a joint Indo-Russian production, for the warplanes. The IAF will get 200 of these missiles.
The BrahMos, a supersonic missile with the capability of travelling at 2.8 mach, has already been inducted into the Indian Navy and the Indian Army.
Some modifications are needed to enable Sukhoi-30 carry the missile and deliver it. The missiles need some miniaturisation and Sukhoi-30 needs special under-the-wing pods to carry it.
Some of the fighter aircraft are being modified indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at its Nasik facility and fitted with an integrated aerial launcher developed by the BrahMos.
The first live test of the missile using a Sukhoi-30 is expected in December. Once inducted, the missile will complete a sort of triad of supersonic missiles available with India on land, in air and at sea. The IAF warplane will be able to hit a target 300 km away.
The Rs 6,000-crore outgo will involve purchase of BrahMos missiles, its integration onto the warplanes and testing, sources said.
Halwara, near Ludhiana, will be the second base of Sukhoi-30s in North India. The warplanes are currently based at Bareilly in western UP. The deployment of Sukhoi-30s at Halwara will complete in July 2013.
Sources said the CCS also cleared a Rs 2,000-crore proposal to tide over the crippling shortage of tank ammunition.
The Invar Missile, which can be fired from the barrel of the T-90 tanks, has also been okayed. The Army had projected its demand for 20,000 Invar missiles at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.
Under the Army proposal, 10,000 Invar missiles would be procured from Russian manufacturers whereas the remaining would be license-produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) under the transfer of technology (ToT) agreement.
Defence Minister AK Antony today joined the growing tribe of optimists who believe it was impossible to have a repeat of the humiliating military defeat of 1962 Sino-India war.
Over the past four weeks, Army Chief General Bikram Singh and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne have assured the nation of the prowess of the armed forces. General Bikram Singh had said a repeat of 1962 was not possible while the IAF boss pointed out that the outcome of the 1962 war would have been different had the IAF warplanes been used.
Antony, talking to the media on the sidelines of the Navy Commanders Conference today, said, "India of 2012 is not the India of that (1962) period. We are now capable of defending every inch of our country." He was replying to a question on India vis-a-vis China 50 years after the 1962 war in which India had suffered a defeat.
Antony quickly added a caveat to his words by talking about the abysmal infrastructure saying "infrastructure in the North-East is not up to our satisfaction, but it has improved a lot as compared to the past". Earlier, India, as per its policy, had not focused on enhancing infrastructure in border areas of northeastern states fearing the road could be used by an ingressing army.
"Now we have moved very fast. Our infrastructure, assets and manpower have substantially improved," he added. He said India would continue to build infrastructure.
In the increasingly networked world of today, cyber security is a vital national need. It is indeed heartening that the government has taken steps to enrol the private sector as an ally in its battle to defend the nation from cyber attacks — both within and from outside.
The world over, governments and the private sector work together to patrol the increasingly chaotic cyber space, and it’s high time the Government of India did so too. The ‘Recommendations of Joint Working Group on Engagement With Private Sector On Cyber Security’ prepared by the government lays down the parameters on which both sectors can work together.
The government is reacting to the misuse of cyberspace facilities that had triggered the mass movement of people from the Northeast who were working or studying in other parts of the country. The government is doing well in setting up various groups and committees that will enable it to move swiftly as and when the need arises. However, fire-fighting is only one aspect of the problem. What is needed is to train personnel and build expertise. The nation needs to develop expertise in dealing with cyber security. Private enterprise will help cut the red tape, and add the necessary verve as well as cutting-edge technology/training needed to combat cyber threats. It has been estimated that India needs over five lakh cyber security professionals, something that is simply not available right now. To fulfil this need, cyber security needs to be immediately introduced in the academic curricula of professional colleges.
The government must also take effective steps in training the police and other law enforcement agencies in the various aspects of cyber security. Only then would they be equipped to deal with cyber-crime investigation and cyber forensics. A world of caution is in order here, as in any such endeavour: the government must ensure that the democratic rights of freedom of speech and privacy of the citizens are not violated. India is a leading provider of IT talent to the world; it needs to secure itself even as it continues to embrace cyberspace.
Flaws in India's 'forward policy' of locating troops north of the disputed MacMahon line, were exposed in Kameng frontier division of Arunachal Pradesh. Within days of the attack, the well-prepared Chinese had overrun the Indian defences. Thousands of Indian Army soldiers and officers were killed, captured or wounded while some even shame-facedly took refuge in neighbouring Bhutan. Interspersed in this mayhem, some units showed flashes of military, bravado and tenacity. However, over all, the largely unhindered Chinese advance and India's retreat remains one of the saddest chapters in military history.
The debacle in the Kameng sector aptly illustrates the confusion and lack of planning. It was in August 1962 when the Chinese crossed the MacMahon line to counter the Indian moves and occupied the Thag La ridge north of Tawang. The lone Indian post at Dhola, created as part of the Forward Policy, was attacked. It signalled the Chinese were not averse to crossing the MacMahon Line -- a thing which they had not done since the 1914 Simla conference with the British and Tibetans.
The Indian leadership took a stand "Chinese must be evicted by force". The Eastern Army Command sent a message asking Indian troops "to engage Chinese patrols that came within the range of their weapons". Brig John Dalvi, Brigade Commander of the 7th Infantry Brigade, asked for logistics to support his troops. Eastern Army Commander, Lt Gen LP Sen, shared his opinion that eviction of the Chinese was not possible with existing logistics.
Brig Dalvi wanted logistics in place. The top echelons were keen to press ahead. The differences are aptly summed up by Maj Gen DK Palit in his well-documented book 'War in the Himalaya'. Palit, then the Director Military Operations, says "Senior commanders were ignorant of both the terrain and logistical difficulties." Bringing in supplies and ammunition was not easy. Only a jeep track existed only till Bomdilla located some 160 kms north of Tezpur in Assam, further north the journey was on foot and the mountains tracks were unsuitable for load carrying soldiers.
Indian troops had made a strong beginning on October 10 when the Chinese attacked Tseng Jong just north of the river Namkha Chu. A single company, about 120 men, from 9 Punjab, retaliated. Some 77 Chinese died (as reported by the Peking press at that time). The Punjabi's won three Mahavir Chakra (MVC) and two Vir Chakra (VrC). The Company Commander, Maj MS Chaudhary, died of wounds, his sepoy Kanshi Ram overpowered a Chinese with bare hands and snatched his automatic rifle. Despite a good start, the Punjabis were asked to withdraw from Tseng Jong. The Chinese stepped in and started probing around Tsangle and 'Bridge 5'.
At the first light of October 20 Chinese opened up a full attack all along the Namka Chu. Within the first few minutes Indian telephone lines broke down, leaving the units to act on their own. The Chinese had used the gaps in the Indian defences and occupied positions at the rear of the Indians, sandwiching them. Resultantly, an entire company of 2 Rajput was wiped out while the 1/9 Gorkha Rifles (GR) had been overrun within the first few hours. The enemy guns now turned towards "Tsangle" and "Bridge 5", while the Indian radio frequencies had been jammed so the gunners did not even get a signal from their superiors to fire.
The Rajputs suffered the worst. A total 282 of were killed. The 'History of the conflict with China' produced some thirty years after the war by the Historical Division of the Ministry of Defence, says "The unit fought a heroic battle, literally to the last round". All officers excepting Maj Gurdial Singh were killed. He led another charge, was taken prisoner of war (POW), and later awarded an MVC.
The Gorkhas, like the Rajputs, were also attacked from the rear. By then the 7 Infantry Brigade lost links with its units. Brig John Dalvi was taken prisoner on the afternoon of October 21 -- and entire Brigade had disintegrated. Elsewhere, the Chinese had attacked the Assam Rifles-held post at Khinzemane. A five-hour battle ensued following which Col Rattan Singh and 24 others were taken prisoner. Some miles away Second Lieutenant GVP Rao of Artillery was fighting a losing battle, Chinese had attacked in huge numbers. Rao and his men fought on till the last bullet. He died and got an MVC.
On the night of October 20, Maj Gen Niranjan Prasad, GOC, 4 Infantry Division, told his superiors that the Indian frontline had been wiped out. The next morning the Division's tactical headquarters was asked to withdraw from Zimithang and locate South, at Tawang. The Chinese broke up their force into two. One headed to Tawang and the other to get the Lumpo ridge vacated. Zimithang was taken over on the night of October 22-23 and Lumpo was under Chinese control by 9 am on October 23.
Elsewhere the Chinese targeted Bum-La before they entered Tawang, here the 1 Sikh covered itself in glory. Subedar Joginder Singh held back the invaders. With no ammunition left, Joginder Singh was asked to withdraw. He and his men responded by advancing with only the bayonets fixed to their guns. The Subedar was wounded and taken POW. He died in enemy custody. "Subedar Joginder Singh and his men mowed down the first wave, and the enemy was temporarily halted by the heavy losses it suffered. Within a few minutes, a second wave came over and was dealt with similarly", read the citation for the Param Vir Chakra - the highest war-time gallantry honour -- awarded to him. Another company of 1 Sikh led by Capt Haripal Kaushak stood firm. They "proved to be an iron curtain for the enemy", says the 'History of the Conflict with China'.
The Chinese had moved into Tawang unopposed on October 23. Lt Gen Sen, ordered withdrawal of troops to Bomdila located further south. Lt Gen BM Kaul was appointed the new IV Corps Commander on October 29 while Maj Gen AS Pathania replaced Maj Gen Niranjan Prasad as the GOC 4 Infantry Division.
Yet again the Chinese sneaked in south of the Se La pass and cut lines of communication of the 4 Infantry Division. Indian field units reporting rapid road construction and Chinese movement were admonished for 'exaggerated' reports about enemy movements. On November 17 the second attack commenced at Nuranang. The 4 Garhwal Rifles held positions with tenacity and won two MVC -- Lt Col BM Bhattacharjea and Rifleman Jaswant Singh, besides seven VrC. The 62 briagde had been withdrawn to south of the Se La. By now the Indians were virtually being pushed down the Himalayas with the Chinese in hot pursuit.
Strangely the Indian side wanted to be north of Bomdila. Strategically, the Indians could have just dug themselves in at Bomdila located at 10,000 feet and stopped the enemy. South of Bomdilla was a steep downward gradient that led to the Assam plains. The Chinese had no means to transport its guns across Se La and their supply lines were getting affected. By now the Chinese were not pursuing the retreating Indian Army, the indication was they were regrouping, a tactic they used in the 1952 Korean war. Indians had taken defensive positions at Se La (14,600 feet), Dirang and Bomdila. At Dirang the 7 cavalry was holding fort with its Stuart tanks which deterred the Chinese. The task was to stop the advance on the Bomdilla-Dirang road. The 7 cavalry provided covering fire to the troops to extricate themselves. On November 18 Bomdila had fallen without much of fightback.
On November 23, the Chinese announced a ceasefire. The Rajputs, headed by Lt Col Bhramanand Avasthy, did not know of this and were retreating with 300 odd men when they came under attack. More than a hundred Chinese were killed and the entire lot of the Rajputs was wiped out at battle now known as the 'Last stand at Lha-Gyala Gompa'. Baring a lone shepherd not a single man survived to cite the valour of Lt Col Avasthi and his men, hence no battle honours. His daughter Neeharika Naidu, who was only nine years in 1962, says, "A shrine has come up at the place where people come and worship and pay homage to my father".
Maj Gen DK Palit writes in his book, War in the High Himalay "The civilians set the pace, but the Army went along, beguiled by the conviction that the Chinese would not call our bluff."
Such was the confusion that 2 Sikh Light Infantry was withdrawing when it met with the frontline defences of 1 Sikh who did not even known about the withdrawal. With communication lines snapped, 4 Sikh LI and a section of 7 Mahar MMG unit were left to fend for themselves. When attacked these two small units were butchered. Some of them managed to save themselves by escaping into Bhutan. It was decided to pull out of Bomdila. There was little the brigade commander could do. There were no mines and just a handful of troops to defend Bomdila, which the Chinese took over on November 18. Elsewhere the 62 Brigade commander Brig Hoshiar Singh was ambushed and killed on November 27. Such was the condition that on December 1 -- a good fortnight after the withdrawal -- some 2,291 ranks were still missing.
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the highest decision making body for security issues headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, today cleared the acquisition of air-launched version of BrahMos missiles for the Russian-made Su-30 MKi air planes and Russian made Invar anti-tank missiles. The acquisition is estimated to cost the Indian exchequer Rs. 8000 crore.
Earlier, in March, 2012, in a letter to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister A K Antony, former Army Chief General V K Singh had highlighted severe shortfalls in ammunitions and missiles and had pointed out the Indian Army had tank ammunition for three-four days only.
Sources told NDTV that the CCS cleared the Rs. 6,000 crore plan to acquire the air-launched version of the BrahMos missile for India's main stay fighter plane Su-30 MKi.
BrahMos, a super-sonic missile that can travel at about 3 mach speed, is already being used by the Indian Navy and the Indian Army. It is a joint venture between India and Russia.
The Indian Air Force is expected to get about 200 of these missiles. Su-30 MKi will have to be modified to enable them to carry the air version of the BrahMos. In its current form only a single BrahMos can be fitted in the underbelly of the Su-30 MKi. There is, however, an effort to miniaturise the missiles and also modify the Sukhoi-30 under-the-wing-pods so that more than one missile can be fitted into a single aircraft. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is currently working on the modifications.
The first test launch of the air version of the BrahMos is expected to be conducted in December 2012. The BrahMos air version missiles will have range of about 290 kilometres and will enable the Indian Air Force to hit targets deep inside Pakistan while flying within Indian air space.
The CCS also cleared the acquisition of Invar anti-tank missiles for T-90 tanks at a total estimated cost of Rs. 2,000 crore to tide over crippling shortage of tank ammunition. The Invar Missile are fired from the barrel of the T-90 tanks. The Army wants about 20,000 Invar missiles. Source said that about 10,000 of these missiles would be brought from Russian whereas the remaining would be produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) under Transfer of Technology (ToT).
New Delhi, Oct 18 — India's armed forces will Friday make a joint pitch before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and members of the cabinet committee on security (CCS) on setting up three new commands to meet the threats to space assets and cyber infrastructure and for controlling commando operations.
The three new commands - special operations, aerospace and cyber security - will draw elements, assets and manpower from all the three services, as well as from other relevant government departments, a top commander said.
A presentation, laying out the modalities and feasibility of the separate formations for carrying out these specialist tasks, will be made when the commanders of the army, navy and air force meet with the prime minister and the CCS members at the combined commanders conference, the officer told IANS on condition of anonymity.
The proposals have been prepared by the Chiefs Of Staff Committee (COSC) headed by Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne. This followed threadbare discussions with the other two COSC members - Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh and Indian Navy chief Admiral D.K. Joshi.
Browne will take lead in making the presentation. There will also be deliberations on the proposals at the daylong conference, where the heads of the sword arms of the three services will also express their views.
The idea behind the three separate commands has evolved from a suggestion made by a task force on national security headed by former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra which submitted its report earlier this year.
The report of the task force is currently being studied by all relevant departments of the government, including the three armed forces.
The three services are of the view that each of the three new commands should be headed by a three-star officer while they synergise efforts and assets in these key areas of security.
Their opinion is that a lieutenant general should head the special operations command, which will pool in the commando forces of the army, navy and air force in a single formation, while the aerospace command should be headed by an air marshal and the cyber command by a vice admiral.
The army has been the pioneer in India in operations by special forces, the air force is the first among the three services to create a space cell and the navy is the first to raise a dedicated cyber security cadre.
At present, the Indian armed forces have two joint tri-services commands - the Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Command and the New Delhi-based Strategic Forces Command that handles all nuclear weapons assets. The chiefs of these two commands are drawn by rotation from the three services.
Through the chief of integrated defence staff (IDS), the heads of these commands report to the COSC, as will the heads of the three new formations.
The decision on the three new commands will rest with the government, though the tri-services commanders will impress upon the nation's top security leadership the necessity for such formations in the wake of threats and trends in these sectors.
The special operations command has been successfully implemented by the US armed forces. Also, China has separate formations in the People's Liberation Army in the field of cyber security to carry out both offensive and defensive operations against threats to the country's information technology infrastructure.
Both these nations already have highly advanced space security programmes. China had in early 2007 demonstrated its anti-satellite capability, raising concerns among all space-faring nations on the security of their assets in space.
THE INTRODUCTION to the Henderson-Brooks report by Gen J.N. Choudhary, a former chief of the Indian army, exposes the failure of political leadership and the wrongly appointed army commanders that led to India’s defeat in the 1962 war with China.
It is claimed in the report that India had no shortage of arms and stores. But the report cannot deny that Indian soldiers without acclimatisation and adequate winter clothing were pushed into the mountain snows. Many researched and informative articles have been published in newspapers.
Recently Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne stated that the use of the Indian air force, proposed by the military and disallowed by the government, would have changed the course of the conflict. He is right.
(The Henderson Brooks report is an analysis (operations review) of the Sino-Indian war of 1962. Its authors, Lt Gen Henderson Brooks and Brig P. S. Bhagat, are former officers of the Indian army). The report has been kept classified by the Indian government because its contents “are not only extremely sensitive but are of current operational value”).
The Chinese media have dismissed these claims by asserting that their air force was much too powerful then. Indian commentators have echoed the Chinese view. It is wrong. At that time even the US view was that due to logistics, the terrain and poor refueling facilities, the Chinese air force would have been ineffective.
The strident criticism in Indian parliament by Acharya Kripalani, Minoo Masani, Atal Behari Vajpayee and others has been recalled by commentators as the reason that forced the government into ill-prepared hostility to China. Implicitly a chauvinistic opposition is blamed for the government’s follies.
What the writers have omitted is the fact that there was also a sustained demand by critics to purchase arms from the West for immediate need and not to persist with the plodding, time-consuming official policy of building self-reliance in armaments inspired by the Soviet model.
The opposition leaders were not leading the charge against the government’s China policy. It was the media. The opposition was too weak at that time. Mainly it was Sri Mulgaokar, Frank Moraes and, later, Prem Bhatia who led the charge. These editors were not inspired by the politicians. The politicians were led by them.
Mulgaokar was my editor. I was around 25 and had returned after a two-year stint in Britain, dividing my time there between journalism and dish-washing in cafes. I think a flavour of those times based purely on memory would not be out of order for critics today.
The truth is that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Defence Minister Krishna Menon were not only woefully ignorant about strategy, about realpolitik and security, but were also besotted with misplaced notions about the Soviet Union. Both were mentored by liberal Brits.
For years while Nehru foolishly kept chanting Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai (India and China are brothers), the Chinese were steadily preparing for war. Nehru’s advisers in Britain were as silly as their Indian protégés that included an entire Indian intellectual class conditioned by the British.
VILIFICATION OF CRITICS: Those who rightly criticised India’s China policy were in those Cold War days described as CIA agents. The Economist of London in its intelligence report, restrictedly distributed to subscribers, wrote that Mulgaokar who was leading the charge against the government’s blind spot on China was inspired by the CIA.
Mulgaokar wrote a sharp letter of protest to the weekly’s editor, Donald Tyerman. The latter wrote a profuse letter of apology which I read. In those days my brother Rakshat Puri, very recently deceased, was the India correspondent of London’s New Statesman and Nation, which was a Bible for Indian intellectuals. He wrote an expose about the road being clandestinely built by the Chinese in disputed border territory.
The Indian government was aware of course, but kept parliament and the nation in the dark. The New Statesman editorially echoed the Nehru-Menon approach. After the 1962 war, the weekly’s legendary Editor, Kingsley Martin, visited India. He was god to most Indian intellectuals. He visited the India Coffee House on Delhi’s Janpath and shared a chat with a few of us. As a brash youngster I hauled him over the coals. I asked him whether or not he owed an apology to those of us in India who had been warning of the catastrophe India would suffer and had been rubbished by the likes of him.
I think he was not used to such criticism, particularly from an Indian. He mumbled, hummed and hawed and could give no reply. That was the mood of that time.
Now it is galling to read about chauvinistic critics who pushed Nehru into the Sino-Indian conflict and no recognition is given to those who accurately foresaw the defeat.
I guess it required a brash 25-year-old to say that the Emperor wore no clothes.
I subsequently had the article published in a small weekly, Thought, edited by Ram Singh. In that article I wrote: “This is therefore as good as a time as any for Nehru to resign from the prime ministership. Propriety demands it, wisdom counsels it and sympathy pleads for it.
Nehru should resign primarily because his China policy of high stakes has not succeeded. It has contained omissions which have facilitated an infringement of our sovereignty by the Chinese.
“This is no place to go into the whole depressing record of honest mistakes, dire circumstances, crass negligence and political naivete which has brought us to our present situation, where we have to sit round a table and argue with aggressors the legal validity of our claims matched against theirs on territory in their possession and control…that chunks of our territory were occupied by the Chinese and neither Parliament nor people were informed at Nehru’s sole instance, but instead led at that very time into the soporific bhai-bhainess of Panch Sheel, was an unpardonable lack of the sense of responsibility.
With India embarking on a massive defence modernisation programme, orders worth `100,000 crore is expected to be placed during the 12th Five Year plan period.
Defence and Aerospace experts participating in a panel discussion on ‘Making India the ESDM hub focus on telecom, aerospace & defence and automobiles’ at the Bangalore IT.biz on Wednesday said that with all the three armed and para-military forces set to procure latest weapons and military systems, abundant opportunities are in store for private companies.
Participating in the discussion Lt Gen AKS Chandele, former DG, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Indian Army said that orders worth `100,000 crore is expected to be placed during the 12th Five Year plan period (between 2012-2017) providing ample opportunities to the private companies.
He said that the Army will be embarking on big modernisation programme, which include acquiring tactical communication system, network centric warfare system, future infantry soldier as a system (F-INSAS) and procurement of radars, sensors and night vision devices.
He said the navy, apart from ordering about 40 vessels, will also be acquiring six diesel and nuclear submarines. Similarly the air force will be undertaking many upgrade and refurbishments.
NC Agarwal, chief executive officer of the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft Limited (MTAL), a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Russia United Aircraft Corporation, said that many opportunities lay in the field of avionics. Apart from India developing its own aircraft, it will also be upgrading a significant number of its existing fleet. India’s First medium multi role combat aircraft (MMRCA) will roll out in four years.
Agarwal, who has been HAL’s Director (Design and Development), said the defence procurement process in India was very complicated, which led to delays in the armed forces getting the required product. Citing the example of Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) Hawk, he said that aircraft was inducted into the airforce 21 years after India began negotiations with BAE Systems.
On the 126 MMRCA programme, he said that though the request for proposal was put out to vendors in 2005 the contract has still not been finalised and that the first aircraft will manufactured in India in about four years from now.
As per the MMRCA programme, 18 aircraft will be provided in a flyaway condition by Dassault Aviation, the remaining 108 will be produced locally by HAL.
New Delhi: An MP from Karnataka has allegedly constructed an engineering college on a field firing range in Belgaum belonging to the army, which is already facing shortage of these practice fields for training its personnel. Sources said Angadi Institute of Technology and Management has not got 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) from civil or military authorities.
Defence Minister AK Antony has also sent two letters to the MP who has been demanding de-notification of the firing range which is available with the army till 2020, they said. Belgaum is an important military base of the army and houses the Commando school and the regimental centre of the Maratha Light Infantry regiment.
About 10 years back, the Army had 104 ranges but the numbers have come down to 66 including 12 acquired and 54 notified ranges. Thirty-eight field firing ranges have been taken away from the army and re-notified in this period, they said.
The issue of shortage of these ranges also came up for discussion during the ongoing Army Commanders' Conference. There are ranges in the Kargil and Srinagar areas also where demands have come from the local representatives for denotifying them for public use, sources said. However, the Army has been able to get a new firing range in Rewa in Madhya Pradesh which will be ready for use in next few years. | 2019-04-26T14:25:40Z | http://www.jottings.in/2012/10/from-todays-papers-19-oct-2012.html |
SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that analyzes your computer and gathers detailed information about system properties and settings and displays it in an extremely comprehensible manner.
SIW can create a report file (HTML, JSON, CSV, TXT or XML), and you can run it in batch mode (for Computer Inventory, Hardware, Software and Network Information, Software License Management, Security Audit, Server Configuration Management).
- Software Information: Operating System, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers), Passwords Recovery, Installed Programs, Applications, Security, Accessibility, Environment, Regional Settings, File Associations, Running Processes, Loaded DLLs, Drivers, NT Services, Autorun, Scheduled Tasks, Databases, Audio and Video Codecs, Shared DLLs, ActiveX, MMC Snap-Ins, Shell Extensions, Event Viewer, Certificates, etc.
- Hardware Information: System Summary, Motherboard, BIOS, CPU, Memory, Sensors, Devices, Chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, System Slots, Network Adapters, Video Card, Monitor, Sound Devices, Storage Devices, Logical Disks, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Battery and Power Policy, Printers, etc.
- Network Information: Basic/Extended Information about Network Configuration, Network Statistics, Network Connections, Active Directory (Computers, Groups and Users), Network Shares, Open Ports, etc.
- Network Tools: MAC Address Changer, Wake On LAN, Remote Licenses (from Windows Folder, Remote Computer or Registry Hive), Hosts Scan, Ping, Trace, etc.
- Miscellaneous Tools: Eureka! (Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks), Shutdown / Restart, Monitor Test, MUICache Viewer, URL Explorer, Open Files, etc.
SIW (Technician's Version) is a standalone utility that does not require installation (Portable Application) - one less installed program on your PC as well the fact that you can run the program directly from an USB flash drive, from a network drive or from a domain login script. SIW is periodically updated (usually once per quarter) in order to provide most accurate results.
Improved support for Firefox 61.
Minor enhancements and compatibility fixes.
The best e-commerce solution combined with the creative potential of WebAcappella! Still 100% subscription and commitment-free, enjoy professional features to help you sell your products and to make your services and creations (music, videos, photos, etc) available to download. All you need to make your online store a success!
To allow you to create a store that's code-free and 100% personal, WebAcappella has included the e-commerce solution Prestashop in its interface.
• May include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
Windows 10 Manager is a system utility that helps you optimize, tweak, repair and clean up Windows 10. It will increase your system speed, eliminate system fault, improve system security, and meet all of your expectations. Windows 10 Manager is a system utility that helps you optimize, tweak, repair and clean up Windows 10. It will increase your system speed, eliminate system fault, improve system security, and meet all of your expectations.
Why Should I use Windows 10 Manager? Windows 10 is the newest Operating System for home users and professionals alike. Windows 10 brings clarity to your world, so you can more safely and easily accomplish everyday tasks and instantly find what you want on your PC.
Windows 10 Manager is the powerful software tool to tweak and optimize your Windows 10, it bundles more than 30 different utilities in one and help your system faster and more stable, secure and personal!
Process Lasso is a unique new technology that will, amongst other things, improve your PCs responsiveness and stability. Windows, by design, allows programs to monopolize your CPU without restraint - leading to freezes and hangs. Process Lassos ProBalance (Process Balance) technology intelligently adjusts the priority of running programs so that badly behaved or overly active processes won't interfere with your ability to use the computer!
Process Lasso also offers an assortment of ways to take full control of how your CPUs are allocated to running programs. You can choose at what priority processes should run, and which CPUs (cores) should be assigned to them. You can also disallow certain programs from running, log all programs run, and so much more (see list below).
For network admins, Proces Lasso works wonderfully on Terminal Servers and in multi-user environments. We have many clients that have been using Process Lasso on their Terminal Servers for years.
Best of all, Process Lasso is written in native C++, not .NET. This means it consumes very few system resources - considerably less than any similar software.
The Zuken product team is pleased to announce the availability of E³.series 2018 version 19.00. The latest release contains new and enhanced functionality that further increases productivity throughout all phases of engineering, from design to manufacture.
About Zuken E³.series E3.series is a Windows-based, scalable, easy-to-learn system for the design of wiring and control systems, hydraulics and pneumatics. The out-of-the-box solution includes schematic (for circuit and fluid diagrams), cable (for advanced electrical and fluid design), panel (for cabinet and panel layout), and formboard (for 1:1 wiring harness manufacturing drawings). Integrated with MCAD, E3.series is a complete design engineering solution from concept through physical realization and manufacturing output.
About Zuken. Zuken is a global provider of leading-edge software and consulting services for electrical and electronic design and manufacturing. Founded in 1976, Zuken has the longest track record of technological innovation and financial stability in the electronic design automation (EDA) software industry. The company's extensive experience, technological expertise and agility, combine to create world-class software solutions. Zuken's transparent working practices and integrity in all aspects of business produce long-lasting and successful customer partnerships that make Zuken a reliable long-term business partner.
Apeaksoft Android Toolkit can help you to recover deleted or lost photos, videos, contacts, messages, call logs, apps and documents from your Android phones, tablets and SD cards. It is compatible with 5000+ Android portable devices.
Recover deleted files on Android from many situations including files deleting, system crashing, forgotten password, rooting error, etc.
Visuino is the latest innovative software from Mitov Software. A visual programming environment allowing you to program your Arduino boards. It currently supports the official Arduino boards, Teensy, Femto IO, ESP8266, ESP32, Controllino, Goldilocks Analogue, FreeSoC2, chipKIT, Maple Mini, and number of Arduino clones, however it is not restricted to their support alone and requests to support new hardware are welcome.
The components found in the Visuino software represent their hardware components and you will easily be able to create and design your programs using drag and drop. No equipment or hardware is needed to run the software in design mode. Once you have completed the design, you can connect Arduino board upload and run it.
For those people who are not strong on writing code then designing, compiling and creating Arduino programs has never been easier! Why waste time on creating code when we have done all the hard work for you already? You have your Arduino board, and great hardware design, see it running in minutes, not hours!
WHY DO I NEED VISUINO? Fast and Easy!
If you are a hardware developer and don't have much time to become an expert in software development then you can let Visuino become your personal software expert. If you've been exposed to the existing offering from Arduino you may be overwhelmed by the complexity of designing code to run your hardware components.
We've taken the effort out of coding and created a drag and drop programming environment based on our OpenWire technology where everything is linked together by a series of diagrams and pins. Visualize the design of your code and deploy!
Apeaksoft iPhone Transfer is able to backup text messages, contacts, pictures, music, videos, books, PDF and more between iOS device and computer or from iOS to iTunes.
Transfer data safely without any data loss for iPhone iPad and iPod.
Sync files from iOS device to PC/iTunes/another iOS device in one click.
Friendly interface enables you to copy data easily even for fresh hands.
You can manage your media files separately on Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, iTunesU, Ringtones, Audio Books and Voice Memos.
Import your media files and playlists from iPhone iPad iPod to iTunes library directly.
Add media files from iTunes library or from computer to iOS devices for portable listening on the go.
Edit media files like deleting, renaming, creating playlists, etc. conveniently on your computer.
It will convert the media file to be compatible with your iOS devices automatically.
single contact or group contacts.
It lets you export contacts to Vcard for Gmail/Yahoo/Gmail, CSV for Hotmail/AOL, or directly for OutLook, etc.
It is able to import contacts from OutLook, Windows Address Book, CSV and vCard to iPhone.
Edit contacts info, like adding contacts, edit contact details, and deleting the unwanted contacts.
For duplicates, it will help you de-duplicate the contacts in one click.
Total Excel Converter is the perfect choice to convert any type of table. Supported input formats include Excel and Excel 2007, XLSM, XLT, XLTM as well as OpenOffice formats ODS, XML, SQL, WK2, WKS, WAB, DBF, TEX, and DIF. The list of target formats is even more extensive: convert your tabled files into DOC, DOCX, PDF, HTML, Access, TXT, ODT, ODS, XML, SQL, CSV, Lotus, DBF, TEX, DIFF, SYLK, and LaTeX. Imagine how much time you'll save with this amazing conversion tool.
With Total Excel Converter, you can convert each sheet into a new file.
When you convert Excel to PDF you can set user permissions. This will protect your PDF files from being modified or copied.
Total Excel Converter can easily convert OpenOffice ODS files to Microsoft XLS documents; making it so that spread sheets produced by different programs are compatible with your viewer.
PDF to Text is used to quickly convert PDF documents to plain text files in batch mode. It works without Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader, and has Command Line Interface (CLI), fast and accurate conversion ability, friendly interface, small size. It retains the original text, format and layout (as much as possible) in the output text files.
Also, PDF to Text supports converting the PDF files that have some restrictions, such as "Content Copying", "Saving as Text" are not allowed.
If you want to let your documents management system supports PDF search or want to extract the text from PDF files, it might be useful.
-Fast, accurate, small, and friendly interface.
-Working without Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
-Retains the original text, format and layout (as much as possible) in the output text files.
-Converts all pages of a PDF into ONE plain text file.
-Supports converting the PDF files that have some restrictions, such as "Content Copying", "Saving as Text" and "Page Extraction" are not allowed.
Important (I): fully supports native Slovenščina.
I: no longer ask you to view the result(s) if there is no any successful conversion.
Optimized the appearance of help menu.
I: if you use non-English OS, you MAY see the unreadable no-English texts when install it.
I: in a few languages, click "Help -> Command line interface" menu item will go to the non-existent CLI documentation segment.
Fixed a little text errors for JA, KO and NL languages.
O&O SafeErase helps you to delete sensitive data securely. Thanks to this protection against data misuse, you see a return on your investment with every securely deleted file. In this way you can be sure that no data gets into the wrong hands. O&O SafeErase offers a reliable solution for safe erasure of security sensitive files and gives you the ultimate in data protection. With O&O SafeErase even hackers and data spies cannot restore your safely erased files. O&O SafeErase is THE solution for securely deleting sensitive data from your hard disk and offers you the ultimate protection of your privacy. With just one click of the mouse, you can securely and permanently delete files, folders and partitions. The motives for deleting files are many. Old e-mail files, internet histories, file cache, financial records, company information, and private files ought to be protected from unauthorized access.
The analysis tool of O&O SafeErase lets you track down and immediately remove all the files that are a security risk on your computer. What's more, data from SSDs can now be permanently deleted as well using methods that go sparingly on resources. Never take chances with your data: SafeErase it!
There is the possibility that your personal photos or business data may easily fall into the wrong hands and to the public, if you want to sell, give away or dispose off your old computer - because clicking on Delete does not mean that the data is destroyed irrevocably. Even formatting the hard disk is not enough to completely remove your data. With O&O SafeErase you can SafeErase your data using approved procedures so that a reconstruction is no longer possible, even if using specialized software.
In addition to many smaller adjustments O&O SafeErase includes an analytical tool that scans your computer for temporary and unsafe deleted files. With just few clicks, you can clean your computer so that unauthorized persons do not have a chance to spy out old files for possible abuse. SSDs are also automatically detected and deletions are executed via the TRIM command while conserving resources. The advanced report management and administrating deletion lists for repeated activities make the use of O&O SafeErase even more convenient.
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The support of modern multi-core processors enables a more efficient deletion by O&O SafeErase. To save time for special settings and combinations of deletions, you can save your activities in deletion lists and reload them whenever necessary.
Apeaksoft iPhone Eraser is the most useful utility to erase all content and settings permanently and thoroughly from iPhone iPad or iPod. In addition, you are able to erase more than one iOS device simultaneously.
The program offers 100% promise to securely erase all files (contacts, SMS, account information, photos, browser history, videos, songs, games, downloads, etc.) and settings from your iPhone iPad or iPod without no recovery possibility.
As one of the professional phone data erasing tools, iPhone Eraser guards your private information. It provides 100% promise to securely remove all the data and settings from your device safely. No personal information will be tracked after you sell your phone. iPhone Eraser guards your private information and protects your personal data from data criminals.
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The program completely clear your iOS data with anti-virus.
This software provides three erasing levels for you to choose from, so that you can remove any data for protecting your privacy or getting more device storage. No matter you want to remove confidential data and files, or just reset iPhone settings, you can choose one of the three levels based on your needs.
This professional software provides you three modes to clear your iPhone iPad or iPod data. Whether you want to wipe out confidential documents on your job, or erase data for selling the device, you can choose one of the erasing levels to move on.
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PIDKey Lite The program is intended to show the renovation and conservation in the database of key information products to M $.It allows you to replace PIDKey by Ratiborus and VAMT. Program PIDKey LiteIt is the successor of PIDKey. and I took out of it the best program ideas (Allowing you to add new keys to the two modes of adding key modes).
Run PIDKey.exe, select the desired configuration, insert the key into the input field then click GO!. Identifying the key configuration will be checked against all configurations starting at the beginning of the list until correct data is retrieved.
The program has several built-in configurations, but also you can create your custom configuration. If you put your config file in the program folder, the file will be saved in a relative path and the program can work with it from any location folder with the program.
When you select a custom configuration a button becomes available to remove it.
You can check the key from a file. You can use any file in text format containing a key mixed with any number of other keys so they will be correctly extracted.
1. PIDKey Lite x64.exe checks and keys for x86 and x64 Windows XP, PIDKey Lite.exe for x86 only.
2. Memory setting verifiable key types. Displayed reminder.
3. When you first start a program RESET.
Текущее время: 12:06. Часовой пояс GMT +1. | 2019-04-25T11:06:29Z | http://sinhro.net/showthread.php?s=d0c6ed599bb2c49b80a4e37c536bd94b&t=160764&page=90 |
Quality assessment and optimization of purified protein samples: why and how?
Purified protein quality control is the final and critical check-point of any protein production process. Unfortunately, it is too often overlooked and performed hastily, resulting in irreproducible and misleading observations in downstream applications. In this review, we aim at proposing a simple-to-follow workflow based on an ensemble of widely available physico-chemical technologies, to assess sequentially the essential properties of any protein sample: purity and integrity, homogeneity and activity. Approaches are then suggested to optimize the homogeneity, time-stability and storage conditions of purified protein preparations, as well as methods to rapidly evaluate their reproducibility and lot-to-lot consistency.
In recent years, purified proteins have more and more frequently been used for diagnostic and therapeutic applications [1-3]. Purified proteins are also widely used as reagents for downstream in depth biophysical and structural characterization studies: these are sample- and time-consuming, generally requiring long set-up phases and sometimes depending on (limited) accessibility to large instrumentation such as synchrotrons.
Unfortunately, scientists (especially in the academic environment) frequently want to rush to the final application, considering biochemical analysis of proteins as either trivial or a superfluous bother. Very often, the implications of such a regretful attitude are irreproducible, dubious and misleading results, and unfortunately sometimes lead to failure at more or less advanced stages (including clinical trials ), with potentially severe consequences. This is even more the case nowadays, when recombinant production of challenging proteins such as integral membrane proteins or heavily modified (glycosylated, …) proteins is being attempted on an ever more widespread scale.
the protein samples are pure and homogeneous.
their concentration is assessed precisely.
all of the protein is solubilized and in a natively active state.
Our experience as a core facility dealing with several dozens of different projects every year is that quality control considerations are much too often overlooked or taken for granted by facility users and the scientific community at large. However, those who assess and optimize carefully the quality of their protein preparations significantly increase their chances of success in subsequent experiments.
Purified protein quality control has already been the object of several general reviews [5-7]. Attempts have also been made to define a set of “minimal quality criteria” that should be fulfilled by any purified recombinant protein prior to publication, especially among the “Minimal Information for Protein Functionality Evaluation” (MIPFE) consortium [8-10]. In this review, we wish to go one step further and provide a concise overview of a sequence of simple-to-follow physico-chemical approaches that should be accessible to the vast majority of investigators. Most of the methodologies that are proposed can be found in classical biochemistry or structural biology laboratories, and in the majority of institutional protein science core facilities. Many of the methods and techniques mentioned here are well known, maybe too well, but clearly need to be reappraised in university curricula and laboratory practice: indeed knowledge about them is generally (and inappropriately) regarded as obvious, but very often it is in reality very sketchy, sometimes unfortunately resulting in gross blunders. Hopefully, this review will help providing more robustness to the production of efficient and reliable protein samples within a large scientific community.
Prior to any downstream experiment, purity and integrity are the very first qualities that need to be assessed for any protein sample (Figure 1B). This is routinely achieved by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE). This technique, associated with Coomassie blue staining, can detect bands containing as little as 100 ng of protein in a simple and relatively rapid manner (just a few hours) . After reduction and denaturation by SDS, proteins migrate in the gel according to their molecular mass, allowing to detect potential contaminants, proteolysis events, etc. However, many low amount impurities and degradation products can go unnoticed, especially in low concentration samples or during optimization phases in which minute aliquots are analysed.
Experimental protein quality control methodological work-flow. A) The properties (purity & integrity, homogeneity, activity) to be assessed for each new protein sample are listed on the upper left. First-line methods are essential and should be used systematically for a full quality control assessment. Complementary methods can be added depending on the protein sample peculiarities and quality control requirements. Similarly, methods for sample optimization monitoring are grouped below in two categories: first-line and complementary. B) The work flow has to be followed step-by-step starting with the “protein production and purification” green box. For each step, achievement of quality criteria is indicated by a green arrow (passed) while failure is indicated by a red arrow (failed). In case of failure, process optimization has to be carried out as indicated by black arrows. Initial sample assessment is sufficient if a sample is only produced once and used directly without storage (orange arrow at the bottom left). In contrast, if samples have to be stored for an undetermined period of time and produced several times, the sample optimization part of the work-flow should be performed thoroughly. If no appropriate storage conditions can be found, one should work only with fresh preparations (orange arrow on the right).
Two higher sensitivity colorimetric staining methods can be used either directly after electrophoresis or coupled to Coomassie blue staining: zinc-reverse staining and silver staining . These can detect as low as 10 ng and 1 ng protein bands respectively. Zinc-reverse staining (also known as negative staining) uses imidazole and zinc salts for protein detection in electrophoresis gels . It is based on the precipitation of zinc imidazole in the gel, except in the zones where proteins are located. When zinc-reverse staining is applied on a Coomassie blue stained gel, previously undetected bands can be spotted . This technique is rapid, simple, cheap and reproducible, and is compatible with mass spectrometry (MS) . On the other hand, silver staining is based on the binding of silver ions to the proteins followed by reduction to free silver, sensitization and enhancement . If used as a second staining, it is essential to fix the proteins in the gel with acidic alcohol prior to initial Coomassie blue staining . Two drawbacks of this technique are that proteins are differentially sensitive to silver staining and the process may irreversibly modify them preventing further analysis. In particular glutaraldehyde, which is generally used during the sensitization step, may interfere with protein analysis by MS due to the introduction of covalent cross-links . To circumvent this problem, a glutaraldehyde-free modified silver-staining protocol has been developed, which is compatible with both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization-MS .
Several fluorescent dyes such as Nile red, ruthenium(II) tris(bathophenantroline disulfonate) (RuBPS), SyPro and Epicocconone, can also be used to reveal a few ng of proteins in gels [18-20]. CyDyes can even reveal amounts of protein lower than one nanogram but have the inconvenience of requiring to be incorporated before gel electrophoresis . Apart from Nile red, these staining methods are compatible with subsequent MS analysis. However, their major disadvantage is that they require a fluorescence imager for visualization and that they are significantly more expensive than classical colorimetric dyes.
Different alternatives (or additions) to SDS-PAGE exist to further separate and distinguish the protein of interest from closely related undesired subproducts or contaminants. One of them is isoelectric focusing (IEF), which separates non-denatured proteins based on their isoelectric point, most often on gel strips. This allows to resolve proteins of very similar mass, notably unmodified and small molecular mass post-translationnally modified (e.g. phosphorylated) variants of a same protein. IEF is often used upstream of SDS-PAGE in so-called 2D gel electrophoresis .
Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is another useful alternative, with the advantage of superior separation efficiency, small sample consumption, short analysis time and automatability. CE separates proteins, with or without prior denaturation, in slab gels or microfluidic channels, according to a variety of properties, including their molecular mass (SDS-CGE), their isoelectric point (CIEF) or their electrophoretic mobility (CZE) . Interestingly, CE can readily be coupled on line with MS .
UV-visible spectroscopy is most often used for protein concentration measurements (see Total protein concentration determination section). However, it is also a very convenient tool for the detection of non-protein contaminants, as long as the protein of interest contains aromatic residues and the absorbance is monitored over a large range (at least 240 – 350 nm). In particular, undesired nucleic acid contaminants can be spotted as bumps at 260 nm, resulting in a high 260/280 nm absorbance ratio (which should be close to 0.57 for a non-contaminated protein sample ). On the other hand, reducing agents (especially DTT) alter the symmetry of the 280 nm absorbance peak by increasing the absorbance at 250 nm and below [25,26].
It is essential to verify the integrity of the protein of interest beyond SDS-PAGE, especially when setting-up a new production/purification protocol, as low level proteolysis events (affecting just a few amino acids) and undesired modifications may go unnoticed in electrophoresis. The method of choice for detailed analysis of protein primary structure is MS, as it can provide molecular mass with 0.01% accuracy for peptides or proteins with masses up to 500,000 Da using only a few picomoles of sample . The presence of undesired proteolytic events and chemical alterations can be readily detected by comparing the difference between the observed and the expected mass of the protein. Furthermore MS can provide detailed information about the presence of desired post-translational modifications (phosphorylations, acetylations, ubiquitinations, glycosylations, …) . Overall the convenience and precision of MS measurements is such that they should be considered as routine to ensure the integrity and overall state of modification of the peptide or protein of interest.
MS-based methods, such as MALDI in-source decay , are progressively replacing traditional protein sequencing by Edman degradation . However, N-terminal Edman sequencing is still of relevance in several cases, for instance when one wishes to verify easily and specifically the N-terminal boundary of the protein of interest, or when highly accurate masses cannot be obtained by MS because of the size of the protein or the presence of certain post-translational modifications .
One may also wish to further characterize the degradation products or contaminants detected by electrophoresis, as determining their origin may give clues about how to avoid them from occurring. Proteins extracted from gel bands can be digested and analysed by MS . Identification can be achieved by peptide mass finger-printing, as the precise peptide pattern that results from the digestion of a protein by a sequence-specific protease (like trypsin) is unique for each protein and can be matched by protein-sequence database search . Usually MALDI time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometers are used for this type of analysis because of their speed, mass accuracy and sensitivity. Typically, proteins detected by Coomassie blue or negative staining can be identified.
Once the purity and integrity of the protein sample has been assessed, one has to ensure it is homogeneous (Figure 1). Dynamic light scattering (DLS), because of its rapidity and low sample consumption, is a very convenient method to determine simultaneously the monodispersity of the species of interest and the presence of soluble high-order assemblies and aggregates . DLS measures Brownian motion, which is related to the size of the particles. The velocity of the Brownian motion is defined by a translational diffusion coefficient that can be used to calculate the hydrodynamic radius, i.e. the radius of the sphere that would diffuse with the same rate as the molecule of interest. This is done by measuring, with an autocorrelator, the rate at which the intensity of the light scattered by the sample fluctuates. As a 3 nm radius particle scatters 1 million times less light than a 60 nm one, DLS is the method of choice to detect small quantities of aggregates in a sample . A few percent of large aggregates may even swamp the scattered light coming from small particles. It is important to notice that large particles may also originate from poor buffer preparation (all protein purification and storage buffers should systematically be filtered prior to use). Autocorrelation functions can be mathematically resolved using a variety of algorithms, developed either by instrument manufacturers or academic researchers (for instance Sedfit ). However, the robustness of these mathematical solutions is fairly poor. Moreover, a precise quantification of each individual species is difficult and the resolution of DLS does not allow to resolve close quaternary structures (for instance monomers from dimers and small-order oligomers). Overall, DLS is such an easy and convenient technique that the danger of over-interpreting its quantitative results is high . However, the technique is very well adapted for qualitative studies (which are the focus of this review) and can be performed over time and/or at different temperatures in order to test the stability of the protein preparation in different buffers (see Optimization of homogeneity and solubility section).
Although less sensitive than DLS, UV-visible spectroscopy is also of use to detect the presence of large particles (with a hydrodynamic radius higher than 200 nm) in a protein preparation. This can be done by monitoring the absorbance signal above 320 nm, where aggregate-free protein samples are not supposed to absorb light, and the signal can be attributed exclusively to the scattering of light by large aggregates present in the sample. This simple measurement can quickly provide qualitative information about the sample of interest. If the UV visible signal is used for concentration measurement, the contribution of scattering to the overall absorbance can be deduced by tracing a log-log plot of absorbance versus wavelength in the 320–350 nm region. This can then be extrapolated to the rest of the spectrum [26,36].
One interesting alternative to UV-visible spectroscopy is fluorescence spectroscopy . After excitation at 280 nm, the fluorescence emission signal is measured at 280 nm and 340 nm, corresponding respectively to light scattering and intrinsic protein fluorescence. The ratio of the intensities at 280 nm and 340 nm (I280/I340) is concentration independent and purely related to the degree of aggregation of the sample. This ratio, also called aggregation index (AI), should be close to zero for aggregate-free protein preparations and can attain high values (>1) when significant aggregation occurs.
As already stressed above, DLS does not have the sufficient resolution to correctly assess whether a protein sample is heterogeneous in terms of oligomerisation. Analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is currently the standard separation technique to quantify protein oligomers. SEC, which very often is also the last step of protein purification, separates molecules according to their hydrodynamic size, often defined by their Stokes or hydrodynamic radius , with larger sized molecular species (which are not necessarily larger molecular mass species) eluting before smaller ones. Recent developments of the technique have increased the rapidity of elution, through column parallelization and injection interlacing and/or the use of the latest SEC columns with smaller pore size, allowing improved resolution with smaller bed volumes, reduced elution times (below 10 min) and low sample consumption (5 μg in 20 μl) [40-42]. This should encourage people to resort to SEC as a systematic approach to analyse sample heterogeneity. Aggregates, contaminants and potentially different molecular arrangements of the protein of interest can be readily separated and quantified, with classical online UV detection. One should however keep in mind the fact that the protein sample will be diluted during SEC by as much as a 10-fold factor, which might alter equilibria between oligomeric species.
Furthermore, however “inert” may the gel filtration resins be, some proteins do interact with them, rendering SEC impossible. Two column-free separation techniques may be used as alternatives: asymmetric flow-field flow fractionation (AFFFF), which is also well suited for large molecular assemblies that may be dissociated by SEC [42,43], and capillary electrophoresis with electrophoretic mobility separation (CZE) .
Contrary to a widespread belief, the molecular mass of the species eluted in each SEC peak cannot be obtained through column calibration approaches, in which protein standards are separated according to their hydrodynamic radius and not their molecular mass (the correlation between both parameters being far from linear, especially for non-globular and intrinsically disordered proteins). To obtain information about mass, it is necessary to resort to a static light scattering (SLS) detector , in combination with a UV or a refractive index (RI) detector. Of note, as in the case of DLS, SLS is also able to detect small amounts of aggregates with high sensitivity, as the light scattering signal is proportional to molecular mass . In size exclusion chromatography with on-line static laser light scattering (SEC-SLS), experimentally determined molecular mass is independent of the elution volume of the protein. Both the total scattered light intensity (which depends on molecular mass and concentration) and the concentration of the protein (using the UV or RI detector) are measured and analysed to determine the molecular mass of the protein as it elutes from the chromatographic column. SEC-SLS is applicable and quite accurate over a broad range of molecular masses (from a few kDa to several MDa), as long as the column is able to resolve completely the different species present in the sample, allowing the area of each peak to be integrated. In order to improve the separation of peaks with respect to traditional SEC, one can resort to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) systems, which have very recently been made amenable to SLS. As an alternative, AFFF can also be used in conjunction with SLS [42,43].
Once the homogeneity of the protein of interest has been assessed, one has to ensure it is active and functional (Figure 1). An infinite variety of generic or protein-specific functional assays has been designed, relying principally on catalytic and binding properties. An attempt at listing such assays would go much beyond the scope of this review. Efficient assays allow to measure precisely the active concentration of the protein sample, and thus to determine (if the total protein concentration is known: see Total protein concentration determination section) the percentage of purified protein that is indeed functional. One should not overlook such active protein concentration determinations, as it can unfortunately often be found that the proportion of purified protein which is indeed in a native active state is low. This can be due to misfolding issues, to the inability of the protein to reach its native structural state spontaneously or to interferences of sequence additions (such as tags or extra amino acids originating from cloning vectors). But in most cases, this is due to poor (and overlooked) micro-integrity and homogeneity of the purified protein (see Purity and integrity section).
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a convenient technique to determine the active concentration of binding proteins. This is done by exploiting the properties of diffusion of molecules in continuous flow microfluidic devices [46,47]. The so-called “calibration-free concentration analysis” (CFCA) method, which has been implemented in a user-friendly format in different SPR instruments available commercially , allows to determine the concentration of protein able to recognize a specific ligand (or protein partner) tethered on a surface. For CFCA measurements, the ligand has to be immobilized at high densities, creating conditions in which the interaction rate of the protein is limited by its diffusion towards the surface (mass transport limitation), and becomes proportional to its active concentration [46,47].
Alternatively, if the protein of interest is tagged, one can resort to a “sandwich” SPR assay to determine directly what proportion of protein is active: a measurable amount of protein is first captured through its tag on a surface on which a tag-specific receptor is immobilized (NTA for His-tag, or an antibody for others) and then titrated by a saturating amount of specific ligand .
Different methods are available to measure the total protein concentration in a sample, allowing to deduce the percentage of active protein (see Active protein concentration determination section). Bradford, bicinchonic acid (BCA) and Lowry assays use standards for calibration, which can be a source of error as the composition of the protein of interest may not necessarily match that of the protein standards . It is also possible to use UV-visible absorbance measurements to determine the total protein concentration as long as its extinction coefficient is reliably known or calculated [26,50]. The extinction coefficient at 280 nm is most frequently calculated from the amino acid composition , allowing to determine concentrations from UV absorbance at this wavelength (see [26,50] for protocols). However, one should always monitor wider absorbance spectra (at least from 240 to 350 nm), as these can provide much more information than concentration, as already detailed in the two sections referring to UV-visible spectroscopy above.
However, UV absorbance measurements are only usable for concentration determination if the sequence of the protein of interest contains a known amount of tryptophans and tyrosines, the two principal light-absorbing amino acids. If this is not the case, an alternative is to use Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) as initially suggest by Etzion et al. . After subtracting the contribution of water between 1700 nm and 2300 nm, the analysis of the amide band I and II of the IR absorbance spectrum can be used to calculate protein concentration by determining the concentration of amine bonds. Recently, commercially available FTIR equipment has been developed (Direct Detect from Merck Millipore), applying this method to protein samples that are dried on a membrane. The only limitations of the equipment are the minimal and maximal concentrations that can be used (0.2 to 5 mg/ml) and the incompatibility of several amine-containing buffers (HEPES ≥ 25 mM, Tris ≥ 50 mM, …) or additives (EDTA ≥ 10 mM, …). Another alternative is amino acid analysis (AAA) which is a very valuable technique both for protein identification and quantification . Briefly, quantitative AAA involves hydrolyzing the peptide bonds to free individual amino acids, which are then separated, detected and quantified, using purified amino acids as standards (see for protocol).
Nonetheless, UV-visible spectroscopy remains beyond any doubt the most widely spread, cost- and time-efficient technique for total protein concentration determination. To take full advantage of this technique even in the absence of tyrosine and tryptophan residues, one solution can be to use FTIR-based protein quantification and AAA measurements at first, to generate concentration calibration curves for the protein of interest in correlation with UV absorbance (at 280 nm or another wavelength). These calibration curves can then be used to determine the concentration of subsequent samples directly by UV absorbance spectroscopy.
Identifying conditions in which a protein sample is “well-behaved” and meets all the required criteria described in Initial sample assessment section is generally not a trivial task. In this section, we aim at providing an overview of potential solutions to overcome difficulties that may arise along the quality control work-flow (Figure 1). We also discuss how to determine optimal conditions for the preservation of good quality samples, and how to ensure that the protein production/purification process that one has devised leads reproducibly to samples of equivalent high quality.
A variety of solutions are available to overcome issues of contamination of protein samples with impurities, degradation products or undesired chemically-modified proteins . These go from changing the purification protocols (modifying the washing and elution conditions from affinity chromatography columns, or adding purification steps such as ion-exchange chromatography) to more upstream changes such as the addition of different sets of protease inhibitors, the modification of the conditions of induction of protein expression, the choice of another cloning vector (with a different tag, or a tag placed at another position or at both ends), or even resorting to another expression host system.
To remove protein aggregates, it is important to ensure that the last step of the purification process always is size-exclusion chromatography. A column should be chosen that allows elution of the protein of interest well away from the void volume, and thus total separation from large protein aggregates. People often need to concentrate their protein samples in order to attain concentrations high enough for their downstream applications: unfortunately, this process, which resorts to spin concentrators or precipitation/resolubilisation protocols, very frequently tends to induce aggregation. Therefore, one should be careful not to concentrate their sample more than strictly necessarily (avoiding overly high concentrations): this should either be done before the final size-exclusion chromatography step, or be followed by an analytical SEC or DLS on part of the concentrated sample to ensure that it has remained free from aggregates.
To minimize the formation of protein aggregates (and to improve solubility), a variety of changes can be made upstream to the production/purification protocol . Adjustment of several parameters of the sample buffer composition (pH, salinity, presence of additives, co-factors or ligands, …) can also dramatically increase homogeneity. People often rely for this on empirical rules that they have learnt with experience, as there is no clear correlation between the stability of a protein and its intrinsic properties (amino acid composition, isoelectric point, secondary structure elements, …). Recent DLS instrumental developments, that allow to process a large number of samples in a 96, 384 or 1536 well plate format, have made buffer condition screening an easy task. Many groups have used DLS as a technique to improve the solubilisation conditions of their proteins, in particular before crystallization studies [55,56]. Buffer matrices for multi-parametric screening of pH, salinity, buffer nature, additives and co-factors can be generated by hand or using simple robotics . Typically samples, at a concentration of 10 mg/ml for a 10 kDa protein or 1 mg/ml for a 100 kDa protein, are diluted 10 times in each test buffer with a consumption of only 2 μl of sample per condition. The homogeneity of the sample and the presence of aggregates (and high-order physiologically irrelevant oligomers) can be monitored in each condition, allowing to select the optimal buffer composition for protein homogeneity.
Preservation of good quality protein samples over time is all important, as very often one will not consume all of a sample straight away. People most often rely on hearsay for the short-term or long-term storage of their precious protein samples. A very widely spread belief is that flash freezing (with or without cryoprotectants such as glycerol) is the best method for long-term retention of protein properties. However, this is far from being a general truth, especially because significant denaturation, aggregation and precipitation can occur upon freezing/thawing . Proteins may become unstable and lose their biological activity through a variety of physical or chemical mechanisms, even at cold temperatures [59-61]. The best storage conditions are very much protein-dependent, and may vary from unfrozen aqueous solutions to salted precipitates or freeze-dried solids [59-61].
A practical way to approach this issue is to start by monitoring the time stability of one’s protein sample at a few relevant temperatures (e.g. 4 and 25°C) using DLS and a functional assay, in the optimal buffer for sample homogeneity and solubility (see Optimization of homogeneity and solubility section). Indeed, one may quite often realize this way that simple storage of the protein sample without further processing (for instance at 4°C) provides long enough stability for all down-stream experiments.
Many people also evaluate the thermal stability of their proteins in different buffers, using methods such as differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF, also known as thermal-shift assay) : however, there is no clear correlation between thermodynamic and time stability of a protein, and it is therefore not straightforward to obtain insight about the long-term stability of a sample from its thermal stability analysis. On the contrary, thermodynamic stability generally correlates with rigidity , which is of particular importance when the downstream application is structural characterization (for instance by X-ray crystallography).
If a protein needs to be stored for an undetermined period, one can explore different methods (freezing with or without cryoprotectants, lyophilization,… [59-61]) and determine their effect on the properties of the sample using DLS and a functional assay. Of note, the best storage conditions may be largely different from the experimental conditions for downstream applications, so a preliminary desalting or dialysis might be needed before quality control.
A fundamental principle of good laboratory practices is that experiments need to be reproduced and should thus be reproducible, both within a laboratory and between research groups. During the lifetime of a project, it is therefore very likely that one will need to prepare more than a single sample of a given protein. Other groups might also need to prepare it independently in the frame of collaborations or comparability studies. Determining the robustness of one’s production/purification process and its capacity to reproducibly deliver samples of equivalent quality is therefore all-important. However, once the quality of a purified protein sample has been fully assessed and optimized a first time, verification of lot-to-lot consistency does not necessarily require the repetition of the whole quality control work-flow (Figure 1B).
A very practical way to rapidly estimate the equivalence of protein lots is to verify the conformity of their “spectral signatures”. The most straightforward is to compare UV-visible spectra which, as has been stressed above, contain a wealth of information beyond simple 280 nm absorbance. This may be profitably complemented by circular dichroism (CD) in the far-UV, which provides information about the global content of secondary structure elements in a protein [63,64]. Of note, contrary to a widespread belief, the presence of secondary structure elements in a protein (“foldedness”) is not by itself a quality control criterium, especially as many proteins are either intrinsically disordered or contain unfolded segments in their native state. But differences between the CD spectra acquired for two different lots of the same protein (in the same buffer) may readily reveal divergences in folding that could correlate with differences in active concentration, especially if spectral similarity is analysed quantitatively rather than visually [65,66].
“Thermal denaturation signatures”, determined by techniques such as CD or differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, ), can also be a very convenient and accurate way to determine the equivalence of protein lots, provided special attention is given to the equivalence of protein sample conditioning buffers. Indeed, differences between protein lots can translate into detectable differences in the global shape of their denaturation profiles .
Apart from spectral and thermal denaturation signatures, MS (for integrity), DLS (for homogeneity), analytical SEC (for both purity and homogeneity) and a functional assay are the most convenient and discriminating methods to assess the reproducibility and equivalence in quality of distinct protein lots.
In this review, we have attempted to cover all the aspects of protein quality control, from the necessary initial sample assessment to sample optimization. For each step, a set of relevant techniques has been suggested (Figure 1A). The first-line methods are essential and should be used systematically for a full quality control assessment. Different complementary methods can be added depending on the protein sample peculiarities and quality control requirements. The suggested approaches for first line assessment include the “basic requirements for evaluating protein quality” that have been recently proposed , but go significantly beyond them. We also suggest a sequential experimental work-flow, to be followed as a check-list in order to optimize the time and effort spent on each sample (Figure 1B). This work-flow elaborates the protein quality control and storage optimization steps of the general protein production/purification pipeline . Overall, this global synthetic step-by-step overview should hopefully lead to better protein samples and therefore to better chances of success in downstream applications. In line with community-based efforts that have been deployed in other fields like structural biology [69,70], proteomics and interactomics [71-74] or quantitative real-time PCR [75,76], research relying on purified proteins would gain significant reliability and credibility from the implementation of good practices, such as the systematic and transparent reporting of the results of purified protein quality control assessments, at least in the supplementary information sections of scientific publications.
PL, BB and SH collected data and references for different parts of the review; BR and PE coordinated and assembled the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. | 2019-04-21T12:38:47Z | https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12934-014-0180-6 |
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For the past couple of years, my husband and I have not exchanged traditional, wrapped-and-Christmas-bowed gifts. Instead, we plan an experience.
We started our anti-Stuff celebrations because neither of us could think of a gift we truly wanted. Then we'd each be scrambling to think of something, anything, since not giving a box with a bow was unacceptable. This way, the pressure is off, and we create memories of fabulous meals and trips to vineyards, instead of piling up Stuff to fulfill a gift requirement.
I'm not against traditional gifts, especially if you know it's something the recipient will use or enjoy. But if you are at a loss for the hard-to-buy-for loved ones on your list, consider an anti-Stuff gift of consumables or experiences. Why?
Easier than picking something that comes down to personal taste, such as perfumes, sweaters, knickknacks, etc.
Word of warning: make sure the gift is something the recipient would enjoy or something in which he or she has expressed interest, not something you like or think he or she should like! That holds true with any sort of gift-giving.
Basket of consumables from the farmers' market. I've made baskets filled with locally-made items such as jam, jelly, biscotti, granola, chocolate, honey, coffee, salsa, vinegar, and olive oil.
Cooking classes. There are classes on everything from knife skills to sushi rolling to creating Tuscan feasts.
Wine and cheese pairing class. Bonus points if it's held at a gorgeous vineyard.
Zip-line tour. Send the adrenaline junkie on your list flying through the trees.
Kayaking lessons. Paddling is a great way to enjoy the local lakes and rivers.
Cave tour. Give the gift of a tour or a special event. Some caves host dinner and a concert, all underground.
Horseback riding. A day on a dude ranch is a nice way to get back to nature.
Gift certificates to the local “artsy” movie theater. They'll get to see the indie flicks without having to wait for the DVD release.
A museum membership. Members typically receive perks such as unlimited admission, invitations to previews of exhibitions, a discount at the museum's store, and invitations to special events.
Dance lessons. Just make sure you know if your recipient is a belly dancer at heart or more of the foxtrot-type.
Tickets to a performance. If it's a date-specific event, you'll need to be sneaky to make sure the recipient will be available, but tickets to concerts, plays, and other performances are memorable gifts.
Music lessons. If your brother has always wanted to channel his inner Jimi Hendrix, indulge the fantasy with a few guitar lessons.
A round of golf. If their sport costs money, buy them some time on the green, at the batting cages, or wherever the sport is enjoyed.
Tickets to a sporting event. One year I bought my husband tickets to a Dallas Cowboys football game for his birthday. I was living in an apartment complex owned by Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Tenants could purchase tickets to the game, including seats on a chartered bus to drive us the three hours to the stadium.
Lessons in their preferred activity. Find out what they like to do and where they do it. Inquire about lessons.
Art lessons. Sewing, knitting, sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, stained glass…there's no end to types of art classes.
Gardening gifts. Seeds, herbs, perennials, saplings, and bushes make great gifts for loved ones with green thumbs.
Spa services. Massages are appreciated by most people, especially if they are hunched over a computer or on their feet all day. Foot massages and pedicures are good options for those who aren't comfortable with full-body massages.
A night at a nearby bed and breakfast. Only for those who have been very good this year!
This approach isn't for everyone. I think children should get to enjoy tearing open a gift and having a few things to play with right away, rather than being told it's a gift that will be a blast…later.
But I'd venture to say there are probably a few people on your list who would prefer a thoughtful, anti-Stuff gift that reflects their interests and doesn't have to be stored, dusted, or worse, guiltily tossed in a Goodwill bin.
What do you think about anti-Stuff gifts? What types of consumable or experiential gifts are on your wish list?
J.D.'s note: For those concerned about the cost of these suggestions, be sure to check out last year's list of homemade Christmas gifts.
There are 84 reader responses to "The Anti-Stuff Holiday Gift Guide".
Great article April! We are currently trying to pay off debt and have talked about this type of Christmas this year. We want to do something special together that we will remember for a lifetime vs. something that will just fill up our closet. Thanks for the great ideas!
For parents, often the gift of time is the most precious. A day off from the kids, alone, to do whatever you want to do can be a great gift!
I would love to do this, but my family (both on my side and my SO’s side) is all about the “stuff” during the holidays. The habit to give lots of “stuff” is so ingrained in my SO (he prefers quantity to quality on top of that, like his own family) that his feelings get hurt when I tell him that I don’t want “stuff.” I try not to give too much “stuff” either, but that hasn’t always been successful because apparently everyone wants “stuff” and likes to give “stuff,” so I try to oblige and be graceful on both fronts. I hate the holidays because I’m tired of fighting the anti-stuff battle with everyone every year, so now I simply budget for it, expect to waste a bit of money, and go with the flow. These days, keeping the family peace is more important than insisting on “no stuff” since no one listens anyway. And I don’t feel guilty about tossing stuff in the Goodwill bin anymore.
Nice post! I completely agree. Unless there is something specific I know to buy, I love getting my family tickets to sporting events, concerts, or the ballet (depending on the person). I have been told that this is a good gift because it’s like telling someone you love that you want to spend another whole day with them in the future.
I’ve been trying to come up with ideas for anit-stuff gift exchanges for the adults in the extended family. We live in a fairly small town, and some involved come from 100-200 miles away to participate. I love the idea of experience gifts but find it difficult with the travel time that would be required for most. I thought maybe I’d suggest a big combined blowout for father’s day instead of Christmas including maybe a baseball game and Omaha steaks on the grill. We’ll see how the family reacts to that.
I really like this idea. My family has been decreasing material gift giving over the years and I have definitely started thinking more about experiences that I want to have rather than things I want to have. Thanks for the awesome tips! One more that might be good is charity giving – give money to a charity in the name of someone else.
Zoo memberships are great for a family (especially if you live somewhere they are open all year). My MIL gave us one last year and its been great, it even includes parking so throwing the kids in the car and going to the zoo for an hour is very doable (rather than trying to make it a whole day event and everyone getting tired and cranky!).
Last year for my parents we made a donation to buy a family in need a sheep and two chickens from World Vision. And for my brothers we gave them a monthly subscription to our own little cookie club. We don’t live nearby, so every month we mail them a dozen cookies. Speaking of which, I need to get to the post office.
These are terrific gift ideas that I can use this holiday season! I think it’s much better than buying a family member a gift he/she won’t necessarily use. I also agree with the kids still getting gifts that they can enjoy right then and there. Although, I’ve been known to give bond certificates that that can’t appreciate at the moment, but their parents appreciate. So I’ll usually buy a little gift for the kids to go along with their bond.
I wholeheartedly agree with this article. I personally would MUCH rather go somewhere and do something than get another gift that I probably will not use. My husband is ridiculously hard to buy for. He’s an electronics junkie, and I gave up on buying him anything like that a long time ago; as soon as he gets one thing a newer more updated version comes out & it’s frustrating for the gift giver. For our anniversary one year, I took us to Asheville, NC one weekend & we spent time at the Biltmore & other areas around town. That was a great time.
This year when he asked what I wanted for the holidays, I said that I’d rather us do something together because I honestly can’t think of anything.
This year we’re giving Goats, Chickens, etc to our family. Actually we’re giving them through World Vision to people who need them in honor of our family.
The best gifts are a combination of usefulness, thoughtfulness, and immediate impact.
Useful, because–like you mentioned–it won’t sit around on a shelf gathering dust. The friend will actually use it. Whether it’s a physical tool or a membership of some sort, the gift brings genuine value into their life, and they utilize it to improve whatever it is they’re doing (or would like to learn to do).
Thoughtful, because it shows you care (cue cheesy music). Seriously though, the friend gets a sense that you really know them, what they like, what they are interested in. It’s not a generic gift but something the friend cares about. Not just any food gift, but a specific country, region, or style of cooking the friend loves or wants to learn how to make.
Immediate impact, because we’re all kids, no matter what our age says. We like to tear open fun stuff, and have something to hold and look at it. Just walking up to your friend and telling them their gift starts on Monday, or to check their email to confirm lessons, doesn’t maximize the impact of the gift. But present your non-tangible (if that’s the case) gift in a visually-exciting way, and the smile is immediately formed on the face. There’s a reason some places offer to give gift cards packaged in a themed and exciting way.
Great post, and great ideas. We really try to have experiences with our kids as opposed to stuff and doing the same for adults is just as great. Thanks for some good ideas.
Our family looks on the positive side of stuff instead of banning it altogether. We make lists so that we know the recipient wants the item. Most of the items we give and receive are useful items. We will often delay purchases of things we need to replace that are not urgent so that they can be given for the holiday season.
Some examples of “stuff” we have exchanged and still love and use all the time: pizza stone, chef’s knife, winter socks, wallet, messenger bag, tupperware, expansions for much-loved and played board games, circular saw, shower curtain, and more that I can’t think about.
If we are not sure what someone likes and we would like to give them a gift, we give them homemade fudge or cookies or chocolate covered pretzels that we dip ourselves. But, with most people, if we are close enough to give them a gift, we are close enough to ASK THEM what they want as a gift.
It’s funny, I was just noticing a few of the usual crap-no-one-needs holiday gifts appearing in stores, and the thought process they use to market incredible junk is the same in that you have some sort of superficial classification or hobby for the recipient, and need to get them something… What can you get the “foodie” who has everything? Newly invented junk!
If you notice some newly invented affordable but marginally useful piece of junk for “the foodie” this year, try to resist.
The worst new junk has to be the stuff for “the student” and “the techie.” Stuff that is marketed mostly to fulfill a desire to get a gift for everyone– gaarrgh!
I forgot “the husband.” Junk created for Xmas gifts for the hubbie is usually good for a chuckle.
@stevesliva–Good point. As a foodie myself, the last thing I want is a specialized kitchen gadget that does one thing and gets used twice a year. Most gadgets don’t do anything that a chef’s knife can’t do. The thing to give foodies is food! Either as consumables or as an experience.
I am totally with you. We have switched from buying things for each other to spending good quality time with each other a while ago. I think this also leads to less fights within the family, which I believe is a general problem during the holidays. When you focus on each other rather than the potential disappointment in an inadequate gift, you will most likely collect good memories of the holidays.
I love gifts that do not have to be “stored” and are used up. As long as it’s not a restaurant that is so far away it becomes impractical (my uncle and his wife do this every year to us). I would also much rather spend a few days on a mini-vacation with loved ones than wrapping presents for them and opening another sweater.
Unless I have an exact idea of a “thing” someone on my list wants, they get gift cards or tickets or the like.
Great ideas to create a new paradigm for Christmas (or is it going back to an old paradigm?) Would love to have great Christmas *memories* rather than a pile of forgettable Christmas *stuff*.
A good gift for a baptism, Kiva Certifacate. Kiva Is a nonprofit lending organization where people can choose a person from a third world nation that is trying to start up a small business to lend money to. I think this is a great gift because it is somthing the parents can do right away and as the kid gets older and they can choose who to make a loan to when previous loans were repaid.
All great ideas. If you have to give gifts, make sure that it’s something that the person wants. My siblings & I, along w/our SOs, exchange names to cut down on the gifts (and money spending), and a list is a requirement. My BF suggested that we not buy gifts for each other this year. Instead, since I work for an airline & can fly for free, we’re taking a day trip to Washington DC – all it will cost is metro fare & food, since the museums are free. He’s never been to DC and it’s been 15+ years since I’ve been there, so I’m sure it will be a memorable experience.
On the other hand, experience gifts can be just as unappreciated as any other. I once gave a museum membership (in the town where they live) to my brother and his family, but that didn’t mean they used it: and I should have realized that it wasn’t a really good gift, since I do know them well enough to know that camping or gardening supplies would be things that they would really like. Similarly, I have been given gift certificates for massages and pedicures that I’ve never used; those just aren’t things I find fun or relaxing or a good experience.
Maybe if you don’t know a person well enough to buy something they like (or you’re not willing to buy what they would really appreciate!) then maybe there shouldn’t be a gift exchange.
Because my husband and I are in a better financial situation than some of our relatives, we regularly give gifts to people from whom we know won’t be giving gifts to us. And that feels just fine (we even keep on giving gifts to the younger folks even without a thank you note — up to high school age, we figure it’s their parents who should be monitoring that, and if they don’t, well, why punish the kids…).
And sometimes someone gives one of us a gift we didn’t expect — when that happens we don’t think we are suddenly required to reciprocate; grateful thanks for the thoughtfulness is enough, I think.
We definitely want to do something along the lines of this for my parents-in-law, who have moved closer and downsized. The last thing they need is more stuff, unless it is something readily “consumable”.
Ironically my husband and I have hinted quite a few times really what my husband and I would like is simply time off together, even to watch a movie (i.e. a iou “I will watch the kids one evening”) but no dice. If we get a sitter it costs 80-100 and so it is a gift that is most appreciated.
Along the same lines as babysitting for someone with kids, I sometimes give iou’s for chores I know someone hates doing, or a gift certificate where it can be done. For example, this year my siblings and I are combining gifts for my dad to get his two dogs groomed, because they shed like crazy and fight him on getting bathed and brushed. Out of the four kids, none of us are really home at times when the dogs most need grooming (when they shed heavily in the spring). Giving him a way to get them groomed elsewhere also means he won’t have two wet dogs hanging around the house the whole day!
I’ve also given friends “A day of cleaning” and let them pick out what things around the apartment they least like doing. Maybe they don’t mind vacuuming but hate cleaning the bathroom (or vice versa).
Another thought for anti-stuff – donations to a person’s favorite charity, in their name. My husband and I started this several years ago, as our parents have what they need and buy what they want. My mom LOVED it – and has passed on the practice within her circle as well.
After cleaning out 12 years of accumulated stuff in preparation for an interstate move, we vowed to truly focus on experience rather than stuff. Goodwill benefitted, but isn’t it a shame to just keep a bunch of stuff you never use or really needed in the first place?
I also like giving subscriptions: magazine, netflix, game sites, gift of the month clubs… giving something people can enjoy all year long.
My boyfriend and I keep extensive (like 4-5 pages, single-spaced) lists of things that we want as gifts. They are organized into categories – electronics, books, DVDs, movies, clothes, experiences, food, etc.
We give edited versions of these lists to friends and family we know will be buying us presents to ensure we get exactly what we want. When applicable, sizes and URLs for buying the things online are included.
i love your posts, April!
i hate storing stuff that i don’t use, but not all experiences are enjoyable either. i hate going to discos and clubs where people smoke so much but i would appreciate a good book or a building kit (robotics, electronics, models, crafts etc) anytime!
I love the idea of Zoo passes/museum passes. I have both and they are not only good for the locality issued, but because I travel quite a bit, they are good at many locations across the country for either free or discounted admissions. (I can get into Phoenix or columbus zoo for half price with my pass) I can use my Arboretum pass to get in free at the local botanical garden.
since both my kids live out of state I try to buy them things that ship or pack easily, but also give thought to what they want or what they would use.
While I really like the article, I do find it somewhat sad that it needs to be said at all. Isn’t this how people usually give gifts? It’s how my family has always given gifts. I’m confused.
Our exchanges are not solely items like tickets, but the gifts are never “stuff”, they are items that have either been requested/hinted at, or are items that the giver knows the recipient will love and use. It’s only “stuff” if it’s never loved or used.
It’s not a Christmas item, but for my mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day, I clean her ovens. She hasn’t had to do it in years. I do it as a surprise–I live in the same town and do it when she and my dad are at a movie or something, but sometime around those times of year.
These are all great ideas. However, almost all of them are extremely expensive. I very much want to give (and receive) gifts that don’t clutter up the home, but I also don’t want to be spending thousands of dollars on my gift giving.
You mentioned food baskets and movie tickets which are within most people’s budgets. How about something along the lines of a cooking lesson from you instead of a cooking school?
One thing that I have done over the past few years was to a take an $100 restaurant gift certificate that had been a gift, (seriously — it was over the top!) and have the restaurant split it in half, which meant we could give a $50 gift certificate away and still have a dinner out ourselves.
My husband’s family takes the romance out of gift giving, but makes sure that everyone gets exactly what the want/need. Like a new winter coat, power tool or beautiful wool slippers that will last for years. They send each other links for the exact item, size, & color, and that is exactly what they get. They generally keep requests under $100. I don’t love the practice, but it never feels bad to get the books/sweater/shoes you’ve been wanting.
I’ve been trying to make gifts for friends & family — I made beef stock from scratch & froze it, potted bulbs or tomato plants, and this year I want to make dog biscuits for the dog lovers.
I love the idea of giving and experience rather than gifts and I try to do that on birthdays. If I gave everyone an experience gift or gift card to a spa on Xmass my budget would be way over the top. Sometimes it is cheaper to give an actual gift that you know someone will like and won’t inflate the Xmass budget.
One that I haven’t seen mentioned yet: my DH and I usually are able to find some item that we both want and use the money we would have otherwise spent on gifts. One year it was a PVR, another year we combined it with other gift money we had received and bought an iMac, etc. Basically, items which are splurges. Plus, because it’s by agreement, we can wait until after Christmas and take advantage of Boxing Day sales, if appropriate.
This is something I can relate to. I never liked stuff. I just didn’t. Stuff just creates clutter and usually leaves no memories.
I am all about creating experiences. Memorable experiences last forever and add much more to our lives than things.
Gifting an experience is much more memorable. For example, my girlfriend took hot air ballooning for my birthday! It was awesome! I will remember it forever!
I am not saying that gifting useful and thoughtful things is a bad idea, but most people gift things that people don’t need or want.
Let’s us create experiences for our loved ones and let us declutter the world and our minds one experience at a time!
I love the idea of experiences instead of stuff, but please make sure that the person is actually going to be able to enjoy the experience. Years ago, my MIL gave me a certificate to a very expensive spa, that I could use to get a massage or facial, but I never used it. First, it was hard for me to schedule an appointment, because I couldn’t find anybody to watch my children. So, if you’re giving theater or movie tickets to parents, maybe an additional gift could be a babysitting night so the parents can actually go and enjoy the movie.
Also, when I looked up the prices for the spa, it turned out that all the prices were above that amount on the certificate, so I would have ended up having to pay extra to get any of their services. I’m sorry to say that the certificate went unused, because I hate to waste money, but it just didn’t work into my lifestyle.
I thought this post could use more pictures, so I just added a bunch. If I’d thought about it, I would have worked with April to find photos for all of the ideas. I think they’re great!
I agree. Last year we were struggling to figure out what my father-in-law would like for a christmas. What can you give someone who can practically buy anything he wants, anytime he wants.
Then I remembered introducing him to a vocal trio called the Puppini Sisters, and my wife just found out that they were going to be in town early the following year (2009). We bought him 4 tickets so he can bring his wife and two other friends.
What a bonus, because the “two other friends” ended up to be me and my wife because the couple they invited could not come.
Seeing my in-laws having a blast was priceless.
This year I will be giving the gift of a chartered fishing trip… I paid for the charter, and am giving it to my husband, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law, and my father….. it worked out to be the right price for a half-day trip….they can all go together and have the gift of a day spent together on a great boat on Lake Michigan!
These are great tips. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t go anywhere or do anything, so I’m stuck buying ‘stuff.’ I tell my parents to get my husband and I gift certs or something, because our tastes are so different, but they are of the ‘I need to buy things to buy things and have things for you under the tree’ mentality and it has been very hard for me to break out of that mentality as a grownup. I still love buying lots of *things* but only when I know it will have meaning or use for the recipient. We’ll see how this year goes!
Experiences are where it’s at. If I had a foodie friend, instead of putting together a basket I would get a gift card to the local gourmet/chef’s supply emporium and suggest we could go together. Most of us in my city have only a few chances a year to find an afternoon to spend together … sometimes it’s hard just to find an afternoon to spend with DH! Recently we went to a chef’s supply store, had brunch in their cafe, then spent a very entertaining hour browsing and shopping. Not only did we find a couple of tools we’d been looking for (like an oyster knife), we found some gourmet food items that let us carry that experience over.
For the rest of the family we can exchange anything homemade or recycled (thrift store, etc.) or nothing at all….usually there are beeswax candles, wine (winemakers in the family), food, plants, etc.
But this year I am thinking about getting California State Park passes for everyone since we all like to hike and the state needs the funds so they don’t close the parks!
This is a wonderful post full of great ideas for all types of people.
Re theater tickets: we gave each of our daughter’s a night out at a Broadway show (alone with Mom — a treat in itself) and presented it with a wrapped CD of the show music. We have gotten an unbelievable amount of mileage from those tickets — which, granted, were expensive.
By the way — we bought a $20 program at the show as a souvenir, and that was also a great investment. I can’t even count the times they have taken those out and read them and sang to them and talked about the show and showed them to friends and brought them to school.
I’d like to warm people against the alcohol “of the month” clubs. I got my husband a year of the microbrew of the month, and it was a logistical nightmare. In the summer the beer was skunked, in winter it was frozen. There was an “adult signature required” sticker on the box in plain sight, and still Fed Ex would dump it on the porch with no warning. One box went missing, and we’re pretty sure the neighbor kids stole it. We decided it wasn’t worth the legal risk, and will never do it again.
This reminds me of a funny story that happened to us….years ago we had signed up for a quarterly wine club, adult signature required for delivery, yadda yadda.
I love the idea but I am also with the poster (#35) that mentioned the majority of these gifts are very expensive especially when you’re talking about extended family.
So, I’ll take the somewhat opposing view and side with stuff. See, I think “stuff” has a bad name and that’s not fair. Everyone enjoys stuff if you take the time to buy OR MAKE things you know they will appreciate and use.
This does require time and planning though and most people just don’t care about that sort of thing. Really, it shouldn’t be Anti-Stuff it should be Anti-Meaningless/Useless.
Some people mentioned the “romance of gift-giving” and I appreciate that. For instance, I maintain a wish list on Amazon but, and I stress this every time I reluctantly admit I have one to my friends and family, it’s a guide to things I like not the end-all of what exactly to get me. I put a lot of effort into the things I buy my friends and family and always get great feedback on them.
My family started a tradition of a yankee swap for the adults (and the kids still get gifts). We set a price each year $50, and get one gift that most people would enjoy (or we can get a gift for a specific person but they don’t necessarily get to keep it). So we wrap the present and put it in the middle of the room, and draw numbers. Who ever gets number one pick a present from the pile and opens it. From the next person has five minutes to decide if they want to steal the present already opened or pick another present from the pile. This goes on until the last person in the group picks. When someone takes your gift, you get the option to take from someone else or go back to the gift pile. Its a lot of fun, and saves everyone some $$ if there is a large family.
@Kristy (26) – I wholeheartedly agree with your grad student suggestions. Both my partner and I are grad students and we would love something as easy as a coffee gift certificate – whether from a national chain or a local one (all our family lives 2000+ miles from us). Some people might think this was a boring or unthoughful gift, but since we try not to spend too much money on coffee out, but still love to go and do work at coffee shops, it would be perfect. Same with bookstore gift certs – whether for an academic book or something fun – even though this isn’t really an experience gift, though we both do love wandering a bookstore for a while, esp. with the luxury of having a bit of money to spend at the end.
Also, this isn’t exactly an experience gift either, but it kind of is by default of distance – last year my brother and SIL made a calendar featuring photos of their adorable bulldog. My SIL dressed him up in all sorts of seasonal outfits and then created the calendar with those photos – we love it and have it in our kitchen. Since they’re so far away, its fun to have a bit of them with us all year long.
I’m *totally* drinking the Kool-Aid on this concept! My brother and I are trying to slowly change our family’s mindset on physical gift giving.
Last year, we did a gag-gift “white elephant” exchange. Nobody receives anything of material value, but everyone enjoys hours of laughter and great memories of spending time with each other.
One exception to the rule: I have started a tradition of giving calendars with my own photography on it. For me, it allows me to share my joy and passion of photography with others. It’s useful, hand-made, and relatively cheap (~$15/calendar). FedEx Office and Shutterfly are two places that have done a wonderful job on these calendars.
Agree with Stephanie (#52) and Kristy (#26) – coffee is always the perfect gift for a student. A study basket is even better!
What a great post! Some of my extended family members are simply doing a gift card exchange (with $15 gift cards) this year because it’s so hard to buy for people. Then people can go out and get what they want.
And I often do a lot of homemade gifts. They’re useful and inexpensive. Last year our budget was very tight for Christmas, so I made some homemade hot chocolate mix (tons of recipes online) and packed it into nice, decorated mason jars for our friends. It was a hit!
One warning to those considering buying a gift for gardeners: I am a gardener, and sometimes I receive plants as gifts and don’t have a good spot to put them in my yard. If you have an idea of what plants the recipient could actually use, that would help.
I seem to be the odd one out on this, but if someone gave to a charity in my name, I would probably never speak to that person again. I am extremely particular what I support and none of my family knows who they are. Now, if giftgivers know someone is ok with that type of gift, it is a different story. Just don’t assume that a donation will please someone.
uh, ok wolfgirl, i guess you’re really particular. Unless it was a charity to drown kittens (or something equally horrible) i don’t think i’d be so angry at a person for donating in my name, even if you don’t support that charity they at least tried to do a good thing.
I have given both dinner gift certificates (with included babysitting) and massage/spa treatment gift certificates, both went over very well.
As for myself, last year I told everyone that I wanted to take cooking classes, and said that if they didn’t know what to get me, money to go toward the classes would be great. All my siblings and my mother-in-law gave toward the cause, and I don’t think that any of them were affronted that I asked for money. I made sure to gush about the cooking classes in my thank you note, so that they understood that I really appreciated the gift.
I’ve been doing this for years already, even when my children were small.
I’ve given gift cards to local movie theaters for families of employees, with gift cards for soda and popcorn.
I’ve taken my parents out to dinners and shows.
This year, husband and I will see a Broadway show (we live in metro NYC) instead of getting tangible gifts.
But if this is about financial sense, why spend money on something that’s gone in an instant, an hour or a day?
Thanks for the great ideas. My mind is spinning with ideas of how to make this year’s Christmas much more “experience” oriented!
I love these ideas! Both the combination of a fun event or activity in lieu of a gift as well as the “no clutter” idea!!
My favorite family Christmas tradition is Bingo where there’s very little money spent up front, loads of laughs, every single person can participate, and we’re all enjoying time together. Nothing can beat it!
My wife and I needlessly exchanged gifts at Christmas virtually for no other reason than to say we exchanged gifts. The gifts we gave were hardly necessities, probably some of them weren’t even wanted.
We finally came to our senses and realized we could spend all the money in the world on each other and it wouldn’t bring us closer to one another.
Since then, we give each other the gift of time. There is nothing more precious in either one of our lives, so each Christams, we plan dates throughout the year that come hell or high water, we will spend those dates together.
My husband and I haven’t exchanged Christmas gifts in over 5 years. But, we do have a Christmas budget; and use the money that we would have spent on each other to make a very nice donation to our favorite charitable organizations. We still get the joy of giving, plus we know that our gift is needed and appreciated.
Excellent post, and wonderful comments! My siblings and I have a fun tradition. Each of us picks a charity, and the others make a donation to it in our honor. I love it!! My husband and I also give gifts to a child or two from our local giving tree.
Like Cara, I have in-laws who are all about the stuff. They seem to take it personally if I say I don’t want any THINGS. In the interest of family harmony, I’ve decided to drop it.
I’m not good with Christmas gifts because in my family, Christmas was “Ki’s Day”, just like there is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. In other words, parents would give something to their kids, and that’s it (and the kids would give something on Mother’s and Father’s Day).
Since I don’t have children, giving Christmas gift just feels completely weird to me.
Now that I’m married, I let my husband do most of the giving because it still feels awkward and unnatural to me.
Of course, it feels just as weird receiving gifts from people who aren’t my parents (I don’t even receive gifts from my parents anymore since I’m not a kid anymore).
And I have to say I’m not the type to like giving something because it’s the proper time to. When I see something a friend or family would enjoy, I get it for them right away. It could be December, I’m still not going to wait until Christmas to give it to them.
Anyway, I realise my personal experience is different from most. And I do think the gifts you mentionned really are great ieas that people would enjoy more than gifts that were bought because “you gotta buy something”.
I do agree with what someone else said though, that most of these are kinda expensive, and might not be in everyone’s budget (especially if you need to get one for everyone you know).
Great article, some useful alternative ideas.
BTW where did you get the picture of the cat? it’s a spitting image of my moggy, Milo!
For well over a year my husband (I really dislike the term ‘DH’) and kids, along with my sister and her family, have been wanting to take my Mom to a dinner and a Broadway show (she went through treatment for colon cancer). So last year, she wasn’t up to it due to the chemo.
Several other times we tried to get together (sis lives 1 and 1/2 hours north of us and mom lives 1 and 1/2 hours south of us), but since my sister has 2 young kids under 5 (my youngest is 9), she always has a sitter problem; to make matters worse, someone always gets sick at the worst time (flu at Christmas, New Year’s, what have you). My sister’s husband travels a lot and my husband works shift work, so their schedules are often conflicting!
There are also so many other obligations during the holidays like work parties, school concerts, piano recitals, fundraising events, church events and planning, decorating, shopping, cleaning, baking; it’s way too much for one person to have to do in a month or so (our husbands tend to do the bare minimun all year long!).
So many good intentions that never pan out is what frustrates me–not to mention the hundreds of dollars to have to spend for that ‘experience’. This year we decided that we would only give the kids gifts, no adult gifts…we’re old enough to buy for ourselves and are satisfied with just spending a holiday together at last!!!!
Sorry for typo above….’minimum’! Comment editor won’t work for some reason on my computer.
@Ian–That’s my cat, Mia, in the photo. She likes to “help” with gift wrapping.
The best give I ever gave involved box and bows … and nothing else.
My mother was always putting things “someplace special” and then forgetting where the special place was. One year I was desparate for a gift and out of ideas. The lightbulb went off. I wrapped the biggest box I could find, in the fanciest manner I could manage, and labeled it “Someplace Special.” She used it for 15 years before it finally disintegrated. I don’t usually get that lucky with ideas, though.
My family has a tradition of sometimes giving money. The recipient is to use the gift for something special – no paying the electric bill – and then telling the giver all about the special thing. One year my special thing was a 3 day group lecture-and-tour of a historic battlefield. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy it, I now understand US history better.
Great post April! I have been on the receiving side of this idea many times and I can tell you that it means a lot more to me and I usually get a lot more out of it.
Adopted Zoo Animal — I was a llama mama!
Wine Club Membership — This one was awesome!
Safari Trip for 2 at Safari West — Perhaps my favorite!
An idea that is always nice and from the heart is making a donation to an organization that is meaningful to that person on their behalf. One year for Christmas I adopted animals for all of my friends through the World Wildlife Fund and another year we purchased animals through Heifer International and gave that to all of our long distance family members.
Perhaps the best experience I ever gave was surprising my mother with a trip to Disneyland. She was 57 the first time she ever stepped foot in a Disney park, and even though it rained on us most of the time, we had a blast and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole day!
A lot of the above options are extremely expensive! We tend to get consumables for family, and our kids since those gifts are sure to get used.
We do like to teach our kids about giving, so we chose to start a new tradition where everyone buys a gift for each member of the immediate family. This year they are saving their allowances to purchase gifts. It’s wonderful to see them choose something so thoughtfully for each other.
I like to give a receive consumables like food, craft items for the kids, etc. or memberships since we can use those again and again.
We also shop for a child or family in need each year.
The gift I really want? To be debt-free, but I think it may take until next Christmas to get there.
This year all the adults in the family are receiving brandied pears and amarreto pears, canned this summer. Previous experience tells me they will be appreciated. Two days out of the summer for canning and I’m done with most of my list.
I have been scanning old photos (you know, before digital camaras?). I also have very old family photos. When I am done scanning, I am planning on making (or having made) photo albums for the rest of my family. Before digital, pictures weren’t shared quite as much. They will enjoy having pictures of when we were kids, or their own children, or of their great grandparents.
As someone who just graduated from college, I have to agree with the coffee, consumables gifts for students.
Gardeners appreciate gift certificates too! We don’t always have a use for plants, seeds, etc. If your buying tools make sure they are good quality and not something they already have,or they will turn into “stuff.” We used to buy my grandmother GCs to her favorite nursery. They were her favorite gifts! Every year she turned them into flowers for her garden. At past 80 she had all the stuff she needed, but had to watch her budget. It helped her to afford what she still loved.
I am most definitely anti-stuff, because I hate clutter.
The experience and memory is worth a lot more than STUFF to me..
The charity donation idea …I swear some people use it passive-aggressively. My old coworker loved to tell about how her in-laws made a donation in her name to a conservative Christian organization, when they knew perfectly well she was an atheist.
I once gave my (now ex-) husband a balloon ride. That was a hoot! Later I gave him a ride in a glider, which he also seemed to enjoy.
When asked what he wanted for Christmas, he would invariably say “money.” Grr! So, one Christmas I took my paycheck to the bank, had it cashed out in one-dollar bills, packed it into a box, and wrapped it as his present.
That was the last time he asked for money. Then he started asking for real estate.
This is an excellent post! I plan on sharing it with all of the people who absolutely insist on buying gifts for me, as I do not enjoy seeing them struggling to buy the ‘perfect gift’ when the holiday seasons roll around (especially since my birthday is within two weeks of the holidays). Anti-stuff gifts are definitely the best, as an experience with all its memories attached can be treasured for a lifetime as opposed to Stuff, which could be lost, broken, or used up.
I really like this idea. Being a big fan of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I’d love to have a private lesson with one of the local black belts in my area.
While I love the ideas of giving gifts of experiences like tickets to the zoo, theater, etc. what do you do if you live so far away from these things that they aren’t practical? I live in a smaller town where these sort of attractions just aren’t available anywhere close. I also have three stepdaughters (19,20 and 27) that are all about things and “stuff” and would most likely not really appreciate gift certificates or food gifts. My husband and I have about decided just to give them cash, but once you put some cash in a box and stick it under the tree it just feels really impersonal.
My girlfriend and I recently did a glass blowing workshop. It was awesome.
This is another string to the bow. It won’t suit everyone, but it’ll suit others better than the usual alternatives.
I can’t afford to buy for a lot of people at once, so I make a point of not giving christmas gifts to many people. They will get enough stuff at christmas to drown in, without my contribution. I do place importance on birthdays, especially the ones near christmas, which get submerged.
However, I take my nieces to the pantomime every year. They’re talking about it for weeks, sometimes months afterwards, and it’s the kind of treat their harassed parents don’t have freedom to give them. Nothing I could afford to buy would make that big an impression on them.
Sometimes it goes wrong, though: I once bought entrance tickets (wedding present) to an attraction I knew the recipients would really enjoy. Weeks after the tickets expired, I got a polite thank you for the tickets to the recycling centre. It could have been worse: they could have mistaken it for a sewage farm. | 2019-04-24T08:58:17Z | https://www.getrichslowly.org/anti-stuff-holiday-gift-guide/ |
From the 24-27 September, thousands descended upon the Birmingham NEC for EGX, the UK’s biggest ever video games event. Lots of the most anticipated new AAA games were available to play on hundreds of screens such as: Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Star Wars Battlefront, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Just Cause 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Star Fox Zero and the new Tom Clancy titles to name a few. EGX also features a lot of indie games in the Rezzed section, with the indie leftfield collection backing onto it. We also welcomed the Indie Megabooth to the ever expanding world of indie games. There were lots of chances to try out various VR headsets and games, as well as a variety of panel talks from developers and gamers across the four days.
I was particularly interested to play Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate since Austin Wintory was recently revealed as the composer for this title. It was also really exciting to get to play as the new character Evie Frye in the demo mission that had us climbing buildings in the streets of London and staging a kidnapping to get close to our target. One or two violins accompanied our journey, just setting the scene in a subtle way, while we took our first steps into industrial London. The new Assassin’s Creed is set to be released on October 23rd.
After picking up my limited edition Assassin’s Creed t-shirt from Insert Coin Clothing (yes I’m a fan girl!), I headed over to the developers sessions to see Mike Bithell give a Q&A (Sunday) since his recent success with Volume and his previously well known game Thomas Was Alone. It was definitely an interesting talk that touched on the importance of “riding the waves” of the current trends in indie games as well as the rapid advances in the industry keeping indie game developers on their toes. Bithell was quick to discredit his own advice as “out of date”, urging those looking for advice to seek newer successes. Although honestly, is anybody really going to share their own secret to success?
Since indies are my passion and fascination, I did spend alot of time around the EGX: Rezzed section. The indie game sector has grown this year at EGX, with the main EGX: Rezzed Booth, the Leftfield Collection (sponsored by SEGA) and the addition of the Indie Games Megabooth all available to indie exhibitors. There’s alot of cool games here, but I want to mention a few that caught my attention.
er people, we managed to get through the demo levels by saving each other and conquering this music driven game. I had a quick chat with one of the developers who told me the game was completely designed around the music. They took a track they liked, got permission to use it and created the level completely based on the track; all artwork, mechanics etc. It’s a really cool, innovative way to approach a games level design, definitely check them out!
e music as a game mechanic to alter the environment and is very effective once you get a hang of the movement/tumble controls. Another one to watch for the future!
Memory of a Broken Dimension is the last game I want to mention just as I was very intrigued by it simply because I had no clue what was going on. It features a monochrome world where the world is constantly flowing made up of thousands of granulated pixels. When you hold still for long enough the world starts to form solid shapes and you can just about make out the walls, floors and pipes that make up your surroundings. It was very much like looking into the “Matrix” for me and the dark ambience created by drones in the soundtrack reinforced this strange, surreal experience. It seems to be an exploration based game that gives you no instructions other than some vague emails to open on the menu screen. It will be curious to see what this game is about and how we’ve ended up in this weird place!
With EGX: Rezzed set for March next year it might be a while before we see some progress on these in-development indie’s but hopefully it will herald a return and progress! That’s it for this year, if you’re feeling the post-EGX blues, tweet us at @SoundDesignUK and tell us your EGX highlights or games that caught your eye!
Sam Hughes also caught up with Andrew Bennison and Matt Griffin of Prospect Games, to chat about their game, UNBOX!
MG: Thanks for having us.
Let’s dive straight in, how did the process begin when you were starting to prep the audio for Unbox?
MG: Well I started with a Foley session and a cardboard box. I managed to get into a recording studio, SSR, which is near our studio, and started throwing the box at the floor while pointing a mic at it. It’s pretty much as simple as that! I knew we were going to need a lot of box impacts because the whole game is a tumbling cardboard box. Yeah I spent 6 hours or so just throwing a cardboard box at various surfaces, and seeing how it sounded. It’s actually quite dull at first, you need to mess around with mic placements. I thought Little Big Planet did a great job of it on the first two games. Kenny Young did a really good job on that, making something quite dull sound quite lively and interesting. So yeah that was my first port of call.
How did you make it sound fun and interesting after realizing it was kind of a dull sound?
MG: Well a combination of all the sounds. We’ve talked endlessly about the box movement, audio and the mechanics of that, we were originally going to build this whole system, for making it sound much more dynamic, the flat surface of the box hits a surface and it would create a different noise on a corner. We actually created something a lot more simplistic, but really it’s the fact that the box movement is the core of the noise around everything else. When it’s hitting different surfaces you get different noises and there’s always music and explosions going off anyway.
AB: We’ve always talked about creating sounds that are realistic, but not boring, realistic. It’s got to be exciting, sort of comical but also grounded. But until you came on board, it was pretty much a mass of copyright infringements, pulling audio from anywhere, always putting it off, like oh we’ll find someone, somebody will replace it. Finally Matt came in and pointed out that you can’t just take other peoples audio, which we obviously weren’t going to use!
MG: That’s what I love about this industry, it’s amazing, the in depth, long talks you can have about the sound of a cardboard box.
AB: We’ve discussed it for hours, prototyping. We were going to have something inside the box at one point, we were going to have it holding some rubbish and then it didn’t communicate very well to the player so we just kind of stuck with the impacts and then we had the different surfaces system in place now. A lot more connected to the box as the player.
In terms of the audio system, is there anything particularly interesting you’ve done with Unboxed that you haven’t done with another project?
MG: gain, it would be the box. I can’t think of another game where you play as a cardboard box. There’s a lot of physicsy stuff in there, so, using a lot of parameters within Fmod to trigger different sounds. A light, medium and heavy impact for each object, and then the pitch and volume automated depending on the velocity of the object hitting the ground. There’s a lot of stuff you can bang into it, I’ve got an awful lot of work to do still.
AB: It’s early days, it really is a case of visually it’s very visceral, with all the explosions and bouncing into surfaces and falling off huge cliffs and towers, the audio really needs to match that. A lot of people are using Fmod in games, but in Unreal 4 we seem to be one of the main independent teams using Fmod.
It always seems to be Wwise with Unreal and Fmod with Unity. Have you found any reason why that might be?
MG: No I mean we have a couple of problems but the guys at FMOD have been really good, especially considering they’re in Australia. It’s quite hard to communicate with someone on the other side of the planet.
AB: I think it’s also because Unreal is relatively young.
MG: FMOD has only been doing support for that engine, integration wise, since, November, so there’s still a couple of teething problems and we’ve got over all those now. I really enjoy using the programme, I think it’s awesome, incredibly powerful, and limitless what you can do.
AB: GX has also been our first showcase for the audio side of things, along with the new worlds and levels, we’ve got a lot of good responses of people saying it sounds great, putting the headphones on.
MG: It was breaking my heart. I was putting lots of last minute tweaks on the audio, and people leaving the headphones off. We’re always an afterthought aren’t we? Like when people play mobile games and leave the volume off.
As Captain of the ship Andrew, it sounds like you’ve had audio in the back of your mind for quite a while from the start. That’s good for someone of that level to be thinking about audio in advance.
AB: I didn’t want to leave anything to the last minute. I’ve worked on a lot of games before. We actually worked on a Left 4 Dead mod back in the day. So with that, we already had the underlying principles of the game made, it meant audio was a lot sooner, we started making custom tracks and started doing voice acting. I realized we were going to end up in a situation with an independent team, with small budget, small time scales and if we don’t start working on, not just the music, but more importantly, the sound effects, earlier on; then it’s going to be this mad dash and sound horrible. So because of all that I knew I needed to get Matt on board as soon as possible really and start getting stuff figured out.
It’s good that you knew that, a lot of indie developers find that out later. When you go, right, now audio, it becomes a bit of a race, it’s good you’ve had him on from the beginning. So you’re doing the music too?
MG: Yeah, yeah. It’s a lot of work. It’s the first title I’ve managed to do a full composition for. Again with FMOD, I’m trying to make it as interactive as possible, even with really old games like Banjo Kazooie, you still have that interactivity like when you move area and the instruments switch, it wouldn’t miss a beat but completely change the feel of the area you’re in. We’re trying to reflect that as much as possible. It’s a bit difficult with digital audio. That would mean having a lot of tracks going off at once. We’re trying to make it interactive, give the player feedback, really enjoying doing the music. The relationship between the sound design and the music, leaving holes in the EQ, it helps a lot, me doing it all.
We can tell a lot has changed since we saw you earlier at Rezzed this year. When is the target release date?
AB: We’re aiming for PC release in May 2016. Beyond that, a lot of people say it’s a couch based game. Nothing’s confirmed yet, but we’d love to see it on Xbox and PlayStation. We’ve got to take it one step at a time; we’re an indie team with a small budget, not trying to go beyond our remit.
AB: Exactly, it’s a long tailed game. We’ve got to make sure Unbox is in everyone’s minds for years, being able to stagger those releases will help that.
The best lesson you can learn, is patience, people have got to remember, it’s the long game you’re playing, not just “quick make a game, throw it out there”.
AB: A bad game will be easily forgotten, if you delay a game, people will always remember it.
MG: That definitely applies to the audio too, I was keen to get started but until we had the worlds, and the levels made, if you don’t have a world or storyboard you can’t start making the music for it. So we tried out different musical variations, the music has changed quite a lot since the start, it was a lot more Jazz orientated.
AB: We’ve realized the difficulties of getting that to work, now it’s taking more of a tropical, steel drums, calypso vibe. That really came about from patience and taking our time with it.
MG: Doing 10 drafts of a track where you finally agree.
AB: Yeah there was a lot of me like Nahhh, it doesn’t feel right haha.
There’s also the multiplayer feature too, how’s that been?
MG: Multiplayer is a different beast to single player. It’s about trying to help the player make sense of the chaos; there’s constant fireworks and explosions. It’s about trying to use ducking points in the mix tell them what they’ve been hit by, when they need to get out of the way. Multiplayer is a totally different animal.
AB: I think we struggled with that for longest, because we were used to audio that was tied to the HUD, and it doesn’t quite work with split screen. If an audio notifier isn’t specifically tied to a visual, no one knows who that noise is directed for. We also had fun with multiple listeners, we spent quite a while with only one audio listener so player one could hear all this amazing audio. It was figuring out the setting in Unreal and FMOD, teething problems, then we started to figure out the more we played, the more split screen should be balanced. There’s not that many points of reference, for the last few years, most are online.
MG: Yeah it was a good excuse to get some older multiplayer games out.
Awesome well all the best and thanks again Matt and Andrew!
We hope you enjoyed the event check out others in our Events section :). Don’t forget to sign up to our Monthly Newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on our events and interviews. | 2019-04-20T06:27:42Z | https://www.thesoundarchitect.co.uk/egx-2015/ |
1. KARL MARX WAS RIGHT. Although he claimed not to believe in God‚ he confessed in his "Design of History" to what he called the principle of History: A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND HISTORY WHICH REVEALED A PLAN FOR MAN; this Dialectics of Materialism, swinging to one way then the other, but always coming back to the middle and getting closer to the goal!
2. But if you confess to that‚ as logical thinkers you must realise that THERE HAD TO BE A DESIGN AND A PLANNER BEHIND THE PLAN. This driving Force then must be an omnipotent Power, A GOD BEHIND HISTORY, Who must have given a Plan and a Goal to History, and man is being driven to his ultimate goal whether he likes it or not!
7. Therefore, since these background chapters are really all rather self–explanatory, we will give only a small commentary on each one to help prepare you for the astounding prophecy of the future which begins to unfold in chapter 6 as THE FOUR HORSEMEN THUNDER FORTH AND THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK OF THE FUTURE IS OPENED!
9. SO DOMITIAN, EMPEROR OF ROME AT THAT TIME, FIGURED, "WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A GUY LIKE THIS? We can't kill him‚ so we'll just stick him some place where he can't do much damage, can't preach or witness to anybody, and where he won't accomplish too much!"
11. PATMOS WAS A 10–MILE LONG ROCKY ISLAND off the southwest coast of Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea, which adjoins the Mediterranean. It was big and inhabitable enough to have a little town on it‚ and of course the island is still there today.
17. The awesome appearance of this supernatural being so astonished John that he "fell at his feet as dead." But the Man said, "Fear not.... I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore‚ Amen; and have the keys of Hell and of Death." (vs.17,18) THIS, OF COURSE, COULD ONLY HAVE BEEN JESUS IN HIS HEAVENLY APPEARANCE.
18. Many of the terms used here to describe Jesus may be very literal—for instance, "His face like the sun." This literally happened to Him on earth when He was transfigured on the mount where Elijah and Moses appeared to Him (Luke chapter 9). So, ALTHOUGH SOME OF THESE ARE DEFINITELY SYMBOLIC, THEY NEVERTHELESS REPRESENT REALITY—reality which is even greater than the limited symbols used here to describe Him.
19. For instance, THE SWORD GOING OUT OF HIS MOUTH IS SYMBOLIC OF THE "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD." (Ep.6:17) But this spiritual sword is so powerful that with it He shall literally slay millions of the wicked at His Second Coming: "by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh.
And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other." (Is.66:16; Jer.25:33) It's symbolic, but very, very real!
20. THE SEVEN STARS AND CANDLE–STICKS ARE ALSO SYMBOLIC. The 20th verse of this same chapter says. "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."
23. THE GENERAL PATTERN FOR THE BOOK OF REVELATION IS A PROGRESSIVE PREVIEW OF HISTORY "from the things which are," or were in John's Day, to the "things which shall be hereafter." However‚ frequently, sometimes even in the middle of chapter, the Revelation goes back into the past to give some background into whatever subject it's dealing with before showing you their future and how they wind up.
24. CHAPTER ONE IS DEFINITELY PART OF THE "THINGS WHICH ARE" IN JOHN'S DAY and it is an introduction to the vision itself. It introduces Jesus, Who is giving the Revelation through His angel, and John who is writing it. It also shows us that it is going to be about the past, present (of John's day)‚ and the future.
25. In verses 4 and 11 of chapter one‚ John named seven churches (groups of believers‚ not buildings) which were in seven Asian cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira‚ Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodecia. ALL OF THESE WERE NAMES OF EXPLICIT, DEFINITE CITIES OF ASIA MINOR, today known as Turkey. They were all within close distance of each other and only a short distance from the isle of Patmos.
27. The letters reveal churches in different levels of obedience and/or apostasy, and give rebukes, guidance and promises from the Lord to each one. THOUGH WRITTEN TO LITERAL CHURCHES IN ASIA, WE CAN READ THE LETTERS TODAY AS WARNINGS‚ ADVICE AND COUNSEL regarding any situation existing in our selves or in our church and take it to heart.
29. In this sense then, even though these churches were in Asia in John's day and are part of "the things which are," or were in 90 A.D., they typify all the churches which shall come "hereafter." THE PROMISES TO THESE CHURCHES HAVE HAD MANY FULFILMENTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY AND ARE NOW HAVING ULTIMATE FULFILMENTS IN THIS‚ THE LAST GENERATION.
32. Of the seven churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia are without reproof. Sardis and Laodicea have nothing good said of them except that Sardis had a "few" undefiled believers left. Ephesus, Pergamos and Thyatira are part bad, part good. THE TWO GOOD CHURCHES‚ SMYRNA AND PHILADELPHIA WERE COMPOSED OF WILDLY WILLING WORKERS AND WERE FACING PERSECUTION FROM THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN, the false worship system of that day—and today!
33. THE TWO VERY BAD CHURCHES GREATLY RESEMBLE THE VAST MAJORITY OF SO-CALLED CHRISTIANS TODAY: materially rich and living it up with good times, but spiritually poor and dead—Sardis, whom the Lord "will come on as a thief," and Laodicea, whom the Lord will "spue out of His mouth."
34. THE REMAINING THREE WERE FAITHFUL IN CERTAIN RESPECTS but Jesus said‚ "I have a few things against thee." In Ephesus they were losing their first love for the Lord. In Pergamos they were tolerating false teachers and idolatry. In Thyatira they were swallowing the lies of the false prophetess Jezebel who was teaching that fornication with idols or worshipping Mammon and the System were acceptable.
35. READ THEM ALL AND SEE WHERE YOU FIT!
36. "After this I (John) looked, and BEHOLD, A DOOR WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said‚ Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." In chapter 1 we found out that Jesus had a voice "as a trumpet" (1:10), so this is Jesus talking to John.
37. Now‚ SOME FALSE PROPHETS HAVE ACTUALLY MISINTERPRETED THIS VERSE AS THE RESURRECTION AND RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH BUT IT ISN'T. It is Jesus telling John to come up so that He can show him the things which must be "hereafter." So far the Revelation has dealt only with "the things which are," or were in John's day; but now Jesus tells John He's going to show him the future.
39. Jesus just called John and "immediately." He said, "I WAS IN THE SPIRIT AND BEHOLD, A THRONE WAS SET IN HEAVEN, AND ONE SAT ON THE THRONE" (4:2), the throne of the Lord God Almighty—His central Headquarters.
42. But John did see something there that we can understand, and it's in the Fifth Chapter. "I SAW IN THE RIGHT HAND OF HIM THAT SAT ON THE THRONE A BOOK WRITTEN WITHIN AND ON THE BACKSIDE, SEALED WITH SEVEN SEALS. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood A LAMB as it had been slain.
46. "All things that the Father hath are Mine," Jesus said (including this book of the future)," therefore said I, that He (the Spirit) shall take of mine‚ and shall shew it unto you," John had recorded that saying of the Lord many years earlier in his gospel (chapter 16 verse 15), and now years later, through the communication of God's eternal Spirit, JESUS IS ABOUT TO SHOW HIS BELOVED APOSTLE THE ENTIRE FUTURE OF THE WORLD!
49. THIS IS THE FIRST OF THE FAMOUS FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE who ride forth here in chapter six. "Apocalypse" is simply another name for Revelation, but it means the same thing- `to uncover.’ God uses these four horsemen to "uncover" His own viewpoints on religion, war and economics.
50. The main reason why this and every chapter in Revelation that deals with the System is draped in such heavy symbolism is because GOD'S VIEWS ARE SO EXTREMELY ANTI-SYSTEM THAT IF THE ENEMIES OF THE TRUTH HAD EVER BEEN ABLE TO PROVE WHAT THIS WAS ACTUALLY SAYING, THEY WOULD HAVE BURNED EVERY COPY LONG AGO. But since the game is almost over and the End is at hand, God is letting the cat out of the bag and giving the world the whole truth and letting the chips fall where they may—so we hope you can take it.
53. 2nd Seal—"And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say‚ Come and see. And THERE WENT OUT ANOTHER HORSE THAT WAS RED: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." (vs.3‚4) Well, who does this sound like? What takes "peace from the earth"?—WAR! THIS RED HORSE SYMBOLIZES WAR, the military and their war machines.
54. THE HORSE'S COLOUR IS VERY APPROPRIATE, REPRESENTING ALL THE BLOOD SHED IN MAN'S HELLISH WARS—wars for which God is not responsible, but which come from the pride, prejudices and avarice of man's own greedy heart. "From whence come wars and fightings among you?" James asks‚ "Come they not hence‚ even of your lusts." (Jam.4:11) The "great sword" given to him certainly symbolizes the great "improvements" in war machines and the greater frequency and greater extent of wars since the prophecy was given.
58. When God originally made the world, before anybody was rich or poor, everybody had about the same amount of land and food and things with which to build their houses, beasts to plow and carry burdens, etc. What happened then‚ was that A FEW BEGAN LEARNING A LOT OF EVIL THINGS CALLED MAN'S "WISDOM" and they began tricking, robbing, lying to and killing others so that they could get more than their share. The people who began doing this became known as the rich and powerful. These are the big multi-millionaire manufacturing merchants and money manipulators, or ruling classes of the world today.
66. The devil's power over the kingdoms of this world and his relationship with its rulers are so close that REVELATION PICTURES SATAN AND HIS KINGS AS ALMOST IDENTICAL TWINS. The devil is presented as a "dragon‚ having seven heads and ten horns" (Rev.12:3,9), and the government as "a beast...having seven heads and ten horns" (Rev.13:1; Dan.7:17).
67. And you may find this shocking, but GOD WOULD RATHER EVEN HAVE COMMUNISM, OR ROME‚ OR GREECE, OR BABYLON OR ANY KIND OF ANTI—GOD, ANTI-CHRIST, DEVIL–INSPIRED PAGAN GOVERNMENT RULE THAN HAVE NO GOVERNMENT AT ALL! Because when there is no government, then absolute iniquity and absolute horror of sin reigns rampant like in the days of Noah. So there has to be some government to keep law and order and to keep iniquity somewhat in check. Since they won't have God's government, then He has to give them the Devil's government. So we have had the beast and dragon working together and ruling the world from Egypt till today!
69. THIS PALE HORSE OF THE FOURTH SEAL, THEN, REPRESENTS THE DEVIL'S RULE IN THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD. He designs them, man builds them, and their end is death and Hell—total destruction both now and forever!
72. THESE MARTYRS, THOUGH, ARE ACTUALLY GOD'S EXCEPTIONS, JUST EXAMPLES OF THE DEDICATION OF HIS WITNESSES. The majority of God's Children have usually lived to help carry on the work. But even they too must "die daily" as Paul said, because serving Jesus really kills your pride, your self, your selfishness, your egotism‚ and may even cause some considerable physical sacrifice and strain. So really, all of God's true Children are slain for their testimony.
74. 6th Seal—"AND I BEHELD WHEN HE HAD OPENED THE SIXTH SEAL, AND, LO‚ THERE WAS A GREAT EARTHQUAKE; and the Sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the Moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven (or meteors) fell unto the earth...And the heaven departed as a scroll...and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
76. Here we have the ultimate goal of 6,000 years of history: THE GLORIOUS SECOND COMING OF THE LAMB OF GOD‚ JESUS CHRIST (Jn.1:29) to mete out His violent wrath upon the wicked and rescue the saints of all ages by the miracle of the resurrection and rapture.
80. What we have actually seen, then, under these six seals is a panorama of history from John's day up to the very end. Then, AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, THE WHITE HORSE AND THE RESURRECTED MARTYRS EMERGE AS VICTORS OVER THE OTHER THREE HORSEMEN: the kings (pale horse)‚ the rich men (black horse), and the captains (red horse). This is also presented in more detail in Rev.16 and 19.
84. Jesus predicted in His famous Endtime discourse of Mt.24 that THERE WOULD BE AN INCREASE IN WAR, FAMINE, PESTILENCE AND EARTHQUAKES, LEADING EVENTUALLY TO "AFFLICTION, SUCH AS WAS NOT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION," and that these calamities would get so bad that "except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's (or Christians') sake‚ whom He (God) hath chosen, He hath shortened those days." (Mt.24:7,21,22; Mk.13:19‚20) In other words, Jesus was saying that one day man would reach such an impasse that letting him continue unchecked would result in the destruction of everyone on Earth. However, WHEN MAN FINALLY REACHES THAT SUICIDAL POINT, HE SAID GOD WOULD SHORTEN THE DAYS, which in the Greek literally means to stop the days, or stop those days of man's suicidal attempts to destroy the Earth. And the way God will stop it, Jesus said, was by His own Second Coming to punish the evil doers, take over the world, and rule it the way God wants.
85. ONLY WITHIN THE LAST THIRTY YEARS HAS THE HUMAN RACE DEVELOPED THE POTENTIAL TO DESTROY ITSELF. The military (Red Horse) have their nuclear bombs, satellites and intercontinental missiles. It fact, they right now have enough atomic bombs to over kill the earth's entire population several times. The rich (Black Horse) in their pursuit of the almighty dollar are finally succeeding in polluting the entire earth—a by–product of twentieth century technology! The rich (especially the U.S.) have been responsible for starting this century's great wars, and their hoarding and wasting of their riches is threatening another one! And it is their unchecked greed which will be responsible for the worldwide famine that even the scientists are predicting will occur by the late 1980's!
86. Meanwhile governments (Pale Horse) have become bestial monsters destroying whole nations in their pursuit of power, and martyring whole nationalities‚ races and creeds who don't agree with them or their devilish policies!—Yes, TODAY MAN HAS ALMOST FINALLY REACHED THAT HORRIBLE TIME WHICH JESUS SAID WOULD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDE HIS SECOND COMING. However‚ the worst is not here yet. So don't worry, the coming of Christ isn't going to happen any minute—Ha! HE IS COMING SOON, BUT HE IS NOT COMING BEFORE ALL THE SIGNS ARE FULFILLED WHICH HAVE TO PRECEDE HIS COMING.
87. As the Apostle Paul said, "Now we beseech you, brethren‚ by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together (Resurrection and Rapture) unto Him." (Notice he said "the coming," showing there is only one coming to rapture the Church, not two.) "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word nor by letter as from us (nor, we might add, from some churchy false prophets of today) as that the day of Christ is at hand!" (2Th.2:1,2) in other words, DON'T LET ANYBODY DECEIVE YOU INTO BELIEVING THAT THE DAY OF CHRIST OR THE SECOND COMING AND RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME BECAUSE IT IS NOT "AT HAND!"
The falling away, which in the Greek means "apostasy' or departing from the faith. This has been happening throughout all church history, but in these last days it will become, and is becoming, greater.
The "man of sin" has to be revealed. This is the man commonly referred to throughout Bible prophecy as the ANTICHRIST; THE ENDTIME WORLD DICTATOR.
91. During the first 3 1/2 years, he will allow them to have their religious freedom. BUT IN THE "MIDST OF THE WEEK," AFTER 3 1/2 YEARS, HE WILL BREAK THE COVENANT, causing their religious freedom to cease and setting up an "abomination of desolation"—an idol or image of himself—and demanding all to worship it or be killed.
93. When will you see it?—In the midst of the week, or seven years, Dan.9:27! THIS GREAT TRIBULATION, THEREFORE, WILL BEGIN IN THE "MIDST OF THE WEEK" and will continue throughout the remaining 3 1/2 years of the "seven year" covenant!—"Until the consummation (or completion of the seven years), and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
95. All that to say this: THERE ARE SOME DEFINITE SPECIFIC EVENTS THAT HAVE TO TAKE PLACE BEFORE CHRIST CAN COME BACK. There is this seven-year Covenant, for one, and the Abomination of Desolation resulting in 3 1/2 years of Great Tribulation of the Church‚ for another. There is the Antichrist world dictator who must yet arise to place this Abomination, which means we need a world government, which means we've got another World War yet to go!
96. ALL OF THESE EVENTS MUST HAPPEN BEFORE THE EVENTS DESCRIBED UNDER THE SIXTH SEAL, THE WRATH AND SECOND COMING, CAN OCCUR. Since these first six seals present the whole span of history from the Ascension to the Second Coming, they are in a sense like God taking a camera and doing a real quick "pan" of history from the beginning to the very end‚ just like they often do in movies to give the setting for the story they are about to tell us.
97. THEN WITH THE SEVENTH SEAL, WHICH OPENS IN THE EIGHT CHAPTER, GOD TAKES HIS CAMERA AND ZOOMS IN FOR A CLOSE-UP of the last few years of this period, the central theme of the Revelation containing the story of the Great Tribulation‚ the Second Coming, and the ushering in of Christ's Millennial Kingdom on earth.
98. CHAPTER SIX, THEN, IS A TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS yet to be uncovered in the remainder of the Revelation‚ presented as a brief summary of history from the Ascension to the Second Coming of Christ!
100. "And after these things I (John) saw four angels...holding the four winds of the earth.
And THERE WERE SEALED AN HUNDRED AND FORTY AND FOUR THOUSAND OF ALL THE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL."(vs.1-4) Verses 5-8 list the names of the twelve tribes of Israel‚ 12,000 from each tribe being sealed.
101. THESE 144,000 WHICH RECEIVE THE SEAL OF GOD ARE NOT PHYSICAL ISRAEL. THEY ARE THE TRUE SPIRITUAL ISRAEL. As the Apostle Paul said, "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel.
which came out of Great Tribulation." (vs.9–14)—And in the original that means the Great Tribulation, the one that precedes the Second Coming of Christ!
105. THE DEVIL, WHO IS THE GREAT COUNTERFEITER, IS GOING TO BE OUT SEALING HIS CHILDREN TOO at this time, putting a mark in their right hand or forehead, which is the famous MARK OF THE BEAST (the Antichrist dictator and his government)—666. (Rev.13:15) And all those who refuse to bow down to him will be killed.
108. WHOSE BRAND ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE? WILL YOU DIE FOR THE TRUTH AND LIVE FOREVER? Or will you live for the lie and die forever? If you don't drop out and serve Jesus now, tomorrow may be too late! | 2019-04-20T06:13:17Z | https://pubs.xfamily.org/text.php?t=398 |
Η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή έχει δεσμεύσει 90 εκατ. για να επενδύσει στην καινοτομία τους επόμενους 12 μήνες. Ένα νέο εργαλείο που βοηθά γιατρούς να επικοινωνούν με ασθενείς που δεν ανταποκρίνονται, ένας ελεγκτής άρδευσης που βασίζεται σε cloud και βελτιώνει την αποδοτικότητα του νερού σε φάρμες κατά 30%, μια ηλεκτρονική μύτη που θα προσδιορίζει την φρεσκάδα του φαγητού σας, είναι μερικές από τις 30 τεχνολογικές επιχειρήσεις και startups που θα λάβουν χρηματοδότηση από την Ε.Ε.
GEOAPPS will reduce the time (from 1-2 days to 1 hour) and the cost (from 720€ to 75€) needed for geotechnical engineers to take measures in field work, to process them and report to the client.
0patch is an innovative global platform for transforming security knowledge into concrete and immediate solution. It changes the game by channeling the knowledge of security researchers (who so far could only write or speak about vulnerabilities) into directly solving the problem: creating fixes for bugs, and getting paid for that by end users.
The project will support commercialisation of disruptive high-speed communication protocols. TORUS has 3 products in the market (Java Fast Sockets, Universal Fast Sockets and FastMPJ) which are up to 40 times faster than TCP/IP. These products reduce significantly the time-to-results of critical software, providing significant competitive advantages in multiple sectors, particularly for financial services, real time Big Data analytics (with multiple applications, such as real time online advertising), biotech (supporting DNA processing in hours, instead of weeks), and defense/space (FastMPJ has reduced up to 94% the time to distribute satellite images of ESA’s Gaia Mission).
The concept is based on optical injection locking (OIL) and allows directly modulated lasers to be used to encode data. Coherent 100G transmission will migrate to shorter reach and wider usage in metropolitan networks (60-800km range) and in enterprise and access at shorter distances.
Pastguide is an app that will read tourists’ user location and will run a 3D scene with events and people who lived in the location in the past. Scenes will match what user sees behind the tablet at this location. Gamified tasks will provide additional learning value.
BitBrain has developed a neurotechnology solution able to measure emotions fully adapted to the market research sector This solution has 3 main innovations: (i) two new measurement devices adapted to the market research sector; (ii) encapsulation and integration within the technology of all neuroscience knowledge on design-execution of experiments and on elaborated data analysis, in a completely transparent manner for the user; and (iii) presentation of results in a comprehensible language for the market researcher and the client..
A new form of Non-destructive Techniques (NDT), based on Near Infrared (NIR) inline inspection and detection of defects within products in production lines. This has been validated for non-metallic engineering materials and is capable of providing a rapid, more informative and cost-effective NDT solution for composite manufacturers and end users.
The SignSigma technology allows verifying a person’s identity from the dynamic parameters of their biometric signature with an extremely very low error ratio, using a common tablet or smartphone.
Alterix offers a new generation of interactive whiteboards that will support multi-touch finger input (current touch sensing solutions, while adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a large display, are striving to meet the technical specification for multi-touch interfaces).
IMoHEALTH project will develop a cloud-based analytics platform for population health data; this will allow users to explore and analyse population health data through an interactive and easy to use interface. The project will build, for the first time, an affordable, user-friendly platform that brings together population health data from multiple sources and enables it to be easily presented and ‘mined’ for a wide range of purposes.
Pixpolar has invented, developed and patented a third fundamentally new image sensor pixel readout configuration called the Modified Internal Gate (MIG) that provides superior low light performance when compared to the two other older technologies. This will allow, for example, image sensors in cameras to read a pixel specific signal even in non-optimal low light conditions.
The project will try to provide a new product and business concept within the growing market for Medical Imaging Information Systems (which includes PACS and HISE). The product, MD-PACS is a cost-effective and fully reliable PACS with embedded HISE for radiology, laboratory and cardiovascular specialties. The market is dominated by large players which impose costly contracts; the project will open and lead this market by reducing PACS and HISE costs for healthcare organisations by 65%.
GALNIMBUS will improve irrigation water use efficiency up to 30% by developing a cloud-based irrigation controller able to perfectly match irrigation and fertigation doses to crop needs.
The project aims at providing the missing technological base for Beyond-line-of-sight navigation needed to cross through areas with obstacles like buildings in cities or diverse topographical factors. This will pave the way to deploy Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for public safety applications (disaster, rescue, etc.) or precision agriculture (maturity measurement, crop control, disease detection, fertilizer deployment), thus unfolding both huge commercial and societal impact.
REVIVOS will commercialize a technology solution for synthesizing new songs with the voice of famous artists. The innovation of this project is the potential commercialization of Virtual Singers modeled from original artist recordings. The synthetic voice shall preserve not only their timbre but also the expression and singing style that make them unique. This project has a clear global dimension, focusing on the Western markets because they share a common popular music culture. Potential applications include among others the production of posthumous live shows, the release of new compositions, or the rejuvenation of the voice of a living or retired artist.
OWNER-CHIP will authenticate manufactured products with a unique, embedded verification technology. This will protect the brand owners/IP licensors from counterfeiting and will enable added functionality and enriched content via mobile phone and gaming platforms (digital-physical extension).
QFast2 will perform a feasibility study for the market introduction of the first Rapid Multi-Target Pathogen Detection Kit. This is a revolutionary product that will enable the fast (<24h), cost-effective and simultaneous detection of three different pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes and Staphylococcus) directly on-site for food&feed safety industry by non-specialised personnel, with a platform that allows the user to implement the instrument within its own information technology protocol, with full traceability of the sample through the overall process.
Sedicii aims at commercialising, promoting and supporting innovative methods of authenticating users online. The ability to authenticate a user without the need to store or expose the personal information of the user will provide significant benefits to holders of such data.
This project will develop miniaturized 3D cameras for mobile phones, tablets and laptop computers; more specifically, embedded camera modules providing 2D and 3D-Images, integrating image-sensing electronics and light-field optics in a single lens Wafer Level Camera (WLC).
DIGISTONE aims at addressing a major market opportunity in the supply of large, concrete multimedia displays primarily for outdoor digital signage and commercial applications. In particular, it will develop an innovative, intelligent building material in the format of a concrete media façade/display or information sculpture – a Digital Concrete Screen System (DIGISTONE) and will have a functional prototype ready by the end of 2014 (TRL7).
The project’s overall objective is to provide both new brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies and an innovative business model focused on user-centered assessment and communication for persons with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). Across different studies, up to 43% of patients who had been designated as nonresponsive (including in a vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) were in fact able to communicate through new BCI systems developed for such patients.
The project will deliver an “electronic nose”: a market-ready, unique and innovative at a world level electronic device and mobile application to determine the quality and freshness of meat, poultry, fish and other groceries.
Currently, structured health data stored in proprietary systems (owned by the vendor and not by the health organization) are not shared, making care coordination, real-time analytics and knowledge discovery very difficult. The platform is vendor-neutral, big-data, high-performance platform designed to store,manage,query, retrieve and exchange structured electronic health record data based on open standards.
The ALG platform is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) web application through which businesses can share their administrative documents and can benefit from alerts and always up-to-date documents. Deploying this solution at a European scale will, among others, help eliminate redundant processes and costs related to the diffusion and the collect of administrative documents.
The project will develop a flexible High Performance Computing grid able to reuse the heat emitted by calculation units in huge data centres for heating houses and other premises.
The project will use Optical Frequency Combs that can displace single mode lasers used in long haul optical transport equipment for two decades. This will allow the use of new modulation techniques, to increase the data carrying capacity and spectral efficiency of optical telecommunications networks, currently under huge strain by the rise of mobile video, video-on-demand and other bandwidth-intensive services.
The project will test the market potential of a disruptive technology that has achieved the world’s first laser-laundered shirts. This could help reduce energy and water consumption bills, improve time efficiency of laundering processes and make life easier.
Virtual platforms have been mainly used to support anticipation of embedded software (eSW) development of very complex System on Chip (SoC) or for Software-based functional validation of complex IP. The explosion of the number of connected things change the complexity paradigm: the challenge is now to manage hundreds of distributed platforms (SoCs or boards) that include processors, sensors, MEMs and communication devices. Using physical board to prototype each of these platforms to verify the overall system behaviour is too expensive and not scalable for system providers. PILoTS would save time and cost, during design, verification and certification, and vastly improve competitiveness.
This is a cloud service aiming to create the next leap in push messaging by gathering sensory information from mobile devices, analysing big data and providing real-time insight using machine learning, data mining and home-grown pattern-matching algorithms.
Επιχειρήσεις από την Αυστρία, τη Δανία, τη Φιλανδία, τη Γαλλία, την Ιρλανδία, το Ισραήλ, τη Λιθουανία, την Πολωνία, τη Σλοβενία, την Ισπανία, την Τουρκία και το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο έχουν επιλεγεί για να λάβουν 50.000 η κάθε μια, για διάστημα 6 μηνών, προκειμένου να καταστήσουν την επιχειρηματική τους ιδέα τεχνικά και εμπορικά βιώσιμη.
Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι ανάμεσα στις συμμετοχές δεν συναντάμε πουθενά ελληνικό χρώμα, γεγονός που προκαλεί εντύπωση καθώς κάποιες από τις χώρες που βρίσκονται στη λίστα δε διαφέρουν και πολύ από το ελληνικό οικοσύστημα. Οι περισσότερες από τις 30 εταιρείες είναι 2 με 5 ετών και επιλέχθηκαν ανάμεσα σε 886 προτάσεις με καινοτόμες ιδέες. | 2019-04-22T14:44:48Z | https://startupper.gr/%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%B9%CF%8C%CE%BD-90-%CE%B5%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%84-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%87%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AD%CF%82-startups-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9/ |
Mornin'! It's hard to believe June's biding adieu today. Time sure flies when you're having fun. How can you not have fun when you live at the Shore? There will be plenty of fun at the Shore this upcoming Holiday weekend. I'm lining up all the fun possibilities as everything will be in the mix. That could even be some dancing as the ol' knee is finally beginning to really feel better as I just past the 2 month mark since knee surgery. June ends with a perfect summer day as it's starting out with the Sun coming over the cloudless horizon and temperature at 69°. Temps will be seasonal in the lo-mid 80's with low humidity and a W-NW breeze at 10-15mph. It'll be sunny all day. It'll be a perfect day at the Shore! Outside fun today?...you can count on it. High tide:7:28a.m.; Low tide:1:12p.m.; Ocean temp: 76°; Sunset: 8:28p.m.
Mornin'! It's 74°, cloudy and breezy (westerly winds at 10-18mph) this summer morning. The breeze will shift later coming off the sea. The clouds aren't allowing the Sun to do its grand entrance first thing this morning, but it's coming. It'll be sunny today with temps going into the low-mid 80's. Humidity's 89% but lower than yesterday. Should feel more comfortable today and tomorrow before the next round of heavy, humid, heat pays our island a visit just in time for the holiday. So far, the weekend is looking A-OK, albeit warm. High tide:7:01p.m.; Low tide:12:27p.m.; Ocean Temp: 75°; Sunset:8:28p.m. Summery hump day = Beach day!
Mornin'! It's 74° in Wildwood as the sun's breaking on through. Beginning at dawn...skies were foggy and overcast, but the sun's finally showing it's big ol' self as the clouds are making way. We're going to see a mix of sun and clouds again today. As the forecasters are calling it..."Partly Sunny/Cloudy" day. Speaking of clouds, there will be clouds hanging around mostly all day bringing in some scattered showers and/or thunderstorms (sometime this afternoon)...40% chance. It's going to be warm and humid with temps going into the mid-80's and humidity near 80%. Winds are null as I blog but later will waft in from the SE at 10-15mph. High tide:6:18p.m.; Low tide:1:14a.m.; Ocean temp:75°; Sunset:8:29p.m. My guess would be NOT a total washout and perhaps a partial beach day. I'd go for it.
Mornin'! It's 74° this gray, still, Monday morning in Wildwood. No sun to see rising in the East this morning. There's a 40% chance of a rain showers throughout the day today, but won't be a total washout as the sun will be peeking through the clouds every chance it can get. Temps will rise to the lo-mid 80's; humidity will remain on the low side. Winds will be out of the West at 10mph and shift to the SE bringing a cooler seabreeze a little later. Beach day? For the diehards...go for it. For the others...perhaps a stroll on the beach? Or better yet...a trip to The Mall! High tide: 5:34p.m.; Low tide: 10:55a.m.; Ocean temp...same as the air temp...74°; Sunset: 8:28p.m.
Mornin'! It's 73°. That's both the air temp and ocean temp btw. Sun's up and it'll be a seasonably warm Sunday as temps will be around the mid-80's; with fairly low humidity but humid just the same. Breeze is minimal coming from the NW at 5mph. That'll shift later and come from the sea making it feel more cooler and comfortable. Forecasters are saying partly sunny today (20% chance of a shower later). I'm saying 'beach day". High tide:4:47p.m.; Low tide: 10:08a.m.; sunset this evening: 8:28p.m.
Mornin'! Looking like a nice weekend. It's a balmy 75° in Wildwood this morning. The sun and clouds are up in the big blue greeting the day. It'll be mostly sunny with those clouds passing throughout the day today. Temps are heading into the mid-upper 80's with much less humidity. There's a very minimal chance (10%) of a shower passing through later today as well. Breezes are out of the W-NW at 8mph and will continue to waft over the island from the West and by late this afternoon will shift as the seabreeze kicks in. You know the drill. Looking like a nice one for the island's weekend events...not to mention a pork, broccoli rabe and provolone sandwich at the Italian Fest, or simply a nice beach day, or perhaps a day on the boat (take heed...it's Operation Dry Water weekend...the USCG is on guard for BUI's), or maybe even an indoctrination to Elkdom! Congrats Joe! High tide: 3:44p.m.; Low tide: 9:22a.m.; Ocean temp: 73°; Sunset: 8:28p.m.
Mornin'! It's 72° this morning as the sun rises in Wildwood. Breeze is at a minimum at 3mph coming from the SSW. They'll stay out of the SSW most of the day...land breeze...warm breeze. It'll be hazy, hot and humid at the shore. Temps are heading into the mid-80's as humidity's climbing (87%). Chance of thunderstorm later today is 40%. High tide: 3:07p.m.; Low tide:8:36a.m.; Ocean temp: 73°; Sunset time: 8:28p.m. Congrats to the Mibsters who won the Marble Championship this summer. All the "Beach-goers", "Beach Blast Soccer" folk or "North Wildwood Italian Fest revelers"...enjoy the outdoors today but keep an eye on the sky.
Mornin'! It's a balmy, tropical 74° in the early, morning stillness. Birds have begun to chirp as the skies begin to lighten and a tiny breeze blows out of the South at 5-9mph. The skies are also a bit cloudy and hazy and could hamper today's sunrise. It's going to be hazy, hot and humid (humidity's up to 89%) as temps rise to the mid-upper 80's. By the way, some of the haze we've been experiencing as of late is actual smoke wafting up the eastern coast from the North Carolina Forest Fires. I thought it was a bit muggy out for anyone to be firing up their chiminea as it was definitely smokey outside yesterday and last night. There will be a mix of sun and clouds today with more dry than wet but a 50% chance of a scattered thunderstorm is in that mix all day. This "Mix" could stick around as the forecast for the next 2 days looks like a "ditto" from yesterday and today into tomorrow and Saturday. Winds will be out of the S-SW at 10-15mph. High tide:2:15p.m.; Low Tide:7:51a.m.; Ocean temp:72°; Sunset:8:28p.m. Beach day? I'd say go for it, just keep an eye on the sky. That goes for all you Mibsters in the National Marbles tournament and who competing on the beach. Good luck to you!
Mornin'! It's 69° in Wildwood as daybreak develops under thick cloud cover. Woke up to Thunder and Lightning around 4 this morning. Nothing came of it though other than some loss of sleep. It's now quiet except for the sound of the surf pounding and birds chirping. The "Mix" today is a "Dry and Wet" day as there's a 60% chance of showers and/or thunderstorms all day into this evening. Some storms hitting the island today could be severe. You've been warned. Another "Mix" is the possibility of peeks of Sun along with Cloud cover throughout the day right into late this afternoon. Humidity's 82%. Temps will hit the upper 70's-low 80's and if the humidity stays up there and the sun pops out = "a very warm day". Winds are minimal out of the S-SE at 5mph and will pick up later at 10-15mph and will stay a "seabreeze" throughout the day. High tide:1:24p.m.; Low tide:7:32p.m.; Ocean temp: 73°; Sunset: 8:28p.m. I think that about covers it. Beach day??? That's your call, but prepare accordingly and keep an eye on the sky as the Mix hangs around today and possibly tomorrow and Friday as well.
Mornin'! It's the first official day of Summer; the Summer solstice. It's when the sun reaches the highest position in the sky; when the earth and moon's axial tilt is most inclined towards the Sun; it's the longest day of the year and it officially begins at 1:16p.m. this afternoon. Beginning today the days begin to grow just a tad shorter...sunrise a tad earlier each evening. It's currently 67° in Wildwood and temps will head into the mid-upper 70's with an increase in humidity at 81%. The sun's replicating the exact show it put on yesterday for sunrise. It's almost completely obscured with clouds as its trying with all its might to rise and shine, all the while painting those clouds with the prettiest pastel colors. No breeze to speak of but it's coming later out of the SW at 10-15mph and somehow the heavy backbay fragrance is seeping in the porch windows while the gulls are laughing their butts off at something out there. Today will be the last of the so-so days this week as rain and/or chance of rain is unlikely but will be hanging over our heads as the chance is 30% and the remainder of the week right into the weekend percentage gets a bit higher each day. Get out and enjoy while the gettin's good. High tide:12:34p.m. (like that number); Low tide:6:37p.m.; Ocean temp: 73°; Sunset:8:28p.m.; 94 days until Autumn!
Last Day of Spring! C'est La Vie!
Mornin'! It is what it is...the last day of Spring. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be welcoming in the longest day of the year...Summer Solstice of 2011. Looks like we made it. (Barry Manilow?) It's currently 70° in WW this slightly overcast and lightly breezy start of the day. The sun's trying in the worst way to make its presence known, but there's a handful of clouds holding it back. I just heard it's raining in Delaware and those showers could be heading right over the Bay right toward WW this morning with a 50% chance of the island getting a little watering. With that said, if we do experience some showers and/or thunderstorms this morning, it should clear up for a decent beach day by late morning/early afternoon. By then the temps will get into the mid-upper 70's and the seabreeze coming from the East at 10-15mph will make for a nice day at the Shore. High tide:11:46a.m.; Low tide:5:46p.m.; Ocean temp:73°; Sunset:8:28p.m.
Mornin'! Happy Father's Day! You know who you are and here's wishing you all enjoy your day. I've always felt that Father's Day was the true kick off to summer. I know that I have a strong sense of my Dad's spirit ever since I've moved by the sea. He so enjoyed the peace and serenity the seashore fed to his spirit and I completel y get it. I feel ya Dad and this one's for you...it's 70° in WW this warm, humid, still, hazy/overcast, fragrant morning. Humidity's at 87% as we're still a bit on the sticky side. No breeze to speak of although there's currently a very slight one out of the NNE @ 6mph. Temps will get into the mid-80's with a Northeasterly breeze at 11-15mph later. It'll be partly sunny today with a 30% chance of an isolated Thunderstorm here and there. It's gonna be a hit or miss with sun and clouds all through the day. High tide 11:02a.m.; Low tide:4:53p.m.; Ocean temp: 73°; Sunset: 8:27p.m. One day till Summer! Love ya Dad!
An Old Friend. A New Blog.
Mornin'! It's 71° in WW this early Saturday morn. We're heading into the "sticky" region as temps go into the mid-80's today and humidity starts "sticking" around. It'll the better half of the weekend as we'll see more blue skies and sun than tomorrow. However, the clouds will play a part in today's weather and make for a partly cloudy day at the Seashore. No rain is forecasted until the overnight and tomorrow. A West-Southwest breeze at 10-15mph will hang around all day as well. High tide:10:11a.m.; Low tide:4:07p.m.; Ocean temp:73°; Sunset:8:27p.m.; 2 days until Summer! My bets are on a decent beach day. Even better...a day on the boat. Or, even better...some fishin' or crabbin'...could be a good day to dig out the crab pot!
Mornin'! It's going be a mixed bag on the island today. It's 69° in WW this morning. It's dreary. It's cloudy. It's breezy (Southery breezes 10-15mph). It'll be mostly cloudy with the sun peeking through here and there today as temps get into the mid-upper 70's with a 50% chance of rain showers and/or thunderstorms throughout the day into this evening. Breezes will pick up a bit and head in from the S-SW later. High tide: 9:22a.m.; Low tide: 3:19p.m.; Ocean Temp: 73°; Sunset: 8:27p.m. Summer's arriving in 3 more days! Oh...I wanted to mention...it'll be a beauty in Wildwood tomorrow...Beach Day!!!!
Mornin'! It's 67° in WW this beautiful, early morn. The Sun just peeked over the horizon and what an incredible sunrise this morning. A bit of a "red sky" along with it. And, I'm not talking "Cafe" so take heed sailors. It's gonna head into the mid 70's again today with a S-SW breeze at 10-15mph. After we enjoy a mostly sunny morning, clouds will gradually appear throughout the day and by late this afternoon/early evening, the clouds will thicken and a 40% chance of rain is forecasted as we could see rain and/or thunderstorms throughout the night. High tide:8:33a.m.; Low tide:2:29p.m.; Ocean Temp:72°; sunset: 8:26p.m.; moonrise:9:21p.m. Tomorrow almost seems like a repeat of today and the weekend's looking like beach days are ahead. 4 days until Summer!
Mornin'! It's...get this...57° in Wildwood this early, sunny morn. Beautiful start of the day. I'm lovin' this weather. Temps will rise into the mid-upper 70's as the weather remains seasonable...in other words "more comfortable" and "the way it should feel this time of year". The sun just rose as it will be mostly sunny today with blue skies and light breezes out of the Northwest at 10-15mph. The air will shift in the afternoon as it usually does coming from the South making for a light, cooler seabreeze wafting over the island. Just lovely at the Shore today. I'm smiling. Okay, here's today's Stats: high tide: 7:42a.m. and again tonight at 7:59p.m.(pay close attention to this one as it will create tidal flooding); Low tide: 1:39p.m.; Ocean Temp: 73°; Sunset: 8:26p.m.; Moonrise tonight: 8:32p.m. You could probably catch the Sunset as well as the Moonrise together in Cape May, NJ tonight. Last evening, I got to see that Moon rise over the ocean...what a spectacular thing to see! If you do venture out this evening...remember the tidal flooding caused by the Full Moon...it's salt water filling the Streets. You've been forewarned. 5 days until Summer!
Mornin'! And, another lovely one it is. It's 64° in Wildwood this perfectly still, cool, quiet, fragrant morning at the Seashore. All windows are open as the cool air barely moves the hems of the window curtains. After watering the gardens this morning, I placed the Flag outside in the window ledge holder in honor of its day and it's barely moving due to the stillness in the air. Less than a week away is officially Summer as it's coming really fast now. Talk about coming fast...the next Full moon is tomorrow, yet we're already feeling its affects by it's brightness and tidal flooding...be aware that tonight's high tide will be excessive flooding due to the draw of the Full Moon along with an onshore breeze. Don't drive through flood water...it's corrosive salt water and very damaging to your vehicle! Today's weather will be mostly sun with a mix of clouds later and we may even see a pop-up shower this afternoon. Temps will stay moderate at 70-75°. Breezes will be out of the N-NE at 10-15mph. High tide: 7:15p.m.; Low tide:12:46p.m.; Ocean temp:73°; Sunset: 8:26p.m.; Moonrise: 7:34p.m.; 6 days until Summer. If only Summer would stay exactly like today...ahhh!
Mornin'! It's 69° in Wildwood this overcast, hazy, quiet and just a tad breezy morning. It'll be mostly sunny today with a more seasonable feel to it today as temps get into the mid-upper 70's. Humidity's down too and it'll feel much more comfortable at the Shore. Winds will be out of the North at 10-15mph. The decision to give the airconditioner a little rest was an easy one as all windows are back open! One more week until Summer even though it's been giving us some serious sneak previews as of late.High tide:6:24p.m.; Low tide:11:53a.m.; Ocean Temp: 72°; Sunset: 8:25p.m.
Mornin'! Happy Sunday! It's 71° in WW this sunny, mild, very still, and still humid morning. No breeze to speak of but a lovely morning just the same, not to mention a lovely sunrise. The gulls laughing in the distance seem to be saying so. Today will be a repeat of yesterday. Warm, humid, overcast at times, sunny at times. Temps will be in the lo-mid 80's, not too breezy (8-10mph coming out of the S-SW) with 60% chance of shower/and-or/thunderstorms this afternoon. High tide:5:29p.m.; Low tide:10:57a.m.; Ocean temp: 73°; Sunset: 8:25p.m.; 8 more days until Summer. Just saying.
Mornin'! Check it out...the weekend happenings in Wildwood: American Legion Convention (Parade this afternoon), Masonic Lodge Youth Group Convention, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Ladies Auxillary Convention and lets not forget it's Mummers Brigade Weekend (featuring the top winners of the Philadelphia Mummers Day Parade)! Does it get any better than that??? By the way, the Mummers Parade kicks off at 4:45p.m. today at 2nd and Old New Jersey Ave. so I'd be getting your strutting flipflops polished! Alot going on in the weather department too...It's currently 72° with some hefty fog covering the island this early morn with hardly a breeze out there. It's supposed to stay mostly cloudy and rather dreary looking today I'm sorry to say to all the above revelers who enjoy a sunny, cloudless sky at the Shore. But although mostly cloudy with possible periods of rain showers (60% chance), we'll see peeks of sun as well and it won't be a total gray day or washout. Temps will get into the mid-upper 70's with humidity sticking around. Breezes will be Easterly (seabreeze) at 10-15mph keeping that humidity at bay and making our lives more comfortable. High tide:4:29p.m.; Low tide: 10:00a.m.; Ocean Temp: 72°; Sunset: 8:24p.m.; 9 more days until Summer, although I think it sneaked in this past week.
Mornin'! TGIF! It's 72° in Wildwood as daybreak unfolds. The sunrise is trying its best to show it's lovely self but there's some major cloud cover on the horizon keeping that big orange ball at bay. Actually it's making for a unique sunrise as the gray, dark, clouds are being painted beautiful shades of orange and coral. Hit some record highs yesterday with that intense heatwave as Wildwood hit 95°. The Heat will back off today as temps will be in the mid-upper 80's thanks to some overnight enormous thunderstorms. I was on the back porch last night around midnight and could actually smell the electricity in the air during that storm. We even got some hail off of that badboy. Humidity's not backing down today as it's at 90% and will stick around (no pun intended). Today will have a mix of clouds and sun, although there's a 40% chance of rain or pop-up thunderstorms all day. Winds are "O" right now but will pick up from the North at 10mph later and Easterly (seabreeze) even later today. The weekend's looking much like the same as today with even greater chances of clouds and rains/thunderstorm (60%). Today's tides: High:3:32p.m.; Low:9:03a.m.; Ocean Temp: 72°; Sunset (if visible): 8:24p.m. Summer's still on its way in 10 more days...what a joke!
Mornin'! "The Heat Is On"...who was that? I was thinkin'...Kenny Loggins but it's Glenn Frey. It's 75° in Wildwood this calm, quiet, balmy, hazy, and very warm morning. The haze, heat and humidity will take us right into the evening. Temperatures could reach 95° feeling like 100° as the humidity 89%/dewpoint 71% is giving us a heat index; much like a chill factor but just the opposite; you know...what it actually feels like to our bodies. Hydrate like you've never drank before...water that is. Any breeze wafting this way will be minimal (10mph) out of the West (hot air) as there is a very slight possibility it could shift from the East (much more comfortable breeze) later this afternoon. It happened yesterday, so keep the faith in that ol' seabreeze. There's a 60% chance of a thunderstorm tonight too by the way. Need I say that the Beach is the place to be today? High tide:2:30p.m.; Low tide:8:06a.m.; Ocean temp:71°; Sunset: 8:23p.m. Should I even say how many more days until Summer? This is summer! Officially it's June 20th.
Mornin'! In the words of Marilyn Monroe..."We're having a Heatwave; a Tropical Heatwave." I was gonna go with Martha and the Vandella's but Marilyn came to mind first. Today's a repeat of 6/8/08 and the first of a 2-day near record highs. It's 70° as the sun's rising off the coast of Wildwood. It'll be hazy, hot and humid as temps rise as well into the 90's along the beaches. The W-SW breezes (land breeze) at 10-15mph will do nothing to cool us as we need the Easterly seabreeze to help with that and there's none coming our way anytime soon. Humidity's rising to 82% which will make it feel even hotter and stickier. Sweat is the only moisture we'll see and feel until tomorrow night when there's a possibility of a thunderstorm. High tide:1:28p.m.; Low tide:7:31p.m.; Ocean temp:70°; Sunset 8:23p.m.; 12 more days until summer. Ha...now that's a joke, just wait until tomorrow!
Mornin'! It's 66° in Wildwood this slightly breezey, sunny, bright, comfortable morning. Dew points will begun their climb today reaching 60 and by tomorrow...70. What's that mean? It means Humidity...high humidity is heading this way today as it will be sunny today and may reach the 80's. It's just the beginning as tomorrow will be warmer and Thursday...even warmer (near 90). We're entering our next heat wave as well as windows closed with central air on. Breezes today will be out of the W-SW at 10-15mph. Hopefully the breeze will shift this afternoon and come off the ocean, but no one's committing to that. Like I said...get out your Motown collection cause Martha and the Vandellas are up next. High tide: 12:23p.m.; Low tide: 6:26p.m.; Ocean temp: 69°; Sunset: 8:22p.m.; 13 days until Summer! 8 days until the Full Moon!
Mornin'! It looks like a pretty "Good Monday". It's currently 66° with low humidity and some minimal cloud cover (the sunrise shouldn't be affected this morning) and not a leaf moving on the trees. Temperature will remain seasonable as the thermometer barely rises up to the low-mid 70's. Seabreeze will tag along at 10mph out of the SE. There's a possibility of a stray shower in areas in South Jersey later today...it's a hit or miss. Martha and the Vandellas will be coming to mind by Wednesday of this week as another Heat Wave is headed in this direction. High tide:11:34a.m.; Low tide 5:27p.m.; Ocean temp:68°; Sunset: 8:22p.m.
Mornin'! It's 66° in Wildwood. It appeared that the sunrise would one-up the clouds this morning, but the clouds won out. The sky and horizon looked brilliant orange as the morning unfolded, but the gray took over and totally obscured the sun. So, it's a bit cool, cloudy, dry and still outside. Birds are chirping wildly. There's a hint of sea-aroma in the air. Temps will go to the low-70's. Showers are expected today...possibly a brief one as early as late this morning. The chances increase (30%) as the day progresses...even more so this evening. The forecasters are saying that it should be mainly dry and cloudy most of the day though...we'll just have to wait and see. We just may see peeks of sun. High tide:10:44a.m.; Low tide:4:33p.m.; Ocean temp:69°; Sunset time: 8:21p.m. (if there is one). 15 days until Summer and by the end of this upcoming week...we're going to have a nice taste of it!
Mornin'. My heart breaks though for the family of 12 year old Abiah Jones who died from a fall off the Giant Ferris Wheel on our amusement pier yesterday. Many, many sad days ahead for her family and friends as prayers will flow their way for a long time to come. The weekend events will continue as usual along with continued comfortable weather. It's a cool 57° in Wildwood this early morning. Skies are clear as the sun's about to lift over the horizon. There's a slight 5-10mph NW breeze which will become a "seabreeze" later today. Mid-upper 70° temps will be the main part of keeping the island beautiful today. High clouds will roll in this evening and a shower during the night is a possibility. High tide:9:59a.m.; Low tide:3:45p.m.; Ocean temp:67°; Sunset: 8:20p.m.; 17 days until summer.
Mornin'! It's 55° lovely degrees this morning in Wildwood as the sun's rising faster than my fingers are typing. No cloud cover or not much of a breeze happening out there (5mph); but one will be coming a bit later from the N-NW at 10-15mph. Humidity is down as the temps will rise into the mid-high 70's again making for a continued pleasant and lovely day at the Shore. High tide: 9:17a.m.; Low tide:3:01p.m.; Ocean temp: 66°; Sunset:8:20p.m.; 18 days until Summer. BTW...Saturday's looking like a repeat of today; Sunday...not so much. Motocross on the beach this weekend not to mention the Elks convention is in town....parade begins at noon at 25th & Atlantic Aves. Wildwood's up and running!
Another sneak peak of Summer today!
Mornin'! It's 73° in Wildwood this lovely, sunny, breezy, less humid morning. The only thing missing is a Rooster clucking (aka...morning sounds of Key West), but the Seagulls are making up for it. We're heading into an even more comfortable weather pattern if that's possible as it's been lovely here at the Shore. It'll be high near 80° today with a NW breeze at 15-20mph and we could see wind gusts of 25-30mph later this afternoon. Here's something good to report...these weather conditions may be sticking around throughout the entire weekend. High tide:8:36a.m.; Low tide:2:19p.m.; Ocean temp: 70°; Sunset: 8:19p.m.; 19 days until Summer!
Mornin'! Yep...June's here. I don't mean Cleaver, Lockhardt or Carter either. While on the topic of names, here's this year's list of Hurricane names...and June isn't one of them...Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katia, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Phillipe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince and Whitney. Today kicks off the very long Hurricane Season from June 1st to November 30th. There's none of that in today's forecast as it's lovely this morning...70° as a cool ocean breeze wafts in all the windows. It's very hazy, a bit foggy and overcast...you decide. Not sure if we'll see a sunrise with the skies this hazy, but I'm sure the sun will have no problem burning it away once it up over the horizon. Speaking of haze...it's still going to be a warm, summer-like day as the forecast is hazy, hot and humid with temps reaching the mid 80's. Starting to get the tropical-Key West feel on the island. My Croton plant (I call it my Key West Plant as they're everywhere you look in the Keys)is now out on the porch and thriving perfectly. Breezes will hang around at 10-15mph out of the S-SW. A severe thunderstorm could possibly pass over the island later today (late afternoon/early evening). High tide: 7:55a.m.; Low tide:1:39p.m.; Ocean temp: 71°; Sunset:8:18p.m.; 20 days until Summer (the longest day of the year)! | 2019-04-22T04:36:38Z | http://wildwoodweather.blogspot.com/2011/06/ |
2013-03-27 First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=32073395&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=US9427916(B2) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2017-11-14 US case 1:17-cv-01646 filed litigation https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Delaware%20District%20Court/case/1%3A17-cv-01646 Source: District Court Jurisdiction: Delaware District Court "Unified Patents Litigation Data" by Unified Patents is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Provided is a method for creating a physical teeth model. Further, the method includes providing a virtual three dimensional (3D) representation of a patient's dentition that includes at least a region of the teeth that includes a tooth stump on which a crown is to be fitted or a region on to which a bridge is to be fitted; and preparing a physical model of the jaws of a subject from a blank, based on information from said virtual 3D image.
This application is a Continuation application filed under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/633,417, filed on Dec. 5, 2006, which was a Continuation application filed under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/676,257, filed on Oct. 2, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,220,124, which was an application claiming the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/415,931, filed on Oct. 3, 2002, and which was an application claiming the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/422,782, filed on Oct. 31, 2002, the content of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A virtual three-dimensional (3D) image is obtained e.g. in the manner as described in PCT publication No. WO97/03622 or PCT publication No. WO00/08415.
Digital data representing a virtual teeth model may be obtained by a variety of methods, such as that described in PCT Application No. PCT/IL96/00036 (publication No. WO97/03622) and in PCT Application No. PCT/IL99/00431 (publication No. WO00/08415). The virtual three-dimensional image may be manipulated, for example, in a manner described in PCT Application No. PCT/IL99/00577 (publication No. WO00/25677). In particular, the virtual three-dimensional (3D) image is obtained by utilizing a physical negative teeth model, e.g. a negative teeth model that comprises the teeth impression by means of an impression matrix. The physical negative teeth model may be used as such, thus providing digital negative representation of the patient's dentition, from which a digital positive representation of the patient's dentition may be digitally obtained. Alternatively, the physical negative teeth model may be used to prepare a physical positive teeth model, from which a digital positive teeth representation is provided.
After the virtual image is generated, the display is typically a computerized display, provided with software permitting the technician to visualize the virtual image from different angles. As will be appreciated, the invention is not limited to any specific display means and any means for presenting the image such as, for example, in a printed format, on a computer display screen, etc., may be employed in accordance with the invention.
Reference is now being made to FIG. 2 showing a system generally designated 40. In FIG. 2, like components to those shown in FIG. 1, are given the same reference numerals shifted by 20 (namely component 42, for example, is functionally identical to component 22 in FIG. 1). System 40 of FIG. 2 includes an apparatus 50 that is used to construct a physical model utilizing digital data received from software utility 48. For this purpose, a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machine 50 may be used. However, the invention is not limited to the use of a CNC machine and any other CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) technology that can produce a physical model out of virtual data may be used.
It should be noted that the physical model generated by device 40 might be a positive model or alternatively, a negative model. FIG. 3 shows plaster cast members 100 and 102 fabricated according to the invention and representing the upper and lower jaws, respectively. The members 100 and 102 can be mounted on an articulator 104 to simulate the proper occlusion relation. For that both members have articulator engagement portions 106 with reference holes 108 that can be registered with holes 110 engagement bit 112 of articulator 104, which engagement is through pins 114. The engagement portion 106 with the reference holes 108, are initially defined in the virtual 3D image. In this model the proper inter-jaw occlusion are first defined, as explained above, and after the proper inter-jaw occlusion is determined, the virtual 3D model may be virtually combined with an articulator to define the articulator-engagement portion with its reference holes. This is then included in the digital file used to produce the plaster model. The reference holes may be produced automatically by the milling machine. However, the reference holes may be difficult to produce by the milling machine and may need to be produced after milling, as a separate step, for example, based on markings produced automatically during the milling procedure.
wherein one or more of a first plurality of first positioning reference components or a second plurality of second positioning reference components are formed to allow the first plurality of first positioning reference components to come into reversible contact with the second plurality of second positioning reference components in a fixed spatial relationship to thereby provide the occlusion alignment between the lower teeth of the lower arch model and the upper teeth of the upper arch model based on said modified virtual 3D representation.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said model is a plaster model.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said model is a positive teeth model.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual 3D representation comprises a dental region on which a dental appliance is to be fitted, and wherein the dental appliance is a crown or a bridge, and wherein said dental region includes a tooth stump on which the crown is to be fitted or a region on to which a bridge is to be fitted.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual 3D representation comprises a dental region on which a dental appliance is to be fitted, and wherein the dental appliance is a crown, and wherein said dental region includes a tooth stump on which the crown is to be fitted.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual 3D representation comprises a dental region on which a dental appliance is to be fitted, and wherein the dental appliance is a bridge, and wherein said dental region includes a tooth stump on which the bridge is to be fitted.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first alignment structure and the second alignment structure are arranged to place the upper teeth in contact with the lower teeth of the physical model upon engagement of the first plurality of first positioning reference components with the second plurality of second positioning reference components.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first alignment structure comprises three positioning reference components.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the second alignment structure comprises three positioning reference components.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of first positioning reference components and the second plurality of second positioning reference components comprise end abutments and matching recesses.
wherein each of the first plurality of positioning reference components is shaped to fit a corresponding second reference component of the second plurality of positioning reference components in order to define the occlusion alignment with the first plurality of integral alignment structures and the second plurality of corresponding integral alignment structures.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the dental appliance is a crown, and wherein said dental region includes a tooth stump on which the crown is to be fitted.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the dental appliance is a bridge, and wherein said dental region includes a tooth stump on which the bridge is to be fitted.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of integral alignment structures and the second plurality of integral alignment structures are arranged to place the upper teeth in contact with the lower teeth of the physical model upon engagement of the first plurality of integral alignment structures with the second plurality of integral alignment structures.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of integral alignment structures comprises three positioning reference components.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the second plurality of corresponding integral alignment structures comprises three positioning reference components.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of positioning reference components and the second plurality of positioning reference components comprise end abutments and matching recesses.
wherein the first plurality of positioning reference components and the second plurality of positioning reference components comprise end abutments and matching recesses.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first plurality of integral alignment arms and the second plurality of corresponding integral alignment arms are arranged to place the upper teeth in contact with the lower teeth of the physical model upon engagement of the first plurality of integral alignment arms with the second plurality of corresponding integral alignment arms.
20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first plurality of integral alignment arms comprises three positioning reference components.
21. The system of claim 18, wherein the second plurality of corresponding integral alignment arms comprises three positioning reference components.
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What has 4 legs, a great set of antlers and bugles?
Who: Families. Bring all kids able to be quiet & respectful of the elk. Wildlife photographers!
What: The annual elk rut.
How: Billings /Logan Airport. Drive to Malta (3 hr through sky country) Enjoy!
If you have never heard this amazing sound or watched these huge magnificent animals during their yearly rut, bugling their way into the hearts of their ladies, you are missing one of the great wildlife experiences in North America.
For 11 months of the year female elk with their young live together, separate from the males. They give birth, raise their calves, dodge predators, and stick together quite contentedly in their cow-calf herds – until September.
Suddenly, as the leaves begin to turn, the urge for romance over takes those separated bulls, driving them to find the female herds. So zealous are they to find the ladies and gather a personal harem that sound bursts from their throats in a loud bugle. By this time their antlers, shed in February or March, are back in full-grown glory. In other words: When these elk announce their presence they are: Loud and Proud!
The calls waft through the forest, swirl around the trees, across the open clearings, and hang on the autumn air. The females react, drawn in by the sound. Around dusk they start moving out from the tree line into the viewing area along the road. The males sense their arrival and get more and more excited. The bugling reaches fever pitch right before their arrival. That’s when the action really begins.
Love, Jealousy and Competition - Ungulate style!
The males try to herd as many if the females as possible into their own private harems. As always in matters of love, jealousy and competition abound. The sound of bugling fills the air, rival males rush and feint and clash those magnificent antlers; while the females wait patiently on the sidelines for the victors. It is pure romantic drama – ungulate style - and well worth traveling for.
The perfect place to witness the elk rut - and hear the concert - is Slippery Ann Elk Viewing Area at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana’s Missouri River Country.
Starting in September upwards of 500 Rocky Mountain elk (or “Wapiti”, as the Shawnee people call them) gather here only to disappear again in early October. Elk numbers peak between the second and third weeks of September, and so do the elk watchers. The locals come early to stake out the best viewing spots, setting up chairs and even bringing drinks and picnics – so should you.
THE ELK SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT SLIPPERY ANN IS A NO HUNT ZONE. THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH FOLKS COMING TO WITNESS THEIR MATING RITUALS. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
What Makes Slippery Ann Great ?
1. Amazing Sky: You will never forget the endless blue sky punctuated by clouds whose character and mood foretell the future.
2. Amazing Country: As vast as a city (or town) dweller can possibly imagine and then some. Prepared to be amazed.
3. The Family: Yours. Step away from virtual world into an old/new place that will relax, refresh, and awaken your imagination simultaneously. This is the perfect place for a multi-generational family vacation.
4. Witness the Elk with Friends: Elk watching is a community affair and this community is friendly, direct, low-key, and welcoming. You’ll might just find yourself sharing the excitement at Slippery Ann with the folks who grew the food you had for breakfast and the ones who provided the bed you slept in.
5. The Elk. Their sound and the whole rut itself are simply amazing.
Did We Mention Slippery Ann is Beautiful?
Even people born in the US are amazed at how vast the country is. Montana is one of those wide-open places and the Missouri River Country can easily be categorized as “off the beaten track.” That means two things: 1) Yes, it will take a little extra planning to get there, but 2) You will be heading toward a part of the US that is unmatched for its unique wildlife, nature, and history.
This is where the story of Native Americans, cowboys, gold rushers, homesteaders, outlaws and dreamers all come together This is where prairie and mountains meet.
The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge sprawls across the north/east part of the state following the Missouri River as it flows west to east across the state for about 125 miles (200 km.) as the crow flies. It is part of the larger Charles M. Russell complex and consists of native grassland, badlands, prairie, forest, and even riparian wetlands.
LOOKING OVER THE MISSOURI RIVER FROM A HIGH POINT NEAR SLIPPERY ANN AT THE CHARLES M. RUSSELL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
MANY PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE THERE IS GOLD IN THOSE HILLS. WANT TO TRY YOUR LUCK? THE OLD MINES ARE CLOSED BUT ZORTMAN OFFERS GOLD PANNING LESSONS. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, named for the western artist and conservationist, runs length-wise across the north-eastern part of Montana following the Missouri river.
Slippery Ann Elk Viewing Area is located on the western half of the refuge in Phillips County. It is easily accessed from the turnoff on Highway 191 (accessible from Interstate 95) just north of the Fred Robinson Bridge over the Missouri River.
Although licensed, seasonal bow hunting is allowed elsewhere in the refuge, at Slippery Ann it is not. The elk seem to know this and they are very relaxed. Even having folks lined up to witness their business does not bother them - as long as the responsible elk viewing guidelines are followed (see below).
SURE FOOTED WILD BIG HORN SHEEP ARE NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA. THEIR DISTINCTIVE THICK CURVING HORNS CAN WIEGH UP TO 30 POUNDS (14 KG.) IMAGE FROM USFWS CHARLES M. RUSSELL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
RE-INTRODUCED IN 1994, THE ENDANGERED BLACK FOOTED FERRET HAS YET TO ESTABLISH A SELF-SUSTAINING COLONY IN MONTANA, BUT THERE IS STILL HOPE. IMAGE: COURTESY OF USFWS.
Look for mountain lion (cougar), bob cat, Rocky Mountain big horn sheep, pronghorn, mule, and white tailed deer, and red and swift fox, beaver, mink, and river otter ,plus 40 catalogued species of butterflies.
Endangered black-footed ferret, reintroduced into Montana in 1994, has still not been able to establish self-sustaining colonies, but there is hope, look for them in prairie dog colonies, the ferrets live in their tunnel systems.
Over 250 species of birds either pass through or make their homes here during any given year. This is a Global Important Bird Area with, ” … significant members of globally threatened species …”.
The Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge is a short drive (14miles / 22.5 km) from Malta and well worth a day's trip for hike and some bird watching. In the autumn tundra swans arrive to feed and fatten up on the sago pondweed before they head out east for the winter. Among the mammals here you may even see a pronghorn antelope.
The Shawnee name for the elk, “Wapiti”, means white rump, and these elk do have a light colored tail end on their buff colored 250+ pound (113 kg) bodies. They also have thinner more elegant antlers than their more western living Roosevelt elk cousins. Elk are quite relaxed around folks who are not hunting them – but will quickly leave (they run up to 35 mph / 56 kph) if bothered. See below for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s viewing guide for a great elk bugling experience.
BULL ELK USE BUGLING PLUS THEIR FULLY MATURED ANTLERS TO IMPRESS FEMALES AND INTIMIDATE RIVALS. WHEN THAT IS NOT ENOUGH THE SPARRING AND FIGHTING CAN BECOME INTENSE - THE LADIES REMAIN CALM. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
Viewing Area Boundaries: The boundary of the Elk Viewing Area is clearly posted from the Slippery Ann Campground to Slippery Ann Creek, on both sides of Route #201. The area beyond the road in the Elk Viewing Area is closed to public entry. Please remain at road's edge while you enjoy watching the elk.
Respect & Do Not Disturb the Animals: Use binoculars, spotting scopes or telephoto camera lenses to "get closer". Being too close or disturbing animals can be very stressful to wildlife and unsafe for you.
Do Not Disturb Other Viewers: Keep conversations low and to minimum.
No Artificial Light: The use of artificial light to locate wildlife, including elk, is prohibited at all times on Charles M. Russell NWR. This includes the use of spotlights, flashlights, and your vehicle headlights.
Collect Only Photos & Memories: The collection of shed antlers and animal skulls is illegal. These items are an important source of calcium for elk, deer and other wildlife on the refuge.
Remove Food Scraps & Trash: Be careful of trash and food. Do not leave scraps “for the animals.” Not only is it unhealthy in some cases for the animals, it actually can shorten their lives. When a wild animal associated food with humans its behavior around then changes. That can evolve into a dangerous situation for both.
The nearest town to Slippery Ann is Zortman followed by larger Malta, the county seat. This is storied land of native peoples, cowboys, bandits and train robbers, mining booms-and-busts, and folks that know the value of good neighbors and friends –which is how you are treated soon as you arrive.
SETTING SUN CREATES A SILHOUETTE OF MALTA'S DOWNTOWN. IMAGE: COURTESY OF THE MALTA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
“base-camp” for exploring the area.
Steeped in history, Malta’s early residents were folks looking for a new start, care of Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 Homestead Act. It offered them 160 acres and five years of hard work to build a new life. And they did.
CHASING COWS. A RANCH AND OPEN SKY OUTSIDE OF MALTA, PHILLIPS COUNTY, MONTANA. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©VIVIEN BRUCKNER, PRAIRIE LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY & PHILLCO ECONOMIC GROWTH COUNCIL.
This part of the U.S. is not only famous for its present wildlife – it is also world renowned for some of the richest dinosaur fossil fields on the planet!
Malta, a town of only 2,000 people doesn’t just have one museum dedicated to the area’s prehistoric residents– it has two! Don’t miss Malta’s Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, home of Leonardo, a duck-billed dino famous for being the best-preserved dinosaur ever recorded. Then stop into The Phillips County Museum, for exhibits about our native Americans, early pioneer life, cowboys and bandits, and of course – dinosaurs!
SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT DINOSAUR DISCOVERIES HAVE BEEN IN THIS PART OF MONTANA. MALTA HAS TWO MUSEUMS DEDICATED TO THE AREA'S PREHISTORIC WILDLIFE INCLUDING THE PHILLIPS COUNTY MUSEUM. IMAGE COURTESY OF MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
There are no strangers in Malta – and no big boxes here either. Business is a family affair. Every cent you spend goes into the local economy. Take a little time and explore the town.
Malta has a variety of restaurants to sample good western style home cooking. After your meal, explore the downtown shops featuring local crafts and jewelry. Raining? Try a movie in the kind of theater that brought Hollywood to millions to before the advent of cable channels or the slick multiplex, and don’t miss great local live music performed through-out the year in different restaurant and bars in town.
The Malta Chamber of Commerce has put together wonderful suggested afternoon and/ or full day sample itineraries – culminating with a dip in the natural Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs pool about a fifteen-minute drive out of town.
FIELD OF WHEAT AND SUNFLOWERS, NEAR MALTA, PHILLIPS COUNTY, MONTANA. IMAGE: COURTESY OF MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY AND THE PHILLCO ECONOMIC GROWTH COUNCIL.
The Great Northern Hotel Originally built in 1904, The Great Northern Hotel bills itself as Malta’s only “full-service” hotel and indeed it offers antique filled, cozy rooms and room service, Wi-Fi, a steak house restaurant, coffee shop, and a bar / lounge on the premises.
The Royals Hotel: centrally located, newly renovated, the Royals can accommodate families.
Sport hunting is part of the history and culture in this part of the country. Most game is butchered and consumed. These hotels cater to hunters. Be respectiful.
The Country Inn 406-545-2198 Just south of Malta on the Marion Hills Golf Course. Pet friendly.
Most offer Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker in each room, but check to be sure. They all include a friendly welcome and warm hospitality.
HAVE NO DOUBT, CARMEL IS ALWAYS ON DUTY TO MAKE SURE THAT ZORTMAN LIVES UP TO ITS BOAST AS "THE FRIENDLIEST LITTLE TOWN IN MONTANA." IMAGE: COURTESY OF MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
No visit to the area would be complete without a visit to Zortman, about 25 miles from Slippery Ann.
This one-time goldmine boomtown is short on population but long on history and heart. Many of the folks from Phillips County and beyond spend a night in Zortman when they come for the elk.
ZORTMAN'S BUCKHORN STORE & CABINS HAS EVERYTHING FROM FRESH VEGGIES TO FUEL. SAY "HI" TO OWNER ROD, FOR US! IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©ROD BOLAND.
Looking for a good meal? Try the Miners Club Restaurant for their famous Denver omelet or chicken fried steak – then step over to the bar side of the establishment and enjoy conversation and a cold one with the neighbors.
ROD'S SEVEN LOG CABINS ARE PERFECT FOR A FAMILY VISIT, MOST WILL ACCOMMODATE 2-6 PEOPLE BUT ONE WILL SLEEP A SMALL ARMY. SOUL FILLING VIEWS OF THE MOUNTAINS AND SKY INCLUDED FREE OF CHARGE. BEWARE - YOU MAY NEVER WANT TO LEAVE. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©ROD BOLAND.
Book early! There are only 7 cabins available and the locals stay here when they come to Slippery Ann. The fully modernized and equipped log cabins were built around 1930. Four of them have complete kitchens, and two have microwaves and coffee makers. These 6 can accommodate 4-6 people each.
The 7th cabin is newer, built about 15 years ago. It is over 1200 sq. ft. (111.5 sq. m) and has a full kitchen, living room, dining room and all amenities. The best part? The air, the sky, the mountains, and Rod, he takes good care of you! Bring the family!
ONCE A GOLD-RUSH TOWN, MANY STILL BELIEVE THERE IS GOLD TO BE FOUND IN THE MOUNTAINS AND STREAMS AROUND ZORTMAN. ARE YOU A BELIEVER? IMAGE: COURTESY OF MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
Situated near the Fred Robinson Bridge on Highway 191 South of Malta, the James Kipp Recreational Area is near-by to the Missouri River and very close to Slippery Ann. Of its 34 campsites, 19 are considered single units and 15 are multi-group campsites. Each campsite has a concrete picnic table and fire ring, and all are accessible. Eight vault toilets are located throughout the campground. There are on-duty campground hosts. Check the web site for a list of additional amenities.
The nearest fly-in to Slippery Ann is the Billings-Logan airport. There is connection from major U.S cities with Alaska Air, Delta, or United. Cape Air and Allegiant also have flights into Billings. It is a little over 3 hours drive from Billings Logan Airport to Malta via US 87 to US 191 . Rent a car and enjoy the scenery. The roads inside the refuge are gravel not pavement, so a four-wheel drive vehicle would be optimal. Prepare to be amazed at the scope and beauty of the country.
DON'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK BUGLING AND RUT AT THE SLIPPERY ANN ELK VIEWING AREA AT CHARLES M. RUSSELL NATONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IN MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ©MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY.
How to Photograph the Soul of the Forest.
7 Days Photographing the Most Magnificent National Parks in America. | 2019-04-25T00:37:06Z | https://www.destinationwildlife.com/blog/2016-08-20/elk-bugling-at-slippery-ann |
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Woolf-May, K., Bird, S.R. and Owen, A. (1997) Effects of an 18 week walking programme on cardiac function in previously sedentary or relatively inactive adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 31 (1). pp. 48-53. ISSN 0306-3674.
Woolf-May, K., Jones, W., Kearney, E., Davison, R. and Bird, S.R. (2000) Factor XIIa and triacylglycerol rich lipoproteins: responses to exercise intervention. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 34 (4). pp. 289-292. ISSN 0306-3674.
Woolf-May, K. and Meadows, S. (2017) Appropriateness of the metabolic equivalent (MET) as an estimate of exercise intensity for post-myocardial infarction patients. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, 2 (1). ISSN 2055-7647.
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Woolf-May, K., Meadows, S. and Ferrett, D. (2017) Metabolic equivalents fail to indicate metabolic load in post-myocardial infarction patients during the modified Bruce treadmill walking test. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, 2017 (2). ISSN 2055-7647.
This list was generated on Fri Apr 19 08:47:46 2019 UTC. | 2019-04-19T17:19:53Z | http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/view/subjects/RC1200.html |
Hey Tassy, how’s it going? Have you come down from the high of the Olympic Torch relay yet!?
Yeah, just about. I’ve done lots of school visits though to see the local kids and show them the torch. It’s really nice to see how excited they get about it and how interested they are to hear my story.
How did your role in that come about?
I was nominated by local people and Coca Cola, for the work I’ve done in the past getting children into surfing. And also for the work I have done on myself to get where I have with my own surfing I think.
Were you tempted to put the torch on eBay as some people have done?
No, not at all! Don’t get me wrong, if some people are using the torch to sell to get money for charity I think that’s a really nice thing to do, however it’s important to me that I keep it to hopefully be able to show my kids and even my grandchildren in the future, and you can’t put an amount of money on something like that.
We hear you do a lot of charity work, tell us about that?
I’ve done quite a lot of voluntary work through one of my sponsors, Calypso Soft Drinks, in inner city schools, introducing sport and surfing in particular, to less privileged children in difficult circumstances. Most of the kids were from really rough backgrounds and I felt like I could help them out by giving them a bit of a break with surfing. Surfing is a sport that should be open to anybody, anywhere in the world, regardless of where you come from, who you are or where you live. This is the message, along with a healthy lifestyle that I was trying to bring into these schools. As well as this, I have done lots of voluntary work with local surf clubs, in particular St.Ives Surf School and our junior wolf pack!
Are you excited about the Olympics and if so which events are you most looking fwd to?
Yes, I’m really excited! Great Britain are going to be amazing hosts for it this year, I don’t think people realised how patriotic we were going to be made to feel when all this was actually going to happen. But now the torch relay is going on I think that’s finally made everyone realise, and there’s a really great atmosphere around for it already. I won’t actually be here for the Olympics this year as I’m travelling to France for the summer to compete, however the events I always look forward to watching the most is the athletics.
We’ve read you’d like surfing to be an Olympic sport but if so would it not have to be in wave pools?
I think surfing definitely deserves to be an Olympic Sport. I have represented Team GB five times now and I just think it’s such a shame that every time we want to accept that honour to represent our country we have to come up with a large amount of money. This is because it’s not yet recognised by our government as a sport and I think this is the biggest problem. If surfing was an Olympic sport, I think it would be one of the best events judged by many to watch, simply because unlike a running race, the winner is not simply the first person over the finish line and I think this leaves it very open to opinion and personality. There’s a really cool thing happening at the moment which I have been lucky enough to have been asked to be a part of called ‘WaveGarden’. This I think would be the perfect way to hold surfing in the Olympics.
We also read you’d like to snowboard in the Olympics, how good are you at snowboarding and which event would you like to compete in?
I’m not very good at snowboarding at all, however a few years ago I took part in a scheme called ‘Girls for Gold.’ This scheme was trying to find girls with a talent in one sport that could be cross trained into another sport that was in the Olympics that hopefully could bring home more gold medals for Great Britain. When I took part in the scheme, I managed to get picked out of the 1 per cent who got asked to come back, and the sport they asked me to train for was Snowboard Cross. After going snowboarding a couple of times I was really keen to try and they put me on the junior Olympic development squad for London 2014. However, the current state of the Snow NGB is really suffering at the moment and I have been waiting on that really.
Who are your favourite snowboarders?
Definitely Kelly Clark for the women and Shaun White for the guys.
How is 2012 going so far for you?
2012 has been amazing for me so far! The waves haven’t been the best but I’m lucky enough to be able to deal with that by getting out of here! So far this year I have been to South Africa for two months, Barbados for 10 days and Panama for a month, and on Wednesday I’m heading out to Europe for the summer to compete on the ASP Pro Junior Circuit. I’m really lucky to have the support I do from my family, as well as my sponsors and college that means I can get away to train and compete. I can’t thank them enough!
Do you follow the ASP Tour much and if so who are your favourite surfers to watch and why?
Yeah especially it seems, when I’m supposed to be doing work at college! I follow most of the International events and then compete on the European circuit during the summer. It’s a really cool scene and it’s nice to get to know a different group of friends from all over the world.
Do you think you could make the Tour one day and if so what do you need to make that happen?
I would love that dream to be a reality, and it has been a dream ever since I started surfing, that I would love to be the first British Woman to qualify for the tour. It’s really hard to make it living in the UK though, you need to have a lot of determination, perseverance and motivation to get where you want. It’s the little things like it getting dark so early during the winter meaning you can’t get in the sea during the week because you get home from school to late, the winters being so cold, and the summers being flat for weeks at a time. These things really add up and we get so much less water time than other competitors around the world. I would love to be able to get the money together to get a place somewhere along the French or Spanish coast with my family one day.
Has wetsuit technology made it easier to surf all year round in Cornwall?
Definitely! I’ve been getting summer wetsuits recently off O’Neill that I have been able to wear all through the year! It’s crazy how much time they must spend figuring out this cool new technology that works so well. Surfing technology is going to go crazy over the next few years I expect. I feel really lucky to be a part of Team O’Neill and really rate their suits.
You seem to have surfed some pretty cool places, where are your favourite spots?
This is always such a hard question. Travelling is my biggest passion and the only thing that could make it better from here for me would be being able to take my family and boyfriend with me to the amazing places I get to experience. For machine-like waves, tropical sea, amazing food, beautiful scenery and lovely people, my favourite place would have to be either the Mentawaii Islands or the Maldives. I would love one day to be able to do a boat trip there for a couple of months with my family.
And who do you most like surfing with?
I am most happy when I surf my homebreak in St.Ives, Porthmeor. All the locals are so chilled out and even though I’m the only girl they see regularly in the sea they treat me like one of the guys and show me a lot of respect. There’s such a big surf scene at home but it’s kind of underground so none of the guys are that well known compared to those you find in Newquay, however maybe I’m being bias but I think they surf a lot better! I always have a laugh with them but they push me so much, in particular my boyfriend Luke who I surf with nearly every day.
What are your plans for when you finish school and beyond?
I’m going to try and get a base out in France for the times I need to get out there and train. I want to do lots more work helping other people and getting them into surfing, and maybe in the future set up my own centre somewhere where I can make a living from doing something I am this passionate about. I would love to try and make the tour and I am going to work really hard to try and achieve this. I’m also currently getting the grades I need to study a Sports Performance Course at Bath University and plan to go there when I am ready. For me my life will be successful if I am still enjoying surfing with the people I love when I am 90 and I can make a living from it!
Give your creativity wings for his upcoming UK show with Nitro Circus! | 2019-04-24T16:17:23Z | https://coolerlifestyle.com/features/pro-chat-tassy-swallow.html |
In the early days of our videography startup we had a 10% down payment, with the remaining 90% due a 7 days prior to the service date. We then slowly began experimenting with 25% down, then the classic 50/50 split payment, and finally 100% upfront payment at the time of order. Overall, we’ve found full upfront payment to be both the most convenient for customers and the most efficient for our company.
At the time of booking, we haven’t actually performed any work. This logic eventually turns into a one-sided argument for split payments; most conclude that customers should only pay a reservation fee or some arbitrary fraction of the total. Then, upon the completion of work, it “makes sense” to release the full funds. It all sounds good in theory, but in practice this falls apart in a multitude of ways. Below, I’ll outline our experiences with different payment policies along with our thought processes. The result of 100% upfront payment has been lower prices and a better overall experience for customers. First though, a little consumer psychology.
Much like ticket sales and airline seats, a videographer must be scheduled in advance. The main difference, however, is that an airline will fly at half capacity or full capacity; thus, a customer knows their decision to buy has no direct result on the airlines flying or not flying. Similarly, consumers understand that if they purchase a ticket to a concert or movie, the show will go on regardless if they attend or not.
It can generally be said that customers understand the economics behind ticket sales and airplane seating. By purchasing, they’re limiting the ability of other customers; or in other words, they are actively preventing someone else from flying or attending the show. Customers sympathize with 100% payment prior to receiving services in these situations, along with the forfeiture of money when they fail to show up to the event or fly. After all, whether or not the customer attends the event or boards the airplane, the seller has reserved those rights / resources for the purchaser.
But somewhere in-between ticket sales for airplanes and ordering a videographer, this understanding of availability is lost. Customers are seemingly OK with forfeiting in the case of one-to-many service providers like airlines, event tickets, etc. However, in the case of one-to-one service providers, e.g., videographers, photographers, physicians, trainers, the customers expects the dedicated service provider to eat the cost of customer’s no-show or cancellation.
There is clearly a disconnect between how consumers treat one-to-many services and one-to-one service providers. We know from the airline industry that customers can be made sympathetic to availability economics; however, there is something specific to one-to-one service providers that makes consumers more weary of upfront payment.
The most common rebuttal is “how we do I know you’ll show up?” or otherwise complete the service. This comment is an insult to businesses who have built solid reputations over many years; especially since (from the business perspective) it’s far more likely that a customer will decide to cancel, simply not pay, jerk them around about end-product specifications, and ransom final payment for additional free services.
Customers commonly suggest a 50/50 split as a fair way to deal with this trust conundrum, falsely believing each party gains equal leverage in the transaction. This didn’t sit right with us because so many other services exist where full upfront payment is perfectly acceptable. We know that a business that “doesn’t show up” (or fails to complete customer projects) cannot exist in a world of free and open communication. Reviews would quickly surface, complaints would be filed with reputation trackers like Yelp, BBB, and even Twitter–quickly destroying the bad business.
Our rebuttal against 50/50 split payment was henceforth centered around trust. In the early days, we struggled with brand recognition and a lack of reviews; this ultimately led us to believe we may be experiencing resistance to full payment because of trust. But after many months of pointing to Fortune 500 companies using us, great testimonials, thousands of Facebook fans, and dozens of 5-star reviews–we still faced a healthy opposition.
In the same time, we have put a fair amount into advertising to boost brand recognition across the Chicago area. While these combined factors have certainly helped us, we just weren’t able to convince everyone. When customers were no longer able to argue over trust, we started hearing more outlandish leap of faith arguments; some would posit 50/50 as a more fair and ethical way of doing business, just out of principle.
There is plenty to be said about fairness in transactions, but we were baffled by all this particularly because our videography is very affordable when compared to competitors. In fact, 50/50 split with a competitor is usually more than 100% upfront payment with us. It seemed like a hopeless battle that would be ongoing with customers, but we kept pushing.
It’s obvious that customers purchase services for the times they are available and most likely to use those services. The big disconnect in consumer mentality (between one-to-many and one-to-one services) seems to be less an issue about trustworthiness, and more an issue of specific availability at the customer’s preferred date and time.
Many freelancers and small businesses (similar to our initial thinking) attribute customer resistance to full upfront payment as an issue of trust. However, past performance is completely irrelevant to a customer’s future need. Consumers tend to hyper focus on their specific need, and seeing it successfully fulfilled is paramount to their buying decision. We accidentally discovered this by converting by “productizing” our service.
We had recently transitioned Vanilla Video from a service you order, to a product you buy. This generally helped customers understand our value proposition better, since videography tends to be a somewhat abstract concept. Coincidentally, products by their very nature are at-demand of consumer needs. This simple change resulted in dramatic decrease in resistance; this makes sense when you think about one-to-many services that consumers are more readily willing or able to sympathize with.
Part of the wrong attribution to trust is small businesses copying big businesses in a monkey-see, monkey-do way. They see a big business do this, attribute that action as a part of their success, and try to emulate that action in a business a fraction of the size. If consumers are willing to pay airline providers, ticket sellers, and retailers in full prior to receiving the goods or services–they should also be willing or able to pay 100% upfront for small business service too. We just need to “get bigger” or get our customers to trust us more. However, big service providers have a key attribute similar to products.
The big service providers are able to leverage 100% upfront payment because they can offer service at nearly anytime due to their size and scale. Consumers know, regardless if they purchase service, the flight / show will go on. Fear of the service becoming nonredeemable is completely eliminated, just as no (or little) time-based anxiety exists for using a product.
Customers are naturally buying goods and services to match their availability and benefit. And there is an extreme time-related anxiety when it comes to one-on-one services. We can see bigger service providers actively mitigating these risks for consumers. Big service providers use money-back guarantees, issue refunds or partial refunds for cancellations, and many will reschedule service at no charge (airlines). Big service providers have found numerous tactics to reduce customer anxieties when it comes to using their service.
Very simply put, if the redemption or availability of your service is ever called into question, customers will insist on split payments to mitigate their risks. We probably all knew that though; the point is: customers face a lot of time-related anxiety. Will I be able to use it? How long will it be usable? When will it be usable? For many businesses, there is frequently a delay in purchase time and time of delivery; minimizing this delay greatly decreases anxiety, and significantly increases a customer’s willingness to make 100% upfront payment.
Of course trust and name-recognition are important factors, however, we’ve generally found less resistance to upfront payment by making our service more product-like, describing it in a fashion that is more “at convenience”, and by offering next-day online delivery. Arguing with customers over reputation and trustworthiness have ultimately proved futile. Linking to reviews, portfolio work, and references are encouraged, but should be lesser points.
Remain friendly, personable, and civilized. Reenforcing professionalism.
I explained previously that one-to-one services are more expensive because the service person can only sell a limited amount of their time. Being so, an enormous factor in pricing for individual service persons ls the frequency of their sales. For example, a provider may have $60,000 in net costs (50% for salaries, 50% for business operating costs); to cover such costs, they would need 20 sales at $3,000 each.
Our simple example makes a few assumptions, but the main (eventually true) assumption is that businesses need to cover their costs to continue in operation. To that end, businesses need to sustain sufficient cash flow, which can be more crucial than larger profits and sales numbers. There are a variety of issues with split payment, but none trump cash flow.
In the above example, what would happen when all 20 customers move to a 50/50 split payment plan. Should the business pay the $30,000 to its employee, or the $30,000 to continue general business operations? What sort of effects does this cash flow result in for taxes, investment, and saving purposes? The long term result of split payments may actually lead to higher pricing to deal with decreased cash flow.
1. Cash flow – Can’t stress how important strong cash flow is to the survival of any business. By allowing split payments you’re immediately thinning the blood.
2. Wasted resources – Generally, split payments creates a lot of wasted labor in billing and accounting. Emails, calls, statements and letters add a good deal of unnecessary overhead that could in-turn lead to even higher pricing. In contrast it is much more straightforward to take payment, and then perform the service. Billing discussions could result in a lot of back-and-forth, eventually intermingling or interfering with project-related discussions.
3. Prevent customer leverage & abuse – Customers will hold payment for as long as possible. Some projects may go through revisions simply to avoid the next payment. Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for invoices to sit <29 days before being paid.
4. Availability & Risk – Businesses are in some form or another limited by availability. By only accepting 100% upfront payment, you’re immediately alleviating credit risks. Changes in the buyer’s financials are very real, and could result in non-payment / cancelled projects.
5. Cheaper – It plain old costs more to accept more payments. Whether it’s by cash, check, credit or bartering; more transactions equals more accounting. This could lead to more trips to the bank, higher processing fees, and more things opportunity for errors.
The long and short of it is, split payments are an unofficial credit plan extended to customers for free. Customers are very aware of this, and it could actually lead them to purchase goods or services that are outside of their budget.
1. More thorough decision – When everything is invoiced up front the beginning, the customer should outline their goals more thoroughly, leading to less uncertainty. This leads to a better end result that fits within the customer’s goals.
2. Convenience – One payment is easier than handling multiple payments. It’s just easier to keep up with and account for, and requires less on the customer’s part.
3. Projects complete faster – Businesses have a greater incentive to throw their full support behind the project. It’s better for everyone to get the project done and out the door; customers are served faster, and businesses can move onto other sales.
4. Optimizing resources – Paying upfront is the equivalent to “Going Green” in the business world. Companies can optimize their workforce and dedicated a larger percentage of their resources to projects instead of double billing & accounting.
5. Better Service – Most businesses are honest, very concerned with their reputation, and aim to win long-term customer support. When businesses mess up, will will likely refund without hesitation and move into retention mode. A customer’s money today is valuable, but that customer over a lifetime is worth many times more. When a customer only pays a percentage of the total bill, the business has less incentive to treat them like royalty. And, under some theories, the business didn’t mess up “as bad” simply because the customer only paid a percentage of the total bill.
Earlier I mentioned some customers resisting full upfront payment as a matter of principle, with some stating it wasn’t ethical or fair. Ignoring all the benefits stated above, and refusing to get into any discussion on what is or isn’t fair, we wholeheartedly believe full payment is the best form of payment. It’s not about being right, wrong, or what’s cheapest / easiest.
Full payment is about telling our customers that we are serious about the service we provide, and that we intend to fully deliver a fantastic experience. Anything short of full payment is a representation from the customers or business that says to the other party: Hey, I’m not THAT serious, or Just in case things go wrong, let’s do 50/50 payment.
That’s not how things work here; we firmly tell our customers they will love our service, and that we will deliver on their expectations. Split payments doesn’t fit with that philosophy. | 2019-04-24T18:51:56Z | https://vanillavideo.com/blog/2012/100-upfront-payment-parties |
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease which can affect people of any age. It causes hot, painful, stiff and swollen joints, typically starting in the small joints of the hands or feet. The normal role of your body’s immune system is to fight off infections to keep you healthy. In an autoimmune disease, your immune system starts attacking your own healthy tissues.
In RA, the immune system targets the lining of the joints, causing inflammation and joint damage. RA usually affects smaller joints, such as the joints in the hands and feet. However larger joints such as the hips and knees can also be affected. Rheumatoid arthritis affects nearly half a million Australians.
At present, the causes of rheumatoid arthritis are not fully understood and research continues. Rheumatoid arthritis can also be triggered by other factors, including smoking and a range of infections and viruses. Whatever starts the process, the main problem in rheumatoid arthritis is that your body’s immune system begins to target your joints. While the immune system usually protects you against infections, in rheumatoid arthritis it mistakenly treats the tissue of your joints as ‘foreign’.
The resulting inflammation can lead to the painful symptoms of arthritis and permanent damage to your bones and joints if untreated. Damage to your joints can be reduced with early and ongoing treatment.
Joint pain, swelling, and tenderness to touch.
Stiffness in the joints, especially in the morning.
Joints being affected symmetrically (i.e. the same joints on both sides of the body).
How will my doctor diagnose rheumatoid arthritis?
There is no single test for rheumatoid arthritis. Because early diagnosis and correct treatment can reduce the impact of the disease, most people with symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis should visit a specialist doctor (a rheumatologist) as soon as possible. Specialists look at the results from a range of tests to help them decide whether a person has rheumatoid arthritis.
Talk to you about your symptoms, including where and when you feel joint pain.
Check whether you have had fevers, lost weight or been very tired.
Examine your hands, feet and other joints for swelling, heat, tenderness or bumps, called ‘nodules’.
Take a blood sample to check whether your body’s immune system is activated and whether it is attacking your joints.
Possibly use a needle to take a small amount of fluid from one of your affected joints.
Send you to a radiologist for an x-ray or other scan, such as an MRI or ultrasound, of the affected joints.
For more information on RA, download the RA booklet from Arthritis Australia, which serves as a practical guide to treatments, services and lifestyle choices.
Living with rheumatoid arthritis can be challenging at times and it does affect different people in different ways. In some cases, the disease may disappear, or may come and go (‘flare’) for many years. For other people, the symptoms and disability may slowly worsen over time.
If left untreated, rheumatoid arthritis may lead to damage to joints that cannot be repaired. Other parts of the body may also be affected, such as your lungs or your eyes. Fortunately, these problems outside of your joints are uncommon and the risk is reduced dramatically with treatment.
Joint inflammation may initially cause ongoing pain and some degree of disability, which can affect your ability to work or undertake home duties. This may mean changing your role at work or asking for more support at home until treatment has become effective. However, more than half of the people who develop rheumatoid arthritis continue to work for 20 years after their diagnosis. The disease cannot be ‘cured’ at present, but for most people it can be controlled with ongoing care. Many people achieve remission, which is the goal of treatment — control of symptoms and return to normal function.
For further information on living well with rheumatoid arthritis, click here to view the Rheumatoid Arthritis booklet.
Will medicine cure my rheumatoid arthritis?
At present, there is no ‘cure’ for rheumatoid arthritis. However, early use of the right medicines, as discussed by our speakers, can slow down the damage caused by the disease, relieve pain and stiffness and reduce long-term disability. The aim of treatment is to achieve remission and return to your normal activities and for many people this is achievable.
Many arthritis medicines need to be taken regularly to work properly and should not be stopped suddenly — talk to your doctor if you have concerns about side effects, safety or cost. As you may have heard in our speaker interviews, each person responds differently to arthritis medicines, which means that you will need to work with your specialist and GP to find the best medications and doses for you. This can take time, but by finding the most effective medicines with the least side effects, you can hope to really make a difference in controlling your rheumatoid arthritis.
Disease-modifying anti-inflammatory drugs (DMARDs) are designed to reduce damage to the joints rather than just ease your symptoms. They’re slow-acting so you won’t notice an immediate impact, but they’re very effective over a period of time. Drugs such as these can be helpful for arthritis in the joints of your arms and legs, although they’re not usually effective for spinal symptoms. When taking DMARDs, you’ll need regular check-ups and blood tests to monitor their effect. Methotrexate is one of the most commonly prescribed DMARD’s. This safe and effective drug has been used as first line therapy in RA (and other forms of inflammatory arthritis) for decades. Originally developed as a chemotherapy – methotrexate is used in RA in very small doses and works to ‘dampen down’ or modulate the overactive immune system, thereby reducing systemic inflammation. Taken on its own, or in conjunction with other DMARD’s, methotrexate has been shown to slow down the progression of the disease thus preventing or minimising damage to the joints, as well as reducing symptoms such as swelling, pain, morning stiffness and fatigue. Low dose methotrexate is a very effective treatment for many people with RA, and taken as directed, it can enhance mobility and function and improve quality of life.
Biological therapies are relatively new treatments that can be very effective for rheumatoid arthritis. A number of drugs are currently available for rheumatoid arthritis. These biological therapies are currently only available to patients with more severe forms of the condition if it can’t be controlled with anti-inflammatory drugs and they may not be suitable for everyone. The effect of these drugs will be monitored, and you’ll need to complete questionnaires regularly which assess how active your disease is and how well it’s responding to treatment.
Pacing by alternating heavy or repeated tasks with lighter tasks. Taking a break reduces the stress on painful joints and conserves energy by allowing weakened muscles to rest.
Positioning joints wisely promotes proper alignment and decrease excess stress. For example, squatting and kneeling may put extra stress on your hips or knees. When lifting or carrying heavy items, keep items at waist height and avoid carrying them up and down stairs.
Talk to your doctor about seeing an occupational therapist or physiotherapist, who may prescribe splints, braces or orthotics (shoe inserts) to help align and support your joints.
Using assistive devices conserves energy and makes daily tasks easier. Raise seat levels to decrease stress on hip and knee joints. Use a reacher to pick up items from the ground. Use a cane to decrease stress on hip and knee joints. Enlarge grips on utensils, such as spoons or peelers, to decrease stress on delicate hand joints. Other devices to consider include carts for carrying objects and jar/tap openers.
For additional information on living at home with arthritis, review Arthritis Australia’s ‘At home with arthritis’ which outlines a range of simple steps for managing in the home.
If you are planning for a baby, discuss your plans with your doctor beforehand as some drugs can temporarily reduce fertility. Other drugs, such as methotrexate and leflunomide, can affect the baby’s development so it’s important to use reliable contraception while you’re taking these – this applies to men wanting to father a child as well as to women.
Most mothers with rheumatoid arthritis feel better during pregnancy, possibly because the activity of the immune system is reduced during pregnancy to ‘tolerate’ the growing baby. Symptoms are likely to return once the baby is born. However, any flare-up of symptoms after the birth can usually be dealt with quickly.
‘Arthritis, Pregnancy and the Path to Parenthood’, published by Suzie May, details Suzie’s experience as a young Australian woman with rheumatoid arthritis, along with the experiences of other men and women from around the world as they fulfil their goal of becoming parents, despite their arthritis. This practical guide can help you understand the potential challenges you may face and give you strategies to overcome these challenges. The book is available here.
In addition, for women, Arthritis Australia has collated the personal stories of a range of women living with arthritis, known as ‘Women’s Insights into Rheumatoid Arthritis’.
There are many resources available to help people with rheumatoid arthritis. Your doctor may put you in touch with a social worker, who can help explain the financial and health services that are available to you. These can include any pensions or allowances that you might be entitled to, plus any financial assistance such as Health Care Concession Cards or low-cost treatment programs. Your local council, community health centre, community group or religious organisation may also offer programs that include practical advice, activities, social networks or just someone to talk to. Arthritis Australia is always here to help too.
There are many people who can help you deal with both the functional and emotional side of rheumatoid arthritis. Your first step is to try to talk honestly with your partner, parents or children about how you feel. Give them a chance to talk too – they might have worries or feel that they don’t know enough about your disease and how it is affecting you.
Visit your GP if you are worried about how well you are coping, as your GP may be able to suggest additional ways of coping, or may prescribe medicines if you are especially worried or depressed. Many people with rheumatoid arthritis will also visit a physiotherapist (physio). These practitioners can use various treatments, including exercise therapy and hydrotherapy (water exercise), to keep your joints as flexible, strong and pain-free as possible. They will also show you exercises and pain-relief techniques to use at home.
You might also visit an occupational therapist (OT), or they may come to your home or work. OTs can provide advice on how to do things in a way that reduces joint strain and pain and teach you strategies to protect the mobility of your joints, particularly those in your hands. They may also suggest changes to your house — such as new taps — or aids such as splints that can make life easier and protect your joints.
A podiatrist can help take care of your feet. They may find ways to reduce the pain in your toes, knees or hips, perhaps by providing shoe inserts or advice on footwear.
Thank you to Arthritis Society (Canada) and Arthritis Research UK for contribution of content and materials the above overview. | 2019-04-18T16:37:18Z | https://empowered.org.au/rheumatoid-arthritis/ |
"It is out of the question that groups like al-Nusra and al-Qaeda can take shelter in our country," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on November 7 at a press conference during an official visit to Stockholm. "On the contrary," he said, "any such structures would be subject to the same fight we carry out against separatist terrorist groups. We have taken the necessary steps against them and we will continue to do so."
Erdogan's comments come shortly after accusations that Turkey has been supporting radical factions of the Syrian opposition and al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, specifically Al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham. The two groups have gained prominence throughout the course of the Syrian conflict, emerging as part of the resistance against Syrian President Bashir al-Assad. Over the past several months, the groups have gained ground in the northern part of Syria and along the Turkish-Syrian border.
At the beginning of the Syrian conflict, Erdogan's government was one of the strongest supporters of the Syrian opposition and repeatedly called on Al-Assad to step down. The Turkish government has openly declared its support for the Free Syrian Army, which is affiliated with the Istanbul-based Syrian National Coalition.
Ankara also kept an open-door policy throughout the more than two year-long Syrian conflict, providing a lifeline to rebel-controlled areas. However, in the past two years the Turkish government has repeatedly denied supporting any Syrian groups that are radical in nature.
Still, news reports have claimed that Turkey provides support to radical Islamist groups. In an August interview with Turkish publication Taraf, Saleh Muslim, the leader of the Kurdish Syrian group known as the Democratic Union Party, said that his group had intelligence confirming transfers of ammunition between Turkish and Syrian borders.
Muslim added that the al-Nusra group picked up the weapons in preparation for an attack on Kurdish villages just over the border in northern Syria. "It is impossible to understand how Turkey lets this happen," he said. "If the al-Nusra Front is the enemy, then this should be prevented."
While Muslim's comments did not directly implicate the Turkish government in supporting the radical groups, his frustration seemed to stem from the Erdogan government's turning a blind eye towards al-Qaeda affiliated groups and allowing them to conduct operations on Turkish soil largely uninhibited.
Recently, Turkey seems to have changed its diplomatic tone towards Syria. This change comes following a series of incidents that occurred over the last few months around the Turkish-Syrian border, namely the bombing in Ryhanli, Turkey this past May.
The attack, allegedly carried out by those linked to the Syrian intelligence agency, left more than 50 people dead and drew verbal outcry from the Turkish public and opposition parties, who blamed the bombing partially on the Turkish government for its weak diplomacy with Syria.
The Turkish people also expressed frustration at what they saw as a passive attitude from the United States on the Turkish-Syrian conflict. A recent deal between the United States and Russia that will dismantle Syria's chemical weapons instead of pursuing military action against Al-Assad has left Turkey isolated in its efforts to forcefully intervene in Syrian politics and oust Al-Assad.
In a positive development, Hassan Rouhani's July election to the Iranian presidency presented Ankara with a rare opportunity to collaborate with a moderate political figure unlike his predecessor. A two-pronged approach in Turkey and Iran engaging Syria could prove effective in quelling Syria's violence.
What many consider to be Turkey's relaxed policy toward al-Qaeda affiliates – who have targeted Kurdish villages and Syrian Kurdish groups – has been threatening peaceful talks between Ankara and the outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party. These talks were designed to end the decades-long Kurdish conflict that began in 1984 and has since resulted in the death of more than 40,000 people.
By endangering these talks, the Turkish government is compromising a 10-month ceasefire with the Kurdistan Workers Party, a period during which not a single Turkish soldier died. The ceasefire and the talks have been a highly welcomed development for most of the Turkish public.
Losing these negotiations could, according to both the European Union and the United States, threaten the Justice and Development Party's chances of staying in power following the country's next major elections.
It is likely that with the recent bombing and outcry against the Turkish government, Erdogan's team has been reevaluating its approach to handling the Syrian conflict. On October 15, the Turkish army reported that it had fired at strongholds of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the insurgent group's mortar attacks from hideaways in Syria's mountain ranges.
This marked one of the first retaliations by Turkish forces targeting an al-Qaeda affiliate. On October 10, the Turkish government announced that it had frozen the assets of businessmen with links to al-Qaeda and Taliban groups.
On November 7, Turkish police seized a cargo truck full of rocket heads, bazookas, missiles, bombs and guns near the southern province of Adana. The truck was believed to have been en route to al-Qaeda affiliates based in Syria.
Some argue that the revival of Turkish policies designed to quell radical groups' activities could clear Turkey from allegations that it is assisting them. Analysts warn, however, that this could also lead to Turkey becoming a target for radical groups.
"Turkey's going public with the identity of the target could introduce a new element to recently heightened accusations of Turkey helping radical groups," said writer Nihat Ali Ozcan in an October article for the website Al-Monitor. But this "could also make Turkey a target, especially for al-Qaeda and its affiliates," he added.
Just two weeks after Ozcan's statements, Today's Zaman newspaper published a report suggesting that the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was planning to target major Turkish cities, citing reports from Turkish intelligence officials. "Their vehicles are being prepared in Syria's northern city of Raqqa," stated the report. "Intelligence units discovered detailed information on Oct. 30 about ISIS's plan to carry out a terrorist attack, and got in contact with local units."
Following the Today's Zaman report, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria allegedly issued a statement from Abu Mohammed Al-Adnani, a spokesperson for the group. In the statement, he denied that the group had any plans to attack Turkey or other countries. Al-Adnani also accused the Syrian regime and its media outlets of fabricating news.
Numerous observers of the Syrian conflict also said an impending attack seemed unlikely. "There is no truth at all to supposed plans to target Turkish cities," said Aymen Jawad Al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, in an emailed comment to The Atlantic Post. "The alleged statements are fabrications from pro-Assad circles," he said, "who are aiming to cajole Turkey into tightening security on the border and stop the inflow of foreign fighters into Syria."
Al-Tamimi argued that Turkey "does not do anything" to stop the flow of foreign fighters into Syria to join ISIS or al-Nusra. He said Turkey "sees these groups as useful proxies against the [Democratic Union Party] and they have not actually threatened to attack Turkey."
However, according to recent comments by Democratic Union Party leaders, Ankara is believed to have stopped the flow of al-Qaeda fighters crossing into Syria. "The [radical groups] are not attacking us after crossing to [Syria] from Turkey as before," said Saleh Muslim in November, according to Turkish publication Taraf. "This is very good news. We hope that Turkey will continue this stance [towards the extremist groups]."
Aaron Stein, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies and a Ph.D candidate at King's University told The Atlantic Post in an interview this month that "it is still too early to tell, though Saleh Muslim's recent assertion that foreign fighters have not entered from Turkey to fight the [Democratic Union Party] was noteworthy." Turkey's border areas, he said, are still flooded with Syrian and foreign fighters, adding that "it would be unrealistic to assume that Ankara can simply make them go away overnight."
Whether or not Turkey supported radical Syrian rebels or at least provided a lifeline for them in the past, as many believe, Stein agrees that Ankara is definitely rethinking its foreign policy strategy as a result of complications with radical groups in the region.
"I wouldn't say that Turkey has adopted a new Syria policy per se, but rather is taking pragmatic steps to prepare for a future filled with conflict," said Stein. "Ankara's recent moves in Iraq and Iran aren't really a foreign policy reset, but rather a pragmatic and smart step to compartmentalize Turkey's relationship with states in the region."
It is no stretch to say that the Turkish government was overly ambitious in thinking that unrest in Syria could be resolved before radical groups had the chance to cement their place in Turkish and Syrian society. Erdogan's government was also disappointed by other countries like the United States and Russia resorting to a less aggressive, more diplomatic approach with Syria.
What became a diplomatic, and in many ways, a drawn-out solution to solving the crisis in Syria left the country with a mixture of complicated ethnic and sectarian conflicts that have yet to be fully addressed. Syria's civil war also provided a basis for radical and terrorist groups to expand their activities in the country unhindered. Turkey is late in tackling the Syrian conflict, but according to Stein, correcting the problem is not impossible. "Turkey," he said, "will always be an important player in the Syrian conflict." | 2019-04-25T23:50:26Z | http://www.aymennjawad.org/14039/turkey-reevaluating-its-approach-towards-radical |
Welcome to our Writer Wednesday segment for this week.
OK, let’s get cracking with the main event.
I am very excited to introduce to you all Mexican Horror writer extraordinaire Maese Delta, as he takes us on a journey into an epic fantasy world full of chills and adventure.
Thanks for reading and as always, have fun friends.
Hi there Maese, a real pleasure to have you over here to discuss your horror writing, along with your writing passions, influences and experiences.
Let’s start with your debut novel that you just published at the end of last year “Crimson Malice”. Congratulations for getting it out there and for giving us a hearty horror meal to sink our teeth into! Please tell us more about what type of book you have written, in terms of the story/fantasy elements, along with what perils the lead protagonists face and what is ultimately at stake for them at the core of your story.
For 15 years, I’ve created a world (Everdant) in which to develop my stories, carrying the sublime and the terrible, the epic and the wicked in the human condition.
In Crimson Malice, it’s about a girl who develops an increasing, morbid fascination with blood. its very sight impossible to look away from it. Whether by stumbling into fresh kills from the animals in the forest where she lives, or glimpsing bruises on others and even her own, they all will serve to turn it into a more dangerous habit should she fail to control the urge.
The village in where she lives has remained undisturbed for a while, despite fear and superstition lingering beyond their reach. Although they are seen and revered as healers/protectors, in neighbouring realms the presence of witches is feared, for they are not always easy to kill with mortal weapons, and given their lore in magic, they can toy with flesh, mind and nature just as easily, whether meddling in the affairs of realms or spreading terror to those who fancy themselves as the sturdiest men, bloodied yet unbowed.
That’s when the plot brings up the role of Einar, who serves as the chieftain of the village, who has been asked to keep a watch on the witches’ community, by order of king Crovan, commonly known as the Raven Lord. There has been a disturbing increase in miscarriages, and he fears it might be work of a foul curse, which he seeks to find whatever means to lift it. When he finds out that his wife is soon to give birth, he would grow even more restless to secure an heir as well as keeping his wife alive, and in the meantime, searching for those he can trust and sort out the witch who has cursed the women in his realm.
As for Omina, she vows to restrain her urges for as long as she can before letting any incident to draw any attention to her and her mother, as well as the other witches in the village. As the daughter of a healer witch, there can only be so much trust between them as the antics once done as a child become tangled with the morbid arousal for blood. And thus, from quick glimpses to cuts and bruises, to dreams of cutting herself, there might be circumstances which won’t be under her control anymore.
What is it about the Horror genre that attracts you to it the most regarding your own writing and reading habits?
An appreciation for the uncanny, the disturbing, the unnatural; the very encounter of something that defies belief and reason, not just in the rarest of circumstances, but also in the most common of places, as if it were the ripping of a veil from the common life and thus, sets a whole new situation to deal with.
For the protagonist, Omina, I think Krysten Ritter would be fine. For Einar, that would be Stellan Skarsgård, while for the Raven Lord, I’d say Rufus Sewell. Another one I’ve envisioned is Cillian Murphy as Renksen, lead physician of the Ravenheads (they’re like Plague doctors).
For the most difficult, pacing. Sometimes, I get past the limit of pages I might have for a chapter, and when dealing with timelines that span more stories, I need to check on them to rule out any contradictions.
As for the easiest, that would be planning out stories. In fact, it’s something I’ve been doing pretty much with almost all of my stories. First, I’ll write down all the chapter titles, just like that. That is how set my mind on finishing a tale or novel.
It’s a habit I got for recalling movies’ names, or the chapters in which they were divided in DVDs, and also, the song titles in albums. I’d say it’s like a leitmotif, picking words and turning them into chapter titles, and from there, to develop a whole story, from beginning to end.
Epic fantasy: JRR Tolkien, George R R Martin, Andrzej Sapkowski and Kentaro Miura.
Horror: Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgson and Horacio Quiroga.
General fiction: John Milton, Giovanni Papini, Kurt Erich Suckert (Curzio Malaparte) and Pat Frank. As a bonus, for this one I’ll add Juan Rulfo.
Usually check on other books related to the genre I’m going to write. I’ll ready some outlines and notes when it comes to more specific themes and plots, literary devices and research about things I ought to know before using them in the story.
After seeing ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ back in 2001, it was like a revelation to me. Not only did it led to become a fan of epic fantasy but to appreciate the movie of story-telling in both movies and books. I began hoarding as much as I could of epic story whether Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Eastern, Fantasy and Modern ones.
To be able to portray in words the very things that define the human condition in characters I have created, for stories that stop being just a mere collection of words. Even though they might end up as mere entertainment, here and there, they are for me like an echo, a call, hints of things that are not meant to be ignored.
Most of the time I’m writing while listening to music, classical or soundtracks from movies and videogames, so it gets me in the proper mood for writing. Should that not be enough, I take a break and get to read another book or watch a movie.
However, even when I’m not fully aware that I should be finding for inspiration in everything, as if I had to force it, to struggle for it, there’s the habit of making references, wordplay, even puns…it can be triggered by certain things I get to see and/or hear.
Learn to appreciate the classic literature of more countries, never lose the sense of wonder, whether for the sublime and terrible that is the human condition.
Reading, playing videogames, taking care of my pet bunnies, visiting friends.
Finishing half of the stories already planned, and learning to paint with watercolours to illustrate my favourite scenes from those stories.
Read and write, do not lose the sense of wonder, not just at the human endeavours but at the very things already happening in nature. Like Algernon Blackwood once said, a marvel that instructs.
Maese Delta was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. He began writing after seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Such fascination with stories, fantastical or historical from around the world led him to quickly develop a passion and interest that enriched his imagination. And as such it helped to discover and keep other wonders like Metal music, swordmanship, history and folklore.
His main interests are Epic Fantasy and Horror, being influenced on the former by Tolkien, Martin, Miura and Sapkowski; and on the latter by Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgson and Horacio Quiroga.
Since 2001 to this present day, he has spent working on the world of Everdant, for which a two volume novel was written originally in english and then translated into spanish. In the last years of his college life, he began writing some stories ranging from fantasy to horror to submit to contests and anthologies while outlining more tales…a strife which recently came to fruition after fifteen years with the accepted submission of the book Crimson Malice.
As a personal project, he’s translating in English his favorite works of authors such Giovanni Papini and Curzio Malaparte, seeking after further completion the way to get them properly published to spread the word.
35. Live Free 2 Sail Fast – LF 2 SF- What the hell does this mean?
60. sonja benskin mesher – . were we dreaming?
108. Giggles & Tales – The Daily Prompt – Illusion!
115. Site Title – Ghosts- An illusion?
133. Turn Your Passion into Profit – Is Blogging A Realistic Business For You?
147. mylocalweb – Should a working woman marry?
150. Life with Jess – By All Means, Paint!
155. Zombie Flamingos – The Caturday before Vacay!
164. Maya – I’m a Writer, Yes, I Am!
173. kaitie’s wings – It’s an illusion that you could hurt each me.
184. Southern By Design – Is It All An Illusion?
229. Buried Alive – Live life; make meaning.
231. This Moment – So what about THIS moment?
235. the15thday – “magic” is meh. a(n) haiku!
239. My decision: Your loss! Leaping over Illusion! – Chronicles of an Orange-Haired Woman!
Great interview. And thanks so much for including me in your list of posts!
Thank you for linking to my post on your list. I really appreciate it. Great interview too :)! | 2019-04-26T06:48:35Z | https://toofulltowrite.com/2017/06/29/author-interview-maese-delta/ |
After the success at the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam and at the Denim Premiere Vision in Paris, geopower nps continues its tour!
geopower nps™, Garmon's compound that helps eliminating pumice stones from denim washing, was launched at Kingpins Amsterdam and is still promoted this week at Denim by PV. Garmon has also chosen Kingpins Amsterdam also to launch GreenScreen Certified™.
Garmon Chemicals continue making a big splash in the market with their nimbus and nimbus-z innovations.
Garmon Chemicals will be one of the speakers at the Transformers conference that will take place in Amsterdam on Oct 24th 2016.
In collaboration with respected industry players, Garmon has been developing a whole new range of responsible chemical solutions conceived specifically to work with cutting-edge equipment and carbon footprint.
Being committed to positive change, Garmon proudly announces the commercial release of two new compounds that effectively enrich the range cleared through GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals.
Garmon Chemicals innovates rather than repair. avol oxy white is the true alternative to potassium permanganate in denim, a forward looking-innovation and not just problem solving.
Garmon Chemical's new products and The Italian Job's new collection will be at the Denimsandjeans.com Vietnam on June 16-17, 2016.
Garmon & The Italian Job @ Kingpins Amsterdam 2016 and the collaboration with Invista, Archroma, Lenzing and Royo.
Garmon & The Italian Job @ SS '17 Kingpins Amsterdam and the presentation of optima.
Changing course. Welcome to the first issue of the Garmon Chronicles newsletter.
Garmon Chemicals has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability as part of a new growth strategy, which includes a set of strategic green action aimed at increasing transparency and traceability in the company and throughout the industry.
Garmon Chemicals renewed its commitment to a more environmental friendly and transparent use of chemicals within itself and the fashion industry. The new goal for the company, which was purchased in January 2018 by the US-based Kemin Industries group, is to implement a multiple initiatives including product innovations, workshops and new certifications.
Through product innovations, thought leadership and new certifications, Garmon Chemicals is reinforcing its commitment to an increasingly green and transparent use of chemicals.
Garmon Chemicals is relaunching its commitment to an increasingly green and transparent use of chemicals. The new goal for the company, which in January 2018 has become part of the US Kemin Industries group, is to embark on an actual journey towards sustainability, integrating product innovation with increasingly distinctive strategic actions.
Garmon Chemicals, la società che da gennaio è entrata a far parte del gruppo USA Kemin Industries, rilancia il proprio impegno verso una chimica sempre più verde e trasparente con la costruzione di un percorso di sostenibilità.
Product innovations, thought-leadership and the new certifications. A set of strategic green actions, aimed at increasing transparency and traceability in the company and throughout the industry.
On May 31, Garmon Chemicals, Cottonsmith, a Cotton USA brand license, and the College of Fashion and Design, Donghua University, held the event “Cotton Creation Era–Denim Creative Design Award Ceremony” at Naked Hub in Shanghai. The aim of the initiative was to promote the importance of the traceability and sustainability of cotton raw materials, fabrics, design and production.
Kingpins Amsterdam marked its fifth anniversary this week, as the invite-only trade fair hosted a new lineup of innovative denim manufacturers. The occasion was celebrated with a series of events, parties, exhibitions, and seminars ranging from all facets of the denim industry.
Strengthened by its recent acquisition by Kemin Industries, Garmon has developed what it says is a "cutting-edge" Stretch Care green collection.
Responsible chemistry for a successful fashion design. Garmon Chemicals leads sustainable brand-driven innovation with its new course, unveiled at the Kingpins Show Amsterdam.
Garmon Chemicals restarts from the future, directly from the stage of the Kingpins Show Amsterdam.
Denim aficionados are getting ready for Kingpins Amsterdam, which will be full of events and celebrations to mark its fifth anniversary.
Responsible chemistry for a successful fashion design.
Strengthened with the acquisition by Kemin Industries, Garmon sets a whole new scenario for chemicals in fashion, with a new Marketing Director and the cutting-edge Stretch Care green collection.
Garmon Chemicals, an international provider of chemical auxiliaries, innovation and creativity for garment processing, today announced an exciting new chapter in its 30-year history.
Dopo il lancio ufficiale ad aprile 2017 a Kingpins Amsterdam, Geopower NPS è subito entrato a far parte delle prassi industriali di molti denim-manufacturer di livello mondiale. Oggi importanti realtà del mercato parlano con entusiasmo di questa innovazione sostenibile come del primo e unico composto chimico che aiuta davvero a limitare, se non eliminare, l’uso della pietra pomice dal processo di lavaggio del denim.
The first Denimsandjeans India show organised by Denimsandjeans India concluded on a high note on September 26 at the Hotel Lalit, Bangalore. Being one of the busiest denim shows, both exhibitors and visitors expressed their satisfaction with the visits at the show.
Kingpins Transformers and ZDHC’s Roadmap to Zero - (ZDHC) Programme - are pleased to announce a collaboration to drive more sustainable chemistry and accelerate innovations to improve environmental performance in the denim industry.
A new series of initiatives will debut from the Transformers edition in New York for Spring 2018 – to be named “The Transparency edition”–and will further grow in 2019. They will be made possible thanks to a newly signed agreement between Kingpins Transformers and ZDHC’s Roadmap-to-Zero - (ZDHC) Programme, a collaboration meant to drive more sustainable chemistry and accelerate environmental performance for the denim industry. Two partners involved in the initiative are Garmon Chemicals and Archroma.
After six months of extensive industrial testing around the World, Geopower NPS – launched by Garmon Chemicals 6 months ago - has established itself as the true alternative to pumice stones in denim processing. Now Garmon Chemicals positions Geopower NPS as the breakthrough that has taken denim finishing by surprise.
Garmon Chemicals, the leader in the R&D and marketing of total chemical solutions for the apparel industry headquartered in San Marino, presented its Geopower NPS compound at the recently held Kingpins show in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on October 25 and 26, 2017. Geopower NPS, which was launched in April 2017, helps eliminate pumice stones from denim washing.
Kingpins Transformers has joined forces with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Roadmap-to-Zero Programme to help drive sustainable change within the denim industry. This new initiative, which follows on from the concept 'Roadmap to Rational Denim', will be led and supported by two founding members of Kingpins Transformer: Alberto De Conti, from Garmon Chemicals and Miguel Sanchez, from Archroma.
Kingpins Transformers and ZDHC Foundation’s Roadmap-to-Zero Program announced a collaboration to drive more sustainable chemistry and to accelerate innovations to improve environmental performance for the denim industry. Leading the initiative are two founding members and key contributors of Kingpins Transformers, Garmon Chemicals CMO Alberto De Conti and Miguel Sanchez, Archroma head global business development—denim and casualwear.
Geopower NPS is a new compound that aims to help eliminate pumice stones from denim washing. “The product is a result of 12 months of extensive research and tests carried out in industrial environments around the world.
L’intervento di Marco Nava Global Sales Director di Garmon Chemicals ha illustrato l’approccio orientato alla sostenibilità da parte di Garmon Chemicals, azienda leader nel settore dei prodotti chimici avanzati per il mondo dell’abbigliamento. Garmon Chemicals supporta i più importanti player internazionali del fashion attraverso soluzioni che danno all’utente finale esattamente quello che cerca: capi valorizzati da trattamenti all’avanguardia e dall’alto valore estetico, sicuri per il consumatore e sostenibili per il pianeta.
During ‘Garmon SPA Seminar’, Marco Nava, Global Sales Director, Garmon Chemicals, unveiled the sustainability-oriented approach of Garmon Chemicals. It is the advanced chemical supplier for the apparel world that provides worldwide fashion players with solutions that give wearers exactly what they ask for – garments enhanced by modern and beautiful fashion treatments that are safe for them and for the planet.
The 6th Edition at a glance: With exhibitors from 12 Countries, 4 unique Seminars & workshops, and a bigger ‘Trend Zone’ with a brand new ‘Information Exchange Zone’, the 6th edition of the denim show has marked another leap forward.
3rd seminar was by Garmon S.P.A Seminar. Seminar speaker was Marco Nava, Global Sales Director.
L’ultima edizione di Kingpins ad Amsterdam potrebbe essere stata quella del commiato della pietra pomice dal mondo del denim. Garmon Chemicals ha infatti presentato Geopower NPS, con l’acronimo di No Pumice Stone, un composto frutto di dodici mesi di ricerche ed esperimenti in ambienti industriali di tutto il mondo.
Dai laboratori chimici della Garmon Chemicals è nato Geopower nps, composto che aiuta a eliminare l’impiego della pietra pomice nel lavaggio del denim.
Geopower NPS™ is the name of the latest innovation by Garmon Chemicals, promising to transform dramatically the approach to garment finishing: an environmentally conscious, cutting-edge chemical compound able to remove pumice stone from denim washing while obtaining the same result in a sustainable and advantageous way.
In Amsterdam, where the cost of sustainability was a hot topic during Kingpins Transformers, Garmon Chemicals rolled out Geopower NPS, the company’s newest effort to establish strong and effective R&D that sets a new standard for sustainable practices.
The push and pull between rigid and stretch, authentic and performance, and fast and handcrafted played out at Kingpins Amsterdam and Denim Première Vision, where a global blend of mills, trim suppliers and other elements of the denim supply chain came together to present their Autumn/Winter 2018-2019 collections and innovations.
The recent Kingpins show in Amsterdam saw the launch of a new certification standard that promotes the use of inherently safer chemicals in textile products.
From fiber companies to designers, the denim industry came together in Amsterdam on Friday for Kingpins Transformers: The Cost of Sustainability. Experts and innovators from all along the denim supply chain discussed the opportunities and costs of making the denim business truly sustainable.
The recently closed edition of the show, held on 19 and 20 April 2017, in Amsterdam’s Westergasfabriek saw very busy halls and a highly positive and collaborative networking atmosphere.
Today in Amsterdam at the Kingpins Show for the denim industry, Clean Production Action (CPA) launched GreenScreen Certified™ for Textile Chemicals.
Dear Friends of Clean Production Action, I have so much news to share with you. Here are the quick highlights.
A new certification programme for textiles has been developed that meets industry demand for safer chemicals in manufacturing and that communicates their use across supply chains.
Clean Production Action (CPA) has launched GreenScreen Certified for Textile Chemicals at the Kingpins Show for the denim industry currently underway in Amsterdam. The new programme builds on GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals, and meets industry demand for safer chemicals in manufacturing and communicating the use of those chemicals across supply chains.
Garmon Chemicals, the forward-looking Italian firm leader in the R&D and marketing of total chemical solutions for garment finishes, is the first company with GreenScreen Certified™ formulations.
Amsterdam is getting into denim, and is making a regular habit of it, as once again the heart of the Dutch capital will go blue-jeans crazy in mid-April.
The adage says, “You are what you eat.” But what about what you wear?
Garmon Chemicals, with its HQ located in the Republic of San Marino, recently presented its latest innovation, Nimbus, which is a revolution in denim finishing, with water saving of up to 80 per cent combined with chemical safety.
“Nimbus-z” by Garmon Chemicals, offers safe processes for the nebulization of enzymes in closed systems, which aims to alter the traditional idea of stone washing.
Garmon Chemicals has developed a new way of finishing denim that "revolutionises" the traditional processe of stone washing by spraying enzymes onto garments within closed system such as washing machines.
Every time a new molecule is discovered, De Conti said there’s a long process of regulation, which differs from country to country. On top of this, brands have their own initiatives and restricted substance lists. As a chemical company, Garmon has more than 200 brand-driven lists that it must follow.
Alberto De Conti of Garmon says:"Vietnam's offer is very heterogeneus. Many different international jeans brands including premium ones, retail groups and chains of stores produce and finish their garment here."
This is the press generated by the Nimbus initiative at Kingpins Amsterdam. The news is also inclusive of the Transformers event that took place during the same week in Amsterdam and that saw Garmon being one of the main actors.
At Kingpins tradeshow, the first-ever boutique trade show focusing on branding in the denim industry currently taking place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Garmon Chemicals is presenting their latest innovation – Nimbus, the very first range of chemical auxiliaries and dyes for garment finishing with water savings up to 80 per cent combined with chemical safety.
Je moet een behoorlijk portie geduld hebben tijdens de zesde editie van Kingpins Amsterdam. Er zijn veel mensen op het denim-evenement in de Westergasfabriek afgekomen en de gangpaden zijn behoorlijk gevuld. Vaak moet je even wachten voor je iemand kan spreken bij een stand. Maar dat mag de pret allemaal niet drukken; denim leeft en het gaat de hele dag over niets anders. En het gaat natuurlijk om de nieuwste innovaties. Wie presenteert de nieuwste technieken en wie komt er met de nieuwste innovaties en trends?
Textile chemical supplier Garmon Chemicals is introducing Nimbus, its new range of chemical auxiliaries and dyes specifically selected to be nebulized in closed systems, at the Kingpins show taking place in Amsterdam this week.
Garmon Chemicals, leader in innovative chemical auxiliaries and solutions for garment treatments in the apparel industry, is showing its latest innovation at the denim expo by Kingpins Show, the first-ever boutique trade show focusing on branding in the denim industry, held on October 26 to 27, 2016, in Amsterdam, Westergasfabriek, at the Netherlands.
It’s no secret that “denim is a dirty business.” But does this mean our love affair with denim is over? To open the KingPins 2016 Amsterdam Show, on Monday October 24, 10 leaders transforming the denim industry were invited to answer one question: Is the scary part of hazardous chemicals on the way? The day, dubbed the “Transformers” invited a range of perspectives from the chemical industry, manufacturers, brands, and industry coalitions, and while there was certainly some debate, common themes emerged.
“Toxic Future: Is the Scary Part of Hazardous Chemicals On the Way?” Such was the question raised at the Transformers seminar in Amsterdam on Monday, ahead of the Kingpins denim trade show, slated to kick off here later this week.
Each Kingpins Transformers, the seasonal summit focusing on the social, economic and environmental challenges facing the denim industry, brings attention to the need for industry-wide regulations.
AMSTERDAM – This week's KingPins 2016 Amsterdam Show kicked off with a debate - led by the ZDHC - about the textile chemicals industry, and asked the chemical industry, manufacturers, brands, and industry coalitions whether the "scary part of hazardous chemicals on the way?"
Garmon Chemicals stay true to their deeply conscious spirit and their active participations at the forthcoming Kingpins Transformers confirm their strong, responsible approach.
AMSTERDAM – Textile chemical supplier Garmon Chemicals has teamed up with finishing technology business Tonello and enzyme producer Novozymes to launch a new range of chemical auxiliaries and dyes specifically selected to be delivered through mist application in closed systems.
The upcoming edition of Kingpins Amsterdam (26-27 October 2016) which will be taking place at Westergasfabriek, in Amsterdam, will welcome denim and jeanswear market insiders with some novelties, including hot topic seminars, trend forecasts and the anticipation of its Global Denim Awards at the evening of the first day of show.
How is the denim industry ensuring safety with regards to toxic chemicals? And what tools does the industry need to reduce its use of hazardous chemicals?
Foi lançada em 2004, no formato de uma pequena cadeia de suprimentos focada nas diferentes tribos da indústria denim, em Nova Iorque. Hoje, é uma gigante direcional do universo da ganga, cuja abrangência alcança as dimensões de uma turné internacional, sinalizando com precisão tendências relativas aos tecidos, 'fits' e acabamentos do jeans.
Garmon Chemicals entre os palestrantes da conferência Transformer em Amsterdam.
Once seen as a niche part of the fashion industry, being eco-conscious has rapidly become one of the hottest 'topics' of our time.
With technology evolving every day, INVISTA in collaboration with Garmon S.p.A., the premiere denim finishing house, is launching an all-new innovative collection of knit denim concept garments at the ongoing Kingpins Show 2016 in New York City, USA.
Invista, owners of the Lycra brand, and Garmon, the premiere denim finishing house, has developed a collection of knit denim concept garments which integrates fabrics made with Invista's Lycra Hybrid technology together with Garmon's latest finishing technique GreenScreen for chemical formulation assessment.
Italian chemical company that specializes in chemicals formulated for denim finishing. Garmon has incorporated GreenScreen assessments into their product development process. The results allow Garmon to develop and formulate chemical finishes with relatively low human health and environmental impact.
INVISTA, owners of the LYCRA® brand, and Garmon S.p.A., the premiere denim finishing house, will debut a collection of knit denim concept garments at the Kingpins Show in New York City.
INVISTA, owners of the LYCRA™ brand, and Garmon S.p.A., the premiere denim finishing house, will debut a collection of knit denim concept garments at the Kingpins Show in New York City on May 11-12.
Italian chemical specialist Garmon has launched add-art, a new garment dyeing process.
Archroma, Garmon, Lenzing and Royo collaborated on a project to produce denim garments based on the most efficient possible use of resources. The project, presented at Kingpins Show in Amsterdam, focused on water savings from fiber to finish.
INVISTA, owners of the LYCRA® brand, and Garmon S.p.A., the premiere denim finishing house, debuted a collection of knit denim concept garments at the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam.
INVISTA, propriétaires de la marque LYCRA® et Garmon SpA, la maison première denim finition, a débuté une collection de denim tricot Concept vêtements au Kingpins Show. La collection intègre les tissus fabriqués avec la technologie HYBRID LYCRA® INVISTA ensemble avec les dernières techniques de finition de Garmon, y compris des formulations chimiques évaluées en utilisant GreenScreen®for produits chimiques plus sûrs.
Invista y Garmon S.p.A., una de las principales empresas mundiales de acabados para tejidos de denim, acaban de presentar una colección conceptual de prendas de denim de punto en la feria Kingpins.
Invista launched its second collection of knit denim in collaboration with denim finishing house Garmon S.p.A..
Archroma, a Switzerland based global colour and specialty chemical company, introduced Roadmap to Rational Denim – a collaborative project on denim by Archroma, Garmon, Lenzing and Royo.
El show de Kingpins disfrutó de su quinta edición en Westergasterrein, Amsterdam, junto con su feria debut, Why by Kingpins, la semana pasada. Mirá lo más destacado en fotos y videos a continuación.
"'roadmap to rational denim' collaborative project to be introduced at Kingpins Amsterdam."
'Roadmap to Rational Denim' intends to demonstrate that fashion, innovation and sustainability can perfectly partner. The project is the brainchild of several companies: Archroma, Garmon, Lenzing and Royo, who are recognized experts in their respective area of the denim supply chain and share the same belief that denim can be made in a more responsible way.
Ambas compañías han introducido una colección conceptual de prendas de denim de punto en la feria Kingpins, que acaba de acontecer en Amsterdam.
'Roadmap to Rational Denim' intended to demonstrate that fashion, innovation and sustainability can perfectly partner. The project is the brainchild of several companies: Archroma, Garmon, Lenzing and Royo, who are recognized experts in their respective area of the denim supply chain and share the same belief that denim can be made in a more responsible way.
L’industria del denim si trova ad affrontare una sfida. Se vuole continuare ad attirare clienti sensibili alla provenienza dei prodotti e alla loro composizione, deve reinventarsi.
Global textile chemicals specialists Archroma is going to present a collaborative project and a prototype collection – “Roadmap to Rational Denim” – at The Kingpins Show in Amsterdam. This project is being unveiled by four leading companies in the denim supply chain – Archroma, and Garmon Chemicals, fibre producer Lenzing and denim fabric producer Royo.
Invista y Garmon se alían y presentan su colección conceptual de Denim de punto con tecnología Lycra Hybrid.
"Some denim brands do think of sustainability, but most just go for what looks good" said Kris Dumon, branding and futuristic consultant, and co-founderof Why by Kingpins Show.
Four leading companies in the denim supply chain are this week unveiling a new project designed to provide a working roadmap towards more sustainable jeans production, which includes a prototype collection based on the most efficient use of resources.
In a significant development, four leading companies in the denim supply chain are unveiling a new project designed to provide a working roadmap towards more sustainable jeans production.
"Invista and Garmon debut knit denim concept collection with Lycra Hybrid technology"
Invista, owner of the Lycra brand, and Garmon S.p.A., a leading denim finishing house, are debuting a collection of knit denim concept garments at the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam.
"A Kingpins Archroma, Garmon, Lenzing e Royo lanciano la 'Roadmap to rational denim'"
Poker d'assi ad Amsterdam in favore della sostenibilità: Archroma, Garmon, Lenzing e Royo presentano a Kingpins il progetto "Roadmap to rational denim". Per spiegare che moda, innovazione e attenzione all'ambiente vanno di pari passo.
"Greenscreen For Safer Chemicals Showcased In Two Textile Innovations"
GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals (GreenScreen) appears in two new textile innovations that will debut at the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam.
"New project sets out roadmap to sustainable denim"
Textile chemicals specialists Archroma and Garmon Chemicals, fibre producer Lenzing and denim fabric producer Royo have all joined forces for the 'Roadmap to Rational Denim' project.
"Archroma leads sustainable denim pilot"
INVISTA, owners of the LYCRA® brand, and Garmon S.p.A., the premiere denim finishing house, will debut a collection of knit denim concept garments at the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam.
Archroma introduced the Roadmap to Rational Denim collaborative project and prototype collection, to be presented at The Kingpins Show in Amsterdam.
"Garmon Chemicals' green revolution at Kingpins"
Brand-new products and prestigious collaborations in the name of sustainability: join Garmon Chemicals' green revolution at Kingpins.
Invista and Garmon debut knit denim concept collection with Lycra® hybrid technology.
"Logo redesigns. Signs of the times"
Fresher logos are cool for ingredients and fibers.
In the name of sustainability.
Garmon Chemicals introduces GreenScreen® for safer Chemicals to the apparel industry.
Garmon Chemicals starts its first partnership with the Turkish denim mill Orta Anadolu, for the production of a highly eco-conscious denim with GreenScreen® certified chemicals.
Garmon Chemicals changes the paradigm in fashion, introducing the GreenScreen® certification in the apparel industry.
The next green revolution in fashion starts from chemistry. | 2019-04-21T23:01:22Z | http://garmonchemicals.it/news |
You are about to submit a review request for Powercode. Once AppFutura looks into your case and validates your identity through LinkedIn, a team member will contact you for a more thorough review. You will be able to explain all details about your experience in a personal interview.
Proudly based in Ukraine, our passionate, user-oriented designers have an iron grip of the tools we use to build exceptional digital experiences. We believe web development should never be boring. It should never be weak.
We never forget that your business goals drive everything. That’s why our beautiful web and mobile designs blend your brand objectives into intuitive and impactful products every step of the way.
Every project we take on is highly customized. We don’t do out-of-the-box solutions because we know that every project is unique. Your application is built for you, solves your challenge, and delivers what you want it to. Besides - we don’t like doing the same thing twice.
Ready to find out what PowerCode can do for you? Contact us and we will pick a team to create an ideal product for you.
The client also wanted maintenance post development to take care of future bugs and updates from Apple/Google forcing the app not to function as planned.
Powercode’s project manager Maxim is really skilful and professional. Quick to understand our wishes and transfer them to the developers, who performed quality work on both iOS and Android. The company offers competitive prices, and they have creative and innovative ideas. We can warmly recommend them to anybody out there.
I am the owner of Lessons and the CEO. I have an investor who is providing the money. My business is a school platform where people can sell their notes and ask other people for help. It is for both students and graduates.
It was about making a platform for Android and iOS where students and graduates can interact with each other by selling notes and providing advice regarding assignments. There was a payment system, message system, auction system and a rating at the end. This was done on smartphones and tablets as well.
What was the scope you assigned to Powercode?
Besides the app’s functions, they needed to do a homepage and a CMS. They helped with the design, they implemented it, but it was after my wish.
How did you meet Powercode. What led you to hiring them over the other candidates?
I met them through their business manager, Artur. He contacted me on Linkedin. From there, we simply started a conversation, I thought they were very honest. The price and timeframe were compatible compared to the other companies bidding on the project.
It was very good in the beginning, but there were some delays we didn’t expect. However, they were solved and it was good again. It was me and my investor’s first project and we didn’t know that things could get so complicated. Bottom line is that delay was within an acceptable range.
Was the budget and the time as agreed on? Were there any surprises?
It took a little longer to make things work because of some issues with the payment gateway. The budget was fine. We made it clear from the beginning that the price would be fixed. We paid additionally for some extra services we purchased but that's completely normal.
Was their expertise as you expected?
They were very good with suggestions. We had another provider and things didn’t work out there because they promised too much but didn’t deliver. Powercode was good for that, the project manager was very skilful. Everything was as expected.
What would you say is the best about Powercode?
We haven’t had the possibility to test it with a big audience, but there were very few bugs experienced, so based on that, the product is really good. They’ve been great at their work, and they were very good at proposing solutions when there was a challenge and finding solutions that could fit our desire.
Any areas you feel Powercode could improve on?
A little improvement on the timings they provided. That could’ve been better. We offered everything they needed on time, so they couldn’t be delayed from our side. When looking back, though, I think it’s better to release it a bit later without bugs than release something knowing there are existing bugs.
The client wanted to o create #1 Travel App for the European market, which would allow users to create a personal travel dashboard.
OnBoardMe helps with discovering new places/events/people. It creates personal travel plans with the best dining, sights and live activities.
PowerCode went above and beyond my requirements to make sure nothing was missed.
My name is Richie, Founder Onboardme travel - A travel planning concierge service.
The project was to build a responsive website that would allow a quick validation that customers cared about a 21st centre travel planning service that would tackle the painpoint of travel planning/ finding the best results/ making the planning process more interactive & fun.
Explain to what scope extend Powercode was involved in your project.
Powercode were given an initial brief and set of defined user stories with supportive UX wireframes 7 designs.
Powercode spent time reviewing the requirements & understanding the scope of work before breaking down the requirements into milestones and pricing them for me to review.
How did you get to meet the Powercode team and what led you to hiring them?
This is good. The initial phase of the project was met on time and now we have decided to go into a more detail phase of development based on real customer feedback & validation.
We decided to work in 2 week sprints and each week we would have a sprint demo and plan for the next phase of work - This project management kept us agile & lean.
The project was slightly delayed due to both sides not planning in the bug fixing phase as clearly as we could have, but the initial feature building phase was completed as expected.
Within IT development, it is common to expect minor delays as I work on high profile projects as an Agile Business Analyst, so I was satisfied with the end result.
No training and their team had the skills required to develop our product.
Please highlight the best things of Powercode.
Rapid turnaround of new requirements is always exciting to see, and they went above & beyond what was required a lot of time to find edge cases I didn't anticipate. The pricing is not bad either for the talent & quality of work I am getting.
Are there any areas PowerCode could improve on?
The challenge was to make a fresh landing page for an accounting consulting firm using latest UX/UI trends and colours.
Powercode mixed both gradient and bright shades. The mission was to make it look formal and modern at the same time.
It was a good experience. They met deadlines and kept their budget.
Present yourself and you business.
I am a Project Manager. My company name is cabinet-d-expertcomptable.com and we are an accounting company. We are building a platform for clients to do their accounting.
What was the scope assigned to PowerCode?
Powercode had to design and build a wordpress website. Technically, the challenges were forms. We were really adamant of CSS, so everything had to be built in bootstrap and Wordpress.
Good. For me, when things get done on time it is good project management!
Regarding budget and time, was everything with PowerCode as expected?
Everything was straight on that front. Powercode delivered in the time and the budget that we agreed upon. No complaints there.
For our requirements, their expertise was just right.
What are the best things about PowerCode?
Their dedication to meet deadlines and their overall mindset.
Any areas PowerCode could improve on?
The only things that was a little underwhelming was refering to communcation. Not that they had bad communication, but they were not fluent enough in English at times. Some things were not understood the correct way. So their English skills could improve.
In any case, it wasn't that big of a deal. Just a couple of misunderstandings. What they lacked in English, they still made up in overall communication.
We are looking for mobile app and web development studios who have previously developed instant messaging / chat apps and who are eager to bring their own expertise to the project.
We would like to move further and turn this prototype into a fully functional product. All communications should be encrypted and follow the highest security standards.
* Instant messaging app with the following features: online / last seen info from user, “typing” indicator and confirmation delivery (AKA: double check).
* Create, edit and delete channels, that can be read-only (à la Telegram) or open (recipients can write).
* Acknowledge messages: When creating a message from web, the writer can ask for explicit and mandatory “read and understood” acknowledge to the recipients of a channel.
* Push notifications setup per user (push sent only given certain working hours).
* ?Mixpanel or Amplitude analytics setup.
We will provide the design for the React Native apps and we would love to use standard libraries for web and intranet. We will also provide a high-resolution prototype app design that you can navigate to understand each feature. We will provide also mockups for the intranet and web version of the instant messaging app.
Any ideas about technologies to consider or analytic tools are welcome.
Overall, Powercode has done a good job. The Project Manager is efficient, easy-to-work with and always available. We will definitely work with them again in the coming days to further develop our product.
3. Welcome mail with the videos of functions. Message in the Lessons inbox too.
Very professional experience as always. 5 stars from here.
Very high level of professionalism and code quality from PowerCode. Definetely not the last time we are going to use them.
1) Requirement analysis - We will very calefully read through the documentation and ask all the questions to clarify all the requirements.
2) Project architecture. - We will come up with the backend structure and provide you with the interaction diagram.
DealAwards is the best wep app that lets you compare broadband plans from the best providers. Compaire internet providers by price, speed, data and more.
FollowappCare is an intelligent communications platform that effortlessly monitors and informs patients before and after treatment.
Tech Ready is a leading Sidney based EduTech company equipping women with the skills, education and community they need to empower them on their startup journey.
The main mission of the website is to help musicians to register their ownership of intellectual property for music creation.
The aim of the platform is to collaborate doctors and patients within the video session. Patients are able to find a general practitioner or schedule an appointment to have a video session with a specialist.
OnBoardMe is an innovative travel Start-up from the UK. It helps people with discovering new places/events/people. OBM creates personal travel plans with the best dining, sights and live activities.
The website was created for selection of kitchen appliances, particularly of blenders, juice squeezer etc.<br />It has an interesting feature: you can select 5 fruits and you get a suggestion what device is better to buy.
Suttons Way allows Suttons staff to recognise, reward and communicate with each other. Our goal is to help our clients to create a strong company culture and achieve specific KPIs to deliver long term results.
OpenHaus is all about bringing home buyers and home sellers together. You can create your own open house listing in minutes. Snap a few pictures, schedule a date and time, and the RSVPs will start flying in.
Lessons is an education app, which main goal is to share knowledge between students and teachers.It has an integrated message function which allows communicating with all buddies easily and quickly. Available for Android and iOS, smartphones and tablets.
DTS is a system that delivers practical fitness education. This course goes beyond technical information and delivers attend live courses and online education. | 2019-04-23T06:04:19Z | https://www.appfutura.com/developers/powercode |
When Does Consumer Information Processing Research Actually Have Anything to Do With Consumer Information Processing?
ABSTRACT - Consumer information processing (CIP) research relates to consumer information processing if the situation in the research is the same as the situation in the processing. This paper concentrates on what may be the most common CIP or persuasion situation, that of advertising. The advertising situation differs from the typical CIP research one in audience involvement, attention, noise, exposure time and audience control of exposure. In general, motivation and opportunity to make cognitive responses and use attitude structures is lacking in advertising persuasion and heightened in CIP-persuasion research. Several examples are given of the results of this dramatic difference, and researchers are cautioned to take care in applying results from highly artificial to natural situations. In the future CIP researchers should extend their theories and initial findings to settings like the advertising one.
Michael L. Ray (1977) ,"When Does Consumer Information Processing Research Actually Have Anything to Do With Consumer Information Processing?", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 04, eds. William D. Perreault, Jr., Atlanta, GA : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 372-375.
Consumer information processing (CIP) research relates to consumer information processing if the situation in the research is the same as the situation in the processing. This paper concentrates on what may be the most common CIP or persuasion situation, that of advertising. The advertising situation differs from the typical CIP research one in audience involvement, attention, noise, exposure time and audience control of exposure. In general, motivation and opportunity to make cognitive responses and use attitude structures is lacking in advertising persuasion and heightened in CIP-persuasion research. Several examples are given of the results of this dramatic difference, and researchers are cautioned to take care in applying results from highly artificial to natural situations. In the future CIP researchers should extend their theories and initial findings to settings like the advertising one.
My answer to the question "When does consumer information processing research actually have anything to do with consumer information processing?" is, in general, "Sometimes." More specifically, I believe that the majority of persuasion situations involve mass media advertising which is almost always different, in at least six ways, from the artificial conditions of CIP research.
1. Advertising is a low involvement situation while the CIP research setting is a high involvement one. People don't care about the ads. They are far from as motivated to process information as are the experimental "subjects" in CIP labs.
2. In advertising attention is difficult to achieve while in CIP research attention is forced in virtually all cases.
3. In advertising there is, in an information theory sense (Shannon and Weaver, 1949), much noise (consisting of competing messages, etc.) while CIP re- search is usually conducted in a sterile environment in order to create "experimental realism" (Aronson and Carlsmith, 1968).
4. Advertising, particularly broadcast, involves short exposure time while CIP research averages much longer exposure time and time to consider messages.
5. For advertising the audience has little or no control of exposure time. In CIP research the audience often has control over exposure time.
6. So in the advertising situation there is minimal motivation or opportunity to develop cognitive responses or use attitude structures. But in consumer information processing or persuasion research the situation is engineered to produce cognitive responses and use of attitude structures.
In short, the most typical persuasion situation in the world is one that is ignored by the bulk of the social psychological research on persuasion.
At the same time, however, consumer information processing research--including the cognitive response analysis and cognitive attitude structure analysis approaches we are concentrating on today as well as the perceptual mapping-conjoint measurement approaches and hierarchy of effects analysis research--seems to me to hold the key to understanding this most common persuasion and, therefore, consumer information processing situation. This is because consumer information processing researchers are truly concerned with people and the way they handle the very difficult task of using tremendous amounts of information to make very complex decisions under very difficult conditions. No longer are we content to consider audiences en masse almost mindlessly stepping through the stages of cognition, affect, and conation. So despite the fact that most of the initial research in this area has concentrated on rather unrealistic conditions, it has been and will lead to rather clear implications for campaign planners attempting to deal with the consumer information processing situation represented by advertising.
The point I'm making is not really too different from Hovland's (1959) in his classic paper published seventeen years ago and entitled "Reconciling Conflicting Results Derived from Experimental and Survey Studies of Attitude Change." The importance of situational characteristics was established well throughout all of the Hovland communication and attitude change studies. This tradition is represented recently by our discussant Timothy Brock's (Keating and Brock, 1971; Osterhouse and Brock, 1970) cautions that the distraction technique will only work when people are involved and antagonistic to the message position and when distraction does not impede learning. And this session's chairman has made a very valuable contribution by pointing out how situational constraints can affect the choice or aggregation model a consumer might use (Wright, 1974).
But today I would like to go a bit further than just cautioning about the effects of the situation. I would like to suggest that consumer information processing researchers attempting to deal with persuasion processes must begin to realize that there is more than a quantitative difference between persuasion in their laboratory studies and persuasion in the real world of advertising. In fact the difference is qualitative. Today I would like to give a number of examples of the unusual results one can get when there is an attempt to bring "mundane realism" (Aronson and Carlsmith, 1968) into persuasion research. My main point is that by concentrating on the differences between information processing and persuasion situations we can begin to make "translations" from CIP research to advertising applications. And, in the future we can begin to bring a wider variety of persuasion situations into CIP research.
The results in this paper come primarily from a program of research at Stanford in which we have tried to replicate natural exposure situations in controlled laboratory experimentation so that the findings of communication research could be examined in a more realistic way. In virtually all the studies repetition is an independent variable so that the procedure used resembles the free recall paradigm of verbal learning research, with the exception that the stimuli are advertisements rather than nonsense syllables.
When we began the research we assumed a hierarchy relationship between learning, attitude and behavior that would be predicted from the rtl-component notion of attitude or most learning or information processing formulations. We are surprised to find, however, that for most of our results a different pattern emerged. This was the pattern predicted by Krugman's (1965) notions about the process of television advertising effects. In this "low involvement" hierarchy, repetitive messages worked to affect gross brand and advertising awareness and subsequently had a slight effect on purchase intention but little effect on attitude.
Later we realized that a third hierarchy was possible under other conditions. In this one, which we called the "dissonance-attribution hierarchy," a choice had been made before advertising exposures and combined with the exposures to affect attitude first and finally complex cognitive learning.
These three hierarchies--learning (cognitive to affective to conative), low involvement (cognitive to conative to affective), and dissonance-attribution (conative to affective to cognitive)--were more fully described in a 1973 paper which was a collaborative effort of the Stanford researchers (Ray et al., (1973). Two aspects of the findings are critical for the present purposes however. First, each of the three hierarchies represents a large body of social psychological research on particular situations which are well defined. Knowing about the hierarchies and what causes them allows a very functional analysis of situations to determine how consumers will process information in them.
The second conclusion that might be made from the Stanford repetition and hierarchy research is that the majority of situations in advertising, particularly that for the broadcast media, tend to be low involvement ones. That is, the decisions being made are not salient or important, there are almost no differences between alternative brands and products, advertising is the main source of information, and consumers are very familiar with the product category in the sense that it is in the maturity stage of its life cycle.
If this is an accurate description of most advertising persuasion situations, we have great reason to question the applicability of most information processing research. Certainly the likelihood of detailed cognitive response in such a situation is Low. At best it may be that cognitive response operates in some very different way. Also, since there are few product differences and the decisions are not salient to people, it isn't likely that multi-attribute attitude structures hold or that the more textured choice models apply to the use of advertising information.
At the most basic level, the low involvement situation means a limit in information processing. Even with the tremendous repetition potential of advertising, researchers have found that there is a definite limit to what people get out of messages. For instance, Krugman (1972) expanded his low involvement idea by surmising that there are really only three relevant exposures in a number of repetitions of television advertising. The first one produces a "what is it?" response. The second one produces whatever information processing is going to occur, and the third exposure and all subsequent ones are equivalent to reminders of whatever was learned in the second exposure.
Once again, there is much in the Stanford repetition research data that supports Krugman's idea. Although cognitive learning curves did not stop automatically at the three exposure level, there did seem to be some very low level of exposure at which point nothing further was taken out of a message exposed in the television manner. Further repetitions just reinforced the basic message. Even when there might be some involvement in the situation, consumers definitely have developed particular ways of using advertising. For instance, in one study comparing the repetition effect of advertising for convenience goods and shopping goods, it was found that the repetition response function for ad recall went up steadily for convenience goods but stopped after four exposures for the shopping goods advertisements (Ray and Sawyer, 1971). Our interpretation for that finding was that consumers did not use ads for shopping goods (e.g., washing machines, television sets, and low price cars) to gather any more than the most basic information. The important information gathering phase for shopping goods was in the store actually examining the product and discussing it with salespeople. Thus repetitions of the ads had an effect only up to a certain point.
The same kind of limit to what consumers will process was found in a study of color versus B&W advertisements (Ray, Sawyer and Strong, 1971). In this study we examined the repetition results for two series of ads which were identical except that one series had one color added to the pictures of fruits or vegetables depicted. The color ads were superior in getting the message recalled, but the black and white ads, if recalled, were superior in generating learning of the main message. In a follow-up field experiment using the two ad series, the black and white print ads were more effective than the color in producing ad awareness. It seemed that, in this real advertising situation, the black and white ads generated more information processing while the color ads elicited just a surface awareness after a certain point, no matter what the repetition level.
All of these examples--evidence of the low involvement hierarchy, the limit to information processing in advertising situations and the specific cases of that limit--show what can happen to cherished CIP folklore in the real advertising situation.
As I have already pointed out, one of the key differences between most lab persuasion studies and the typical advertising situation is that attention is a given in the labs but a goal hard to attain in advertising. Our original assessment of this bias was that it was a main effect, that is, if an ad or message did well in the lab it would do relatively well in the field--pro-vided it had the appropriate schedule.
Now we are beginning to believe that there is not only a greater main effect difference than we had originally presumed but also there are interactions. That is, ads that do well in a forced exposure lab situation may be the very ones that do poorly in the field.
My evidence for this comes from a series of lab studies on television clutter carried out by Peter Webb (Ray and Webb, 1976, Webb and Ray, 1977). Peter first determined that his lab approach was producing attention patterns similar to that found in field research (e.g., Burke, 1972). Once this was established he was able to manipulate the commercial break pattern in several television program types.
His main finding was that consumers don't just randomly ignore commercials. They seem to actually avoid them--and with considerable skill at that.
Consumers were amazingly well-schooled as to the pattern of commercial breaks on their favorite programs. This was particularly true for soap operas. When Peter tried different commercial schedules during those programs than the schedules to which consumers were accustomed, they very often asked why this unusual pattern was being used. During debriefing respondents told us more about how carefully they watched for the pattern of commercial interruptions. For instance, one working woman actually made an audio tape of soap operas so that she could plan her housework during the commercial breaks while she was home having lunch and watching her program.
The data supported the patterning beyond such anecdotal evidence, however. Even those respondents who made no visual or verbal indication of noting an unusual pattern were able to avoid being affected by the most common interruption schedule for the program. In other words, virtually all response measures were lower for the most common type of interruption schedule as opposed to the more unusual ones.
Before this research we had assumed that the typical laboratory information processing of communication research studies erred in forcing people to read or view the messages while in a more natural situation consumers would not be biased toward or away from viewing the messages. NOW this research indicates that the error of typical laboratory communication research studies may be even greater than we had previously imagined. While the lab studies bias people toward viewing the material, the audience/in the natural situation may have learned to be biased completely in the other direction, that is, away from viewing and processing the messages. In advertising we have to be concerned not just with getting attention. We have to gain attention from people who are actively avoiding us.
Given this bias, however, is it possible that certain commercials--which may not do well in typical persuasion research--might be less susceptible to the vagaries of clutter and consumer avoidance? Peter Webb examined the extent to which involvement would enhance message effectiveness. He used the "connections" measure developed by Krugman (1966-67). As hypothesized, those commercials shown to be high in involvement in a prestudy seemed unaffected by changes in clutter (4 versus 8 commercials) or position in a string of commercials, while low involvement commercials were dramatically effected.
Even further we found that commercials which would not do well in typical persuasion research did well in a normal exposure situation, possibly because they generated involvement and attention.
More specifically we showed, at least in one case, that counterarguing can enhance persuasion.
In CIP and lab persuasion studies in which the respondents are forced to be exposed to the messages, counter-arguing is a negative to be avoided at all cost. But when exposure conditions are more realistic and attention is an important goal, counterarguing can sometimes enhance persuasion by increasing attention and making the message more memorable.
In an NIMH-sponsored study on the effects of anti-drug abuse messages, we found exactly that effect of counter-arguing (Ray, Ward and Reed, 1976). We studied, among others, two commercials which had quite opposite patterns of cognitive response. "Walkout" was a memorable commercial which produced nearly violent counterarguing from the parents audience. "Big Brother" was not quite as memorable but produced positive cognitive responses such as "connections." In natural lab experiments and in a split cable field experiment the Walkout commercial was substantially more effective than the Big Brother commercial in producing, for instance, positive attitude change, booklet interest and reported numbers of times that respondents thought, read about, and talked about drug abuse during the time the commercials were running.
In this case, as in many situations in the real world, some response was better than no response at all. In such situations the counterarguing so worrisome to information processing researchers, can be a benefit.
Thus, with regard to attention, the advertising situation is more difficult than we expected and involving commercials surmounted the difficulty somewhat, even when they were the opposite of those that do well in the typical lab study.
The results I've discussed thus far indicate that we must take great care in translating CIP and persuasion lab research to the field in terms of advertising. In many cases lab and field results will be markedly different. Not only should we apply lab results carefully but we should start to alter our research procedures to take account of the nature of the advertising situation.
But there is another approach that might be taken and is illustrated by my final example. Instead of trying to translate to advertising, we can ignore it, and--like the drunk looking for his lost keys under the street light--we cam look for situations in the real world that are similar to those in the lab.
This was and is the approach used by many applied persuasion researchers in the late 60's and in the 70's. For instance, on our campus, Philip Zimbardo trained hundreds of Stanford students--on one occasion in a mass rally--to use social psychological principles in canvassing for peace candidates and issues in 1970. This led to a little booklet entitled Canvassing for Peace which Zimbardo wrote with Robert Abelson (1970). A more general statement of this approach is in the Zimbardo and Ebbesen paperback Influencing Attitudes and Changing Behavior (1969) and in Varela (1971). In consumer research and application it is represented by those who see the most direct applications in personal selling or at the very least in print advertising, usually in an industrial or public service setting--where there might be involvement and the type of processing found in the lab.
Even in such set-up situations, however, I would argue that we need to take great care in application.
For our example here, I'll use the "foot-in-the door" technique. The seminal foot-in-the-door study was conducted by Freedman and Fraser (1966), who asked residents to place a small card in their window. Two weeks later these residents were asked to display a large, clumsily lettered sign. Subjects who had been approached to comply with the earlier request were much more likely to agree with the second one.
Although the foot-in-the-door or small request approach has been found to be quite effective in the social psychological literature, one field experiment done by William Swinyard demonstrated a situation in which adding a small request to a sales message actually decreased the combined effect of the sales message and later advertising exposures (Swinyard and Ray 1976, 1977).
The key response was intention to volunteer for Red Cross work and the small requests were to put a little sign in the prospect's window and wear a Red Cross pin for at least two shopping trips. Both in terms of main effect and interaction with advertising exposures, the small request manipulation was less effective than a persuasive message without the small request. Again, the explanation appears to be related quite directly to the situation. The Red Cross is an issue about which respondents may feel a good deal of guilt. They "know" that they should give blood or volunteer, yet they are fearful or don't want to take the time. They look for simple ways to relieve the guilt and still avoid the anxiety brought on by the needle and the inconvenience of time demands. Compliance with the small request may have provided an easy way for respondents to relieve this guilt, bringing with it a feeling that, "I have made my 'contribution' already...I don't need to do any more.".
Whether you agree with this explanation or not, you should know that ours is not the only research that found the small request manipulation lacking in social marketing situations. Alice Tybout (1976) found that a small request manipulation worked only when the commitment was made salient to respondents. This obviously fits the concern in this paper with the differential involvement found in persuasion research and in the field.
In conclusion, I believe I have an answer to the question that started this paper. Consumer information processing research relates to consumer information processing if the situation in the research is the same as the situation in the processing. Practitioners can use our findings if they are very careful to determine whether there is a match between the situation in the research and the situation in which real world processing takes place. At this point I perceive a difference between the situation in most research and that in the most common persuasion category, advertising Most advertising, especially the broadcast kind, represents a low involvement situation. But it is possible to take even present research findings and analyze their implications for advertising. And fortunately the trend in information processing research seems to be toward more natural exposure and response conditions.
Robert P. Abelson and Philip Zimbardo, Canvassing for Peace (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, 1970).
Burke Marketing Research, Inc. "Viewer Attitudes Toward Commercial Clutter on Television and Media Buying Implications,'' Presentation to 18th ARF Conference (November 14, 1972).
Jonathan L. Freedman and S. C. Fraser, "Compliance Without Pressure: The Foot-in-the-Door Technique," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4 (March 1966), 195-202.
Carl I. Hovland, "Reconciling Conflicting Results Derived from Experimental and Survey Studies of Attitude Change," American Psychologist, 14 (January 1959), 8-17.
J. P. Keating and Timothy C. Brock, "A Myth About Distraction," American Scientist, 59 (December 1971), 416-9.
Robert A. Osterhouse and Timothy C. Brock, "Distraction Increases Yielding to Propaganda by Inhibition Counterarguing," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 15 (August 1970), 344-58.
Michael L. Ray and Alan G. Sawyer, "Repetition in Media Models: A Laboratory Technique," Journal of Marketing Research, 8 (February 1971), 20-30.
Michael L. Ray in collaboration with Alan G. Sawyer, Michael L. Rothschild, Roger M. Heeler, Edward C. Strong, and Jerome B. Reed, "Marketing Communication and the Hierarchy-of-Effects," in Peter Clarke (Ed.), New Models for Mass Communication Research, Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications, 1973).
Michael L. Ray, Alan G. Sawyer and Edward C. Strong, "Frequency Effects Revisited," Journal of Advertising Research, 11 (February 1971), 14-20.
Michael L. Ray, Scott Ward and Jerome B. Reed, "Pretesting of Anti-Drug Abuse Education and Information Campaigns: Summary Report of a Marketing Science Institute Special Project," in Ronald E. Ostman (Ed.) Communication Research and Drug Education (Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications, 1976).
Michael L. Ray and Peter Webb, "Experimental Research on the Effects of TV Clutter: Dealing With the Difficult Media Environment," Report No. 76-102, Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts (April 1976).
Claude E. Shannon and W. Weaver, The Mathematical Theory of Communication (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1949).
William R. Swinyard, "Advertising-Selling Interactions," Journal of Marketing Research, 14 (1977).
Alice M. Tybout and Bobby J. Calder, "Threats to Internal and External Validity in the Field Setting," in William D. Perreault, Jr. (Ed.) Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. IV, (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Association for Consumer Research, 1977).
Jacobo A. Varela, Psychological Solutions to Social Problems: An Introduction to Social Technology (New York: Academic Press, 1971).
Peter Webb and Michael L. Ray, "Experimental Research on the Effects of TV Clutter," Advertising Quarterly (1977).
Peter L. Wright, "The Harassed Decision Maker: Time Pressures, Distractions, and the Use of Evidence," Journal of Applied Psychology, 59 (1974).
Philip Zimbardo and Ebbe Ebbesen, Influencing Attitudes and Changing Behavior (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1969). | 2019-04-23T22:31:22Z | http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/5692/volumes/v04/NA-04 |
I am skeptical, considering I have heard of so many legacy code modernization failures. Why do they fail and why is TSRI's approach different?
There are a few main reasons why legacy code modernizations fail.
First, manual re-writes can take a great deal of time, particularly for large applications. During this time, changes to the project goals may cause further delays or even cause the project to restart from the beginning. The cost for manual rewriting of code is already very high, and so starting over becomes particularly costly.
Also, long code freezes of months and years are common with manual or semi-automated conversions, which result in major issues for your user base, and eventually project failures.
Transliterative tools that focus on line-by-line translations of the source code into the modern code are also widely used. Just as using a dictionary to translate from another language to English one word or sentence at a time would result in many areas of confusion, so these tools produce results that don’t accurately reproduce the functionality of the original application. Even when completed, this results in complicated and unmaintainable applications.
Finally, the costs associated with large numbers of people on partially-automated and manual modernization projects can be very high. These costs grow as features are added or changed several months or years into the project, until millions and often hundreds of millions have been invested.
The fully 100% automated functionality of TSRI’s JANUS Studio solves all of these problems, and is the reason why all of our past projects were successfully completed, and all of our past projects are reference able. This perfect track record of success has been honored by awards ranging from the Stevens award for our CEO Philip Newcomb, as well as the Top 20 Most Promising Defense Technology award from CIO Review.
What are the different options for modernization?
This option fits well for large, single or multi-language applications that are actively maintained, valueable and irreplacable. TSRI's solution uses model-driven, AI-based, fully automated methods to achieve 100% automation in the modernization of a source application to a target language and architecture of your choice. Learn more about the advantages of the fully automated approach here.
Semi-Automated Modernization technologies an work, if the source application is small or very small and you have a specific reason to choose a less automated method. However, because of the manual input required to fill gaps in the transformation, the transformation risk with semi-automated modernization increases corresponding to the size of the application, because humans are in the loop touching the code and introducing errors. For example, transliterators (which translate code "line-by-line") produce legacy-like target code that must be manually edited. Other semi-automated model-driven approaches require additional manual rewriting, often for large amounts of code at large expense and risk. This increases the chances of schedule overrun and increasing costs, and does not allow for automated refactoring, or flexible approaches that allow for mid-project changes.
As a result, semi-automated solutions that can handle one or two languages are typically not good solutions for larger projects. Even an automation level of 95%, on a 1,000,000 line application, means that 50,000 lines of code or more must be manually written, at dramatic expense.
Rehosting is a good solution if the application is not actively maintained and only needs to move off its current hardware/platform. This solution retains the legacy language, and so development/maintenance continues to be difficult and costly, and exposes the customer to increased technical debt as fewer and fewer resources are available. Also, the significant license costs associated with Rehosting can be unattractive for customers. In fact, the effort to undertake a TSRI modernization is often equal or lower than 1-2 years worth of licensing cost.
COTS replacements are very common for replacing general applications that do not have many custom features. Usually the COTS applications look completely different, have different functionality and have license costs associated with them. This requires costly and lengthy retraining of the current users who are not familiar with the new system and rely on the vendor to "make-them-work" for the business scenarios. Again, license costs and vendorlock are other disadvantages, as is the ability to maintain and modify the application moving forward.
Definately the most costly, highest risk and longest approach is rewriting the code manually. This is an approach often used on applications that need massive forward development and required major changes in functionality. The independant research firm, the Standish Group, shows clearly that the high liklihood of "challenged" or "failed" projects, based on hundreds of modernizations/migrations/replacements, should be a major consideration for any manual redevelopment effort. Most of TSRI's successful large modernizations follow a failed manual effort that expended millions or tens of millions of dollars before being scrapped. Request a copy of the Standish Group report here.
What System-Level Documentation are offered by TSRI?
TSRI’s JANUS Studio® generates richly indexed and hyper-linked system-level design documentation of the entire legacy system. This is called “As-Is” documentation of the source system, also called Application Blueprint®. Once the system is in its modernized state, the target code is also documented. This is called “To-Be” documentation, also called a Transformation Blueprint® . The “As-Is” and “To-Be” documentations can be combined to allow a side-by-side view of both systems. Customers may receive a free Transformation Blueprint ® using a sample of their own code and choice of target language.
What are the advantages to TSRI's approach?
Because our toolset is tuned to the source code to perform 100% automated code transformations very rapidly, we can make changes to the transformation specifications and then re-transform the entire application after that change is made. While bringing a great deal of flexibility to the project, this allows also us to perform refactorings like eliminating dead and redundant code, code consolidation, architectural level refactorings, or simply make changes to improve maintainability and readability- and then re-transform the code very quickly.
What are TSRI's Tools & Processes for Modernization?
Perform detailed analyses of legacy source code.
Transform legacy source code into modern target languages.
Perform initial detailed analysis of target code, (to support testing).
Apply fully automated re-factoring operations.
Iteratively apply semi-automated re-factoring operations.
Does TSRI modernize the GUI, database, batch, online and other internal calls?
Yes, TSRI can modernize the GUI and Database. We have modernized many different databases, such as flatfile Databases, hirarchical databases and relational databases. Most of our target databases are relational databases, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle SQL Server, but also non SQL based databases and OpenSource Databases.
In regards to the Online and Batch, yes, we have and do modernize batch and online code. Almost all of the modernization projects included a GUI, online, database, and batch code.
What tasks are the Clients or System Integrator's responsibilities?
TSRI works in support of the Client & System Integrator for the entire project.
How does TSRI's approach minimize risk?
TSRI’s approach has a 100% success rate over all 130+ major modernization projects we have undertaken, all of which are reference-able projects. This is not magic, but the result of a fully-automated code documentation and transformation process as well as a disciplined and free pre-project assessment phase during which TSRI will identify any potential risks to the project.
The JANUS Studio® transformation provides code that is accurate and uniform, eliminating the risk of technical failure. TSRI reduces financial risk by operating on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) basis for initial tasking and Firm Fixed Rate (FFR) for testing and implementation support. While manual and semi-automated transformations rely on coordination of many—often hundreds—of developers, TSRI’s automated processes typically require only a handful of project management engineers, typically fewer than 10 people, avoiding the risk of key personnel departures. Finally, because a code freeze of only a couple days to a week is required, maintenance and updating can continue on the application all through the assessment and development process, eliminating the risk, business disruption, and project failure associated with long code freeze periods.
How fast is TSRI's code conversion?
Our tool transforms 1 million lines of legacy code into modern code, in about 30 minutes. This is not magic, but the result of using a 100% automated, iterative code conversion process that has been developed over 2 decades, and hundreds of millions of lines of code. Test-ready code will be produced through this iterative process, which will then need to be tested, integrated, and fielded.
Can you prove that TSRI's technology can transform or document my code automatically?
Yes, definately. If you can provide TSRI with a portion or all of your source code (under NDA if neccessary), we can generate a first-cut Transformation Blueprint® of your source code, which will be available to you as a free preview. This allows you to review your source code and the transformed code, side-by-side. The Blueprint also shows other artifacts, such as structure of the code with Structure Charts, Control Flow Graphs, Data Flow Diagrams, State Machine Models, McKabes' Complexity Index, Similar Code and much more.
What industries does TSRI have experience in application transformation & documentation?
Although we have experience transforming code from a variety of industries, from government, defense, financial, insurance, entertainment, logistics, commercial, our toolset is truly industry neutral. The specific functionality of the application, as well as its external interfaces, databases, user interfaces and other factors do not affect our ability to transform the application to a functional equivalent in a new language and architecture. TSRI has modernized everything from Submarine Weapons code, Satellite Code to Billing Applications for major telecommunication's companies. Our language and industry neutral approach will be applicable to your source application.
No but seriously, when you say 100% levels of code automation, how much additional manual intervention is required?
There is no manual intervention required to transform code via our JANUS Studio toolset; it is 100% automated. As one of the first steps during our modernization, TSRI needs to create a full and complete model of the application. This model is where all the work that TSRI does, for example refactoring and redesigning happens.
What level of automation is TSRI able to achieve?
TSRI is able to achieve a 100% level of code automation in our artificial intelligence-based transformation engine called JANUS Studio®. | 2019-04-23T12:35:55Z | https://tsri.com/about-us/faq |
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If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE awards season. I had the great pleasure of attending the Red Carpet Authority's "Rock the Red Carpet" Oscar party in St. Cloud, MN on Sunday night with a very dear friend of mine whose company was a primary sponsor for the event. We enjoyed food and wine, games and prizes all to raise money for 3 worthy St. Cloud women's charities while watching the Oscar broadcast. While my table didn't win any of the fabulous designer prizes or the prize basket for being the best dressed ensemble (which I frankly think was rigged), I had an amazing time. I can't imagine a more fun way to watch the Oscars and hope that I will be invited back next year!
Okay. So today isn't necessarily fabulous but I'm trying to stay positive.
It has been a crazy week in that I have had quite a few revelations.
1. I may have been wearing corrective lenses for the last 23 years and not actually needing them.
2. I have lost 37 pounds. I am in dire need of a new wardrobe.
3. Sometimes it is okay to not explain everything to your child.
I went to the eye doctor on Tuesday for my annual check up and to put my order in for another year's worth of contact lenses. To my shock, he said that my vision is 20/20. Um. If my vision is 20/20 then why is everything so blurry and why have doctors been giving me glasses for the past 23 years? He believes that I have a condition called ocular rosacea. While I have a mild case of rosacea in my skin, I had no idea that it can affect your vision causing dry eye and blurriness. So, we are currently attempting to treat the rosacea with antibiotics and I am to go without wearing any contacts or glasses for the next 6 weeks to see if my vision improves. This is CRAZY to me. I was planning to get Lasik next year. Talk about saving myself thousands of dollars if this treatment works!!
I have lost 37 pounds. I am in dire need of a new wardrobe.
It is no secret that I have been losing weight. Officially 37.3 pounds in the last year. I am 24 pounds from my goal weight. This is mind boggling for me. I FEEL AWESOME and the confidence that comes with knowing you look awesome too? Amazing. I am attending an Oscar party event this Sunday and my table's theme is "The Help" and yes that includes props and costumes. There will be a few maids and I will be dressing as one of the southern belles (think Jessica Chastain's character). In my hunt for a dress, I went into H & M to see what I could find, keeping in mind I have NEVER been able to fit into H & M's clothing so I usually avoided it. Not only did the clothing fit, but the bigger sizes were by far too big. The perfect dress I bought is too big (but it is perfect so I had to get it) and will need to be cinched with a belt so it doesn't look like a tent. I have been trying to hold off on buying new clothes but I really am starting to get to the point where my clothes are not wearable- even with a belt. I just can't believe how I look. I could not be any happier with my progress and am so thankful that I decided to make the switch to Medifast! Just 6 more weeks and I should be at my goal!!
Sometimes it is okay to not explain everything to your child.
For 3.5 years, we have been running a cool mist humidifier in Jack's room basically for the white noise element (and this thing is hella noisy). Well... this thing has run its course. Besides not being able to buy the filters for it anymore, I'm pretty sure the motor on it is about to break down. So, I bought the Graco Sweet Slumber Sound Machine to replace the nasty humidifier. I made the enormous mistake of telling Jack all about it and what it does. What happened? Well... of course he was scared of the new white noise sound and wouldn't go to sleep last night. I put the old humidifier back in and that scared him too- he said the light on it was a giant blue eye that was angry at him and was going to break all over the place (how does he come up with this stuff???). He then asked me to turn the new one back on (*sigh* *deep breaths*). I waited in his room for him to fall asleep, afraid that if I walked away he would be scared and we would have to start the process all over. He actually slept well all night other than a brief wakeup somewhere around 4am that could have been a number of things (all of them not related to the new sound machine). Where is the lesson here? Had I just plugged the thing in, maybe hid it behind the old humidifier and never said a word about it, he would have never known the difference and this whole dramatic episode could have been avoided.
To top off the night, cue my husband coming home last night from his "going away" happy hour and the first thing out of his mouth was "Empty the dishwasher." Following my 2 hours of trying to get the kid to go to sleep, I'm pretty sure that was about the final straw. I'm also sure if looks could kill, my husband would have been a bloody mess on the floor.
Can we just start the weekend now?
In a week and a half, my husband is starting a new job. He is excited and I am excited for him. It is a smaller company, better pay and NO MORE PAGERS. If you are a techie wife, you get where I am coming from. No more calls at 2:30 in the morning because his system went down. Despite these awesome things to come for him, there is always that transition period when starting a new job though where you feel like you are walking a little on thin ice. He won't be able to be home with Jack if he gets sick again (90 day no vacation policy after starting) and will probably be a little while until we see the flexible schedule for him again.
I have also made some decisions as far as my career versus being a SAHM. More to come on that front but there are exciting things cooking for me as well.
Probably the most important change that has happened for me is the change in my body. I've hesitated to talk about my Medifast experience as I got FLAMED pretty hard for jumping off the Weight Watchers wagon. Probably the most distressing comment I got was that the Medifast food was disgusting and I would just gain all the weight back anyway. Wow. Thanks for the support. Therefore, I have been a little shy about sharing my journey.
I am done justifying my reasons for changing programs. I will say this: it is the only weight loss program I have been on that keeps me completely honest. It is one of THE hardest programs I have ever done. Do I get hungry sometimes? Yes. Do I like all the food? Nope. Do I miss real food? Hell yes.
I went from a BMI of 32 to 29 and am no longer considered "obese"
I have just 24 lbs left to lose. Compared to the daunting 60 to lose that was staring me down a year ago, my motivation to reach my goal is absolutely soaring.
Like any other program, I have had to get creative with the food I am able to eat. There are ways to modify the Medifast meals to taste a little better and even be a little more filling. There are also a ton of options for Lean and Green meals beyond a piece of meat and a salad. No matter how badly or how powerful the temptation is to cheat, I refuse to give in. This is just a short period of my life to sacrifice for the long term good of my health. No, that doesn't mean I'll run the Buffalo Wild Wings the first chance I get when I am done with the program. I will always have to watch what I eat. I will always have to exercise. Those things won't change. The only difference is: I will be at my healthy goal weight.
So yes, my friends. I smell change. Good change. Positive change. Happy change.
My distaste for Valentine's Day started about 6 years ago.
Married just 4 months, my husband attempted to surprise me by sending me flowers at work. All day, he kept calling me to see "what was up" and I was actually getting annoyed by the frequency of his calls. He NEVER calls me that many times in a day. By the end of the day, he finally asked me if anything showed up at my office for me. His surprise was ruined after telling me I was supposed to get flowers that never showed up. Being the sweet guy he is, he quickly ran out to the nearest florist and bought me flowers so I would be at least somewhat surprised when I got home. He more than made up for FTD's major fail. The funniest part of the story is that I got the flowers. The next day. They were dead. It was awful. FTD offered to send new ones... um... thanks but the moment has passed. He actually had to BEG for a refund. WTH?
We actually chuckle about that story now. It has completely changed how we celebrate (or don't celebrate) Valentine's Day to this day.
It amazes me how much as changed in the last 6 years since that fateful Valentine's Day. On Sunday, we went to my godson's baptism at the same church that we got married in 6 1/2 years ago. At the end of the regular mass, to my surprise, they were holding a vow renewal for all married couples. Standing there, our 3.5 year old in our arms, trying to say our vows over our child's interruptions, I smiled. This little family we created is our life now and it was the perfect moment to renew our vow and commitment to each other and to our family.
Following the baptism, we went to the luncheon and I was asked, "So what are your plans for Valentine's Day." Without hesitation, I told him we were going to a party at Jack's preschool. He looked at me funny and asked what WE (me and my husband) were doing. With a confused look and a chuckle, I said that we don't really specifically celebrate the day anymore.
Valentine's Day has really turned into a day to simply celebrate our family and our love for each other. It doesn't need to be filled with gifts or flowers that will die in a week anyway (I'm lucky if they last that long). I definitely don't need chocolates or candies. As long as we spend time together, that is enough for me.
Although... I did treat myself to a new pair of Rock & Republic jeans... I never said you couldn't buy gifts for yourself!
I wasn't more than 10 or 11 years old the first time I really "heard" Whitney. I distinctly remember me and my best friend putting the Whitney cassette tape in the boombox and cranking "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" as loud as it could possibly go.
With a hairbrush in my hand and my bed as my stage, I sang all of her songs from the top of my lungs. She made me want to sing. Her music truly represented my teen years. The fun. The heartache. I even remember who I was on a date with when I went to see The Bodyguard. I auditioned for a talent show singing "One Moment In Time." To say that I was inspired by Whitney's music is an understatement.
It seems a nearly constant that we hear of celebrity deaths. I am a bit numb to it in this modern day of media. However, Whitney's death saddened me. I wanted so much for her to make a comeback. I wanted to hear her voice on the radio again. No other artist's talent and music meant more to me.
I pray for peace and healing for her family. I hope she knows that her music truly will live on forever. | 2019-04-23T10:40:03Z | http://www.mixedbagofrant.com/2012/02/ |
This standing desk buying guide aims to streamline your process of choosing and purchasing your stand-up desk.
The first accessory you should get for your new sit-stand desk is a Standing Desk Mat.
When I first started researching standing desks in 2007, I found a handful of industrial-looking warehouse invoicing stands, a few very nice-looking fixed-height wooden desks with designs that hearkened back to the Colonial era, a handful of home-made models, and a few makeshift, do-it-yourself solutions. There were just a few manufacturers making the electrically height adjustable desks that are so common today, and they typically cost well over $1,000.
Now you can’t glance at your daily news feed without seeing a new standing-desk announcement. In just the past few years, every category of standing desk has grown dramatically in breadth and depth. Whether you’re looking for a free-standing electrically height-adjustable model or a simple cardboard riser, for a “smart desk” that will remind you when to stand or an elaborate sit-stand-recline model that can position you like an astronaut, your choices can seem infinite.
It’s still easy to find budget-busting, multi-thousand-dollar standing desks, but now there are also several contemporary, attractive, free-standing, electrically height-adjustable models that will cost you as little as $500. Desktop add-ons and other budget models can be as little as $200.
With the explosive growth in the standing-desk industry, it can be a daunting task out to figure out which kind of standing desk is right for you. That’s what this guide is for – to help you choose which kind of standing desk will work best for you and to then help you sort through the available options in the category your choose.
You have several options for standing at work. I’ll be adding detailed lists of what to look for in each of these types of desks in the coming weeks.
Adjustable-Height Free-Standing Desks are arguably the best solution. Functionally, they are really hard to beat. They quickly and easily change the height of your work surface, keeping all of your gear – keyboard, monitor, reference materials, and knick-knacks – in the same place. These desks are available in a variety of styles, colors, and desktop configurations (rectangular, curved, L-shaped, etc.) and are available from a wide variety of vendors and manufacturers. Most of them height-adjust with electric motors, but a few models use gas lifts or counterbalance mechanisms.
Adjustable-Height Desktop Add-ons are a good solution if you’re on a budget or are for any reason stuck with your conventional sit-down desk. These models either rest directly on your existing desktop or hover above it on a swing-arm or similar mechanism. Some of these desktop standing extensions are quite stylish, but even the good-looking ones can take over your desktop. Some models in this category compromise on ergonomics, failing to permit optimizing both keyboard and monitor placement, for example. Still, a good height-adjustable desktop workstation can get you standing comfortably at work without denting your budget too badly. Two of the best-known lines in this category are the Varidesk and the Kangaroo.
Fixed-Height Desktop Risers are basically elevated platforms that you set down on your existing desk to elevate your monitor, laptop and/or keyboard. This can be a super-affordable option to get you standing right away. Several of these fixed-height add-ons fold up for portability, so they can work well if you have a mobile workstyle. Some of these risers are labeled “height adjustable,” but they require you to remove everything from your desktop to adjust their leg locks or wingnuts or to slide surfaces into different mounting slots, so they function as essentially fixed-height desks.
Fixed-Height Standing Desks, even though they are sometimes derided as ergonomically “incorrect,” have a place in the stand-up desk world. They can be more affordable than an electrically height-adjustable desk. Paired with a conventional sit-down desk, they can offer a low-tech sit-stand solution. Many fixed-height desks are custom-made by high-end woodworking shops, so they can be among the most attractive standing office options. On the other end of the aesthetic spectrum are a number of models designed for warehouses and other non-office settings. Many of the desks I’ll list in this category are labeled as “height adjustable.” But they require tightening and loosening wing nuts, sliding slats into grooves, or otherwise making you clear your desktop to adjust the desk’s height. So while they are technically height-adjustable, in practice they function more like a fixed-height desk.
Sit-Stand-Recline Desks like the Zero Gravity Workstation or the Altwork let you not only sit and stand but also recline like an astronaut. Their price tag and footprint make them a bit of a niche product. But if you have an orthopedic condition like severe back pain or chronic neck pain, they could be a good solution to keep you working as you recover. I would have gladly paid the $5,000 for one of these reclining workstations back when my low back was acting up.
The links above will take you to a page with detailed information on what you should look for in each standing-desk option.
This standing-desk guide focuses on desks available for sale through retail channels, mostly online. So I’m assuming that the primary audience will likely be individual consumers, people with home offices, and managers in small businesses.
Architects, interior designers, and facilities managers typically rely on contract furniture firms and consultants for information about standing desks, but I’m hoping they may find this guide useful, too.
This guidebook sets out buying criteria, advises you on which features to look for, shows you which accessories and options are worth getting, and otherwise informs you on how to choose a standing desk. It’s a work in progress and I’m always open to your ideas about how to improve it.
You won’t find many opinions here, at least not about any one standing desk. I genuinely don’t care which particular stand-up desk you buy. I just want you to be as knowledgeable and as informed as possible as you make your buying decision. When I lived in New York City years ago, my favorite clothing store was Sym’s, which used the tag line: “An educated consumer is our best customer.” That’s the spirit here, too.
I am an ardent proponent of standing and other non-sedentary behaviors in the office. So I enthusiastically recommend any category of products that help you in that regard, especially standing desks. So I’ll list the factors that you’ll want to consider as you make your buying decision. I’ll put together lists of standing desks that meet objective criteria like price, height range, style, etc. And I’ll tell you why I think one type of standing desk will work better than another in a particular situation.
But you won’t find recommendations for specific desks here. I would love at some return to doing proper Consumer Reports-style reviews (as I used to do at Well9to5) of office-wellness products like standing desks, but that’s not currently in the cards. Only a organization (The Wirecutter, e.g.) are even attempting to do that now, but even they have only looked at a dozen or two of the hundreds of standing desks that are currently available.
Obviously, the quality of the individual products and the reliability of the companies making them will be all over the map, especially in an arena as new and as rapidly evolving as the standing-desk market. Right now, the main sources for these kinds of reviews are Amazon, YouTube, and standing-desk manufacturer websites.
If you have found your way to this page, you probably already have in mind several good reasons for standing at your desk. But even if you’re 100% clear on why you want to stand at your desk, it can be helpful to quickly review the benefits of standing more at work.
You’ll want to make sure that standing at work is right for you before you shell out the money for a new desk. Check out this page that sets out several ways to prototype the standing-desk work style.
Who Is This Guy, and What Does He Know about Standing Desks?
Obviously, if you look at the scope of this site, my interests and expertise are much broader than that, but I’m OK with being pigeonholed that way.
My main intention here is to help you get moving at work. There are many ways to do that – and I truly don’t care which way you choose to undo your sedentary ways – but a standing desk is arguably the best way.
I hope this guide helps you find the standing desk that’s right for you. | 2019-04-25T15:43:23Z | https://www.larryswanson.com/office-fitness/standing-desk/buying-guide/ |
One of the single most important ideas in organisation is the sales funnel. Sales funnels can raise your revenue online by automating your organisation. They provide a path of the very least resistance to expanding and also scaling your business on auto-pilot. But after spending time with some of the globe’s best online marketers, I can inform you with near assurance, not just just how sales funnels will certainly permit you to make even more loan online, but which specific funnels you ought to execute.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you might be averse to particular funnels. For instance, I’m never an ecommerce man, however I do recognize that free-plus-shipping funnels are absolutely squashing it. In fact, just this past week, while participating in the Closing Table Mastermind with Perry Belcher and also Roland Frasier, I acquired more insight right into the appealing “tripwire” funnel, supposedly created by Perry Belcher.
Nevertheless, Belcher didn’t create the principle. He drew that from an old Columbia House ad that sold 13 CDs or tapes for the huge rate of $1.00. Remember it? But we all understand that this irresistible deal (also known as tripwire) had way more to it than just the $1.00 cost. Behind-the-scenes, there was a continuity program at work. In Columbia House’s’ version, this was called adverse alternative payment. That means, you immediately get routine monthly shipments (along with an expense) unless you specifically specify or else.
So why is this so effective and also what does it involve sales funnels? In fact, what you’ll discover is that Columbia House’s sales funnel was quite basic. You just chose the CDs or tapes you desired for a buck, after that obtained a normal monthly delivery each and every single month at a pre-defined rate. They would continually bill you for those CDs or tapes each and every single month. There were variants of this deal as well where you could grab 11 CDs or tapes for one dime then get the 12th totally free.
Regardless you check out it, these were all irresistible deals. This was too excellent to skip. But what Columbia House as well as various other firms recognized was that, although they would lose money out of eviction, they would, generally, in time, generate income turn over initially. Which is the power of the sales funnel. Prior to automation, this is just how sales funnels functioned. And also, if you called in, you would obtain a real-time person efficiently walking you with the funnel.
The Columbia House instance provides deep understanding into the psychology of an offer that’s irresistible. By first determining the life time value of a client and also their retention rate, Columbia House figured out that it might invest a particular amount of loan acquiring consumers and still be highly lucrative. That’s basically what’s finished with sales funnels today. And what really makes those sales funnels so powerful are tripwires.
Today, it’s the tripwire that develops the tempting offer. Although Columbia House really did not rather have major up-sells or down-sells in their funnels, they developed a simple 2 action funnel that worked. It worked because the tripwire was so appealing. It appealed deeply to the consumer. After all, exactly how can you stand up to an offer like that for 12 or 13 CDs or tapes for $1 or 1 cent when they were retailing at around $10 each at the time.
An additional powerful example of this was via Sports Illustrated. In fact, Sports Illustrated was properly on the decrease at the time it introduced its revolutionary tripwire. There’s something concerning substantial items that individuals just connect with. Even when you’re supplying a digital info product on the back end, by sweetening the handle a substantial good, you can quite actually send your conversions via the roof.
In the example of Sports Illustrated, take yourself back to 1990 when magazine subscription prices were beginning to leave. In that duration, Sports Illustrated endured a 7% decline in their blood circulation in the initial half of the year. Now, no matter what they did, they were incapable to obtain the subscription prices up. Even by supplying deep discounts on memberships, customers weren’t grabbing it. Plus, if they marked down too outstanding, it would certainly influence their capability to obtain advertisers paying costs prices without revealing that customers were paying near to the complete cover cost of the magazine.
Sports Illustrated, had by Time, Inc., had not been the only publication that was enduring under the business’s umbrella. Individuals publication had actually additionally experienced an extreme decline of 5%. Time, Inc., recognized that it needed to do something quickly. So it started to provide a tripwire that included sports bungles on VHS. However, the price was excessively high and there were only many bloopers it could provide. So, they resorted to the football phone as the brand-new tripwire.
Why the football phone? First, it interested the target market. And, it was unique as well as exciting. Far more exciting than a boring magazine membership. The football-shaped phone idea was developed by Sports Illustrated’s supervisor of circulation at the time, Michael Loeb. Back then, marketing on cord was additionally really economical. Plus, the phone, which was sourced from China, only cost a couple of bucks “landed”. So everything made good sense.
Loeb serviced the logistics of this deal for lots of months. Nevertheless, that wasn’t the only offer. They also concocted an offer that contained a sneaker phone. If you’ll think back to 1990-1991, it was both offers that were running nearly concurrently. Discuss an early-on split-test, right?
So, what were the results of all this? Over 1 million brand-new customers. That’s right. And also those offers just competed a limited time. But it effectively saved the company. That’s the power of a tripwire offer. It’s a substantial product that obtains individuals thrilled regarding whatever else the core deal is. In fact, some individuals will only acquire what you’re marketing entirely for the uniqueness of the substantial tripwire offer.
Sales funnels are among the solitary most powerful ideas in service today for an extremely specific factor. It’s not simply the instance of the tripwire that’s effective. It’s the whole kitty caboodle, so to speak. There are a lot of components as well as elements to what make a sales funnel job so well that I intended to break it down and offer some even more instances to supply a deeper understanding to how you can utilize them to boost your revenue online.
Now, if you’re not using a sales funnel now, or if you’re just finding what a sales funnel is, after that there are a couple of methods you can quickly leverage this powerful principle in your service to create eruptive outcomes. Firstly, if you do not have a ClickFunnels account, go below and register for the 14-day cost-free trial. When you have actually configuration your account, get a custom-made domain name and also start developing your funnel. If you need aid, see several of the on-boarding video clips consisted of with ClickFunnels.
It matters not if you have an existing organisation or you’re working to arrangement a brand-new company, funnels are the trick to expanding as well as scaling despite where you’re beginning with. Nonetheless, there are 5 particular methods you can use sales funnels to raise your income now. It matters not what service you’re in or what you’re marketing, you can take advantage of these today, right now, to produce explosive results.
At the Inner Circle mastermind today, Russell Brunson studied the hook-story-offer method that precedes building the funnel. Can you develop a sales funnel before you have a hook and also a tale? Yes. However you may have problem gaining traction, particularly if you’re competing in a red sea. Red oceans are entrepreneur-infested waters competing for the exact same swimming pool of customers, whereas blue oceans are a location where couple of entrepreneurs are swimming in.
What does that tell you? Invest the time responsible and the story. Yes, the deal is additionally crucial. However it’s the hook and also the tale that’s mosting likely to reel potential customers in. For example, Brunson used the narrative of fit-to-fat-to-fat owner, Drew Manning. Manning, who remained in fantastic form, went out there and got a bunch of weight over a 6 month duration to much better understand what it seems like to be fat. However after that he headed out there as well as shed all the weight.
That right there is an amazing hook as well as tale. It’s one-of-a-kind. And also, because of that, Manning has experienced a meteoric increase, even though his deal isn’t that great. But when the hook and also the story is just so excellent, the deal is nearly unimportant. Successfully, you can sell practically anything when the hook and the tale simply crush it. Another instance is the story of Robert Allen that would constantly state he can be decreased in any type of city in the country as well as get a house no money down within 60 days. Which’s exactly what he did. His brand has corrected a billion bucks in sales due to it.
Those are all wonderful hooks as well as stories. Without that, your offer will struggle. If you can think of a distinct means to create your hook and also story, the remainder will form. Since there is a lot red sea out there, this is probably among the most vital indicate make prior to you introduce any kind of sales funnel.
Tripwires are fantastic low-barrier-of-entry items that make leads use their bank card. Commonly, these are too-good-to-pass-up products that are offered at an unbelievable price. Just think about the tripwire offered by Columbia House or Sports Illustrated, for instance. Tripwires assist make it less complicated to obtain new clients, and then to rise them up your worth ladder.
Anything that makes consumer procurement harder, such as a pricey services or product out of eviction, is going to make expanding and also scaling your business more difficult. The truth is that it costs 5 times as much to draw in a brand-new client as it does to maintain an existing one. That’s why tripwires are so effective. They lower the barrier-of-entry into your organisation. And anything that can lower the obstacle of access is always optimal.
An additional great method to release a sales funnel as well as conveniently boost your revenue whatever business you remain in is with a lead magnet. The lead magnet needs to include actual worth. Yet it can be in numerous styles such as a PDF ebook, list, rip off sheet and more. After the download, you can provide an one-time offer. This implies a three-step funnel. You might also produce an up-sell if they take the single offer and even a payment-plan down-sell if they reject it.
Why do a lead magnet with lots of value? First, you’re setting on your own up as a specialist. If that web content is genuinely workable, as well as it includes an enormous amount of worth to the prospect’s life, then they’re mosting likely to regard you as the authority. But it does something even more than that. It refers micro-commitments. The concept? Get someone to concur to do three small things for you and also the fourth one is immediately an indeed.
Among the most effective sales funnels you can develop is based around the webinar. In fact, it was the webinar that saved Brunson’s organisation from personal bankruptcy a number of times. It was a combination as well as end result of understanding that result in the excellent webinar script, which produces the basis for the supreme sales funnel. Some of it originated from Jason Fladlien, while various other items came from in other places in Brunson’s journey.
Nevertheless, all that info combined right into the layout of an ideal webinar and also funnel, has actually essentially changed the businesses of countless entrepreneurs who’ve taken their expertise and monetized it with the exponential force of webinars. Building a webinar is among the surest paths to success with a sales funnel. In fact, the webinar funnel is fairly possibly one of the most transformative funnel you might introduce for any kind of business, brand-new or old.
One more method to boost your income with a sales funnel is to build a high-ticket training funnel that goes from application to telephone call to close.
The application enables you to extract those who aren’t major. As well as, on the call, you can seal the deal. Now, this kind of sales funnel jobs if you’ve already had outcomes with customers. If not, help totally free up until you get results for individuals. Then, gather reviews and make use of those as part of the pitch for the training.
Possibly one of the most significant and most prominent sales funnels these days is the free-plus-shipping offer funnel. It makes a wonderful entrance point right into any type of funnel by producing a single deal or up-sell after the deal, comparable to a tripwire funnel. However, the distinction right here is the power of the word complimentary. Yes, tripwires, which are really affordable products or services, function well. Yet there is real power in the word free.
Actually, individuals will certainly raise as well as down for a cost-free offer, even if they need to cover the shipping as well as handling, as opposed to taking a deal that they even have to pay a tiny amount of money for. | 2019-04-24T02:31:02Z | http://www.bridenstinerocketracing.com/using-sales-funnels-to-make-money-online-fast/ |
Anyone who has been around me for more than a few hours while coding, or who pays any attention to me on Twitter will know that I am a huge fan of CodeRush and Refactor Pro! from DevExpress. I consider these sorts of tools essential to getting the most out of your development environment, and I think CodeRush is one of the best tools available for a number of reasons, not the least of which is it’s extensibility. CodeRush is built on top of DxCore, which is a freely available library for building Visual Studio plug-ins (incidentally, DevExpress also have a free version of CodeRush called CodeRush XPress, which is built on the same platform). DxCore provides any developer who wants it access to the same tools that the folks at DevExpress have for building plug-ins and extensions on top of VisualStudio, and several developers (including yours truly) have done just that.
One of the more recent additions to the CodeRush arsenal are the CodeIssues. As of the v9 release, CodeRush included an extensive collection of these mini code analyzers which will look at your code in real time and do everything from let you know when you have undisposed resources, to suggesting alternate language features you may not even be aware of. A lot of these are also tied in to the refactoring and code generation tools that already exist within CodeRush and Refactor Pro! so that not only do you see that there is an issue or suggestion, but in a lot of cases you can tell the tool to correct it for you. Pretty impressive stuff.
So what I would like to do is dig in to how the CodeIssue functionality works within CodeRush by creating a custom CodeIssue Provider. Because I’m a TDD guy, one of the things I’ve been trying to do is build in some tooling around the TDD process to make it that much easier to write code TDD. So based on that I’m going to show you how to implement a CodeRush CodeIssueProvider which will generate a warning whenever you have created a Unit Test method with no assertions (which would indicate that you are either dealing with an Integration Test, or your test is not correctly factored). Note: Since the CodeIssue UI elements are part of the full CodeRush product, and not CodeRush XPress, this plug-in will note do anything unless you are running the full version of CodeRush.
Okay, so the first thing to do is to create a new Plug-In project. This can either be done from the Visual Studio File –> New Project menu, or by selecting the New Plug-in option from the DevExpress menu in visual studio (if you are using CodeRush XPress and you don’t have the DevExpress menu, my man Rory Becker has a solution for you). Regardless of which way you go, you will get a “New DxCore Plug-in Project” window, which will ask you what Language you want to write your plug-in in (C# or Visual Basic .Net), and what kind of plug-in you want, along with the standard stuff about what to name the solution and where to store the files. For our purposes we’re going to go with C# as the Language, a Standard Plug-in, and we’ll call it CR_TestShouldAssert (the CR_ is a naming convention used by the CodeRush team to indicate it’s a CodeRush plug-in, as opposed to a Refactoring or DxCore plug-in).
Net up is the “DxCore Plug-in Project Settings” dialog. This allows you to give your plug-in a title, and set some more advanced options which deal with how the plug-in gets loaded by the DxCore framework. We’ll just leave everything as-is and move on to the good stuff.
Now if we switch back over to the designer, we will see our new provider on the design surface. At this point we can use the Properties window to configure the provider. The things we need to worry about filling out are the Description, DisplayName, and ProviderName properties. The Description is the text that will be displayed in the Code Issue catalog, so it needs to clearly explain what the CodeIssueProvider is intended to do. Let’s go with something like: “A Unit Test should have at least one explicit or implicit assertion.” As for DisplayName, lets say something like “Unit Test Method Should Assert”, and make the ProviderName the same.
This looks pretty much like your normal event handler, we’ve got the sender object (which would be our provider instance, and then we have a custom EventArgs object. Looking at this event args object, you can see quite a few methods, and a couple of properties. The first few methods you see deal with actually adding your code issue, if it exists, to the list of issues reported by the UI. You’ve got one method for each type of CodeIssue (AddDeadCode, AddError, AddHint, AddSmell,AddWarning), and then one method (AddIssue), which allows you to specify the CodeIssue Type. Now this is where things start to get interesting because basically we’re at the point where the good folks who wrote DxCore have said “All right, go off and find your problem and report your finding back to me when your done”. So from here we have to figure out whether or not there are any test methods without asserts floating around anywhere. The good news is that there are a few tools in the CodeRush bag of tricks that can help us.
This looks pretty straightforward, but there are a couple of things I want to point out. First is the ea.Scope property that we are passing in to the GetElementEnumerable() method. This is the AST object that represents the top of the parse-tree that we are going to be searching for code issues in. Typically this is a file-level object, but I don’t know that you can count on that always being the case (changing the parse settings could potentially effect how much of the code is considered invalid at a time, and so you could get larger or smaller segments of code). The other interesting bit is the ElementTypeFilter(). This allows us to filter the list of AST elements given to us in our enumerable based on their LangueElementType (LanguageElement is the base class for syntax elements within the DxCore AST structure. All nodes have an ElementType property which exposes a LanguageElementType enum value). In our case we’re only interested in methods, so we’re using LanguageElementType.Method. The result is a collection of all of the methods within our Scope.
A quick note; I’m using the OfType<T>() method to convert the collection returned by the Attributes Property into an enumerable of IAttributeElements just as an easy way of enabling Linq expressions against the collection. Since DxCore is written to work with all versions of VisualStudio, there really isn’t any official Linq support. As a matter of fact, using the expression we did limits the plug-in to only those people with .Net Framework 3.5 installed on their development machines. I think that in this day and age, this is a fairly safe assumption, so I’m not that worried about it. I would like to point out also, that having this expression in place does not prevent the plug-in from working with Visual Studio 2005, as long as the 3.5 framework is installed.
With this in place we should now be able to run our project and try it out. Using F5 to debug a DxCore plug-in will launch a new instance of Visual Studio. From there if you create a new project, or open an existing project, and write a test method which does not have an Assert, you should see a red squiggle underneath the name of the method. Hovering over that with your mouse you’ll see our Code Issue test presented. Adding an Assert will make the Code Issue disappear.
Well, things are looking good here, we’ve got code that is searching for an issue, and displaying the appropriate warning if our condition is met. There is one other condition we should probably consider, however. The one case I can think of when our rule does not apply is when we are expecting the code under test to throw an exception. In that case there would be an ExpectedException attribute on the test class. To make our users happy we should probably implement this functionality.
And that’s it. Granted there are some things here I would like to change before releasing this into the wild. We are specifically looking for NUnit/MbUnit style test method declarations for one, and we are also looking only for the short version of the attribute names, but this should give you a good idea of how things work.
If you are interested in seeing a more polished final version, you can either download the finished source for this post, or have a look at my CR_CreateTestMethod (admittedly poorly named) plug-in on the DxCore Community Plug-In’s site. | 2019-04-22T16:47:15Z | http://drrandom.org/2009/10/ |
As a Malaysian, you’ve probably heard words exchanged and criticism against our neighbour, Singapore. At the same time, however, one cannot deny the impact Singapore has had and the power and influence the country holds on not just Asia, but the world.
Curious about higher education in Singapore? We've got just the guide for you.
Two of its public universities – Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS) – are ranked top 2 in Asia and top 15 in the world. This attracts students from all over the world to enrol in Singapore’s universities and earn a world-class degree, ranked alongside other elite institutions in the UK and USA.
As a Malaysian student, Singapore wouldn't be much of a culture shock for you. But nevertheless studying in Singapore would still be a new experience.
Here we also find that language isn’t a barrier in Singapore, as it often is with Asian countries; English is heralded as the national language, along with Mandarin, Tamil and Malay. So, as a Malaysian, you wouldn't have much to worry about!
While Singapore may, however, be a relatively expensive city to reside in compared to Malaysia, several measures are taken by the government to allow for an easier and more convenient lifestyle, with 80% of it’s population residing in government-subsidized housing and public transportation being encouraged by the government as well. At the same time, given the country’s status in the world, many do find it worth it, living and flourishing in Singapore.
During the Programme for International Assessment (Pisa) in 2016, it was found that children from Singapore came out on top in the world for the subjects of Maths, Science and Literacy Skills. With a solid foundation during the primary and secondary schooling years, it’s easy to see why Singapore’s universities consistently out-perform many of the world’s rest; not only in ranking but quality in teaching, research and facilities available, among several other factors.
NTU in 2016, and is equipped to print concrete structures as well!
Universities and colleges in Singapore typically follow a two-semester format, whereby 1st semesters commence in August annually, with a winter break between December and January of the following year, after which the 2nd semester commences and ends in May, followed by a semester break through to July. Semester breaks, especially during the summer are an ideal chance for students to search for part-time jobs or internships as well, giving extra oomph to their resumes upon graduation – and some extra cash in the pockets to splurge!
Students are generally advised to choose their institution based on their own preference and field of study.
Did you know? Singapore ranks as the 15th best Student City in the world.
Prior to choosing the right university for you, it is crucial to ensure that you are capable of meeting the entry requirements and tuition fees of the university. Do note that Singaporean universities, while placing high in global rankings, are extremely competitive to achieve a placement in, and can have relatively expensive tuition fees as well. However, scholarships are often readily available – in particular to Malaysians and other ASEAN nationals – and can be a convenient solution to this.
For those who have completed other pre-university courses such as the O-Level and A-Level (or equivalent), a minimum of 3 O-Level passes and 2 A-Level passes are required.
Some courses require students to have completed their pre-university qualification in specific subjects. For example, if you wish you study Engineering, subjects such as Maths should be taken up and completed during your pre-university.
Cashing in on your future can tend to be pricey, more so in a country like Singapore. However, students are encouraged to search for scholarships, many of which are readily available for Malaysian students as well. General tuition fees per year at Singaporean universities for various qualifications are listed as below.
Having been voted under the 10 most expensive cities in Asia, Singapore can be quite a leap, if you’re coming from Malaysia. If you tend to have the habit of constantly converting between currencies in your head while residing in a new country, the Singaporean dollar may seem a far stretch from the Malaysian ringgit.
However, while Singapore may be an expensive city to reside in, it too ranks as one of the best places in Asia to reside in as well. A financial hub and multinational hub for not just Asia but the world, Singapore can be a treat to live in where students gain plenty of exposure to not just Asian culture but to the West as well.
When it comes to living costs in Singapore, much of students’ monthly expenditure depends on the student and their preferred lifestyle.
Did you know? Full-time students in Singapore are entitled to concessions while using the MRT!
For students looking to combat their monthly expenses, the Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in Singapore allows for international students to seek part-time work: 16 hours per week during the academic term and an unrestricted number of hours during term vacations. Not only does this give students the independence of not having to fully rely on their parents, but it too helps to boost students’ resumes upon graduation.
The following illustration shows the high-level process of applying to universities in Singapore. For specific details please contact EasyUni.
After having met the entry requirements and decided on which university in Singapore you wish to attend, students must begin their course application.
When to apply to Singapore?
If you’re looking to enrol in an undergraduate course in Singapore, it is best to apply as early as possible. Students are encouraged to apply using forecast results if available, instead of waiting on their pre-university results and losing out on a particular admission date or semester. For example, if you’re considering applying to a course which assumes in August, start applying for your chosen Singaporean university starting February that year – or even earlier!
Coming from Malaysia, student life in Singapore would be comparatively different. While Malaysia averages an area of 330,803 km2, Singapore’s area rounds up to a small 719.9km2. However, a difference in area doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of opportunities.
While Singapore may not be home to islands, mountains and natural forests, its appeal lies in its modernity and urbanization. As a cosmopolitan, Singapore offers students a life of luxury; work hard, play hard is the ethic and, during days off, students can spend their time exploring the nooks and crannies or branching out to spend the weekends at the infamous Resorts World Sentosa, one of Asia’s top attractions harbouring a little something for everyone – including Universal Studios!
Completing your studies from Singapore offers students a multitude of options concerning what’s next, instead of merely returning home to Malaysia upon graduation.
Whether you chose to pursue a Pre-University course, Diploma or Degree course in Singapore, there’s always the possibility of being one step ahead. Many tend to prefer continuing their studies after wrapping up their Degree or Diploma, such as pursuing a Master’s or PhD at one of many elite institutions in Singapore.
Intrigued to continue staying in Singapore after graduating? Malaysian students who wish to stay in Singapore for a while longer, whether for leisure of to find work are allowed to apply for a long-term visit pass. This pass enables international students to continue residing in the country for up to 12 months. Students can find out more about this on the official ICA website.
In order to apply for a long-term visit pass, ensure that your student pass is valid for another 10 days, at the very least. Otherwise, graduates will not be allowed to apply for the pass.
Working in one of the biggest and most innovative hubs of not just Asia but the world pushes students to make the most out of their careers. While the job market may be tough, it is only due to the high rate of competitiveness. However, if you do manage to obtain a job in Singapore, your career may just get the head start it needs!
Did you know? Once you begin earning a minimum of SGD3,000 (MYR8,900) monthly, you are also eligible to apply for a Singaporean Permanent Residence (PR) pass.
So you’ve finished your studies in Singapore and wish to head back home for employment because, after all, Malaysia boleh! Before you pack up and head back, however, do ensure that your bills, accommodation and other possessions are all taken care of. Concerning your degree certificate, graduates must have collected it and any other relevant documents from their university before leaving the country as well. | 2019-04-23T23:07:02Z | https://www.easyuni.my/en/singapore/ |
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The Fifteen cubic yard Cost of a Dumpster in South Wilmington, IL you'll want if you are upgrading and collecting all of the dirt from your kitchen area, a big car port, basement or attic clean-out including if you are cleansing a home at a deceased human being, a large yard that needs massive clean up, or perhaps a basement upgrading job. | 2019-04-26T00:02:11Z | https://livedumpster.com/illinois/cost-of-dumpster-south-wilmington-il/ |
On July 2015 the #DSI2015 symposium opened with a hakaactivation session with Jack Gray (read more about the opening session here). As part of this participants were asked to capture and share the questions that they brought with them to DSI.
This activity was our first introduction to each other, and helped to give shape to the diversity of perspectives, experiences and sectors in the room. It also helped us to name both similar and different tensions people are sitting with at the intersection of design, social and impact.
We've roughly themed and compiled the 150+ questions below, which were generated in around 5 minutes by 100+ people from different sectors and disciplines. Big thanks to Justine McFarlane for writing these all up!
can I learn from the and leverage off the people in the room?
how can we best support each other to do this work?
who's trying what in the social innovation space - I want inspiration?
how might we absorb valuable insights from each other over the next 2 days?
how can we design systems, tools and processes to allow our true humanness to emerge?
what are the new tools and techniques that can be applied to an environment policy space?
how might we incorporate what we learn in our work in ways that are consistent and sustainable ?
what are the connections do I have to the experiences of others?
how can we access mentoring or coaching when we get a little stuck in our work?
what is the new to be learned in this space and time?
how can the content of today help us reinvent libraries ?
how might we open source social service design?
how can I help and encourage participants to make physical prototypes?
how can we increase awareness capability and action for co design?
how can a large org best contribute to social innovation and social outcomes?
what are the partnership opportunities across social sectors?
how do we create the desire to design in a group of diverse, interests and backgrounds?
how do we mix things up in an organisations?
how do we foster an organisation culture that fosters innovation and effectiveness with heart?
how do we create a design lead organisation - structure, skill sets and purpose?
how ready are our organisations to work differently could design thinking be that different?
how to let board /seniors let go of the driving the design process?
how do I spread new /innovative approaches within my organisation?
how do we unshakable ourselves from jargon to be great humans together?
how can we harness the collective heart, heart, spirit, hands for our community?
how might we share our collective energy with others?
how to collaborate diverse ideas?
how do we sustain for the long haul?
how can I contribute to this place/space?
how might we love and support each other and avoid competition and conflict?
how do we fit in or contribute what do we bring?
what if this group created tangible change?
how might we transition from hui hui to doey doey?
how to say no better? In a way that’s constructive in a way that's honest?
how can symposiums like these come into communities at little or no extra costs?
how do we learn to truly let go in our community work?
how are designers sharing their skills with the disadvantaged communities?
how do we connect with all aucklanders knowing that we are a diverse group?
how do we go back into our communities and share our learnings?
what would those less privileged than I teach us?
how can I ensure all people have safe access, invitation to participate or not according to them?
how can I get more customer input into the design of services?
what can I do , what is my role?
how can I be of best use?
what the hell should I do next?
where do I stand and what does that mean?
what can I learn from others and apply to my own org?
how can I draw these threads together?
how do we make our bread and butter while working towards justice?
how might we decouple work from worth?
how do we stand as allies to the tangata whenua?
how do we integrate te Maori research methods into western frameworks or create new ones?
how do we work cross culturally and not under value any cultural principle or world view?
how important is the naming and languages?
how might we deeply and authentically do design work in Aoteoroa nz with te tiriti o waitangi in the way we practice?
how can the Samoan diapasonic? community enlist both factional and contemporary knowledge and practices to collaborative effect social change?
how do we stop creating more arsonists fire-fighters?
is there such thing as collaboration in an environment driven by competition?
how do you access people/stakeholders who aren't willing or stubborn?
how can I better influence the influencers?
how might we get more organisations to use service design thinking?
how might we transform industries to work on wicked problems that matter?
do you need to be a internal staff member to be effective running a service design process?
how can I design and engage my team an organisation to have greater lasting impact?
how can I create the conditions for innovation in our workforce?
what can I do to find innovation across the business?
how do we encourage people to be involved?
what ideas from social innovation, language and how we communicate can integrate what I do and my work?
what does social innovation mean to others?
how do we maximise the benefits of social programs?
how do I do social inovation, what does it look like, how do I know its happening, how do I make space for it?
how truly do we design with not for, and involve the people affected by a problem in a systematic way?
how do we build better systems and help people help themselves?
how do I step back and check in, hearing the participants?
understand life experience of leaders - e.g. suicide mental health ?
how to take everyone on the journey and how to make it happen?
how can we use what we do to connect different communities to each other to create new communities?
how can we better resource community?
how can I share now beautiful and unique the south auckland and pacific island communities are?
what is really new and different about the design approach?
what makes great co design ?
how do I reinvent service design at my organisation so it remains relevant for today but positions us well for our transformed tomorrow?
how do we design in positive change in systems addicted to negativity?
how does co design a fit as a collaborative practice within educational communication? design?
how can I facilitate conversations between university teachers/ students and the outer/other communities they work with ?
how can I best launch my education innovation incubator?
what can educators learn from the social innovation community?
how might education learning be re-imagined to better serve all?
how might education and the wider design community benefit each other?
how to shape a society that cares and actively supports environmental action in daily lives?
how can a community library be a catalyst for social innovation lab?
how can policy outcomes be improved by design?
how can you use new technology for social innovation?
how do you reorient services to prioritise people over processes?
how can we leverage the power of digital in social innovation?
how might we deliberately and consciously ground, give and receive energy each day?
how do we incorporate spirit within mainstream wellbeing initiatives especially when the unseen is discounted?
where does shared responsibility stop and start?
how do we hold the tension between holding our knowledge and letting it go?
what are the intersections too many or too few?
how can I assist in changing the mind-set towards change?
how might we utilise everyone's energy and knowledge to solve the challenges we face?
how do we change our environment to enhance people's wellbeing naturally?
how does everyone own the change?
how might we do enough talking to unlock the right doing?
how can we make change easier for people to imagine and do?
what is sufficient cooperation to create coherent change in problematic social conditions?
droplet of design trickle through to impact everyone's lives?
how can the design for social roles and jobs grow?
what can design for social Aotearoa mean?
how do we know that those we design for/ is for are benefiting?
how do you balance multiple truths?
how might we demonstrate the true value of design approaches?
how do we inspire the confidence that impact will come to unlock resources when the answer is unknown?
what research and theories supporting design for social innovation approaches should I read up on?
how to capitalise on emerging technology to improve wellbeing?
how might we dismantle gentrification so we may value people above capital?
what kinds of conversations can be hard?
Is social entrepreneurship service the neo liberal system?
why must we earn the means to satisfy basic human needs? | 2019-04-21T10:15:21Z | http://www.designforsocialinnovation.nz/blog/what-questions-do-you-bring-to-dsi |
We can imagine the ending of a story a thousand times and have a certain idea of it because the end was already inscribed in the many signs that we have found and interpreted. But when that ending really arrives it's always different. We knew that little Marco would grow up to be a man, and when one day we realized that that beautiful "child" of ours was no longer there, our emotions and tears were all different, and beautiful. We have predicted and said endless times that our bad actions would lead us to the end, but the day we really took the books to court, it was all different, with pain and real tears that we had not been able to foresee. We had prepared our last day in community until the last small detail, but when we really closed the door of the room behind us for the last time and crossed the doorway forever, what happened in the depths of our hearts was totally new; we could not know either the taste of the last bread eaten with our companions, or the nostalgia for heaven that accompanied us throughout our life. We didn't know, we couldn't know, we didn't have to know it in order to try to make that impossible flight. We can and must prepare for it, we can and must accept the idea of the certain arrival of the angel of death with gentleness, but when it really happens the angel of death will not be as we have dreamt, and we will be surprised that while living our life we have also learned to die. But we could not know this in advance, otherwise it would not have been the greatest gift.
For forty years Jeremiah had seen, heard and said that Jerusalem would be destroyed, her citizens killed and all survivors deported. But the day that the Babylonian army really entered the city, when the temple was destroyed, women, men and children were really killed, was surely a different day for him, a certainly more painful one. The prophets, unlike us, do not rejoice in seeing the corpse they have announced floating in the river, they do not say "I told you” with malignant satisfaction. They die twice: when they announce the end, and when they see it accomplished before their eyes, experiencing it in their own flesh. “In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. (...) The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the houses of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 39:1-2;8). After the city fell, King Zedekiah tried to escape to save his own skin (39:1) - how many times we have seen it again throughout history! But he is captured near Jericho, and subjected to the most atrocious torment. “The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon” (39:6-7).
In the general chaos, Jeremiah ended up in prison again, among the Jews destined for deportation to Babylon. After capturing Zedekiah, the Babylonians left a Jew, Gedaliah, who was not of the Davidic dynasty, as governor of the "rest" who remained in the country: “Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time” (39:10). It’s one of the not so rare cases when being poor becomes a sign of providence. The humble are exalted and the rich are sent away empty-handed. As for Jeremiah, whose fame as an anti-resistance prophet was also known among the Chaldeans, “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command ... saying, »Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you«” (39:12). The captain of the guard said to Jeremiah: “»Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan ...« So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go” (40:4-5). Jeremiah is liberated and he also receives a gift. We don't know what this gift was, but it is still significant to encounter the gift at the end of a central episode in Jeremiah’s story. Gifts are very serious things, they are at the heart of life and death. The Bible knows this, and places a gift inside a liberation, as a sacrament of a decisive choice. We have confined gifts to the field of the non-necessary and, often, useless; the Bible doesn’t: it places it in its rightful place, at the crossroads between freedom and slavery.
Jeremiah is now in full freedom to choose where to go. His recognition by the Chaldeans had earned him the privilege of being able to decide about his own fate. Going to Babylon would have meant protection and security, perhaps a place in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. However, “Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land” (40:6). Jeremiah decides to stay; he uses the privilege of freedom to remain among his own people, among the poor. Why? Maybe he hoped in Gedaliah, a member of a friendly family of his (26:24). Or perhaps he stayed because his conscience or the voice simply told him to remain in the devastated country, among the remnant made up by the poor - the true prophets are at home only among the poor. The only way you can decide to stay in a devastated and desolate land is because you feel that you have to stay in it. Many people flee, others are "deported" elsewhere by life. Someone, one person, however, remains. When all that remains of the community that had been the great dream of youth, the promised land is but a heap of rubble, there are always many who flee, but someone decides to stay. He cannot explain the reasons that make him stay, he only knows that he must remain - imperatives of the soul exist on earth. Perhaps he doesn't even choose to stay: he just stays and that’s all. Perhaps because of that strange fidelity to the land, inscribed in the chromosomes of the heart, which he inherited from his parents and grandparents, who had taught him with the magisterium of dignified poverty that fidelity is more destiny than choice, it is a mutation of the flesh, it is a call of origin. Because life is a serious thing, and you have to get to the end, learning the magnificent art of the "Stabat". He doesn't know why, but he remains, he doesn't leave like and with the others, when, being Jeremiah, he could have done so. Staying when one could leave has an immense moral and spiritual value, it is a very precious common good. Cities would remain destroyed and in ruins forever if there was no one who decides to stay even if they could leave - if there wasn't at least one such person. It’s among these people who are capable of remaining in the destroyed cities that the true prophets of our time should be sought: in the long and silent faithfulness in the middle of ruins.
There have always been cases of hosts killed by their guests. But much more numerous are the hosts who were blessed and made better by their guests. Humanity became more human every time when the pain and fear for the murderer guest in the neighbouring house did not kill our freedom to open our door with confidence and generosity to the unknown guest arriving. Throughout history, the real winners were not the Benjamites from Gibeah (Judges 19-21), nor Polyphemus, even if their shadow keeps reappearing and threatening people all too often. When we welcome a guest into our house, we open our hearts and our table, we cannot always know if those entering are "angels" (Hebrews 13:2) or Ishmael the murderer. Gedaliah paid with his life for his choice of hospitality. He preferred to risk his encounter with the other, he was not prudent, he did not believe what Johanan had said. But that sacrifice of his allows us to indignate ourselves, to condemn Ishmael and to strengthen the good reasons for hospitality.
It is not the good stories with a happy ending that strengthen the deepest collective moral conscience of peoples. The most important ethical norms are formed in the continuous exercise of approval and indignation of people and characters that we have never met, starting with the fairy tales of childhood (the flesh and blood people around us are not enough to form our feelings: we also need a reality intensified and extended by the great biblical word and literature). The people that stops reading and telling their great stories is navigating itself towards the greatest kind of famine: that of empathy and indignation, the pillars supporting every good and righteous common house, and every human heart. A mortal wound of a righteous person brought about by an agapically imprudent act becomes a nail driven into the rock wall to continue the moral climb of the world, to a height that the sum of a thousand prudent actions without wounds does not reach or even touch - Christianity did not invent the agape: it recognized and exalted it. We were able to perceive the special resurrection of Christ because the Bible had resurrected many righteous people by cherishing their crosses and narrating them for centuries under the tents. Gedaliah did not die forever: he re-lives every time we read the Bible, smell his innocent blood, and recognize him in the victims of the earth. And then we continue to open the door. | 2019-04-24T15:11:45Z | http://www.edc-online.org/en/publications/articles-by/luigino-bruni-s-articles/avvenire-editorial/serie-bibliche/the-dawn-of-midnight/13672-the-magnificent-art-of-the-stabat.html |
Philadelphia – June 15, 2016 – Urban Land Institute Philadelphia (ULI Philadelphia), a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities, has announced eight winners for its 2016 Willard G. “Bill” Rouse III Awards for Excellence this evening.
The Awards for Excellence recognizes the best real estate projects completed within the last five years in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware. The winning projects – which represent a variety of types, including urban mixed-use, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, multipurpose entertainment, and institutional projects – were scored by 15 jury members from around the nation on use of best practices; quality planning and design; elements that build healthy places; environmental sustainability and energy reduction; economic success and market acceptance.
3737 Chestnut (Philadelphia, PA) – Described by Jurors as “well-choreographed public/private partnership with creative multi-source financing on a tight site,” 3737 Chestnut sits at the nexus of top educational institutions and some of the City’s poorest neighborhoods. Developed by Radnor Property Group and designed by BLT Architects, The Harman Group, and SPG3 Architects, this 267-unit mixed-use project in University City stabilized the asset of the historic Episcopal church and incorporated its community center and daycare with a rooftop playground, as well as much-needed market-rate housing and top-notch amenities for those who work and study nearby.
Central Green at the Navy Yard (Philadelphia, PA) – Jointly developed by PIDC, Liberty Property Trust, Synterra Partners, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and designed by James Corner Field Operations, this five-acre park is set in the heart of the Navy Yard’s campus and leverages the outdoors as an amenity serving both the working community and neighborhood. The resulting creative design incorporates recreation, fitness, sustainability, and high-quality outdoor work spaces within a magnificently and natively landscaped environment. Central Green also includes sustainable design elements and sophisticated stormwater management features through a Bio Basin, which treats the first inch of runoff and more than 41,100 square feet of previous paving along the pedestrian paths. The Jury appreciated that the team took a parcel that did not contribute to development and made it into an exciting asset.
Community Legal Services, North Philadelphia Law Center (Philadelphia, PA) – With a need for significantly more space and long-lasting ties to its growing client base, Community Legal Services (CLS) demonstrated its high level commitment to North Philadelphia with this project. CLS worked with Clemens Construction Company with Atkins Olshin Schade to create this new 19,640-square-foot building, which was constructed on six residential lots previously razed as part of Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. The building offers generous light-filled spaces and privacy for clients within a welcoming environment in a dense urban area well-served by mass transit. LEED Gold level was achieved through green space, public meeting space, green roof and garden courtyard. The development leveraged New Market Tax Credits and Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital program, plus equity from CLS and partner PNC Bank. The Jury cited its design excellence, restraint, and its contribution to social equity.
Dilworth Plaza (Philadelphia, PA) – Dilworth Plaza has quickly become the “center square” that William Penn imagined for the City over 300 years ago. The Center City District along with Urban Engineers, KieranTimberlake, and The OLIN Studio transformed the formerly barren concrete west side of City Hall into the ultra-modern Dilworth Park, which features everything from pop-up shops and free events to an interactive fountain and easy access to public transit. By engaging the community through 60 public meetings, this project reflects a “cosmopolitan canopy" where people from different backgrounds can join together. The Jury cited its creativity, emphasis on physical activities, sustainability, high visitor volume, great social equity, and a feeling of excitement in contrast to historic City Hall.
evo Philly (Philadelphia, PA) – Built on the site of the former postal annex, evo Philly – part of Cira Centre South -- is a 36-story, 850-bed, tower which is currently the tallest operating student housing tower in the country. Developed by Brandywine Realty Trust and designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture, BALA Consulting, Thornton Tomasetti, Pennoni Associates, Integrated Aquatics Engineering, Beam LTD, Cerami & Associates, AKF Engineers, and Roofmeadow, this project consists of 34 floors above grade and two stories below. It provides 474,280 square feet of space including more than 15,500 square feet of amenity space for residents including social events, a business center, a 24/7 two-story penthouse-level fitness center, and the stunning rooftop infinity-edge pool with incredible views of Center City. The Jury liked how the development has helped to blur the lines between University City and Center City, as well as its beautiful clean design, amenities, sustainability and energy efficiency.
Hoover-Mason Trestle (Bethlehem, PA) – Developed by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bethlehem and designed by Wallace Roberts & Todd, this adaptive reuse project has been a catalyst for economic development and growth through its engagement with the community, including its connection to the adjacent and award winning SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus, as well as its ability to capture Bethlehem’s steel heritage. The Trestle has breathed new life into city placemaking and will continue to grow as new uses and initiatives are added. The Jury appreciated its strong industrial contextual design and execution, a focus on the outdoors, celebration of history, and a complex integration of funding sources.
The Summit (Philadelphia, PA) -- This University City project developed by American Campus Communities (ACC) with Solomon Cordwell Buenz is a 24-story, mixed-use retail and student residential development designed to meet Drexel University’s goals of revitalizing the Lancaster Avenue corridor and the Powelton Village neighborhood, to accommodate enrollment growth, entice undergraduates back to on-campus housing, expand healthy dining options for students and residents, and provide neighborhood retail options. This is the largest project completed by Drexel and ACC to date, and builds on the success of Chestnut Square which won an Award for Excellence in 2015. The Jury cited its outstanding land use both vertical and horizontal; its high quality mix of institutional housing/academia with public sharing of restaurant and open space and, most of all, 100% private financing with no financial participation by Drexel or the public sector.
Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center (Philadelphia, PA) – Nearly 10 years in the making, the Venice island Performing Arts and Recreation Center revitalized an abandoned, flood prone, five-acre site into a vibrant community space, restoring the island between the Manayunk Canal and the Schuylkill River. Designed by Buell Kratzer Powell for the City of Philadelphia, this $46 million project included sophisticated stormwater management and a four-million-gallon underground water storage tank and pumping station to alleviate flooding, all part of making Philadelphia the first city to try to meet EPA regulations primarily through green infrastructure. A deteriorated recreation center was replaced with a 250-seat community center featuring after-school programs, special events, and professional theatrical productions, as well as a children's water garden, sculpture garden, basketball courts, and riverbank restoration. The Jury cited it as an excellent collaboration by City staff and focused outside professionals. | 2019-04-24T18:47:25Z | https://www.aiaphiladelphia.org/news/eight-winners-announced-uli-philadelphia-s-3rd-annual-willard-g-bill-rouse-iii-awards |
It's no secret that our planet is experiencing severe global warming and climate change issues that have already begun seriously affecting all of us here on Earth. While it may feel like you, as an individual, can't make a big change, that's not true: there has never been a better time to focus on reducing your carbon footprint. Every small change, when added up, has the potential to make a huge difference.
Keep track of what you’re eating and what you’re throwing out.
Waste-free grocery shopping begins with your habits at home. The first thing you need to do is figure out where your food waste is coming from. Are you buying too many duplicate items because you aren't sure what's in your pantry? Are you purchasing too much produce at once, so that it goes bad quickly? Start keeping track of what you're throwing out so that you can keep that in mind the next time you're at the grocery store. It may sound small, but it pays to be aware of what you can skip.
Shop smart by only buying what you need.
Shopping smart is a huge part of avoiding excess waste. Don't go grocery shopping with only a vague idea of what you need — write out a list, make sure you don't already have the items at home, and don't over-buy. Fruit might be on sale, but are you really going to eat apples, oranges, blueberries, and kiwis all in one week? It's better to buy just what you need than to impulse buy something you may end up tossing.
The number one rule for ditching packaging at the grocery store? Bring your own bags. New York has recently become the second state after California to put a ban on unnecessary plastic bags, and hopefully other states will follow. Even if your state doesn't have that ban, though, you should bring your own cloth bags — they're sturdier, can hold more items, are more comfortable to hold, and they don't add up to a useless pile of plastic in your home. You can spend a few dollars on them once, then use them for years.
And invest in your own produce bags.
Many people have started purchasing their own cloth bags for the store, but they've forgotten about produce bags. Those flimsy produce bags for your fruits and veggies are made of non-biodegradable plastic, and you probably go through a ton of them. On top of that, storing your produce in plastic is a quick way to get them to rot faster — they need to breathe.
You can purchase your own produce bags on sites like Amazon. The investment is well worth it in the end — for the environment, and for your food.
Opt for the deli counter over pre-packaged goods.
If you're purchasing meat, fish, or cheese, you're better off going to a counter than buying something pre-packaged and wrapped in plastic. Go to the butcher instead of picking up a plastic-wrapped steak, get fresh cheese instead of buying something like Kraft Singles. You can also bring your own paper to wrap these items in so they don't get wrapped in plastic.
Shop in the bulk foods section.
Another big rule for ditching packaging is to shop in the bulk food section whenever possible. This is not an option that all major grocery stores offer, so you may need to do some digging to find a place that has it (somewhere like Whole Foods, for example). Bulk foods usually include items like beans, nuts, coffee beans, olives, pet food, spices, granola, sugar, vinegar... the list can go on. This is an easy way to ditch packaging and potentially save money as well.
Bring your own glass containers.
If you're going to buy in bulk, make sure to bring your own glass containers and/or jars — otherwise, you'll probably be stuck using the plastic or cardboard containers at the store, which makes the effort kind of useless. Plus, if you bring your own containers, everything is ready to store the moment you get home, no transfer necessary.
Weigh those containers ahead of time.
Since you need to weigh the bulk foods at the store to figure out how much you owe, it's helpful to know the weight of your containers before you go shopping. Weigh them when they're empty and write the weight on the container so that you can subtract it from the weight of the food you're buying. It just makes shopping this way more convenient.
Look for alternative food stores that put an emphasis on reducing waste.
It's easy to head to the local supermarket near you, but if you're really trying to ditch packaging, you may need to do some research on a more environmentally-friendly store to shop at. Some stores just offer more options than others. Litterless has a list of zero-waste grocery stores you can go to in your state, and that's a good place to start when searching.
You should also feel free to head to your local farmer's market. Most farmer's market stands won't give you plastic bags or containers, and so you're forced to bring your own environmentally-friendly options. The food is already usually loose, with an emphasis on being eco-friendly. On top of that, everything is more fresh, which is an added advantage for you.
Go to the bakery section instead of the bread aisle.
Most grocery stores will offer a bakery section where they sell bread, rolls, and desserts. Instead of going to the bread aisle and purchasing loaves of bread or rolls in plastic packaging, go to the bakery and pick up your own loose loaves of bread and rolls, then put them in your own cloth bags. It's better for the environment, and probably tastes better too.
Avoid the little items you don’t really need.
Think about all of the little plastic and paper things at the store that you don't really need but probably don't give a second thought to buying: Twist ties, receipts that will just get trashed when you walk out the door, stickers labeling your produce. Try to avoid as much of that stuff as you can, and it will add up.
Learn how to store your food better so it doesn’t go bad.
Again, zero-waste shopping isn't just about how you are at the store, it's also about your behavior at home. You can avoid unnecessary purchases by ensuring that you're storing food properly so you're not throwing it out when it could have stuck around longer.
Make your own food when possible.
If you have the time, learn how to make as much of your own food as possible. For example, you can easily make things like trail mix, granola, and granola bars at home instead of buying them pre-packaged at the store. Instead of picking up frozen dinners or pre-made meals, cook from scratch in your kitchen. It may not always be an option, but it's a better one whenever possible.
If you're able to, it's also not a bad idea to start a garden where you can grow your own fruits and veggies. This means you'll save money, enjoy fresh produce, and not have to use packaging to buy this stuff. If you can't start a garden, look into joining a community garden nearby.
Always keep extra bags in your car.
One way to ensure that you're never forced to use plastic bags is to always keep a stock of cloth bags in your car, ready for use. When you unpack your groceries, run out and put the bags back in the car. You can also buy a lot of bags so that you can keep some in your car and some in your home.
Let produce roam free in a larger bag.
If you've forgotten your produce bags or you just don't want to buy them, it's not a big deal: fruits and veggies don't need to be placed in their own separate bags. You may feel more comfortable with items like greens in their own bag, but they really can be all together in one bag — it's not an issue.
There are many benefits to buying local: Purchasing items that come from your local community means you're reducing food miles because the food doesn't have to travel as far. Locally grown food doesn't create a large carbon footprint, and that helps with fuel consumption and air pollution. On top of that, it's good for the environment around you, and it's usually more fresh.
Opt for environmentally friendly brands over something wrapped in plastic.
Be mindful when you're shopping and pay attention to other brands and options that you might usually ignore. If there is a food that isn't wrapped in plastic and is a bit more eco-friendly, consider buying that instead. It just takes a little vigilance.
Speak up to whoever is listening.
If you're not pleased with your grocery store's efforts at being more environmentally-friendly, say something. Politely complain to customer support or write an email to management. You may think this does nothing, but it could contribute to a change. | 2019-04-25T19:46:41Z | https://www.redbookmag.com/life/g27059190/how-to-reduce-food-packaging-waste/ |
Every year the various auction houses at Monterey compete for the most spectacular headline car, the highest price, the most market credibility. Until a few weeks ago the biggest news at Monterey was the return of Rick Cole auctions. For those who are pre-baby-boomers, Cole’s long history with collector-car auctions started in 1978, with Rick Cole Auctions. He held dozens of well attended annual auto auctions in Los Angeles, Newport Beach and Palm Springs, and in 1986 was the first, and for many years the only auction during the Monterey week. Rick’s auction features a very Ferrari-heavy offering including 275 GTB/C “Clienti Competizione” s/n 7477; 250 SWB s/n 3735 and 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport s/n 0592 CM, an eight figure Ferrari and easily the “headliner car” when announced.
Gooding and RM usually vie for the most spectacular headline Ferraris and this year was not a disappointment. In our Ferrari-focused world, RM’s announcement of Ferrari, 250 LM s/n 6045 is a headliner and will be another eight-figure Ferrari, while Mecum has 375 MM 0362 AM which will assuredly be yet another eight figure Ferrari. Gooding is expected to announce they have 365 P 3-Posti s/n 8971, yet another eight-figure Ferrari. RM is also expected to announce they have 275 GTB/C s/n 6701, one of three 275 GTB prototypes built for FIA homologation. It will be yet another eight-figure Ferrari. It will be a wild and crazy week with no lack of heavy iron and some stunning new market prices.
This year’s biggest surprise, however, was the announcement on 30 June that the ex-Violati 250 GTO s/n 3851 GT will be offered at the Bonhams Quail at no reserve!! There’s no question that 250 GTO s/n 3851 GT will re-set the high-water-mark for the most expensive car ever sold at auction, putting Bonhams firmly in the auction house spotlight, (more on that later). Equally as enticing, nine more yet-to-be-identified Ferraris from the ex-Violati collection would also be at Bonhams Quail at no reserve.
We begin with a quick history lesson. Fabrizio Violati was born in Rome in 1935 as the youngest son of the wealthy Ferrarelle Mineral Water empire. He quickly developed a taste for speed, running in multiple Italian hill climbs. In 1965 he was offered a very used 250 GTO s/n 3851 GT and paid the then-princely sum of 2.5m lire or about $4k, the then market correct price for an obsolete race car. Over the following years Violati expanded his collection while expanding the family mineral water empire and racing America’s Cup yachts.
In 1976 Violati purchased his second Ferrari, 250 GT SWB s/n 2025 GT, and soon became a serial collector, buying up dozens of used race cars. By the late 1980s the collection included about fifty Ferraris and several dozen Abarths in multiple garages and farm houses in and around Rome. Violati also ramped up his racing, running his team Scuderia Bellancauto 512 BB LM s/n 35529 under Ferrarelle Mineral Water sponsorship in multiple FIA 1000km enduros and at Le Mans in 1982 and 1984, both DNFs. Additionally his Scuderia Campidoglio vintage race team became a familiar sight on tracks across Europe throughout the 1980s, with Violati winning the 1985 FIA Historic championship in his much modified and very fast 250 GTO s/n 3851 GT.
In the late 1980s Violati moved his collection to San Marino, an interesting story in itself. San Marino is Europe’s smallest and oldest independent republic, a tiny 24-sq-mi. independent city-state of 26,000 people atop rocky Mount Titano, a short drive off the Adriatic coast near Rímini. As a separate micro-country within Italy San Marino has many tax advantages, making it a great place to store and display a very valuable car collection outside control of the Italian tax authorities. San Marino also offers tax free shopping and sightseeing around the old town’s castle and attracts about three million tourists per year. San Marino is also known to F1 fans as the host of the Formula One Grand Prix of San Marino, which is actually held on the Italian circuit of Imola, sixty some miles from San Marino. Only in Italy!
The Violati Collection, officially the “Maranello Rosso Collection”, opened in 1989 and moved into the current building on the outskirts of the micro-state in 2000, safely tucked away from the Italian tax authorities. The ground floor housed the majority of the Ferrari collection which included 195 s/n 0151 S; 250 MM s/n 0312 MM; three 250 LWB TDFs, s/n 0539 GT, s/n 0619/-805 GT and s/n 1461 GT, a Series I Cab s/n 0759 GT; two 250 SWBs, s/n 2025 GT and 3615 GT and, of course, 250 GTO s/n 3851 GT. In the mid-engined group were 330 P s/n 0818, 330 P2/3 s/n 0828; 512 BBLM s/n 35529; 312 T3 s/n 033; F40 s/n 89460 and 166 F2 Formula car s/n 008. Also in the collection was a long list of other Ferraris including a 250 GTE, a Lusso, a 330 and 365 GTC, a pair of 365 GTB/4 Comp conversions and many others for a total of thirty-three very collectible Ferraris.
The open second floor offered a view of the Ferraris and showcased a variety of Ferrari related memorabilia. The basement held the Abarth Museum covering Abarth’s complete history from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Included were multiple 1960s Fiat-Abarth 750 and 1970s Simca-based GT racers and multiple 1970s sports racers and Formula Abarths for a total of forty racing Abarths. Included were several of the later “Osella” Abarths created after Carlo Abarth sold the company to Fiat in 1971 and multiple Abarth World Rally Championship winning rally cars, making for one of the best Abarth collections on the planet.
Tax problems began to surface in the early-1990s with the entire collection first offered to us in 1994. Over the next twenty years the Violati collection has been offered on the dealer circuit endless times, but always with the complications of Italian tax liens, Violati’s former wife, three adult children and the General Manager of the collection, an imbroglio that has kept a small army of lawyers busy for the last two decades.
When Violati died on 21 Jan., 2010 the dealer chatter ramped up and has remained “the” hot topic on the dealer circuit since. The price has been a moving target, starting at an “ask” of 50M €uro, it had moved to 100M €uro and by last year had hit 110M €uro. In the last year the collection has been offered by most of the market’s major players at prices up to 160M €uro! Included were the museum building in San Marino plus an “offshore” tax free San Marino company, a potentially very valuable European asset.
By May–June the rumor mill proclaimed that the collection had been sold to an English consortium, included were all thirty-three Ferraris and forty Abarths. That consortium had offered to sell the 250 GTO and nine more of the highest profile Ferraris at the upcoming Monterey auctions. Two major auction houses were in the initial negotiations with the headliner package of ten Ferraris going to Bonhams for Monterey. Adding to the politics of the auction world, in June it also became public that Bonhams had enlisted London bankers to prepare debt financing packages of up to 200M £’s Sterling or $335M USD to back a potential sale of Bonhams. Adding further to the auction world news, on 03 July, Bonhams announced they were jumping into the Amelia Island scene in 2015 with a sale in Fernandina Beach, FL, the small town at the north end of Amelia Island, a few days before the Amelia Island Concours d′Elegance.
Bonhams is no stranger to major collection purchases, with its major backer, Evert Louman having bought the Rosso Bianco collection of three hundred Ferrari, Alfa and Maserati sports and race cars in 2006, selling many off at Monaco in May, 2006. Bonhams also currently holds the record of the most expensive car ever sold at auction, the ex-Fangio 1954 Mercedes W196R F1 car sold at Bonhams Goodwood in July, 2013 for a then-world-record $29.7m USD!
The Violati 250 GTO s/n 3851 GT, 330 P s/n 0818 and 330 P2/3 s/n 0828 were all crashed heavily in period and the GTO is the only GTO that was crashed and the driver, Henry Oreiller, died at Montlhery in 1962. Reality is that almost every GTO (excluding s/n 4219 GT) was crashed in period and many were crashed multiple times. After the crash at Montlhery in 1962 the Violati GTO was rebuilt and raced in over a dozen hill climbs in 1963. These were race cars and like all race cars they did crash, sometimes often.
Further on Evert Louwman, he is not only the major backer of Bonhams, he is also the Dutch importer for Toyota, Lexus and Suzuki. He is also the owner of the Louwman museum, over two-hundred cars in the planet’s oldest private museum (also open to the public.) Evert is a shrewd businessman and certainly a GTO buyer…. If the bidding at Quail doesn’t satisfy him it’s not a problem, he can outbid any offers he deems “inadequate” and we can bet that he does not pay a buyer’s commission!!
While some might question why a sophisticated consortium of investors would offer so many high-end Ferraris at no reserve, offering the GTO without reserve is precisely the way to maximize its value because everyone who might want one, and have the means to spend mid-to-high eight figures, will be there or have his “car guy” there. A no-reserve auction opens the list of potential buyers to everyone, not only the few who already mingle with the very exclusive “I own a 250 GTO” member’s club. There’s no lack of super-rich people who are outside the club but can afford and would like to belong to that exclusive network.
Bonhams Quail offers an unprecedented open sale of a 250 GTO that no one with the money and the desire will want to miss. Bonhams is undoubtedly already quietly taking bids and knows who the major players will be. While the big players may not be there, their “car guys” will be and will be on their phones. Even better, a mid-to-high eight figure sale will only enhance Bonhams’ market presence and value. The ex-Violati 250 GTO 3851 GT is the star car at Monterey and will certainly redefine the most expensive car ever sold at auction for years to come. | 2019-04-25T21:41:01Z | http://ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=FOC_201407_SS |
Four years ago Marc Zuckerberg surprised everyone when he married his Harvard girlfriend Priscilla Chan. One of their wedding guests – Priscilla’s ex tennis coach – recalls visiting the couple soon after the ceremony in their house in Palo-Alto: “When I entered, Marc was sitting at a kitchen table working on his computer. Priscilla introduced me, he smile and said: ‘Behind every successful man there is always a great woman’”.
I am guilty too – Life.SREDA VC doesn’t still have female-as-partner and we invested only in one female-founded startup (see below about AllSet).
Karlie Kloss made headlines last year when she announced she was not only a supermodel but also launched #KodewithKarlie (and now – Kode With Klossy), a scholarship program for teen girls. It is one of a few best examples, how successfully people (and companies too!) can support tech inclusion and inspire young female-talents to choose a tech-industry as an area of their future self-development. Computer code written by women has a higher approval rating than that written by men – but only if their gender is not identifiable, new research suggests.
The actress and producer Sarah Megan Thomas is married to a banker. For years, she’d go out to Wall Street events, and became consistently interested in what she calls “the one woman at every work event we went to.” Why hadn’t anyone made a movie about them, she wondered? “I heard extraordinary stories about how women treat each other, and the corporate cultures around women,” “I thought maybe we could tell a story that helps incite change.” The film pleased audiences at its Sundance premiere in January 2016; Sony Pictures Classics announced it would distribute the film.
A study in 2014 based on LinkedIn data shows the percentage of women who work in software engineering across industries. Whatever industry you look at, the number is bleak. Even in the field that can boast the highest number of female software engineers, financial services and insurance, a sobering 23 per cent of them are female. The numbers for high tech software and hardware companies are especially troubling – only 16 per cent and nine per cent respectively of their software engineers are female.
Run by Alibaba co-founder Lucy Peng, Ant Financial —who spun off into her own company in 2011—began as an outgrowth of AliPay. Since then it has expanded into a full-scale financial services firm. A former econ teacher who shuns the spotlight, Peng has two high-profile roles with China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba. She is a Chief People Officer—overseeing the 35,000 people working for the company—and CEO of Ant Financial.
Melinda Gates has cemented her dominance in philanthropy and global development to the tune of $3.9 billion in giving in 2014 and more than $33 billion in grant payments since she founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with her husband in 2000. Much of her attention now is focused on the championing investments into financial inclusion (support of mobile wallets like M-Pesa and B-Cash across Africa and Asia), women and girls around the world.
Alexa von Tobel, whose startup LearnVest was featured on our list of the world’s Most Innovative Companies, sold her company to Northwestern Mutual for what sources tell Fortune is more than $250 million. Von Tobel, a business-school dropout, launched the New York-based company in 2009, and originally targeted it toward women to help them better understand and manage their finances. The site eventually expanded beyond those early ambitions and eventually grew its user base to around 1.5 million visits per month, offering a personalized and education-focused alternative to competitors in the space such as Mint.
Alexa von Tobel is more than the CEO of LearnVest — she has emerged as a well-known thought leader in the financial tech space. She authored a New York Times bestselling book titled Financially Fearless, actively contributes to prominent news outlets, and regularly speaks at conferences. She has also been named to scores of “top” entrepreneur watch lists and is widely known as an expert in and advocate for financial health. Her vision and persona have been a major driver in the success that LearnVest has achieved.
Lisa Falzone is a co-founder and CEO of Revel Systems, an award-winning iPad point of sale solution for single and multi-location small businesses and enterprises. A graduate from Stanford University where she was a competitive swimmer, Lisa led her Silicon Valley-based startup since its creation in 2010 and has been pivotal in turning the often “old school” perception of point of sale on its head, beating out established competitors and new market entrants alike. She has raised over $115 million in funding for Revel, and has grown the company to more than 300 employees worldwide.
Lisa’s achievements as a young female entrepreneur have been recognized through numerous prestigious awards such as Forbes ‘30 Under 30′, Forbes ‘Women To Watch: Eight Rising Stars’, Business Insiders “30 Most Important Women Under 30 In Tech”, San Francisco Business Times ‘40 Under 40′, and Business Journal’s “Upstart 100”.
Mah started her first tech business at 12, founded inDinero at 19, crashed it at 21 and made the cover of Inc.’s 5000 issue for outstanding three-year revenue growth of more than 2,500 percent. InDinero hired more than 100 employees in 2015 and is on pace to double its staff this year. As a CEO at inDinero, she’s empowering other startups and small businesses (up to the 100 employee mark or eight figures of revenue) with outsourced accounting and tax services.
These Wall Street veterans all know who Blythe Masters is. Born in Oxford and educated in economics at Cambridge, Masters came of age at JPMorgan. At the age 18, she joined its London office as an intern during a year off before university. By her mid-20s, Masters was working on the bank’s derivatives team in New York. In 1999, Masters, then 30, was named head of the bank’s global credit derivatives unit. She’s the wunderkind who made managing director at JPMorgan Chase at age 28, the financial engineer who helped to develop the credit-default swap and bring to life a market that peaked at $58 trillion, in notional terms, in 2007.
Now, one year after quitting JPMorgan amid another controversy, Blythe Masters is back. She’s promoting something wilder: It’s called the blockchain. Masters is a CEO of Digital Asset Holdings, a New York tech startup. Masters plans to offer banks and other financial players both options: Digital Asset is creating an off-the-shelf private blockchain product and developing ways to connect its customers to the existing blockchain system.
In March 2016 Sallie Krawcheck, co-founder and CEO of women-focused digital investment platform Ellevest joined the board of Blythe Masters’ Digital Asset Holdings. Ellevest is backed by $10 million in funding from some of the biggest names in the investment business, including Chicago-based research firm Morningstar and Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz. Both women are veterans of the nation’s biggest banks: Krawcheck comes from a long finance career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.
Leanne Kemp has set herself an ambitious goal: stamping out diamond fraud and theft (and after – fine arts, expensive watches and cars, etc.). She’s the founder and CEO of London-based Everledger, a startup launched in 2015. It has built a global digital ledger — the first of its kind — that collects dozens of cross-reference-able data points on each recorded diamond in an attempt to inject transparency into the market and eliminate associated criminal activity.
Britannia Mining announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Everledger. In January 2016 Everledger won $10,000 of money prize at the FinTech Finals 2016 in Hong Kong. The startup also awarded a €30,000 prize ($33,939) on BBVA’s European Open Talent competition (September’ 2015). Everledger launched in 2015 which took part in the Barclays Techstars accelerator.
Anna as a COO and Stas Matviyenko as a CEO founded their first fintech-startup AdviceWallet in Kiev about three years ago. More than one year ago they relocated to San-Francisco and launched their new venture – AllSet. Many people definitely had moments where they frantically flagging down a waiter because everything’s taken longer than expected, leaving them to try to pay the check and get to their next meeting in just a few minutes. One (sad) solution is to eat at your desk, but Allset is taking a different approach, by making the sit-down lunch process more efficient. You can make a reservation, place your order and even pay directly from the app.
In January 2015 Ant Credit, a company affiliated with e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced that it will set up a financing program for female entrepreneurs in China with a 500 million RMB ($80 million) loan from International Finance Corp (IFC).
Addepar is like wealth management 3.0. The company has created a financial dashboard for the advisers, working with the 1% to mitigate risk from investment portfolios. Barbara Holzapfel, Addepar’s CMO, tells that overall, 20% of its employees are female. The management team is made up of 30% women, including the CFO, CMO, and the VP of people. With more than three-quarters of its staff under the age of 35 (and understanding how views of diversity are changing), Holzapfel says the company is actively working towards inclusion of all ages, genders, skills, and backgrounds. In addition to making sure there are women in leadership roles, Holzapfel says one particularly effective strategy is to actively recruit them from seemingly disparate industries. More importantly, Holzapfel says there is an emphasis within the company to keep having conversations about gender diversity. “We’ve adopted a practice of regular all-hands meetings where we boldly encourage open conversations about the topic, during which men and women can share articles, posts, and personal experiences,” she says.
ZestFinance, founded by a former Google CIO Douglas Merrill, aims to cut risk from lending by analyzing big data. CEO Douglas Merrill takes the company’s role as a job creator seriously, and has baked diversity into its corporate culture. Starting from the ground up requires making the decision that diversity is core to winning. “It will never happen if it’s viewed as a side effort heralded by HR people and a few people on the legal team who think it’s important,” he maintains. Currently, more than 40% of its workforce are women and 50% of its C-suite are women. “If you believe diverse perspectives are the key to winning, then you need to actually hear them,” he says, “which means you also need a corporate culture that encourages everyone to speak up.” Merrill explains: “Diversity implies different use of language and different assumptions, which means there will be misunderstandings and conflict.” That’s not always easy, he says, but it is something that the culture enables, making people feel safe when it does arise.
So sorry in for this sexist-title (it is just to attract attention of a male-dominated industry). | 2019-04-18T21:22:45Z | http://fintechranking.com/2016/05/17/finance-is-sexy-10-female-leaders-in-fintech/?rel=author |
Did You Know There Are Non-Surgical Options?
Not everyone is born looking the way they want. For some, there are things about themselves, that if they could change, they would. If you have always wished that your nose was shaped differently, there is a procedure which can alter the appearance of it. Rhinoplasty is a surgery that can reshape the nose to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Since it is an invasive treatment, it does not come without downtime and risks related to surgery. More commonly referred to as a nose job, plastic surgeons everywhere are correcting imperfections for millions around the world.
What type of corrections can rhinoplasty make?
Rhinoplasty can correct many conditions, some that are you are born with, and others which can result from an accident. It can aid in both aesthetically treating the nose, as well as functionally treating any medical abnormalities. When there has been trauma, it can repair damage that can lead to respiratory impediment. Not a new procedure, it has been practiced by plastic surgeons for decades with successful results abound.
Which types of professionals are trained for rhinoplasty surgery in Sydney?
There are two types of procedures for rhinoplasty, closed and open. An otolaryngologist, a plastic surgeon, or a maxillofacial surgeon can perform rhinoplasty. They are all specially trained professionals who fix the nose in many different ways. The determination of who is best for the given procedure depends upon why you are having it done. If you are aesthetically fixing your nose, a plastic surgeon is probably more inept than an otolaryngologist, who is more appropriate for functional abnormalities.
How is a rhinoplasty done?
When you have a rhinoplasty the surgeon begins by separating the soft tissue and the skin from the osseo-cartilaginous framework of the nasal cavity. Once the structure is corrected, as indicated to fix the form and the function of it, the incisions are sutured carefully. The site is then packed with a stent, or a package, to keep the construction in place. It is important to completely immobilize the nasal cavity to allow for healing time.
There is such a thing as non-surgical rhinoplasty. It is more appropriate in times when the modification is simple or slight. Used to correct minor flaws of the nose, it saves patients from the risks of surgery, and from the downtime that is required after surgery. It involves using various fillers, or biological inserts, to reshape the nose under the skin. Injections are made below the surface of the skin in systematic places to inject the filler. In doing so it is able create a different shape to the nose.
What are the advantages of both types of rhinoplasty available in Sydney?
The major advantage of the non-surgical method is that there is no surgery involved. Being able to affectively change the structure of the nose, without the invasion and risks of surgery, is always preferred. There are limitations to the non-surgical variation. It is not as effective to alter major flaws, or defects of the nose and nasal cavity. When there is a structural issue, non-surgical rhinoplasty will not be able to effective fix the deformities. For those who are looking for minor alterations, however, it does an excellent job of changing the nose to make it more proportioned to the face.
When you have surgery, should you not be happy with the results, being able to alter it will be difficult and require more surgery. The non-surgical course, if not pleased with, will be reabsorbed over time. If you are displeased with the turn out of the procedure, it is not permanent. Over time, the fillers will disappear leaving you with the nose you had prior to the injections. That allows you, in essence, to start over. It is also possible, if you are displeased, to add more fillers to fix whatever corrections you are unhappy with. When possible with any surgery, it is best to start with the least invasive, and if the results are not achieved, to progress to more difficult procedures. There is no harm to beginning with the non surgical rhinoplasty, because surgery is permanent, it should always be the last course of treatment. Non surgical rhinoplasty is something that can be performed on an outpatient basis. Any cosmetic physician is qualified to conduct the procedure in office. No downtime required, you are able to return to your regular schedule that day and the results are immediate. The complexity of alteration that is needed will ultimately determine which procedure is best for you, but when possible, it is always best to minimize risks.
This is the first time I’ve heard of the non surgical rhinoplasty… I’ve been living under the rock probably… I’ve always pictured this procedure as hard banging with that hammer tool they use when the show plastic surgery on TV… it made me cringe every time I saw it on TV. But I am intrigued now. Does anyone know what the cost of rhinoplasty is in Sydney? And no the surgical one, but this less invasive technique. Injections aren’t that bad at all. I think if anyone had to choose a safer alternative to fix their nose, you couldn’t really think of another realistic way to do it. Seem completely legit to me. A bit scary, but less scary than the common one. I’m guessing that the prices probably vary from one clinic to the other, based on what exactly you need to be done. I’m just searching for a rough estimate here.
Rhinoplasty in Sydney costs, like in any other city… It’s not going to be for free, and it is a delicate procedure. I have an inborn abnormality, which makes me not able to breathe properly through my nose from time to time. It just comes and goes, but I’m sick and tired of it frankly. I am currently googling rhinoplasty specialists in Sydney, and there are a lot. Which one to choose is the trick. I guess all of us really have to consult the specialists rather than each other. I think they know what they are doing, better than any of us. I did find this article helpful, although now I really have to concentrate on finding the person who is going to responsible and open with me about all the risks and the costs… Money does matter… At least in my world.
I’ve been looking up rhinoplasty before and after pictures for hours now on google. It looks like such a painful process! I don’t actually have any abnormalities, many of my friends say I have the perfect nose! I’ve always suffered for the little cute noses that other girls had… Rhinoplasty Sydney reviews really vary, so I’m confused. Which rhinoplasty clinic is the best? Which is the best surgeon? And what perplexes me the most is the invasive or not invasive technique. I know that rhinoplasty, the classic one, can be pretty painful and awkward. I don’t think I can go through that. I do like the idea of the fillers they mentioned in this article. Didn’t know much before about them, although I’m not really the ideal beauty person per say. I don’t tamper a lot in the beauty industry, but I’m definitely going on a good clinic hunt from now on! Have to know more about this method! If any of you out there are reading this, and have had any kind of experience, from consultations, clinics, doctors to the procedure itself, let us now, don’t hold it in!
I’ve heard of the non-surgical rhinoplasty, it’s the latest trend. Rhinoplasty in Sydney has been around for some time, but the non invasive method makes you have the possibility of correcting your imperfections without much downtime, and I love that. Who has the time to take sick days of work, if they will even give you one? I love the idea of injected fillers; in fact I am considering one myself. I don’t really have anything done on my face, but the nose was always a weak point for me, never really loved it, but never really had enough courage to go under the knife… However, I’m not going to do cheap rhinoplasty in Sydney, no way. I’m going for a good doctor, and a reputable clinic. Don’t want to risk my facial beauty for a couple of pennies.
Ladies, don’t whine if you want to be beautifu. My mother taught me always to look after myself and be presentable. She also taught me that women have to handle a lot more than man, and show fewer emotions. And that’s how I was raised. I really try to look my best, even when I don’t feel like it. And I’ve been hating my nose for 21 years straight. Now, I’m doing something about it! I found the best rhinoplasty surgeon in Sydney that does definitely the best rhinoplasty in Sydney! The best! I’ve reshaped my nose in the way that makes me happy, and I can safely say that all the pain was worth it. The feeling I get when I look at myself in the mirror now, is just priceless… I would definitely go through it again, but I would really emphasize the importance of the doctor, that appreciates beauty and has careful and artistic hands that can mould your nose into perfection! I’m so, so happy with the results, it’s amazing!
I’ve heard from a co-worker of mine about the non surgical rhinoplasty in Sydney. It seems to be a big deal these days in the beauty industry. Am I considering it? No… But my friend is too shy to share her experiences so I’m doing it for her, and for all the women out there. Choose the best rhinoplasty surgeon in Sydney. Make sure the clinic is top notch, with high quality equipment and staff. Do all the research and examinations, make sure you get exactly what you want, so you don’t have to repeat the entire process again. And make sure you know what you want, and that you are comfortable with your choice. The doctor is not there to decide for you. He is there to distribute the fillers into right places and shape your nose into what you make him do.
As for the rhinoplasty Sydney cost, it is a lot. It’s financially draining and there are so many other expenses besides just the procedure. You need to pay for medicine and anaesthetic. And if you’re not happy with your results, you have to get more surgeries, and then it will cost more money. Rhinoplasty can be cheap for some, but not for me, with an average pay. And so, I don’t really want to consider the surgery.
It is so much less painful. I did not have a medical condition, or anything inborn like that, I was just unhappy with how my nose grew to be. I hit it a couple of times playing volleyball, and it rather started forming in a different way. Nobody in my family has such a nose, so I was sure that I needed to fix it somehow. Did not want to live my entire life, thinking about how my nose could look like… I know there is many clinics that do rhinoplasty Sydney, because many famous people had it done here.
At the doctor’s office, they recommended a non surgical rhinoplasty, because I wasn’t a medical case, and I just needed small corrections. Therefore, I applaud non surgical options!
In Sydney rhinoplasty can be done in so many different clinics. It’s just important that it is done by a professional. You have to just make sure that it is a medical surgeon that has qualifications. Then he will be able to assess the state and give the best advice, and do the best job possible. I saw some rhinoplasty before and after pictures, that were done bad by the doctor’s that were not professionals, and then I realised that there could be many complications. If you don’t choose the qualified person that has great reviews and patients are satisfied, then you should stay away, because you can only make things worse. There are doctors out there who just want to get the most out of your pocket, and not devote themselves to the job. | 2019-04-21T04:36:07Z | https://www.advanced-dermatology.com.au/rhinoplasty-sydney |
Bai Yanhu narrowed his eyes maliciously staring at Ye Chuan, then he gave a signal to a trusted subordinate standing beside him. And the latter stepped forward bravely, rushing towards Ye Chuan.
As soon as he opened the mouth, Bai Yanhu claimed that the Heaven Burning Furnace in the hand of Ye Chuan was a fake, befuddling the public opinion.
The old fox is still the old fox, very treacherous and sinister!
The trusted subordinate of Bai Yanhu shouted loudly, and he rushed faster and faster, moreover, with gleaming sword in his hand, his killing intent soared.
This person was a Rank 3 Xiushi elite. He was tall and big, and his muscles were also as hard as stone. He had always been good at close combat. Although Ye Chuan was outstanding, but he after all was merely Rank 2 Xiushi, so he thought that in a one-on-one battle against Ye Chuan, he could easily defeat him!
“Gagaga, noble son, let me take care of him!” Horned Demon Na Gusi bowed to Ye Chuan asking for the permission.
After disguising as Great Elder and inflicting heavy injury on Bai Yanhu, he was continuously waiting for the opportune moment to go into action. Unfortunately, the defense of Bai Yanhu’s trusted subordinates was tight, and he didn’t get any opportunity to attack him again.
Ye Chuan calmly said, then opening his right hand, he lifted up heavy Heaven Burning Furnace.
The trusted subordinate of Bai Yanhu got closer and closer, and just when he was about to brandish the sword in his hand with a ferocious face, Ye Chuan finally made a move, using a technique on Heaven Burning Furnace.
Heaven Burning Furnace spout flames, and the flames instantly soared illuminating more than half of the sky. The fellow who was rushing forward ferociously was greatly surprised, he immediately stopped, and he involuntarily felt strong ill at ease in his heart. But just when he was about to turn around and retreat, a fire snake flew out from inside Heaven Burning Furnace which wrapped around him and then pulled him into Heaven Burning Furnace.
A mournful scream can from inside Heaven Burning Furnace, then, a black smoke curled upwards. After that, quietly, Heaven Burning Furnace with flames soaring from it gradually returned to its previous state.
Is this the power of Heaven Burning Furnace?
On the top of the mountain, no matter the people of Cloud Mist Sect or Black Cauldron Sect, all without exception were greatly surprised, and a dread appeared on their face.
Even standing one kilometer far away from Heaven Burning Furnace, they could still feel a series of heat waves directly in their face, and even the ground was boiling hot. If they were to enter this Heaven Burning Furnace which was wrapped with flames, then perhaps, even the later stage Xiushi realm experts would be burned to ashes both in body and soul without leaving any residue.
Ye Chuan coldly laughed looking at rebel forces and the troops of Black Cauldron Sect.
In Heavenly Yao Sect, Heaven Burning Furnace was the defining treasure which was suppressing the fate of the sect and was also the core of Mountains and Rivers Formation. But in the hands of Ye Chuan, it revealed its ferocious true features, changing into a great killing weapon.
In his previous lifetime, long before Blue Eyed Yao Empress established Heavenly Yao Sect, Heaven Burning Furnace was Ye Chuan’s killing weapon which he used usually. And now, even after millions upon millions of years later, after this alchemy furnace fell into his hand, it demonstrated its true might!
Since Bai Yanhu was perplexed now, Tuoba Xiong began to take the field, wanting to use force.
Ye Chuan who had suddenly revealed Heaven Burning Furnace gave them misgivings, not only because of Heaven Burning Furnace in itself but more importantly Heaven Burning Furnace represents Heavenly Yao Sect. If they killed Ye Chuan, there might be no end of trouble for the future, but, an arrow fitted to the bowstring cannot avoid being discharged.
“Keep on farting, wiping out your Black Cauldron Sect is ultimately inevitable. You two old dogs, one malevolent, one treacherous, do you two seriously think that colluding together, you can disregard others?” Ye Chuan refused to yield an inch and coldly stared at overbearing Tuoba Xiong.
Bai Yanhu urged, if he was not injured seriously, then he would have already attacked personally.
Originally, he thought that as long as he stretched out his finger, he could annihilate Ye Chuan, thoroughly surpassing Cloud Mist Sect. But now, the matters had already developed outside the proper course, greatly exceeding his expectation and control. Like this, the more this drag on, the more unfavorable it will be for him, as a long delay means trouble.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
The disciples of Black Cauldron Sect roared, and rushing from all direction, they completely surrounded Ye Chuan and his group. Bai Yanhu’s complexion was cold, and with his order, the rebelling disciples of Cloud Mist Sect also charged. Even though they were unwilling in their heart, no-one dared to defy him in public.
On the summit, a chaotic battle erupted and blood flowed like a river.
Several hundred Evil Eyed Cow Demons send out closely compacted cyan radiance, sweeping over the rushing disciples of Black Cauldron Sect. And the loyal disciples of Cloud Mist Sect also did all they could to counterattack. As for Ye Chuan, he used a technique, and Heaven Burning Furnace roared and trembled, then even more terrifying flames erupted out. Sometimes, these flames divided into fire snakes and chaotically danced all around, disrupting the formation of the enemies, and sometimes, they assembled together and fell from the heaven, turning the enemies’ front into a sea of flames.
This peerless treasure Heaven Burning Furnace displayed its astonishing power in the hands of Ye Chuan. But Tuoba Xiong and Bai Yanhu were well-prepared, they overwhelmed Ye Chuan and his group with numerical strength, and slowly, the number of Cloud Mist Sect’s disciples around Ye Chuan became fewer and fewer. Evil Eyed Cow Demons Legion also suffered heavy losses. And now Flame Devil and Horned Demon Na Gusi were also panting. The situation became more and more not too encouraging.
Bai Yanhu roared with laughter. He personally supervised the operations, forcing the surrendered disciples to step forward.
In any case, today, he would kill Ye Chuan to settle old scores and new grievances. Even if Heavenly Yao Sect was standing behind Ye Chuan, he would still kill Ye Chuan, not to mention, until now, he still didn’t believe that that alchemy furnace in Ye Chuan’s hand was the legendary Heaven Burning Furnace. A peerless treasure that suppressed the fate of the sect, if it was him, then would he lent it to someone else? No, absolutely impossible!
The rebelling disciples of Cloud Mist Sect didn’t put forth their strength to attack, but the disciples of Black Cauldron Sect however were becoming more and more courageous, rushing towards Ye Chuan. Ye Chuan and his group quickly fell into predicament straits, and the danger was imminent.
A powerful pressured suddenly enveloped the entire battlefield which was accompanied by ice-cold aura. On the summit, the temperature instantly plunged down, and a layer of ice began to appear on the skin of all the people on the summit. Then looking up, they saw a woman wearing multi-colored war robe flying over from the foot of the mountain. She had indifference expression and was pure as jade and clear as ice as if she was a celestial maiden above the worldly materials. Moreover, on the back of her head, a seven-colored halo could be seen indistinctly. And just sensing her indistinct energy fluctuation, everyone could sense that she was far more powerful than both Tuoba Xiong and Bai Yanhu. Behind her, there was a seven or eight meters tall Kumu warrior. His every step made an earth-shaking rumbling sound.
The eyes of Ye Chuan shone and was very surprised.
Originally, he was thinking of wielding Heaven Burning Furnace so as to frighten both Bai Yanhu and Tuoba Xiong with the mighty name of Heavenly Yao Sect. But who would have thought that Heavenly Yao Sect would truly come, moreover, Heavenly Empress and Kumu warrior Tain Ku had come personally!
Thanks for the chapter! Did the Heavenly Empress come or did the Heavenly Maiden come? Or both? I’d think the Empress would need to stay back since the treasure is gone and the sect is weaker than usual. | 2019-04-24T01:56:07Z | https://wuxianation.com/storm-in-the-wilderness/storm-in-the-wilderness-chapter-164.html |
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Comfort Inn & Suites Langley, our hotel in Langley, BC is located just off the Trans-Canada highway and is 2km from the Greater Vancouver Zoo, and 13.6km from Cascades Casino. All rooms and suites include en-suite bathrooms, Cable TV, Microwaves, Mini-fridges, and Coffeemakers. Amenities include a complimentary continental breakfast, indoor pool with a waterslide, whirlpool and exercise room. There’s also a business center and meeting room, as well as coin laundry and free parking.
Courtyard Prince George provides a breath of fresh air in the heart of downtown, just steps away from the city’s civic centre. Comfort and convenience take the throne at our hotel, where you will feel like royalty from the moment you arrive. Surrounding our property are premier destinations including Prince George Golf & Curling Club, Northern Lights Estate Winery and Railway & Forestry Museum. Whether you are from British Columbia or beyond, enjoy an inviting atmosphere when you stay with us. From a breakfast and dinner restaurant in our lobby to complimentary Wi-Fi and an indoor saltwater pool, we offer an array of thoughtful amenities. We also feature a fully equipped fitness center and nine meeting venues. No matter how you spend your day, unwind in spacious hotel rooms with either a king or two queen beds. Additional amenities include ergonomic desks, mini-refrigerators, Keurig coffee makers, free high-speed Wi-Fi and flat-panel TVs. Start planning your stay at Courtyard Prince George.
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Short Business Description: Plan your vacation at Quality Inn Leamington in Leamington, Ontario, and experience spacious and comfortable accommodations in a convenient location. Our comfortable hotel offers you charming guestrooms & friendly service in southern Ontario.
Plan your vacation at Quality Inn Leamington in Leamington, Ontario, and experience spacious and comfortable accommodations in a convenient location. Our comfortable hotel offers you charming guestrooms & friendly service in southern Ontario. Visit many local landmarks and attractions such as Point Pelee National Park, Pelee Island, and the many other local attractions in the area! | 2019-04-24T08:45:16Z | http://www.smallbizpages.ca/free-business-directory/wpbdp_category/travel-lodging/?wpbdp_sort=field-1 |
It is the Policy of AW Ship Management Ltd (AWSML) and our group companies to retain, store and transmit data/information that has been agreed to between the “Data Subject” and AWSML or as required under law, such as but not limited to; Names, Address, Phone numbers, Date of birth and bank Account information.
AW Ship Management will only request and process information from a “Data Subject” for the purposes that we have outlined and that have been agreed between the “Data Subject” and AWSML.
AW Ship Management Ltd and our group of companies may contact you by post, telephone or email with details of our products, services and promotions. This correspondence will only be sent to those who have opted in to receive such communications during website registration and Cargo enquiry process. You can opt out of receiving these e-mails by submitting an e-mail request where we will then remove you from any mailing lists that you belong to.
We do not provide or sell your details to third parties. However, we may pass your request for information to our personnel located in or traveling to your region, unless you have decided to opt out to receive such information.
AW Ship Management may pass on your details to third parties, this will only happen if it has been agreed between the “Data Subject” and AWSML, or as required under law or as outlined in Section 3 & 5 of this Policy.
AW Ship Management Ltd complies with the Direct Marketing Authority’s Code of Practice and in case of a complaint, is bound by the decision of the Direct Marketing Authority. A full copy of the DMA Code of Practice is available on the DMA website: www.dma.org.uk.
AW Shipping Ltd, as part of the AW Group, will receive any information sent to us through our website during the Cargo Enquiry process and will be used only for providing a competitive quote for shipping cargo to and from selected destinations or resolving any questions or queries that you may have raised and submitted. Should you wish to, you have the option to opted in to receive occasional promotional e-mails from St Helena Shipping.
Once a quote has been deemed acceptable, by those it was directed to, and we have received approval to ship your cargo to and from the selected destinations, we then may pass on your information and data to third party data and information processors.
The purpose for this is that your information and data will be needed to process your cargo on ocean going vessels, road lorries and for customs clearance process in foreign ports. This will be, but not limited to the form of Cargo Way Bills and freight manifests.
St Helena Shipping have the appropriate contracts in place to make sure that not only your cargo is transported to and from your requested destinations safely and on a timely basis, but also to prevent any miss use of data and information that is sent on to third parties as outlined above.
AW Ship Management Ltd and our group of companies welcome those who wish to join our team to send their CV’s through to us and should we have a position open we will contact those who have sent suitable CV’s in for further information.
Should we not have a position open at that time, we may retain those CV’s that have been sent to us for positions that may be open in the future for a period of up to 12 months. After this time, should a position not become available we will then delete those CV’s we have received.
We invite those who have sent in CV’s previously, to update them and send in again, should they not have heard from us 12 months after they have sent their original CV in.
AW Crewing Services Ltd (AWCSL), as part of the AW Group, are responsible for the process and storage of information pertaining to those who are currently sponsored and deployed on managed or owned vessels as part of the AW Group.
Should you wish to be sponsored for a cadetship, AW Crewing Services Ltd are required to obtain certain information from potential candidates, these include, but are not limited to; Names and address, contact numbers and e-mail address, date of birth and nationality, details or academic and vocational qualifications (held or predicted) and employment history.
All information that is sent to and processed and stored by AWCSL, will be kept securely for a period of up to 12 months. If after 12 months, or before, your application has been unsuccessful, or a position has not been found, AWCSL will delete and remove your information, either in electronic or paper format.
Personal information provided to AWCSL during the application process, including the accuracy of the information provided is your individual responsibility. AWCSL will ask those who are deemed successful in the application process, to provide evidence of the information that was initially supplied, either in electronic or paper format. If you wish to amend any information provided during this process, please contact AWCSL accordingly.
In order to facilitate the applications process, information may be shared with; third parties, these will include, but not limited to, sponsoring companies within AW Group, Maritime colleges, Department for Transport and SMarT administrators.
AWCSL may be required to process and retain sensitive medical information in respect of candidates for the purpose of making a judgement on whether a potential candidate will be eligible in obtaining an unrestricted ENG-1 medical Certificate.
In such cases, AWCSL maintains the utmost security and confidentiality in respect of this information and will not share any such information with any third party unless AWCSL requires professional assistance to determine this aspect and has been agreed to by the potential candidate. Any information shared with a third party medical professional will be on a strictly private and confidential basis.
If you have worked for AW Ship Management Ltd, one of our group companies or have submitted data previously to request further information about services we provide, you are entitled to make a Data Subjects Request.
AW Ship Management Ltd or one of our group companies will then respond to your request within 30 days of it being submitted and will supply to you, the Data Subject, all the information that we have and retained.
However, AW Ship Management Ltd and our group companies retain the right to keep information after the stated period, but only if required under law or in special circumstances which are, but not limited to; insurance pay out, legal cases, pension responsibilities and consultancy work.
Data Subjects retain the right to be forgotten by AW Ship Management Ltd and our Group Companies. This entitles the Data Subject to request that their information, that is being retained by AW Ship Management and our Group Companies, be deleted and destroyed permanently. All such requests will be handled by the companies Data Protection Controller.
AW Ship Management and our Group Companies must carry out such a request within 30 days of receiving the request, unless the data and information are still required. Only under special and documented circumstances will we continually hold Data and Information, these are, but not limited to; insurance pay out, legal cases, pension responsibilities and consultancy work.
Breaches or security incidents can be defined as events which could have or have resulted in a loss or damage to personal data, or an event which is in breach of AWSML’s security procedures and policies.
All AWSML employees, partners, contractors and vendors have a responsibility to report security incidents and breaches of this policy and of the Regulation as quickly as possible to the companies Data Protection Controller. This obligation also extends to any external organisation contracted to support or access the Information Systems of AWSML.
AWSML will take appropriate measures to remedy any breach of the policy, the Regulation and its associated procedures and guidelines through the relevant frameworks in place.
Should a Data breach occur, AW Ship Management Ltd and our group companies, will contact the Information Commissioners Office, as well as the “Data Subject”, and relevant authority if the breach has occurred outside of the European Union, within 72 hours and will comply fully with any investigation that occurs after any such breach as well as carrying out our own internal audit and investigation.
AWSML will co-operate fully with the ICO during its investigate into such a breach and will accept any findings that may come from it.
For more information on how our crewing services can help your business, please get in touch. | 2019-04-19T04:33:17Z | http://awcrewing.com/privacy-policy/ |
My two previous posts on the qualities that make a great image of an alga focussed on the ascetics of the image itself, and also identified major technical problems that confront those of us who want to take images of the microscopic world. At this point, my own ability to write authoritatively on the subject peters out, so I have asked Chris Carter, who won the competition in 2013 and was shortlisted in 2010, 2011 and 2015, to write a guest post in which he shares his own extensive experience.
Everything in optics is against the photographer of the microscopic world, and the algal photographer in particular. Without cheating, there is limited scope to choose what is (or is not); in the field of view; the depth of focus is usually tight; the object size rarely matches the available field; no microscope objective can match the usable pixel count of a modern camera lens in conventional photography, and colours are, to say the least, difficult. Transmitted light photography has the additional problem of Beer’s law (remember!): make an object three times thicker and it will let through a ninth of the light, creating problems with the dynamic range.
The bottom line is that “adjustments” and some degree of image manipulation are necessary but these, in turn, place an onus on the photographer not to be dishonest with either the viewer or the organism. The extent to which image manipulation is acceptable will depend upon whether the image is for a respected scientific journal, a competition, or for a Christmas Card. We cannot be too purist: the camera always lies and a modern digital camera works wonders in the background; what is colour anyway but an illusion derived from the eye and brain? For the holiday snapshot you are allowed to move the glass of beer out of the field of view first but you are not allowed to paste in a missing family member (or vice versa!) later. For the microscope image I suggest it is acceptable to remove objects that are spurious (e.g. floating limescale) and to use software tools to fuse images of the same object tastefully and honestly in the horizontal and vertical planes. In contrast, it is all too easy to add objects to an image to give a nice montage (e.g. of sparsely distributed planktonic forms) or to use false colours in an area that can be defined exactly by some other method. Similarly, other ‘composite’ images ( e.g. two views of the same object) have a place but may be difficult to make visually pleasing.
So, how do we go about this? The first necessity is to use a good image processing software package: there are lots of them and it isn’t easy to choose. I use Adobe Photoshop CS6. The first steps in processing a single image are to get the colours about right (there are separate sliders for each of the primary colours and filters for warming and cooling); for an image in transmitted light there will be overly dark and overly bright areas which the ‘shadow-highlight’ tool may fix easily. In more difficult cases adjustment the parameter ‘gamma’ can help: this tries to scale the dynamic range in the image to what is seen by the eye and to what comes over in a print or on a monitor: it is merely overcoming the limitations of the electronic and optical gadgets in use. Similar actions are performed by the ‘curves’ and ‘levels’ control: each allows the user to choose which colours and in which intensity to best convey information about the object in an aesthetic way whilst not wrecking its essential nature. At each pixel and in each primary colour the data will be stored as a (usually) 8 bit number giving 255 levels in total. These levels need not be evenly spaced; ‘gamma’ for example can give more emphasis to the dark or the light areas whilst the other settings control which levels are used. Most digital cameras will be doing this in the background (even on a ‘raw’ setting) but my own camera does no pre-processing at all, which has advantages and disadvantages.
So much for colour: but there are still issues associated with depth of focus and field of view that need to be sorted out; these are both relatively easy to overcome technically but can create a considerable amount of work and have the potential to create taxonomic and artistic mayhem. I use two methods for producing images with an extended depth of focus both using separate images taken over the range of focus that is needed. The first is to use a ‘stacking’ software package such as ‘Helicon Focus’ (but there are others) and the second is to make use of ‘layers’ in Photoshop: each of these methods has its pros and cons but both need honesty and good sense as well as an eye on the “why am I doing this?” question.
Stacking with Helicon Focus tends to work better at lower magnifications: with a x100 oil objective curvature changes rapidly with focus and great care is needed; the software is easily confused and I did once introduce an extra row of punctae into a diatom! Good results at low magnification can be obtained with macroalgae such as the stoneworts, but even here taxonomic information can be lost in the process (e.g. the height difference between the primary and secondary cortex rows and the location of the spine cells). As I hinted above, there is always an ongoing and unresolved tension between the artist, the microscopist and the taxonomist! At intermediate magnifications an image produced using Helicon Focus can look overly flat and artificial, despite being sharp. My own approach is to use a gentle touch to produce pictures that are primarily useful but very occasionally develop into an artistic masterpiece! By contrast, using “layers” in Photoshop requires human intervention to ‘paint in’ the wanted parts of different images. For example, the desmid Micrasterias will rarely present in a sufficiently flat plane for a good image at high magnification; however, it is easy to judge what is closest to reality and to blend this in. Even here there are pitfalls: the end of the polar lobe in some species is normally out of plane or twisted….so again, what is the image for? A similar comment applies to the colonial green alga Pediastrum in which the peripheral cells have horns that are alternately up and down and the central cells often have surface granules.
The desmid Micrasterias crux-melintensis has many named forms and is fairly easily recognised. It will never sit flat enough for a x100 oil lens but in this case nothing is lost by tasteful flattening with Helicon Focus and layers. Or is it? How many people have seen the somewhat surprising apical and side views? (No wonder it does not sit flat!). These extra views show the need for gamma adjustment and colour correction since light beams will be modified after passing through such an object. Is this composite image of artistic or of taxonomic value only? The face view is made of 17 sub-images processed as two semi-cells that were stitched using Photoshop layers; some correction to colours and levels was also necessary.
There are many forms of Pediastrum boryanum but this is a particularly pretty one from Ulva growing on a wet cliff face; the red walls are real (perhaps manganese as suggested by Brian Whitton). This image borders on “cheating”: it was entered (no success) for a national wildlife contest but not for Hilda Canter-Lund competition (I don’t think she would have approved!). Should the horns have been flattened or left as obviously alternating?
After the issue of focus, there is still the problem of field-of view but it is really fairly easy to stitch together a matrix of images in the same plane, at least in simple cases. Photoshop has an option to do this and there are other similar packages; this is also another job that ‘layers’ in Photoshop cope with very well: adjacent overlapping images can be blended manually. It is more difficult of course if these adjacent images are themselves blends at different focus points……it just takes a long time to get right. The image of Tolypella glomerata that was a runner-up in the 2015 Hilda Canter-Lund competition was made of 75 sub-images (17×5 approx) and took two days to process! Each of the 17 in the xy plane was shot as a stereo pair, so there is also a matching anaglyph (3D image) made of 150 sub-images!
“Out of the pit”: Chris Carter’s image of Tolypella glomerata, shortlisted for the 2013 Hilda Canter-Lund prize.
This dark-field image showing the antheridia of Chara fragifera is made up of 28 sub-images: 4 horizontally and 7 for the vertical stacking; a protruding green filament has been removed (actually a rare Bulbochaete, but that is another story).
One final point, unresolved in my view and perhaps the most difficult of all is the issue of dynamic range. In transmitted light photography the intensity of difference between bright and dark can be nearly impossible to capture: well beyond the capability of the 8 bits of a normal camera and marginal even for an expensive cooled CCD instrument. Photoshop and other packages claim HDR ability (High Dynamic Range) using several images of different exposure: I have not personally had much success with this but have regularly used Photoshop layers to blend such images manually and regard this as acceptable in all cases (see the Rivularia cross-section below).
All the algae are amazing but even a retired physical scientist has to narrow things down a bit: I am trying to use photography to bring out the three dimensional aspects for identification and appreciation: diatom auxospores, desmids from unusual angles and macroalgae as 3D recreations such as anaglyphs and stereograms….but that is another story.
The cyanobacterium Rivularia presents many photographic challenges. This is a section of a nodule in transmitted light done for taxonomic purposes: in-focus bits of the calcification have been discretely blended in and the outermost part showing hairs is at a very different exposure to the core; colours are distorted by passing through the nodule and have been corrected. Three or four overlapping sections have been accurately joined to produce the final image.
Chris Carter, Nothampton August 2016.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged algae, Chris Carter, Hilda Canter-Lund, photography. Bookmark the permalink. | 2019-04-26T10:40:25Z | https://microscopesandmonsters.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/how-to-win-the-hilda-canter-lund-competition-3/ |
Some hospitals may look as if they are held together with sticking plaster, but the NHS is actually a hive of new technology. Our reporters assess some of the more innovative work going on across the UK.
Later this year, doctors in London hope to start the first human trial of a radical new treatment for children with drug-resistant leukaemia. One- or two-year-old infants will have gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, to no avail. The best hospitals can do is make them comfortable.
The therapy is one of the most sophisticated medicine has ever seen. White blood cells – part of the immune system’s frontline defences – are collected from a healthy donor and effectively turned into a drug through genetic engineering. First, they are modified to hunt down their target: a protein that appears on leukaemia blood cells. Next, they are tweaked to make them invisible to drugs that suppress the child’s immune system during the treatment. Finally, the cells are modified again to ensure that when they are infused they do not attack the child.
If the trial is approved and goes as planned, about 50 million modified cells will course into the arteries and veins of each sick child and destroy the leukaemia cells . The hope is to drive the cancer into deep remission within four to six weeks. The children can then have bone marrow transplants to reboot their immune systems. When bone marrow transplants are done without clearing leukaemia first, the disease has a tendency to come back. A similar procedure has already shown promise in adults.
A medical team at Great Ormond Street hospital will run the trial for a French pharmaceutical company called Servier. But they have already had a glimpse of what the cells can do for children. Last June, a one-year-old girl, Layla Richards, became the first infant with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to have the therapy. Her cancer did not respond to several rounds of chemotherapy and she had only a few months to live.
Layla’s medical team had some modified immune cells on ice – prepared for the trial by researcher Hong Zhan. It had taken her 18 days to modify and purify the cells in a small clean room on the hospital’s lower ground floor. The team thawed the cells out and gave them to Layla in June under a special licence granted by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Layla’s leukaemia abated and she had a bone marrow transplant three months later. So far, she is doing well.
“This could really only have happened on the NHS, where there is a wealth of expertise and people across many disciplines willing to give their time and energy,” said Prof Waseem Qasim, leader of the clinical trial.
At the cutting edge of keyhole surgery on the NHS is something that looks like a tiny pen lid-sized parasol.
For years, doctors have operated through tiny incisions to remove appendices and gallbladders, diagnose and treat cancers, even mend or replace valves and arteries around the heart. Now, at Bristol Heart Institute, there is a trial for an even more ambitious procedure: to perform keyhole surgery in the middle of the heart.
Every year, nearly 3,000 people in the UK have open-heart surgery to repair or replace their mitral valve, a small oval measuring about 3-5cm across, with an elliptical opening to allow blood to flow towards the aorta and out of the heart. If the valve becomes weak, blood can leak back into the heart, triggering problems ranging from palpitations to heart failure.
Hard to reach and an unhelpful shape, opening up a patient’s chest has been the only way to solve the problem, putting it beyond the reach of hundreds of people considered too high-risk because they are frail (usually elderly) or have complicating problems such as lung disease. The Bristol unit, and two others in the UK, can now help those at-risk patients, using the parasol-shaped MitraClip, developed in the US.
It is inserted through the groin, into a vein going up into the “wrong” side of the heart (to avoid blocking and damaging the aortic valve). A pin punctures the heart wall, the clip is pushed through into the valve and then drawn back until it clamps the opening together in the middle. One surgeon guides the tube by hand while another watches on a screen and gives directions: “left a bit, right a bit”, as BHI consultant Mandie Townsend describes it.
The keyhole operation requires about double the staff in theatre for the four hours it takes, and the equipment is expensive. But patients usually recuperate on the cardiology ward and go home after two days, compared to two weeks in intensive care for those having a more common operation.
If the trials are successful, and the cost savings justify it, the system is likely to be offered more widely in the UK.
“Those patients come in and out of hospital with heart failure before they are treated: we send them home on day two, in a better clinical state and hopefully with a good quality of life, which is going to stop them re-presenting,” says Townsend.
From tracking a newborn’s nappy changes to fixing your car or investing in a business in Bangladesh, in most areas of life it is possible to say “there’s an app for that”.
Soon there might be one for people living with chronic pain, which means they have had it for more than three months and medicines, physio, surgery and every other attempt by specialists have failed to solve the problem.
Depending on the exact definition, 8-60% of people in the UK have chronic pain syndrome. For the time being, they have to learn to live with it.
Now a new app, PainSense, is being trialled on the NHS. It was developed by Yorkshire-based company ADI, which got the idea from a specialist psychologist and a local GP.
Patients click on the app on their phone and are offered an index of 12 areas. Two outlines of a human body – front and back – allow them to mark where the pain is, and how intense. Questionnaires ask them what impact the pain is having on their life: how well they can work, quality of sleep and their mood, for example.
A patient using the PainSense app on their smartphone.
Based on their score, it prompts people to use other links in the app to get advice about relaxation, pacing exercise, managing their medication and other strategies to cope with the pain.
As soon as the patient clicks save, the information is automatically attached to their patient record for the GP, specialist or physiotherapist to refer to at the next appointment.
All elements of the app have been available only on paper so far: it is the convenience of the app that is key to its success, said John Eaglesham, ADI’s chief executive. “Patients have found it’s something with them 24/7 so they can dip in and use the resources at their convenience,” he said.
The first trial last year was carried out by West Leeds clinical commissioning group, where, in another innovation, two patients were included in the steering group to refine the app as part of an overhaul of how it helped patients with chronic pain.
In those nine months, more than 1,600 people were given free access to the app. Early figures for the whole package of changes, including the app, show referrals to community pain services increased as more patients were identified, but those to specialists reduced sharply, and average costs per patient fell.
The CCG has now signed a contract to supply the app to at least 300 patients a month, paying the company £15 for each. Other NHS bodies in England are also now showing strong interest in the idea, said Eaglesham.
The London Project to Cure Blindness was set up to find a cure for one of the leading causes of sight loss in the UK.
It wanted to help patients with a form of age-related mascular degeneration (AMD) where damage to the part of the eye responsible for central vision – the macula – causes them to lose that area of vision. AMD is expected to seriously affect 700,000 people in the UK by the end of this decade – a scale comparable to dementia.
Last autumn, a decade of work culminated in the first ever operation to use eye cells, grown from stem cells in a lab, to build a patch over the damaged part of the eye. Since then a second operation was carried out at Moorfields eye hospital in London, and doctors hope a third will be possible this spring. If it goes ahead, news of whether the three patients have had any of their sight restored will be made public.
The trial of 10 operations over 18 months is focused on “wet” AMD, where the damage is from abnormal growth of veins in the eyes and happens over a short period of time, sometimes weeks.
If it is successful, there are hopes that it could be used to help the much more common “dry” form of the condition, University College London’s Prof Pete Coffey, a founder of the project, told the Guardian after the first operation.
Stem cells occur naturally in embryos and adult tissues, but can also be grown in laboratories. The most common use in medicine is harvesting the cells from bone marrow of healthy adults to transplant into patients with leukaemia and lymphoma.
Other conditions for which stem cell therapy is being developed include deafness, diabetes, infertility, HIV/Aids and baldness. A significant problem, however, is the body’s immune system attacking the foreign cells, forcing patients to take drugs suppressing their immune system for the rest of their life.
Eyes have long been considered a particularly promising area of the science because treatments there do not trigger the body’s immune defences.
This article was amended on 1 February 2016 to correct the spelling of the name of researcher Hong Zhan. | 2019-04-19T10:48:12Z | https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/29/nhs-hi-tech-wonders-from-stem-cell-vision-to-tiny-parasols-fixing-hearts |
Approximately 6 weeks have passed since I’ve started nutritional counseling with Patty Berry, RD. I honestly believe that I’m breaking through my self-imposed hurdles that have kept me in the past from losing weight and keeping it off! Developing a positive relationship with food and my body has never been a part any of my weight loss attempts, but is now a dominate part of developing healthy eating habits. I purposely will never again think about the ill-fated attempts at weight loss nor regret those attempts, they will be part of my past, not part of my future.
Nutritional counseling is much more than a diet, it is shaping my healthy eating habits, meal planning, and changing beliefs about weight loss. I am slowly making changes and feeling confident and strong about achieving weight loss. It will be a long road to weight loss freedom, but I believe it is going to be full of new ways of thinking and many successes along the way!
My successes to date is not in the number of pounds I have lost, I haven’t weighed myself since December 14th. I’m most proud of what I have learned, but most importantly I am proud of what I am retaining and using everyday, and feeling so much better!
Late December at the end of my scheduled rheumatology appointment, I was asked if I had any questions. I asked; “When will I be able to live my life and not think about rheumatoid arthritis every waking hour?” My rheumatolgist explained that I will not be able to lead such a life as RA is chronic condition that is present and persistent, even when you are without pain. In an odd way, it made me feel relieved, because it validated how I live my life, even though I vehemently resent the time and energy I spend addressing the disease. Waking up, meditating, stretching, ensuring that my day starts out on a level plane is a constant chore. Continuously assessing how life in general may adversely affect me is exhausting.
Yet, on a positive note, I’m pleased as punch to have collected an arsenal of products that have not left me, nor my will behind. I have used the following products for years and they have not abandoned me.
In my Favorite Day to Day Items! post from July 26th, 2016, I first reviewed this brush set. Nothing has changed with this set, I find the price point of $62, acceptable for a 7 piece brush set, but the new one I just purchased from Sephora after Christmas, I picked up for $29. It is no longer available for the lower price but another version is available for $62. I find this an invaluable set, being antibacterial, it may lower my chances of acquiring an infection, due to my compromised immune system. It is also a good quality brush set that is full, soft, no shedding, and blends beautifully.
My August 16th, 2016 blog post The Heat!!! , summed up the difficulty of finding perfumes, body wash, and body lotions that agreed with me. The staying power of particular scents no longer were the same since the RA diagnosis. I’ve read that medicines will change your body chemistry, and encourage skin to throw off the scent of perfumes. I don’t know if that was the case with me but, it has been my experience that perfumes I’ve used for decades, a summer and winter fragrance, no longer smelled the same since the RA diagnosis. I was introduced to the Atelier Cologne by way of samples and found sweet success. It is pricey and for that reason I did not jump ahead and purchase this big bottle until I had used all the samples I collected at fragrance counters, and had enough confidence in the cologne and my relationship. We have been together for almost a year and have had no adverse or diminished reactions from this product. I love the smell of jasmine mixed with lemon, rather a strong scent that has a major staying power and lingers for hours. Hopefully I will be able to have a long and loving relationship with this cologne!
A selection of 15 shimmer shine lip polishes and glassy smooth lip creams. Mini in size, maximal in color, these lip plumping polishes pack a wallop. In the past I have purchased a full size Buxom Full-On Lip Polish for $20. thoroughly enjoyed wearing it, loved the color, but it was not worth the price since it only lasted a couple of weeks. After Christmas, I purchased this collection for $29.50 and I was extremely pleased and didn’t care that a few of the polishes were odd colors. I can honestly say that I’ve tried all 15 shades (even the ones that did not appeal to me), and loved each and everyone. Astonishing!!! They all went on easily and left you with a pleasant tingling sensation. The moisturizering, non-drying formula was never sticky, greasy, or tacky. The bonus for using this product is they contain Vitamin A & E, the reason they are so moisturizing.
The Buxom lip polishes were an after Christmas splurge since I had already purchased 3 new lip products early fall, and they have been a joy! I am a fan of the Dior Lip Maximizers and decided to try Dior Addict Lip Sugar Scrub. It was my intention to use this sugar scrub for sloughing off winter dead skin, but never expected this sugar scrub to exfoliate and leave my lips moisturized and soft. Always preparing for the fall/winter climate change I also purchased the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil. I was enticed to purchase this lip oil by magazine ads, and it was a score! The lip comfort oil hydrated and soothed my dry skin. As well as nourishing my lips its fruity smell and hint of color is more than a bonus! The final lip product, Tatouge Couture Mate Stain by YSL is a new product to market. It received rave reviews, I fell for it, and all the hype over this product was accurate and true. YSL states; ” A liquid-matte lip stain that offers a high-impact, ultra-matte color with a lightweight, naked feel.” true on all accounts and it was non-drying and long wearing. I have tried many matte stains and have yet to find one that equals this YSL product.
Within the last 14 months whenever I applied make-up, Becca Beach Tint Fig was definitely in the mix. In My Squirreling Ways!, post from October 14, 2016, I mentioned that this product was recommended to me by a cosmetic rep from a store that did not sell this product. Luckily I took her advice and have no regrets. This cheek and lip tint, (I only used it on my checks) produces a nice, natural, subtle glow to my checks. It is a nice pop of color in every season, best of all it is enriched with antioxidants and Vitamin E and smells divine! I especially love that I’ve had no adverse reaction from this product.
Learning to live with the challenges of Rheumatoid Arthritis is a time-consuming physically challenging grab-bag of learning experiences. If there is one thing that I can honestly attest, your self-image and happiness are not dependent on how this disease may affect you, self-care, whether medicinal or cosmetic is just as important! Have a great week!
SO MUCH MORE THAN A DIET!
In my lifetime I have started more diets than the passing of ships through the Suez Canal! Each and every time I joined Weight Watchers, Opti-Fast, Medi-Fast, and countless other diets, it was always going to be the final one. My diet always started with a great amount of determination and willpower to succeed, and always seemed to end with a feeling of disgust and disappointment. I was sometimes able to sustain weight lose, but never able to make the lifestyle changes that allowed me to end my dieting dilemmas. I’ll never pish-pish any diet that allows individuals to realize weight lose and a healthy relationship with food, yet it has eluded me for years!
This past December I contacted an online registered dietician named Patty Berry. I was so done with the numerous attempts of starting and learning about different techniques, and it seemed as if this might be more of an educational experience in learning how, what, and when to eat. Well, a little more than a month has passed, I haven’t weighed myself within this time frame, but I do know that it is clicking in the areas we discuss, and I have never felt the confidence that I feel today, that I will never diet again! This journey has been enjoyable and I haven’t felt this content in quite a long time.
Working with Patty is a one to one experience. Even though she is located in San Diego, I touch base with her every couple of days after she has perused my food records, and I have just completed my second online visit with her via the “safe HIPAA compliant platform” this morning. There is no disappointing/negative feelings working with her, there is only support, suggestions, and solutions on how to eat healthy, balanced, and satisfying meals and snacks. There are no foods that are bad, there are meals and snacks to be eaten in very lenient amounts. I laugh to myself when some of her responses to my food records suggest I may not be eating enough, but after further explanation, what she suggests makes perfect sense. So there is no truth in the saying that you; “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” because I am putting that saying to rest!
I occasionally plan on sharing my progress while working with Patty Berry, and sharing some of the life changing behaviors I am experiencing. RA Style and Flare is a platform where I share positive experiences during challenging times! This is certainly one experience I am so happy to share! Have a great week, and people in the northeast, stay toasty!
Last Wednesday I woke up to the news that we were going to get hit with a ‘bomb cyclone’ in the next day! Really? Surprisingly, I had never heard of one even though I consider myself one of the largest receptacles of useless information. So Sean Patrick and I went to the beach to see if there were any signs of the ominous type of weather to come! Nothing seemed amiss, it had been frigid and the beach showed signs of the weather!
Wednesday, 4:15 pm, I did not see signs of the impending ‘bomb cyclone’, but I didn’t know what a ‘bomb cyclone’ was. So I went home to try to make sense of the storm to come. What I learned was that two meteorologists coined this term, they had used in a paper they had published. A ‘bomb cyclone’ are powerful cyclones that get their energy from rapid drops in pressure caused by hot and cold temperatures colliding. Similar to having rheumatoid arthritis, when there are drops in pressure caused by hot and cold temperatures colliding, I adversely react, in layman’s terms, I’m in a world of hurt. So I patiently waited for Armageddon to come!
Thursday, 9:32 am, Sean Patrick and I ventured back down to the beach to see what was shaking and it was quickly apparent something was up!
By the floating ice, it was apparent the temperature was increasing and it started to snow!
Wednesday, 1:45 pm, we headed back down to the beach to see what was shaking, but we didn’t get very far!
The wind was whipping the snow around and it was cold! I settled in at home and watched the weather from the comfort of a cozy armchair.
Friday, 11:31 am, Sean Patrick went out and checked to see if the coast was clear!
After waiting for the walkway to be shoveled, we were able to escape!
Making our way to the beach we were met with cyclonic weather!
The visual display of snow being whipped in many directions was challenged by the water slamming into the shore. It was quite a sight, but the bitter cold sent us fleeing for the comfort of central heating.
Hoping everyone that was affected by this storm faired well, and wishing all a great week!
A New Year , 365 New Chances!
Some choose January 1st, as the day they have designated to commence work on goal(s) they have identified in their New Year’s Resolutions. You can tell by reading or hearing in the media advertisements what most people’s goals are for the new year. The gym and diet program specials have been running for weeks. It makes perfect sense to start anew on January 1st, but I’ve never realized success in all my many years of resolutions, that this was the best time to commit to life changes. I think I’ve got this sewn up!
Late November, I realized my weight gain was rather frightening, I had gained approximately 13 lbs. since October 3rd when I was weighed in an emergency room. It was a wake up call for me to lose weight, my first inclination was to start on January 1st, just a month away! Feeling so uncomfortable, I didn’t think eating the way I was and limited mobility, waiting to January 1st, was such a great idea. At this point I contacted Patty Berry RD , and have been following a food plan filled with nourishing food, and sometimes not so nourishing. I haven’t been perfect following her direction but what I have learned is my goal should never have been to lose weight, it should have been a goal that would make me a healthier and better person. To achieve this goal I needed to enlist Patty’s expertise, I’m planning my future by working towards small changes and easing into this new food plan. I really am embracing change with many of her suggestions and looking forward in becoming mindful and responsible for my food choices, during holidays, in restaurants, and at home.
What has been the most important aspect of working with Patty , is the realization that it doesn’t matter what day you choose to start working on a goal, it just matters that you do. It doesn’t matter if you hit some bumps in the road, it matters that you cruise on. New Year’s Day is a national holiday on the first day of the calendar year, but it is not the only day you can start/commit to a goal for the next 365 days, or a lifetime in my situation. | 2019-04-19T06:36:43Z | http://rastyleandflare.com/2018/01/ |
My husband and I are pretty excited about this prequel book to The Maze Runner series. We listened to The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials together and we just started book number three, The Death Cure over the weekend. If you haven’t read these books you simply need to! Dashner creates suspense with the best of them and this story leaves you wondering what is truth and what is a lie so many times! Here is the summary for The Kill Order.
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease. The Kill Order is the story of that fall.
So hurry up and read this series before Delacourte Young Readers releases The Kill Order on August 14!
It is time for another book review!
This one is an audiobook and I listened to it as part of the 2012 YA Audiobook Challenge Death Cloud by Andrew Lane. Death Cloud, is actually the first book in the Young Sherlock Holmes series detailing where and how the famous British detective got his start. Also, I received this review copy of the audiobook from the super nice people at MacMillan Audio- thank you!
Okay. So I have to be completely honest here; I haven’t read any of the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but I have always been intrigued by the character and I do own a copy of them all. So, I’m not a complete classic fiction failure right?!
Can we also talk about the idea of looking at classic fictional characters as teenagers?! How fun is that?! Let’s get working on a teenage Elizabeth Bennett or a young Hercule Poirot! I would seriously read them! This is why I was drawn to Death Cloud when I first saw it- come on a teenage Sherlock Holmes? YES!
Lane creates a cool collected, level-headed, although sometimes incredibly stubborn teenage boy who has all the reasoning skills, without the knowledge (enter is new American tutor). What I found really interesting about Lane’s portrayal of Sherlock is that he is kind of a social outcast in school. He knows the other students and sits among them in classes, but doesn’t really have any friends. In fact, Sherlock has never really had any friends growing up, and because of it he is a bit socially awkward at times. This is incredibly interesting as one would think that those who grow up privileged in an area where you are the wealthiest family, one might not be allowed to know the other children. But there also seems to be the fact that Sherlock’s precociousness seems to put him on a different plane than the other boys in his school.
My boys at school are usually not into historical fiction (although some of my girls are) so I’ve been debating whether or not to add Death Cloud to my Media Center catalog or not. My students just don’t have much interest in historical fiction (arrgghh the truth hurts my historical fiction loving heart!) That being said this story is pretty action packed, especially once Sherlock and the mystery get underway, so I think I’m going to give it a try and talk it up to some of my boys who enjoy the Alex Rider books, because there are definitely similarities between the two.
I really enjoyed this book and if you are a Sherlock Holmes fan or a fan of historical fiction you’ll probably have fun with it too! It is intended for readers 12 and up, so I’d say that anyone who likes a good mystery would appreciate Death Cloud.
School is almost out for the summer! Work has been so busy lately. It always seems to get crazy right before the end of the school year due to all the end of the year activities. I’ve been reading like normal, but my reviewing has been slow so I’m pretty behind in my reviews.
Today, I finally had some time to devote to the blog, so here I am working on reviews!
I recently read Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade) by Denise Vega.
Seventh-grader Erin Swift has a talent for computers, a love of Snickers, and big feet that are great for soccer and useless for dancing. She has a lot on her mind: a new school where she and her best friend Jilly are separated for the first time in school, a crush on the Cure Boy in her home room, and leading the school intranet project. Then real disaster strikes, and Erin sets off a surprising journey to self-discovery – and the many meanings of cherry-flavored Tootsie Pops.
I picked this book up after I stumbled across it in the return bin at school. I saw the cover and thought it looked like a cute middle grades read and I must say that I really enjoyed this book.
Did you have that part of yourself you weren’t happy with? Like your hair, or your braces, or your nose…whatever! For Erin Swift it’s her feet – they’re big and she is incredibly insecure about them. I totally felt like Erin did in middle school (doesn’t everyone?!) so I can relate to having an awkward middle school experience. Erin is very self-conscious and unsure of navigating the halls of Molly Brown Middle School but she is also funny and smart and talented with computers, and graphic design. So talented that she earns an important spot on the school’s Intranet Club. Erin’s troubles don’t just center around her huge feet though, but instead she deals with a maybe “not-so best friend”, the mean popular girl in school, and then to make matters worse the whole school knows her innermost secrets!
Erin is likable and her struggles are easily relatable to anyone who has experienced middle school. Her inner thoughts and fears are all displayed on her own private website, that only she (and us!) get to see. What I really find relatable about Erin is that she is sometimes just as mean as those who antagonize her. Who hasn’t said horrible things about the mean people in your life while venting to a friend?! I know I have, and that’s one thing I appreciated about Erin-she has her flaws like we all do.
As a blogger I loved the internet/blog theme Vega weaves throughout Click Here (to go along with Erin’s favorite hobby). Even the pages have tabs at the top like a website would! It’s all very cute without being overdone.
My only complaint is that some of the characters are pretty stereotypical and not very complex, Serena most of all. However, Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived the Seventh Grade) is a fun read and I recommend it to any one who has survived middle school and anyone who is afraid they might not.
It’s time to highlight the Book Trailer of the Week. I think book trailers are wonderful, but incredibly underused forms of promotion for books and I wish they were on TV like movie trailers. So, I like to showcase some book trailers on BookTasty, and I focus on a new one each week.
This week’s book trailer is for Gone by Michael Grant. This book is currently in my To Be Read Stack, so I wanted to give it some more attention. I’ve heard amazing things about this series.
Everyone except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not a single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Gone, too, are the phones, internet, and television. There is no way to get help. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen and war is imminent. The first in a breathtaking saga about teens battling each other and their darkest selves, gone is a page-turning thriller that will make you look at the world in a whole new way.
Doesn’t it sound like an awesome read?
Well, hello there! It’s that time again where I spotlight another upcoming release that I am really excited about. This event is hosted by Breaking the Spine and was created to bring attention to new books. Pretty fun huh?!
Well the book I’m highlighting this week is called Temptation, by Karen Ann Hopkins, and guess what, it has to do with the Amish!!!
Your heart misleads you. That’s what my friends and family say. But I love Noah. And he loves me. We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each others arms. It should be ROSE & NOAH forever. But it won’t be. Because he’s Amish. And I’m not. | 2019-04-24T10:14:43Z | http://booktasty.net/2012/05/ |
See also related topics: At-Risk Youth; Street Children; Juvenile Delinquency.
Around the world young people are at unusual risk because of war, terrorism, racism or ethnic tension, poverty, crime and drugs, negative peer pressure, and insidious seductions of media toward consumerism and sexual promiscuity. The world is just not a safe place for youth.
If you read a daily newspaper, you have in the past few days noticed some article about the consequences of youth at risk in our society. This morning’s paper announced a community’s demand for better police protection against unruly teens. Police officials were forced to transfer cops not aggressive enough in patrolling South Boston and controlling its street kids. Yesterday’s Boston Globe carried the final article in an extensive analysis of the school shootings of 1998, “Killing in the Classroom.” From February 2nd to May 21st, the U.S. witnessed seven violent incidents in its schools, which left 23 dead, 48 wounded, and so many grieving and emotionally traumatized friends, families, and teachers.
Behind these chilling headlines are young people with fears and hopes like any other human being. Evan Ramsey’s dad, Don, was a “loving and caring” father before he went on a rampage (shooting up the newspaper office) in Anchorage. That sent Evan’s mother, Carol, into a spiral of alcoholism. When Evan was seven, he was found huddled with his brothers in an unheated apartment with an outside temperature at 22 degrees below zero. Carol was not only drinking, she was being physically abused by a series of boyfriends. Finally, the boys themselves were punched, and DFYS intervened. This foster kid (of ten different homes) was polite to adults and hung around with some of his school’s brightest students. But he was cruelly teased and bullied by older and more popular kids. Miserable, he finally decided to kill himself publicly, but his closest friends (James Randall and Matthew Charles) over the course of several days persuaded him to kill others rather than himself. “Don’t kill yourself. You got to live the fame and fortune.” So on a cold February 19, 1997, Evan brought a shotgun to school in his oversized pants and for no good reason shot and killed a bright and sunny sophomore, Josh Palacios, and a wonderful principal, Ron Edwards. Hurt and rage once more reeked havoc on the innocent.
A school in Salem, Oregon suspended an 8-year-old boy for singing a parody on PBS’ “Barney and Friends”: “I love you, you love me…” He began singing: “I hate you, you hate me…Let’s kill…(and he names of various class mates were inserted). A girl mentioned complained and a school counselor talked to the boy. After singing the song again, he was suspended (The Boston Globe, 25 October 1998, p. A29). Is this a troubled child? Besides determining what may be going on immediately around, and in this boy, we need also to look at role played by the media and society. Children fall in love with Barney at a young age. Then in the early grades, the program becomes nauseating to some; a reaction sets in, and parodies result. After looking at the media and society, we can consider the roles played by the family, the community and the school. Responsibility for such tragedies must be considered holistically.
About 10 percent of most of our communities are teenagers. Our experience leads us to assume that 20 percent of these teenagers are unusually mature and well adjusted…perhaps leaders among their peers and in the community. About 60 percent of these young people may be considered average young people experiencing the ups and downs of teenager life; they live threatened by what we might consider a normal amount of risk factors. But around 20 percent are experiencing problems with which they need help. Of these, some 5 percent of all young people are in danger of doing serious damage to themselves or others if there is no special intervention.
The search for a personal set of values.
The acquisition of competencies necessary for adult roles, such as problem solving, and decision making.
The acquisition of competencies necessary for social interaction with parents, peers, and others.
The achievement of emotional independence from parents.
The ability to negotiate between the pressure to achieve and the acceptance of peers.
Experimentation with a wide array of behaviors, attitudes, and activities.
If the paragraphs above are on some kind of reality track, many young people need special older friends who can intervene in their lives. It is not the intention of this article to label kids as problems, troubled youth, or at-risk teens. Nor is it helpful to give the impression that things happen according to set patterns. “Good kids” can kill; and extremely “troubled youth” can make it through seemingly impossible difficulties. Such is the complexity of human life and the resilience of the human spirit.
Young people today find themselves in many difficult situations. And each young person in these circumstances is unique and like no other. Youth work (and working with at-risk youth) will never be a science. We take the best of social science and use it trusting in our gut reactions and past experience. Youth work is an art.
This Encyclopedia considers both personal, internal or subjective factors as well as external or outside factors in troubled young people. The social systems most affecting a teenager are family, school, community, media, and peers. For some teenagers, anything from sports (an extension of school life) to a part-time job, a music group, drama, church, a youth group, or a gang may be an important or crucial. Some quiet 16-year-old girl may be having an affair with a much older man, who may be manipulative or even abusive, and no one considers that huge factor in her life. Very few experts balance these influences realistically in their research.
During the first eighteen years of life, it is common for a young person not to know well any adults outside of her own family; to be a stranger in the neighborhood; to be ignored or unwelcome in public places (especially in the company of other youth); to be the object of well-intentioned programs without say in their focus or design; to lack safe places to spend time; to be excluded from the community’s deliberations; to spend considerable time each day without an adult presence; and rarely, if ever to join with peers or adults in serving others.
The crisis of troubled youth is therefore not just a concern of youth workers but of the whole of our society. The youth crisis is a symptom and evidence of our social crisis. The matters of healthy young people, healthy communities, healthy families, and a healthy society are all bound together. It would be wise for many communities and societies to realize they actually need the help of young people they consider problems to work out solutions to larger problems. Troubled youth may be more than a problem; they may be a critical part of the solution.
With what troubled young person are you concerned? What behaviors have worried you? How do you understand his or her issues? What kind of intervention might be helpful?
With what were you most struck in reading this article? How would you like to discuss it? What questions would you like to raise? Did you take exception to anything written here?
Do you agree we have to look at both inner and outer conflicts or tensions in the life of a troubled young person? Are the five social systems mentioned (along with other secondary systems or influences) helpful in considering the external factors in the lives of troubled young people?
Do you sometimes feel that the problem (and all its ramifications) is too overwhelming for you? Do such feelings encourage us to tackle these problems in community rather than by ourselves? How can young people themselves help you.
How children are cared for and what opportunities are offered to youth are indications of the health of a society.
Teenage problems are not just the responsibility of parents, but of an entire community.
The dynamics of anti-social behavior ought to be understood by all youth workers and teachers. | 2019-04-18T11:07:34Z | http://cultureandyouth.org/troubled-youth/ |
A few months ago I received a note from a former student of mine. A literary agent had read her first published story and wanted to meet to discuss her work. This should have been cause for celebration. But my former student was in a state of near panic at the thought that she might make a poor impression.
I attempted to point out the obvious: that it was she, the writer, who was in the position to judge. The agent was, after all, her potential employee. My former student said she understood, but sounded totally unconvinced.
In fact, most of the young writers I know go into anxiety overdrive when it comes to agents. They seem to feel that the acquisition of an agent is the essential first step to a successful writing career.
To be sure, agents can be tremendously helpful to the writers they represent; initially, by instilling them with confidence and helping them sharpen their vision of a particular project; later by providing access to the daunting world of editors. In the best instance, they act as advocates, negotiating advances, helping generate press, or arguing for the right cover image. They deal with the business aspects of publishing, so their writers can concentrate on the creative side.
I have several friends who consider their agents invaluable, and I’m not about to argue against this enthusiasm. What I do want to argue, though, is that the agent’s role in publishing is really secondary to the central work, which is the writing and editing of books. And more so, that the dependence on agents is, itself, symptomatic of pretty much everything that’s wrong with modern publishing: it places the emphasis not on the creation of art, but on the conveyance of a profitable product to market.
As you might assume, I do not have an agent.
I find myself announcing this fact with alarming frequency, because virtually any time I talk with another writer, one of their first questions out of their mouth is: who’s your agent?
This seems sad to me. But even sadder is the reaction my disclosure elicits: a kind of bemused pity. Fellow writers almost always assume that I don’t have an agent because I can’t find one. Often, generously, they offer to help me out. I then have to explain that I don’t have an agent because I don’t want one, which causes them even more confusion.
Indeed, for most writers the very notion of going without an agent carries a kind of stigma, because writers – particularly less experienced writers—tend to view their agents as a badge of legitimacy.
I find this notion offensive. As writers, our sole badge of legitimacy should be the work we publish, nothing more, nothing less. The question of agents (as well as how much our last advance was, or which house publishes us) really boils down status-mongering. It has nothing to do with art.
In my experience, in fact, agents have much less to do with a writer’s success than they would like to suppose. All they can do, in the end, is get a manuscript read slightly faster.
I give my former agent some credit, though: at least she was willing to take me on. Most agents are reluctant to send out short stories, either individually or as a collection. They are, instead, forever focused on the novel. And so they urge young writers to think about writing a novel (or at least a linked set of stories). This can be good advice. It can push a young author toward a more cohesive vision of the world, or a more ambitious approach. But that is not generally why agents push this agenda. They push this agenda because novels fetch larger advances.
I myself started writing a novel at the behest of my former agent, and wound up spending more than a year writing a terrible book. This was my fault, obviously. But in retrospect, I see quite clearly that I wasn’t ready to write a novel, that I bowed to external pressures—the demands of the market, as represented by my agent—rather than following my own instincts.
I also sent out a second collection of stories, which was greeted with even less enthusiasm. One agent recommended that I write “a crime novel…get one of your obsessive romantic protagonists involved in something via a missing girlfriend.” This note should be enough to illustrate the peril of allowing agents to give creative advice.
Another agent read this second collection of stories and seemed eager to represent the book—until she checked the sales figures of my first book of stories, at which point she withdrew her interest. At least she was candid about her motives.
But this is precisely the point: the foremost issue for agents is not whether a piece of writing has literary merit, but whether it will sell. This is how they keep score. It’s an awfully boring way to keep score, in my view, and, more importantly, it’s entirely antithetical to the true purposes of literature, which is intended to move people, not product.
I am not suggesting that agents are without artistic concerns. After all, they have chosen to represent writers, not supermodels or athletes. In the ideal world, most agents would rather represent books they consider great art. But faced with a celebrity murder mystery versus a quietly devastating book of short stories (or, God forbid, poems) which do you think most agents would choose?
Nonetheless, the rejections I received hit me quite hard. I almost gave up on both projects. In fact, I probably would have, if it weren’t for friends of mine—other writers—who read portions of the books in question and ordered me to soldier on.
Just as important, several editors had expressed interest in seeing my next project. I met a few at readings, or conferences. A couple of others wrote to me, after reading my work. Actually, by the time I got in touch with them, they had all read at least a little of my work. And that’s precisely what I wanted: to get on their radar. Not to schmooze them up at a fancy party, and pretend we had a connection. But to establish a relationship based on the work.
I realize that not every writer is in a position to meet editors at readings or conferences, or to direct them to published work. But I do want to emphasize that each and every one of these editors—despite what the agents assumed—was eager to see my new work. Because all editors really want, in the end, is to find terrific books. They don’t care where those books come from.
So I did the unthinkable: I sent them both books directly. Over the next couple of weeks, I talked to these editors and settled on the one I felt most believed in the books. I’m sure an agent could have gotten me a better deal. But my chief concern wasn’t the advance. I just wanted to find an editor (and publisher) who believed passionately in my work. My logic was simple: if the house truly supports the book, it will make money down the road. As for the contract, I read it carefully, asked my editor a few pointed questions, and showed it to a few friends. It was clearly the standard author contract.
I don’t mean to make all this sound effortless. But I do want to suggest that the real sweat equity wasn’t what some agent might have done for me. It was the eight years I spent working to improve my prose and putting it into the world. And that is why I tell the young writers I meet not to waste their precious energies fretting over agents. If you write compelling stories, and books, and send them out into the world, they will find a home. Not immediately, but eventually, and inevitably.
From time to time I read accounts of agents who pluck authors from obscurity and help make them famous. Young writers tend to find such pieces intoxicating, because they are experiencing, first hand, just how baffling and fraught with rejection the world of publishing is. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if fame and fortune were simply a matter of finding the right representative?
What I never seem to read about in the literary press is the far more common scenario, in which a young writer invests her hope in an agent and it doesn’t work out. We only get to hear about the famous, or the semi-famous, who are, of course, elaborately thankful to their agents.
But it’s the less experienced writers, that vast category of the not-yet-profitable, who are the most fragile, who hand their hearts over to agents and stew for hours about an unanswered email, when they should be at the keyboard attempting to love their characters.
Part of the allure of getting an agent, of course, is the fantasy that your career will suddenly become easier to manage. For the most part, though, all agents do is add another layer of emotional bureaucracy to the process of submission. Rather than worrying about hearing from editors, you get to worry about hearing—or not hearing—from your agent.
Every time I go to a writer’s conference, I hear the same set of complaints: my agent won’t return my calls, my agent has given up on me, my agent isn’t getting my work out there.
To be sure, complaint is the lingua franca of the literary world. We are all desperately seeking our little slice of attention from a culture that is largely indifferent to art. Agents are not to be blamed for this larger circumstance.
But they are part of a system that is predicated on keeping writers in a state of insecure dependence. Because, after all, the role the agents play is fundamentally parasitic. They do not do the dogged, lonely work of writing, or editing. They merely usher art into the gilded halls of commerce. They broker.
I can think of no other reason why certain agents would treat their writers with such disregard. Yes, they may be busy. But too busy to take two minutes out of their schedule to return a phone call, or an email? Too busy to explain what the blizzard of numbers on a royalty statement means? Please.
The ugly truth of it is that agents do best when their clients feel needy. They don’t want writers to take on the burdens of negotiation, or to learn too much about their own contracts, or, especially, to pitch editors directly. They want writers to believe that agents are the only ones who can set up a closed auction, or sell foreign rights, or provide that magical gateway to otherwise inaccessible editors.
Agents would argue that the process sometimes has to be adversarial, that it’s their job to get their clients the best deal. But the best deal to them really means the biggest advance, and that isn’t always in the interest of a writer. Because along with that advance comes an expectation of profitability. And should the book fail to earn back, it is the author—not the agent—who suffers next time around. They are the ones after all, who will be labeled as bad economic risks.
To be clear: I don’t view agents as willfully harmful. The best of them work hard on behalf of their clients, and earn their cut. As noted, there are many writers who, understandably, seek to insulate themselves from the business side of publishing, who have no phone manner, or don’t want to worry about getting ripped off. They are happy to surrender fifteen percent of their hard-earned dough to agents, and well they should be.
STEVE ALMOND lis the author of two story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal and The Evil B.B. Chow, the non-fiction book Candyfreak, a collection of essays, Not That You Asked, the novel Which Brings Me to You, co-written with Julianna Baggott, Against Football: A Reluctant Manifesto, and a number of “DIY books” he has published himself. | 2019-04-25T00:59:13Z | http://www.ronaldtanner.com/how-to/are-agents-necessary/ |
8:08 PM jim: ALL - I'm ready for your questions, let's get going.
8:10 PM [mariposa] hello everyone.
8:12 PM [faithful] plum how did it go.
8:13 PM [Bluesky] mkdmlc. hey friend, haven't seen you in awhile.
8:13 PM [hepsy] hi lalachrissie - how are you?
8:14 PM [doveseyes] plum...ohhhh wow...I am so sorry...was that the first time something like this happened?
8:14 PM [Bluesky] mkdmlc end of the year stuff?
8:14 PM [lalachrissie] hepsy Hi. I'm ok. Last night the power went out in neighborhood.
8:14 PM [mkdmlc] Bluesky How are you and what's going on with you?
8:15 PM [hepsy] lalachrissie - wow.. how long?
8:15 PM [dogwood] All--I am in terrible shape. got the bomb last night. H left this morning for a month, last night, he asked me what is my plan regarding the separation, I told him that my thought stays the same, I do not want a separation. He got really mad and said that he is suffocating in the house, when he returns in January, he is moving out. I had long talk with him asking why he does not consider reconciliation that will relieve his struggle. Finally , he told me straight that he wants to keep the liberty of multiple relationships besides just Wife. He has found a potential condo, and has transferred some of his account to his name only, etc. Please pray for me, this might be the direction indicating that I need to prepare myself for separation.
8:20 PM jim: dogwood at :15, It's time to get some legal advice.
8:15 PM [faithful] all h just left he dropped off the boys. Is so hard and have to keep myself from holding his hand of asking a dumb question like when is he coming home.
8:15 PM [Bluesky] mkdmlc just heading down the path I didn't want. There is basically no contact anymore with h.
8:15 PM [doveseyes] plum...I tell you...I thought today..can't we schedule crisis/conflict? one at a time..is she still in the home.
8:15 PM [lalachrissie] hepsy I'm not sure when it came back on, went to bed early b/c I was exhausted anyway.
8:16 PM [Bluesky] mkdmlc how about you? Have you heard from h at all?
8:16 PM [plumcrazy] Doveseyes--Yes she is.
8:16 PM [hepsy] dogwood - I am sorry... how are you holding up?
8:17 PM [hepsy] lalachrissie - well last night you said you had been keeping busy and then you signed off -was it due to the power outage?
8:17 PM [mariposa] dogwood: (Hugs). So sorry.
8:17 PM [dogwood] Jim-- please read my latest happening at 6:12; I think I would be the first casualty. Nothing is working here. H told me that he is not MLC; he has made up his mind.
8:22 PM jim: doveseyes at :17, Basically standing means that you are committing yourself to let God work in the marriage, that you are not going to initiate action toward a divorce. So surrendering your husband and marriage to God is crucial to standing.
8:18 PM [Bluesky] Jim, I have a male friend who has been calling me for advice. He knows my situation (h and wife are long time friends) and he is feeling like he wants to leave his wife because he doesn't get any attention from her. I have talked him in to getting counseling. They are close to empty nesters and he is he one struggling. Any advice?
8:23 PM jim: Bluesky at :18, both of you are in a very dangerous situation - it's crucial that he gets counseling from a male counselor.
8:18 PM [faithful] jim h email me back regarding our daughter problems I have been having and do not want to read too much into but he made a comment that hopefully she will learn that there are consequences to her actions.
8:24 PM jim: faithful at :18, your daughter's situation is a normal teenage type of problem - treat it that way.
8:18 PM [lalachrissie] hepsy yes, was forced off. we were busy all day yesterday. Drove for over an hour to take a train for an hour to cut down a tree with friends. It was really fun.
8:18 PM [hepsy] dogwood - I hope you are trying to stay calm and not panic..
8:19 PM [faithful] jim also he said we instead of you referring to raising our kids. In the past he has said you will do a good job raising the boys now he is we.
8:19 PM [mkdmlc] jim My h is in the withdrawal and depression stage and have not heard from him since d. I want to send a Xmas card to him and his family with a pic of me with Santa. Is that appropriate?
8:25 PM jim: mkdmlc at :19, for now - avoid the Christmas card unless it is extremely funny.
8:19 PM [faithful] dogwood I am so sorry for your pain.
8:19 PM [doveseyes] jim..my h also called and said he wanted to d and work something out after Christmas so he could be with kids. Nothing is stopping h now from being with kids. Only his busy dating schedule..sos..
8:26 PM jim: doveseyes at :19, stall the divorce as much as possible.
8:20 PM [faithful] doveseyes do any of your kids want to see him?
8:21 PM [hepsy] lalachrissie - that's nice..It is good to stay busy and do fun things. It is also good to laugh - something we forget to do when in crisis like this.
8:22 PM [hepsy] dogwood- I know.. in the beginning I felt the same - too sad here with things the way they are.. but actually now, it is not as bad..I am used to it and am finally enjoying my alone time. At least when h is at work I don't have to walk on eggshells.
8:23 PM [dogwood] Jim-- Thanks, H got angry when I try to ask for more than 50%; he gets in rage and saying if I try to stop him and keep him by manipulating and asking for more share, he will stay but will certainly make it very very miserable for me. He wants to just divide between us and keep us legally married. do you think that is a good idea? or, should I push for legal?
8:23 PM [Bluesky] hepsy I enjoy my alone time too.
8:24 PM [hepsy] bluesky - since you got through Thanksgiving - what will you plans before Christmas?
8:24 PM [Bluesky] hepsy just my kids and me, I guess.
8:26 PM [mkdmlc] jim thanks. Card is cute but not funny. Hey, that is a good laugh for me!
8:26 PM [mariposa] dogwood: Is he talking about just separation or divorce?
8:26 PM [lalachrissie] jim- last week h accidently cancelled my visa card & ordered me a new one & I asked him the day before if he would let me know when he deposited money for my bills. I assumed that he would mail me the new card, b/c he said he tried to have the bank mail it to me but they wouldn't. today I received an email saying he has my card and that he should be depositing money tomorrow or the next day & asked if the kids have mentioned wanting to see him. I don't know where he lives and have not seen him in over a month. kids told him they will let him know when they will see him. should I respond to his email? btw, yesterday was our anniversary.
8:28 PM jim: lalachrissie at :26, please condense your comment into a short question for me.
8:28 PM jim: doveseyes at :26, try just surrendering your husband and your marriage.
8:27 PM [doveseyes] Jim25..do you stall by refusing to meet..or what?
8:30 PM jim: doveseyes at :27, stall by encouraging your lawyer do everything he can to slow the process down. Usually there are at least 30 days time before each process deadline and many other modifications can be asked for in between each deadline. Be creative.
8:28 PM [dogwood] hepsy-- If I can't stay by myself in the house, I feel that I need to plan to leave my work and move to be with my son and his family where I will have all the support and happy with grandkids. the problem is what to do with our house here. H probably wants to keep it. I don't want to see him moving a OW in.
8:28 PM [hepsy] bluesky - have you spoken to your d since her visit with h over Thanksgiving?
8:28 PM [Bluesky] hepsy yep, but not about him.
8:29 PM [hepsy] dogwood - if you left your work, would you be able to find another place of employment easily?
8:29 PM [dogwood] Jim-- do you suggest to let him move out without settling the finances legally and wait for a while? He is very determined to begin his new life.
8:32 PM jim: dogwood at :29, Stall and get some legal advice so that you're prepared if your husband does push you.
8:32 PM jim: doveseyes at :30, this is the time you are going to need to be strong, I encourage you to read “31 Days of Praise” by Myers, may be ordered through http://astore.amazon.com · · · dlife-20.
8:30 PM [hepsy] dogwood - as for the house - you can't worry about what h does or does not do. As Jim says, you should get legal counsel and see what they say.
8:31 PM [dogwood] hepsy-- I can retire from my job (although I used to love my work), and try to keep busy with grandkids and church or volunteer in their town, or office.
8:31 PM [faithful] doveseyes my d13 just told me she does not want h back. I just do not know what to tell her. I tell her is what God wants.
8:31 PM jim: ALL: I may have missed some questions, PLEASE ASK SHORT PRECISE QUESTIONS FOR ME.
8:31 PM [doveseyes] jim at 30..ok..I assume you have seen success in situation where the d is stalled...why does this work?
8:33 PM jim: Doveseyes at :31, stalling gives more time for emotions to settle down and for pain to dissipate. It also gives you more time for growth and change so that your husband sees you as a growing person.
8:31 PM [dogwood] Jim-- do you suggest to let H move out without settling the finances legally and wait for a while? He is very determined to begin his new life.
8:32 PM [swan] Jim - If you didn't see plumcrazy's comments - her daughter is being physically and verbally abusive to her, husband who lives at home does nothing to stop it. Cricket and I both told Plum she should take police action against daughter before she seriously injures Plum.
8:34 PM jim: plumcrazy at :32, Cricket and swan gave you the right word.
8:32 PM [MarySarah] Jim last Monday later in session I asked about a teenage child who was over enmeshed with the parent who leaves. Do you think if that child is rebellious to the more settled parent & is so enmeshed with a parent like our spouses, that the child's rebellion can push our spouse into MLC or make it worse? does the rebellion & childish behavior of both make them feed off each other?
8:37 PM jim: MarySarah at :32, children have always used parents against each other whether the marriage is strong or shaky.
8:32 PM [MAS] Hello everyone.
8:32 PM [faithful] doveseyes I told my h he had to file if he wanted a d I am still waiting over a year now.
8:32 PM [plumcrazy] welcome back MAS Feeling better?
8:32 PM [lalachrissie] hepsy how are you tonight?
8:33 PM [MAS] plumcrazy Yes, much better, thanks! What happened in court today? I came onto chat late.
8:34 PM [mkdmlc] all, got to go. Hope to be back before the holidays. You're always in my prayers.
8:34 PM [MAS] Hi mariposa, how are you?
8:34 PM [doveseyes] 33..jim..I really don't think H cares about my growing..H has an addiction and hasn't slowed down..
8:34 PM [faithful] doveseyes that must be tough, I am so sorry. Have you talk to an attorney.
8:34 PM [Bluesky] doveseyes I am too, financially dependent on h. It is very daunting.
8:40 PM jim: dogwood at :35, most husbands want to get divorced without any cost but you need a lawyer to protect your rights.
8:35 PM [MarySarah] Jim as follow up it is our oldest. I always felt since my H had little to no guidance & spoils our kids so much(actually uses his money to obligate them as well as they saw him withhold attention & affection from me if he didn't get his way) It seems she was competing for position with me & my H always ended up not backing me ever. He never seemed to want to do any disciplining them until this one in particular whined to daddy. Our relationship is still strained & it seems she revels in us being apart like there is some dramatic draw to his affair & ow do you see this ever?
8:41 PM jim: MarySarah at :35, I think your daughter is taking sides and it may be that she does have an overly strong admiration for her father.
8:35 PM [MAS] plumcrazy: So, no psych evaluation was ordered, then?
8:36 PM [faithful] doveseyes my h to was on a roll he went to England and even brought her over this summer with what money I do not know but he did. Well this summer they repossess his car and now he is financially broke. Sometimes it take a while and we have to just let them down. They may be happy now but it will catch up to them.
8:37 PM [Bluesky] doveseyes it is, because it is what we agreed on, and now he is leaving me quite scared financially for the future.
8:37 PM [faithful] mariposa I am so sorry. I think that is the hardest the rollercoaster ride.
8:38 PM [hepsy] lalachrissie - so, you got through your anniversary ok?
8:38 PM [MAS] plumcrazy @36: That's good. Hope D's therapist can offer some helpful advice.
8:38 PM [Bluesky] plumcrazy can you push the appt a little sooner?
8:38 PM [mariposa] faithful: I never drive by there but was running an errand that took me straight by her place so I couldn't help myself but to look and sure enough his car was there.. So frustrating. Just when I thought we were doing better.
8:39 PM [lalachrissie] hepsy I did. I kept busy with our friends. My sister's husband is also visiting for a few days so I'm ok.
8:39 PM [mariposa] doveseyes: I'm worried the same for my H.
8:40 PM [faithful] doveseyes at 38 that is my fear for my h. His dad also die all alone without kids or wife. But h does not seem to care.
8:40 PM [MAS] faithful @36: Yes, it seems my H is starting to have financial issues (not to mention health issues) as well. Guess what goes around comes around.
8:41 PM [lalachrissie] hepsy I think I’m going to go. girls want me to make them something to snack on. have a nice evening, chat with you on Wednesday.
8:41 PM [hepsy] lalachrissie - go and enjoy them. I will be praying for you.. Take care..
8:41 PM [faithful] mas that is true we just have to wait and let God work. All we can pray and hope is that they will see the light before is too late.
8:42 PM [MAS] mariposa @36: Oh, I know just how you feel. That's what happened to me a few weeks ago, too. Only it was the other way around. OW's car was at my H's house. VERY upsetting.
8:42 PM [faithful] plum so that is what you need to do is back off and let her suffer the consequences. I know is not easy but we do not do our kids any good but trying to protect them.
8:43 PM [MarySarah] Jim :41 So what do I do with that?
8:48 PM jim: MarySarah at :43, it would be best if we chatted by phone since this is a rather extended discussion.
8:45 PM [plumcrazy] JIM---I am sure H's main anger at me is because police officer he knows were called to our house and know about what our D did. Things were getting better now he is VERY angry at me. He didn’t even help me out of the closet wouldn’t let S help me and didn’t say ANYTHING to D about what she did.
8:45 PM [faithful] jim h has been coming around weekly now for some time to drop the boys off. Do I keep conversation light or should I approach him about where our marriage stands.
8:49 PM jim: faithful at :45, don't approach him about where the marriage stands, just keep things light and friendly.
8:45 PM [MAS] doveseyes/faithful @41: Isn't it interesting how they're all suddenly "broke" yet they have enough finances to run around and travel anywhere they want?
8:47 PM [MarySarah] Jim The OW is very well versed at manipulating & controlling in a not so obvious way. She will stay quiet, but it is NOT a quiet or meek spirit. She is brazen, bold, & calculated. Yet she gets my H to do EVERYTHING for her when my H refused to do same for me & even had higher expectations than I could keep up with. The more I would try to meet his needs it seemed the more he required & expected & the more he would tear down with his words or lack of affection. It still seems humility to him is weakness & he acts more angry could it make him feel more shame the kinder I am & more I can somehow handle?
8:49 PM jim: MarySarah at :47 let's talk by phone.
8:47 PM [faithful] mas my h did not have any just use credit card and now they are max and he cannot pay them. I finally got the bill collectors to call his work and they finally left me alone.
8:47 PM [hepsy] still - hi there!
8:48 PM [Still] Hi everyone.
8:48 PM [Still] Plum, yeah I thought that was a little harsh.
8:48 PM [faithful] dogwood I do not have h address but the other night he told me what apartment he was working at. I knew already from child support paperwork I get.
8:50 PM jim: dogwood at :48, as part of any separation or divorce agreement, your lawyer’s fees would be paid for by your husband.
8:48 PM [Still] Hepsy, I know. I was having some computer issues last night.
8:48 PM [hepsy] still - how are you doing?
8:49 PM [Still] Hepsy, I am doing okay. Went to talk with a lawyer today for the first time. Very scary.
8:49 PM [hepsy] still - I am sure.. did you learn some good information?
8:50 PM [Still] Hepsy, Yes. This lawyer went through her own MLC so she gave me some great insight into how she felt. She walked away from her marriage and then returned. She gives all the credit to God for her return.
8:50 PM [mariposa] jim: So is it basically the rule of thumb to always let H bring up the discussion of where the marriage is heading? I'm scared to death to bring up that discussion.
8:51 PM jim: mariposa at :50, yes it is best in this stage to let him bring up any discussions about your marriage relationship.
8:50 PM [MAS] jim Someone told me recently that since it was our H's who walked out on US, they are legally responsible for our attorney fees. Is that true or not?
8:52 PM jim: MAS at :50, generally your response is accurate.
8:50 PM [faithful] jim at 49 that is what I taught but is so hard. He seems to be more like himself. I went to pick up grand baby so he could see her. She went to him with no problems and he enjoy her.
8:50 PM [Bluesky] dogwood protect yourself but try not to ask your h any questions about what he is doing. That is what he is running from.
8:50 PM [plumcrazy] Still--I bet you are glad to have her for your lawyer!!!
8:51 PM [Bluesky] Still great choice in lawyers!!
8:51 PM [Still] Plum, yes I am. She has copies of Fireproof she gives to couples who consult her. I thought it was great.
8:51 PM [hepsy] still - what a praise! What is your h doing? Is he on the sofa?
8:51 PM [doveseyes] jim at 50..is that because the h committed adultery and abandoned the marriage?
8:53 PM jim: doveseyes at :51, an abandoned wife has more legal leverage because the husband is the one who wants out of the marriage, and she can ask that a condition of the divorce is that he pays all fees.
8:52 PM [Still] Hepsy, Yep, still on the sofa. He has been a wee more talkative the last couple days. I think because his car broke down and he needed to depend on me.
8:52 PM [MAS] dogwood @47: Well, since I was over at my H's home for TG, I have his new address now.
8:52 PM [hepsy] still - well maybe he will get comfortable there like mine. Any more talk from him regarding a d?
8:52 PM [MAS] dogwood: But I also had it before---my mother had given it to me.
8:53 PM [faithful] doveseyes h came in and d13 went to room. She did not want to see him. He went and knock at her door and she did not open. Grandbaby 3 open the door and said "is here grand pa." He went in and gave her a hug on her forehead and she did not respond. He said I guess she is still mad at me. I told him to give her some time. He is acting so much like his old self is so hard to stand back and let him walk away.
8:53 PM [MAS] dogwood What do you mean your H has targets to move out?
8:53 PM [Still] Hepsy, no not a word. We had a seven day stretch that the kids were off and he said nothing. He also spent only 1.5 hours on the rental. So, he apparently isn't in the hurry he thought he was. How are you doing?
8:54 PM [dogwood] jim-- do you know if that works the same in a no-fault state?
8:55 PM jim: dogwood at :54, each state has small unique characteristics regarding divorce - you'll have to ask your lawyer.
8:55 PM [Bluesky] Still are you thinking of filing? Is that why you saw a lawyer?
8:55 PM [hepsy] still - oh, you know... same... just another day...I have my moments... but I am doing ok... Did you say your h will be home for a month during Christmas?
8:55 PM [Bluesky] dogwood all states are now no fault.
8:55 PM [Still] Blue, Oh, No. I have no intention of filing. I just needed to know what my rights were and what I needed to do in the event that he follows through and files.
8:55 PM [dogwood] Bluesky-- thanks for the info.
8:55 PM [MarySarah] Jim cont to me & said "you're 45 not 14, then stormed away found ow & came into the smaller gym to watch our son. I ignored it all. OW's kid shot daggers at me all day & made obscene gestures to our youngest dtr. She told her dad & he took ow's kid's side of course. What am I to make of that statement? Our coach even turned around & said what did he say? Sorry, that's the question.....what was that to mean??????
8:55 PM [Bluesky] Still good for you.
8:55 PM [swan] dogwood - you can usually Google for information like that and/or arrange for free 15 to 20 minute consultations with a local lawyer.
8:56 PM [Still] Hepsy, Yes, he is off for a month at Christmas because of his teaching schedule. That may be quite uncomfortable since I work from home.
8:56 PM [doveseyes] Faithful 53...are you encouraged?
8:57 PM [faithful] doveseyes I am glad for my kids and not sure how I feel. I try to keep my feeling under control.
8:57 PM [Bluesky] dogwood anytime.
8:57 PM [MAS] Hi Still, how are you? How was your TG?
8:57 PM [Still] Hepsy/Blue, this lawyer was wonderful. She asked me if I needed a copy of Fireproof (which I have), gave me a brochure on Christian marriage seminars, and gave me the phone number to a Christian psychologist.
8:58 PM [Bluesky] Still You sure got a good one.
8:58 PM [faithful] Doveseyes yes I am encouraged at times but it is such a slow process. I just have to keep turning him over to God. The last two days was very hard because I was missing him so much. Today I am ok.
8:58 PM [Still] MAS, I'm good. How are you doing? Thanksgiving was just fine. We went to my Dad's. I told H we were going and didn't know if he would show, but he did. He even stayed for games. Weird, huh?
8:58 PM [Bluesky] Still so she will probably understand to stall if you h ever files.
8:58 PM [hepsy] still - that is so great! God was watching out for you... I hope that if I have to go to a lawyer, it will be someone like that. Does your h know you went?
8:58 PM [swan] dogwood - when I still lived in the San Diego area, I had consultations with four different lawyers, had my questions ready for each and tried to not ask them all the same questions that way I got as much information as possible before deciding on which one I might hire if needed.
8:59 PM [Still] Blue, yes she told me not to panic if he files. She said, "If he files, you have 90 days to respond. If you agree, it goes to court. If not, it has a 2-year waiting period."
8:59 PM [MAS] Still I'm so glad everything went well for you!
9:00 PM [Still] Hepsy, No, my H doesn't know I went. In fact, he didn't go to work today due to weather. The kids were off and I didn't want him to know that I was going. I just told him I had an appointment. I paid in cash so there would no trail.
9:01 PM [MAS] Still: How did you find a lawyer like that? Did you get a referral from someone you know?
9:01 PM [hepsy] still - that was a good idea..You don't have to tell me exactly, but is it expensive to go to a lawyer? Do they charge by the hour or visit?
9:01 PM [Still] Hepsy/Blue/MAS, The bad part was that she really believes my H is having an affair based on his actions and demeanor. She asked me if I wanted her to arrange a PI to find proof. I said that I was not interested and that I really don't think he is.
9:02 PM [Still] MAS, I found her through a good friend. She knew she had her own crisis, left her marriage, and was back happier than ever. She thought it would be a great connection for me.
9:02 PM [dogwood] swan, did not know that you lived in San Diego area, can you recommend any lawyer?
9:02 PM [faithful] doveseyes at first it is continuing to turning it over to God every minute then it gets better. Now I tell myself is ok if he never comes back I will be ok, but deep inside I know I still want him back. But I want someone committed to God and his family.
9:02 PM [Bluesky] Still did you share with your lawyer about this group and site?
9:02 PM [hepsy] still - that is my fear... those I have confided it think he must be having affair.. I, like you, don't think so.. but then, I hear about women all the time who firmly believe their h is not, and then come to find out later it is so.
9:02 PM [MAS] Still @59: A 2 year waiting period? Really? What state are you in?
9:02 PM [Still] Hepsy, Her initial consult was $50. Her retainer for services is $2000. That was a little tough to take.
9:03 PM [swan] dogwood - I lived on Camp Pendleton, worked at Miramar. My daughter worked for a legal firm that specialized in intellectual properties, trademarks and patents, the lawyer she worked for gave me the referrals. She doesn't work there anymore, the firm moved to Boston and I it has been too many years, so just don’t remember who the lawyers were, sorry.
9:03 PM [Still] Bluesky, Yes, I told her about this group. She thought it was great that I have a support system online.
9:03 PM [Still] MAS, I am in Pennsylvania.
9:03 PM jim: Thanks everyone for being in the chat room today. If you got lost during the chat process, check back later to find the edited chat dialogue posted in the archives, there you can read it at your own pace. It's been fun talking with you today. We, at Midlife Dimensions, will remember you and your marriages in prayer throughout the week. Warmly in Christ, Jim. James 4:8, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
9:03 PM [Bluesky] Still sheesh that was an awesome price. My consult was 250 with a 5000 retainer.
9:04 PM [hepsy] still - yuk...I guess if your h files, you could make him pay that? But we will pray that he doesn't file and we won't have to worry..
9:04 PM [Still] Hepsy, My Dad who has turned his life around had affairs throughout his marriages. He told me that he really doesn't believe he is...that he is depressed.
9:04 PM [Still] Blue, Yikes!
9:05 PM [hepsy] still - that is what I believe about my h. I think the only affair he is having is with his Crown Royal..
9:05 PM [Bluesky] Still if you know where he is all the time, I would agree with you that he is not. That was how I felt before my h left.
9:05 PM [Still] Hepsy, My H fantasizes about a different life.
9:06 PM [lisak] ALL: thanks for being here tonight. Scripture Reading: Psalm 27:11-14, in which David urges us to wait patiently before the Lord. 11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
9:06 PM [Bluesky] Still oh, they all do.
9:06 PM [Still] Blue, he is always home on time for dinner. He travels a lot, but his colleague is a very strong Christian man with a family.
9:06 PM [hepsy] still - and what life would that be?
9:06 PM [faithful] Lisa that is the verse God gave me when all this started to Wait on the Lord.
9:06 PM [MAS] hepsy @02: I hate to say it, but that is exactly what happened to me. The entire time I thought my H and I were trying to reestablish our relationship, I discovered he was having an affair for over a year. I never had a clue.
9:07 PM [Still] Hepsy, My dad says your H has everything any man could want right in front of him and can't see a thing. My dad tears up when he talks to me about it.
9:07 PM [faithful] doveseyes before this I was so inpatient my sister just laughs at me and says I have come a long way.
9:08 PM [doveseyes] faithful..how long?
9:08 PM [mariposa] doveseyes: Waiting is terrible but I find it better than the alternative which would be a divorce.
9:08 PM [Still] MAS, I know how much you have hurt over your h's affair. I'm so sorry.
9:08 PM [hepsy] still - well, your dad is right..
9:09 PM [mariposa] MAS: Has there just been one OW for your husband over the four years?
9:09 PM [Bluesky] plumcrazy swan gave you great advice about not worrying about how your h feels about being seen by the p/o he knows. That is his problem to deal with. That shouldn't be more important than the welfare of your d.
9:09 PM [lisak] ALL - my pleasure. I'm going to run for the night. Goodnight everyone.
9:09 PM [MAS] hepsy @07: It sure was a shocker.
9:09 PM [hepsy] still - well, of course, you are his d.. but I don't even really know you and can tell you are a wonderful person..
9:10 PM [MarySarah] swan did you happen to see what I said my H said to me this w/e?
9:10 PM [MAS] Still@08: Thank you.
9:10 PM [Still] Hepsy, Thank you. You are clearly a sweetheart yourself!
9:10 PM [swan] MarySarah - sorry I didn't, busy taking care of the admin part of chat tonight.
9:11 PM [faithful] all I have to go my grand baby and foster child are making a mess. They get the plastic bag and fill them up with their toys and get them everywhere. I need to put them in bed.
9:11 PM [Still] All, got to run. It was wonderful to "see" you all. Have a great night!
9:11 PM [hepsy] still - thanks dear! Well, I have to go.. my contacts are getting all dried out because I am tired. It was so glad chatting with you..
9:11 PM [Still] Hepsy, you, too!
9:11 PM [MAS] mariposa @09: No, there have been others, but they were just flings. As far as I know, this OW is the first serious relationship he's had in the past 4 years.
9:12 PM [hepsy] all - I am turning in as well. Take care. Try to get some sleep.
9:12 PM [Bluesky] plumcrazy but I was referring to you worrying about how your h feels.
9:12 PM [faithful] plum take it easy and good night.
9:13 PM [MarySarah] swan I had to see OW who has finally found a way around not being at our kids' events. I looked good & was in my element so to speak as I know the sport & many people & the ow does not. I tried to be old upbeat, self & talked to lots people I have known for years, inc all the kids competing. H came up & snidely whispered in my ear" you're 45, not 14 " & stormed away, got ow & came into room my son was competing to watch even though our son doesn't like her or want her there. What should I think that statement means?
9:14 PM [MAS] All: I am going to go. Take care everyone, and have a good night!
9:15 PM [MarySarah] All :11sometimes I wonder why some come up empty & go from one ow to another & feel loss & others seem to be able to not only float, but swim strongly to shore & create a whole new life immediately that they refused to create in their marriage.
9:17 PM [swan] MarySarah - well usually when people say something like that it is because they are embarrassed by the behavior of the person they make a comment like that to. Not to mention that your drawing attention to yourself being there alone and him with the other woman opens him up to judgment by others, he was embarrassed and probably upset with you. In his mind, the other woman was behavior appropriately and you weren't, so it gives him one more thing to accuse you of.
9:18 PM [swan] Goodnight all, the room is going to close in a couple minutes, please join us again Wednesday evening. | 2019-04-26T02:49:25Z | http://midlife.com/index.php/chat-room-menu/chat-room-archives/with-jim-conway/11869-december-06-2010-monday-chat-wjim-6-7-pm-pst-v15-11869 |
"For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God."
Proverbs 16:3 ¶Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
>here's something that shows God's presence as written in the bible!
>been called "myth" in the Bible is true?
>and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.
>it or with the results as compared to the standards.
>Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes ... not a whole day.
> They read the Bible, and there it was about [approximately] a day.
>trouble 1000 years from now.
>remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS.
>Second Kings make the missing day in the universe! Isn't it amazing?
> References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 and 2 Kings 20:9-11.
Sent to me by a friend .
The name of Jesus is above every name (Phil. 2:9-10). No name is as high and as exalted as the name of Jesus. Whether you hate Jesus or love Him, whether you are for Him or against Him, you realize that the name of Jesus is a special name. History tells us that during the past two thousand years, everyone has recognized that His name is the highest name, that it is an extraordinary name.
Firstly, the name of Jesus is for us to believe in (John 1:12).
The name of Jesus is for us to be baptized into (Acts 8:16; 19:5).
The name of Jesus is also for us to be saved. Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved.” The name of Jesus has been given to us purposely that we may be saved. The name of Jesus is a saving name.
To the lame man whom he met at the gate of the temple Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I have, this I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” (Acts 3:6). Immediately the man was healed. Then Peter said to the people, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene...this man stands before you well” (Acts 4:10). This testifies that the name of Jesus is also a healing name. We may call on the name of Jesus for healing from any kind of sickness.
The name of Jesus has been given to us so that we may be washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Cor. 6:11). As defiled persons, we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God. The Spirit is the Person of the name and the reality of the name.
The name of Jesus is for us to call upon (Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 1:2). Acts 9:14 says that Paul, when he was Saul of Tarsus, tried to damage all the saints. He intended to go from Jerusalem to Damascus to bind all those who called on the name of Jesus. This verse does not say that he was about to bind all those who prayed to Jesus, but all those who called on Jesus. By this one verse we can see that the early Christians were those who called on Jesus. Whenever they prayed, they called. They called upon the name of Jesus, and that became a mark of recognition.
We may also pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:24).
The name of Jesus is also for us to be gathered into (18:20, Greek, into). Whenever we come together to meet, we should be gathered together into the name of Jesus.
The name of Jesus is also good for casting out demons (Acts 16:18). To know the power of the name of Jesus, use it to cast out demons. Demons know the power of the name of Jesus better than we do.
The name of Jesus is for us to preach (Acts 9:27). When we preach, we must preach in the name of Jesus. Preaching in the Lord’s name must be done in the Spirit, for the Spirit is the Person of the Lord and the reality of His name. When we preach in His name, we need the Spirit to make it real.
Through all the things that can be done in the name of Jesus, we see that whatever we do and whatever we are must be in the name of Jesus. Never forget the name of Jesus. His name is a sweet name, a rich name, a powerful name, a saving name, a healing name, a comforting name, and an available name. This is the name that is exalted, honored, and respected. And it is the name feared by the enemy.
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord Jesus praised the church in Philadelphia because they did not deny His name. We should never deny the name of Jesus. We should deny every other name, but keep the name of Jesus. We must testify that we do not belong to any person or to any sect, but that we simply belong to Jesus. The name of Jesus is the only name we own.
Why do stories like this stir us so much ? The answer , I would suggest , is because this is fulfilling Christ's Law and it just doesn't happen often enough .
After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity. Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what..
Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.
After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what?
"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked. Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."
We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, some we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.
We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"
"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.
"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up." I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.
My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.
Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."
up to meet his schedule.
the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
without exception, forced them to move on.
noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
"'For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' Says the Lord, who has mercy on you." | 2019-04-23T20:29:42Z | http://churchonline.co.nz/viewtopic.php?p=3143 |
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Any dispute arising from these Terms and your use of our Services will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of California, without regard to conflict of law rules or principles (whether of California or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any dispute between the parties that is not subject to arbitration or cannot be heard in small claims court will be resolved in the state or federal courts of California and the United States, respectively, sitting in the city and county of San Francisco, California. Note that depending on the laws of your jurisdiction, you may be able to bring suit in your local jurisdiction.
We reserve the right to modify our Services or to suspend or stop providing all or portions of our Services at any time. In such circumstances, we will endeavor to give notice to you as outlined at the beginning of these Terms, but we may not be able give notice to you if we determine that your use of the Services poses of a security risk or threat to the function of the Services, or poses a security or liability risk to Shortlist, its affiliates or any third party. If we terminate your access to the Services because of your breach of these Terms, you will not be entitled to a refund of unused subscription fees. You also have the right to stop using our Services at any time, but we are under no obligation to refund the prorated amount for your subscription term unless you contact us as described in Section 5. We are not responsible for any loss or harm related to your inability to access or use our Services. | 2019-04-25T18:30:59Z | https://shortlist.co/terms-and-conditions-members/ |
In May 2010, the Dallas Zoo opened Giants of the Savanna, a new exhibit area featuring animals of the African savanna in naturalistic habitats designed to showcase the natural behaviors of the inhabitants. One of the most innovative features of Giants of the Savanna is Predator Rock, which houses 2.3 African lions (Panthera leo) and 1.2 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). This area was designed to showcase natural behaviors of large carnivores and to highlight the exemplary level of care zookeepers are able to provide using a positive reinforcement training program to facilitate daily husbandry and medical care. Predator Rock has a public demonstration area where guests can watch behaviors such as voluntary injections, voluntary blood draws, and body exams from just feet away in a protected contact environment. Demonstrations take place twice per day, seven days a week and require frequent, reliable, and often complex shifting routines. One of the cheetahs housed at Predator Rock is ten year old female “Kisutu”. “Kisutu” had a history of shifting poorly, showing aggressive behaviors toward caretakers, and of choosing not to participate in training programs, all of which made Predator Rock’s daily routine very challenging for her. This paper will discuss the process of desensitization, trust-building, empowerment, and positive reinforcement zookeepers used to integrate “Kisutu” into a daily routine that includes reliable shifting, training daily in front of guests, decreasing frequency and intensity of keeper-directed aggression, and making progress in learning husbandry behaviors that improve the quality of her daily care.
The Dallas Zoo’s Giants of the Savanna exhibit, opened in May 2010, features many species found on the African savanna in large, naturalistic habitats. Predator Rock houses 2.3 African Lions (Panthera leo) and 1.2 Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in two exhibits which are connected by a common demonstration area. This area allows visitors to observe keepers as they use positive reinforcement training methods to teach these intelligent carnivores behaviors such as presenting for oral exams, voluntary injections, and voluntary blood draws all in a protected contact environment. Instead of using a traditional primary trainer system, the keepers implemented a multi-trainer system within the Predator Rock area in July 2010. This system allows all trainers to act as primary trainers for all the cats and for all new and maintenance behaviors. For this to be effective, trainers have pre and post-training session meetings, fill out daily training logs for each animal, as well as utilize behavior turn over logs to allow each trainer to know the status of each new behavior. Partnering with consultants from Natural Encounters, Inc., keepers learned the value of coaching, communication, and consistency in creating a successful training program. This paper will discuss the implementation of the new training system, challenges with using the system, the effectiveness of the system for this situation, and the successes keepers have achieved using the system.
Denver Zoo currently houses 1.3 Przewalski’s Horses, also known as Mongolian Wild Horses, whose training had traditionally been limited to shifting into stalls and a stud pen for daily cleaning. 0.1 Bernia has lived in Denver since 2001, 0.2 Yisun and Saikan moved to Denver in 2006, and 1.0 Bataar moved to Denver in 2008. We currently cannot do hoof trims or any medical procedures on any of the four without chemically immobilizing them. Initially, none of the animals allowed keepers near or would eat from their hand. While in quarantine, however, Bataar began showing interest in human contact, so technicians at our hospital began the first steps of what evolved into our training program for these horses. We began working formally with Bataar in September 2009, and he progressed more quickly than we anticipated. He currently presents both sides for keepers, pressing his entire body against a chain link fence, and allows injections into his hip, application of fly spray and will pick up each foot when asked. All behaviors have been trained through a chain link barrier, in a protected contact setting, using positive reinforcement based operant conditioning. Bernia has now begun this training as well. This paper talks about the how we got to where we are today and the planned next steps to continue to build this program and work creatively within our existing facilities so that we can reduce the need to use chemicals for medical procedures.
A primary endeavor of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley is to save animal lives through the implementation of a behavior modification program for shelter dogs. The objective of the program is to decrease euthanasia, share effective and efficient strategies with other shelters, and encourage momentum in shelter behavior modification across the country. Due to the nationwide prevalence of dogs who display food bowl guarding during behavior assessments and the subsequently high rate of euthanasia for this behavior problem, rehabilitation of food guarding is a strong focus area of the Society’s program. Our aim is to advance shelter animal welfare by providing shelter workers and dog trainers with a food guarding modification protocol to efficiently rehabilitate a large number of dogs in a short period of time. The Humane Society’s six-step protocol provides rehabilitative treatment by applying force-free, scientific principles of desensitization, counterconditioning, and the differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior to modify a dog’s existing negative association to food bowl removal and to install behaviors incompatible with aggression. Current program results indicate an average treatment time of 11 days with 89% of participants (129 out of 145) successfully passing re-evaluation by a novel tester and entering our adoption center. The program’s success and ease of protocol use may facilitate behavior rehabilitation in shelters across the country, thereby increasing the number of lives saved and advancing the welfare of shelter animals.
Feather damaging behavior (FDB), the destruction or removal of a bird’s own feathers, is a common problem in some captive bird species. Possible causes of FDB include poor nutrition, allergic reactions, stimulus poor environments, and chemical imbalances. Due to the numerous proposed etiologies, there are many treatments for FDB, none of which works in all cases. Here, I present a case study of a female eclectic parrot that has lived in a zoological setting from the onset of FDB to present time. The application and results of treatments including increased socialization and foraging opportunities, diet modification, and use of the drug Lupron, are documented. None of these treatments resulted in a lasting decrease of FDB. Next, I examine a possible link between FDB and puberty. Data was obtained through a survey sent to North American institutions housing species identified by the AZA Avian Taxon Advisory groups as being prone to FBD: Waldrapp ibis, cockatoos, and ostrich. Participants were asked to provide information on age and social situation at the onset of FDB. The survey results indicate that a significant proportion of birds developed FDB at the suspected onset of puberty. There are also some indications that inappropriate social groupings at the onset of puberty may also play a role in the development of FDB. The case study and survey results support my hypothesis that changing the way birds are housed at the onset and during puberty may lead to a decrease in feather damaging behavior.
The Oakland Zoo has developed an operant conditioning training program to advance husbandry and veterinary care for its 3.3 Aldabra giant tortoises. We have trained three core behaviors: cooperative nail trimming, open mouth behavior, and voluntary blood draws. This approach is novel in these animals and demonstrates that operant conditioning training provides a powerful tool to improve the care of giant tortoises. Cooperative nail trim behavior has been established using a lie down behavior and then desensitization to a rotary tool. An open mouth behavior has been conditioned to facilitate veterinary exams in one individual who has exhibited difficulty biting through standard food. A voluntary blood draw behavior is in progress using a neck extension and hold behavior and desensitization. At the outset of the training regimen we also developed a protocol for desensitization of our female tortoises, because they exhibited avoidance behaviors towards keepers (our male tortoises already exhibited affiliative behaviors and could immediately begin the operant conditioning program). This desensitization process focused on developing stronger reinforcement histories and cooperative relationships; resulting in one individual exhibiting affiliative behaviors towards keepers and participating in the operant conditioning program. The operant conditioning program has elevated our level of behavior management by improving keeper relationships with all tortoises, improving our ability to provide husbandry care, enables more frequent veterinary examinations and will improve our veterinary staff’s ability to diagnose and treat illness in our Aldabra giant tortoises.
Part of the culture at Landry’s is “Be driven, work smart; if you are not teaching or learning, you are not getting it done.” Teaching and learning can be difficult to maintain with an animal staff’s daily and dynamic schedule. By purchasing an inexpensive, high quality and easy to use video camera, the Animal Training Staff at the Downtown Aquarium Houston has been able to conduct self-evaluation, peer-evaluation and document cues and criteria. Additionally, the staff has used the camera for reviewing animal husbandry, public presentations, recording marketing materials, and staff training. This presentation will use case studies to show how the Flip® camera turned our animal and people training world upside down.
Behavioral management and training applications have long been used with birds in zoos to enhance visitor education and presentation opportunities, now within more recent years the value of using behavior training to enhance husbandry routines such as shifting, scaling and veterinary procedures has also been widely realized with great appreciation. By comparison the use of behavior training techniques in the management of breeding birds has been one of the least explored areas. Zoo curators typically have an understandable reluctance to disturb or risk altering the behavior of birds that are in the process of trying to breed, and therefore less behavioral management has been applied to birds in breeding situations. This presentation explores opportunities where the use of behavioral training techniques can positively assist zoo staff working towards breeding priority birds. Discussion includes opportunities for improving the management of bird introductions, better managing the exhibit environment and improving the way that keepers work in the vicinity of breeding birds. | 2019-04-21T04:43:05Z | https://www.animalprofessional.com/abma-2011-tuesday-abstracts.html |
Inspired by many an outstanding photographer like Steve McCurry, I have started a photoblog wherein I am trying to classify and knit photos that I shot, under encompassing themes. It is a very challenging, painstaking, yet a thrilling work for me to document and knit. Looking forward to your visit and seeking your feedback.
The latest curation at SREENIViews is ‘FUN and Games’. I picked up just 20+ photos from a photobase of over 10 thousand photos that I have uploaded in public. Each of these photos just showcases an interesting fun or game situation, many have been left out.. I am sure as the blog evolves, I will keep bringing a few more into the space..
Our national holidays in metros are marked by mass exodus of people anxious to leave behind their busy life schedules, their ipods, their identity on facebook, and the gizmos that mark our existence. It is not just the technology driven mania that we seek to escape but also the mundaneness of eternally waiting for kanta bai, the domestic help.
Every year a few of us join this beeline that is trying to get far away from the maddening crowd. But we are also unique as a group for we always have to carry along a delicious, chocolacious cake along as one of the national holidays coincides with one of our young one’s birthday. The young lady was turning eight this year and we all wanted to ring in her new year in a new ambience with minimal driving. Tall order, one would say, but then one of our friends managed to find such a place close to Gurgaon—SURJIVAN.
Barely over an hour’s drive from anywhere in Delhi is Surjivan, which is an eco-tourism destination. In a nutshell it is a place where one experiences ethnicity and rusticity with ample creature comforts. We were warmly welcomed by the caretaker who showed us to our rooms and got us our welcome drinks which was an over spiced and ‘Khatta’ Chach. We liked the informal atmosphere of the place and lounged around savoring the scent of grass and the bird calls. Unlike other settings, the children did not cling to us but found their callings, chasing the butterflies, unearthing beetles and making mudpies. The lunch was a delight to our palate which has forgotten how chutney made on mortar and pestle tastes so fresh unlike the homogenized version we make in a food processor. The paneer had the flavour of a smoky chullah which enhanced the taste and the syrupy gulabjamuns were sinfully delicious. The food was served piping hot in clay pots over clay warming vessels lined with hot charcoal. This all vegetarian meal was digested over a three hour long siesta by some of us. The others played a rain soaked soccer with lots of slips and falls.
In the afternoon we discovered the Kilol-kund which is a mud pond filled with rainwater. We wallowed in the mud with the children and this is one experience that was unique to this place. We explored the temperature of water at different places within the same pool and also experienced the slipperiness at different locations. Some Piggy godmother must have watched over us for we came out without any debilitating effects despite numerous dunks and falls. From there, the mud-caked junta marched to the fields to take a bath under the hosepipes. After such rowdiness, the sight of the ultramodern bathrooms with warm running water and clean linens was like a ‘manna’ from heaven.
After being restored to our civilized countenance, we ‘glugged’ down unending cups of ginger tea and chomped ‘BeesKoot’. Over tea, we started enjoying the birding opportunity this setting provided. We enthusiastically identified all the birds we saw and gave a few of them an identity crisis. There were no unusual sightings but the abundance of our winged friends was a pleasant experience. Later, we ventured into the herb garden which was undergoing a replanting drive but we managed to come back with a few samples of plants with distinct smells, the lemon grass, the golden bottle brush, the sacred tulsi and the camphor tree. We also saw a Jetropah plant about which one has heard so much. It is difficult to comprehend that this modest looking plant could actually one day solve our energy deficit.
We had the birthday cake cutting in the evening and the staff was quite prompt in getting us the paraphernalia for the occasion. Kishore Kumar’s romantic repertoire played subtly in the background and the mood was one of genuine bonhomie. The children played musical rooms going from one room to another in a group before finally settling down with their own parents for the night. But before we turned in for the night, there was one last sabotage to our Get-Slim-Stay-Slim plan. The dinner turned out as delicious as the lunch with some desi chicken curry. One heard the qawwali between the crickets and the resident frogs as one had the dinner. The fireflies were however conspicuous by their absence. Surjivan is an early to bed, early to rise kind of place, so we retired for the day soon after dinner.
The next day, we woke up to a warm day with clear skies. The view when one stepped out of one’s cocooned air conditioner enabled room was truly awe inspiring. Everything looked verdant bathed in dew drops with the sun glistening on them. The button roses are so fragrant here that one involuntarily thanks Noorjehan begum for introducing this wonderful flower to India. It is difficult to imagine icons like Chacha Nehru and Shahjahan without their iconic rose flower.
Morning is also the time when the local labourers turn out at Surjivan for working on the farmland. Their life and appearance is a study in contrast with the guests who come to the resort. Along with our morning cuppa, we noticed the other activities that Surjivan offered. Similar to the Hayat-Baksh Bagh (Life Giving garden) in Shahjahanabad, Surjivan pays tribute to our diverse flora and fauna by having a well designed garden of trees with well designated information about them. So with every tree there is a description with its common name, its scientific name, its special properties, its allegiance to a nakshatra, deva and planets. A very nice tree spotting exercise can be done here. The garden also has some interesting trees like Gingko Biloba ( the oldest tree), The Krishna Dona tree (where Krishna hid butter) and also the Sita Asoka tree( the tree under which Sita stayed in her captivity) but for some reason all this wonderful information is mostly in the local language—Hindi.
We spent the morning trying to identify more birds and trees and trying our hand at the indigenous sports like gilli danda (Stick and an oblong skillet), Kanche (marbles) and pithoo. We recounted interesting anecdotes about each other’s childhoods and the joy one got while playing these so called rural games. These games are our living heritage and it is nice to see their presence in Surjivan. In a few years we may have to rely on a manual to play these wonderful games. There were ample swings around for children and grown ups. We tried our hand at milking the cows, churning the butter and grinding wheat on the stone mortar. After all this exciting but grueling work we settled for something ‘halka’ for breakfast like deep fried puris and potato with gravy and eggs. After a King sized breakfast, we headed for the splash pool which was cleaned for us and we filled fresh water from the hose amidst a lot of banter and cheer. Everyone got water cannoned and it was a welcome respite from a hot day. We paid our tribute to the nation on the national day by singing patriotic songs in various languages. We may have missed the tune but not the fervour. After a ‘mastilicious’ morning we headed home which was just an hour away.
Surjivan is slightly on the expensive side but then if you see the time value of money, it kind of adequately compensates. The staff here is semi trained but it is heartening to see that locals are involved in the hospitality of the place thus ensuring goodwill and security of the guests. There are a lot of subtle elements in Surjivan which reflect the philosophy of the promoters. Everything here is in consonance with nature. There are solar panels to augment power supply; amalgamation of local expertise in its architecture, the entire décor uses only three organic colours. There is a variety of local motifs painted on the walls. The food is organically grown and cooked on a low flame thus retaining its flavour.
Surjivan has many things to offer a city slicker without the slack of five star trappings. It is ideal for people who want to go to a laidback break in the lap of nature. It is also a nice settings for corporate to do their team building and ideation exercises. As for us, we wanted a place where zero-mirchi food would be understood and accommodated and our children (our ‘theen devian’) had a devilishly rocking time. | 2019-04-22T15:12:13Z | https://swamanthan.wordpress.com/tag/fun/ |
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