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Flagler County hosts criminal jury trial; Canady notes safe practices in place for expanded court proceedings
Aug 25, 2020 Top Stories
Florida’s first criminal jury trial since the COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted in-person court operations began August 24 in a Flagler County courtroom.
Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Raul Zambrano said the trial was the result of a month-long effort by local court officials, the local Health Department, the Supreme Court, and others and made possible by a low number of coronavirus infections in Flagler County.
Judge Terrence Perkins presided over the felony case, State v. Johnson, which involved grand theft of a motor vehicle and fleeing/eluding at high speed.
“Resuming jury trials is an important milestone for Florida’s courts and the people we serve,” said Chief Justice Charles Canady. “Chief Judge Raul Zambrano and Circuit Judge Terence Perkins prepared carefully for the safe conduct of this proceeding in Flagler County, along with all the justice partners involved. I appreciate the care taken to follow evidence-based best practices for this trial and elsewhere around the state as courts continue to work diligently.”
The courts worked with the local Health Department to determine the best procedures for holding the trial and to get information about infections rates and information to provide to jurors. It also involved frequent contact with the Supreme Court.
“We had a long discussion with the chief justice on Friday [August 21] assuring him we were going to do this in the safest way we can,” said Zambrano, who also made it a point to meet with the jury pool. “One thing I told the jurors this morning, bluntly, is we will not compromise anyone’s safety in this process….
“We can’t do this alone, we have to have a lot of partners,” he added. “We also have to show the community we are making our very best effort to move forward in the best manner possible.”
Zambrano said Flagler was chosen for the trial because of its low ongoing infection rate plus the county has a relatively new courthouse with modern, spacious courtrooms that make the trial easier.
Seventh Circuit Court Administrator Mark Weinberg said jury summons were sent for Monday morning, and a second call was prepared for Monday afternoon, but turned out not to be needed. About 40 prospective jurors showed up, more than expected.
This was different from the start. Instead of a five or 10 minute juror orientation, Zambrano said that the initial presentation, which he supervised, lasted about 35 minutes and jurors were instructed on revised procedures and the extensive safety preparations, including the use of face masks and face shields in the courtroom, the availability of PPE and hand sanitizer and “also assuring them all of the protocols were in place to protect them.”
There was also a review of pandemic information and infection rates for Flagler County.
Only people involved in the trial were allowed in the courtroom and no more than 25 at any one time, as members of the jury pool were individually escorted in and out of the courtroom as necessary, Zambrano said.
“Anyone who was extra was not even allowed in the building,” he said.
The courtroom was configured to allow everyone to social distance, including the jurors and there was extra cleaning.
“We have plans for feeding the jury in the courthouse so they don’t have to leave the courthouse” during the day, Zambrano said. “As Judge Perkins said, you can’t turn around without bumping into a hand sanitizer.”
The trial is being streamed live on YouTube. Jury selection was completed by early afternoon and Assistant State Attorney Philip Bavington and Assistant Public Defender William Bookhammer were shortly thereafter making their opening statements. Bavington then began calling witnesses and making his case.
The trial, which is expected to last a day or two, adjourned at 5:15 p.m. with Bavington still presenting witnesses.
At the moment, there are no plans for a second jury trial, although Zambrano hopes other courts can learn from Flagler’s experience.
“We’re going to go back and reassess and if the [infection] numbers are such and we can maintain our protocols, maybe we’ll do another one,” he said. “We just want to see what we can learn from this one.”
While having the state’s first criminal jury trial is important, Zambrano said there’s still a long way to go for the courts.
“I wholeheartedly agree with the chief justice that people tend to let their guard down when things are going good,” he said. “I tend to believe the opposite, we have to step it up…and not let our guard down. We should be more aware and practice all of the safety protocols that the Health Department has given us.”
Canady said that Flagler County met the conditions outlined by the Supreme Court’s COVID-19 Workgroup and contained in court administrative orders.
“Improving health conditions in Flagler County meet the criteria adopted to protect the health of participants,” Canady said. “It’s welcome progress for the judicial branch and Florida, in step with improving conditions there and elsewhere in the state.”
There have been two previous civil jury trials, one in Miami-Dade County last month having the jurors, lawyers, judge, and court personnel in the courtroom with mask and face shields, and one conducted earlier this month in Jacksonville with jurors and others appearing remotely.
Under the workgroup’s direction, and in partnership with the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers and The Florida Bar, a video and public education material for prospective jurors was created. It provides information about new procedures in place at courthouses and for people responding to summonses for jury service. The video can be seen at www.Steps2SafeCourts.org.
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Entertainment News, Celebrities and Fandoms
Home » Death on the Nile First Trailer Features Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and More
Death on the Nile First Trailer Features Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and More
August 20, 2020 Mr. Greg Universe
20th Century Studios continues the adventures of Hercule Poirot with the adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express’ sequel, Death on the Nile. With the movie set to come out in a few months, we finally have the our first trailer, and boy does this movie have stars.
Here’s the official description for Death on the Nile:
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this tale of unbridled passion and incapacitating jealousy features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travelers, and enough wicked twists and turns to leave audiences guessing until the final, shocking denouement.
Just like the first film, Death on the Nile has managed to assemble quite the impressive cast, which is probably the big selling point of the film. It’s kind of curious how MOTOE got a sequel, seeing as it wasn’t received well by critics and audiences, but I guess it did make bank at the box office, earning 352.8 million USD out of a budget of 55 million USD.
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the film. I knew it tried something different seeing as the twist of the story is so popular, but the big reveal was kind of a letdown.
I don’t really know what to say about the cast yet, seeing that a lot of them really are just famous faces. I am personally excited to see Emma Mackey on the big screen, seeing as she has done fantastic work with Netflix’s Sex Education. Hopefully she manages to wow audiences with this movie.
Death on the Nile is set to come out Oct. 23.
Gal Gadot, Murder on the Orient Express, Letitia Wright, Armie Hammer, 20th Century Studios, Emma Mackey, Kenneth Branagh, Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie
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Jazz-Age Jams
The Dapper DJs Dazzle Audiences With Vinyl Tunes and Retro Style
By David Morreale | Photography by Turner Photography Studio | Posted on 03.17.17 – In the Studio, Lifestyles
Jack Sincevich cuts quite a figure when the weather is nice in Frederick. He saunters, he strolls, he promenades … the proud heart under his bow tie and suspenders thrilling to the tunes pouring from the antique Victrola perched, boombox-style, on his shoulder. It’s as though the 1970’s and the 1930’s met and melded in this one, slim figure of a dapperly dressed young man strolling with all the insouciance of a Parisian dandy with money in his pocket and a song in his heart.
Jack makes his living with the very tools with which he lives his life. His vintage suits and boots, his old-timey music and reverence for vintage vinyl and the hot rhythms of the Jazz Age.
Jack, joined by his brothers, Alex and Sam, and “brother from another mother” Will Cole, are the Dapper DJs, a service rooted in Gatsby’s yesteryear where suits are fine and the taste in music much finer. They use restored Victrola phonographs, and play “old-timey” music from the artists and bandleaders from the 1920’s through the current day.
“When this was all born, I’d been a DJ already for about 15 years,” says Alex Sincevich, the founder of the business. “But the Dapper DJs started when one Christmas I had nothing to get my mom, because I’d run out of ideas and money. There was an antique Victrola phonograph that had been in the family for years. I’m a tinkerer by nature and I took the thing apart and got it running and gave it to her for Christmas. While I was doing that, I dove into the old records and got bit by the hot jazz bug. With the encouragement of my wife, I decided to play those old records when I was doing my DJ gigs. Eventually, I started going to antique and vintage stores all around Downtown Frederick to get an idea how to get started. That gave me the idea of dressing sharp and doing events.”
Still, he had doubts. “I never knew if this thing would take off. It’s always just been an extension of my personality. It’s just offbeat and quirky and it fed that part of me that needs to express that weirdness. … I’ve always had a vintage heart and the old records fed that heart and I wanted to share it with whoever wanted to pay me a nickel and let me play.”
The Dapper DJs work to set themselves apart from the pack of wedding DJs crowding the banquet halls of the Wedding Industrial Complex, through their outfits, the concentration on playing timeless music that makes people feel good and the sheer wild enjoyment at their gigs. “People dig the vintage vibe we put out,” Alex says. “We use old, chrome mics, dress in bow ties and carry our stuff in suitcases. We love the old vinyl records.”
“We like to have a band presence … we have digital abilities, so we can play modern music at the flip of a switch, but we dress dapper and play the old-style music,” Alex adds. “We draw inspiration from the Gatsby era and I think that what is appealing about us is the authenticity and the novelty that you only get with us. I don’t want my head to get huge, but we want to offer something way different and fun and our clients trust us to bring that to the table. We often get told that we bring a band vibe to the thing. We give impromptu lessons in dancing the Charleston, and if the couple is into that, we’ll do it. I know it’s cheesy but it’s like Brie on toast; we do spread that cheese around like butter.”
And if you are thinking it is all just an act, “It was never about the money for us. We just wanted to be true to what we love. My brothers of the Gramophone just really took to this and adopted the vintage lifestyle. You can see us really walking around in bowties and seersuckers. We wear the real stuff in real-life. I like to wear old tweed … it’s what’s comfortable. We try to live and play music as an extension of our lifestyle.”
From Jack and his Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby-fueled ambling around Downtown, to Alex, Sam and Will’s love for making people feel good, these debonair young men own their look. Sam, the smooth-talking MC with his penchant for speaking the old slang from the flapper era, delivers with a wink, a nod and a tip of a Derby. Will
has, according to Alex, “a vintage heart” and he loves everything about his job. He loves teaching the impromptu dance lessons and thrills at the sight of people hoofing it on the dance floor.
It’s from late spring until early fall, the busy season for those in the wedding biz, when things for the Dapper DJs start hoppin’. “May through October is a long busy season. See, initially we started kind of gaining recognition playing as street performers and that, for a long time, was where our heart and soul was, playing for people outdoors.”
When asked what he most loves about his job, the answer comes without hesitation: “I can’t believe the enjoyment I get out of entertaining folks. Seeing them enjoy themselves and having the awesome responsibility of keeping them entertained and excited … being successful at that? You can’t beat it. It’s really rather selfish, but I get really high off of the energy, and that is a feeling I can’t get enough of. It’s what I live for and for a brief moment in time we’re all connected as one beating heart and that’s just a pretty cool feeling. It’s not about the money. It’s about everyone connected for that moment. We sell ourselves on our authenticity and the enjoyment of what we do.”
While the Dapper DJs do private gigs and sometimes play street performances, maybe the best way to see them is to get married and book them for your reception. It could be worth the trip.
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Competitions & Special Promotions
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Want to read the latest news?
Buy a copy of Brian Simmonds's new coffee-table book, The Beach, and you could win an original signed artwork worth $800
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This week is Men's Health Week and we want to help shine a light on the importance of self-care with some shelf-care.
Author and illustrator Sean E. Avery releases a series of videos to help you enter the CBCA Make Your Own Story Book Competition
Calling all young aspiring story book authors and illustrators – the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) WA branch is still running its annual Make Your Own Story Book Competition. It is open to WA students from pre-primary to Year 8 and closes on Friday 5 June 2020.
Norman Jorgensen to judge children’s historical writing competition in Victoria
Each year, the History Teachers' Association of Victoria (HTAV) organises a Historical Fiction Competition that asks Year 5–10 students to create stories based on historical events and people. Students can write about any period of history as long as the entry has a convincing setting that is historically correct in time and place.
Book dates to take your mum on
Yeah, we know you’re getting bombarded with Mother’s Day gift ideas, but stick with us, because we’ve got something that will knock your mum’s socks off. Forgo the flowers and ignore the alcohol, and instead combine a gift that keeps on giving (a book, of course) with a memorable Mother’s Day date experience.
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Indigenous Literacy Day is in its twelfth year, with events across the entire country taking place on Wednesday 5 September. This year, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is hoping to raise more than $300,000 to provide over 30,000 books to remote Indigenous communities nation wide.
Get creative in the classroom to win a full year’s supply of children’s books from Fremantle Press
Fremantle Press is offering one lucky school the chance to win a full year’s supply of children’s books by showing us just how creative you can be.
Fremantle Press and Story Box Library join forces for NAIDOC week discounts
In Your Dreams by Sally Morgan and Bronwyn Bancroft is the book that will launch Story Box Library’s Indigenous Story Time. To celebrate, Fremantle Press and Story Box Library are each offering a 15% discount on their products and services.
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Combating aging population
Fruit harvesting robot to be employed in Japan
A conglomeration of parties, including Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), has developed a prototype of a robot that automatically harvests fruit including apples and pears. The group is aiming to commercialize the product in two years.
Shinnosuke Kusaba, head of NARO's production distribution research area, said: "We would like large-scale farmers and others to use it (the robot) to increase yield as workers in the fruit tree industry are decreasing due to the aging population."
Organisations including NARO, based in the Ibaraki Prefecture city of Tsukuba, auto parts manufacturer Denso Corp. and Ritsumeikan University are working together on development of the robot. It can pick a fruit in approximately 11 seconds, which is about the same speed as a person, and collect around 300 pieces of fruit in an hour.
The robot uses cutting-edge technology to identify fruit based on deep learning, through which artificial intelligence learns from automatically identifying characteristics included in data. Using this technology, researchers fed the AI 1,500 pictures of pears. As a result, in the case of Japanese pears, it can recognize ones that are ready to be eaten based on their ripeness, which is judged from the color of the dent at the bottom of the fruit.
Developers are planning to commercialize the robot in around 2022 and begin renting it out. They aim to sell the robot along with the self-driving car and containers at a cost of 6 million yen (roughly $58,000) or less in around 2025.
Source: mainichi.jp
Publication date: Mon 4 Jan 2021
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2020-12-24 An innovative 4.0 machine remote-controlled
2020-12-24 "The core of our business is to replace the human hand and the human eye with automation and vision technology"
2020-12-24 "We are happy that our machines could help providing front-line workers with safely packaged supplies"
2020-12-24 "This system was as good or better than anyone else's and the price is much better"
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2020-12-22 Egypt chooses Italian technology
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2020-12-17 "New investment round means Dutch asparagus robot can be production-ready a year earlier"
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Home›Destinations›Europe›England›Cambridgeshire and East Anglia›Dedham
Things to Do in Dedham
101km (63 miles) NE of London; 13km (8 miles) NE of Colchester
Remember Constable's painting, The Vale of Dedham? Dedham Vale lies between the towns of Colchester and Ipswich in a wide valley through which runs the River Stour, the boundary between Essex and Suffolk. It's not only the link with Constable that has made this vale so popular. It is one of the most beautiful, unspoiled areas left in southeast England. In this little Essex village on the Stour River, you're in the heart of Constable Country. One of the most memorable walks in East Anglia is along a public footpath from Dedham to Flatford Mill , which lies 1.5km (1 mile) farther down the river. Set in the midst of water meadows of the Stour, Dedham is filled with Tudor, Georgian, and Regency houses. Constable painted its church and its tower.
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The 15-acre Native Texas Park features seasonal wildflowers, native plants, and tree-shaded lawns.
This 15-acre urban park on the grounds of the Bush Center reflects the President and Mrs. Bush’s longstanding commitment to environmental conservation and restoration.
The Native Texas Park, featuring a one-mile network of trails, walks visitors through native Texas environments including Blackland Prairie, Post Oak Savannah, and Cross Timbers Forest. The Blackland Prairie used to dominate the Dallas region; however today, only 1% of the prairie remains in the state of Texas. Rediscovery of the lost prairie was the inspiration for this community park.
The park is free and open to the public every day of the year, from sunrise to sunset. Comfortable shoes are recommended for walking the trails. Each season brings beautiful changes to the prairie landscape. Pets are welcome.
Clearings in the Native Texas Park provide habitats for butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.
Native Blackland Prairie grasses
Seasonal wildflowers among other native plants
Clearings providing native habitats for butterflies, birds, and other species
Tree-shaded lawns
Spring - Bluebonnets
Fall - Monarch Buttterflies
Spring & Fall Guided Tours
In the spring, free guided tours are offered on the weekends so visitors may enjoy the blooming bluebonnets, the beautiful state flower of Texas. In the fall, the tours allow visitors to catch the annual Monarch butterfly migration through North Texas. The Native Texas Park is home to the endangered milkweed plant. Monarch butterflies cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants and Monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs.
Visitors may wander the 1-mile network of trails on the grounds of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum with self-guided tours.
Self-Guided Tour Brochures
Native Texas Park Plant & Flower Guide
Landscape Education Map & Guide
Our Scavenger Hunts are a fun way for the entire family to discover the history of the prairie, identify native Texas plants and the wildlife they attract, and learn about water conservation and efficiency; all while enjoying the beauty of the great outdoors.
Parent/Teacher Hunt Guide
Fall: Scavenger Hunt
All Year:
Family Scavenger Hunt
The Museum offers free admission tickets to school groups if the Field Trip has been scheduled through Visitor Services at least one month in advance. Field Trips are available Monday through Thursday during the academic school year.
The George W. Bush Presidential Center earned Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) program in March 2013. The LEED building certification program encourages the use of designs, materials and systems that are sustainable, energy efficient and reduce a facility’s impact on the environment and human health. The Bush Center is the first Presidential Library to achieve LEED Platinum certification under New Construction. See conservation efforts to learn more.
Museum & Building Photographs
360 Degree Artifacts Gallery
Museum & Exhibit FAQs
Baseball: America's Presidents, America's Pastime
Increase Your Knowledge With Presidential Trivia
Explore artifacts online by rotating them 360 degrees!
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Slurp Geyser
37d 4h 35m ago
07 Nov 2020 @ 1023 ie 2d 19h 40m
04 Nov 2020 @ 1443 ie 70d 1h 13m
23 Aug 2020 @ 1921 ie 3h 41m
23 Aug 2020 @ 1540 ie 1d 1h 3m
22 Aug 2020 @ 0709 ie 16h 51m
20 Aug 2020 @ 1155 ie 1d 22h 31m
18 Aug 2020 @ 0925 ie 17h 8m
06 Aug 2020 @ 1730 1d 3h 48m
26 Jul 2020 @ 1846 ie 3d 6h 33m
23 Jul 2020 @ 1213 ie 2d 14h 39m
12 Jul 2020 @ 0721 ie 12h 35m
11 Jul 2020 @ 1846 ie wc 5d 12m
06 Jul 2020 @ 1834 1d 5h 37m
05 Jul 2020 @ 1257 16h 16m
04 Jul 2020 @ 2041 ie 8h 50m
04 Jul 2020 @ 1151 2d 6h 1m
01 Jul 2020 @ 1153 ie > 1d 19h 39m
24 Jun 2020 @ 1904 ie 5d 4h 13m
19 Jun 2020 @ 1451 ie 6h 36m
19 Jun 2020 @ 0815 ie 1d 14h 4m
15 Jun 2020 @ 0709 ie 22h 21m
31 May 2020 @ 2144:25 ie 7h 0m 50s
31 May 2020 @ 1443:35 ie 9d 6h 41m
22 May 2020 @ 0802 ie 13h 15m
21 May 2020 @ 1847 ie 47d 2h 25m
04 Apr 2020 @ 1622 ie 89d 20m
06 Jan 2020 @ 1502 ~16m 3h 42m
06 Jan 2020 @ 1120 38m 1h 27m
06 Jan 2020 @ 0953 ie 13d 19h 23m
23 Dec 2019 @ 1430 2h 47m
23 Dec 2019 @ 1143 3d 21h 53m
19 Dec 2019 @ 1350 ns ~45m 3y 151d 21h 5m
20 Jul 2016 @ 1745 ie 321d 10h 17m
03 Sep 2015 @ 0728 ~3m 14y 32d 17h 40m
19 Jul 2001 @ 1520 ie 1y 352d 18h 5m
04 Jul 1999 @ 1045 ns 184d 20h 45m
23 Oct 1998 @ 1126 ie 113d 11h 34m
01 Jul 1998 @ 2352 ie 20d 21h 42m
11 Jun 1998 @ 0210 ie 1y 16h 35m
10 Jun 1997 @ 0935 ie 270d 30m
13 Sep 1996 @ 0905 ie 42m
13 Sep 1996 @ 0823 ie 2h 16m
13 Sep 1996 @ 0607 ie 237d 17h 52m
19 Jan 1996 @ 1115 ie 148d 19h 48m
24 Jun 1995 @ 1701 ie >21m 280d 13h 7m
17 Sep 1994 @ 0354 ns 3d 16h 45m
07 Sep 1994 @ 1220 19d 33m
08 Aug 1994 @ 1033 ie >2h 54m 28d 21h 57m
10 Jul 1994 @ 1236 11d 14h 58m
28 Jun 1994 @ 2138 ie 121d 6h 18m
27 Feb 1994 @ 1420 ie 35d 4h 39m
15 Dec 1993 @ 1309 ie 108d 23h 2m
28 Aug 1993 @ 1507 ie 16d 3h 46m
12 Aug 1993 @ 1121 ie 48m
04 Aug 1993 @ 0828 2h 28m 43d 16h 48m
21 Jun 1993 @ 1540 ie >1h 33m 270d 2h 50m
12 Sep 1992 @ 1439 ie 15d 8h 48m
28 Aug 1992 @ 0551 32d 15h 9m
26 Jul 1992 @ 1442 3h 23m 7h 56m
11 Jul 1992 @ 1621 >55m 17m
11 Jul 1992 @ 1604 4m 36s 6h 44m
08 Jul 1992 @ 1747 ie 25m
29 Jun 1992 @ 2225 ie 5h 1m
29 Jun 1992 @ 1724 ie 15y 291d 9h 58m
15 Sep 1976 @ 0726 ie
Interval Count 94
Min 17m
Max 15y 291d 9h 58m
Mean 171d 21h 2m
15417 06 Aug 2020 @ 1726 06 Aug 2020 @ 1729 JSJ Already doing subterranean gurgling at 1726. Spitting at 1729.
15416 06 Aug 2020 @ 1235 06 Aug 2020 @ 1653 JSJ Inactive every time I checked from 1235 to 1653. Crystal Spring was not regularly draining into Slurp's vent.
15373 04 Aug 2020 @ 1659 --- JSJ Still not erupting. Crystal Spring's pool level fluctuates and overflow drains into Slurp Geyser's vent. This happens frequently - once or twice each minute. Probably swamping Slurp's ability to erupt. See attachment.
15141 01 Aug 2020 @ 1802 --- JSJ Inactive.
14557 06 Jun 2020 @ 1749 --- User34 Hissing at depth
14051 23 Dec 2019 @ 1130 --- Micah Kipple Gurgling, continuing as of posting. No water yet
12056 01 Jul 2019 @ 1257 01 Jul 2019 @ 1305 nails Sets of noisy splashes recurring every minute or so. Crystal Spring pulses at about the same time.
11943 24 Jun 2019 @ 2103 --- ldgordon Gurgling from low water level
2723 22 Aug 1999 @ 0000 --- JSJ Eruption of Slurp Geyser sometime in the ~mid-day of 22 August 1999. Info. from David Schwarz' video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awSzmZHupfY
06 Aug 2020 @ 1730 JSJ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1_msxxDjfY#t=5m04s Video showing Slurp Geyser's 5:30 PM-onward eruption on 6 August 2020.
12 Aug 1993 @ 1121 JSJ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug9Kp6hA148 Video by David Schwarz of Slurp Geyser's late morning eruption on 12 August 1993.
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Michael Crichton Would Have Turned 71: Today In Science & Science Fiction
Michael Crichton is one of those writers in the same camp as Philip K. Dick or Stephen King. It’s not that their style or material is similar at all, but rather that Hollywood has gone gaga over it throughout the years. How gaga? Here’s a list of movies and miniseries adapted from Critchton’s books: The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park (and its sequels), Rising Sun, Disclosure, Congo, Sphere, Coma, The 13th Warrior, and Timeline. And I’m sure I missed a few. Just as with Dick and King, most of those adaptations are forgettable, with a few true gems sprinkled among them. Still, Crichton is definitely one of the writers who had a huge impact on movies in the latter half of the 20th century, and without him we wouldn’t have gotten Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, so we’ve got to thank the guy for that. Hell, he even wrote and directed Westworld in 1973. Crichton was born on this day in 1942, and passed away on November 4, 2008.
Ira Steven Behr (October 23, 1954)
Turning 60 today is veteran genre TV writer/producer Ira Steven Behr, pictured above with a blue goatee, because apparently that’s his thing. Beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation, pretty much every other entry on Behr’s resume is a genre show. After having become a producer on TNG, he transitioned over to executive producer on Deep Space Nine for pretty much that show’s entire run. From there, he went on to work on James Cameron’s Dark Angel, the 2002 Twilight Zone resurrection hosted by Forest Whitaker, USA’s The 4400, and, most recently, Syfy’s Alphas. Happy birthday, Ira!
Today’s Television
Revolution (NBC, 8/7c) — “One Riot, One Ranger”
MYSTERIOUS SCIENCE IS ABOUND AND ALMOST NO ONE IS IMMUNE FROM SURPRISES – Aaron (Zak Orth) and Rachel (Elizabeth Mitchell) speculate on the extreme effects of Nano technology, while he also confides in Cynthia (Jessica Collins). Meanwhile a figure from Miles’s (Billy Burke) rugged past, Texas Ranger John Fry (Jim Beaver) reemerges. Fry could be Miles’ chance to bring down the Patriots in a big way, however Fry will need convincing. Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) has a surprise for Miles and her mother, while Secretary Allenford (Nicole Ari Parker) holds a secret important to Neville (Giancarlo Esposito).
Nova (PBS, 9/8c) — ”Making Stuff Wilder”
What happens when scientists open up nature’s toolbox? In “Making Stuff Wilder,” David Pogue explores bold new innovations inspired by the Earth’s greatest inventor, life itself. From robotic “mules” and “cheetahs” for the military, to fabrics born out of fish slime, host David Pogue travels the globe to find the world’s wildest new inventions and technologies. It is a journey that sees today’s microbes turned into tomorrow’s metallurgists, viruses building batteries, and ideas that change not just the stuff we make, but the way we make our stuff. As we develop our own new technologies, what can we learn from billions of years of nature’s research?
The Tomorrow People (The CW, 9/8c) — “Girl, Interrupted”
GETTING INVOLVED — Stephen (Robbie Amell) reluctantly attends a party with Astrid (Madeleine Mantock), but is startled when he hears that one of his classmates is in peril. Desperate to help, Stephen turns to John (Luke Mitchell) and Cara (Peyton List), but they make it clear that they do not help humans. Stephen secretly tries to enlist Cara’s help, which brings up her own feelings about her traumatic past. Meanwhile, John gives Stephen a mission to infiltrate Ultra’s main computer to help give them an advantage in finding new break-outs.
How the Earth Works (Science, 10/9c) — “Will Iceland Poison the Skies?”
Martin and Liz explore Iceland to see if its volcanoes could spread global chaos in the future. Martin samples an insane motorsport on ashy slopes and Liz has the dive of a lifetime between the continental plates of North America and Europe.
Today’s Comics
Futurama Comics #69 (Bongo Comics)
After too many years of running MomCorp without a soul, it’s finally Mom’s heart that is beginning to fail. But what is a multi-millionaire magnate supposed to do when her cryogenically frozen, designated organ donor is defrosted and delivering packages across the galaxy as part of the Planet Express crew?
Mass Effect: Foundation #4 (Dark Horse Comics)
Far away from Earth, on Gagarin Station — or “Brain Camp,” as its students call it — a young Kaidan Alenko undergoes his biotic training. During an exceptionally grueling lesson, Kaidan steps in to defend the lovely Rahna from the brutal Commander Vyrnnu — but his rash actions have tragic consequences!
Star Trek #26 (IDW Publishing)
The conflict between the Klingon and Romulan Empires erupts, with Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise trapped in the middle! Don’t miss the newest chapter of the ongoing series overseen by Star Trek Into Darkness writer/producer Roberto Orci!
Star Wars Legacy II #8 (Dark Horse Comics)
Ania Solo and Imperial Knight Jao’s search for Sith leads to the poisoned Mon Calamari homeworld of Dac — where their ship is boarded by pirates who have taken over the planet’s orbiting shipyards. Jao senses the dark side at work — especially when he and Ania are marked for death!
Sith, pirates, and the planet of the dead!
An FTL Warp Drive: Making Star Trek’s Dream Possible
Star Trek: Voyager Ship Was Just Created In Real Life
Mark Hamill Proves He Understands Star Trek Better Than Patrick Stewart
A New Star Trek Movie Was Just Released Online, Watch First Frontier
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I want to hire Soul Singers in Villa Park, IL
Showing 39 Soul Singers serving Villa Park, IL
1. Browse Soul Singers in Villa Park and contact your favorites
Booking a Villa Park Soul Singer through GigSalad offers you extra protection you can’t get anywhere else. You can rest easy knowing that your payment is secure, and that we’ll have your back in the event of any trouble that may occur. Learn more
What Villa Park Users Say
“Michele Thomas Music - Beautiful sounds will Lift You Up!” – Cassy A., reviewing Chicago Soul Singer Michele Thomas Music. More reviews
TYLEE.iatubk
19 miles from Villa Park
Chicago,IL R&B/HIP-HOP/ RAP ARTIST/SINGER IamTheUnbornKing My music contains a great 50/50 blend of HIP-HOP and R&B. I also perform covers of a wide range…
Jeff Diamond / The Human Jukebox
One Man Band / Soul Singer
Don W. said “Diamond was a class act from first call to finish. He was thorough in planning the event, helpful with the playlist, communicative with the plans, showed…”
Jeff Dewbray Sings
9 miles from Villa Park
From Paris to Jamaica to Vegas to Hawaii, Jeff has performed throughout the world. And there isn't a vocal style he hasn't mastered. Covering artists ranging from…
Lonne G
Tanya S. said “Lonne G was simply put, AWESOME!!!! I celebrated my 50th and wanted it to be extremely special. Lonne G made it that and more! Please take my word for…”
Michele Thomas Music
Cassy A. said “This bands energy and synergies will fill you up. I had the honor of experiencing them at the Uncommon Ground in Chicago last year. Definitely recommend…”
Techno Artist / Soul Singer
One man machine
Via Lauren
I love working in the studio and helping bring other people's music to life! My soul can tap into many different styles~ all with the same amount of heart.
Brittany Lee Moffitt
Wedding Singer / Soul Singer
Melissa R. said “I had never heard Brittany in person until our September 7th market. Wow!! I was blown away by not only her incredible voice, but her way of keeping our…”
140 miles from Villa Park
Mindy T. said “Kelly can do it all! She handled all of the music for my wedding AND reception and flawlessly played every end of the spectrum to keep all ages up and…”
Soul Singers in Villa Park, IL
Mmm... sing it sista! It’s always amazing to see a soul singer do their thing. Their love lies in making beautiful music, and boy can you hear that in their performance. It’s like nothin’ can get between them and the song they’re singing. Combine this breathtaking emotion with their flawless voice, and you got yourself one entertaining performer. Whether you’re lookin’ for the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Etta James, or Marvin Gaye, these soul singers have got ‘em all covered. Your guests will be thinking “Let’s Get It On” (because they’ll be singing along to Marvin’s famous song, of course!) Search for Soul Singers in Villa Park, Illinois above.
Please note that these Soul Singers may also travel to Oakbrook Terrace, Oak Brook, Berkeley, Hillside, Northlake, Stone Park, Wood Dale, Broadview, Western Springs, Itasca, La Grange Park, Clarendon Hills, Hines, Medinah, Amf Ohare, Schiller Park, River Grove, North Riverside, River Forest, Indian Head Park, Riverside, Winfield, Rosemont, Lyons, Burr Ridge, Willowbrook, McCook, Norridge, Hodgkins, and Harwood Heights.
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Kylie Minogue considers egg donation to start a family
By Jessica David
Kylie Minogue has revealed that she has considered egg donation to help her start a family, after fears that her gruelling battle with cancer may have affected her fertility. "I've looked into various options," says the pop princess. "I don't know if I'm going to go down any of those roads yet, but I do need to look at what might be potential paths that lead to a family. They can do incredible things now, especially in America."
Kylie, who was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, told how she looks "wistfully" at her baby nephew Ethan, the son of younger sister Dannii, but if motherhood does not happen for her, she is "content" with her life and finally feels that she is getting back to her pre-cancer best: "I do feel that then I'll almost be back in my own body, which would be great. I felt for such a long time that I was in a stranger's body."
SOURCE: GLAMOUR MAGAZINE
Prince William and Kate Middleton release their adorable family Christmas card (but it's a giddy Prince Louis who has our whole hearts)
A gorgeous family portrait.
Why we really need to talk about young people and grief
Meet two amazing charities here to support young grieving families.
Kylie Jenner is being slated for 'profiting from the pandemic' as she launches a Kylie Skin hand sanitiser
Unlike her previous launches, this product has set to sell out soon after its launch.
How to tell friends and family you're *not* buying Christmas gifts this year, without seeming like a Scrooge
*Obviously don't write a list for yourself, though.
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Results of the 7th season of the European team championship (2016-2017)
The European team championship season 2016-2017 is over, expect
the deciding matches between league borderline teams, and the grand finals in the European Go Congress 2017 Oberhof, Germany.
Final standings: http://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps
The top teams qualified for the Pandanet Go European Team Championship Finals 2017 are: Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Hungary. The finals will be played in Oberhof, on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd July 2017.
This year Finland will drop out from the League A to the League B and Poland will join the League A as the winner of the League B. Germany and Italy will play the A/B deciding match 30th May.
This year’s two bottom teams in the League B – Slovakia and Croatia – will drop out to the League C directly, and the third one – Belgium – will play a deciding match with the League C winner Norway.
Iceland will move to the League D and the teams of Slovenia and Georgia will play the deciding match about the place in the League C.
By Jhen at 23/05/2017 - 15:51
11th (and last round) of the European Team Championship: Belgium - Slovakia 2-2 --> Belgium in a test match
15/05: despite presenting the probably best team possible (Gerald Westhoff 6d; Lucas Neirynck 5d; François Gonze 4d; Jan Ramon 4d), Belgian team did not manage to do better than a draw against our direct competitor, Slovakia.
And still, we had to win this match as to avoid to match a test-match against the winner of the C-league (Norway)to determine whether we'll still play in B-league next year of be demoted to the C-league.
True, the mission was difficult because the Slovakian best player being Pavol Lisy, a professional player (who defeated as expected Gerald), the Belgians had to win on all the 3 other boards.
And this nearly happened: Lucas and Jan won...
Unfortunately, François lost..by a small margin (3,5 pts)...
Now, Belgium had to overcome Norway on 30/05...otherwise we play in C-league the next season !
Let's cross our fingers !...
Complete results of the round:
http://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps/rounds/352
Final standings:
http://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps
Lucman Bounoider (2d) is 2017 Belgian blitz champion
It is pity: there were just 4 participants in this 2017 edition of the Belgian championship of quick games (15 min pp.). -(
Lucman Bounoider (2d) remained indeafed and is the new Belgian blitz champion, ahead of Michael Silcher (5k) (2/3), young Louis Baudaux (6k) (1/3) and Jean-Denis Hennebert (5k) (0/3).
Hopefully, more people will participate next year in this fun tournament...
Lucas Neirynck wins the 2nd Pantin Tournament
On Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 May, 30 players have gathered for the second edition of the Pantin Tournament!
Lucas Neirynck, 5d managed to win all six rounds, earning the first place. Second came Brendan Guevel, 1d and third, with a slightly worse SOS, Olivier Drouot, 3d.
Congratulations to João Vieira, 13k who won five games out of six!
Complete results can be found here.
By Athanatos at 08/05/2017 - 16:39
Kachanovskij wins the 3rd Grand Slam (Berlin)
Along with the "European Pro Championship" (in February) and the "European Championship" (during the EG Congress, in July), the most (qualitatively) important European tournament of the year is the "Grand Slam Tournament", organized in Berlin.
The "Grand Slam" is a tournament making part of the European Grand Prix (EGP) which has existed now for a few years in Europe and which is sponsorised by CEGO (a Chinese firm). The EGP consists of a series of bonus point tournaments throughout the whole year in which the Grand Slam tournament counts for many points (I do not enter the details).
We report here the results of the 2017 (and 3rd) edition:
In the ¼ finals, there were still 2 amateurs left: Tanguy Le Calvé (FR, 6d) and Andreii Kravets (UA, 6d) while professional Catalin Taranu (RO, 5p) had already been eliminated by Alexander Dinerstein in the preliminary round.
In ¼ final,
Shikchin won against one of the 2 amateur, Le Calvé,
Dinerstein won against Jabarin,
Kachanovski against Surma and
Lisy against the other amateur, Kravets.
In semi-finals,
Dinerstein took the advantage on Shikchin,
and so did Kachanovski against Lisy.
The winner of the 3rd edition of the Grand Slam is…finally Kachanovski, who triumphed over Dinerstein in final, while Lisy won the small final for the 3rd place to a probably demotivated Shikchin...
Complete results: http://www.eurogofed.org/EuropeanGrandPrix/grandslam2017.html
10th round of the European Team Championship: Belgium - Poland 2-2
Belgium team made a great result yesterday in the European Team Championship: she/he managed to make a draw against the leader, Poland!
Gerald lost logically against the pro (!) Mateusz Surma and so did Lucas; but Jan and Nelis won their game.
Despite this great result, Belgium remains in the relegation zone. The last round on 16th May, against Slovakia, a direct competitor - both team have 6 points, will be decisive!
Present standings:
Oscar Vazquez (4d) wins in Liège
Oscar Vazquez (4d), the young (14 years old) Spanish rising star, won the 2nd edition of the tournament of Liège.
Second was Belgian champion Lucas Neirynck (5d) and Thomas Connor (3d) ended as bronze medail.
All three ended with 3 victories (out of 4 rounds).
Detailed here: https://www.gofed.be/webfm_send/398
Park Junghwan (KR) is World champion
Korean Park Junghwan remains unbeaten in the 1st edition of the World Championship which took place last week in Osaka.
2nd is Mi Yuting from China (who only lost to Park).
"Deep Zen Go", who/which represented the A.I. side, ended 3rd, thanks to its/her/his (:-) victory over...
4th - and last - Japanese Iwama Yuta, who did not gain a single victory
(this is rather worrying for Japan, beacause Yuta is by far the strongest Japanese go player !).
Most of the games were very disputed.
The results: http://www.worldgochampionship.net/english/
PS: meantime "Deep Zen Go" is not longer the 2nd strongest go program in the world (behind AlphaGo/Master): the (2nd) strongest program is now a chinese one, "Fine Art". "Fine Art" is improving so incredibly quickly that many expect him to catch up AlphaGo soon !
Read more about "Fine Art" here: https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2017/03/20/inside-tencents-ai-lab-how-...
He did it once again: Lucas Neirynck is Belgian Champion !
This WE, Lucas Neirynck (5d) conquered a new Belgian Champion title. He even remains unbeaten (9/9).
With this 7th title (!), he now equals the record of Jan Bogaerts, who had also been 7 times Belgian champion.
Gabriel Mercier (2d...now probably 3d) did a great performance by finishing second (7/9), ahead of bronze medail Kwinten Missiaen (3d), 6/9.
Also directly qualified for the 2018 finals are the 4th. François Gonze (4d) and the 5th. Nelis Vets (2d).
Surprisingly enough, Jan Ramon (4d) (5/9) will have to play the preliminaries rounds next year. And so will have Bram Vandenbon (2d), Joost Van Nieuwenhuizen (2k) and the 2 younsters, Louis Baudaux and Victor Schneider (both 6k).
Here are the detailled results: https://www.gofed.be/webfm_send/397
or: http://www.europeangodatabase.eu/EGD/Tournament_Card.php?&key=T170311K
(and here is the palmares of the Belgian Championship since 1st edition: http://www.gofed.be/node/260)
9th round of the European Team Championship: Belgium - Netherlands 2-2
On 21th of March, our team managed to make a draw against the "on paper" stronger team of Netherlands.
Lucas won against Gilles Van Eeden (6d), one of the strongest European players in the 80'and 90's. And Gabriel triumphed over a 3d.
François and Nelis lost logically against stronger (6d) players...
Despite this performance, Belgium stays in the red zone. There is still 2 rounds left...
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Escorts Babes Register | Shubble Age
Wimbledon sex
On a similar occasion, wimblddon man enters a house and hears sounds of sexual activity; he discovers a couple that is still fully clothed. A man enters a hotel room assuming it is vacant, but wimblsdon a woman, who is seen behind a glass shower door -- the middle is obscured, but her silhouette is still easily seen. Upon seeing the man, she exits the shower presumably nude we see her from the shoulders up and calmly greets him. A woman at a tennis match challenges a man to hit a target with a tennis ball, promising that if he does, she will sleep with him. A woman holds wimbledon sex tennis racket near her crotch in a way that mimics a penis.
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Sexual jobs in wimbledon
Television footage shows the ball boys and girls jumping in shock as the lightning hit the foundations of the court. Use the good vibes on your partner. These factors and the changes that have been made in light of diversity wimbledon sex point to the contradictions of sexual politics.
If you're feeling extra adventurous then here is a brief run-through of the other positions included in Ann Summer's wimbledon sex sex roundup: The Back Hand. Picture: Ella Byworth The classic Wimbledon experience involves being bitterly disappointed by dimbledon British person who has failed to perform…so maybe we should be wary of looking to it for sexual inspiration. A man uses a crude word to ask another man if he is having sex with the woman who is with him. Having to hold your leg up in the air like that, for upwards of five minutes?
Use your bullet vibe to administer powerful vibrations to his balls and perineum. I decided I would test out each of the positions in order to rate how fun they are. Here we go, from worst wimbledon sex best.
Cultural values about femininity and heterosexuality are used to justify separate practices which are presented as biological and fixed. The perineum is a small area, just before his anus, this space is packed full of nerve endings wimbledon sex allows you to pleasure is P-spot without having a backstage pass. A woman asks a man how he feels about "fooling around" before a match; she feels it can help her game -- it is implied that they have had sex when they are seen later.
Just a warning: they're not for the faint-hearted but one in particular caught our eye.
I look for teen sex
Elite sport is about sporting success and record setting but wimbledn is also very definitely about entertainment and equal prize money reflects this equality. This came about after the International Lawn Tennis Federation refused the world one, Niki Pilic, from playing at Wimbledon after he decided to play in a Canadian professional doubles tournament rather than attending wimbledon sex Davis Cup earlier in the year.
Raise your hand and dex stroke, cup and massage his scrotum. On a similar occasion, a man enters a house and hears sounds of sexual activity; he discovers a couple that is still fully clothed. In many ways, sportspeople are no different from any other celebrities - be they reality TV stars, rock stars or film stars.
Sport does not simply reflect the values of the wider social world, it makes those values. However, the withdrawal of so many top seeds did not allow an underdog to take the top spot in the wimbleddon.
Need a helping hand? After discovering another couple in his apartment, a man tells another man that he "might want to change the sheets.
We rank ann summers’ wimbledon-inspired sex positions
G-Spot Gel. British expression meaning cuddling and kissing. If you want to go the wimbledon sex, go to the gym. A total of 24, people attended the All England Lawn Tennis Club that day, with ticket holders able to wimbledno numerous games, including a third-round match between Gabriela Sabatini and Andrea Strnadova, and match on court one between three-time champion John McEnroe against Jean-Philippe Fleurian.
A critical analysis of sport offers some insight into ordinary life.
It does however, raise questions about what we are watching and why, and about how inequality and difference are also played out on court. Ann Summers have released a range of Wimbledon-themed sex positions for the tennis-obsessed wimbledon sex us to try at home.
Thank you for registering to historyextra
A woman at a tennis match challenges a man to hit a target with a tennis ball, promising that if he does, she will sleep with him. After winning one set each, the game was suspended for the evening. Elite, competitive sport requires enormous physical exertion and some less attractive body practices. It looks doable and the infamous sex-toy shop insist that 'this G-spot targeting position involves minimal effort and maximal pleasure.
Men are seen in a sauna: they are wimbledon sex and wearing towels around their waists. Want to share the love?
In another pre-sexual moment, a couple wimblledon each other to "keep it fun and relaxed"; again, sex is implied, but not seen. The dual stimulation will result in the most mind blowing climax. We earn a commission from some of the products featured in this article. A man tells a wimbledoj she was seen "snogging" in a parking lot.
A total of 79 players withdrew from the championships, 13 of which were original seeds. Wimbledon sex a warning: they're not for the faint-hearted but one in particular caught our eye.
Use your bullet vibe to administer powerful vibrations to his balls and perineum. The perineum is a small wimblwdon, just before his anus, this space is packed full of nerve endings and allows you to pleasure is P-spot without having a backstage wimbledon sex.
Would it even allow for a decent level of thrusting? A man is exhausted after a night of passion. Upon seeing wimbledon sex man, she exits the shower presumably nude we see her from the shoulders up and calmly greets him.
The wimbledon-inspired sex position that will spice up your sex life
We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. The match referee, Alan Mills, wimbledon sex White she should reconsider her outfit choice so that the match could continue the next day. Am I losing my mind?
The irritation felt by the spectator who is witnessing these grunts is troubling.
There is a very strong village community in Welford with numerous events throughout the course of the year often centred around the village hall and alcestfr Maypole.
For new couples, it is especially exciting to look forward to what is to come.
So many guys do need help.
On a similar occasion, a man enters a house and hears sounds of sexual activity; he discovers a couple that is still fully clothed.
I'm deciding between rapid city, more than.
I am a 27yo Eurasian girl from Singapore, i am also a certified masseuse.
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Trans-Siberian 8
Cairngorm Mountain Railway 2
Ice Festival 2
Sukie Chapman 92
Katie Shaw 31
Lorna Heatley 30
Jack Stacey 27
Persephone Hallow 22
Top winter travel experiences
By Sukie Chapman
Dig out your hat, gloves and coats and discover exactly what there is to get excited about during the winter months. Whether you consider yourself to be outdoorsy or not, some of these glittering spectacles just shouldn't be missed!
Dogs are a man's best friend right, so what better way to enjoy your winter holiday than being hauled across powder-fresh Scandinavian snow by a handsome husky? And it's a win-win situation as these high energy animals simply love to run - it's what they were bred for after all - and it means you don't have to exert yourself too much as you soak up the pristine white settings. The Northern Lights tour.
Snowshoe walking
With a history dating back potentially 6,000 years - snowshoes are a primitive yet effective way to traverse snow laden tundra, and not only that, they're also super fun (for a little while at least)! The principle of snowshoes works by spreading your weight across a greater surface area, allowing the pressure of your step to be more evenly distributed, stopping you from sinking into deep drifts, and using them allows you to access areas that you couldn't by any other method. It'll also keep you toasty as you hike through pretty landscapes which you'll have all to yourself, allowing you a peaceful retreat and some serene winter solitude.
Less of an activity more of a…well, lake, Lake Baikal in winter is truly a wonder to behold as it freezes over completely from shore to shore. Despite being the largest freshwater lake in the world, few people actually get to experience its natural beauty thanks to such a remote location in the vast prairies of Siberia, just north of the Mongolian border. But for those who do make it this far into the frozen north, you're in for a real treat! Take an adrenaline pumping hovercraft ride right out onto the lake, to a spot where ice fishers set up camp in an attempt to catch the local delicacy - Baikal omul. A social pastime for those who live in the area, ice fishing allows people to get together and put the world to rights during the short winter days, then it's back to dry land for a lakeside barbeque where you can savour the freshest fish you've probably ever eaten. Trans Siberian Express tour.
Some people are just gluttons for punishment, and the artists involved in Harbin's (China) annual ice festival definitely fall into this category. Every year contributors haul great slabs of ice from the nearby Songhua River, then spend hours outside in the cold perfecting their creations with specially designed tools. The end result is jaw dropping, with notable creations over past years including a replica of the Sphinx and a full-size recreation of Moscow's St Basil's Cathedral. The festival lasts for around a month, weather depending, but after that the spring sun begins to melt these awesome sculptures and they are lost forever, only to live on in the memories of those who came to see them in the flesh. Harbin Ice Festival
Nothing will make you feel as snug AND smug as a dip in a geochemically heated pool while watching everyone else freeze around you as you enjoy the naturally warm waters generated by activity deep underneath the earth's surface. It's the cosiest way to enjoy the great outdoors this time of year and Iceland, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy and Portugal, to name but a few, all boast their own unique public baths. The hard part comes when you have to get out and brave the cold again, though the transition from hot to cold is supposed to be excellent for your circulation!
Discoveries on your doorstep - the Stately Homes of Britain
61118 · By Jack Stacey
Great Britain is one of the best places to be if you’re into your stately homes.
From an Italian kitchen
61118 · By Lorna Heatley
Italy. It’s one of the best countries to go to in the whole world for food.
India's iconic hill stations
61118 · By Katie Shaw
Venture to the high-altitude hill and mountain regions of India and you will discover, hidden amongst vertiginous peaks and dense, lush forests, an array of exquisite hill stations.
Snowbound Steam in Deepest Germany
As part of an ongoing series, our content team share their favourite railway experiences in destinations across the world.
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Council shifts tonnes of rubbish left behind by Bank Holiday visitors to Cleethorpes
Thousands of tourists visited Cleethorpes yesterday for one of the hottest August Bank holidays on record
Jack Longstaff
A huge clean-up operation took place in Cleethorpes this morning to shift several tonnes of rubbish left behind by thousands of sun-seekers on August Bank Holiday Monday.
Hoards of tourists packed out the resort yesterday, taking to the bars, restaurants, cafés and fish and chip shops that line the resort, as temperatures soared to the mid-20s.
The searing heat made this year's August Bank Holiday one of the hottest on record.
The big clean up begins in Cleethorpes after tonnes of rubbish left behind on the beach and streets, after one of the hottest August bank holidays on record (Image: Duncan Young)
Families travelled from far and wide to soak up the late-summer sun, but left behind piles of rubbish on the streets and on the beach.
Bins overflowed and bags of rubbish could be seen strewn on street corners early this morning in the wake of one the busiest days for the resort so far this year,
Whilst great news for the local economy, the huge crowds left North East Lincolnshire Council workers with the mammoth task of cleaning up.
Street cleaning teams, including road sweepers, litter-pickers, bin lorries and a tractor to clear rubbish from the beach, took to the streets from the early hours of this morning.
Even before 8am the crews could be seen clearing up the mess left on the streets in a bid to ensure the resort remains clean and tidy.
North East Lincolnshire Council has been contacted for a statement.
North East Lincolnshire Council
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Master's Degree in Human Nutrition and Applied Dietetics
General Program Description About the School Gallery Ask a Question
Master ›
Health Care ›
Nutritional Science ›
Dietetics ›
Master's degree website: href = "https://www.ucm.es/nutricion-humana
General administrative inquiries: General Information Service. E-mail: informacion@ucm.es
Specific academic inquiries: Contact details of the Coordination of the Master in href = "https://www.ucm.es/nutricion-humana/coordinacion-y-profesorado
Type of education: Face-to-face.
Number of new entry places offered: 50
Total credits: 60
Languages taught: Spanish.
Indicative price: 45.02 euros per credit (for Spaniards, community foreigners and those who have legal status as residents in Spain) and 84.07 euros per credit for other students.
Master's Scholarship: see relevant information here .
The main objective of the University Master's Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics is to complement the training of graduates and delve into the different aspects of human nutrition and dietetics with the aim of promoting the health of populations and individuals and maintaining and recovering health.
It follows a formation in two modules, one basic and the other specialization, which, in turn, is each made up of different subjects ranging from basic aspects of research in human populations, transfer and communication of results, updating of knowledge, up to specific aspects. of diet in relation to lifestyles, as well as its importance in the most prevalent diseases and, as a conclusion, an End of Master Work module that integrates all the knowledge, abilities and skills developed in the previous modules, in order to develop In the student, the basic, general, transversal and specific competences displayed in the different modules.
Food Allergy and Intolerances
Food and Social Media
Advances in the Knowledge of Adipose Tissue Histophysiology: A New Therapeutic Target
Advances in Food Processing to Improve Nutritional Value
Cinenthropometry and Advanced Sports Nutrition
Communication, Transfer and Scientific Management
Diet and Nutrition in Vulnerable and At-Risk Populations
Nutritional Studies Design
Risk Assessment and Safety of Substances Present in Food
Pharmacology and Genetics Applied to Nutrition
New Challenges in Food Security
Nutrition, Diet and Surgery
Nutrition and Diet in Cancer
Nutrition and Diet in Cardiovascular and Respiratory Disease
Nutrition, Diet and Therapeutics in Chronic and Metabolic Diseases
Nutrigenetics and Aging
Final Master's Project
It is aimed at graduated students with a profile appropriate to the objectives, content and competencies to be developed by the University Master's Degree , specific training additional to the profile of the access degree will be valued.
Why study this master?
The structure of the University Master 's Degree allows specialization in the field of human and dietary nutrition in areas of special interest such as sports nutrition, nutrition and aging, nutrition in chronic diseases or in especially vulnerable populations, the importance of diet for the treatment of pathologies and the control of the main disorders produced by the inadequate diets of the population, without forgetting the study of food allergies.
This University Master is born with a triple purpose; on the one hand, offering graduates, graduates and graduates who want to improve and complete their training in the field of dietetics and human nutrition the opportunity to carry out specialized training, and on the other, offering them the necessary credits to gain a PhD, and finally being field of continuous and updated training that delves into the different aspects of human nutrition and dietetics with the aim of promoting the health of populations and individuals and maintaining and recovering health.
It provides comprehensive training, and specific scientific, humanistic and social training is provided that, by itself, justifies the opportunity of its offer, being transversal and globalizing in different aspects of the field of human nutrition and applied dietetics that covers issues dietary and technological and is oriented towards professional specialization in the health or public health field through the use of nutrition as a therapeutic weapon for the treatment of disease or as a preventive tool for maintaining health. This Master's Degree qualifies to carry out a social and health function of enormous importance, which covers the great demand for professionals specialized in nutrition whose presence is becoming essential in the health and hospital environment, in the hotel and catering sector, in the food industry, in education, in research and in institutions or organizations dedicated to health promotion.
Complete the formation of the 240 ECTS Bachelor's degrees for the Doctorate.
Admission requirements for masters
Non-enabling university masters
Be in possession of any of the following titles:
Spanish official university degree .
Title issued by an institution of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and empowering in the country of issue for access to Master's education.
Title of educational systems outside the EHEA that empowers in the country of issuance for access to Master's education, homologated or declared equivalent to the degree and academic level of Degree or Degree by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training . In case of lacking the mentioned homologation or equivalency, it will be necessary to have authorization or access permission granted by this University.
Or be carrying out studies leading to the obtaining of any of the previous degrees during the course in which the pre-registration is carried out and be in a position to prove the obtaining of the same before the date established in the corresponding call (see href = "https: //www.ucm.es/requisitos-de-admision-a-masteres ).
In addition, students from foreign educational systems, whose mother tongue is different from Spanish, must prove level B2 of the Spanish language (or higher) .
Specific requirements that any of the requested masters may have. You can consult it by accessing the website of the Master itself.
Last updated Oct 2020
La Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) es una institución de larga trayectoria y amplio reconocimiento social que aspira a situarse entre las primeras universidades de Europa y a consolidarse como ... Read More
La Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) es una institución de larga trayectoria y amplio reconocimiento social que aspira a situarse entre las primeras universidades de Europa y a consolidarse como centro de referencia para el continente latinoamericano. Read less
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Nigel Brown wins National Farrier Championships
Abergavenny Farrier Nigel Brown has this weekend become one of an elite group of farriers who have won the coveted UK National Championships.
The National Championships for Farriers has traditionally been held at The Forge, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire as part of the Royal Show farriery and blacksmith competitions. Since the show’s demise the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association has sought a new host in order to provide it with the public stage it deserves and so have decided that the National Championships will move around the ‘Royal’ shows in rotation, this year held at the Royal Bath & West Show on Saturday 1st June.
24 farriers from across the UK took part in a furious 75 minutes of shoeing and shoemaking. Competitors had to make, fit and nail on a three quarter fullered fore or hind shoe in addition to making two specimen shoes; one heavy horse hind shoe with calkins and one deep seated fullered bar shoe. Time in the class was exceptionally tight and a few competitors failed to finish.
The competition was judged this year by two previous winners of the World Championships, Grant Moon and Jim Blurton, who both remarked that the standard of work was exceptionally high.
The win in the National Championships completed an extremely successful week for Nigel who, in addition to winning the Worshipful Company of Farriers Best Shod Horse Award with client Gemma Hopkins Mounted Games Pony, also won Reserve Champion at the Bath & West Show.
“I don’t think it has sunk it yet. To win the National Championships is a dream come true” Nigel said. “I always enjoy the Bath & West competition and Reserve Champion was great. To win the National Championships was absolutely amazing.”
About Nigel Brown
Nigel Brown is an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers and runs a professional farriery business in Abergavenny, South Wales. He is an Approved Training Farrier, currently employing one apprentice. A member of the Welsh International Farriery Team Nigel participates in farriery competitions throughout the UK and abroad as part of his Continuing Professional Development.
www.nrbrownfarriers.co.uk
← Pembridge Horse Show will not be held this year unless a new organiser is foundNB date change for Fun Ride →
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Hertfordshire flood alerts in place after Storm Bella batters the country
Make sure you are prepared
Flood alerts and warnings have been issued after Storm Bella recently hit the country.
A flood alert has been put in place early this morning regarding the River Rhee - in Central Bedfordshire, Cambridgshire and Hertfordshire - after a night of heavy rain and harsh winds.
Gov.uk have warned that river levels remain higher than normal at Wimpole river gauge.
The roads and farmland are expected to be flooded as well as the River Rhee from Guilden Morden to Haslingfield, Cambridgshire.
More torrential rain is forecast for the next 24 hours meaning that river levels with constantly stay high.
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Gov.uk states: "We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are checking defences and liaising with emergency services.
"Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded."
Storm Bella had battered parts of neighbouring Bedfordshire, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Storm Bella: Families told to leave their homes in Bedfordshire as county hit by dangerous floods
It is expected to ease from tomorrow (December 28) with some parts of Hertfordshire even expecting a little snow.
If you are not sure what to do in case of a flood, click here for advice on what the alerts mean, how to prepare and recover from a flood.
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Home Rangers Steven Gerrard has ‘admitted’ he made a big mistake
Steven Gerrard has ‘admitted’ he made a big mistake
Did Steven Gerrard inadvertently just give us some insight into the problems we have been having over the last few weeks?
When Hagi got the ball, Gerrard was screaming to take an extra touch on the ball to get the ball under control.
That’s been the problem for the last two months. Too much time getting the ball just perfect, then telegraphing the pass to the defenders.
Then there was the half-time talk, where he clearly said to just go back to playing the style that Rangers played last year.
Suddenly Hibs were knocked backwards, and we had corner after corner, balls were coming in thick and fast, and we were playing like we did before the winter.
So, Gerrard just ‘admitted’ we had changed the way we were playing. Which is what we have been screaming about for the last few weeks on here, and getting a whole lot of flak for doing so.
So, he just admitted it was not the players’ fault…..It was the manager’s fault for changing the style.
Celtic change many things, but they one thing they do not change is putting bodies into the penalty box.
Yesterday that is what we did, in that second half, and thank God we did have players running around the penalty box, because otherwise we would never have scored – the goal came from a run off the ball in the area.
Gerrard, you did this last year. You did it again this year. If you want to make changes, do it after we are three goals up and then you can experiment.
Now it’s time to get back to regular wins, and to start catching Celtic again.
Ianis Hagi
Previous article“Right now he’s not there” – Rangers players rated v Hibs
Next articleExposed: Ryan Kent and the truth behind the criticism
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Group Fitness Membership
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Chasing Pheidippides: The Science of Endurance
Knowing the science will guide you in designing the best training regimen.
By Jason Karp, PhD
From the time the ancient Greek runner Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks’ victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon, humans have had a compelling interest in endurance activities. Indeed, humans have repeatedly tried to push the limits of endurance.
From the 50 marathons in 50 days and the 300 miles of nonstop running by Dean Karnazes to the average speed of 25 miles per hour by Lance Armstrong during a 3-week Tour de France—and countless other athletes’ incredible accomplishments—humans’ feats of endurance have been nothing short of remarkable. While only a very few can hold world-record marathon titles, according to www.marathonguide.com more than 400,000 people completed a marathon in the U.S. in 2007. What allows us to do that?
Cardiovascular Factors
The main cardiovascular factors that influence endurance are cardiac output and blood flow to the muscles. Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped per minute by the heart’s left ventricle; it is the product of stroke volume and heart rate. Stroke volume is the amount of blood the heart pumps with each contraction of its left ventricle; it is determined by the return of blood back to the heart through the venous circulation (venous return), the heart’s ability to contract quickly and forcefully (contractility), the amount of pressure in the left ventricle (preload) and aorta (afterload), and the size of the left ventricle. The larger the left ventricle, the more blood it can hold; the more blood it can hold, the more blood it can pump. One of the hallmark adaptations to cardiovascular endurance training is an increase in the size of the left ventricle. A large heart is so characteristic of genetically gifted and highly trained endurance athletes that the scientific and medical communities consider it a physiological condition called “athlete’s heart” (Naylor et al. 2008).
Once the blood leaves the heart, its flow to the muscles depends on a number of things:
the redistribution of blood away from other, less important tissues to the
active muscles
the amount of resistance in the blood vessels
adequate dilation of blood vessels, which depends on the interplay between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and their
associated hormones
oxygen transport capacity of the blood, which is determined by red blood cell volume and the amount of hemoglobin
the amount of myoglobin, which transports oxygen in the muscles
the density and volume of capillaries that perfuse the muscle fibers, determining the time available for diffusion into the muscle mitochondria as blood transits the capillary network.
Men have a greater stroke volume and cardiac output than women, meaning men send more blood and oxygen to the muscles, have more hemoglobin in their blood to transport oxygen and as a result have greater cardiovascular endurance.
Muscular Factors
Once oxygen is delivered to the muscles, they have to use the oxygen to regenerate energy (adenosine triphosphate = ATP) for muscle contraction. The amount of oxygen extracted and used by the muscles is largely dependent on the muscles’
mitochondrial and capillary volumes. The more capillaries that perfuse the muscle fibers, the shorter the diffusion distance for oxygen from the capillaries to the
mitochondria, which contain the enzymes involved in aerobic metabolism. The number of mitochondrial enzymes is also an important determinant of endurance, since enzymes, through their catalyzing
effect on chemical reactions, control the rate at which ATP is produced.
Together, the cardiac output and the amount of oxygen extracted and used by the muscles determine aerobic power (VO2max), the maximum volume of oxygen that your muscles can consume per minute. VO2max is considered the best single indicator of a person’s aerobic fitness. Since it was first measured in humans in the 1920s, it has become one of the most often measured physiological variables in exercise physiology. In 1930, David Dill and his colleagues were among the first physiologists to suggest that there are marked differences in the amount of oxygen different people use when running at the same speeds and that these differences in “economy” of oxygen use could be a major factor explaining differences in endurance performance (Dill, Talbot & Edwards 1930). Economy is the volume of oxygen (VO2) you use at submaximum exercise intensities.
Aerobic economy is an important indicator of endurance and is influenced by biomechanics, the proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, mitochondrial density and body weight. For example, if two clients have the same VO2max, yet client A uses 70% of VO2max and client B uses 80% while exercising at a specific intensity, the exercise feels easier for client A because that client is more economical. Therefore, client A can exercise at a higher intensity before feeling the same amount of fatigue as client B.
Metabolic Factors
Endurance is influenced by a number of metabolic factors, including the removal of lactate and the buffering of metabolic acidosis. At low exercise intensities, lactate is removed from the muscles as quickly as it is produced. At higher intensities, there is a greater reliance on anaerobic glycolysis for the production of ATP, and aerobic metabolism (Krebs cycle and electron transport chain) can’t keep up with the production of pyruvate from glycolysis. So pyruvate is converted into lactate, and lactate removal starts lagging behind lactate production, causing lactate to accumulate. Concomitant with lactate accumulation is the accumulation of hydrogen ions in muscles and blood, causing metabolic acidosis and the development of fatigue. The lactate threshold (LT) is the highest exercise intensity above which lactate production begins to exceed its removal, with blood lactate concentration beginning to increase exponentially.
The LT demarcates the transition between exercise that is almost purely aerobic and exercise that includes significant oxygen-independent (anaerobic) metabolism. (All exercise intensities have an anaerobic contribution, although that contribution is negligible when a person is exercising below the LT.) Thus, the
LT is an important determinant of endurance, since it represents the highest
intensity attainable without a significant anaerobic contribution to the activity (and thus the development of metabolic acidosis). The LT indicates the highest
exercise intensity that an individual can sustain for long periods of time.
The ability to metabolize fat also influences endurance, since the muscles’ preferred fuel—carbohydrate—is limited, providing enough energy for only about 100 minutes of marathon running (Newsholme 1981). By contrast, fat stores are virtually unlimited in humans; a 145-pound person with 18% body fat has enough fat to fuel about 5 days of marathon running (Newsholme 1981) or about 1,000 miles of walking (Coyle 2000). At low exercise intensities, some of carbohydrate’s metabolic responsibility for ATP regeneration is relieved by fat, in the form of free fatty acids in the blood and intramuscular triglycerides. But even with the contribution of fat oxidation helping to delay the depletion of glycogen,
moderate-intensity exercise (70%–75% VO2max) can be sustained for only 2–3 hours (Coyle et al. 1986).
While women are at a definite cardiovascular disadvantage to men, they seem to have a greater capacity to metabolize fat and conserve glycogen (Tarnopolsky 1998), which may give them an advantage for very long endurance activities. Indeed, in 2002 and 2003, Pam Reed beat all the men at the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon.
Neuromuscular Factors
There are a number of steps that lead to muscle contraction and force production. Briefly, in response to the central nervous system’s signal to a motor neuron, acetylcholine is released at the neuromuscular junction, causing the muscle membrane to depolarize. The ensuing action potential propagates deep into the muscle to the sarcoplasmic reticulum, from where calcium ions diffuse to the area of the contractile proteins actin and myosin. Once calcium causes the normally hidden binding sites on actin to be exposed to myosin, the two proteins combine. Finally, an ATP molecule contained inside the myosin is broken down, allowing the muscle to contract. For force production to continue, and for clients to maintain exercise intensity, the central nervous system has to increase the number of motor units recruited and increase the frequency of motor unit stimulation.
Endurance training stimulates many physiological, biochemical and molecular adaptations, including a greater storage of fuel (glycogen) in the muscles; an increase in intramuscular fat use; an increase in the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin, which improves blood vessels’ oxygen-carrying capability; a greater capillary network for a more rapid diffusion of oxygen into the muscles; and, through the complex activation of gene expression, an increase in mitochondrial density and the number of aerobic enzymes, which results in greater aerobic metabolic capacity.
High-intensity training (>90% VO2max) using long intervals (3–5 minutes) provides the greatest cardiovascular load, because clients repeatedly reach and sustain their maximum stroke volume, cardiac output and VO2max during the work periods. Long intervals are the most potent stimulus for improving VO2max (Billat 2001; Midgley, McNaughton & Jones 2007). However, short intervals (≤1 minute) can also improve VO2max, as long as the intervals are performed at a high intensity and with short, active recovery periods to keep VO2 elevated throughout the workout (see the sidebar “Methods for Improving Endurance”). While initial improvements in VO2max can come from increasing the volume of training, the need for intensity (for improved VO2max) increases as the client becomes more trained.
A large volume of endurance training may be the simplest way to increase the muscular factors associated with endurance (mitochondrial and capillary density and enzyme activity). Interval training has also been shown to increase aerobic enzyme activity (Talanian et al. 2007).
Exercising at the LT raises it to a higher intensity and percentage of VO2max, making a previously anaerobic intensity now high-aerobic. LT training can be done as a continuous workout or as intervals performed at LT intensity with short rest periods. LT intensity is about 75%–80% of heart rate maximum (HRmax). For clients who already have great endurance, LT intensity corresponds to about 85%–90% HRmax. The intensity should feel “comfortably hard.”
To increase fat use, clients should increase the volume of aerobic exercise and include a prolonged weekly workout. A large volume of endurance training enhances fat oxidation by increasing skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and respiratory capacity, allowing for the sparing of muscle glycogen (Holloszy & Coyle 1984).
In addition to increasing mitochondrial and capillary density, a large volume of endurance training may have a neuromuscular benefit. It is possible that, just as repetition of the walking movement changes a toddler’s walk from jerky to smooth, repetition of a specific muscular movement has an underrecognized neural component. Through countless repetitions, motor unit recruitment patterns, all of the steps involved in muscle contraction and perhaps even the relationship between breathing and limb movement are optimized to minimize oxygen cost and improve economy.
Power training can also target neuromuscular factors and aerobic economy. Studies have shown that both explosive strength training with heavy weights and plyometric training improve economy in endurance athletes (Hoff, Helgerud & Wisløff 2002; Jung 2003; Paavolainen et al. 1999; Spurrs, Murphy & Watsford 2003; Turner, Owings & Schwane 2003). When strength training, clients should use a very high intensity and very few repetitions to focus on neural adaptation rather than muscle hypertrophy (which would decrease economy by adding muscle mass).
Understanding the science of endurance will help fitness professionals in their work with clients. And if those clients train long enough, they’ll surely have enough endurance even to chase Pheidippides.
Sidebar: Methods for Improving Endurance
4 x 3 minutes at >90% HRmax with 2 minutes of active recovery
15 x 1 minute at same intensity as above workouts with 30 seconds of active recovery
high volume of endurance exercise, with progressive increases in volume (days per week and duration) over time
15-20 minutes at lactate threshold (LT) intensity
4 x 5 minutes at LT intensity with 1 minute of rest
60-90 minutes of continuous exercise
3-4 sets of 3-5 repetitions at >85% 1-repetition maximum
plyometrics (box jumps, squat jumps, leg bounds, bleacher hops, etc.)
Billat, L.V. 2001. Interval training for performance: A scientific and empirical practice. Special recommendations for middle- and long-distance running. Part I: Aerobic interval training. Sports Medicine, 31 (1), 13–31.
Coyle, E.F. 2000. Physical activity as a metabolic stressor. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72 (Suppl), 512S–20S.
Coyle, E.F., et al. 1986. Muscle glycogen utilization during prolonged strenuous exercise when fed carbohydrate. Journal of Applied Physiology, 61 (1), 165–72.
Dill, D.B., Talbot, J.H., & Edwards, H.T. 1930. Studies in muscular activity. VI: Response of several individuals to a fixed task. Journal of Physiology, 69, 267–305.
Hoff, J., Helgerud, J., & Wisløff, U. 2002. Endurance training into the next millennium; muscular strength training effects on aerobic endurance performance: A review. American Journal of Medicine in Sports, 4, 58–67.
Holloszy, J.O. & Coyle, E.F. 1984. Adaptations of skeletal muscle to endurance exercise and their metabolic consequences. Journal of Applied Physiology, 56 (4), 831–38.
Jung, A.P. 2003. The impact of resistance training on distance running performance. Sports Medicine, 33 (7), 539–52.
Midgley, A.W., McNaughton, L.R., & Jones, A.M. 2007. Training to enhance the physiological determinants of long-distance running performance. Sports Medicine, 37 (10), 857–80.
Naylor, L.H., et al. 2008. The athlete’s heart: A contemporary appraisal of the “Morganroth Hypothesis.” Sports Medicine, 38 (1), 69–90.
Newsholme, E.A. 1981. The glucose/fatty acid cycle and physical exhaustion. Ciba Foundation Symposium, 82, 89–101.
Paavolainen, L., et al. 1999. Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power. Journal of Applied Physiology, 86 (5), 1527–33.
Spurrs, R.W., Murphy, A.J., & Watsford, M.L. 2003. The effect of plyometric training on distance running performance. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 89 (1), 1–7.
Talanian, J.L., et al. 2007. Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women. Journal of Applied Physiology, 102, 1439–47.
Tarnopolsky, M.A. 1998. Gender differences in lipid metabolism during exercise and at rest. In M.A. Tarnopolsky (ed.), Gender Differences in Metabolism: Practical and Nutritional Implications (pp. 179–99). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Turner, A.M., Owings, M., & Schwane, J.A. 2003. Improvement in running economy after 6 weeks of plyometric training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17 (1), 60–67.
Jason Karp, PhD
A professional running coach, freelance writer, fitness consultant and PhD candidate in exercise physiology at Indiana University. He coaches runners of all levels through RunCoachJason.com.
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Shop ‘til you drop … on the couch
The Nutcracker Market Moves Online This November
You’ll have a whole month to get your holiday shopping done, though.
By Catherine Wendlandt 9/16/2020 at 10:53am
Image: Courtesy of stdesign/Shutterstock.com
Updated 10:15 a.m. Oct 5
Get your chance to go shopping before everything is sold out—the Nutcracker Market's early bird tickets went on sale Monday. The ticket, $30, gets you access to the online market on November 11, as well as gives you discounts, promotions, and giveaways.
Starting November 12, virtual access will be free for all shoppers through the end of the market on December 11.
Happy holidays and happy shopping, Houston.
Published 11 a.m. Sept 16
Well, Houston, we all knew (or at least suspected) this was going to happen. Given that the pandemic has gone on much longer than many initially anticipated, on Wednesday morning the Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market officially cancelled its in-person holiday market at NRG this November.
“Despite our best efforts, there simply was not a feasible way to host a safe event at the level that our merchants and shoppers expect and deserve,” Patsy Chapman, CEO of Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market, stated in a release. “While we remained hopeful for our event to continue as planned, this is the best decision for the health and safety of everyone involved.”
But don’t crack just yet, y’all. Like the spring market, the event is moving online, and this go-round, you’ll get actual weeks to get all your holiday shopping done. The in-person event had been originally slated for November 11—15. However, the virtual event will still begin on November 11 with the Wells Fargo Early Bird Day—for $30, get first pick on all the merchandise, plus special discounts and promotions—but from there, general shopping will take place November 12 to December 11. Imagine that: a whole month to holiday shop.
Spend that month browsing merchants from across the country and picking out your favorite home décor, clothing, jewelry, candles, gifts, and so much more. So far around 200 merchants have signed up to set up virtual stalls this year. Returning favorites include Two Tequila Sisters and Sassy Cups, while vendors making their Nutcracker debut include Boone Branch and Parker & Hyde.
Unlike the spring event, which was accessible through Facebook, this go-round will take place on a virtual shopping platform. More details about the platform and obtaining access will be announced in the coming weeks, according to the release.
Since the early 1980s, the Nutcracker Market has raised more than $74 million for the Houston Ballet Foundation. Last year's holiday market alone raised $5.4 million. This year 11 percent of the market’s merchandise sales, and all the proceeds from Early Bird Day, will support the Houston Ballet—which lost $1.3 million in revenue this year because of the pandemic—plus its Houston Ballet Academy, and scholarship programs.
“We thank everyone who has been rallying behind Nutcracker Market,” Chapman said. “This is not what we envisioned for our 40th year, but we look forward to celebrating in person and in style with our fans and supporters again next year. Until then, we hope we can count on our shoppers to join us virtually.”
While we’re all still waiting for details, we suggest you crank up the Tchaikovsky, pour some bubbly into your OJ, and get those online shopping fingers ready. We're betting there will be some intense clicking once the market goes live come November.
For more information, call 713-535-3231 or visit www.NutcrackerMarket.com.
Coronavirus, Nutcracker Market, Houston Ballet Academy, Houston Ballet
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Houston Ballet Offering Bayou City New Holiday Treat with Nutcracker Sweets
12/15/2020 By Adrianne Reece
Houston Ballet Is Bringing Its Classic Christmas Show into the Digital Age with Nutcracker Sweets
11/18/2020 By Emma Schkloven
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Bigger Words for Little Geniuses (Hardcover)
By Susan Patterson, James Patterson, Hsinping Pan (Illustrator)
Kids are never too young to start learning! With big, fun-to-say words for every letter of the alphabet, this book will deliver read-aloud laughs while teaching something new to both parent and child.
Do you know your gnashnabb from your widdershins? When was the last time you saw something orchidaceous or dolichopodous? Learn all these sophisticated words and more in this brilliant picture book by bestselling authors James and Susan Patterson!
With bright, imaginative artwork by Hsinping Pan, each word offers a definition and pronunciation to give your little genius--and you!--the most impressive vocabulary ever. Includes a list of extra words in the back for further learning.
Susan Solie Patterson has dreamed of writing and art directing a children's book since she received her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She wrote the New York Times bestselling Big Words for Little Geniuses and Cuddly Critters for Little Geniuses with her husband, James Patterson.
James Patterson is the world's bestselling author. The creator of Max Einstein and Middle School, he founded JIMMY Patterson to publish books that young readers will love. He lives in Florida with his family.
Praise for the Little Geniuses series
National Storytime Title
Best Picture Book of the Month selection
---Barnes and Noble
"Continuing the vocabulary-building they began in Big Words for Little Geniuses, the Pattersons focus here on creatures with names that beg to be sounded out and relished--from the "silly-looking aye-aye" to the "adorable" dumbo octopus, axolotl, and jerboa. Pan supplies stylized portraits in illustrations that are all bright colors and blobby shapes, as cheery as Matisse paper collages. ...This parade will give the next generation of Jane Goodalls and Roger Tory Petersons a leg up on some of the wild kingdom's more colorful (and sonorously named) residents."
--- Kirkus Reviews—-
"Sheer fun to say."
Publisher: jimmy patterson
Publication Date: September 2nd, 2019
Juvenile Fiction / Concepts / Alphabet
Juvenile Fiction / Concepts / Words
Juvenile Fiction / Bedtime & Dreams
Juvenile Fiction / School & Education
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Tag: Children’s Issues
Children’s issues: Parents who date after divorce
Written by: HHLaw (View All Posts • View Bio) Published: April 6, 2020
Most couples who divorce have children. Children’s issues in British Columbia seem to be numerous when kids’ parents are going through the divorce process or have gone through it. It takes a while for children to adjust to new situations, [...read full post]
Categorized: Children's Issues.
Tags: Children's Issues.
Children’s issues: When is it OK to leave a child unattended?
Written by: HHLaw (View All Posts • View Bio) Published: March 23, 2020
Some children like to assert their independence at an early age. That doesn’t mean parents should leave them unsupervised. Some kids in British Columbia are known as latchkey kids, but when it comes to children’s issues, the law is clear [...read full post]
Children’s issues: Abuse cases expected to rise amid pandemic
There is nothing more important than the welfare of a child. Amid a worldwide pandemic now taking place, the local area is more mindful of children’s issues and agencies acting as watchdogs for kids are bracing for increased incidents of [...read full post]
Children’s issues: Funding reworked for Child Advocacy Centres
Written by: HHLaw (View All Posts • View Bio) Published: February 26, 2020
The provincial government in Alberta has come up with what it says is a more efficient way to help vulnerable children. There are a number of important children’s issues in the province and the Government of Alberta is instituting a [...read full post]
Children’s issues: Should kids stay with non-Indigenous family?
A First Nation mom whose children are in the care of non-Indigenous foster parents is fighting the system to have her children remain where they are. Many children’s issues in British Columbia focus on what is best for the children [...read full post]
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Vancouver Island European Windows & Doors
European Windows & Doors in Vancouver Island
European Windows and Doors are in high demand across Canada and particularly in Vancouver Island, British Columbia where the moderate climate often brings about prolonged periods of precipitation and cold weather. European casement windows and a variety of durable exterior doors meet every design and functionality need while offering superior insulation and safety features.
HighQ Windows and Doors are manufactured in Europe where they are held to the highest manufacturing standards. Our windows and doors are designed and manufactured for commercial and residential uses and we frequently help both housing developers and home owners with full-home window and door replacements.
Capture a View and Insulate Vancouver Island Homes with European Windows & Doors
Our windows and doors are frequently sought-after by home owners and housing developers who are looking to showcase an uninterrupted view. European windows and doors offer usability and design features not offered by standard North American windows and doors, which integrate large panes of glass with ease of use. For these reasons our products are heavily used in Vancouver Island which has some of the most scenic views in the province.
One of the main concerns of both residential and commercial housing developers when considering integrating the larger panes of glass that European windows and doors allow for is insulation and energy efficiency. That is why all of our doors and windows offer a combination of the features below*:
Proprietary triple-seal technology for optimal air and water tightness.
Continuous frame concept for multi-lite configurations within one frame.
Frame options for greater installation flexibility.
High-definition finish for weather and stain resistance and ease of maintenance.
European saddle-rail sash design for exceptionally smooth, low-friction operation.
Internal sill drainage system for superior resistance to water leakage.
Multiple locking points for tight seal against sound, air and water infiltration
Tilt position for built-in security
Welded sloped sill option for efficient water runoff and easy cleaning.
Unique design for top-venting and sliding positions
Internal and external sash glazing options for performance flexibility.
Multiple chambers on main profiles for increased strength, energy performance and efficient water drainage.
All the Safety and Usability Features of European-made Windows & Doors in Vancouver Island
Commercial and residential housing developers are commonly concerned about the safety features of the windows and doors they’re considering installing; particularly when the products are being used in high-rises or high-density housing developments. The thickness of the glass that’s used, the tight-seal and top-venting features in addition to the multiple-locking points many of our products offer alleviate these concerns. Particularly when compared to their North American counterparts.
Finally, European Windows and Doors offer the Style & Usability Features that will Increase the Value of Vancouver Island Homes.
In addition to the remarkable benefits of European-made windows and doors as outlined above, they are highly sought after for the irreplaceable elegance and style they add to a structural design. European windows and doors add curb appeal that is difficult to replicate in North American windows and doors. The uniquely intuitive usability features play a large part in making them an increasingly attractive choice for residential and commercial housing developers in Vancouver Island.
Browse Some of Our Most Popular European Windows and Doors in Vancouver Island Below
Casement Windows and Pivot Windows for smaller window openings.
Folding Doors and Lift and Slide Doors to capture large uninterrupted views.
European-made French Doors to add classic elegance to indoor and outdoor spaces.
Tilting Windows and Doors that Turn and Glide for that famed European Usability.
*Not all of our products contain all of the features listed on this page. Please call us to ask for clarification on which specific products we offer include the particular features you’re looking for.*
Completed Projects in Vancouver Island
White Rock, Whistler and Vancouver Island
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An Ark in the Reeds
Preacher: Rev. Dudley Rose
Bible Text: Exodus 2:1-10 | Preacher: Rev. Dudley Rose | There arose a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph, says Exodus. Ominous words. An unforgiveable forgetfulness. There arose a Pharaoh who knew not, who didn’t remember Joseph, the refugee Hebrew, the young dreamer. You remember Joseph, though, he of the multi-colored coat whose brothers sold him into Egypt, Joseph who became a trusted advisor to Pharaoh. You remember Joseph, but there arose a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph, the interpreter of dreams who had saved Pharaoh’s kingdom from treachery and from famine. There arose a Pharaoh who had no idea that not so long ago the former exile from across the border was largely responsible for the plenty and security Egypt enjoyed.
There arose a Xenophobic Pharaoh who dreaded the Hebrews, Joseph’s descendants, every day, even as these immigrants built the Egyptian cities and tilled the farmlands under a heavy hand of oppressive and forced labor, doing work few if any of the Egyptians themselves would do. There arose a Pharaoh who feared that no matter how harsh he was, the immigrants would become more powerful and numerous than the Egyptian natives and would overcome them and bring the culture to ruin and demise. Every day Pharaoh feared Egypt would lose its demographic integrity, its native supremacy. Finally, Pharaoh, in a mad fit of fright and frustration gave the order, “Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile.”
The Nile River, the lifeblood of Egypt, this river Pharaoh made into a charnel bed, a place of death. Into the river whose floods overspread the land every year and brought fertility and abundance to the Egyptian fields, into this river this Pharaoh without so much as a thought about murdering innocent children or of families which would be wracked with grief, this Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew infants to be thrown in the river to die.
Into this grotesque, grim hour was born the Hebrew infant Moses. Stop. Slow down. Linger here for a moment. We can easily, too easily, rush to the resolution of the narrative. We know the story. We know Moses. We know how he meets God at the burning bush; how he leads the Israelites safely through the parted Red Sea waters; how he ascends Sinai and carries down the tablets of the Law; how he wanders with his cantankerous and stiff-necked people for forty years in the wilderness; and how just before he dies, he peers from Mount Nebo into the Promised Land. We can easily hasten in our mind’s eye through the details of today’s grim chapter and move to a happier ending, too easily.
The Hebrew Bible asks patience of us. It asks us not to hurry too quickly away from this painful moment that at first glance is of secondary interest or distracting. The text wants us to reside for a while in this deceptively simple narrative. It wants us to excavate barely hidden echoes of the primordial past and subtle hints of the liberation to come. It wants us to appreciate layers in the drama and their immense consequence. It invites us to fathom what the story points to and what it intends to gather up into an improbable triumph.
“Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son.” The tone is matter of fact. We don’t even hear the couple’s name.
Just another Hebrew family. Just another newborn boy to drown in the Nile. It goes on, “But when [the mother] saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months.”
There is an old Italian saying: Traduttore, traditore. Translator traitor, or, to translate is to betray. The mother saw that he was a fine baby—a perfectly adequate translation in one sense. More literally though, the text says simply, “She saw that the baby was good.” Suddenly Genesis volleys with our text. Using the exact same vocabulary and grammatical construction—God looked upon creation and saw that it was good—Moses’ mother looked upon her baby and saw that he was good. The Hebrew Bible doesn’t traffic in accidents, unintended coincidences. The text requires us to relate the good baby and God’s good creation.
Dare we say that we are required to correlate God, who sees the goodness of creation on the one hand with Moses’ mother, who sees the goodness of her son on the other? It’s dangerous ground, I know, to think of her like God. After all, the serpent’s ruse in Eden was just such an offer. The serpent told Eve, “God knows that when you eat [the fruit of the tree] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” There’s that same thought again, perceiving good.
Most Biblical theologians will say that Adam and Eve took a bite of the apple driven by desire to be like God. They desired to become wise. But their problem was a bit more subtle than that. Lured by the serpent, they wanted to grasp the wisdom and power of God for themselves, to own it for their own selfish purposes. They wanted to put themselves in the center. They wanted to replace God in a way. As Luther said, “Their hearts became turned in upon themselves.” Once they bit the apple, Adam and Eve had no love for creation except as a thing to be possessed.
Moses’ mother behaved quite differently. When she saw that her son was good, she thought not of herself. Instead, in love, she thought to protect the child at great risk to herself. She hid the baby for three months in defiance of Pharaoh’s edict. Moses’ mother is a direct counterexample to Adam and Eve.
For whatever reason, after three months, hiding the infant at home became untenable. So, Moses’ mother made a papyrus basket for him. Here comes that traitorous translator again. Literally, the text says that Moses’ mother made a papyrus ark for her son. It surely wasn’t an ark of many cubits like as Noah’s, but she made an ark. This ark and the one that Noah built are the only places in all the Bible that this word is used. As before, the use of this word is not an accidental coincidence. Moses mother made him an ark. Like Noah’s, it was to be an ark of salvation. As Noah’s ark saved humanity, this tiny papyrus ark saved the Hebrew people.
Then Moses’ mother made a curious, maybe brilliant, choice. She placed the ark-basket into the very river where Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew children to be drowned. Why did she do that? Was it the one place no one was likely to look? Was it an ironic act, obedient disobedience? Did she “accept” Pharaoh’s death sentence and place her child in the river, but with a caveat? Whatever the reason Moses’ mother had for placing the child in the reeds along the Nile, just as Noah’s ark provided safety on the treacherous waters of the flood, Moses’ ark provided safety in the treacherous waters of Pharaoh’s evil intentions.
Another pointer in this salvation narrative also emerges here. Moses’ mother placed the ark among the reeds on the bank of the river. Once more we must contend with the traitor- translator. Much later in the story, as a grown man, Moses will lead the people through the Red Sea, as the NRSV translates it. But the Hebrew text is better translated as ‘Sea of Reeds.’ If you look at your Bibles at Exodus 13:18 you will see that a footnote admits it should be translated that way. Centuries of Bibles and Bible maps show the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. But the Hebrew text says Sea of Reeds, and that’s important. The reeds in which Moses’ mother finds safety for her baby foreshadow the Sea of Reeds through which the man Moses will lead the people to liberation. The basket was placed in the Nile among the reeds, where the Hebrew children were to die, but Pharaoh’s plan was thwarted. Later the Sea of Reeds against which Pharaoh thinks he has the Hebrews trapped, will become the salvation of the Israelites and the doom of Pharaoh’s powerful army.
Before this foreshadowed liberation comes, there are more than a few white-knuckle moments and narrow escapes along the way. Back to the Nile, Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby in the ark among the reeds. This cannot be good news. The daughter of the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph, the daughter of the Pharaoh who was in dread of the Hebrews and ordered the death of their children, the daughter of the Pharaoh who feared that the immigrant Hebrews would overrun the legitimate Egyptians; this daughter is not the ideal person to discover the three- month-old infant Moses floating in a tiny basket among the reeds.
We know the story so well that it is a little difficult to fully grasp how unlikely what happens next was. Pharaoh’s daughter looked upon the child with compassion. A realist would find the story line unbelievable, a fairytale. Not only was the child saved from death by Pharaoh’s daughter, she paid Moses’ own mother a salary to nurse her own child, and when the boy grew up, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him. The boy who was supposed to be drowned was protected by his mother in defiance of Pharaoh’s command, placed in a tiny ark in the very place he was supposed to be drowned, among reeds that foreshadowed the Exodus. He was saved by Pharaoh’s daughter, and ultimately became Pharaoh’s grandson, but then led a rebellion and saved his people. The ironies are countless. The twist and turns are fantastic. No publisher in the land would buy it. It’s just too farfetched.
Oh, but what a story! Pharaoh, the powerful and narcissistic yet fearful ruler, sought to maintain the purity of his nation. He was desperately willing to do anything, no matter how unprincipled and cruel, to try. Yet his efforts created chaos, not only for the Hebrews but for the very nation he pretended to protect and for him himself. Pharaoh was everything God worried about in Eden—that human beings could turn knowledge and power into a cataclysmic inferno fueled by self-absorption and vainglory. One reading of the creation story in Genesis says that God took chaos and molded and shaped it into beauty and life and pronounced it good. God’s fear was that self-centered, power hungry human beings would reverse the work.
In our story this morning, though, we also find another possibility. In a time marked by chaos, fear and attempted genocide two women looked kindly upon the vulnerable infant Moses. His mother was one, and she saw that the child was good. Pharaoh’s daughter, the other, and she was filled with compassion. It is not a stretch to say that they both beheld the child with the mind of God. Neither woman was burdened with a long-range plan to control destiny. Neither placed herself at the center of her own universe. Neither was driven by dreadful self-absorption. Instead they both were moved by love and compassion. Now, to be honest, neither had any idea what she was doing or expecting in the long run. What did Moses’ mother think she would accomplish by hiding her child at home for three months and then floating him in a miniature papyrus ark in the Nile? How did Pharaoh’s daughter’s think saving the Hebrew child and later adopting him was going to fit into the future of the royal family? Neither knew.
Pharaoh’s daughter clearly had more power and privilege than Moses’ mother, but neither woman was motivated by power or privilege. In a dangerous and politically charged environment it is extraordinary that both women saw with such clarity what was good and right and acted with care and concern, even when they could not know what the ultimate result would be. It is extraordinary that moved only by love and compassion, they acted—no hesitation, no prevarication, no calculation.
Maybe this is why we are to linger over these few verses. This convoluted, unlikely plot; the markers the text gives to the reader—the echoes of creation and the flood and the ark; the pointers to the Sea of Reeds—none of these were premeditated by Moses’ mother or Pharaoh’s daughter. Their role was to respond to what appeared before them with love and compassion. The complicated plot was God’s to work out, and I like to think God found some pleasure in God’s own narrative imagination and storytelling. And, as it turns out, of course, God did get the story published. It’s a perennial best seller, too.
For our own part, as its readers, can we but stand in awe at what the simple actions of these two women set in motion? Their actions and the results stand in remarkable contrast to the efforts and failures of the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph. Amen.
Topics: Providence
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Home / India News / Officers’ flight cut to size
Officers’ flight cut to size
Steps are on the anvil to stop bureaucrats from flying frequently to gain mileage points that are then used by them for private travel, reports Soumyajit Pattnaik.
By Soumyajit Pattnaik | Hindustan Times, Bhubaneswar
Steps are on the anvil to stop bureaucrats from flying frequently to gain mileage points that are then used by them for private travel. The Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC), in its report, has referred to the prevalence of such flying practices and recommended suitable departmental action against such officers. Now, the official committee of secretaries constituted to study and review the panel’s report will take a final view on this issue, sources said.
The panel report says: “There is an increasing tendency on part of government officers to travel by air in order to gain mileage points which are then used by them for private travel. The commission is strongly of the view that official tours cannot be made a source of any profit. Accordingly, the commission recommends that henceforth all mileage points earned by government employees on tickets purchased for official travel should be utilised by the department concerned for the travel of its respective officers. Any usage of these mileage points for purposes of private travel by an officer should be viewed seriously and appropriate departmental action initiated.”
Presently, air travel is allowed to central government officers who draw a pay of Rs 16,400 and above. Officers drawing pay between Rs 12,300 and 16,400 can travel by air in case the distance is more than 500-kms and the journey cannot be completed overnight. Some concessions are also available for air travel to Port Blair and Lakshadweep.
The Fifth CPC had recommended that all Group-A officers should be allowed air travel with Group B, C & D employees being allowed to travel by AC II Tier train, First Class/AC III Tier and Sleeper Class train, respectively. These recommendations of Fifth CPC were not accepted by the government.
But the Sixth CPC has now said, “The conditions today have changed. With the opening up of skies to private airlines, cheap air-tickets are now available. Accordingly, air-travel in the lowest (economy) class may need to be allowed for many more grades of employees. This will improve productivity of the employee as the time spent on travel would be considerably reduced. The travel entitlements of all employees will, in any case, increase.”
The Sixth CPC has recommended no change in the travel entitlement for travel outside India.
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Best Things to Do When in Jervis Bay
By Patsy Gunter August 1, 2018 November 1, 2018
Jervis Bay is one of the top tourist spots in New South Wales, Australia. Despite its size, this place is renowned for its natural beauty and stunningly clear waters. It also boasts the whitest sand in the whole world. For first timers, you may be wondering what could be the best things to do there. Aside from enjoying its beautiful white sandy beaches, here are some things you must try to experience while in Jervis Bay.
Swimming, Snorkeling and Stand Up Paddleboarding
Known for its beautiful coast, one of the top activities to enjoy here is swimming. Aside from that, you can also go snorkelling to experience nature’s finest underwater beauty. The bay’s calm waters make it safe for stand up paddle boarding, which is becoming a hit lately.
After a long day’s adventures, feel nature’s embrace by camping here. Tourists and surfers love camping around the area due to its serene and relaxing ambience. Glamping is also becoming a trend for campers who want to go camping with some luxurious amenities. When you plan on glamping at Jervis Bay, you should book in advance since accommodations are usually fully booked especially during summer.
Food will never be missed out on anyone’s adventure itinerary. There are lots of restaurants nearby that serve mouth-watering seafood dishes. You can really enjoy a scenic view of Jervis Bay over a sumptuous meal. Some may also offer live entertainment evenings during Fridays and Saturdays to spice up the mood.
Wandering Along the Coast
You might think it’s boring but walking along the coastline of Jervis Bay is really exciting. Aside from feeling that immaculately white sand between your toes, you may also get a glimpse of dolphins playing in the waters. Remember to always get a swimwear ready as those crystal clear waters are always tempting.
You may not know but Jervis Bay also has naturally beautiful botanical gardens which you can visit during the day. Take a stroll, cook some barbecue and have a picnic on garden lawns amidst lovely flowers.
Get a Taste of Their Locally Grown Produce
Aside from being a coastal region, Jervis Bay is also proud of its great tasting wines from locally grown produce. Experience tasting some of the finest wine varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc directly at the cellar door. Aside from its wine, they also have local sweets such as marinated fruit, jams and craft beers.
Luxury Sailing
Experience the best of Jervis Bay waters by luxury sailing. Charter a boat for a memorable experience with you family or friends. You can experience diving, swimming, snorkeling and paddleboarding all in one package. Watch dolphins jump and play around. You might even spot some whales if you’re lucky. You may also enjoy a peaceful lunch at some uninhabited white island.
Learn more about the story of Jervis Bay through the exhibits in its museum. They house a lot of historical stuff, from maritime artefacts to photos and paintings which tells a lot about its heritage.
Want to take a vacation while enjoying nature’s finest views, try Jervis Bay. Surely, it will give you an adventure worth remembering.
glamping at Jervis Bay
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HomePower Gummies
Venture Catalysts Invests in Health Supplement Startup Power Gummies
IndianWeb2 April 14, 2020 0 Comments
Venture Catalysts, India’s first, largest and pioneering integrated incubator and accelerator platform, has recently invested in health supplement startup Power Gummies. Power Gummies, who had previously raised an investment from DSG Consumer Partners, has now raised an undisclosed amount from Venture Catalysts in an extension of its pre-Series A round of funding.
[caption id="attachment_144244" align="alignleft" width="200"] Divij Bajaj, Founder & CEO, Power Gummies[/caption]
Founded by Divij Bajaj in 2018, under the parent company Aesthetic Nutrition Pvt. Ltd, Power Gummies uses best-in-class ingredients with a vegan base to create delicious, fast-acting gummies. Its nutritional gummies are an amalgamation of Biotin, Zinc, Folic acid and ten other essential vitamins and minerals that act as a panacea for holistic nutrition needs. Power Gummies supplements are 100% vegetarian and are available across the globe through their website powergummies.com as well as on all major e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Netmeds and HealthKart.
Catering to modern, health-conscious consumers, Power Gummies’ products are gluten and gelatine-free, with zero pesticides and no artificial colour. The 100% vegetarian gummies are and FSSAI approved, which help restore and maintain the health of hair and nails. They are also lab tested for purity and scientifically-backed on biotin based research published in reports of the European Food & Safety Association.
Sharing his insights, Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, President and Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to as a Black Swan moment for the startup ecosystem. The viral outbreak and the subsequent lockdown have given rise to a new set of challenges for startups across sectors.
Even amidst this unprecedented scenario, the nutraceutical market continues to show trend-defying growth on the back of increasing consumer demand for natural nutritional supplements and heightened interest in preventive healthcare. This is consistent with a global shift towards a more holistic lifestyle. In India, Power Gummies has been a frontrunner in the nutraceutical industry, offering high-quality, FSSAI-approved products that meet the nutritional requirements of people of all ages. We are confident that the latest round of funding will enable Power Gummies to scale up their operations and reach new heights.”
Expressing his delight, Divij Bajaj, Founder & CEO, Power Gummies, said, “We are very happy and thrilled to extend our pre-Series A round of funding and get Venture Catalysts on board alongside DSGCP. With these incoming funds, we plan to optimise and manage our logistics, supply chain and engage in extensive R&D to come up with new variants based on various other needs such as weight management and period pain relief soon. We look forward to a fruitful association with VCats and their expertise in shaping our future endeavours within the healthcare supplement segment.”
Within just a year of inception, Power Gummies has sold 10,00,000+ gummies. The company now looks forward to expanding its footprint across tier-I and tier-II markets in India.
About Venture Catalysts (@vcatsIndia)
Venture Catalysts is India’s first integrated incubator. It invests $250K – $1.5 Million in early-stage startups that have the potential to create enduring value for over a long period of time. Venture Catalysts brings a lethal combination of Capital, Mentoring and Business Network to help investee companies to succeed. Our innovation provides value to startups through its angel network, funding, community, services and co-working facility.
About Power Gummies
Power Gummies is a New Delhi based company whose mission is to develop and market dietary supplements. Power Gummies will develop and launch a portfolio of vitamins and nutritional supplements in gummy format, without the use of capsules and pills. The first product is a hair vitamin supplement made from plant-based pectin, ten essential vitamins, biotin and folic acid. The company currently ships pan-India through their website and marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, and Nykaa. www.powergummies.com
Tags Power Gummies startup funding Startup Funding India Venture Catalysts
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Nikonn
"Poladroid (SX-70 Edition)"
Status: Ready to be shipped in 2-4 days
16.99€ incl. VAT plus shipping
Extremely nice, limited edition of 300 numbered copies, re-release of the NIKONN debut, incl. Bonus-CD and coming in a very special packaging, very much inspired by the Polaroid photo-packs…
Nikonn is one of the founding members of Mikro, the most successful electro group in Greece. Nikonn is the alias of Nikos Bitzenis, one of the leading electro artists in Greece, active since the late 80's - early 90's, one of the founders/owners of UNDO Records and ½ of FOTONOVELA…
Originaly released in 2006, the superb debut “Poladroid” became one of Undo Records biggest sellers. All units of the album were sold out for ages. It was – as a journlist claimed - “the perfect electronic chill-out album with beautiful widescreen textures, warm melodies and subtle beats”. This re-issue comes re-packaged in the same 70s replica Polaroid film box-set (which won the 1st Greek EVGE design award in 2006) and includes not only the original 20-tracks album, but also an exclusive 4-tracks bonus CD, feat. 4 previously unreleased Extended, Dub and Instru- mental versions of the tracks “Sunday“ and “Inside”!
InfraRot sales rank: -
Label: Undo
1. Sunday
2. Trip
3. Inside
4. Le Cadeau
5. Little Girl
6. Alphabet
7. Interlude 1
8. Goodbye
9. Stay Close
10. Clean
11. Fragile
13. Unsuspected Time
14. Interlude 2
15. Umbrellas
16. Faces
18. Silvercoast
19. Fade
20. Multi-Culti
21. Sunday (Sx-70 Dub Remix)
22. Sunday (Sx-70 Extended Version)
23. Inside (Sx-70 Extended Version)
24. Inside (Sx-70 Instrumental Version)
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FEBRUARY'S DOG TRAILER IS INCREDIBLE - EDITED BY GEORDIE DAY CREATED BY PAUL J. CHINOOK
CRITICS SAY THIS ALBERTA MADE FILM AND IT'S FOCUS ON THE THEME ABOUT THE AWARENESS OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, WILL HELP AUDIENCES BREAK THE STIGMA AND START TALKING ABOUT CREATING A MORE MENTALLY POSITIVE SOCIETY!
"FEBRUARY'S DOG IS SAID TO BE THE MOST ANTICIPATED FILM TO COME OUT THIS DECADE FROM CANADA. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MORE RELEVANT FILM FOR THE TIMES WE ARE ALL GOING THROUGH.
"In the face of this global issue the positive guidance of this film will benefit your meant health as it has for many already."
QUINN TEECHMA and PAUL J . CHINOOK with LnC STYLE
February’s Dog has released a movie trailer.
Check back here soon to find out how YOU can win TWO tickets to the February’s Dog movie premiere! You can walk the red carpet and get your picture taken with the stars of this great movie! Stay Tuned!!
MEDIA PAGE UPDATES
View the latest online and print articles, interviews, videos, promo materials and reviews of February’s Dog. The content on this page will be updated weekly.
February’s Dog BREAKING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS IN ALBERTA BY PAUL J. CHINOOK
February's Dog starring and created by written by, PAUL J. CHINOOK IS BREAKING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH AND BRINGING AWARENESS FOR ALBERTA OIL FIELD WORKERS AND PEOPLE IN CANADA
QUINN TEECHMA and PAUL. J CHINOOK withLnC STYLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRYCE CHINOOK
CREATED BY AND STARRING PAUL J. CHINOOK
What did you like most about playing Dale Walters in February’s Dog?
Dale is an extremely like able character. He’s very charismatic, charming, and easy going. There are layers to his character that the audience get exposed too as the story plays through. At first glance, it appears as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. That he’s just kind of like a big friendly dog eager to make everyone happy like he’s fed off smiles and laughter. We catch glimpses of the depth of thought he is capable of at the rare moment when he lets his guard down.
KEVIN DAVEY AND PAUL J. CHINOOK
It was very interesting to play Dale because there are numerous similarities between him and I, yet at the same time, we both handle situations differently. It was actually quite fascinating to see how even as the writer, that even my preconceived notions of Dale were broken when he showed up on set. He didn’t always respond as he was scripted too, he seemed to be able to create something new and intriguing and change the tone of a scene in a way that was beautiful. I can say that Emily and Nigel did the same, because as the writer, there were numerous script changes that were required as the story continued to evolve and take on new depths and push the film into a new realm. Dale had a wonderful way of being the center of attention, but making everyone feel special. I learned a lot from him.
“Hopefully what we can do is draw attention to mental health issues and draw attention to the resources and get people talking about these issues.” - Chinook
QUINN TEECHMA and PAUL. J CHINOOK
February's Dog takes place in Alberta in modern time and is set against the beautiful and iconic back drop of the Canadian Rocky Mountains under a shroud of winter snow. It follows two uniquely different, yet typical men – Dale Walters (played by Paul J. Chinook) is a very charismatic and lighthearted man that works hard to enjoy a life of adventure and excitement. His work partner, Nigel Loggins, (played by Kevin Davey) is a military veteran who is quiet and calculated in his approach towards life. The film opens with these two men as they are finishing up work on a Friday. They get called into the office at the end of the day and are laid off by their boss Arthur Newbury, (played by Doug Wilson) a very clean cut, to the point, middle aged manager. Arthur is a friend and suggests that this is just temporary, and that they will be back at work in three months – just as soon as market oil prices recover. Dale and Nigel interpret this “break” quite differently and act accordingly. Ultimately though, both men find themselves in a merciless battle against desperation and depression. How will they get out? Or will they? The story is a hard one but one that needs to be told as it is far too common silent battle in today’s society.
THE VIEWER EXPERIENCE
This film is like none other. It starts off light and comical and proceeds at a break neck pace through chaos and turmoil and will expose the audience to a complete and thorough roller coaster of emotions. We watch noble men stumble and fall, we are unexpectedly blindsided with unforeseen catastrophes, darkness washes out the light, lives are altered painfully and permanently right before our very eyes. This film will leave the viewer with thoughts and feelings that will require time and presence to process.
WILL STEPH WILSON WITH STARS KEVIN DAVEY AND PAUL J. CHINOOK
Being a fourth generation Albertan, my family is intimately connected to Alberta and its history. No matter where I am, this will always be home. I always thought Alberta would continue on its magical journey of providing for hard working people like it always did. I got into the oil & gas industry early on in my career to put my hard work in like all my family before me. The crash that started in the winter of 2014 was nothing short of a nightmare. After eighteen years of sacrifice and hard work, I found myself (along with many of my friends and peers) slowly sinking into a mental void — that no one was really talking about or wanting to address. Instead of conversations about vacations, children on the way, promotions, and generally uplifting stories, all I heard was my friends losing houses, divorces, depression, bankruptcies, and immense suffering. It was unbearable – seeing people I looked up to lose everything including confidence in themselves, and any hope for a better day. So when I thought about writing a screenplay, this story literally poured out of me. I think maybe partially out of necessity to deal with the trauma and also to help others deal with it as well.
Come check out our website at www.februarysdogmovie.com
Check out the beautifully designed informative engaging website designed by Doug Wilson.
See who stars int he film more about them, and to watch the trailer and connect with us for contests until the premiere.
FEBRUARY'S DOG
MOVIE'S TRAILER
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Search the Apprenticeship Standards
Clinical scientist
This apprenticeship standard has been approved for delivery by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. However, starts on the apprenticeship will only be possible once a suitable end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) has given an ‘in principle’ commitment to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to deliver assessments on this apprenticeship standard. Once the ‘in principle’ commitment has been approved by ESFA, funding for apprentice starts will be permitted and this message will be removed
Overview of the role
Collect, analyse and provide expert interpretation of clinical and specialist scientific data and make key judgements and decisions.
Details of standard
Occupation summary
This occupation is found in the healthcare service delivery environment, although some Clinical Scientists also work in academic research, public health and teaching, or in the medical equipment industry. Clinical Scientists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and have a specific scientific knowledge in a healthcare environment. This apprenticeship standard is available to individuals in professions which would be eligible for HCPC registration as a Clinical Scientist, which is a protected title.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to collect, analyse and provide expert interpretation of clinical and specialist scientific data and make key judgements and decisions about complex facts and clinical situations. Clinical Scientists communicate scientific and clinical information to ensure that the benefits to patients are maximised and the risks minimised. Where appropriate, Clinical Scientists instruct others to take action, taking into account the wider clinical resource implications of the decision. Clinical Scientists apply their knowledge to improve patient care in all clinical contexts, through the safe application of complex science, engineering or technology. Clinical Scientists lead innovation, research and development directed towards improving human health, and participate in education and training. For example, conducting research in new diagnostic and/or treatment techniques, developing new devices or processes, implementing and translating scientific research and advances into routine clinical practice and raising awareness of their role with the general public. They have a key role in assuring the quality of clinical scientific services.
Clinical Scientists work across the whole patient pathway and breadth of healthcare environments in a range of scientific areas, including but not limited to:
• Bioinformatics – collecting and analysing complex data systems
• Life sciences – examining, investigating, diagnosing and treatment of disease, including decontamination science, pathology, genetics and reproductive science
• Physical sciences and engineering – applying physical sciences and engineering to a large range of clinical services
• Physiological sciences – evaluating the performance and functionality of the body’s organs using technologies and specialist equipment to diagnose abnormalities, and to direct, and in some cases, provide therapeutic intervention and long-term management and care.
Further information about the areas above, is available from NHS Careers and the National School of Healthcare Science at https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/healthcare-science/roles-healthcare-science .
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a wide range of healthcare professionals in the healthcare sector including medical and nursing staff, allied health professionals and pharmacists, as well as patients, carers and relatives. They may also interact with other organisations such as professional and government bodies (Health and Safety Executive, Care Quality Commission and the Environment Agency), equipment manufacturers and their engineers, pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies and university academics.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for making clinical decisions, if appropriate, and providing scientific advice to patients, clinicians and other healthcare professionals that affect patients in many clinical contexts. Some Clinical Scientists deliver interventions in patient treatment and may be responsible for patient management. They would normally act independently within the bounds of their knowledge and scope of practice and would report to a more senior clinical scientist, such as a Consultant Clinical Scientist, who might be their head of department. Some Clinical Scientists may also advise trusts and national bodies on policy issues. They may supervise other staff assigned to support the services being provided.
Typical job titles include:
Clinical scientist Individuals undertaking this occupation must be registered with the hcpc as a clinical scientist (a protected title)
Typically, entry requirements are a 2:1 or 1st class honours degree or integrated master’s degree in a pure or applied science subject relevant to the specialism. Alternatively, a 2:2 honours degree with a higher degree in a subject relevant to the specialism would be suitable. Examples of relevant degrees are listed on the NSHCS website. Apprentices who successfully complete a HCPC approved apprenticeship programme will be eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Clinical Scientist.
Occupation duties
Duty 1 Work autonomously, safely and effectively within the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulated standards of proficiency for practice for clinical scientists, take professional accountability for and understand the limitations of own practice.
K1 K2 K3 K18 K20
S1 S2 S21 S22 S23 S24 S25
B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
Duty 2 Apply knowledge, relevant guidelines and judgement to complex clinical and scientific situations to inform decision making, and make decisions, as appropriate, to ensure effective patient-centred care.
K3 K4 K5 K6 K21
S3 S4 S5 S6 S12 S26
B1 B2 B4
Duty 3 Collect, process, analyse and critically evaluate raw data from a variety of sources in different forms in the context of clinical science and interpret the results to formulate a response which, for clinical practice/reporting data, takes into account the prevailing clinical and specialist scientific context.
Duty 4 Develop, optimise, evaluate, validate and verify new or existing scientific, technical, diagnostic, monitoring, treatment, therapeutic procedures.
K1 K3 K4 K5 K6
S1 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S12 S21
B2 B4
Duty 5 Instigate investigative techniques to solve problems and/or find the source of errors in a wide range of healthcare systems, devise and implement strategies to correct them and/or mitigate their effect where appropriate.
K3 K4 K5 K16
S2 S10 S11
Duty 6 Utilise evidence-based practice to adapt and embed new methodologies in routine scientific or clinical practice to drive forward science improvements in healthcare.
S1 S7 S9 S12 S13 S14 S16 S19 S26
Duty 7 Communicate and/or explain information which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, effectively to a diverse range of audiences, including colleagues, service users and the public, taking into account relevant prior knowledge to further their understanding at a level appropriate to their needs.
K8 K9
Duty 8 Adapt clinical and scientific practice to meet the needs of different groups and individuals.
Duty 9 Work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure integrated patient-centred care.
K8 K9 K10
S2 S15 S19 S27
Duty 10 Direct the management and further development of processes, systems and/or devices, to ensure continuous improvement, and their safe and effective use in the healthcare environment.
K1 K3 K11 K12 K13 K21
S1 S3 S16 S18 S21 S26
Duty 11 Design, implement, maintain and apply quality control and assurance techniques across clinical, scientific and technological activities across the healthcare environment, to ensure that a given intervention is fit for purpose.
K1 K12 K13 K21
Duty 12 Design, lead and undertake research and development projects and communicate results and conclusions.
K3 K4 K5 K7 K8 K14 K21
S4 S5 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S19 S22 S26
Duty 13 Supervise, train and/or lead others in own area of practice as appropriate, including setting and monitoring outcomes.
K1 K3 K4 K8 K11 K15
Duty 14 Establish, maintain and promote a safe and sustainable working environment conducive to safe clinical and scientific practice.
S1 S7 S21 S26
Duty 15 Drive service improvements and innovation, including effective use of resources and identification and implementation of change management initiatives, to ensure sustained optimal delivery of current and future clinical scientific services.
S6 S7 S9 S15 S16 S18 S23 S26
Duty 16 Record, maintain and handle clinical and scientific results and information, ensuring accuracy, integrity and security.
K1 K19 K21
Duty 17 Use continuing professional development (CPD), as required, for HCPC registration. Keep up to date and engage with current research and evidence-based practice.
S1 S12 S13 S14 S25
K1: The Health and Care Professions Council standards of proficiency for clinical scientists; codes of conduct for relevant professional bodies; appropriate legislation and statutory frameworks and employers’ policies and procedures. Back to Duty
K2: Limits of own scope of practice, knowledge and skills, including strategies for time and resource management. Back to Duty
K3: The underpinning clinical and scientific principles relevant to the specialism and associated practice. Back to Duty
K4: Anatomical, physiological and biochemical functions of the human body appropriate to the specialism. Back to Duty
K5: The analytical methodologies and techniques appropriate to the specialism and the performance and limitations of those methodologies. Back to Duty
K6: Current and emerging procedures relevant to professional practice. Back to Duty
K7: Information and data searching methodologies eg literature searching, patient data searches, search algorithms. Back to Duty
K8: Communication strategies within a healthcare context, including conflict management techniques, and the need to provide individuals with appropriate information. Back to Duty
K9: The differing needs and rights of individuals. Back to Duty
K10: The structure and function of health and social care services, including the composition of the multidisciplinary team and the role of the Clinical Scientist within it, relevant to scope of practice, and the need for effective partnership working, as appropriate. Back to Duty
K11: Leadership and management techniques and strategies appropriate to practice. Back to Duty
K12: Accreditation, quality systems and relevant quality standards, appropriate to the specialism. Back to Duty
K13: Audit methodologies, quality control and quality assurance techniques, reporting mechanisms and corrective action techniques. Back to Duty
K14: Strategies and methodologies for conducting effective research, including research ethics and statistics. Back to Duty
K15: Learning and development strategies, including giving and receiving feedback, appropriate to practice. Back to Duty
K16: Scientific and clinical investigation strategies and problem-solving techniques, appropriate to practice. Back to Duty
K17: Health and safety techniques relevant to areas of practice and the importance of maintaining own safety and that of patients, colleagues and the public. Back to Duty
K18: Change management theory in relation to innovation and service improvement, appropriate to practice. Back to Duty
K19: The concepts and limits of confidentiality, the principles of information governance and the processes and procedures for managing records and other information. Back to Duty
K20: The importance of continuing personal and professional development and the role of critical reflection in maintaining fitness to practise. Back to Duty
K21: The application, implementation and security of digital technology within the healthcare environment as appropriate to the specialism. Back to Duty
S1: Interpret, apply and comply with legislation, statutory frameworks, professional codes of practice and guidance. Back to Duty
S2: Work within limits of personal and professional competence, justify and take responsibility for own actions and seek advice when required. Manage time, resources and workload effectively. Back to Duty
S3: Apply relevant clinical and scientific knowledge in the clinical context, to inform own decision making, and that of service users, as appropriate. Back to Duty
S4: Select and perform, if required, the appropriate analytical technique relevant to the given data set. Back to Duty
S5: Assess and interpret the results of data analysis, report appropriately in accordance with the clinical and scientific context and recommend further investigations where appropriate. Back to Duty
S6: Identify emerging clinical, scientific, analytical, diagnostic, monitoring, treatment and therapeutic procedures, as appropriate, and adapt practice accordingly. Back to Duty
S7: Develop, introduce or modify procedures and techniques to improve service delivery, as appropriate. Back to Duty
S8: Compare procedures and techniques against references or baseline and take action, as appropriate. Back to Duty
S9: Assess and evaluate new technologies prior to their routine use. Back to Duty
S10: Select, and if necessary develop, the appropriate methodology(ies) to investigate the problem or source of error. Back to Duty
S11: Take appropriate action to correct problem or source of error based on the results of the investigation. Back to Duty
S12: Search and critically appraise scientific literature, including literature on new and emerging technologies, and other sources of information. Back to Duty
S13: Implement suitable evidence gathering strategies. Back to Duty
S14: Evaluate evidence to inform professional practice. Back to Duty
S15: Determine existing levels of knowledge, select the appropriate methodology(ies) and approaches in accordance with individuals’ needs, and use appropriate forms of communication with a diverse range of audiences, including colleagues and service users. Back to Duty
S16: Lead projects to successful completion within agreed and defined timescales eg audits, research projects Back to Duty
S17: Set, maintain and apply standards, and undertake quality control and assurance techniques. Back to Duty
S18: Undertake audit and take appropriate actions to ensure quality of processes/procedures. Back to Duty
S19: Present data and/or research findings to peers, in appropriate forms. Back to Duty
S20: Facilitate learning and provide feedback to others, as appropriate. Back to Duty
S21: Undertake risk assessments to identify and manage sources of risk in the workplace. Back to Duty
S22: Select the appropriate equipment and methodology(ies) to ensure safe working practices, in accordance with relevant guidelines and legislation. Back to Duty
S23: Maintain an effective audit trail and initiate service improvements. Back to Duty
S24: Keep accurate and comprehensive records and manage information in accordance with relevant legislation and guidelines. Back to Duty
S25: Reflect on and critically review practice and identify areas for personal and professional development. Back to Duty
S26: Use digital systems in a manner appropriate to function and clinical scientific context. Back to Duty
S27: Work in partnership with others to build sustainable professional relationships. Back to Duty
B1: Be open, honest, compassionate, act with integrity at all times, observe duty of candour and maintain confidentiality. Back to Duty
B2: Be respectful, non-judgemental and engage with people in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner. Back to Duty
B3: Maintain good character as outlined in professional Code of Conduct and refrain from activities which would bring the profession or organisation into disrepute. Back to Duty
B4: Be adaptable and able to respond professionally to all feedback. Back to Duty
B5: Be prepared to challenge and/or report inappropriate behaviours and practices, using established procedures. Back to Duty
B6: Take a proactive approach to own personal wellbeing, and that of others, reporting concerns as appropriate. Back to Duty
Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.
Occupational Level:
Duration (months):
This apprenticeship standard will be reviewed after three years
Status: Approved for delivery
Degree: non-degree qualification
Reference: ST0893
Date updated: 18/11/2020
Approved for delivery: 9 November 2020
Route: Health and science
Typical duration to gateway: 36 months (this does not include EPA period)
Maximum funding: £20000
Trailblazer contact(s): Robert.farley1@nhs.net
Employers involved in creating the standard: SOUTH TEES HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST, Barts Health NHS Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, Wythenshawe Hospital , Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals, Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Kings College Hospital Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Covance, National School of Healthcare Science, University of Manchester, Newcastle University, Society for Vascular Technology for GB&I, Association of Clinical Embryologists, British Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, British Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision Institute of Biomedical Science, NHS Blood and Transplant, Association for Clinical Genomic Science
LARS Code: 609
EQA Provider: Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) (TBC)
This EQA provider is currently going through the approval process with the Institute for Apprenticeships so is unable to help with any queries relating to this standard at the present time. If you need support in relation to any of the content on this page please contact the Institute for Apprenticeships.
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Clinical scientist assessment plan
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Allstate Beefs Up Agency Force
By Alexandria Baca | February 21, 2014
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, increased its agency count for the first time since 2007 as the company targeted growth beyond the U.S. East Coast to diversify risk.
The insurer had 11,600 Allstate-exclusive agencies and financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada as of Dec. 31, an increase of 400 from a year earlier. Locations served by exclusive agencies increased to 9,300 from 9,000, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson has turned his focus to expansion after spending years reducing sales to homeowners in states such as New York and Florida. Allstate had as many as 15,000 exclusive agencies and financial representatives in 2007.
“They see opportunities now where there’s really parts of the map, or areas within certain regions, where they feel like that’s a good underwriting environment,” Mark Dwelle, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a telephone interview before the annual filing.
Allstate plans to add 120 agency owners in Texas this year, including about 36 in the Houston region, where the company also intends to recruit about 240 people to its licensed sales staff, the insurer said in a Feb. 18 statement. The insurer has also targeted growth in Utah and Nevada. Building business in such states may allow the company to increase sales in coastal regions where growth was constrained amid concern that risk was too concentrated, the company has said.
Allstate had 6.08 million homeowner policies in force at its namesake brand as of Dec. 31, the same figure as three months earlier. It was the first time the company avoided a quarter-over-quarter decrease since at least 2010.
‘Selling Everything’
Wilson sees agency locations as a way to build relationships with customers who need multiple insurance products and prefer face-to-face interaction. For years Allstate lost market share in the auto market to Progressive Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Geico unit, which focus on sales through the Internet.
“We’re more interested in selling everything we can sell to you,” the CEO said Feb. 6 in a conference call with analysts. “So, if you thought of us as a retail store, we don’t just want to sell shirts, we want to sell shirts, pants, shoes, socks, whatever you need.”
The insurer has been highlighting coverage for renters and commercial clients. Wilson bought Esurance in 2011 to target customers who prefer to shop online.
Allstate gained 15 percent in the past year through yesterday, compared with the 26 percent rally of the 21-company Standard & Poor’s 500 Insurance Index. The insurer jumped 3.2 percent yesterday after announcing late Feb. 19 that it authorized the repurchase of as much as $2.5 billion in shares, the company’s biggest buyback plan since 2006.
–Editors: Dan Kraut, Dan Reichl
More Capitol Hill Rioters Face Firings Back at Work
Categories: National NewsTopics: Allstate, Allstate captive agents
Would love to see Allstate open exclusive agencies with in Auto Dealers in the Rochester NY area.
We all know Texas isn't big on regulations. Fertilizer anyone?
knowall says:
Is black mold now pretty much excluded there (Texas)?
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Five reasons why we love Hawai‘i’s Big Island
Five reasons why we love Hawai‘i's Big Island
The nature: Black sand and rock pools, calm waters, tilting palms, Chinese pines and stilt-rooted hala (or pandanus) – Hilo’s Richardson’s Beach has all the elements of a truly Hawaiian east-coast beach. Locals come here to relax, sit in the cool spring water–fed pools or the warmer ocean, and ‘talk story’. You’ll likely see sea turtles swimming, basking in the sun or feeding on the rocks. It’s also good for snorkelling and lots of families come with their keiki (children). Further north, the legendary ‘Akaka Falls is easily accessible, and while it may be busy it is magnificent. Enveloped in a jungle of flowering ginger, orchids and giant bamboo it plunges 135 metres into a gorge. Further north at Hawai‘i Tropical Botanical Garden, paths meander through coconut groves, past hibiscus, bromeliads, heliconias and orchids, waterfalls and gushing streams. There are fantastic coastal views, waterfalls, ravines and villages as you drive to the sacred, and beautiful, Waipi‘o Valley. You can overlook the inky black-sand beach and cliff-rimmed valley, but if you want to access it you will need a 4WD or be ready to commit to an extremely strenuous hike.
Hawai‘i Island, or the Big Island to its loyal devotees, is the ultimate combination of history, nature and an irresistible laidback lifestyle.
1. The manta rays
As you lay face down on the water’s surface, gently flapping your flippers, staring into the light-flooded night ocean, vast, spaceship-like manta rays glide up then turn, virtually belly-to-belly with you, their cavernous mouths agape as they filter feed.
It’s definitely up-close and personal – at once hypnotic and adrenalin inducing. The mantas swim in a mesmerising balletic dance, swooping and turning as they feed on microscopic plankton.
Although one of the largest creatures in the ocean – even small reef rays have wingspans up to four metres – they’re gentle giants, with no stingers or teeth.
The Hawai‘i Island’s Kona Coast is the best place in Hawai‘i for snorkelling with manta rays. Professional divers put lights on the ocean floor at night to illuminate the plankton and attract the mantas. And it’s beyond incredible.
If you prefer to watch from a distance, Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay has a special viewing area where mantas can be seen most evenings. You can have a drink at Ray’s on the Bay.
2. The volcanoes
It seems Madame Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, likes to stay busy. Kīlauea, her favoured home and one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has been oozing out molten lava consistently since 1983, creating more than 200 hectares of new land, not to mention destroying 181 houses in the process.
As we fly over it in a helicopter, a surreal lunar landscape unfolds: pitch black and silvery-sheened lava, patches of red, liquid rock and burning trees trapped by the lava flow. After sunset, a glow lights the sky as volcanic gas plumes out of Halema‘uma‘u crater. When the molten lava is most active, it spills into the ocean in a fiery, hissing act of creation.
In Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, south of Hilo, visitors can follow the Crater Rim Drive (almost 18km) through misty, fern-filled rainforest, past the volcanic ash-cloaked Ka‘ū desert, steam vents, sulphur banks and pit craters.
There are hiking trails and even camping, with the best view of Halema‘uma‘u crater from Jaggar Museum. Evening views are spectacular (there are night helicopter flights too). Mauna Loa, which is considered the world’s largest volcano and last erupted in 1984, is also in the park.
Check the visitor centre and park website for excellent information and activity updates: nps.gov/havo/index.htm
3. The downtown area
Downtown Hilo has a wonderfully indie flavour to it – part low-key local, part hippy – with a mix of Hawaiian and plantation history and a multicultural mélange in a tropical outpost.
It’s balmy and wet and blessed with an abundance of plumeria, hibiscus, ginger flowers, banyans and coconut palms.
Downtown is peppered with heritage buildings, such as the splendid 1932 Art Deco cinema, museums (the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center is well worth a look), cafés and hole-in the-wall take-outs.
For authentic local fare, try one of the okazuya, Japanese-cum-Hawaiian take-aways. Various fried morsels with sticky sauces – nori-wrapped fried chicken, shrimp tempura, crumbed and fried ahi – are packed into bento boxes to to go. Hilo Lunch Shop is a favourite.
A little more upmarket, Café Pesto taps into the town’s plantation heritage – a 1912 building with palms and rattan chairs. The menu is mainly Italian, but covers most bases.
And Conscious Culture Café serves fresh, organic food and home-brewed kombucha, while to sample super-fresh poke (pronounced poh-kay), the cubed and marinated raw fish Hawaiians love, try the Suisan Fish Market on the river.
4. The nature
Black sand and rock pools, calm waters, tilting palms, Chinese pines and stilt-rooted hala (or pandanus) – Hilo’s Richardson’s Beach has all the elements of a truly Hawaiian east-coast beach.
Locals come here to relax, sit in the cool spring water–fed pools or the warmer ocean, and ‘talk story’. You’ll likely see sea turtles swimming, basking in the sun or feeding on the rocks. It’s also good for snorkelling and lots of families come with their keiki (children).
Further north, the legendary ‘Akaka Falls is easily accessible, and while it may be busy it is magnificent. Enveloped in a jungle of flowering ginger, orchids and giant bamboo it plunges 135 metres into a gorge.
Further north at Hawai‘i Tropical Botanical Garden, paths meander through coconut groves, past hibiscus, bromeliads, heliconias and orchids, waterfalls and gushing streams.
There are fantastic coastal views, waterfalls, ravines and villages as you drive to the sacred, and beautiful, Waipi‘o Valley.
You can overlook the inky black-sand beach and cliff-rimmed valley, but if you want to access it you will need a 4WD or be ready to commit to an extremely strenuous hike.
Step into a world of sacred peace and tranquility and connect with Hawai‘i’s ancient past. A path weaves through a grove of palm trees with pale sand and spring-fed water pools; fierce, carved wooden images, or ki‘i, guard a temple.
A massive wall 300 metres long, built around 1550, separates the former royal grounds from the pu‘uhonua or ‘place of refuge’, one of Hawai‘i’s most sacred historic areas within Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park on the Hawai‘i Island’s west coast.
This was a place for ancient Hawaiian royalty, with fresh drinking water and a safe canoe-landing spot.
If a commoner broke a kapu, or taboo (many taboos were punishable by death) and was able to reach this ‘place of refuge’, a kahuna pule or priest could absolve the person.
A genuinely spiritual feeling pervades the park and the royal grounds with its impressive carvings, canoes and cultural artefacts are still considered sacred.
Note – bring your swimmers and snorkelling gear; the adjacent 2 Step Reef is one of the best near-shore snorkelling spots in Hawai‘i.
eighteen + 20 =
Where to eat in Honolulu, Hawai’i
Hawai‘i hasn’t always been considered a hot culinary destination – but change is afoot, as Megan Arkinstall discovers as she hits the capital’...
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InvictusHealthcare
What are we thankful for?
We asked Invictus Healthcare System Staff to share what they are thankful for. By sharing our gratitude with each other we build connections and improve the Invictus Healthcare System experience for all.
“I am thankful for life and all of its blessings and challenges. I am thankful for my job at Invictus and the opportunity to help people."
“My family, my job, and being able to return back to work after 5spine surgeries.”
“I am thankful for all the laughs I get to share with my patients; they always turn my day around.”
“I am thankful for Julie Austin.”
“I am thankful for my Christian faith, my family, my friends, my health and Invictus Healthcare System.”
“I am thankful Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, my family and my health. Thankful for Invictus, God bless.”
“I am grateful that we have a team who works together and helps each other when things get tough.”
“I am thankful to work for company that honestly cares about me. When COVID started, my doctor sent me home because I was high risk of contracting COVID; it was Jim’s idea for me to work from home. I was provided with a laptop so I could continue to work off site so I could stay safe. I am truly blessed to work for a company that has continued to put my health and wellbeing a priority. I am also thankful to have a supervisor that I can honestly call my friend.”
“I am thankful for the family-like atmosphere that makes coming to work so fun!”
“I am thankful for the great TEAM we have here at Invictus who come to work every day to help patients.”
“I am thankful for Taylor Schnare.”
“I am thankful for my patients. They always brighten my day.”
"I am thankful for my wonderful family both home and work we have our ups and downs but at the end of it all we support each other and lift each other up no matter what!"
Here's To New Beginnings!
Adopt A Senior 2020
The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer Is... Having An Invictus Employee Christmas Party!
info@invictus.healthcare
Copyright 2020 - Invictus Healthcare System
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Towards a New Palestinian Beginning
By: Ramzy Baroud Dec 14, 2017 No Comments
Category: Featured, Highlights, World Affairs Topics: History, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Occupation, Palestine Views: 820
Now that the American mask has completely fallen, Palestinians require an urgent rethinking of their own political priorities, alliances and national liberation strategy.
Business should not go on as usual after US President Donald Trump accepted Israel’s definition of Jerusalem as its capital, thus violating the overwhelming international consensus on the matter.
The Fatah movement, which has controlled the Palestinian Authority (PA) since its inception in 1994 has preempted people’s anger over the US move, by declaring a ‘day of rage.’ Several Palestinians were killed and many wounded in clashes throughout the Occupied Territories in what is understandably justified anger over the unwarranted American decision.
But the manipulation of Palestinian emotions by their leadership is contemptable to say the least. The ‘politics of rage’, which has been used by the Palestinian leadership in the past has often worked to deflect popular discontent and criticism.
Sure, Israel and the US deserve all the condemnation for their role in sustaining, funding and defending the military occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people. But the Palestinian leadership is deserving of much condemnation as well. Those who have willingly participated in the futile game of the ‘peace process’, dangling the dim prospect of a ‘two-state solution’ before despairing Palestinians should not get off the hook so easily.
Palestinian leaders and an army of officials, politicians, pundits and contractors made billions of dollars from foreign funds to keep the ‘peace process’ charade going for over 25 years, while the general population grew poorer and more despondent than ever.
Those who resisted, outside the acceptable political framework as presented by the Palestinian leadership were harassed, imprisoned and severely punished. This was the case not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank as well. Many journalists, academicians, artists and activists were treated harshly for questioning the PA’s methods throughout the years
Yet here we stand; the PA is calling on those very Palestinians to rage. Hamas too is calling for a new Intifada. Oddly, Palestinian factions never learned from history. Real, sustainable popular uprisings are never a response to a party’s or a politician’s call. It is a spontaneous, genuine cry for freedom that originates from the masses, not the political elites.
While some Palestinian factions are hoping that the people’s anger directed at the Israeli occupation will create a protective buffer so that they may survive another day, other groups are riding the wave for their own political interests.
But this is not a strategy. Sending bare-chested people to fight armed soldiers only to communicate a media message will neither pressure Israel nor the US. In fact, most American media outlets are centering their debate on ‘Palestinian violence’, as if the violence of the Israeli occupation is a non-issue, and as if the safety of Israelis is the most compelling concern at the moment
Nor will polite appeals to the US to reconsider its decision and pressure Trump to rescind his embassy move make a differenc
The final statement presented by the Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo on Saturday was an example of the lackluster language that will prove ineffective.
Calling on Trump to reverse his decision will not, on its own, make an iota of difference. The Palestinians need their Arab brethren to articulate a strong, unified position on the issue, without hesitating to explore new political routes and put real, tangible pressure on the US and Israel to relent.
The Palestinian leadership that has downgraded the Palestinian struggle, and wasted precious years chasing after an American mirage, must be held accountable.
Why are Palestinian leaders still holding so tightly to their chairs considering the amount of damage they have inflicted upon the Palestinian cause?
If the Palestinian leadership had a minimal degree of accountability and self-respect it would issue a heartfelt apology to the people for all the squandered time, energy and blood. It would immediately issue a total overhaul within its ranks, activate all Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) institutions; bring all factions together, under the umbrella of the PLO, to declare a new strategy regarding the increasingly bleak-looking future.
None of this has happened yet. Angry statements and calls for Palestinian mobilization without a common strategy will only feed the interests of the factions, but will, eventually prove of no help to the Palestinian people and their national aspirations.
In truth, ordinary Palestinians need neither Fatah nor Hamas to call for a ‘day of rage’ or a new Intifada. Their hate for the occupation and love for their city of Jerusalem requires no official communications. It is their fight. It has always been their fight, one that they have fought every single day in the last 50 years.
What Trump has done will have terrible consequences on the region for years to come. But one of the early outcomes is that it exposed the peace process as a complete charade and the US role for what it is, neither honest nor fair. But it should also expose the Palestinian leadership, for all of its failings and corruption.
If Palestinians are to start anew, they have to commence their journey with a new political discourse, with new blood, and a new future outlook that is based on unity, credence and competence. None of this can ever take place with the same old faces, the same tired language and the same dead-end politics.
It is time for a new beginning.
- Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His forthcoming book is ‘The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story’ (Pluto Press, London). Baroud has a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter and is a Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.
Category: Featured, Highlights, World Affairs
Topics: History, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Occupation, Palestine
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Praise & Achievements
Programs & Seminars
Legal War Zones
ICC Actions
Praise & Achievementsadmin2019-09-22T11:17:25+03:00
To the victims and their families
Against terror organizations and state sponsors of terrorism
In frozen terror assets
PRAISE FOR SHURAT HADIN
“I am again thankful to Shurat HaDin for what you are doing in the international arena, whether by raising our case, whether by fighting back in certain courts over the globe. Thank you for that.”
– Former Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
“The first thing – and Shurat HaDin has shown the way in this regard – is that we have to step out of the docket of the accused. We have to step away from the mind frame of those who are accused at all times and begin to become the plaintiff, the claimant. To begin to take initiatives with respect to taking back the narrative; of taking back the narrative and becoming the framers of the Israeli and Jewish people’s case and cause, rather than allowing others to frame it for us and to put us and keep us in the docket.”
– Canadian MP Professor Irwin Cotler.
“I have been in the military for 20 years, so I believe in going on the offensive. I don’t just like playing defense. It doesn’t work. Shurat HaDin is an important organization engaged in offensive lawfare…[and] I really support a lot of what they do.”
– Daniel Reisner, former legal advisor in the International Law Department of the IDF.
“Shurat HaDin, an Israeli law center, has been doing great work here, of both global and local scope—going after the Palestinian Authority in international arenas and local food co-ops considering grocery boycotts.
– Andrew Pessin, JNS.org.
“Shurat HaDin has gained an impressive reputation in the last decade for its vigorous efforts to use the law to hold Palestinian terror groups responsible for their crimes.”
– Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary magazine.
“Few entities have escaped Shurat HaDin’s reach — they have taken on global banks, insurance companies, foreign countries and any person or entity they believe assists terror groups.”
– David Suissa, Tribe Media/L.A. Jewish Journal
“Seeking justice for (Reverand Kim) Dong-Shik’s family is Israeli civil rights organization Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, which has been seeking justice for American and Israeli victims of terrorism since 2003.”
–Paul Miller, President Haym Salomon Center
“I am personally familiar with the important work of Shurat Hadin and greatly value their contribution to the fight for truth and justice against an industry of deliberate misrepresentation and lies…Today Israel is fighting on multiple fronts against many challenges. In the context of these challenges Shurat Hadin is an especially important member of those who fight for Israel and the Jewish people”
– Tzipi Hotoveli, Deputy Foreign Minister
“Shurat HaDin’s legal activists have proven themselves as important defenders of the world Jewish community. Their accomplishments are important milestones and victories for all of us who fight for Israel around the world.”
– Deputy Defense Minister, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
“I have followed the work of Nitsana and her Israel Law Center in Tel-Aviv since its inception a decade ago, noting her continuous successes both in and out of the courtroom, while admiring her innovation and determination…She truly reflects the best of the next generation of advocates for Israel and young leadership dedicating their extraordinary creativity and talents for the benefit of the world Jewish community.”
– Professor Alan Dershowitz
“Shurat HaDin [is] a true strategic asset to the very security of the State of Israel… and I’m speaking as someone who spent the last six years in Israel’s inner security cabinet, Shurat HaDin has been contributing immensely to our ability to defend ourselves.”
– Naftali Bennett, Education Minister
“What you do here I greatly admire. I want to thank you for the great work that you do here at Shurat Hadin.”
– The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., Former Prime Minister of Canada
“Nitsana Darshan Leitner and the entire Shurat HaDin team, thank you for everything you do to defend Israel around the world.”
– Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Minister for Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Information
“We are partners. You are leading the legal fight; we are leading the fight in the media and in the political arena.”
– Yair Lapid, Member of Knesset, Co-founder of Blue and White Party
“Nitsana and Avi and their whole team at Shurat HaDin have done extraordinary work in countering terrorism, extremism, and enemies of Israel, but also in giving the law a good name…You have taken the law and shown us how it can serve an extraordinarily important purpose in the pursuit of justice.”
– The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman, Former United States Senator from Connecticut
“Seventy-five years ago Germany murdered my grandparents and today they are telling my grandchildren if you come visit, don’t wear your Kippah because someone will try and hurt you or G-d forbid kill you. That is not right. And in seventy-five years nothing has changed. You know what’s changed? We have the Israel Defense Forces and we have Shurat HaDin… We need to have organizations funded like Shurat HaDin, with [the] legal talent that they have, to fight these battles.”
– Benjamin Brafman, Founder, Brafman & Associates, P.C
Recipient of the 2012 Moskowitz Prize fore Zionism:
https://moskowitzprize.com/en/
B.S.R. Tower 3 Metsada St. 9, Bnei Brak, 5126237, Israel
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Travis Perkins reveals plans to cut 2,500 jobs
Statement from builders' merchant confirms that 9% of its workforce is at risk
Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has confirmed plans to close 165 stores and cut 2,500 jobs from its workforce, citing the ‘challenging outlook’ ahead for trading.
In a statement released this morning, the firm said that they had ‘used Government schemes appropriately to protect employment during the lockdown period, giving time to make an initial assessment of the level of recovery of the trading environment as the lockdown eases’.
This assessment has concluded that ‘while there has been a significant recovery in trading volumes in recent weeks, it is evident that the UK is facing a recession and this will have a corresponding impact on the demand for building materials during 2020 and 2021’.
‘Reflecting the challenging outlook for our end-markets, the Group is taking regrettable but necessary actions to preserve the future competitiveness of the business.’
As a result, 165 branches across the UK – around 8% of stores – are expected to close. Those affected will be concentrated in the Merchant businesses, ‘focusing on small branches where it is either difficult to implement safe distancing practices, or where marginal profitability will be eroded in a reduced volume environment’, the company said.
In addition, the Group is consulting on above-branch roles in the distribution, administrative and sales functions. In total, the Group expects to reduce the number of colleagues by around 2,500 or approximately 9% of the workforce.
Nick Roberts, the group’s Chief Executive, commented: ‘The COVID pandemic has created significant challenges across our Group and I have been hugely encouraged by the flexibility of our colleagues to adapt our business models successfully and at pace, which has enabled us to maintain safe working practices whilst continuing to provide an effective service to our customers.
‘Whilst we have experienced improving trends more recently, we do not expect a return to pre-COVID trading conditions for some time and consequently we have had to take the very difficult decision to begin consultations on the closure of selected branches and to reduce our workforce to ensure we can protect the Group as a whole.
‘This is in no way a reflection on those employees impacted and we will do everything we can to support them during this process.
‘The Group has a robust balance sheet, strong liquidity position and I am confident that these proposed changes will enable us to trade successfully through this period of uncertainty with a cost base that better reflects the environment we are operating in.’
Travis Perkins
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アゾ化合物の光誘起電子移動反応
北村 彰英, 宮川 信一, 唐津 孝
Recently, photoinduced electron transfer (PET) reactions have been focused on the behavior of radical-ion species. Here, we review the PET reactions of azo compounds, especially azoalkanes. Ground state interactions between azoalkanes and cationic salts have been investigated. On the basis of these results, studies of CT band excitation and PET reactions are developed. There are two types of the PET reactions. One is the electron transfer from the excited molecules of azoalkanes to the ground state electron acceptor molecules, and the other is the electron transfer from the ground state molecules of azoalkanes to the excited electron acceptor molecules.
Products via cation intermediates are given from the reactions of acyclic azoalkanes and rearranged products are produced from the reaction of cyclic azo compounds. In many cases, it is known the back electron transfer plays very important role in the PET reaction.
海洋性天然毒brevetoxin Bの全合成
佐藤 光伸
Brevetoxin B (1), isolated from dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve Davis, has been known as a potent neurotoxin which affect to the current of Na ion of the Na channel.
The total synthesis of this complex compound that includes 11 trans-fused rings and 23 stereocenters was completed under the conduction of Prof. Nicolaou in 0.043% total yield (91% average yields) from 2-deoxy-D-ribose after more than 10 years struggle.
I herein wish to report the strategies and synthetic routes, both failed and successful, toward this destination.
エイズウイルスの複製に関わる転写因子を阻害する人工化合物の分子設計
藤田 美歌子, 大塚 雅巳
HF-κB, HIV-EP1 Sp1, and TBP-E1A are transcriptional proteins involved in the long terminal repeat-directed expression of human immunodeficiency virus. Inhibitory effect of eighteen compounds against NF-κB, HIV-EP1, Sp1, and E1A was studied. The compounds could be classified into six types based on the inhibitory profile. Compounds of class A (ent-2, 11, 12, 13) and B (7, 9) are inhibitory against HIV-EP1. Class B compounds are more potent. Class C (14) compound is a Spl inhibitor. Compounds of D class (1, ent-1, 2) and E (5, 6, 8, 10) are inhibitors of both HIV-EP1 and Sp1. Class E compounds are more potent. NF-κB, HIV-EP1, and Sp1 are all inhibited by class F compounds (3, 4). Zinc complexes of class F compounds inhibit NF-κB without affecting zinc finger proteins. Relevant combination of these inhibitors would allow us to inhibit NF-κB, HIV-EP1, and Sp1 in any combinations.
細胞内情報伝達に関与するイノシトールリン脂質の全合成と合成手法の開拓
渡辺 裕
Recently, inositol phospholipids in the plasma membrane have received much attention due to their biological interests in signal transduction systems. In order to accomplish efficient syntheses of the target lipids, a selective phosphorylation methodology via phosphonium salt and glycosylation method using glycosyl phosphite as a glycosyl donor were developed based on the phosphite chemistry. New benzoyl derivatives bearing oxyethyl substituents at the ortho position, so called PAC were devised for protecting hydroxyl groups. They can be removed chemoselectively by an intramolecular cyclization mode even in the presence of an acyl group and also function as an auxiliary in the diastereoselective acylation using a monomethyl tartrate derivative. Employing these synthetic strategies, synthesis of phosphatidylinositol 3, 4, 5-trisphosphate, 4, 5-bisphosphate, and 2, 6-dimannopyranosylphosphatidylinositol were achieved in an efficient and concise manner.
光学活性なジスルホンアミドを用いる触媒的不斉反応の開発
高橋 秀依, 吉岡 正人, 小林 進
In order to realize an efficient enantioselective reaction through a catalytic process, we were interested in modifying a Lewis acid by electron-withdrawing chiral ligands. In such a modified Lewis acid, the chiral ligand will not only provide a chiral environment, but also increase the acidity of Lewis acid. Among various electron-withdrawing groups we selected C2-symmetric disulfonamide as a chiral ligand considering both electronic and steric characters. We developed (1) alkylation of aldehydes catalyzed by disulfonamide-Ti (O-i-Pr) 4-dialkylzinc system, and (2) the first Simmons-Smith type cyclopropanation of allylic alcohols by Et2Zn-CH2I2-disulfonamide or Et2Zn-CH2I2-disulfonamide-Al system. The concept of modifying Lewis acid by electron-withdrawing chiral ligand will be helpful in developing other type of catalytic and enantioselective reactions.
分子内エン反応による立体選択的アゼピン環合成
野口 三千彦
The thermal reaction of the α, β-unsaturated aldehydes having an 2-alkenylamino moiety at the β-position gave the azepine derivatives in good to excellent yields. When these groups were a part of heterocycles, the azepine derivatives fused by the heterocyclic systems were obtained. The imines of the aldehydes also afforded the azepine derivatives. These azepine-ring formation could be regarded as the intramolecular carbonyl and imine ene reactions classified as a Type III ene reaction. Therein, the reactions proceeded in a highly stereoselective manner. The PM 3 calculations of the model reactions suggest that the azepine-ring formation is constituted of two consecutive orbital-allowed reactions; 1, 6 -hydrogen shift leading to conjugated azomethine ylides and 1, 7-electrocyclization of the azomethine ylides. The scope and limitations of the azepine-ring formation will be discussed.
トロンボポエチンのクローニングと臨床応用の可能性
宮崎 洋
Recently, we purified rat thrombopoietin (TPO) from the plasma of irradiated rats by using a quantitative in vitro assay and then determined its partial amino acid sequences. Based on the sequence information, we isolated a rat TPO cDNA, a human TPO cDNA and the human TPO gene. The human TPO protein comprises 353 amino acids, including a 21 amino acid residue signal peptide. The protein displays two domains, with an amino-terminal region essential for biological activity and a carboxyl-terminal region containing six potential sites for N-glycosylation. The expression of TPO mRNA is the highest in the liver among various tissues tested, indicating that the liver is the primary organ of TPO production. It is now evident that TPO is a lineage-dominant hematopoietic factor that primarily regulates megakaryocytopoiesis and thrombopoiesis. Data from in vitro studies have shown that TPO exhibits both megakaryocyte colony-stimulating and megakaryocyte maturation activities. In vivo, TPO or PEG-rHuMGDF (a truncated form of TPO, chemically modified with polythyelene glycol) markedly increases platelet production in normal animals. Administration of PEG-rHu-MGDF or TPO is highly effective in improving thrombocytopenia in myelosuppressed animal models, suggesting the therapeutic potential of this molecule.
北村 彰英, 小林 進, 野口 三千彦
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You are here: Home / Advice Centre / ERP Advice / Putting Traceability Top of Your Business Agenda
Advice Piece
6 MINUTE READ/0 Comments/by K3 Syspro
The threat of costly product recalls is having a significant impact on businesses across the manufacturing sector. Leadership teams are coming under increased pressure to track and account for every stage of the production process. They are having to focus much more closely on issues such as health and safety regulations; the challenges of global supply chains and cost cutting; an increase in malicious product tampering and extortion; growing consumer awareness and the influence of social media. In response, traceability software, crisis management plans, and mock recall simulations are now essential rather than nice-to-haves. Paulo de Matos, SYSPRO Chief Product Officer, insists our Movers and Makers shouldn’t be hoping for the best but planning for the worst.
Increased regulatory compliance requirements
As governments around the world attempt to improve standards in food and product safety, they are increasing their regulatory requirements. If your business does not have an effective traceability system, you can potentially be excluded from lucrative new markets, or lose existing markets to those who can clearly show the effectiveness of their traceability system.
In the UK, legal requirements under Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 states that: “The traceability of food, food-producing animals, and any other substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food shall be established at all stages of production, processing and distribution… To this end, such operators shall have in place systems and procedures which allow for this information to be made available to the competent authorities on demand.”
The EU’s General Food Law (2002) makes traceability compulsory for all food and feed businesses. It requires that all food and feed operators implement special traceability systems. They must be able to identify where their products have come from and where they are going and to rapidly provide this information to the relevant authorities. Businesses operating within the EU must ensure they comply with RAPEX: European Consumers Product Safety and Market Surveillance Regulations and the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation.
In addition, the ISO 9001:2015 Quality management System has a clause stating that any company wanting to achieve or retain their ISO 9001 Quality accreditation will need to have a traceability system.
While regulatory compliance is a major driver for organizations deciding to implement traceability systems, there are other factors at play. Sound management practice demands minimizing risk and mitigating damage to the brand in the face of a recall.
Understanding the costs
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s (AGCS) 2017 report titled: ‘Product Recall: Managing the Impact of the New Risk Landscape,’ revealed that the average costs of a recall can exceed US$1.65 million, rising to over US$14.5m, and almost US$9.42m for significant claims in automotive, and food and beverage respectively.
The report found that product or work defects were the cause of around 80% of recall claims, followed by product contamination (12%) driven by the food and beverage sector. Ten of the largest product recall claims were responsible for over 50% of the value of all analyzed claims. Nine of the top ten largest claims came from the automotive sector which was responsible for 71% of the value of all losses analysed.
The report also stated that the total-loss bill from the largest recall events has the potential to rise into the hundreds of millions, or even billions of Dollars when additional factors such as loss of sales and reputation, penalties, fines and litigation were considered. Additional costs that add to that figure include identification and tracking of defective products; repair, disposal and replacement; use of third-party consultants; laboratory testing and investigative costs; sanitizing contaminated factories; and rehabilitation costs to help restore the brand.
Things do go wrong
While we all hope they won’t, things do sometimes go wrong. What’s most important is the way you respond. Depending on what you produce, this can make the difference between potentially saving lives and rebounding from the situation; or putting lives at risk and losing a brand or business.
It’s not enough just to have visibility of the data you need to isolate the problem, such as the origins; builds; and customer destinations of products. A good ERP system with an integrated Traceability system will also allow you to take immediate steps to minimize the impact of a product recall. These steps include being able to quarantine products, as well as to trace and report on the location of affected products in the supply chain. All these steps are required to help you mitigate reputational damage and the associated financial impact.
The Recall management team must be able to quickly access the necessary information and act on it with speed. In acting quickly, you can potentially mitigate the size and cost of the recall, as well as limit potential danger to consumers by alerting them as soon as the problem is identified.
Additional benefits of a strong traceability system include greater control over quality, sustainability and helping assure customer safety. If you can rely on a robust traceability system, others within the business have the confidence to get on with their jobs at times of crisis and trust that everything is in hand.
Arguably the biggest ongoing global recall to date is the replacement of faulty airbags manufactured by Japanese firm Takata. The defective airbags were supplied to around 20 global manufacturers including Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Toyota, Subaru, Mercedes, Mazda, and Mitsubishi. They then fitted these airbags to as many as 60 million cars.
Most of the affected cars were manufactured between 2000 and 2015 and Honda was the first manufacturer to issue the recall notice three years later. To date, 23 people worldwide have died as a result of the exploding airbags, with 300 more injured. It has proved to be one of the most complex and costly recalls in history and was a disaster the company never recovered from. Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and its leadership team faces criminal charges.
Traceability has played a major role in the Takata disaster. While the company may have identified and notified automotive manufacturers it supplied to, there is still a massive second-hand vehicle market globally, and tracing all owners of the affected vehicles has proved difficult. Notices are still being issued for further recalls as more faulty units are being identified.
Planning for the worst helps you operate at your best
Manufacturers must ensure they have a comprehensive traceability plan in place. That includes having a product recall plan tested through regular “mock recalls” to guarantee it meets both regulatory and supply-chain partner requirements.
Among other things, you need your system to trace and account for every suspect item throughout the value chain; track lots; have good contact management to quickly identify and begin correspondence with affected customers; and be able to swiftly handle faulty merchandize returns. By having the right traceability system in place, businesses can both improve the effectiveness of a recall and dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete.
To download the Traceability and Product Recall Guide, go to:https://www.k3syspro.com/resource-centre/ebooks/how-to-manage-traceability-and-product-recalls/
Tags: Manufacturing
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Head of US vaccine effort resigns at request of incoming Biden administration but will stay through transition
Operation Warp Speed chief scientific adviser Moncef Slaoui has submitted his resignation at the request of the incoming Biden administration, a source with knowledge of the events tells CNN.
Slaoui confirmed on CNBC Wednesday that he submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday to the Trump administration. He’ll stay on for 30 days to “ensure a smooth transition,” a Biden transition official tells CNN.
Slaoui said on a call with reporters last week that he had been in contact with the Biden administration and has been asked to become a consultant when the transition happens, to which he’s agreed, CNN previously reported.
It’s common for a political appointee such as Slaoui to step down as part of the transition from one administration to another. It was not immediately clear if the Biden administration plans to appoint a successor.
During his appearance on CNBC, Slaoui touted the success of Operation Warp Speed in getting two vaccines authorized for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration and said it was always his intention to return to private life once that was achieved. He said he decided to “prolong” his “tenure in order to support the new team as they come in.”
“As you know, I’m very supportive of this upcoming administration and really, of course, of the operation and its mission and I will be doing everything I can to help them succeed,” Slaoui said.
Slaoui said he would continue to support the leadership of Operation Warp Speed “in every possible way” and expressed “hope and confidence” in the Biden administration’s ability to take over the nation’s vaccination effort.
It’s not clear whether Gen. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, will stay in his role.
Slaoui has been the most visible official leading the Trump administration’s vaccine effort and was a notable voice of cooperation at a time when President Donald Trump refused efforts to begin a transition following his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
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Category: Take action
Labour Assembly Against Austerity Conference
CND UK has a stall at the Labour Assembly Against Austerity Annual Conference in London this coming Saturday, 28th October. If you’ve a few hours to spare to help with this, please contact CND’s Campaigns Officer directly at Sara.Medi.Jones@cnduk.org. In return for helping us share information about CND at the stall, you’ll get a free ticket to the event.
Keep Space for Peace
The Pentagon is starting to spend £200m at Croughton, building the new Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre, developing this base’s communication, command and control systems into a ‘major intelligence base’.
Oxford CND invites you to a march and rally at USAF Croughton, on Saturday 7th October, 12.00 noon – 4.00pm. See details on below leaflet and map.
Continue reading “Keep Space for Peace”
UK participates in military exercises on Korean Peninsula
Did you know that despite heightened nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula Britain will be participating in US-led military exercises there for 10 days beginning Monday 21 August? These war games are a simulation of war with North Korea which involves around 85,000 land, sea and air personnel.
Trump demo 19.08.17
The government is keeping shtum about UK involvement – how many British forces and from which services will be taking part. But in the House of Lords in January, however, Defence Minister Earl Howe confirmed that the UK does take part in these exercises.
Corbyn’s response
Jeremy Corbyn has urged the government to refrain from military intervention in North Korea, including the forthcoming Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises.
Continue reading “UK participates in military exercises on Korean Peninsula”
Take a Contemporary Motion to your CLP
Labour CND has prepared two Contemporary Motions, which we hope Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) will submit for debate at the Labour Party conference. Please do take these motions to your CLP meetings – if the motions are chosen by delegates as one of the four for debate at the conference and passed, they should become Party policy! Please note there is a 250 word limit on motions submitted for conference.
The deadline for submission of Contemporary Motions is 14 September. It is therefore essential that your CLP meets to discuss this issue before that date. We need as many submissions as possible to ensure that we cannot be ignored by the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC).
Scrap the Trident Renewal Policy in 2017
The Labour Party conference is approaching!
Your Constituency Labour Party (CLP) can submit a Contemporary Motion for debate at the Labour Party conference. A motion is a way of putting forward a topic which, if chosen by delegates as one of the four for debate at the conference and passed, should become Party policy.
Trident renewal is the most important policy issue which needs to change. Otherwise the Labour Party manifesto 2017 is without equal.
Labour CND will put together suitable wording for a motion but this cannot be done until after 1 August when the National Policy Forum (NPF) report is released. The deadline for submission of Contemporary Motions is 14 September. It is therefore essential that your CLP meets to discuss this issue before that date.
We need as many submissions as possible to ensure that we cannot be ignored by the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC).
IT’S NOT TOO LATE, REGISTER NOW TO VOTE
The General Election takes place Thursday 8 June 2017. We hope that all Labour CND subscribers are already registered to vote on Thursday 8 June – and out on the doorstep with their local party.
But if someone you know hasn’t registered to vote yet, it’s not too late. Applications must be in by MONDAY 22 MAY. Registration takes just a couple of minutes, less time than making a cup of tea!
Register online now at gov.uk/register-to-vote/ If you know of anyone who wants to register but is not internet connected, download a form for them at yourvotematters.co.uk and get them to contact the local council.
Students with a different home and term-time addresses can register at both – but only vote in one. If this is you, chose which carefully – it can make a difference.
Postal votes – the deadline for a postal vote’s earlier, Friday 19 May.
Posted on June 27, 2016 May 8, 2017
Take action to stand with Jeremy Corbyn
Emergency Action NOW!
Many of the MPs who have resigned from his shadow cabinet and who are calling for Jeremy to go are the very same MPs who will vote for Trident replacement.Defend Corbyn! Oppose Trident!
Assemble outside Parliament this evening, 6pm, Monday 27 June – details here
Sign the Momentum petition in support of Corbyn
Sign the 38 Degrees petition in solidarity with Corbyn
Labour’s Defence Policy Review – ACT NOW
The Labour Party is reviewing its defence policy, including Trident. Everyone is eligible to participate in this review by making their views known to Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry, before the 30th April deadline.
Individuals and organisations can participate. You don’t have to be a Labour Party member or affiliate to do so. Submissions opposing Trident replacement can help influence the eventual outcome of Labour’s deliberations, and I urge you to consider making your views, and those of organisations you belong to, known. The advice below will, I hope, help you to do so.
Any individual or organisation, whether or not they’re a Labour Party member or affiliate. Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Emily Thornberry, the author of the policy review document says: ‘We want to seek the widest possible range of views, spanning academia, the defence industry, NGOs, parliamentarians, the public and, of course, members of the armed forces themselves.’
IS THERE A PARTICULAR FORMAT?
You can express your opinion in whatever way you find easiest. The Defence Policy Review document (attached) sets out Ms Thornberry’s terms of reference expressed as a series of questions which you might consider addressing.
The one about Trident is: ‘Will renewal of Britain?s nuclear capability aid us in protecting Britain?s security and pursuing the values that guide our foreign and defence policy?’
Ms Thornberry begins by explaining that the nature of the threats facing Britain has changed in the past 50 years, and outlining the overall context of Labour’s review with questions such as: ‘What role should Britain play in building a world that is more peaceful, more just and safer?’ and ‘What should be the values and principles that drive Britain’s strategic defence policy?’
HOW MUCH SHOULD I WRITE?
You don’t have to produce a magnum opus or a details scientific tract -?a paragraph or two will do. Say what you think of Trident and give a couple of reasons why. There’s an example below, use it as encouragement. But please don’t copy it -?large numbers of identical submissions won’t be effective.
I oppose the replacement of Trident because nuclear weapons cause indiscriminate harm to the planet and its people. Their possession by countries such as Britain encourages proliferation by others who don?t have nuclear weapons. Replacing Trident doesn?t protect us from the main risks facing this country such as terrorism, cyber-attack, or the effects of climate change like floods and storms. Trident is extremely expensive, costing an estimated ?100 billion over its lifetime. The money could be better used for socially productive and wealth-generating projects, which would help create more money for the government to spend on health, education and social services.
ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE
If you’re a member of a CND group, trade union branch or local Trades Council, or community campaign, please encourage them to take a view on Trident and send it to Labour’s Defence Review with a brief explanation of what the organisation is and how Trident replacement affects its members. For example: My housing association is opposed to Trident replacement because… and would prefer the money to be spent on improving existing social housing and on providing more affordable new homes.
SUBMISSIONS FROM BRANCH AND CONSTITUENCY LABOUR PARTIES
It?s important that as many individual party members as possible send their views to Ms Thornberry. This helps to give a true reflection of party opinion. If your Labour Party branch and/or constituency has adopted a policy against Trident replacement, send a copy of the resolution to the Defence Review, with a few comments about the views members expressed.
Many branch and constituency parties aren?t meeting in April because of elections. If your party has adopted a policy against Trident replacement in the past few years, send that to the Defence Policy Review with an explanation that the elections have prevented a contemporary discussion in time for the Defence Review deadline.
WHERE TO SEND YOUR VIEWS
Your submission should be emailed to defencereview@labour.org.uk If you don’t have email access, mail it to The Labour Party, Southside, 105 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QT
– A copy of Labour?s Defence Policy Review can be downloaded through the through the Labour CND website
– Labour CND has produced a Trident Fact File which can provide some information you need to draft a submission.
–CND UK website has a number of briefings you can use to dig out pertinent information.
Good luck, and thank you for your efforts,
Carol Turner
Vice Chair, Labour CND
Posted on August 11, 2015 May 4, 2017
Last chance to sign up to vote in leadership election
Labour CND C hair Jeremy Corbyn MP continues to make waves in the continuing leadershipelection. All of Jeremy’s rallies are standing room only and his policy positions, including opposition to Trident, are resonating with Labour Party members and supporters.
Jeremy is the only leadership candidate who opposes replacement of Trident. With a vote on replacement expected in Parliament in 2016 it is vital that the millions of anti-Trident voices are heard
If you have not yet signed up to vote in the election, you now have less than 24 hours to do so. You can either become a member of the Labour Party, pay £3 to become a registered support or if you are a member of an affiliated organisation it’s free. Once you have signed up you will receive your ballot papers in the next few days.
If you live in London you will also have the chance to vote for Labour’s mayoral candidate ahead of the election next year. Labour CND is supporting Diane Abbott, who has been a long standing supporter of a world without nuclear weapons.
You can sign up to vote in the election here: http://www.labour.org.uk/w/labour-party-supporters
Posted on July 1, 2015 May 4, 2017
Ensure your voice is heard in the leadership election
The Labour Party is currently in the process of deciding its next leader, with five candidates in the running at this stage. Only one, Jeremy Corbyn, is against the renewal of the UKs Trident nuclear weapons system which would not only keep the country on a Cold War footing but would also cost £100bn at a time of continuing austerity.
This is the first time that individuals can register as a supporter and vote on the next leader without being a member of the Labour Party. It will cost you £3 to become a Registered Supporter (or it is free if you are a member of a Trade Union or other organisation already affiliated to the Labour Party).
Jeremy has been an active supporter of CND for many years and Labour CND is working to ensure that he makes it to the final ballot. There is widespread support for disarmament across the Labour movement and it is vital that these views are represented in the leadership debate.
If you live in London you will also be able to vote for Labour’s mayoral candidate ahead of the 2016 election. Labour CND is recommending that you support Diane Abbott, who has a long standing position against nuclear weapons.
You must sign up by 12th August to be eligible to vote in these contests. Details at http://www.labour.org.uk/w/labour-party-supporters
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Nintendo Announces Multiple Pokémon Games
By: Max Cannon
We're definitely in the middle of the E3 season and nowadays we're seeing announcements before the big show has even started! Earlier this week, Nintendo announced some new Pokémon games coming in 2018 alongside a 2019 confirmation for the next mainline Pokémon game in the series.
Pokémon Quest changes the well-known aesthetic of the series. Courtesy of Nintendo
"Free-To-Start" Pokémon
With a visual style similar to Minecraft and a structure similar to most mobile games, Pokémon Quest surprised us with an immediate launch on the Nintendo Switch so you can play it right now! The game is heavy with mini-games and RPG grinding to hook you in and keep you playing for awhile. Personally, it seems a little light on content but considering that it is, as Nintendo calls it, "free-to-start" there's nothing to lose to try the game out for yourself, however, I doubt it'll keep gamers engaged for too long.
New Adventures Await in Pokémon Quest!
Pokémon: Let's Go!
Though it wasn't in our official predictions, there were so many rumors about Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee! that it may as well have been confirmed. These games are remakes of the original games, specifically based on Pokémon Yellow. Veteran gamers may be a little disappointed to see that the gameplay has been simplified (random Pokémon battles have been removed and all battles seem to be against trainers only) but Nintendo themselves have said that "these two titles are designed for players taking their first steps into the Pokémon video game world."
The original cast of Pokémon return to the Let's Go games. Courtesy of Nintendo
Seeing as it's been 20 years since the original games launched on the Game Boy, we've seen several entries in the franchise that have added more and more Pokémon. As someone that's been playing Pokémon since the first games came out, it's comforting to be familiar with every possible Pokémon available in the game. As noted in the trailer below, this game will include motion controls and a connection to Pokémon GO with a Pokéball accessory that can be used in both games.
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!
The Next Main Pokémon Game
During last year's E3, Nintendo announced that the new core Pokémon game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. During this incoming wave of news, we also got confirmation that the next mainline entry will release in 2019. This will be the most recent Pokémon game since Pokémon Sun and Moon came to the 3DS but what makes this confirmation so exciting is that it will be the first original, yet traditional, Pokémon game to release on a home console like the Nintendo Switch.
Though 2019's game is the first original Pokémon Game on Switch, Quest and Let's Go will tide us over! Courtesy of Nintendo
Odds are high that we could see more information about 2019's game during E3, but I'd suspect we get a deeper dive on every game mentioned here. Pokémon Quest is available now for Nintendo Switch and is coming soon to mobile devices while both Pokémon: Let's Go! games are coming to Switch on November 16, 2018.
Which Pokémon games are you looking forward to? What features would you want to see in future entries? Share your thoughts below!
Tags: game nintendo video play go red pokemon blue rpg Pikachu quest Switch
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What was the name of the sequel to Super Mario World?
Mario Town
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John Lewis & Partners Clifton Furnishing Fabric, Beige
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JoVE Journal Biochemistry
Dynamic biological processes in living cells, including those associated with plasma membrane organization, occur on various spatial and temporal scales, ranging from nanometers to micrometers and microseconds to minutes, respectively. Such a broad range of biological processes challenges conventional microscopy approaches. Here, we detail the procedure for implementing spot variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (svFCS) measurements using a classical fluorescence microscope that has been customized. The protocol includes a specific performance check of the svFCS setup and the guidelines for molecular diffusion measurements by svFCS on the plasma membrane of living cells under physiological conditions. Additionally, we provide a procedure for disrupting plasma membrane raft nanodomains by cholesterol oxidase treatment and demonstrate how these changes in the lateral organization of the plasma membrane might be revealed by svFCS analysis. In conclusion, this fluorescence-based method can provide unprecedented details on the lateral organization of the plasma membrane with the appropriate spatial and temporal resolution.
The complexity of plasma membrane organization
The current understanding of cell membrane organization has to take into account several aspects1. First, a complex lipid composition varies not only between cell types, but also within a single cell (membrane organelles/plasma membrane). Besides, associated or intrinsic membrane proteins are mostly organized in dynamic multimeric complexes, with large domains extending outside of the membrane, accounting for a significantly larger area than that of the transmembrane domains alone. Moreover, membrane-associated proteins exhibit specific lipid-binding or lipid-interacting capacities that play roles in regulating protein function. These depend directly on the local composition and accessibility of the lipids2.
Finally, a significant level of asymmetry is observed between two membrane leaflets due to the intrinsic asymmetric structure of membrane proteins and the distribution of lipids. Indeed, a lipid metabolic balance between synthesis and hydrolysis, combined with lipid flip-flop between the leaflets, generates such asymmetric distribution. As any transport across the bilayer is constrained by the free energy required to move the polar head group through the hydrophobic interior of the membranes, it is usually assisted by selective transporters. For each cell type, asymmetry tends to be firmly maintained. Altogether, these factors contribute to lateral inhomogeneity or compartmentalization of the plasma membrane3,4.
We enrich this representation of the plasma membrane by taking into account the intrinsic molecular diffusion within and across the bilayer, which contributes to the dynamic lateral heterogeneity on a scale of tenths to hundreds of nanometers and microseconds to seconds. For instance, lipid-dependent membrane nanodomains—the so-called lipid rafts, defined as cholesterol, and sphingolipid-rich signaling platforms—contribute to the compartmentalization of the plasma membrane5,6. However, the current view of membrane organization is not restricted to lipid rafts alone. Membrane nanodomains are more complex and heterogeneous in composition, origin, and function. Still, their presence at the plasma membrane has to be tightly coordinated, and dynamic interactions between proteins and lipids seem to be important in the spatial distribution and chemical modification of membrane nanodomains1,3,7,8.
The svFCS principle and its application to probe the organization of the plasma membrane
Although much progress has been made in the analysis of membrane domains, mainly through biophysical techniques, the determinants that dictate the local organization of the plasma membrane need to be refined with appropriate spatial and temporal resolution. Determinants based on tracking individual molecules provide excellent spatial precision and allow the characterization of different modes of motion9,10,11,12, but have a limited temporal resolution with classical low camera frame rates and require more experimental effort to record a significant number of trajectories. Alternatively, the diffusion coefficient of membrane components can be evaluated by Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP)13 or Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS)14. The latter has received more attention, mainly because of its high sensitivity and selectivity, microscopic detection volume, low invasiveness, and wide dynamic range15.
The conceptual basis of FCS was introduced by Magde and colleagues about 50 years ago16,17. It is based on recording the fluctuation of fluorescence emission with a high temporal resolution (from µs to s)18. In its modern version, measurements in living cells are performed by a small confocal excitation volume (~0.3 femtoliters) positioned within a region of interest (e.g., at the plasma membrane); the fluorescence signal generated by diffusing fluorescent molecules going in and out of the observation volume is collected with very high temporal resolution (i.e., the time of arrival of each photon on the detector). Then, the signal is computed to generate the autocorrelation function (ACF), from which the average time td (diffusion time) for which a molecule stays within the focal volume is extracted, together with the mean number of particles, (N), present in the observation volume, which is inversely proportional to the amplitude of the ACF. This last parameter might be useful information on the molecule concentration within the observation volume.
Since then, a growing number of FCS modalities have been implemented thanks to rapidly developing instrumentation in biophotonics, allowing the description of dynamic phenomena occurring in living systems. Still, a molecular species would experience a more overlapping distribution of the diffusion coefficient values, which is usually reflected by an anomalous diffusion characteristic, in which molecules diffuse with a nonlinear relationship in time19, and difficulty in identifying the biological meaning of this anomalous subdiffusion. In the past, this difficulty has been somewhat overcome by recording the molecular diffusion by FRAP from areas of various sizes, rather than from just one area, thereby providing additional spatial information. This enabled, for instance, the conceptualization of membrane microdomains20,21,22.
A translation of this strategy to FCS measurements (i.e., the so-called spot variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (svFCS)) was established by varying the size of the focal volume of observation, allowing the fluctuation in fluorescence to be recorded on different spatial scales23. Thus, the svFCS approach provides indirect spatial information allowing for the identification and determination of molecular diffusion modes and type of membrane partitioning (isolated versus contiguous domains24) of studied molecules. By plotting the diffusion time td as a function of the various spatial scales defined by the waist (ω) value, which corresponds to the detection beam radius size in this case23,25, one can characterize the diffusion law of a given molecule in a given physiological condition. The svFCS is, therefore, a perfect analog to single-particle tracking in the time domain26. Under the Brownian diffusion constraint, one should expect a strictly linear relationship between the diffusion time td and the waist ω (Figure 1)23,25. The origin of the deviation of the diffusion law from this scheme can be attributed to nonexclusive reasons, such as cytoskeleton meshwork, molecular crowding, dynamic partitioning in nanodomains, or any combination of these and other effects (Figure 1), and needs to be tested experimentally25.
Here we provide all necessary control checkpoints for the daily use of a custom-made svFCS optical system built from scratch, which complements our previous protocol reviews27,28 on that experimental approach. Further, as a proof of concept, we give guidelines regarding the calibration of the setup, the preparation of cells, data acquisition, and analysis for the establishment of svFCS diffusion law (DL) for Thy1-GFP, a plasma membrane glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein, which is known to be localized in lipid-raft nanodomains29. Finally, we demonstrate how the partial destabilization of lipid-raft nanodomains by cholesterol oxidase treatment impacts the diffusion properties of Thy1-GFP. Additionally, a detailed description of building a svFCS setup from scratch is provided in Supplementary material.
1. Setting specification for assembling a custom-made svFCS setup
NOTE: The simplicity of the proposed svFCS setup allows easy installation, operation, and maintenance at a low cost while ensuring efficiency in photon recovery. For more details, see Supplementary material.
Experimental room and safety
Install the system in a room stabilized at around 21 °C.
Avoid direct airflow on the passive (or active) optical table and follow the laser safety rules for optical alignment.
NOTE: Supplementary material details the installation steps depicted in Figure 2.
Write the main acquisition and control software in LabVIEW using a state machine and event structure architecture where a multifunction acquisition board drives most of the controllers.
NOTE: The correlator, laser, and power meter are controlled or monitored by their own software.
Adapt the hardware and software installation procedures according to the hardware used.
Optical setup
NOTE: Figure 3 illustrates the optical bench modules used in the following sections to control the quality of the optical alignments. All of the optical element specifications are listed in Table of materials. The procedure to build the setup is widely detailed in Supplementary material. This system comprises a continuous wave laser, a motorized inverted microscope equipped with an immersion water objective, an avalanche photodiode detector coupled to a single photon counting module, and a hardware correlator. A microscope incubation chamber with vibration-free heaters has been specially designed to control the temperature for experiments on living cells. By convention, the XY axis corresponds to the optical path's perpendicular plane, and the Z-axis corresponds to the optical path.
2. Daily checkpoint before running the experiment
Control the excitation path (Figure 3, & ).
Open all the iris diaphragms.
Measure the laser power with the power meter, keeping the first iris fully open.
Turn the half-wave plate (HWP) to find the maximum power.
Check the alignment using the irises if the laser power is lower than usual, and move L1 and M1 alternately, if necessary.
Note the power value in the experiment laboratory notebook.
Control the detection path (Figure 3, & ).
Place the water, a coverslip, and a droplet of a 2 nM rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) solution on the objective.
If the fluorescence signal (count number on the APD, recorded with the LabVIEW software) is lower than usual, remake the Rh6G solution, check the positioning and the coverslip's number on the objective lens, or eliminate bubbles, if any.
If the fluorescence signal is still lower than usual, place the power meter inside the optical path to block the beam.
Turn off the APD (hereafter, APD refers to the APD and the single photon counting module).
Remove the sample.
Clean and replace the objective lens with a reflective target.
Check the laser beam on the reflective target by removing the power meter from the light path. Make sure that the target's beam is centered, and the back reflection reaches the first iris on the line (Figure 3).
If not, adjust the center positioning with M2 or the back reflection with the dichroic mirror.
If microscope coupling is correct, push the objective lens back, add a drop of water, a coverslip, and a droplet of a more concentrated Rh6G solution (i.e., 200 nM), and set a lower laser power than for the classical measurements (few µW).
Turn on the APD and optimize APD and pinhole alignment, alternately, with their respective XYZ adjustment screws while monitoring the intensity signal (LabVIEW software).
Change the coverslip and add a lower concentration of Rh6G (2 nM). Move the pinhole along the Z-axis to find a position where the molecular brightness ratio increases, and the waist is minimum.
Close the iris until the signal drops down: the laser beam size reaches the back aperture size of the objective (i.e., the minimal waist size, see Supplementary material).
Launch the correlator software and record data (see section 7 for data recording).
Check the ACF, which should display a low amount of noise, give a small waist size, and a high count-rate per molecule per second (see section 7 for data analysis and waist size evaluation).
3. General considerations for svFCS data recording and analysis
Record and analyze the fluorescence data following this general scheme (see sections 7, 8, and 9): (1) fluorescence recording and ACF generation (correlator software), (2) unexpected discarding of data, an average of retained data, fitting with the appropriate model (with homemade Igor Pro software), (3) diffusion law plot (homemade MATLAB software 1), and (4) optional diffusion law comparison (homemade MATLAB software 2). The different software programs are available upon request.
NOTE: The hardware correlator has a minimum sampling time of 12.5 ns (i.e., a sampling frequency of 80 MHz). It provides a temporal resolution that is at least 1,000 lower than the typical resident time of freely diffusing small molecule in solution and 106 smaller than the diffusion time of membrane proteins within a confocal observation volume.
4. Cell culture and transfection
Seed the Cos7 cells in 8-well chambered coverglass with #1.0 borosilicate glass bottom at a density of 10,000 cells/well using complete Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, penicillin (100 U/mL), streptomycin (100 U/mL), and L-glutamine (1 mM).
Culture the cells at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO2 for 24 h.
Remove the medium, add 300 µL of the fresh complete culture medium per well, and preincubate the cells for 30 min at 37 °C.
Dilute 0.5 µg of the plasmid DNA encoding Thy-1 protein fused with eGFP25 in 50 µL of serum-free DMEM. Vortex briefly to mix.
Dilute 1.5 µL of the DNA transfection reagent in 50 µL of serum-free DMEM, and mix the solution well.
Add the diluted transfection reagent directly into the prepared DNA solution, and mix the compounds immediately.
Incubate the prepared mixture for 10 to 15 min at room temperature.
Add 10 µL of the combined DNA/transfection reagent complexes dropwise onto the medium in each well, and homogenize by gently swirling the plate.
Incubate the cells at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 3 h.
After the incubation, replace the medium containing DNA/transfection reagent complexes with 400 µL of fresh complete DMEM, and culture the cells for 16 h before the svFCS experiment.
5. Preparation of cells for svFCS measurements
Remove the culture medium.
Wash the cells gently two to three times with serum-free Hank’s balanced salt solution (HBSS) buffer containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ supplemented with 10 mM (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid) (HEPES), pH 7.4 (HBSS/HEPES).
Maintain the cells in HBSS/HEPES buffer during all svFCS acquisitions.
6. Pharmacological treatment
Remove the culture medium, and wash the cells two to three times with serum-free HBSS supplemented with 10 mM HEPES, pH 7.4 (HBSS/HEPES).
Incubate the cells with 1 U/mL of cholesterol oxidase (COase) solution in HBSS/HEPES buffer for 1 h at 37 °C.
Remove the solution, and maintain the cells in the presence of 0.1 U/mL of COase in HBSS/HEPES buffer while performing the svFCS measurements.
7. Spot size calibration
Prewarm the microscope chamber at 37 °C.
Prepare a standard 2 nM solution of Rh6G by serial dilution.
Drop 200 µL of 2 nM Rh6G solution on a glass coverslip placed on the water-immersion objective.
Start all the hardware and software.
Measure and adjust the 488 nm laser beam power to 300 µW. Depending on the brightness and the photo-stability of the fluorescent probe used, adapt this power according to (1) the fluorescence intensity (on the LabVIEW software), which should be stable, (2) the ACF shape (on the correlator software), which should have a constant shape over the time, and (3) the fitting parameters giving a small waist size and a high count rate per molecule (photons per molecule per second, typically few tens to hundreds of photons per molecule per second).
NOTE: The amplitude of the ACF (called G(0)) is inversely proportional to the number of the molecule (i.e., the concentration of the fluorescent probe). For the waist size calibration, this is a good quality control candidate parameter. Therefore, G(0) should be similar for the same concentration from day to day as it links the waist size and concentration. For cell measurements, as FCS is more accurate for low concentration, G(0) should be high for the proper parameter fitting extraction.
Set the svFCS illumination/detection microscope port with the LabVIEW software.
Turn on the APD.
Close the iris until the signal drops down to obtain the minimal waist size, or close it for bigger waist size.
Record several ACFs of selected duration (namely a run) to improve statistical reproducibility, typically 10 runs lasting for 20 s each with the correlator software.
Turn off the APD.
Use the Igor Pro software to check and discard the runs with strong fluctuations due to molecular aggregates. Perform this step manually— it should be user-independent after users have been trained.
Fit the average of the retained ACFs with a 3D diffusion model.
Extract from the fitting parameters the average diffusion time and save it into a “.txt” file (the file format is dictated by the Igor Pro software).
Check the count-rate per molecule per second (a good performance indicator) by dividing the average intensity (extracted from the fluorescence trace) by the number of molecules (extracted from the ACF).
NOTE: Make sure that this value is high and stable from day to day for the same acquisition parameters.
Knowing the diffusion coefficient of Rh6G in aqueous solution at 37 °C (D) and (see 7.13), calculate the experimental waist size ω according to: .
Apply the procedure for every waist size modification required to plot the FCS diffusion law and before any new experimental series of svFCS data acquisition.
8. svFCS data acquisitions on cells
Measure and adjust the 488 nm beam power between 2 and 4 µW. Depending on the brightness and the photostability of the fluorescent probe used, adapt this power to allow a high count rate per molecule (typically several thousand of photons per molecule per second), while keeping the photobleaching low (i.e., a stable intensity trace on the LabVIEW software).
Equilibrate samples for 10 min at 37 °C before starting the measurements.
Set the epi-fluorescence illumination microscope with the LabVIEW software.
Choose a cell with an appropriate fluorescent probe location and (low) fluorescence signal intensity.
NOTE: The lower the fluorescence is, the better the FCS measurements are (see step 8.1).
Perform an xy-scan of the selected cell with the LabVIEW software.
Perform a z-scan and locate the confocal spot at the maximal fluorescence intensity by choosing the plasma membrane at the top and start the data acquisition. To maximize the separation between the two membranes, preferably perform the scan in the nuclear area of the cell.
Record one series of 20 runs lasting for 5 s, each with the correlator software.
NOTE: Make sure that the duration of each run is long enough to obtain ACFs with reduced noise. Long acquisitions are susceptible to photobleaching or unexpected substantial variations (e.g., aggregates). Adapt the number of runs, their duration, and the number of series to the samples, but make sure that they remain constant within the same bulk of experiments for reproducibility.
Discard unexpected runs with the Igor Pro software.
Fit the average ACF with a 2-species 2D diffusion model. Adapt this model to the type of diffusion behavior of the target molecule.
Save the fitting parameters into the previous file (see step 7.13).
Perform 10 to 15 series of recordings on at least 10 different cells, and reproduce steps 8.3 to 8.13. Check that the single file obtained contains the waist size information and the fitting parameters of the 10–15 recordings.
To establish a single diffusion law, analyze at least four waist sizes varying between 200 and 400 nm. This range is defined by the diffraction optical limit, but is objective- (numerical aperture) and laser (wavelength)-dependent.
NOTE: As the waist size calibration is not absolute and has some degree of uncertainty, a dedicated MATLAB software28 accounting for the x and y error (namely ω2 and td) was built to fit the diffusion law.
Start the MATLAB software 1 and select a folder containing all the “.txt” files corresponding to at least four waist size experiments.
Plot <td> versus <ω2>, namely the diffusion law. Two major parameters can be extracted: the y-axis intercept (t0) and the effective diffusion coefficient (Deff, inversely proportional to the slope).
9. Diffusion laws of different experimental condition comparison
NOTE: If necessary, reproduce sections 7 and 8 for different experimental conditions. A dedicated software (MATLAB software 2) was developed to determine whether these diffusion laws are similar or not according to the t0 and Deff values28. It tests two hypotheses: the two values are different, or the two values are not different at a threshold set above a probability of false alarm (PFA). An arbitrary PFA value of 5% (T = 3.8) is considered the upper limit of significance between two parameters (t0 or Deff), indicating that there is only 5% chance that the two values are identical.
Create an “.xls” file containing the characteristic diffusion law values of each condition to compare (i.e., a file containing the t0, t0 error, Deff and Deff error for the non-treated (NT) and treated (COase) conditions as a table).
Start the MATLAB software 2.
Select the “.xls” file.
Analyze the generated color-coded 2D plot, where the t0 and Deff statistical tests are to be plotted on the x- and y-axes, respectively (Figure 4). The higher T is, the greater is the difference between the compared values.
10. Cholesterol concentration measurements
Cell treatment and lysis
Seed the Cos7 cells in triplicate in 6-well plates at 4 × 105 cells/well and incubate in 2 mL of complete DMEM at 37 °C with 5% CO2 overnight to allow the cells to attach to the plate.
Remove the culture medium and wash the cells three times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).
Add 1 mL of HBSS/HEPES buffer containing (or not, for controls) 1 U/mL of Coase, and incubate for 1 h at 37 °C with 5% CO2.
Replace the medium with 1 mL of HBSS/HEPES containing 0.1 U/mL of Coase, and incubate for 1 h at 37 °C with 5% CO2.
Remove the solution and harvest the cells.
Wash the cells three times with PBS, and centrifuge at 400 × g for 5 min at room temperature.
Lyse the cells with radioimmunoprecipitation assay buffer (25 mM HEPES, pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 1% NP40, 10 mM, MgCl2, 1 mM ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, 2% glycerol, protease and phosphatase inhibitor cocktail) for 30 min on ice.
Centrifuge the lysates at 10000 × g for 10 min at 4 °C and collect the supernatant.
Quantify total protein concentration for each sample by modified Bradford's protein assay using the working solution according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Cholesterol concentration measurement
To determine total cellular cholesterol level enzymatically, use the appropriate kit (e.g., Amplex Red Cholesterol Assay Kit) according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
For each reaction, mix the sample containing 5 µg of protein with Amplex Red reagent/horseradish peroxidase/cholesterol oxidase/cholesterol esterase working solution, and incubate for 30 min at 37 °C in the dark.
Measure the fluorescence using excitation of 520 nm, and detect the emission at 560–590 nm using a microplate reader.
Subtract the background from the final value, and determine cholesterol concentration using a standard curve.
Calculate the final cholesterol content in ng of cholesterol per µg of protein.
We generated a DL for Thy1-GFP expressed in Cos-7 cells (Figure 4, black squares). The diffusion law has a positive t0 value (19.47 ms ± 2 ms), indicating that Thy1-GFP is confined in nanodomain structures of the plasma membrane. The cholesterol oxidase treatment of the cells expressing Thy1-GFP resulted in the shift of the DL t0 value to 7.36 ± 1.34 ms (Figure 4, gray squares). This observation confirms that the nature of Thy1-GFP confinement depends on the cholesterol content and is associated with lipid raft nanodomains. These two diffusion laws are shown to be different according to the statistical test described above (see step 9.1.3) in terms of t0 and Deff values. In addition, we assessed the concentration of total cellular cholesterol in non-treated Cos-7 cells versus the cells treated with COase. A small, but significant, decrease in total cholesterol content is observed upon COase treatment (Figure 5). As this enzyme acts only on the cholesterol pool accessible at the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, we assume that the observed decrease in cholesterol is associated only with the plasma membrane and results in the destabilization of lipid raft nanodomains.
Figure 1: Simulated fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) diffusion laws established by spot-variation FCS for different forms of membrane organization. (Upper panels) Schematic representation of membrane organization—(A) free diffusion, (B) meshwork barriers, and (C) trap/domain confinements—with the trajectory drawn for a single molecule (red). Blue circles denote the intersection of the membrane and laser beam of waist ω. (Lower panels) FCS diffusion laws represented by plotting the diffusion time td as a function of the squared radius ω2. Diffusion law projection (green dashed line) intercepts the time axis at (A) the origin (t0 = 0) in the case of free diffusion; (B) in negative axis (t0 < 0) when there are meshwork barriers, or (C) in positive axis (t0 > 0) when there are traps and domains (lipid rafts). D is the lateral diffusion coefficient for Brownian motion; Deff, the effective diffusion coefficient; Dmicro, the microscopic diffusion coefficient inside the meshwork traps; Din, the diffusion coefficient inside domains; Dout, the diffusion coefficient outside domains; L, the size of the side of a square domain; and rD, the radius of a circular domain. This figure has been modified from He and Marguet6. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Schematic view of svFCS hardware control. The computer controls all the devices through different communication protocols: serial (microscope, external shutter), USB (XYZ piezoelectric stage, correlator), and PCI (acquisition board). DAQ: data acquisition board, APD: avalanche photodiode, SPCM: single-photon counting module, DO: digital output. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Schematic view of excitation and emission optical paths of the svFCS setup. The svFCS setup contains four modules: (1) the output of a fibered 488 nm laser is collimated, (2) a combination of a half-wave plate and polarizing beam-splitter sets the optical power, (3) the laser beam focused on the sample after traveling through a tube-lens free motorized microscope, and (4) the fluorescence is detected through a confocal-like detection path onto an avalanche photodiode coupled to a single photon counting module, which delivers a signal to a hardware correlator. Simplicity gives the system its sensitivity, robustness, and ease of use (widely commented in Supplementary material). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: The svFCS diffusion laws generated from diffusion analysis of Thy1-GFP expressed in Cos-7. svFCS diffusion laws of Cos-7 cells without treatment (NT, black squares) and after cholesterol oxidase treatment (COase, gray circles). The insert in the graph represents statistical testing of a significant difference between the two presented svFCS diffusion laws (according to Mailfert et al.28). The test value (T) should be above the threshold set at 3.8 when both diffusion laws are different. The higher it is, the greater is the difference between the diffusion laws. The value of T is color-coded. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Comparison of total cholesterol content in Cos-7 cells. Cos-7 cells were either non-treated (NT) or treated with 1 U/mL of cholesterol oxidase (COase) for 1 h. The data represent an example of one experiment in triplicate. A two-tailed, unpaired t-test was used to assess the statistical difference (α=0.05). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Table of materials: The list of optical elements required for the svFCS setup.
Supplementary material: This document describes the building of a svFCS setup from scratch. Please click here to download this file.
Here, we have described the implementation of the svFCS module on a standard fluorescent microscope, a powerful experimental approach to decipher the dynamics of the plasma membrane organization in living cells thanks to the FCS diffusion law analysis. Conceptually, the svFCS is based on a simple principle: correlation measurements of fluorescence in the time domain while varying the size of the illumination area23. This strategy has been instrumental in deducing nanoscopic information from microscopic measurements, which helps decipher the main physicochemical elements contributing to the plasma membrane organization in steady state25 and physiological processes30,31,32,33. Altogether, these svFCS analyses unambiguously demonstrate the existence of lipid-dependent nanodomains in various cell types and their direct implication in tuning different signaling events.
Within this framework, there are some optical aspects that need to be considered while building the svFCS setup to optimize the photon budget and minimize optical aberrations. Thus, we recommend using a microscope from which the tube lens can be removed when the svFCS measurement is performed. Moreover, a single iris plays a key role in the svFCS setup: it changes the beam size at the back aperture of the objective, thus directly varying the effective waist size (i.e., the effective excitation volume). The beam diameter should fit the objective back pupil to obtain the smallest waist size34. This option, which helps tune the waist size, ensures optimization of the photon budget and is easy to implement. Finally, a minimal number of optical parts are used along the light path; the less complex the system, the fewer the photons that are lost. All of these options significantly improve the robustness of svFCS experiments.
Regarding the protocol itself, a few critical steps have to be considered. The most important is an appropriate alignment of the optical paths that is crucial for successful svFCS measurements (protocol, section 2). This is easy to check by analyzing the fluorescence signal from a 2 nM Rh6G solution, which should be ~200 kHz under 300 µW laser illumination. All irises should be opened, and the ACFs should have an important amplitude (typically G0~1.5–2.0). Another critical point concerns the cells and their preparation for svFCS analysis (protocol, sections 4–8). Their density has to be adapted so that isolated cells to be observed are available for analysis. Non-adherent cells have to be immobilized on a chambered coverglass by using poly-L-lysine solution. The fluorescence signal from cell labeling should not be too strong, or it will result in very flat ACFs that are difficult to fit, and the fit parameters are burdened with an important error. Additionally, nonhomogeneous labeling and fluorescence aggregates in cells make the svFCS measurements extremely difficult to interpret. Finally, cholesterol oxidase treatment affects cell viability, and the svFCS analysis should not exceed one hour after the treatment. It is also better to record the fluorescence fluctuations from the upper plasma membrane as it is not attached to the support, and there is no risk of hindered diffusion of molecules due to the physical interactions with the support.
There have been enough advances in the svFCS technique for its use in different approaches owing to the diversity of modalities for adjusting the detection volume, making it possible to study various biological processes in living cells. An alternative to adjusting the size of the excitation volume is to use a variable beam expander35. It is also possible to simply modulate the size of the illumination area by recording the fluorescent signal from the intercept of the plasma membrane along the z direction36. This can be done on a standard confocal microscope for which a theoretical framework has been developed to derive the diffusion law37,38.
Although the svFCS method offers spatio-temporal resolution, which is necessary for the characterization of the inhomogeneous lateral organization of the plasma membrane, the geometrical modes of confinement are not mutually exclusive. A deviation of t0 in one direction or the other exclusively reveals a dominant mode of confinement25. Moreover, another important limitation of the present svFCS method results from the classical optical diffraction limit (~200 nm). This is unquestionably greater than the domains confining the molecules within the cell plasma membrane. Therefore, the analysis of the confinement is inferred from the t0 value, extrapolated from the diffusion law.
This drawback has been overcome by implementing alternative methods. Initially, using metallic films drilled with nanoapertures offered the possibility of illuminating a very small membrane area (i.e., below the optical diffraction limit of single nanometric apertures of radii varying between 75 and 250 nm)39. The transition regime predicted from the theoretical diffusion law for isolated domain organization was thus reported, and it allowed a refinement of the characteristic size of the nanometric membrane heterogeneities and a quantitative estimate of the surface area occupied by lipid-dependent nanodomains39. Alternatively, nanometric illumination has also been developed using near-field scanning optical microscopy40 or planar optical nanoantennas41. More recently, combining stimulated emission depletion (STED) and FCS has provided a powerful and sensitive tool to document the diffusion law with very high spatial resolution. This STED-FCS gives access to molecular diffusion characteristics on a nanoscale occurring within a short period of time, allowing the study of the dynamic organization of lipid probes at the plasma membrane42,43. However, the incomplete suppression of fluorescence in the STED process challenges the analysis of the auto-correlation curves in FCS.
A new fitting model has been developed to overcome this difficulty, improving the accuracy of the diffusion times and average molecule numbers measurements44. Finally, for slow molecular diffusion at the plasma membrane, the svFCS principle can be applied to data recorded by image correlation spectroscopy45. Recently, it has been demonstrated that combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) with imaging total internal reflection-FCS (ITIR-FCS) contributes to the refinement of the nature of the mechanism hindering molecular diffusion at the plasma membrane, especially near the percolation threshold membrane configuration because of a high density of nanodomains46.
In conclusion, establishing diffusion law by svFCS has provided the experimental evidence to infer local heterogeneity created by dynamic collective lipids and membrane proteins’ associations. As stated by Wohland and co-workers46, “the FCS diffusion law analysis remains a valuable tool to infer structural and organizational features below the resolution limit from dynamic information”. Still, we need to develop new models to refine the interpretation of the diffusion law that should allow for a better understanding of the dynamics of the molecular events occurring at the plasma membrane.
SB, SM and DM was supported by institutional funding from the CNRS, Inserm and Aix-Marseille University and program grants from the French National Research Agency (ANR-17-CE15-0032-01 and ANR-18-CE15-0021-02) and the French "Investissement d'Avenir" (ANR-10-INBS-04 France-BioImaging, ANR-11-LABX-054 labex INFORM). KW acknowledges "BioTechNan", a program of interdisciplinary environmental doctoral studies KNOW in the field of Biotechnology and Nanotechnology. EB acknowledges the financial support of the National Science Centre of Poland (NCN) under project no. 2016/21/D/NZ1/00285, as well as the French Government and the Embassy of France in Poland. MŁ acknowledges the financial support from the Polish Ministry of Development (CBR POIR.02.01.00-00-0159/15-00/19) and the National Center for Research and Development (Innochem POIR.01.02.00-00-0064/17). TT acknowledges financial support from the National Science Center of Poland (NCN) under project no. 2016/21/B/NZ3/00343 and from the Wroclaw Biotechnology Center (KNOW).
Aligment tool Spanner Wrench for SM1-Threaded Retaining Rings Thorlabs SPW602
Avalanche Photodiode and Single Photon Counting Module (SPCM) Single-Photon Counting Module, Avalanche Photodiode Excelitas SPCM-AQRH-15
BNC 50 Ω plug to 50 Ω plug lead 2 m RS Components 742-4315
Coaxial cable 415 Cinch Connectors, RG-316, 50 Ω With connector, 1.22 m, RoHS2 RS Components 885-8172
Tee 50Ω RF Adapter BNC Plug to BNC Socket 0 → 1GHz RS Components 546-4948
Brennenstuhl 2.5 m, 8 Socket Type E – French Extension Lead, 230 V RS Components 768-5500
Mascot, 6W Plug In Power Supply 5V dc, 1.2A, 1 Output Switched Mode Power Supply, Type C RS Components 452-8394
Crystek CCSMACL-MC-24 Reference Oscillator Power Cable RF Adapter RS Components 792-4079
Fluorescence filtering 535/70 ET Bandpass, AOI 0° Chroma Diameter 25 mm AHF filter F47-539
Laser Beamsplitter zt488 RDC, AOI 45° Chroma 25.5 x 36 x 1 mm AHF filter F43-088
496/LP BrightLine HC Longpass Filter, AOI 0° Chroma Diameter 25 AHF filter F37-496
Hardware correlator 80 MHz Digital Correlator Correlator.com Flex02-12D
Laser LASER LASOS LDM-XT fiber coupled, 488 nm, 65 mW Lasos BLD-XT 488100
Laser safety High-Performance Black Masking Tape, 1" x 180' (25 mm x 55 m) Roll Thorlabs T743-2.0
Lens Tissues, 25 Sheets per Booklet, 5 Booklets Thorlabs MC-5
Laser Safety Glasses, Light Orange Lenses, 48% Visible Light Transmission Thorlabs LG3B
Microscope Zeiss Axiovert 200M Motorized Inverted Fluorescence Microscope
Fine and coarse focusing, reflector turret rotation, objective nosepiece rotation, switching camera ports, and internal light shutters Carl Zeiss
C-Apochromat 40x/1,2 W Korr.selected for FCS
(D=0.14-0.19 mm) (WD=0.28 mm at D=0.17 mm), UV-VIS-IR Carl Zeiss 421767-9971-711
Adapter W0.8 / M27x0.75 H "5" Carl Zeiss 000000-1698-345
Middle ring W0.8 - W0.8 H "5" Carl Zeiss 000000-1698-347
Optical path D25.4mm Mirror, Protected Silver Thorlabs PF10-03-P01
D25.4mm, F=60.0.mm, Visible Achromat Thorlabs AC254-060-A
25 µm mounted pinhole Thorlabs P25S I
25.4mm Mounted Zero, Order 1/2 Waveplate 488 nm Thorlabs WPH10M-488 (HWP)
20mm Polarizing Beamsplitter Cube 420-680 nm Thorlabs PBS201
Rotation Stage 56 mm x 26 mm Threaded ID Thorlabs RSP1/M
52 mm x 52 mm Kinematic Platform Mount Thorlabs KM100B/M
Adjustable Prism Clamp Thorlabs PM3/M
Beam block - active area 19 mm x 38 mm Thorlabs LB1/M
Iris Diaphragm 1 mm to 25 mm Aperture Thorlabs ID25/M
Left-Handed Kinematic Cylindrical Lens Mount Thorlabs KM100CL
1" Optic Holder, M4 Tap Thorlabs MFF101/M
1" Stackable Lens Tube Thorlabs SM1L03
Stackable Lens Mount for 1" optic-usable depth ½ Thorlabs SM1L05
Stackable Lens Mount For 1"Optic-usable Depth 2" Thorlabs SM1L20
Small Optical Rails 600mm, metric Thorlabs RLA600/M
Small Optical Rails 75mm, metric Thorlabs RLA075/M
Rail Carrier, Counterbored Hole 1"x 1" Thorlabs RC1
Rail Carrier, Perpendicular Dovetail Thorlabs RC3
High Precision Translating Lens Mount for 1 inch Thorlabs LM1XY/M
½ " (12mm) Dovetail Translation Stage Thorlabs DT12/M
Rail Clamps Thorlabs CL6
Metric XYZ Translation Stage (Includes PT102) Thorlabs PT3/M
Black Rubberized Fabric Thorlabs BK5
Ball Driver kit/ 6 tools Thorlabs BD-KIT/M
Adapter with External M6 x 1.0 Threads and External M4 x 0.7 Threads Thorlabs AP6M4M
Mounting Base, 25 mm x 58 mm x 10 mm, 5 Pack Thorlabs BA1S/M-P5
Lens Mount for 25.4mm optic Thorlabs LMR1/M
SM1 FC/APC Adapter Thorlabs SM1FCA
Kinematic Mirror Mount For 1 inch Optics Thorlabs KM100
Silicon Power Head, 400-1100nm, 50mW Thorlabs S120C
12.7 mm Post Holders, Spring-Loaded Hex-Locking Thumbscrew,
L=50 mm, 5 Pack Thorlabs PH50/M-P5
Post Holder with Spring-Loaded Hex-Locking Thumbscrew, L=20 mm Thorlabs PH20/M
12.7 mm x 50 mm Stainless Steel Optical Post, M4 Stud,
M6-Tapped Hole, 5 Pack Thorlabs TR50/M-P5
USB Power and Energy Meter Interface Thorlabs PM100USB
M6-Tapped Hole Thorlabs TR30/M
750 mm long Structural Rail (detection box) Thorlabs XE25L750/M
Quick Corner Cube for 25 mm Rails Thorlabs XE25W3
Right-Angle Bracket for 25 mm Rails Thorlabs XE25A90
Black posterboard 20" x 30" (508 mm x 762 mm), 1/16" (1.6 mm) Thick, 5 Sheets Thorlabs TB5
Hinge for 25 mm Rail Enclosures Thorlabs XE25H
Lid Stop for 25 mm Rail Enclosures Thorlabs XE25LS
M4 Cap Screw Kit Thorlabs HW-KIT1/M
M6 Cap Screw Kit and Hardware kit Thorlabs HW-KIT2/M
Table Clamp, L-Shape, 5 Pack Thorlabs CL5-P5
SM1 Ring-Actuated Iris Diaphragm (Ø0.8 - Ø12 mm) Thorlabs SM1D12D
Ø1" SM1-Mounted Frosted Glass Alignment Disk w/Ø1 mm Hole Thorlabs DG10-1500-H1-MD
Honeycomb Optical Table Top, Standa Standa 1HB10-15-12
Optical Table support, Standa Standa 1TS05-12-06-AR
Sample nano-positionning Precision XYZ Nanopositioning Physik Instrumente PI P527-3.CD
Digital Multi-Channel Piezo Co, 3 Channels, -30 to 130 V
Sub- D Connector(s), Capacitive Sensors, Physik Instrumente PI E727-3.CD
Temperature chamber Zeiss 200M Inverted Microscope Incubator System MATT BLK Digital Pixel
Dual Channel Microprocessor Temperature Controller Digital Pixel DP_MTC_2000_DUO
Two Vibration Free Heater Modules Digital Pixel DP_150_VF
PT100 Temperature Sensor Digital Pixel DP_P100_TS
Biological Reagents and Materials
Cell culture and transfection Cos7 cells ATCC® CRL-1651™
8- well Lab-Tek chambers Thermo Fisher Scientific 155411PK
Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) Thermo Fisher Scientific 11965092
Fetal bovine serum Thermo Fisher Scientific 16000044
L-glutamine Thermo Fisher Scientific 25030081
PBS buffer Thermo Fisher Scientific 14190144
PenStrep Thermo Fisher Scientific 15140122
PolyJet Transfection Reagent SignaGen Laboratories SL100688
Cholesterol content measurement Amplex Red Cholesterol Assay Kit Thermo Fisher Scientific A12216
Protease Inhibitor Cocktail Thermo Fisher Scientific 87786
Phosphatase Inhibitor Cocktail Thermo Fisher Scientific 78420
ROTI Nanoquant Working Solution Roth K880
GloMax Discover Microplate Reader Promega GM3000
svFCS measurements HBSS buffer Thermo Fisher Scientific 14025092
Hepes buffer Thermo Fisher Scientific 15630080
Cholesterol oxidase Sigma-Aldrich C8868
Rhodamine 6G Sigma-Aldrich 83697-1G
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Rossy, J., Ma, Y., Gaus, K. The organisation of the cell membrane: Do proteins rule lipids. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology. 20, (1), 54-59 (2014).
Nicolson, G. L. The Fluid - Mosaic Model of Membrane Structure: Still relevant to understanding the structure, function and dynamics of biological membranes after more than 40 years. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Biomembranes. 1838, (6), 1451-1466 (2014).
Fujiwara, T., Ritchie, K., Murakoshi, H., Jacobson, K., Kusumi, A. Phospholipids undergo hop diffusion in compartmentalized cell membrane. The Journal of Cell Biology. 157, (6), 1071-1081 (2002).
Kusumi, A., et al. Paradigm shift of the plasma membrane concept from the two-dimensional continuum fluid to the partitioned fluid: high-speed single-molecule tracking of membrane molecules. Annual Review of Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure. 34, 351-378 (2005).
Destainville, N., Salomé, L. Quantification and correction of systematic errors due to detector time-averaging in single-molecule tracking experiments. Biophysical Journal. 90, (2), 17-19 (2006).
Wieser, S., Moertelmaier, M., Fuertbauer, E., Stockinger, H., Schütz, G. J. Un)confined diffusion of CD59 in the plasma membrane determined by high-resolution single molecule microscopy. Biophysical Journal. 92, (10), 3719-3728 (2007).
Axelrod, D., Koppel, D. E., Schlessinger, J., Elson, E., Webb, W. W. Mobility measurement by analysis of fluorescence photobleaching recovery kinetics. Biophysical Journal. (1976).
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Magde, D., Elson, E. L., Webb, W. W. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. II. An experimental realization. Biopolymers. (1974).
Schwille, P., Haupts, U., Maiti, S., Webb, W. W. Molecular dynamics in living cells observed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with one- and two-photon excitation. Biophysical Journal. (1999).
Bouchaud, J. P., Georges, A. Anomalous diffusion in disordered media: Statistical mechanisms, models and physical applications. Physics Reports. (1990).
Yechiel, E., Edidin, M. Micrometer-scale domains in fibroblast plasma membranes. Journal of Cell Biology. 105, (2), 755-760 (1987).
Salomé, L., Cazeils, J. L., Lopez, A., Tocanne, J. F. Characterization of membrane domains by FRAP experiments at variable observation areas. European Biophysics Journal. 27, (4), 391-402 (1998).
Niv, H., Gutman, O., Kloog, Y., Henis, Y. I. Activated K-Ras and H-Ras display different interactions with saturable nonraft sites at the surface of live cells. The Journal of Cell Biology. 157, (5), 865-872 (2002).
Wawrezinieck, L., Rigneault, H., Marguet, D., Lenne, P. F. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy diffusion laws to probe the submicron cell membrane organization. Biophysical Journal. 89, (6), 4029-4042 (2005).
Saxton, M. J. Fluorescence corralation spectroscopy. Biophysical Journal. (2005).
Lenne, P. F., et al. Dynamic molecular confinement in the plasma membrane by microdomains and the cytoskeleton meshwork. EMBO Journal. 25, (14), 3245-3256 (2006).
Ruprecht, V., et al. Cortical contractility triggers a stochastic switch to fast amoeboid cell motility. Cell. (2015).
Billaudeau, C., et al. Probing the plasma membrane organization in living cells by spot variation fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Methods in Enzymology. 519, 277-302 (2013).
Mailfert, S., Hamon, Y., Bertaux, N., He, H. T., Marguet, D. A user's guide for characterizing plasma membrane subdomains in living cells by spot variation fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Methods in Cell Biology. 139, 1-22 (2017).
Rege, T. A., Hagood, J. S. Thy-1, a versatile modulator of signaling affecting cellular adhesion, proliferation, survival, and cytokine/growth factor responses. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research. (2006).
Cahuzac, N., et al. Fas ligand is localized to membrane rafts, where it displays increased cell death-inducing activity. Blood. (2006).
Guia, S., et al. Confinement of activating receptors at the plasma membrane controls natural killer cell tolerance. Science Signaling. 4, (167), 21 (2011).
Blouin, C. M., et al. Glycosylation-dependent IFN-γR partitioning in lipid and actin nanodomains is critical for JAK activation. Cell. 166, (4), 920-934 (2016).
Chouaki-Benmansour, N., et al. Phosphoinositides regulate the TCR/CD3 complex membrane dynamics and activation. Scientific Reports. (2018).
Wawrezinieck, L., Lenne, P. F., Marguet, D., Rigneault, H. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to determine diffusion laws: application to live cell membranes. Biophotonics Micro- and Nano-Imaging. (2004).
Masuda, A., Ushida, K., Okamoto, T. New fluorescence correlation spectroscopy enabling direct observation of spatiotemporal dependence of diffusion constants as an evidence of anomalous transport in extracellular matrices. Biophysical Journal. (2005).
Humpolíčková, J., et al. Probing diffusion laws within cellular membranes by Z-scan fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Biophysical Journal. (2006).
Benda, A., et al. How to determine diffusion coefficients in planar phospholipid systems by confocal fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Langmuir. (2003).
Ganguly, S., Chattopadhyay, A. Cholesterol depletion mimics the effect of cytoskeletal destabilization on membrane dynamics of the serotonin1A receptor: A zFCS study. Biophysical Journal. (2010).
Wenger, J., et al. Diffusion analysis within single nanometric apertures reveals the ultrafine cell membrane organization. Biophysical Journal. 92, (3), 913-919 (2007).
Manzo, C., Van Zanten, T. S., Garcia-Parajo, M. F. Nanoscale fluorescence correlation spectroscopy on intact living cell membranes with NSOM probes. Biophysical Journal. (2011).
Regmi, R., et al. Planar optical nanoantennas resolve cholesterol-dependent nanoscale heterogeneities in the plasma membrane of living cells. Nano Letters. (2017).
Mueller, V., et al. FCS in STED microscopy: Studying the nanoscale of lipid membrane dynamics. Methods in Enzymology. (2013).
Sezgin, E., et al. Measuring nanoscale diffusion dynamics in cellular membranes with super-resolution STED-FCS. Nature Protocols. (2019).
Wang, R., et al. A straightforward STED-background corrected fitting model for unbiased STED-FCS analyses. Methods. (2018).
Veerapathiran, S., Wohland, T. The imaging FCS diffusion law in the presence of multiple diffusive modes. Methods. (2018).
Gupta, A., Phang, I. Y., Wohland, T. To hop or not to hop: exceptions in the FCS diffusion law. Biophysical Journal. (2020).
Mailfert, S., Wojtowicz, K., Brustlein, S., Blaszczak, E., Bertaux, N., Łukaszewicz, M., Marguet, D., Trombik, T. Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (165), e61823, doi:10.3791/61823 (2020).… More
Mailfert, S., Wojtowicz, K., Brustlein, S., Blaszczak, E., Bertaux, N., Łukaszewicz, M., Marguet, D., Trombik, T. Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (165), e61823, doi:10.3791/61823 (2020).
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Regresar a Noticias y eventos de Lexus
Lexus Sport Yacht Concept Shown at Japan International Boat Show
Lexus Yacht concept earns Special Award at Japan International Boat Show
Lexus Announces Future Production of Larger Luxury Yacht
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN – March 8, 2018
Special Award for Lexus Sport Yacht concept
The unique Lexus Sport Yacht concept was recognized with a special award by Japan’s “Boat of the Year” committee at the Japan International Boat Show in Yokohama today.
The one-of-a-kind Lexus Sport Yacht stunned the automotive and yachting worlds when it was revealed in January 2017 at an exclusive media event in Miami by Toyota Motor Corp. president Akio Toyoda along with Yoshihiro Sawa, president of Lexus International, and Shigeki Tomoyama, Toyota Motor Corp. executive vice president with responsibilities including Toyota Marine.
The Lexus Sport Yacht concept was conceived by Lexus Design to explore new areas of luxury and active lifestyles. It was engineered by the Toyota Marine Division and a single running proof-of-concept was built in partnership with Marquis-Larson Boat Group of Pulaski (Green Bay) Wisconsin, USA.
Production Announcement
While accepting the award today at the Japan International Boat Show, Shigeki Tomoyama also announced plans to produce a future Lexus premium yacht for sale worldwide.
“Based on our amazing experiences in engineering, building, testing and showing the Lexus Sport Yacht concept last year, we’ve decided to take the next bold step of producing an all-new larger yacht that builds on the advanced nature of the concept while adding more comfort and living space,” said Tomoyama. “We plan to start sales in the U.S. in the latter half of 2019, with sales in Japan following in the spring of 2020.”
The new yacht builds on the partnership with Marquis-Larson, leveraging their renowned boat manufacturing expertise. Planned as a larger 65-foot sport fly-bridge cruiser, the new yacht will have luxury staterooms below deck and entertaining space for up to 15 guests.
Connected services using the company’s new Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) will provide security, smartphone integration, remote diagnostics and maintenance and other services.
Specifications, pricing and other details of the 65-foot yacht will be announced at a later date.
The Lexus Sport Yacht concept was a one-of-a-kind vision by Lexus Design. Engineered by the Toyota Marine Division, a single running concept was built in partnership with Marquis-Larson Boat Group of Pulaski (Green Bay) Wisconsin, USA.
The hull, inner structure and superstructure of the bespoke 42-foot open sport cruiser were made of hand-laid carbon-fiber fabric, vacuum-infused with two-part polyurethane resin. The Lexus Sport Yacht concept was powered by two marinized versions of the Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.0 L performance V8 engines as used in the high-performance Lexus RC F coupe, GS F sedan and new LC 500 grand tourer.
The Lexus Sport Yacht concept carries up to 8 guests on board in high-speed luxury with a high-tech multi-media entertainment system and beautiful hand-made woods and leather.
Specifications: 2017 Lexus Sport Yacht concept
DIMENSION IMPERIAL METRIC
Overall Length 42 FT 12.7M
Beam (width) 13 FT 3.8M
Passenger Capacity 8 people
Power, total 885 HP 660 kW
Top Speed 49 MPH 43 KTS
The Japan International Boat Show is the largest exposition of the Japanese marine industry, held this year from March 8 to 11, 2018, at the Yokohama Bayside Marina and Pacifico Yokohama near Tokyo.
The “Boat Of The Year” awards are selected by a committee of 30 Japanese marine journalists.
Toyota Marine, founded in 1990 and based at Laguna Gamagori in Aichi, Japan, is one of the largest makers of premium yachts in Japan.
Toyota Marine’s Ponam lineup includes fiberglass sport-fishing boats from 26 to 30 feet long and luxury cabin-cruisers in 31- and 35-foot lengths with fully-welded aluminum alloy hulls, each powered by a marinized version of the turbodiesel engine of the Lexus GX 300d (3.0-liter turbodiesel 4 cylinder) or LX 450d (twin-turbo diesel 4.5-liter V8) luxury utility vehicles.
Toyota Marine has previously earned Japan Boat Of The Year recognition for the following models:
2016: Toyota Ponam-28V premium sport cruiser
2014: Toyota Ponam-31 sport utility cruiser
2011: Toyota Ponam-35 luxury cruiser
Marquis-Larson Boat Group is an independent privately-owned company in Pulaski (near Green Bay), Wisconsin, that designs, engineers and manufactures the brands of Marquis Yachts and Carver Yachts and Larson boats. The pinnacle of their line is the Marquis 720 three-level luxury yacht with fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) hull, deck and superstructure. For more information please see www.MarquisYachts.com or www.LarsonBoatGroup.com.
For more information please contact Lexus International Strategic Communications in the U.S.:
Maurice Durand, maurice.durand@lexus.com, mobile: 310-613-4359
Paul Williamsen, paul.williamsen@lexus.com, mobile: 310-489-2998
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Home News President Sirleaf Consoles UK
President Sirleaf Consoles UK
- Following a terrorist attack in Westminister
Thomas T. Johnson
President Sirleaf
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a condolence message to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, following a terror attack in Westminister on Wednesday, March 22, 2017.
Four people, including the terrorist himself, Khalid Masood, died in the attack when he rammed a rental car onto the sidewalk on Westminister Bridge.
Masood then stabbed an unarmed police officer as he stood guard at Carriage Gates, an entrance into a paved courtyard frequently used by Members of Parliament and staff. Twenty-nine people were injured requiring hospital treatment, while some remain critically ill.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, President Sirleaf said she was shocked and saddened by the terror attack and on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia and in her own name, affirmed her repugnance toward such barbaric and atrocious actions.
President Sirleaf extended deepest solidarity with the entire nation and people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, especially the families of those severely hurt by this accident, and hoped that the people of the UK will be further strengthened and united so that their shared resolve in the global fight against terrorism and extremism remain vibrant.
“As we collaborate in this global fight, let me reassure you of Liberia’s continued commitment to global initiatives aimed at maintaining a safe, happy and prosperous world,” President Sirleaf reiterated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
She then prayed that God will grant the people of the United Kingdom the fortitude to endure this heartbreaking attack as she again expressed Liberia’s deepest condolence.
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Born unto the union of Mr. & Mrs. Johnson Tamba on May 16. Graduated from the Salvation Army School System " William Booth high school" in 2006/2007 academic year. He also went to the Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) computer program, where he graduated with a diploma in computer literate in 2008. He is now a senior student of the University of Liberia, Civil engineering department, reading Civil engineering. He is in a serious relationship with Mercy Johnson and has a junior boy name, Otis Success Johnson, born 2016, March 29.
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« Your human rights »
Right to protest
Article 11 /
We have the right to come together with others and peacefully express our views. Authorities must allow us to take part in marches, protests and demonstrations.
Article 11 in action
People's walk for wildlife
Protest during coronavirus lockdown
Everyone has the right to associate with others and gather together for a common purpose.
Article 11 is fundamental to keeping us free. It lets us protest peacefully, join trade unions and hold the powerful to account.
Article 11 is closely linked to freedom of expression as it applies to protests, marches and demonstrations, counter-demonstrations, press conferences, public and private meetings and more – but it does not protect intentionally violent protest.
People turn to Article 11 when public authorities either stop a demonstration going ahead, take steps in advance to disrupt a demonstration or store personal information on those taking part.
The State can’t interfere with your right to protest just because it disagrees with protesters’ views, because it’s likely to be inconvenient and cause a nuisance or because there might be tension and heated exchange between opposing groups.
Instead it must take reasonable steps to enable you to protest and to protect participants in peaceful demonstrations from disruption by others.
Everyone is free to associate with others – including forming and joining trade unions or joining with others to pursue common causes and interests.
The right of association also includes the freedom not to associate with others. Associations aren’t obliged to admit someone if other members decide their membership is not compatible with the group’s aims and interests – as long as this refusal does not come into conflict with equality and discrimination legislation.
When trade unions are involved, exclusions which have negative employment consequences must not be arbitrary or unreasonable.
You also have the right to refuse to join an association. This does not include professional regulatory bodies set up by the State to regulate professions, as these are not considered to fall within the definition of an association.
The right to protest and freedom of association can be limited in certain circumstances.
Any limitation must:
be covered by law
be necessary and proportionate
pursue one or more of these aims:
the interests of national security or public safety
the prevention of disorder or crime
the protection of health or morals
the protection of others’ rights and freedoms.
It’s not necessarily a breach of protest rights if authorities require you to give notice of plans in advance, as long as notification doesn’t become an obstacle to free assembly.
Lawful restrictions can be placed on the Article 11 rights of members of the Armed Forces, police and others – but those restrictions must be backed up by convincing and compelling reasoning.
In 2018, TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham coordinated the People’s Walk for Wildlife – the first demonstration of its kind, aiming to promote awareness of the urgent need to preserve the diversity of our wildlife and natural habitat.
But weeks before the march, the Metropolitan Police told Chris and his team that it would not facilitate the protest by closing the necessary roads in London.
If he wanted to go ahead, Chris would have to arrange this himself. Westminster Council put him in touch with a private company who could do this – and he was quoted £40,000.
The Met’s stance meant, effectively, that the walk couldn’t go ahead unless Chris paid for it.
Chris asked Liberty to act for him – and our threat of legal action backed by the Human Rights Act did the trick. The Met backed down.
But this was the latest in a string of ‘pay to protest’ scandals – and less high-profile demonstrations may not have prompted such a swift u-turn.
Can I attend a protest under the coronavirus Tier system?
Practical tips for attending a protest during the coronavirus lockdown
What if I’m arrested at a protest?
Read previous article Read next article
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Sagrada Familia Skip The Line Private tour
Whether you're a Modernist Architecture expert or not, here you can only recognize Antoni Gaudi's touch. Having dedicated the second half of his life to the monument (and even planned the construction after his death), you will learn that Gaudi was a seriously devout Catholic, and the Sagrada Familia is a great example to understand why he earned the nickname "God's Architect".
Alongside sharing the history of this feat of Spanish engineering widely inspired by faith, your guide will tell captivating stories about the Sagrada Famila, its birth towards the end of the 19th Century, Gaudi's arrival in the project. Did you know there was actually at this time a huge controversy about its architecture, and that some of Barcelona locals are still, to this day, bothered by the Gaudi's masterpiece?
Explore the stunning Sagrada Familia with a local art historian
Skip the line like a VIP and forget about long lines
Enjoy a private tour so you get your guide’s full attention
Travel back in time to discover the history of the Sagrada Familia
An accredited art historian expert of modernism & Skip the line tickets
A sumptuous setting of architecture, sculpted facade, and Gaudi's stone forest
An enhanced understanding of Gaudi and his impact on the art world
If you're looking to discover the splendor of Barcelona's most impressive monument - and true landmark of Barcelona - with plenty of insider stories and secret anecdotes, you're in the right place! Join your local accredited art historian on a one-of-a-kind Sagrada Familia Private adventure to reveal its most amazing secrets!
Barcelona is not only a showcase for Roman, Medieval & Renaissance art. The city, and its people, also made a major contribution to leading 20th Century avant-garde art movements such as Cubism, and of course Modernism. Well, when it comes to Modernist Architecture, Gaudi is Barcelona's true superstar. Strolling around the city, you sure will see some great examples, but the Sagrada Familia remains so very unique that it deserves a dedicated private tour.
The Sagrada Familia, or the 'Basilica of the Holy Family' is one of Gaudi's genius most striking example, and a witness of his unparalleled - both professional and religious - ambitions. Although it really showcases Catalan Modernism and Gaudi's singular style, you'll find a little Neo-Gothic in there, starting with crypt built by the Basilica's first architect Villar. Paradoxically, Gaudi, who died well before the monument was completed, is buried in the only part of he did not designed himself!
Sagrada Familia now is Gaudi's most famous Barcelona masterpiece and part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is expected to be finally inaugurated in 2026, a whooping 100 years after Gaudi's death. Can't wait to see it all done. Guess we'll all have to come back!
Exploring the museums & monuments of Barcelona alone can be a daunting experience, but our expert art history guides are on hand to make your visit a breeze – to introduce you to some of the most highly acclaimed works of art in the world, to take you deep into their history, but also to take you away from the tourist track. Our museums tours are lead solely by accredited guides with an abundance of knowledge, who give you the chance to explore some of the most breathtaking exhibitions in the world with a private, personable and approachable guide.
5.0 / 5.0 - Based on 1 reviews
Last reviewed: February 28 2020
Ale M - Reviewed February 28, 2020
Loved this tour, thank you Francesca for an amazing experience :)
Meeting point: Sant Pau Recinte Modernista Hospital
Walking distance: 1 km / 0.6 miles
Does this tour include skip-the-line tickets?
Yes of course! All our Museums & monuments tours include skip the line access, and your expert guide will show you the way.
When is the quietest time to visit?
We recommend joining us for a lunchtime tour as they can be quieter than the rest of the day, so please contact our office team if you’d prefer a different start time to those shown on the calendar.
Can I bring stroller or backpack?
Large backpacks and luggage are not permitted at the Sagrada Familia and will need to be left at your hotel. Strollers are allowed but please warn the office team in advance, we will need to pass on the information to your guide.
Is there a special access if I am in a wheelchair?
The inside and outside of the Basilica are indeed accessible to people with walking difficulties. Please only warn the office team in advance, we will need to pass on the information to your guide.
5.0 / 5.0 - 1 reviews
A Modernism & Architectural expedition in the heart of Gaudi's Barcelona
1 review 02h00
Barcelona Modernism Architecture Walking tour: Casa Mila & Casa Batllo
Skip the line and see the Picasso collection with your own private expert
Barcelona Picasso Museum Private tour
A copious foodie evening adventure of Catalan gastronomy in a picturesque & authentic neighborhood.
Gracia Evening Food tour - Barcelona Bohemian Gastronomy
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FSI Engagement
In October 2012, following an introduction from Nick Eliott, Regional Director of Network Rail at a Network Rail Supplier’s Forum, Lowery embarked on a relationship with FSI Europe regarding the engagement of ex-military Gurkha staff on Lowery contracts. Although these staff would be without any rail experience, the opportunity of working with former Gurkha trained staff was of interest. It was of our belief that the culture, attitude and commitment of these operatives would be exemplary.
Following supplier approval, basic trackside training courses were arranged and completed. FSI Staff were then placed with and mentored by Lowery’s experienced team leader, Richard Downes. Confidence in the FSI gang’s abilities was built up, with relationships made both on site and between the two party’s management teams.
Following recommendations from Richard, key staff within the FSI gang were upgraded to COSS level. This opened up the opportunity for the creation of the first ever self-contained cable route installation gang working on Network Rail infrastructure made up entirely from Nepalese ex-military Gurkha staff. The efforts of Lowery staff did not go unnoticed by the FSI team. As a mark of their appreciation for Richard Downes’, an award of a Gurkha Kukri knife was made for his continued support and mentoring of FSI staff
Lowery look forward to a long and successful relationship with FSI staff.
© 2021 Lowery Limited. Head Office: Unit 301 Bedfont Industrial Estate, Challenge Road, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 1AX
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Bangsamoro Basic Law
Indigenoue Peoples
Tampakan
Sagittarius Mines, Inc.
By: Romel De Vera, LRC-KSK
Killings, Impunity and Erosion of the Rule of Law in the Philippines
Buried under six thousand names in the 2016 six months kill list of President Duterte’s War Against Drugs, are those of civil society leaders like anti-mining activist Jimmy Saypan and environmental youth activist Joselito Pasaporte who were killed in separate incidents in Compostela Valley; anti-crime crusader Zenaida Luz killed by two policemen in Mindoro Oriental; and tricycle transport organisation leader Joel Lising who was shot dead in Tondo, Manila during Human Rights Week in December 2016.
Killings of political activists and rights defenders continue in the Philippines but are now virtually concealed amidst the widespread and systematic killings in police operations and vigilante attacks against suspected drug offenders. This further erosion of the rule of law and the dismantling of human rights standards have led to insecurity in the homes and streets in mostly impoverished communities and provided a new excuse for harassing and silencing political, environmental and community rights defenders.
Duterte won the presidency by a plurality of 39% of electoral votes by championing populist campaign promises such as the annihilation of suspected drug pushers and addicts as well as the end of traditional politics and elite rule. His campaign team exploited the image he created for himself as a ‘man of the masses’ which hid the fact that Duterte comes from a traditional political clan, and that 89% of his P334.8 million (USD$6.72 million) campaign fund came from only 13 big donors with an additional 8% from just a group of 18 campaign fund donors.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reported that within six months of the elections, half a dozen of these donors and their relatives - who represent companies that do business with the government or engage in utilities, mining, and the exploitation of natural resources - had been appointed to Government Cabinet and other positions. Furthermore, upon winning the presidency, Duterte’s economic team has declared that they will continue the neoliberal economic paradigm of the previous administrations and will even work to reform laws and amend the constitution to allow more foreign business and investments into the economy.
Activists and rights defenders will continue to struggle against the threat of political, economic and cultural disintegration of communities and environmental destruction of ecosystems from the continuous drive for resource plunder and labour exploitation by global corporations and the local elite. They will have to seek justice for victims of human rights violations perpetrated against their members and society at large, even as they defend themselves from the brutal coercive apparatus of the state. They will now do this in the context of blatant impunity for killings supported by the president’s War Against Drugs, the impending reimposition of Death Penalty, and authoritarian and neoliberal amendments to the Philippine Constitution. The struggle for survival has become frighteningly literal.
Groups decry issuance of NCIP permit for the potentially calamitous Tampakan mining project
Asian Network pushes for stronger TNC regulations at the UN amidst pandemic
Mammoth Tampakan project hits snag as local court upholds ban on open-pit mining
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The Xperia Z3 Compact is great value, but the iPhone 6 is better
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison review
The iPhone 6 is simply the best smartphone you can buy, but Sony's Xperia Z3 Compact offers a great value alternative. We tested the Xperia Z3 Compact to see how it shapes up against the iPhone 6. iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison review, benchmarks, tests.
by Matt Egan, Global Editorial Director | 04 Nov 14
Should I buy the iPhone 6?
The Xperia Z3 Compact offers great value,It has a superb camera,Extremely robust build
The iPhone 6 is thinner and better looking,It offers marginally better performance,We prefer iOS to Android
We're Macworld UK, and we love Apple products. But even we accept that in the smartphone world Apple's rivals are catching up. The Xperia Z3 Compact is a stunning mid-sized, mid-priced handset. Indeed, that price is the major thing that catches our eye. Given that you can get more accessible storage than that of the £699 128GB iPhone 6 by shelling out around £500 for an Xperia Z3 Compact and an SD card, it is indisputably a better deal. Performance only slightly lags the iPhone 6's, and we even prefer the Sony's camera. And although it doesn't look as good as does the iPhone, it is more lifeproof. And whilst thicker, smaller and marginally lighter. So if you want to keep costs down, and are prepared to switch from iOS to Android, you could do a lot worse than the Xperia Z3 Compact. But if you are prepared to pay for the ultimate smartphone experience, we will be sticking with our iPhones.
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iPhone 6 full review
Cards on the table: here at Macworld UK we love our iPhones, and the recent launch of the brilliant iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has reconfirmed our commitment to the iOS world. But we like to keep our fingers on the pulse of the Android world, and compare the best iPhones with the best of the rest. We like to make sure we aren't missing anything.
In this article we have reviewed the excellent Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, comparing it to the iPhone 6. Both are 5in handsets, both are powerful, and both boast a great feature set. But is there anything about the Xperia Z3 Compact that is sufficiently great to make us ditch our iPhones? Honestly, no.
But that doesn't mean that there aren't areas in which the Xperia Z3 Compact matches or betters the iPhone. It just means that it isn't so much better as to make us take a leap into the unknown. The Xperia Z3 Compact really is an excellent handset, as you will find out. (For more iPhone vs Sony fun, read my piece: iPhone 6 vs Sony Xperia Z3 comparison.)
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: UK price and availability
The iPhone 6 starts at £539 inc VAT for the 16GB model. You will likely need more space than that, and the 64GB will set you back £619, £699 gets you a 128GB iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 is widely available throughout the UK. Meanwhile the Xperia Z3 Compact comes in only a 16GB flavour, and is available to buy from Sony at £429 inc VAT.
However, shop around and you can get it for a much more attractive price of £349 inc VAT. Even at that £429 inc VAT SRP the Sony is cheaper than the iPhone 6 - so is it worth your consideration? Read on to find out. (See also: iPhone 6 vs Galaxy S5 comparison review.)
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: specs, benchmarks
The iPhone 6 comes with an Apple A8 processor - a dual-core chip running at 1.4 GHz. And it has only 1GB RAM. It is a super fast handset, and the iPhone's benchmark scores are excellent.
Inside the Xperia Z3 Compact is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.5 GHz. It has 2GB RAM. Both phones are rapid and powerful, but how do they compare in terms of benchmarks? Very well. The Xperia Z3 Compact has an excellent multicore Geekbench 3 average of 2800 points, showing that in general use it is a fast and responsive phone. This compares to the iPhone 6's score of 2794 points. Within the margin for error, these are basically the same score.
Moving on to the GFXBench T-Rex test to find out how good are these handsets at handling graphics, and the Xperia Z3 Compact achieves 41fps compared to the iPhone 6's 49fps. This is a decent win for the iPhone. On the more stringent Manhattan test the Sony scores 26fps and the iPhone 6 26fps. Overall then we can say that the iPhone 6 is a marginally better smartphone than is the Xperia Z3 Compact when it comes to handling graphics. To be entirely fair we should point out that this is unlikely to affect you unless you like to play intensive games. (See also: iPhone 6 vs HTC One M8 comparison.)
Finally we ran the Sunspider Javascript test which measures Javascript performance and is a good indicator of responsivenes in handling web pages and general zippiness. Here a lower score is better, and the Xperia Z3 Compact turned in an impressive score of 944ms (anything under 1,000ms is snappy). The iPhone 6 blows even this away, however, with a staggering score of 351ms.
Overall then we can say that both of these phones are measurably fast, and good at handling even the most complex graphics. But the iPhone 6 is a little better.
In terms of other specs the iPhone 6 offers 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and is an LTE 4G phone. The same is true of the Xperia Z3 Compact, which also adds NFC. The iPhone 6 has NFC of course, but only for Apple Pay (not yet available in the UK). If you have a use for NFC, that's a win for the Sony, I suppose. (Related articles you might like: iPhone 6 review | iPhone 6 release date | iPhone 6 Plus release date | iPhone reviews.)
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: battery life
Meanwhile the iPhone 6 has a non-removable Li-Po 1810 mAh battery and the Xperia Z3 Compact a bigger, but also non-removable 2600mAh cell.
In our tests we've found the Xperia Z3 Compact's battery life to be simply immense, lasting comfortably for two to three days between charges. If left alone, the device will only drop a few percent each day. By contrast the iPhone 6 is good, but not as good. So if battery life is a killer consideration, opt for Android in this case. (See also: iPhone 6 vs LG G3 smartphone comparison.)
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: storage
As we mentioned above the iPhone comes with onboard storage of either 16GB, 64GB or 128GB. These are great options, although we can't imagine anyone being satisfied with 16GB these days. And, of course, the Xperia Z3 Compact comes in only a 16GB flavour.
But before you accuse us of bias, the situation is more nuanced. For one thing the 64GB and 128GB versions of the iPhone 6 are much more expensive than is the Xperia Z3 Compact. For another: the Sony has a storage expansion slot that allows you to add up to another 128GB of storage.
A quick search online shows that you can get a 128GB SD card for between £50 and £100. There are potential performance issues with using expandable storage, of course, and if you want the best phone experience you should get a high-capacity iPhone. But if you are counting the pennies the Xperia Z3 Compact really does offer superior value.
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: display
The iPhone 6 sports a 4.7in display. It is an LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen with 16M colours. You get, as you would expect, shatter proof glass with an oleophobic coating. Into this display is packed 750 x 1334 pixels, making for a pixel density of 326ppi. This is very much an iPhone screen: sharp and colourful, with realistic colour reproduction and good viewing angles.
The Xperia Z3 Compacts screen is a smaller 4.6in. The resolution remains at 720p so we see a minor drop in pixel density to 319ppi. But even with our Apple fan heads on we can say that this isn't really a big deal.
The Sony screen is crisp, bright. The display is also responsive and has optional glove and double tap to wake options. The 'smart backlight control' will keep the screen on as long as you're looking at it. We can't honestly say that either display is better.
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: design and build
Indeed, the most important thing about the Xperia Z3 Compact's screen is the amount of real estate on offer for the diddy size of the phone. Or to put it another way, the display is almost as big as the iPhone 6's, but our Apple phone is a much larger device.
At 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm the iPhone 6 is certainly not a small phone, but it is uncommonly thin. And 129 g is very light for a large-screen smartphone: much as you would expect from Apple. The iPhone 6 is a very different device from the iPhones of the past four years. The new phones have rounded edges - not just the metal, but the edges of the glass front are curved. This and the overall thinness make it a very comfortable fit in the hand.
The Xperia Z3 Compact is thicker, but lighter than its rival at 8.6 mm and 127 g.
Waterproof design is becoming synonymous with Sony and the Z3 Compact has a high rating of IP68 meaning it's fully dust proof and can be plunged into water up to 1.5m deep continuously. This does mean slightly annoying flaps - although not for the headphone port - but that's the price you pay. You can barely notice them when in place.
Once again, build quality feels top-notch with Sony's combination of glass and aluminium. The Xperia Z3 Compact feels desirable in the hand. A new feature to the design are nylon corner pieces (where it's more likely to land) to avoid damaging the metal if you drop the phone.
Overall we'd say the iPhone 6 is the more beautiful handset, but the Xperia Z3 Compact is more robust. And it is waterproof. You pays your money you takes your choice, but if you are the sort of person who regularly dunks their handset in the sea, a move to Sony may be on the cards.
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: cameras
The iPhone 6 sports an 8Mp rear-facing main camera that can capture video up to 1080p at 60fps, and 720p at 240fps. The Z3 Compact has a 20.7Mp rear camera with Exmor RS sensor. It includes a new 25mm wide-angle lens and a super high ISO of 12800 for improved shooting in low light. By default, it takes photos at 8 Mp but in manual mode you can switch up to 15.5 Mp (16:9) and 20.7 Mp (4:3) if you like. The Compact can now shoot video in 4K and there's an improved Steady Shot with Intelligent Active Mode for keeping content smoother. It's a great phone camera. We'd say it is better than the iPhone 6's, although not necessarily so much better that anyone other than the confirmed shutterbug will care. It is a consideration, though.
Around the front both boths have webcams, the iPhone's being a 1.2Mp camera and the Sony's a 2.2Mp. If the quality of phone camera is critical to you, you may find yourself casting admiring glances outside the iPhone world.
iPhone 6 vs Xperia Z3 Compact comparison: software
Android vs iOS is a conundrum. Android isn't like it used to be: if you are new to the smartphone game there's no obvious winner. These are the two most popular and best mobile operating systems around so it's about picking which one is right for you.
In essence, if you are a long-term iOS user you are probably best off sticking with what you know. You have after all almost certainly spent a lot of cash on apps that you'll have to spend again in Android. But it is worth considering that your iTunes music files will work in Android, and Android offers the opportunity of shopping around for music, movies, books and TV shows. See also: Just another opinion about Apple's new iPhones.
iPhone 6: Specs
Apple A8 processor
16/64/128 GB storage
8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
1.2 MP secondary camera
750 x 1334 pixels, 4.7 inches LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm
Author: Matt Egan, Global Editorial Director
A passionate technology fan who writes on subjects as diverse as smartphones, internet security, social media and software.
Recent stories by Matt Egan:
How to move from Android to iPhone
How to fix an iPhone that won't charge
How to change the App Store to UK on iPhone & iPad
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Magic Spells Caster in the World
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Love Spells in Dudley
June 3, 2019 Ethan
Everybody wants to find true love, right? Why not use a spell or ritual to find it? Love spells in Dudley are probably the most widely used spells that exist. If at all you are worried about the status of your relationship or your loved one has left you and gone away from you and also your efforts to bring him/her back have failed.
Love spells in Dudley can be effective to bring your love back, attract your lover and fix your relationship regardless of the problem. There are many types of love spells and rituals in Dudley available on this website casted by Professor Ethan who is a gifted spells caster with powerful ancient techniques which are fast, effective and result oriented.
Real Love Spells in Dudley
Real love may sometimes be very complex to find and on the other hand, you may have let love slip away from you. No matter what problem you face in your relationship you can count on love spells in Dudley to guide you. Yes, love is a magical feeling and you can use magic to your advantage and bring back that good old feeling into your life once again and also solve any relationship problems. There are very many love spells in Dudley that are available on this website and these spells will always work for you depending on your magical beliefs. Love, is the most desired and coveted element of life, although love can be a major risk. There are so many people the world over nursing broken hearts and carrying love that is unrequited. It is because of this that people do ask for help with love through magic.
Bring back your lover in Dudley with the help of magic spells
When you are deeply in love with someone, it should not have to be put aside or ignored. You should be able to connect with this person again, for true love is something that the universe can not keep apart. With a love spell to bring back a lost lover in Dudley, you will be able to return your partner back into your life, even when you thought things cannot be able to be repaired.
You will also begin to realize what you’ve been missing in your relationship and so will the other person. You will both be flooded with memories of your relationship and of the way you were together. No matter how you became separated, those feelings will give way to a renewed energy and a commitment to being together.
With spells to bring back an ex in Dudley, you will find the old problems of the relationship are no longer problems. You will find that you can fall in love with this person once more. This will connect you to them in a new way, though based on the love you’ve already felt. These reunite lovers spells in Dudley are powerful and long lasting, so the love you choose to attract back to you must be a love which is pure and true. You can finally create a new ending for your love story, a happy one.
Love Spells to make someone fall in love with you in Dudley
There is that one person who we love so much that we would do almost anything to have those feelings returned. This spell in Dudley to make someone fall in love with you has worked for so many people and I am sure it will work for you too! You might be deeply in love with a person and might wonder if he or she has the same feelings for you or not. Nothing can beat the happiness and joy you get when you know that the person whom you truly love loves you back. You can easily make this dream of yours into a reality by resorting to love spells to make someone fall in love with you.
Sex and Lust Spells in Dudley
You may wonder if Sex Spells and Lust magic spells in Dudley really work. The truth they do, and they help a great deal to put back the passion and romance into a relationship. Today, with the increasing stress levels and responsibilities, it is often difficult to get into the mood and to feel lust and passion. While it is normal to have high levels of sexual attraction, lust, and passion at the beginning of a relationship, these feelings can fade over time.
Over the years, this lust and sexual desire begins to fade off, and can lead to very trying phases for both involved in the relationship and can even lead to breakups. In a healthy relationship, both partners will feel satisfied and fulfilled but the problems arise when one partner remains unfulfilled and unsatisfied sexually. This is exactly where Lust Spells and Sexual Attraction Spell work their magic and wake up the lost passion, the lust, and the need for physical love in the other partner.
Benefits of Sexual Attraction and Lust Spells in Dudley
Lust spells and Passion Spells in Dudley are some of the most popular spells out there because everyone out there is looking to spice up their relationship. There are many different benefits that come as a result of this lust spell such as the following
Recreating passion between lovers
Creating more physical, emotional and sexual attraction
Increase in sexual stamina
Increase in sexual desire and interest
More intimacy
By recreating your romance, you will then begin to solve other problems such as problems with trust, infidelity, moving in separate directions, increasing happiness and love in the relationship and more.
Solving Problems with Lust Spells and Sex Spells in Dudley
The sexual component of your relationship is extremely important and it can often create grand problems in one’s relationship. Once these problems are resolved, couples will find it easier to communicate about other problems in their relationship. This incredible love spell will create immense sexual urges in both you and your partner to be aware that this spell may hit either one of you at any time. You may even notice sudden changes in yourself such as more sexual desirability and self-confidence.
Spells to delete mistakes in your past in Dudley
Wouldn’t it be great if you could undo all of the mistakes you’ve made in the past? While this might not be possible right now, you can begin to delete the past by using magic spells and rituals to erase all mistakes. Instead of worrying about whether someone will find out about the bad thing you did, you can use spells to delete the past and you will find that you are able to start fresh with this new person. You don’t have to share things you don’t want to share. Who you are now is what matters and what will cause a person to like you or to turn away from you. But you don’t deserve to be punished for things which you can not change.
Spells to delete the past in Dudley will allow you to focus on your present self and all of its beauty and perfection. Though no one is complete of mistakes, you can delete the past and allow people to only know what you need them to know. This can certainly come in handy when you’re first dating someone or when you want to impress someone for other reasons and show them how wonderful you are.
Spells to Remove Family Problems and Conflicts in Dudley
Millions of people date and marry outside of their culture, ethnic or religious background, promoting diversity, tolerance, and understanding in society. But not every family accepts this type of change. Many families resist welcoming spouses or partners if the person has a religious or cultural background different from their own. This Spell in Dudley to Remove family problems and Family Conflicts is designed to eliminate these types of resentful emotions between and within families.
Faithfulness spells in Dudley
Faithfulness Love Spells in Dudley give you peace of mind and enable you to trust him or her completely. With these love spells, your lover, spouse or partner will be completely faithful to you. His or her desire will be only for you!
These love rituals eradicate all desire for others; overwhelming desire for you and you alone will take over. You won’t have to worry about straying thoughts, adultery or even wandering eyes when the magical forces of this spell take force. He or she is guaranteed to be so focused on you that any thoughts of another person will be banished from his or her mind forever!
Break up Spells in Dudley
If you are worried about the wrong relationship that your partner is involved with, try casting these spells to break off their relationship. Some people also use these spells for breaking up their own relationship with their lover because they are not happy with the person or are troubled by their partners. There is no harm involved since you are not hurting anybody and are simply trying to get rid of an unhappy relationship.
Love spells cast on a person can make him or her feel attracted towards you, the spell caster. If you are not happy with this, opt for break-up spells in order to deactivate the forces associated with the love spells.
Spells to Stop a Divorce, Break-up or Separation in Dudley
The forces involved in this witchcraft spell will reestablish the loving bond between you and help to build a strong, loving relationship from which to start anew. Despite any previous hardships or problems, the spell-work will reestablish the strong bonds of friendship and love upon which the marriage and relationship originated. Have faith, these rituals are extremely powerful and will reconnect you and your partner in a strong and harmonious relationship.
My ritual in Dudley will not only stop separation and divorce, but rebuild a strong bond between you and your partner that is based on truth, honesty, and unconditional love. For an even stronger effect, you may want to consider including the Eternal Love Bond to ensure your relationship and love will last through all tests of time. Keep in mind that all my love spells in Dudley are 100% customized and that you’ll only need one spell to address all problems/wishes.
Spells to heal or mend a broken heart in Dudley
If you have ended your relationship but can’t seem to let go and move on, then this spell in Dudley is for you. It will help lighten your heart, give you renewed hope, and most of all will heal you from heartbreak! To suffer from a broken heart is painful and affects all areas of life as we are not able to focus on anything else but the broken heart. You may wonder why you should cast a spell to heal a broken heart in Dudley and what it will actually do. Once the magic is in full manifestation, it will attract strong positive energies into your life and those energies will banish the negative energies, feeling, and emotions. You will feel full of happiness, positivity and have a good outlook on life. It will open you for another love and another relationship without the anger and resentment that the past relationship and it’s break-up has caused you.
Love spells in Dudley Love spells in United Kingdom (UK)
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PLCE
PLCE U.S.: Nasdaq
Children's Place Inc.
Watchlist CreatePLCEAlert
PLCEUS
Last Updated: Jan 15, 2021 6:22 p.m. EST Delayed quote
After Hours Volume: 50.67K
Chg %
$57.27 -1.53 -2.60%
Volume: 662.58K 65 Day Avg: 749.96K
88% vs Avg
55.78 Day Range 58.70
9.25 52 Week Range 72.50
Analyst Estimates
PLCE Overview
Open $58.33
Day Range 55.78 - 58.70
52 Week Range 9.25 - 72.50
Shares Outstanding 14.59M
Public Float 13.73M
Rev. per Employee $108.13K
P/E Ratio N/A
EPS -$8.53
Dividend $0.56
Ex-Dividend Date Dec 13, 2019
Short Interest 5.2M 12/31/20
% of Float Shorted 37.88%
Average Volume 749.96K
Number of Ratings 8 Full Ratings
Children's Place stock price target raised to $48 from $32 at Wedbush
Dec. 1, 2020 at 8:19 a.m. ET by Tomi Kilgore
Children’s Place says fourth-quarter margins will be under pressure due to delivery costs and constraints
Nov. 19, 2020 at 11:52 a.m. ET by Tonya Garcia
The Children's Place enters $80 million term loan agreement
Oct. 6, 2020 at 8:10 a.m. ET by Ciara Linnane
The Children's Place enters $80 mln term loan agreement
Children’s Place is in a good place for a comeback, analysts say -- right behind Walmart, Target and Kohl’s
Aug. 27, 2020 at 9:05 a.m. ET by Tonya Garcia
Children's Place stock plunges 17% after wider-than-expected losses, back-to-school slowdown
Aug. 25, 2020 at 11:46 a.m. ET by Tonya Garcia
Children's Place stock price target cut to $25 from $45 at Wedbush
Aug. 21, 2020 at 7:37 a.m. ET by Tomi Kilgore
Children's Place stock price target cut to $29 from $36 at B. Riley FBR
Why Lululemon’s Stores Can Help Lift the Stock
Jun. 19, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. ET by Barron's
Children's Place to close 300 stores, reduce mall presence
Jun. 12, 2020 at 12:52 p.m. ET by Tonya Garcia
Children's Place stock falls after sales miss, plans to shutter 300 stores by next year
Jun. 11, 2020 at 7:29 a.m. ET by Tonya Garcia
Children's Place's stock tumbles 11% premarket after Q1 results
Jun. 11, 2020 at 7:06 a.m. ET by Tomi Kilgore
Children's Place has 61 stores open as of June 8
Children's Place not providing same-store sales results given store closures resulting from COVID-19
CORRECT: Children's Place Q1 sales $255.2 mln vs. $412.4 mln a year ago; FactSet consensus $271.5mln
Children's Place targets 300 additional store closures by end of fiscal 2021
CORRECT: Children's Place Q1 adj. per-share loss $1.96; FactSet consensus loss $2.26
Children's Place Q1 per-share loss $7.86 vs. EPS 28 cents a year ago
Children's Place stock price target raised to $36 from $22 at B. Riley FBR
May. 19, 2020 at 7:50 a.m. ET by Tomi Kilgore
Children's Place stock price target raised to $45 from $38 at Monness Crespi Hardt
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Reports Holiday Sales, Comps Increase 1.7%
Jan. 12, 2021 at 10:28 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
Genesco's (GCO) Comps Decline 3%, Online Business Strong
GameStop (GME) Reports Holiday Sales, New Members on Board
Jan. 12, 2021 at 9:51 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
Boot Barn (BOOT) Announces Preliminary Results for Q3 FY21
Home Depot (HD) Witnesses Positive Trends in 2020: Will It Stay?
Jan. 8, 2021 at 10:38 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
Weyerhaeuser, Royal Caribbean, Macy's, L Brands and The Children's Place highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Macy's (M) to Shut 45 Stores as Part of Fleet Optimization Plans
Jan. 6, 2021 at 9:55 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
Alibaba (BABA) Puts Stop on Weak-Performing Xiami Service
Children's Place (PLCE) Digitization Endeavor is Paying Off
Dec. 24, 2020 at 1:20 p.m. ET on Zacks.com
Zacks.com featured highlights include: Macy's, BBBY, ABM, BG and PLCE
Dec. 24, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. ET on Zacks.com
5 Stocks to Watch Out for Following Upgrade by Analysts
Dec. 23, 2020 at 10:46 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
Why Is The Children's Place (PLCE) Up 12% Since Last Earnings Report?
Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: The Children's Place, Zumiez, Stitch Fix and The Gap
4 Apparel Players Well Poised to Tap Rising Online Demand
Dec. 15, 2020 at 9:36 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
GameStop (GME) Falls Despite Narrower-Than-Expected Loss
Dec. 9, 2020 at 9:48 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
Children's Place (PLCE) Up on Q3 Earnings Beat, Sales Drop Y/Y
Nov. 20, 2020 at 9:27 a.m. ET on Zacks.com
The Children's Place (PLCE) Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
Factors to Know Ahead of Children's Place (PLCE) Q3 Earnings
Mattel, PLCE, Gilead, Vertex and Horizon as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Oct. 26, 2020 at 1:06 p.m. ET on Zacks.com
The Children's Place, Inc. provides apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children. It also designs, contracts to manufacture and sell fashionable and value-priced merchandise under the brand names of The Children’s Place, Baby Place, and Gymboree. The firm operates through the following segments: Children’s Place U.S. and Children’s Place International. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Secaucus, NJ.
Carter's Inc. -0.69% $4.32B
Destination Maternity Corp. -1.18% $151.14K
Gap Inc. -1.47% $8.37B
Urban Outfitters Inc. 1.04% $2.72B
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. -1.77% $3.86B
Kohl's Corp. -4.34% $7.19B
Competitor Data Provided By Capital Cube Logo
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Volvo Car Norway AS
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2000-2008: A historical review
Four new models saw the light of day in 2000: the brand-new Volvo S60, a compact medium-sized sedan, the revised and improved Volvo V70 and V70 Cross Country models (V70 XC), and the new versions of the Volvo S40 and V40. In 2002 the SUV XC90 was launched. 2003 the new S40 and V50 were launched followed in 2005 by the convertible C70 and in 2006 a sporty coupe C30. In 2007 the plug-in-hybrid ReCharge Concept Car was shown. In 2008 came the crossover XC60 and later the introducuction of extremely economical cars - the DRIVe cars.
The 1990s marked the biggest technical transition for Volvo in terms of how Volvo cars were to be designed and built for the future. A modular family of engines was the first result, initially as a six-cylinder engine in the new 960 model in late 1990 and appearing less than a year later in a five-cylinder version in the completely new Volvo 850 GLT - the car with four world firsts: one at the front, one at the rear and two in the middle. These were the transverse five-cylinder engine with its transmission and front-wheel drive integrated into a compact unit, the delta-link rear suspension, the SIPS side impact protection system and the ARH belt reel with its automatic height adjustment. The 850 became the basis for most Volvo models of the 1990s, expanding the range as usual with entry-level models as well as prestige versions, even convertibles. Other new cars from Volvo were the Dutch-built S40/V40 and the prestigious S80 in 1998 which again marked a new era of technology and innova
1980 - the first turbocharged Volvo car - the Volvo 240 Turbo. Volvo Concept Car (VCC) to test the technical solutions in the fields of energy and the environment. 1981 - the one-millionth Volvo bound for North America left the assembly line. This jubilee car was a silver 240 estate. 1982 - Volvo unveiled the Volvo 760. 1983 - Volvo presented a project for the future - the LCP 2000 (Light Component Project). 1984 - new addition to the 700 Series, the Volvo 740. 1985 - Volvo 780, Volvo 480 ES, Volvo 740/760 Estates. 1986 - an environmental success wthen engines with catalytic converters and the Lambda Sond were introduced. 1987 - A microprocessor-controlled climate unit known as ECC (Electronic Climate Control) was introduced. 1988 - The Volvo 440 was introduced. 1989 - The Experimental Safety Vehicle Conference was held in Gothenburg for the first time. Volvo's contribution, which included side-collision protection and a child booster cushion integrated into the rear seat of the car.
1970 - The Volvo Amazon (P120) was phased out. During the year Volvo passed the 2 million car production mark. 1971 - The most powerful standard car Volvo had ever produced was presented - the Volvo 164 E. And 1800 ES was presented. 1972 - Volvo presented a safety vehicle - the VESC, Volvo Experimental Safety Car. 1973 - The US became Volvo's largest market ahead of Sweden.Volvo Technical Centre (VTC) new opportunities for experiments and tests. 1974 - A new generation of Volvo cars was presented: the Volvo 240 with six different models and the Volvo 260 with two models. 1975 - Two new cars were presented: the Volvo 265 and the Volvo 66. The 265 was an exclusive estate with a 6-cylinder engine and excellent comfort. 1976 - The US traffic safety administration (NHTSA) purchased a number of Volvo 240s, which were used to set the safety standards against which all new cars on the US market were tested. The Volvo 343 from Holland made its appearance. 1977 - Volvo celebrated its 50th anniv
1960 - Volvo presented an entirely new vehicle - a sports car. The P1800 was presented - A revolution. 1961 - In October the Amazon 121 was released. On April 24th 1964 the new Torslanda Plant was opened. Another assembly plant was opened in Ghent in Belgium in 1965. Volvo 144 was introduced in 1966 and next year was the 145 Estate introduced . 1998 came the Volvo 164, a prestige version.
1950 - B Series of the PV444 was introduced. - 1951 - The B model of the PV444 was replaced by the C model. 1952 - In January the 25,000th PV444 left the Volvo plant on Hisingen. 1953 - The first Volvo Duett was introduced in the summer. 1954 - the Volvo Sport were introduced - 1955 - of the Volvo Sport ceased after only one year. 1956 - The big news this year was the Volvo 120, known in Scandinavia as the Amazon. 1957 - The top half of the dashboard was "padded". Safety belt anchorage points on the front seats were standard. 1958 - The windscreen on the PV544 was larger, it was not split and was slightly convex. 1959 - Volvo was the first car manufacturer in the world to equip its cars with three point safety belts as a standard fitting.
1940 - The decline in sales was compensated to some extent by a new area of operations within Swedish defence. . 1941 - The successor to the PV53-56 was to have been the PV60, a larger car in the American style. Deliveries, which were due to begin in May 1940, had to be postponed. Even so, Volvo built a number of prototypes in which the bodywork was developed in different ways. 1942 -Volvo purchased Köpings Mekaniska Verkstad AB, which had supplied the company with gears and gearboxes since the start. 1943 - PV444, was due to be introduced in the autumn of 1944. 1944 - introduction of PV444 - the people's choice. 1945 - fortunately the war ended. But a long strike began. 1946 - The production of the PV60 began on a modest scale. 1947 - Ten PV444s was built to check that the production process functioned. 1948 - Almost 3,000 cars were produced. 1949 - 12,700 PV444S were produced.
1930 - Volvo bought its engine supplier, Pentaverken in Skövde. A new passenger car PV652 was introduced. 1931 - two new taxis the TR673 and TR674. 1932 - fuel consumption lowered, the free-wheel was introduced. 1933 - the new PV653 (standard) and PV654 (de Luxe) models were presented. 1934 - a new series of 7-seater taxis. 1935 - the big news was the PV36, "the streamlined car". 1936 - the PV51 was introduced. 1937 - introduction of the PV52, which was better equipped than the PV51. 1938 - The new models this year were the PV53 and the PV54 standard versions and the PV55 and PV56 de Luxe versions. 1939 - with the onstart of the Second World War fuel consumption was a main task for Volvo. Production of producer-gas units started by the spring.
1927-1929: I roll...
Convinced that a Swedish-built quality car had a given place in the market, the dream of Messrs Gabrielsson and Larson came true on the 14th of April 1927 when the first Volvo, the ÖV4, rolled off the assembly line. It was a four-door open tourer with a four-cylinder 2-litre engine. During the first year, 297 cars were sold, from a calculated 300 (a closed version was added later in the year) and Volvo was off on the biggest venture in Swedish industrial history. Realising from the start that heavy vehicles and export sales were vital factors for survival, trucks were introduced already in 1928 and the same year the first market company, in Finland, was established. Shortly after, a six-cylinder model – the PV651 – was added to the range, providing the technical basis for cars and trucks alike, and company also entered the important taxi market. When 1929 became 1930, Volvo had produced close to 3,000 vehicles, half of which were cars. The wheels of Volvo had begun rolling, materialisi
The same car in the same place-but 85 years later
On 14 April 1927, the first mass-produced Volvo car rolled off the production line at the Lundby factory in Göteborg. Now, 85 years later, the Volvo Group is one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles and Volvo Car Corporation sells almost 500,000 cars each year.
He has done it!
Irv Gordon reaches 3 million miles in his 1966 Volvo 1800S
Informasjonserklæring
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When Anti-Zionism Reigned at the IRS
by Phyllis Chesler
https://www.meforum.org/7209/when-anti-zionism-reigned-at-the-irs
Originally published under the title, "Obama's anti-Semisim/anti-Zionism reigned at the IRS from 2010-2017."
After a "long, lonely and expensive seven-year struggle"...Lori Lowenthal Marcus, the founder of Z STREET has just won a significant legal victory which grants her organization tax-exempt status and definitively exposes Obama's IRS as obsessively anti-Israel.
There was a repeated effort during the Obama administration to bar organizations that support Judea and Samaria from being eligible for tax-exempt status.
Ironically, Marcus founded Z STREET in 2009 in order to "educate Americans about the Middle East and Israel's defense against terror."
The Z Street application was at first delayed, then frozen, because the IRS claimed as a defense, that Israel was viewed as a "terrorist entity," and a country "with terrorism."
Many of us suspected that Obama's administration had politicized Homeland Security, the DOJ, the FBI, and the American relationship to the United Nations in ways that favored Islamism, Islamic terrorism, Palestine and Iran, and that demonized Zionism and Israel's attempts at self-defense.
Z STREET's successful lawsuit exposes how the Obama administration, through its power to grant or withhold tax-exempt status to groups, politicized and corrupted a policy of even-handedness, transparency, and accountability at the IRS.
According to Marcus, "Our own investigation disclosed that between 2009 and 2016, while Z STREET's application was stalled, the IRS needed no special scrutiny to grant numerous applications for tax-exempt status that explicitly proclaimed donations would be spent in Gaza—a territory formally under the jurisdiction of Hamas, which the U.S. State Department designates as a terror organization."
According to Marcus, in a personal interview, the following is merely a sampling of not-for-profits, which she obtained via Guidestar; the IRS had okayed these "charities" during the period that Z STREET's application remained pending.
· American Charities for Palestine
· Institute for Palestine Studies USA Inc
· Teach for Palestine
· Palestine Foundation Inc.
· The Israel Palestine Project
· Opportunity Palestine
· Palestine Advocacy Project
· Physicians for Palestine Inc.
· Coloradans for Justice in Palestine
· Embrace the Children of Palestine Inc.
· Just Peace for Israel Palestine
· Justice for Palestine-Israel Inc.
· Palestine in America inc. NFP
· Joining Hands for Justine [sic] in Palestine Israel Inc.
· Land of Canaan Foundation Inc.
· Peace of Palos Hills
· PAL Craftaid
· United Muslim Relief UMR
· Karamausa Inc.
· AJP Educational Foundation Inc.
· Friends of Al-Rowwad USA Inc.
· Holy Land Missions
· Project Unified Assistance
· Gaza's Hope
· Palestinian American Medical Association
Now we have further documentation of Obama's official anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism and its reign at the IRS between 2010 and 2017.
The mainstream or leftstream and liberal media barely covered this lawsuit. The Wall Street Journal and FOX did.
One 2010 article in Politico found the right kind of Jew, former IRS Commissioner, Sheldon Cohen who said, "he was skeptical of Z Street's motives in its high-profile lawsuit, rather than pursuing its concerns in tax court. 'They were hardly into the process when they screamed rape – nobody lifted the dress yet," he said, noting that 501(c)3 groups can't advocate for political positions.
Seven years is a long time to be unable to raise funding for educational purposes; it is also a long time in which to launch and maintain a self-defensive lawsuit, one which was immediately punished by the IRS which then froze the Z STREET application. Seven years is a long time to experience the absence of Jewish-American organizational support; the turned backs of Jewish philanthropists is another kind of sorrow and challenge.
Marcus is a hero. Her website is here. Her summary of the Consent Order is here.
After I called Lori to congratulate her, she agreed to an interview. Here it is.
Q: Who, if anyone, helped you during your seven-year battle?
A: We never could have afforded the seven-plus years of litigation, but luckily my husband and I are lawyers and did the vast bulk of the work. Two law firms graciously helped out as local counsel in Washington, D.C. There were a few in the non-mainstream media who paid attention to our case, and that was extremely helpful. Some smaller pro-Israel organizations, such as EMET and AFSI, were very supportive. Most helpful of all, the Wall Street Journal wrote editorial after editorial as it followed our case, and Fox News also covered it at various points.
Q: Who, besides the IRS, opposed, ostracized, or threatened you?
A: Nobody threatened us, but some organizations - including some Jewish ones and even pro-Israel ones which we expected to be supportive - were either silent or distinctly unhelpful. For some reason no one in Congress, not even ostensibly pro-Israel folks on either side of the aisle, were helpful. We were just too small to matter to them, I think.
Q: What have you lost in this battle?
A: A great deal of emotional energy, personally. For the thousands of ardently pro-Israel individuals around the world who rallied 'round when we launched, a strong voice of ardent but accurate Zionism was lost.
Q: How do you feel now that you've won this battle for transparency, truth, and justice? Do you believe that this will set a precedent for other conservative or pro-Israel organizations who have been fighting for not-for-profit status?
A: I believe that had we not fought this battle many more pro-Israel organizations would have been hindered by the IRS. There was a repeated effort during the Obama administration to bar organizations that support Judea and Samaria from being eligible for tax-exempt status. There was a reason the IRS fought so hard for so long and with so many resources to keep us quiet. I have heard from other pro-Israel organizations in recent years that they believed their applications were treated swiftly and fairly because we made things difficult for the IRS and because we refused to fold. I am sure that had we not fought back through our lawsuit, the effort in the State Department and the IRS would have become a full-fledged policy.
Q: Have you heard from anyone in the new administration? If so, who and what did they say if anything?
A: I believe our case was finally settled, and the Department of Justice lawyers agreed to the admissions it did, because of the fairly recent entry of new lawyers at the administrative level with oversight for the IRS. I very much doubt ours and the Tea Party cases would have settled had this new administration not been in office.
Q: What are you planning or at least hoping to do now?
A: I'm hoping Z STREET will again be a voice for ardent and accurate Zionism. There is so much to do, and comparatively so few voices unabashedly raised in support of Israel. I hope people will come to our new website, ZSTREET.ORG - we had to shut down the one we had because of lack of funding - and share their views and amplify ours.
Q: What else might you want to say?
A: The legal process is an unwieldy, awkward tool for correcting injustice, but sometimes, if you stick to it long enough, it actually works!
Lowenthal-Marcus' recent article on the lawsuit appeared in the Wall Street Journal
Related Topics: Israel & Zionism, US policy | Phyllis Chesler receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free mef mailing list
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The project National Hail Climatology Switzerland („Hagelklima Schweiz“) aims at developing a consistent and spatially explicit hail climatology for Switzerland. A new generation of radar observations and reference data and modern statistical methods promise a significant improvement over the currently used hazard maps and will therefore facilitate precise risk assessments. The lead partners in the project are the Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP), the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), the Prevention Foundation of the Association of Cantonal Building Insurers (VKG / PSFP), the Swiss Insurance Association (SVV), the Swiss Hail Insurance, and the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (sia). All project partners delegate stakeholders, who are closely involved in the project design through regular discussion meetings. This guarantees targeted and user-oriented product development. The University of Bern is an additional associated consulting partner, contributing world-leading scientific expertise on hail research.
Hail is one of the three costliest natural hazards in Switzerland. Every year, hail storms cause millions of Swiss Francs in damage, surpassed only by storms and flooding. Buildings, vehicles and agriculture are assets that are particularly at risk. Forecast and warnings are essential nececcisties for risk management, but also insurers and the building sector require reliable and qualitative information on current and long-term hail risk.
Hail causes significant damage.
Source: pixabay, License: CC0 Creative Commons
Based on modern radar observations, old hail maps are being updated and new products are developed.
Source: project partners, MeteoSwiss
The five radar stations operated by MeteoSwiss: Albis, Pointe de la Plaine Morte, Weissfluhgipfel, Monte Lema, La Dôle.
Radar stations MeteoSwiss.
Agrilculture is particularly vulnerable to small hailstones.
The localized occurrence and short duration of hailstorms make it hard to accurately measure hail on the ground. As a consequence, systematic, spatially comprehensive observations of hail are largely missing in Switzerland. In the past, hail maps have been generated using damage observations from insurance data, hail reports, and point-scale observations. These maps are inconsistent and often based on data which are not quality-controlled, or were calculated with now outdated methods.
The National Hail Climatology Switzerland („Hagelklima Schweiz“) project) project aims at developing consistent, high-quality climatologies of hail frequency and intensity in Switzerland, which are run and updated operationally. Within the frame of the project, the most recent generation of radar data is reprocessed and improved and innovative statistical methodologies are developed and applied. Information on hail tracks, but also products that take a closer look at individual hail events complement the climatological maps and datasets.
A close and regular exchange with the stakeholders from all project partners ensures that deliverables are approached in targeted and user-oriented ways and that they will be ready to be used in practical applications.
Two MeteoSwiss teams, one in Zurich (climatology) and one in Locarno Monti (radar observations), closely collaborate to develop and implement the national hail climatology. The adequate treatment of inevitable uncertainties, such as those inherent to the estimation of recurrence intervals of rare extreme hail events, is a particular requirement within this project.
In addition, it is ensured that all developed products and climate information will continuously be updated and always be based on the latest radar observations, guaranteeing long-term and high-quality operation and provision hosted at MeteoSwiss.
Since November 2019, the project “Hagelklima Schweiz” is one of the priority themes declared by the National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS). More information on the products and detailes on the methods used can be found on the web pages of the priority theme “Hail Climate Switzerland”.
Parallel projects
In parallel projects, MeteoSwiss, the Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks at the University of Bern, the inNET Monitoring AG, and the Mobiliar Insurance Company collaborate on developing new reference data to refine and validate automatic radar hail detection technology. An entirely new kind of information is provided by the so-called “crowd-sourcing” data, i.e.hail reports collected through the MeteoSwiss mobile app (see also the MeteoSwiss Blog series on hail 2019, part 3), available in German, French, and Italian.
In addition, within the scope of the “Swiss hail observation network” project, 80 automatic hail sensors are being deployed and operated in the hail hotspots of Switzerland. The observation network will run from 2018 to 2025 and will deliver unique measurements of the size and kinetic energy of hail stones reaching the ground app (see also the MeteoSwiss Blog series on hail 2019, part 4), available in German, French, and Italian.
From improved radar observations …
Because hail occurs on very small spatio-temporal scales, it is very difficult to measure on the ground in an accurate and representative way. Direct measurements, such as those by so-called “hailpads” or digital hail sensors (see info box “Swiss hail observation network”) would need to be available in very high spatial density over the entire area of Switzerland in order to deliver useful information on hail occurrence over the country.
Observations from the five radar stations of the Swiss radar network cover the entire area of Switzerland and thus present a unique data basis for developing a new Swiss national hail climatology.
By using the data from weather radars and applying specifically developed algorithms, the probability of hail and even the expected size of hailstones can be estimated on a 1 km by 1 km raster covering Switzerland. Such estimates ground on empirically established relations between the altitude of the freezing level and the altitude of specific radar echoes.
In the course of the project, the hail detection algorithms currently implemented at MeteoSwiss will be reviewed and improved where possible. This will provide a new generation of radar data for the statistical estimation of climatological frequencies and intensities of hail storms.
Short movie about the functionality of a weather radar.
… to new climate data for hail risk assessment
Climatologies, describing the long-term statistics of weather, inform us on where and when hailstorms of certain intensities can be expected. Such information is relevant, for example, for insurance companies calculating portfolios, but also for the building sector to adequately plan prevention measures such as building codes for roofs.
Because of incomplete measurements and short observational records of hail, existing climatological maps are spatially coarse, and the magnitude of uncertainties is largely unknown.
Improved radar data now provide the opportunity to recalculate a hail climatology for Switzerland with unprecedented spatial accuracy. In addition, exceedance probabilities and intensities of hail storms can be analyzed in high spatio-temporal resolution. To deliver robust statements and quantitative estimation of uncertainties, the project builds on internationally renowned expert knowledge and years of expertise in extreme value statistics at MeteoSwiss. The hail hazard information will be made available to the public after the project is finished.
Project partners National Hail Climatology („Hagelklima Schweiz")
Lead partners:
Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)
Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP)
Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG)
Prevention Foundation of the Association of cantonal building insurers (VKG / PSFP), available in German and French)
Swiss Insurance Association (SVV)
Swiss Hail Insurance (Schweizer Hagel), available in German, French and Italian)
Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (sia)
Associated Partner:
University of Bern, Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks
The priority theme «Hail Climate Switzerland» at the National Centre for Climate Services NCCS
The project Hail Climatology Switzerland in the MeteoSwiss blog series on hail 2019 (available in German, French, Italian)
Information about the Swiss radar network
Information on extreme precipitation and analysis at MeteoSwiss
Further climatological maps and climate information for Switzerland
Press release: The Swiss hail observation network
Press release: The furniture enables Swiss hail measurement network (german only)
Become a hail reporter with the MeteoSwiss App (german only)
Exploring the hail together (german only)
Blog: Switzerland in the center of international hail research (german only)
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San Cristobal (Ecuador) weather
Today. Clear. Sunrise: 06:04; Sunset: 18:12.
Saturday 16 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Cloudy changing to light showers by late morning. Sunrise: 06:04; Sunset: 18:13. UV: Extreme;
Cloudy changing to light showers by late morning.
Sunday 17 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Sunny intervals. Sunrise: 06:04; Sunset: 18:13. UV: Extreme;
Monday 18 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Clear. Sunrise: 06:05; Sunset: 18:13. UV: Extreme;
Tuesday 19 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Clear. Sunrise: 06:05; Sunset: 18:13. UV: Extreme;
Wednesday 20 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning. Sunrise: 06:05; Sunset: 18:14. UV: Extreme;
Thursday 21 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Clear changing to partly cloudy by nighttime. Sunrise: 06:06; Sunset: 18:14. UV: Extreme;
Clear changing to partly cloudy by nighttime.
Friday 22 January. Maximum daytime temperature: 26 degrees Celsius; Minimum nighttime temperature: 24 degrees Celsius. Partly cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning. Sunrise: 06:06; Sunset: 18:14. UV: Extreme;
Eight day forecast for San Cristobal
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Salinas 613 miles
Manta 615 miles
Portoviejo 633 miles
Bahia De Caraques 634 miles
Lobitos 638 miles
Talara 642 miles
Paita 668 miles
Tumbes 668 miles
Guayaquil 681 miles
View all locations in Ecuador
Locations All locations in Ecuador
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EK 2015 RailKing One Gauge
Downloadable .PDF file:
2015 RK1 Online Catalog 7-10-15_lores.pdf
Highlights From This Catalog
More than any other One-Gauge trains, M.T.H. RailKing One-Gauge models capture the drama of mainline American railroading. Whether you’re a garden railroader or prefer to operate indoors, the Proto-Sound 3.0 sound and control system built into every M.T.H. locomotive, as well as our optional DCS™ command control system, allow you to duplicate in miniature the sights and sounds of Class 1 American railroads. While One-Gauge manufacturers offer trains in a variety of scales, only 1:32 models such as the RailKing One-Gauge line are correctly proportioned to represent standard gauge American trains. Models built to 1:29 scale, for example, are slightly oversized for One-Gauge track. RailKing One-Gauge 1:32 trains, however, are fully compatible with your existing equipment and can be intermixed with 1:29 and other One-Gauge models. RailKing One-Gauge engines and cars run on standard 2-rail 45mm DC-powered or AC-powered track systems, including the code 250 rail used by fine scale railroaders. All RailKing One-Gauge engines and cars are supplied with truck-mounted operating knuckle couplers, hook & loop couplers, and body mounting pads for Kadee® couplers — so they can mate with virtually any other garden-sized train system.
Flipbook Link:
http://www.mthtrains.com/sites/default/files/catalog_files/2015_rk1_v_1/html5/in…
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Morrow County Sentinel on Facebook
Morrow County Sentinel on Twitter
Posted on February 20, 2017 by morrowcountysentinel
Annual Chili Cookoff to return to Mount Gilead
By Zach Jones - zjones@civitasmedia.com
File photo Cookoff Chairman Lisa Saunders said there will also be a new youth division this year for youth from 12-18. Other categories are for Spicy, Traditional and Most Unique chili recipe.
There is still time to register your chili recipe for the sixth Annual Morrow County Community Center Chili Cookoff. It will be a Saturday Luncheon this year from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. Sat. March 11 at Seniors on Center in Mount Gilead. Admission is a freewill donation.
Cookoff Chairman Lisa Saunders said there will also be a new youth division this year for youth from 12-18. Other categories are for Spicy, Traditional and Most Unique chili recipe.
Those who attend will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite to name the “Best of Show.” There will be a first place trophy for each of the four categories and a second place medal for each category. Entrants are to provide their own crock pot of chili, serving spoon and toppings such as crackers, corn bread, chips, cheese, peppers, onion, sour cream, etc.
There will also be music and entertainment and a raffle for six month membership for the Morrow County Community Center along with a 50/50 raffle and door prizes.
Proceeds from the Chili Cookoff support discounted fees and memberships for youth, military and first responders.
Saunders said participants are encouraged to get their registration in by Friday, March 3. Registration forms are available at the Morrow County Community Center at 16 S. Main St. in Mount Gilead. More details are online at mccommunitycenter.org and on Facebook. You can also call the Community Center at 419-947-2100.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/02/web1_008-2-.jpgFile photo Cookoff Chairman Lisa Saunders said there will also be a new youth division this year for youth from 12-18. Other categories are for Spicy, Traditional and Most Unique chili recipe.
By Zach Jones
zjones@civitasmedia.com
Reach us at mcsnews@civitasmedia.com
46 S. Main Street,
Mt. Gilead OH, 43338
Follow @MorrCoSentinel
Hi! A visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: Annual Chili Cookoff to return to Mount Gilead. Here is a link to that story: http://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/news/12719/annual-chili-cookoff-to-return-to-mount-gilead
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Quiz: Do You Feel Empowered at Work?
Do you operate from a mindset of empowerment or disempowerment? Take your work pulse with these seven true or false questions.
By Jae Ellard
Olesya Shelomova/Adobe Stock
1) True or False: “I have a feeling of clear direction and connectedness to the goings-on around me and understand how my work connects to the mission/purpose of my organization.”
If you answered True: You are likely on the path to feeling a sense of overall empowerment.
If you answered False: It might be time to reexamine the mission/purpose of your organization and explore more deeply where you feel connected or disconnected and begin to seek where there are paths for alignment. If you answered False, it doesn’t mean you have to quit your job, rather, pause and be willing to see it with new eyes.
2) True or False: “I tend to feel as if time, resources, and support are scarce to do what I’m asked to do.”
If you answered False: You likely feel that you have what you need to reach your desired outcomes.
If you answered True: See it as an opportunity to be creative and explore out-of-the-box ideas to complete your goals, play with what if scenarios, brainstorm, even daydream—sometimes a small shift in thinking can create a new resource or avenue of support not previously considered.
3) True or False: “I feel as if I have more to gain professionally through my work than I feel at risk of losing something.”
If you answered True: You likely understand that taking risks is part of being a professional and have developed the confidence to know that a single meeting or project does not define your career.
If you answered False: See it as an opportunity to explore what’s working, what’s going well, and what you’ve achieved, so when you do face risk, you are clear of all the past gains as well future ones to come.
4) True or False: “The people I work with are open and collaborative—they want to share ideas and receive feedback.”
If you answered True: You’re likely on a team where others feel empowered and where there is an elevated level of psychological safety, a cornerstone of a high functioning team, according to a study conducted at Google.
If you answered False: See it as an opportunity to explore what your teammates are really thinking and feeling, ask questions, and be curious: conversation is the gateway to building an empowered team.
5) True or False: “I feel energized and absorbed in what I’m doing and feel the value of achieving what I’m committed to more often than not.”
If you answered True: You’re likely clear on your purpose and your actions are in solid alignment, and you might also be working for a leader/manager who recognizes your contributions.
If you answered False: Begin to create awareness around what gives you energy and where you feel your contributions are valued. From there, see where this work is in or out of alignment with your values and goals and with that data, small shifts in behavior may naturally occur.
6) True or False: “My work life feels like a house of cards—if one card falls, the house will crumble.”
If you answered True: You likely experiencing a time of disempowerment, it might be time to create awareness around which card is most vulnerable and begin exploring options for support there.
If you answered False: You’re likely in a time of empowerment.
If your work life feels like a house of cards, it might be time to create awareness around which card is most vulnerable and begin exploring options for support there.
7) True or False: “I feel like my team has open, authentic conversations as needed about projects and the goings on of our work culture.”
If you answered True: You’re likely steeped in a work culture where empowerment is a shared value.
If you answered False: Perhaps your team is facing change, uncertainly, or the goals are not clear. Despite the turmoil, this period can also present opportunities to discuss what’s working and what’s not, allowing a chance for the team connect to some empowered moments, actions, and projects.
This web extra provides additional information related to an article titled, “3 Ways to Feel More Empowered at Work,” which appeared in the August 2017 issue of Mindful magazine.
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U.S. importers stockpile Parmigiano, Provolone as tariffs on EU cheeses loom
Posted on October 5, 2019 by Marc Nichols
Posted In BloggingTagged In cheeses, EU, importers, loom, Parmigiano, Provolone, stockpile, tariffs
By Andrea Shalal and Aleksandra Michalska
Parmesan cheese is seen packaged in the warehouse at Ambriola Co Inc, a unit of Gennaro Auricchio SpA, one of Italy’s largest cheese producers, in West Caldwell, New Jersey, U.S., October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
WASHINGTON/WEST CALDWELL, New Jersey (Reuters) – Ambriola Co Inc’s mammoth warehouse in West Caldwell, New Jersey, is crammed full of boxes and wheels of harder cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano and Grana Padano – and more is coming, lots more.
Phil Marfuggi, president and chief executive officer of Ambriola, a unit of Auricchio SpA, one of Italy’s largest cheese producers, is among the many importers and shop owners across the country who are scrambling to stockpile European cheeses before new U.S. tariffs kick in on Oct. 18 in efforts to shield consumers from price hikes.
The Trump administration on Wednesday slapped 25% tariffs on cheese and other European Union products ranging from whisky to woolens, in retaliation for EU subsidies on large aircraft. Both sides say they are open to negotiations, but trade experts see little chance of averting the duties – at least in the short run.
Importers began ordering millions of dollars of extra wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano and other harder cheeses after the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in July added cheese to its list of EU products potentially facing tariffs due to the dispute over aircraft subsidies.
“When that list came out, that’s when I … started bringing in many more containers of cheese of Reggiano, Provolone,” said Marfuggi, who has another 21 shipping containers full of cheese en route to be added to the stockpile in the company’s warehouse in Caldwell, which sits about 15 miles west of Manhattan.
Marfuggi said he ordered an extra $15 million of cheeses that could be stored for over a year to ensure adequate supplies for existing customers and protect pricing through the end of the year.
“I’ve been building up inventory … because we have a target on our backs,” he said.
The new duties could slash U.S. imports of EU cheeses valued at $1.5 billion a year by 30% and jack up prices across the country, said Marfuggi, who also serves as president of the Cheese Importers Association of America.
Some higher-priced items will simply disappear from stores, he predicted, like Moliterno al Tartufo, an aged Italian cheese with an intense truffle flavor. Even Parmigiano Reggiano could be at risk if prices rose to $30 a pound, he said.
“There are going to be some items … that the supermarkets are just not going to handle anymore. It’ll be price prohibitive for that,” he said.
The tariffs will hit consumer prices and eventually jobs across the United States, said Ralph Hoffman, executive vice president of Schuman Cheese, one of the largest importers of hard Italian cheeses.
Over 20,000 U.S. retail stores ranging from Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O) to Wegmans Food Markets sell EU cheeses. These cheeses generate some $3.5 billion of revenue for U.S. companies, supporting some 20,000 jobs, including buyers, deli clerks, truck drivers and warehouse workers, Hoffman said. He noted that the new tariffs come on top of existing duties of around 15%.
Specialty grocer The Fresh Market expects the tariffs to affect about 35% of the 200 cheeses it carries at its 160 stores.
“We’re waiting to see how the importers are going to pass the cost along,” said Andrew Harvell, who heads the company’s cheese department. “Everything’s still up in the air,” he said, adding that Fresh Market had pre-ordered enough cheese to last through the holiday season, but may need to raise prices soon thereafter.
Mike Bowers, the third-generation owner of a specialty cheese shop at Washington’s storied Eastern Market, said he began hoarding extra wheels of hard cheeses – some weighing as much as 80 pounds – in July when USTR first announced it could impose tariffs on cheese and other agricultural goods.
His glass cheese counters, coolers and large walk-in refrigerator are filled to overflowing, but Bowers said his supplies will not last through the holiday season. He said he will have to pass on the cost of the tariffs.
“I’m a small guy. I can’t buy a $100 cheese and sell it for $50 and expect to stay in business too long,” he said.
“I have a stockpile of cheese to make sure that I’m able to maintain inventory and maintain sales at my counter,” Bowers said. “And then as time goes on, we’ll have to see.”
He said the quality of U.S. cheeses was improving, providing good alternatives for some popular European cheeses, but he would have to find ways to be more “innovative” in the future.
He also has a solid selection on hand of Swiss cheeses that are not subject to EU tariffs, including a Gruyere-style L’Etivaz, made in copper pots according to ancient tradition.
Marfuggi said it was a relief that USTR opted for 25% tariffs instead of the 100% rate initially proposed, but he worries that buyers would switch to domestic or other foreign supplies if the tariffs stayed in place a long time.
“If that happens, you’re going to lose a considerable amount of consumer base, and it’s hard to win that back,” he said.
And cheese hoarding cannot solve all the expected shortages, he warned. Many softer cheeses cannot be stored for nearly as long, so prices of those items will likely rise quickly.
“If you’re a Gorgonzola lover, you’re definitely out of luck,” Marfuggi said.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Aleksandra Michalska; Additional reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Heather Timmons and Leslie Adler
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#1826 – 1980 15c General Bernardo de Galvez
camera Fleetwood First Day Cover (Plate Block)
U.S. #1826
1980 15¢ General Bernardo de Galvez
Issue Date: July 23, 1980
City: New Orleans, Louisiana
Color: Multicolored
U.S. #1826 features General Galvez, who was the governor of Spanish Louisiana during the American Revolution. Galvez organized military forces and successfully launched campaigns against the British.
Birth Of Bernardo De Gálvez
Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, Viscount of Galveston and Count of Gálvez, was born on July 25, 1746, in Macharaviaya, Málaga, Spain.
After studying military sciences, Gálvez participated in the Spanish invasion of Portugal. He then traveled to Mexico where he fought the Apaches and was named commandant of arms of Nueva Vizcaya and Sonora.
In the coming years Gálvez joined in an expedition to Algiers and taught at a military academy before he was appointed governor of the Spanish colony of Louisiana in 1777. Soon after, he started aiding American revolutionaries.
In 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain, and Gálvez attacked British forts in West Florida and along the Mississippi River. These actions were a great aid to the American Revolution, as they took away from Great Britain’s fighting ability. Gálvez’s efforts helped Spain gain possession of the British colonies of East and West Florida.
Gálvez led several successful battles during the war, including Manchac, Baton Rouge, Pensacola, Mobile, and Natchez. These campaigns kept vital supply lines open for the Americans during the War of Independence. One of his most significant victories was at Fort Charlotte. After a two-week siege, Gálvez’s men overcame the last British post threatening New Orleans and its strategic port. The 1780 fall of Fort Charlotte forced the British to retreat and denied them the opportunity to encircle the colonists from the south.
Gálvez returned to a hero’s welcome in Spain in 1783. In 1784, Gálvez was named governor of Cuba, Louisiana, and Florida. Then, in 1785, he was appointed viceroy of New Spain, Spain’s empire in the Americas. Gálvez died on November 30, 1786. Galveston, Texas, and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, were named in his honor. Gálvez is also one of just eight people to be awarded honorary American citizenship.
#1432/2052
Complete Set, American Bicentennial Series
#M209
1980s Commemoratives, 492 stamps, mint
1980s Commemoratives, 490 stamps, used
1980 15c Emily Bissell
1980 15c Veterans Administration
1980 15c Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan
1980 15c Frances Perkins
1980 15c Education
1980 15c Literary Arts: Edith Wharton
1980 15c Eagle, Organized Labor
1980 15c Dolley Madison
1980 15c Black Heritage: Benjamin Banneker
1980 15c Performing Arts: W. C. Fields
1980 15c American Architecture
1980 15c Coral Reefs
1980 15c Traditional Christmas: Epiphany Stained Glass Window
1980 15c Contemporary Christmas: Wreath and Toys on Window
1980 15c Pacific Northwest Indian Masks
1979 10c 1980 Summer Olympic Games
1981 15c Black Heritage: Whitney Moore Young
1980 15c 13th Winter Olympic Games
1981 15c Everett Dirksen
1981 18c Savings and Loan Sesquicentennial
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Portrait of an exoplanet
(Nanowerk News) The vast majority of planets near foreign stars are discovered by astronomers with the help of sophisticated methods. The exoplanet does not appear in the image, but reveals itself indirectly in the spectrum.
A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Astronomy and Extraterrestrial Physics has now succeeded in obtaining the first direct confirmation of a previously discovered exoplanet using the method of radial velocity measurement.
Using the the GRAVITY instrument at the VLT telescopes in Chile, the astronomers observed the faint glint of the planet Beta Pictoris c, some 63 light-years away from Earth, next to the bright rays of its mother star.
The researchers can now determine both the brightness and the dynamic mass of an exoplanet from these observations and thus better narrow down the formation models of these objects.
These schematic images show the geometry of the Beta Pictoris system: the image on the left shows both the star and the two planets embedded in the dusty disk in the orientation as visible from the vantage point of the Solar System. This view was constructed using the information from actual observations. The middle panel contains an artist impression of the disk / planet system. The image on the right shows the dimensions of the system when viewed from above and previous observations of Beta Pictoris b (orange diamonds and red circles) and the new direct observations of Beta Pictoris c (green circles). The exact orbit of planet c is still somewhat uncertain (fuzzy white area). (Image: Axel Quetz (click on image to enlarge)
Combining the light of the four large VLT telescopes, astronomers in the GRAVITY collaboration have managed to directly observe the glint of light coming from an exoplanet close to its parent star. The planet called “b Pictoris c” is the second planet found to orbit its parent star. It was originally detected by the so-called ‘radial velocity’, which measures the drag and pull on the parent star due to the planet’s orbit. b Pictoris c is so close to its parent star that even the best telescopes were not able to directly image the planet so far.
“This is the first direct confirmation of a planet detected by the radial velocity method”, says Sylvestre Lacour, leader of the ExoGRAVITY observing programme. Radial velocity measurements have been used for many decades by astronomers, and have allowed for the detection of hundreds of exoplanets. But never before were the astronomers able to obtain a direct observation of one of those planets.
This was only possible because the GRAVITY instrument, situated in a laboratory underneath the four telescopes it uses, is a very precise instrument. It observes the light from the parent star with all four VLT telescopes at the same time and combines them into a virtual telescope with the detail required to reveal b Pictoris c.
“It is amazing, what level of detail and sensitivity we can achieve with GRAVITY”, marvels Frank Eisenhauer, the lead scientist of the GRAVITY project at MPE. “We are just starting to explore stunning new worlds, from the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy to planets outside the solar system.”
The direct detection with GRAVITY, however, was only possible due to new radial velocity data precisely establishing the orbital motion of b Pictoris c, presented in a second paper published also today. This enabled the team to precisely pinpoint and predict the expected position of the planet so that GRAVITY was able to find it.
b Pictoris c is thus the first planet that has been detected and confirmed with both methods, radial velocity measurements and direct imaging. In addition to the independent confirmation of the exoplanet, the astronomers can now combine the knowledge from these two previously separate techniques.
“This means, we can now obtain both the brightness and the mass of this exoplanet,” explains Mathias Nowak, the lead author on the GRAVITY discovery paper. “As a general rule, the more massive the planet, the more luminous it is.”
In this case, however, the data on the two planets is somewhat puzzling: The light coming from b Pictoris c is six times fainter than its larger sibling, b Pictoris b. b Pictoris c has 8 times the mass of Jupiter. So how massive is b Pictoris b? Radial velocity data will ultimately answer this question, but it will take a long time to get enough data: one full orbit for planet b around its star takes 28 of our years!
“We used GRAVITY before to obtain spectra of other directly imaged exoplanets, which themselves already contained hints on their formation process”, adds Paul Molliere, who as postdoc at MPIA is modelling exoplanet spectra. “This brightness measurement of b Pictoris c, combined with its mass, is a particularly important step to constraining our planet formation models.” Additional data might also be provided by GRAVITY+, the next generation instrument, which is already under development.
Original Publications
M. Novak et al. Direct confirmation of the radial-velocity planet beta Pic c Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2 October 2020
A. M. Lagrange et al. Unveiling the beta Pictoris system, coupling high contrast imaging, interferometric, and radial velocity data Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2 October 2020
Source: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
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Zootopia and a #contest that won't turn you into a nagging author
Honest and truly, I watch movies other than cartoons. But with all the crazy going on these days, isn't escaping to another world necessary once in a while? Zootopia will do that for you.
It's not only for kids, though children will adore the irresistible characters. Like most Disney movies now, many themes in Zootopia speak to adults. Judy Hopps, a bunny, wanted to be a cop ever since she could remember. The first part of the movie does a great job showing her aspirations, and moving right into the story.
Once Judy is on the job, some of the sparkle wears off her dream, but she still give it her best, writing two-hundred tickets in one day as a meter maid. Her optimism keeps her going when she's given a deadline to solve a case, or be booted from the force. Judy totally shines when she out foxes the fox, Nick Wilde, as he tries to scam her. She trounces him at his own game with flare and fun, making her my new hero.
There are so many sly and fun bits tucked into this movie. Pay close attention, and back up to re-watch if you miss them. Sloths running the DMV and wolves howling involuntarily are two of my favs. I love how the writers use normal animal characteristics and do the "what if this animal could...." thing. The story has shades of the current political climate, so you'll probably be like me, going, "Yep, I get that."
Enjoy this fun, fast-paced (except for the sloths) adventure and give your brain a break from the news.
dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Zootopia/80079258
Something else to brighten your day...author friends...got a great cover? Here's a contest that DOESN'T requiring hunting down and harassing your friends to vote for you. Easy to enter, low fee. Check it out here and hurry, it ends July 31st: http://authorsofromance.com/star-crossed-covers-contest/
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Promoting the importance of submarines to the national defense
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HomeActivitiesAwardsFLTCM (SS) Frank A. Lister Award
FLTCM (SS) Frank A. Lister Award
Established in 2000, The Fleet Master Chief Frank A. Lister Award for Exceptional Leadership and Motivation while serving as a Chief of the Boat recognizes a submarine Chief of the Boat who has displayed exceptional leadership and motivation of his crew. One award will be presented annually to a submarine senior or master chief petty officer while serving as or having recently served as Chief of the Boat in a submarine during the nomination period.
Read about Fleet Master Chief (SS) Frank Lister
2018 Award Winner: CMDCM Steven Rauch, USN
For outstanding meritorious service as Chief of the Boat in USS ALABAMA (SSBN 731) (Gold).
Under the leadership of Master Chief Rauch, ALABAMA (Gold) enjoyed unparalleled success in every mission area over the last three years. His positive leadership, superb management skills, uncompromising standards, and outstanding foresight were the key ingredients behind the ship’s sustained superior performance. His leadership through four deterrent patrols, three Operational Reactor Safeguards, two Tactical Readiness Evaluations, two Defense Nuclear Surety/Augmenting Technical Proficiency Inspections, and a Supply Management Inspection were key factors in assuring superior grades in all areas. ALABAMA (Gold) amassed a record number of awards during his tour. They included: two Battle Efficiency “E’ awards, two Engineering red “E”s, and two White “W” awards, two PACFLT Retention Excellence Awards, one Fleet Trident Outstanding Performance Award, and the Omaha trophy. During his tenure as Chief of the Boat, his steady and focused leadership led to improvements in every facet of the ship’s operations while simultaneously improving retention, advancement, and crew morale. His aggressive and meticulous attention to the ship’s manning ensured ALABAMA (Gold) is one of the best manned submarines in the fleet. His mentoring of assigned personnel resulted in a 62% advancement in rate for E4-E6. Nine CPO selections and an LDO selection during his tour can also be attributed to his support and counseling. CMDCM Rauch was absolutely essential to ALABAMA’s success and he is widely respected on the Bangor waterfront. His spirit, leadership, and zeal make the difference. He is truly deserving of recognition by the Naval Submarine League Master Chief Frank A. Lister Award for exceptional leadership and motivation.
Fleet Master Chief Frank Lister
Fleet Master Chief (SS) Frank A. Lister
Fleet Master Chief Lister’s Military career began at age 16 when he enlisted in the Arizona Air National Guard. He served one year and made one deployment before leaving to join the Navy. After completing recruit training in San Diego, California, he attended Submarine School in Groton CT, and was assigned to USS Sea Fox (SS 402), where he completed two WESTPAC deployments, serving as Leading Seaman/Small Boat Coxswain, Landing Party Team Member, Small Arms Petty Officer, Ships Diver (Scuba), Sonar Watch Stander and Torpedoman.
FLTCM Lister was awarded numerous letters of commendations for outstanding performance of duty, and advanced quickly from Seaman Apprentice (E-2) to Torpedoman Second Class (E-5), setting a personal goal to become a Chief Torpedoman and serve as a Chief of the Boat (COB). FLTCM Lister then served aboard USS Bugara (SS 331) as Leading Torpedoman, After Torpedo Room and completed one WESTPAC deployment.
In 1962, he attended Launcher Technician training at the Guided Missile School in Dam Neck VA and graduated first in his class. He was then assigned to USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN 601) (BLUE), where he completed six deterrent patrols and an 18-month shipyard overhaul in Vallejo CA. After overhaul, he was transferred to USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN 601) (GOLD), where he was advanced to Chief Torpedoman and served as Chief of the Boat/Enlisted Advisor, and completed five deterrent patrols.
In his next assignment at the Navy Recruiting Station, Salt Lake City, he distinguished himself as an outstanding navy recruiter, advancing from Field Recruiter to Station Supervisor to Zone Supervisor, Utah/Eastern Nevada. His zone consistently led the nation in Advanced Electronic and Nuclear Power enlisted recruiting.
FLTCM Lister next served as Chief of the Boat of the commissioning crew of USS Los Angeles (SSN 688), where he became the first person to be selected and assigned to a Chief of the Boat position by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS).
FLTCM Lister was selected to serve as the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force Master Chief (FORCM) in 1975 when he served for Force Commanders VADM Joe Williams, Jr. and VADM Ken Carr for four years. In 1979, he served as FLTCM for CINCLANT, ADM Harry Train, for three years. FLTCM Lister was also selected three times, in 1975, 1978 and 1982, as a finalist for Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON).
FLTCM Lister retired from the Navy in 1982 and became the President and CEO, Non Commissioned Officers Association in San Antonio, TX.
Naval Submarine League 405 North Henry Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: (703) 256-0891 communication@navalsubleague.org
© 2021 Naval Submarine League
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B.C. member of parliament takes feds to task on opioid crisis
‘Too many families are tragically losing parents, siblings and children to the opioid crisis.’
Rick Stiebel/News staff
A group of New Democractic Party members of parliament are demanding the federal government declare the opioid crisis a national public health emergency.
Alistair MacGregor, MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, as well Kootenay-Columbia MP Wayne Stetski called on the Trudeau government this week, urging it to commit significant new funding and resources to addressing the opioid crisis immediately.
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“Across Canada, too many families are tragically losing parents, siblings and children to the opioid crisis,” the group said in a news release. “From downtown neighbourhoods to our most remote areas, no community has been untouched by these highly addictive and dangerous drugs.”
READ MORE: NDP’s Jagmeet Singh proposes new approach to tackling opioid crisis
Citing research by the Angus Reid Institute, the release said one in eight Canadians, or roughly 3.5 million people, have become dependent on opioids in the last five years alone.
Fewer than one in four Canadians believe that the federal government has responded appropriately, a statistic the NDP agrees with, he added.
B.C. has seen the brunt of overdose deaths in Canada, with 1,143 deaths between January and September of this year. The province makes up more than one-third of all overdose deaths in the country.
READ MORE: Two sons lost to the opioid crisis, a B.C. mother calls for change
“The Trudeau Liberals claim to be doing everything in their power to address the opioid crisis, and yet, that’s clearly not true,” the release said. “New Democrats have been calling for the declaration of a national public health emergency for over two years. It’s time for the Liberal government to act.”
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ABOUT NC SPIN
Elections are like a soap opera
By John Hood
The day before the 2018 midterms, I posted a column about “what to do if you lose.” Without knowing the outcome, I urged those about to be disappointed not to react to their loss in ways that would make themselves, and everyone around them, miserable.
“While mourning a disappointing cycle is inevitable,” I argued, “don’t wallow in grief or yield to persistent bitterness. It’s probably not the first time a political result has disappointed you, and it certainly won’t be the last. While every election is important, the repeated claim that ‘this election is our last chance to avoid disaster’ is more hysterical than historical.”
Now, as I write just before the 2020 general election, please allow me to revise and extend my earlier remarks.
The fate of the Donald Trump presidency is certainly important, as is control of the U.S. Senate. Our country faces many challenges: COVID-19, the resulting recession, social unrest, an escalating culture war, the federal government’s fiscal insolvency, the affordability and accessibility of health care, and educational stagnation, just to name a few.
By no means do I mean to suggest that the 2020 elections aren’t momentous. I have spent much of the past two years talking about them. But whatever happens this year, the republic will survive. Claiming otherwise is wrongheaded and dangerous.
As I pointed out two years ago, our recent political history is littered with examples of pundits confidently — and foolishly — declaring the demise of the party that just lost an election. Every time “experts’ begin singing the funereal hymn, the supposedly dead faction shows up at the church, like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, to disrupt the proceedings with some new political caper.
Two years after Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992, for example, the GOP roared back to capture both houses of Congress for the first time in nearly half a century, as well as dozens of governorships and legislative chambers.
After the 2004 elections, triumphant Republicans proclaimed a new majority. Two years later, they took it on the chin in the midterms, then saw Barack Obama elected in 2008. Now, indeed, was the GOP truly finished? Nope. A massive red wave built over the next two years.
These shifting political winds had policy consequences, to be sure. Clinton worked with the newly Republican Congress to enact welfare reform, cut capital gains taxes, and balance the federal budget. During his first two years of unified Democratic power in Washington, Obama and his congressional allies enacted the Affordable Care Act. During his first two years, Trump and his congressional allies reformed the tax code.
Still, these bursts of legislative activity punctuated what was otherwise a long period of confrontation and stalemate. Whatever happens this year, I would not count on a sustained radicalization of federal policymaking. If the Democrats obtain full control of Congress, its stability will depend on center-left senators who may be loath to declare war on longstanding traditions and broad swaths of the business community. If Republicans retain the Senate, obviously the aperture through which federal bills must pass to become law will be even narrower.
In other words, elections are not like movies with clear endings. They are soap operas. That shocking, cliffhanger ending on Friday? Exciting, yes. But the storylines will continue on Monday’s episode.
Another point I made in 2018 deserves restating today. Yes, politicians may win whose views you detest. Keep in mind, however, that they truly believe their public service — for which they will likely sacrifice a great deal — will advance the public good as they see it.
“You can disagree strongly with your political rivals without demonizing or wishing misfortune on them,” I wrote. “Just as they should avoid being obnoxious winners in the coming months, you should avoid being a sore loser. Next time around, the results could be reversed. How would you like to be treated in that case? This is always a good rule to follow. One might even call it golden.”
Still true.
John Hood (@JohnHoodNC) is chairman of the John Locke Foundation and appears on “NC SPIN,” broadcast statewide Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. on UNC-TV.
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The tenant vouchers will work much the same way as a traditional public housing unit, being offered to people who make at or less than 60 percent of the area's median income, or $37,740 for a family of four. Those who qualify pay a maximum of 30 percent of their income toward rent and the housing authority subsidizes the rest.
The first phase of renovations will be paid for using tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission, tax-exempt bonds and other sources.
More:Connecting Grounds moving to west side, announces new services coming
The project was made possible through a federal program called Rental Assistance Demonstration that allows housing agencies to leverage public and private debt to address deferred maintenance.
Wolfram said she hoped the use of tax credits and other programs will continue, in part because Springfield, like many cities across the country, has large need for affordable housing.
"I just think this is going to be great for our community," she said. "It's going to help the economics of Springfield."
What happened to Bobbie Jo Stinnett's daughter, the baby Lisa Montgomery stole? Pokin Around: Galena city Facebook page posts, then removes hateful meme of Kamala Harris Congress has objected to Electoral College votes before. Here’s a look at past efforts: After losing book, support of donors, Josh Hawley now target of anti-Trump Lincoln Project
Katie Kull covers local government for the News-Leader. Got a story to tell? Give her a call at 417-408-1025 or email her at kkull@news-leader.com. You can also support local journalism at News-Leader.com/subscribe.
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Irish Sports Stars, Trailblazers and Mavericks
Donny Mahoney
Eoin Coveney
Meet the Irish men & women who topped the Sporting world. From heavyweight boxing champion Dan Donnelly to our greatest runner, Sonia O'Sullivan. From Brian O'Driscoll's amazing rugby performances to Rosemary Smyth's rally driving brilliance. Inspiring words and pictures for children of all ages.
Hardback:
Category History, Sport (Children's)
Meet the Irish men and women who aimed high in the sport they love. From Dan Donnelly, our first heavyweight boxing champion, to our greatest runner, Sonia O'Sullivan. From Brian O'Driscoll's amazing rugby performances to Rosemary Smyth's rally driving brilliance. From the heroic rowing of the O'Donoval brothers to the our women's hockey team: the first ever Irish team to reach a world final. Featuring many people whose achievements have fallen from view, such as Anne O'Brien (the first Irish female professional football player) and Francie Barrett, the first traveller to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games.
The remarkable stories of these trailblazers from throughout Ireland will inspire and excite children of all ages.
Donny Mahoney and illustrator Eoin Coveney will draw you into the amazing world of these athletes, and introduce the next generation of role models.
Donny Mahoney is a writer and journalist. He was born in America and has lived in Ireland since 2004. He is one of the co-founders of the website Balls.ie, where he works today.
This book introduces us to sporting legends from as far back as the 1780s up to today’s leading Irish athletes, highlighting those who have become legends in this country and those whose impact has been global. The breadth of sports covered is vast, from popular sports such as GAA, soccer and rugby, to less widely practised sports such as road bowling and surfing. A must for all future Irish sports stars
Children's Books Ireland
The stellar line-up featured in illustrated mini-biographies is likely to inspire sports starts of the future
The writing was amazing, but the illustrations were unbelievable!!! Everyone looked so real! My favourite stories were Cora Staunton and Katie Taylor because I thought they were written the best. I also loved the teams at the end and the multi-sport page … an amazing book. I would recommend it for 8-16 year olds but it is a book that anyone can read. Overall, I thought this book was fantastic and I would rate it nine and a half out of ten. By Lucy. aged 10, 5th Class, Divine Word NS, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16
A valuable collection-cum-tribute to our outstanding sportspeople over the last hundred years
Sportspeople from the Rebel County are also to the fore among the subjects of Aim High … stellar line-up featured in illustrated mini-biographies is sure to inspire sports stars of the future and includes Skibbereen rowers the O’Donovan brothers, and Cobh’s Sonia O’Sullivan
The Holly Bough
Fantastic children’s book … an ideal Christmas present … the illustration is … top quality
MidWest Radio’s Sports Show
A must for young Irish sports fans
Ireland’s Own
The thread of possibilities runs through … unapologetically making the case for what can be done by anyone who puts their mind to it
Shining a welcoming light on some inspiring Irish sports figures if not necessarily household names
Download Teaching Guides: Teaching guide to the book by Peter Heaney
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Export and import rules
Outlook 2010 365 2016 2013 2007 2003
Outlook rules could be exported and imported from file. E.g., you can export rules to a file, send this file as an e-mail attachment or place it on a network share (or a local share) for backup purposes or to allow other users to access it.
Follow these steps to export your message rules to a file:
1. Do one of the following:
On the File tab, in the Info view, click the Manage Rules & Alerts button:
On the Home tab, in the Move group, click Rules and then select Manage Rules & Alerts...:
2. In the Rules And Alerts dialog box, click the Options button:
3. In the Options dialog box, click Export Rules..., and then select a path for the file in the resulting Save Exported Rules As dialog box (a standard file/save dialog box).
4. To save the rules using either Microsoft Outlook 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2000 or Microsoft Outlook 98 format, select a format in the Save As Type drop-down list:
5. Click Save.
You can export your rules in any of four formats, depending on the version of Outlook used by the people with whom you want to share your rules. If you need to share with various users, export using the earliest version of Outlook. Later versions will be able to import the rules because they are forward-compatible.
Follow these steps to import message rules from a file:
1. Open Rules And Alerts... dialog box.
2. In the Rules And Alerts dialog box, click the Options button.
3. Click Import Rules..., and then select a path for the file in the resulting Open Imported Rules As dialog box (a standard file/save dialog box).
4. Click Open.
How to auto-reply in Outlook
Suppose you will be out of the office and want to alert anyone who sends you an e-mail of that fact so they'll know when they can expect you to respond. In that case, you can set up Outlook to send an auto-reply to anyone who sends you a message.
How to specify a Custom Message in the New Mail Alert
You can configure Outlook to display a message of your choice when a new e-mail arrives.
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AGR’s Phosphate Resource Set to Deliver Value Uplift?
Just last month, we brought you an intriguing agribusiness enabler.
Since then this company has been busy inserting itself into the southern Brazilian agriculture sector in a bid to capitalise on the growing demand for phosphate fertiliser in the expanding agriculture sector in Brazil.
Phosphate is one of the three key fertilizer elements that promote growth and energy supply to living organisms.
In the south of Brazil where Aguia Resources (ASX:AGR)’s phosphate resource sits, there are no new phosphate mines planned or under development, and the regional agricultural industry is 100% reliant on phosphate imports...
AGR has a sustained cost advantage to local fertilizer blenders of more than $50/tonne compared to imports – making this company’s mine development of strategic importance to the region’s economy.
Lately, AGR hasn’t been shy in moving forward.
The news so far is – so far, so good.
AGR is now fully funded through to completing its BFS and has recently begun infill drilling at its flagship Três Estradas phosphate project.
AGR is conducting 6000 metres of Diamond Drilling and 3500 metres of reverse circulation drilling, which is designed to convert the existing Inferred Resource to a Measured and Indicated resource at Três Estradas.
This drilling will de-risk the project and confirm AGR’s economic projections, and could deliver significant value uplift.
A recent heavily subscribed $8.5M placement gives AGR sufficient working capital to fund extensive works and complete its BFS.
The placement was undertaken at a share price of 10 cents, and with AGR currently trading below that at around 9 cents, investors currently have the opportunity to buy AGR stock at a cheaper price than the institutions just came in at.
Of course this doesn’t mean an investment will prove successful. This is still an early stage play and investors should seek professional financial advice if considering this stock for their portfolio.
Brazil is one of the world’s most significant food producers, currently ranked as the number 1 producing nation for over a dozen different commodities sold in international markets.
But as we pointed out above, in southern Brazil where AGR is located, farmers are 100% reliant on phosphate imports from as far away as North Africa.
AGR’s opportunity lies in the fact that by developing a local supply source of phosphate that can be delivered to farmers in the south of Brazil for a lower cost than the current imports, the company could potentially manufacture a strong business on the back of current inefficiencies and the prospect of food demand continuing to explode around the globe.
The way to do that is by obtaining phosphate, or Phosrock, and supplying it initially to the southern Brazilian agribusiness industry that’s all about growing more food to feed a growing world population.
There is still some way to go, but AGR has done everything in its power to position itself as a boutique phosphate producer within a stone throw from huge agribusiness operations in Brazil.
There are several catalysts to come including the completion of drilling in Q1 2017 and imminent results as well as testing priority exploration targets adjacent to Três Estradas.
The program will also provide sufficient material to be shipped to Eriez Flotation Division in Pennsylvania, where a pilot plant test will be performed in order to finalise the design of a commercial scale plant for the site.
As long as AGR can secure a strong Resource and demonstrate solid exploration progress, we think it could be generating strong operating margins over the coming years given its unique market strategy and operational advantages.
Without further ado, we catch up with:
Aguia Resources
ASX:AGR
Aguia Resources (ASX:AGR) is a $40M capped company that could potentially raise its market standing and valuation in the coming months.
We first came across AGR last month, at which point we published an article detailing this company’s market strategy .
Since we last checked in on AGR, the company has advanced development of its flagship Três Estradas phosphate asset located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil.
AGR has finalised its PEA optimisation study and is now progressing with a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) with which to attract further funding and move towards monetising its phosphate strategy as soon as possible.
In a nutshell, AGR wants to cosy up to existing Brazilian farmers by supplying them with Phosrock, the upstream feedstock used to produce SSP (Single Super Phosphate) and also a calcite by-product.
If all goes to plan, AGR will be able to produce its phosphate concentrate at >US$50/t cheaper on logistics costs than any foreign competitors because selling its product locally to Brazilians will mean AGR can avoid costly shipping costs, and tax duties imposed by the Brazilian government.
The unfortunate reality is that to have any hope of producing enough food to feed a rapidly growing world population, farmers must increase yields and expand production.
In other words, grow more crops from existing farms and bring new arable land into production using modern farming methods.
Phosphate, one of the three key fertiliser elements that promotes growth and yields is therefore a necessity.
However, the phosphate needs of southern Brazilian farmers are currently being met entirely through imported products that are typically well above current spot prices.
What if AGR could find a way to produce phosphate at lower cost, and equally importantly, what if AGR’s production site was within a short distance of the final point of sale?
It would seem both ‘ifs’ have been firmly answered as part of AGR’s exploration, and hopefully will be officially answered in the upcoming release of AGR’s BFS.
DJ Carmichael analysts Michael Eidne and Paul Adams weighed in on the stock last month saying that recent key strategic changes positively impacted project economics and increased the NPV of the project by 48% from US$207M to US$307M.
The pair have retained a speculative buy on AGR with a $0.82 p/share valuation and a $0.41 near term price target – which is over 340% above AGR’s current share price...
However, it should be remembered that analyst price targets are no guarantee to eventuate, and are based on a number of assumptions which may not happen. Apply caution when investing in speculative mining stocks.
With that in mind let’s take another look at AGR’s current resource to see where we stand today.
AGR’s Flagship
AGR’s flagship project is the Três Estradas Project in southern Brazil, mapped out below for your convenience.
The Três Estradas project contains a 74.7Mt phosphate resource with grades averaging 4.13% P 2 O 5 , broken down as follows:
745Mt Measured @ 4.42% P 2 O 5 ;
07Mt Indicated @ 4.75% P 2 O 5 ;
9Mt Inferred @ 3.97% P 2 O 5 .
Based on an early prefeasibility study, the proposed mine life at AGR’s Três Estradas is 14 years, which of course could expand further upon more resource updates.
That’s a good start with AGR planning on adding more resources to the Measured and Indicated categories over the coming months – which could provide significant value uplift.
Previous metallurgical testing has shown strong early results, and AGR’s recovery rate is also ticking up as it gets to grips with its resource:
As you can see, AGR’s recovery rate has jumped from 65% in 2015 to over 84% in 2016.
With a 74.7Mt JORC compliant phosphate resource, AGR is focused on moving towards production as quickly as possible, and a BFS is now being advanced .
However, we should point out that this is a speculative mining stock and an investment in the company has no guarantee of being successful despite its projections. Only invest what you can afford to lose – especially in the small cap end of the market.
One of the best parts of AGR’s strategy is that 100% of its planned production will be sold locally within 400km of its project site
This effectively means AGR has much less to worry about in terms of transport, storage and additional expenses related to global operations.
Far from it, AGR wants to be a compact agribusiness enabler and southern Brazil is a perfect spot to pursue high margins in combination with a straightforward development schedule with a good quality phosphate resource in a market eager for local supply.
Agriculture plays a key role in Brazil’s economy, with 20% of its GDP in 2015 derived from agriculture, with exports now totalling US$175BN.
At present Brazil is the 3rd largest consumer of fertilizer in the world, but only accounts for 4% of global fertilizer production, which brings us to the role AGR could play in Brazilian agriculture.
While Brazil exports US$175BN in agriculture, and is ranked number 1 in the world for exports of beef, poultry, and sugarcane, the country simply does not produce enough phosphate nationally to meet domestic demand, and has to import 65% of its phosphate from overseas which leads to higher production costs, supply shortages and uncertain supply lines.
AGR could solve this problem for Brazil’s farmers, and ensure it reaps the benefits of rapidly growing global agribusiness industry.
And what an industry it is turning out to be...
Food security is one of the most important macro themes for the coming decades
The world’s population is continuing to grow at a steady rate that doesn’t look like slowing anytime soon – and the world’s population is consuming more energy intensive food too.
At the same time, arable land for farming is dwindling. Brazil remains the world’s leader in arable land availability, but because of its intense farming activities, its farmers are already requiring increasing amounts of phosphate to keep their production levels steady.
Soil fertilisers are helping to bridge the gap by making soil more productive and are already used in the production of up to 60% of the food we eat today.
That number can only grow as the world’s population expands while the amount of arable land stays constant.
The relationship between population growth, arable land and the subsequent difficulty for food production is creating a perfect storm for near term phosphate producers such as AGR.
AGR is confident it can conduct enough drilling to set a 16 year mine life, as opposed to 14 — both positive signs that AGR will eventually become a fully-fledged producer.
Here is the planned path to production for AGR:
Funding Booster
For AGR, taking a seat at the agribusiness table won’t necessarily be easy, but at least it has some financial muscle to help with the lifting.
First off, there are institutional investors backing this stock with Sulliden Mining Capital owning 19%. Furthermore, the world’s largest mining fund — M&G — currently holds 6.6%.
With over 25% of AGR being held by large institutional funds, AGR has a great opportunity to make progress.
And if all that wasn’t enough from funding standpoint, AGR’s recent $8.5 million oversubscribed capital raising that sees AGR fully-funded through to completing its BFS — is the final caveat we were looking for.
This placement was conducted at 10 cents, and currently AGR is trading at around 9 cents. As we pointed out earlier this gives investors the opportunity to get in at a lower price than the last funding round from institutional investors.
AGR is well-funded, well-placed and making steady progress towards beefing up its Resource in Brazil.
We think these factors could well lead AGR to a higher valuation once investors wake up to the strong commercial factors fuelling the growth of agribusinesses globally.
However like all small cap stocks, there is no guarantee an investment in AGR will turn out successful. AGR is some time away from first cash flows. If considering for your portfolio, seek professional financial advice.
Let’s see what’s around the corner for AGR — and for its investors
With AGR, its Brazilian agribusiness mission is only just beginning now that it has secured the funding it needs to complete its BFS.
Once the BFS is complete, the mining plan and engineering will be defined and the stage set for AGR to move into the construction phase.
Whenever we consider an early stage mining company, we always ask whether there are any catalysts on the horizon that could provide a semblance of calm for jittery investors, and/or revaluation potential for the share price.
The estimates so far, indicate a strong resource is in the offing, and here are the upcoming catalysts in order of importance for you loyal Next Mining Boom readers.
BFS and Infill Drilling
As we’ve mentioned, the biggest potential for a re-rating comes from the ongoing BFS data collation and infill drilling that’s ongoing now.
AGR’s prime goal is to move as much of its Resource from the Inferred to Indicated categories to bulk up its project economics and attract the best possible funding package when it comes to building a mine.
With almost 10,000 metres of drilling underway now, we think AGR could well announce something market sensitive over the coming weeks, thereby bringing this stock to the attention of a much wider group of investors.
One side factor of interest is AGR’s on-the-fly move into Calcite — a by-product from the phosrock that can also be sold to farmers.
Calcite can add a secondary revenue stream for AGR once Três Estradas moves into production, and thereby improves the chances of AGR securing an all-important offtake deal in future.
AGR is marching towards becoming a much-needed phosphate producer, in a place where farming is the lifeblood of its people.
Brazil is an agricultural juggernaut that will require increasing amounts of phosphate to maintain its global market position. This means AGR has the chance to ready its phosphate project over the coming 1-2 years to become a high-margin vendor of phosphate.
Despite being a small-cap and early-stage mining company, AGR has assembled a meticulous plan to generating strong agribusiness revenues on the back of a commodity that is likely to be grabbing ever more headlines over the coming decades.
The world’s population is expanding at an unprecedented rate, while the world’s people are developing an unprecedented taste for high-calorie diets — and the result is a strong opportunity to bridge what consumers want and what they can get — while hopefully making a few dollars for AGR investors.
AG TECH
Aguia Resources (ASX:AGR)
Phosphate Monopoly for ASX Stock in Global Food Bowl?
Euro Manganese reports important environmental milestone
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DFY Affiliate Sites
Shotgun Skyscraper
Niche Edits
Link Packs
NICHE EMPIRE PROJECT
Inside what it takes to build a profitable online property.
MONTH 1: NOVEMBER 2018
How many words?
Types of content
LAST MONTHS EARNINGS (USD)
TOTAL EARNINGS (USD)
MONTHLY GOOGLE IMPRESSIONS
MONTHLY GOOGLE CLICKS
It’s month 1, so I’m not expecting much traffic or anything else for that matter. The graph below shows a little more than a month as the website was launched and sent to Google for indexing on October 22nd, 2018.
The graph shows 45 users visiting the site but in reality, this traffic was probably myself and others setting up the site. Only 5 of those visitors came through organic search. But 5 visitors is 5 more than I had before. The journey has begun…
I’ve blocked my IP Address in Google Analytics so my traffic won’t show up in future reports.
You can see, however, that by the end of November, 5 or so weeks in to the project the number of impressions on Google has started to increase which shows that we’re starting to get some recognition for our efforts. Thanks Google!
Highlights: What I did this month
From 22nd October – 30th November I published 36 articles (only 2 in October). You can’t start ranking unless you have some good content, so it’s important to get a decent amount of content on to your website as quickly as possible. Google doesn’t favor websites with just a few pages so it’s best to get over that initial hump.
This was relatively easy to achieve when you take in to account that I got about 10 trail articles from writers all in one week. These are writers I was trying out to test the quality of their work.
I made the mistake of getting them to write some of the most important articles on the site and in hindsight, I would have just got them to write some short info articles until I could trust their work. Lesson learned.
Some of the writers are great and the editing required was minimal whilst others submitted work I had to virtually rewrite through the editing process. I hired 4 writers with a view that I’d roughly have 1 new article a day at least for the first few months.
In addition, I might lose a writer or two over the coming weeks for various reasons. This will just make sure I still have content coming.
As I am writing this content with affiliate marketing in mind, half of the articles are written to promote products. e.g. “Best Running Shoes”. Whilst the other half are informational articles such as ‘How to clean running shoes’. (note: not my real niche)
This is for a couple of reasons. Amazon does not like a website that has only review articles with affiliate links on but would like you to have other pages too that provide useful information too.
Some people also believe that Google has the same standards and will not rank a website so well if all the pages on the site contain affiliate links. In terms of building a brand longer term, I also think it’s wise to have a good proportion of informational articles.
“Longer term we should be aiming to build a trusted brand instead of a quick win. This will ultimately result in a website that converts better.”
Either way, evidence shows that it’s good to have a mixture of content with affiliate links and information only articles.
How many words should I write?
A common question I get when it comes to content is ‘how many words should I write for each article’?
The answer of course: It depends.
I type the primary keyword for any planned article in to Google and take a look at the first page of the Search Engines Results Pages (SERPS). I then check who my competition is for these keywords.
Are they eCommerce sites, other affiliate sites or something else? What is the authority of these sites? How many words are written on each page?
Tools that help with this are LongTail Pro which quickly allows you to view key metrics for the first 10 results in Google for any given keyword and SEO Rambler which provides a complementary set of metrics including the number of words on each page. Whilst the number of words is not always absolutely correct it does give you a general idea of what you are up against.
In general for many of the higher volume keywords, around 3,000 words were required to compete. This is for the bigger review articles that rate the ‘Top 5’ products in a category. For informational articles, most of them are around 1,000 words each.
Some marketers believe that ‘regularity’ is important when it comes to publishing content, i.e. you should always have articles published at regular intervals.
Whilst fresh content is important, I believe that with the amount of content I’m putting out it doesn’t really matter. I’d much rather get all the content on the site and indexed by Google as soon as possible.
There are certain conditions that Amazon Associates has in place which means that you must make a sale every 30 days to keep your access to their API open. If your account gets closed then you have to reapply. So, I don’t plan to start monetizing the site until I have a bit more traffic.
I opened my Amazon Associates account in 2001 and whilst I made a couple of sales back then I’ve not used it since. My API access is still open as I guess rules were different back then and therefore I assume it’s still open for legacy reasons. In any case, I want to make sure that when I start using it again that I have enough traffic to generate some sales.
Hiring writers was more time consuming than expected. Especially proofreading some of the articles. The bad ones took a few hours each, whilst the good ones didn’t take much longer than the time it took to read them.
I was glad to hire some of the better ones and reduce my editing work loads. However, it still takes a significant amount of time to brief 4 writers on the articles that you want, what products you want to promote and advise any other specifics about the articles you want to be written.
Early days and happy with the foundations I’ve set. Bring on month 2.
Jeff Green on February 21, 2020 at 1:58 am
Question… How much did you pay for trial offers or what do you think is fair?
What was the avg length of these initial informational articles vs reviews?
Mark on March 2, 2020 at 2:03 pm
I jeff. What do you mean by trial offers?
The average length of info articles – 1k.
The average length of review articles – 3k.
Jeff Green on March 11, 2020 at 2:13 am
Sorry that was poorly worded…how much did you pay for content writers to do an audition?
DFY Affiliate Websites
Shotgun Skyscraper Link Building
Affiliate Content
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All Day, EST
Halakha in an Egalitarian Age: Women and Kaddish, Tefillin, Megilla Reading, Hair Covering and more...
12:00 am - 10:45 am, IST
A Shattered World: From World War I to the Rise of the State of Israel
11:00 am - 12:15 pm, IST
Women's Prayers and Women Pray-ers: From Hannah to Today
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm, EST
The Changing Face of Self and Society in the 21st Century
9:00 am - 10:00 am, IST
David and Saul: Jealousy, Pursuit and the Challenge of Morality (I Samuel)
Highlights of the Weekly Daf Yomi: Messechet Pesachim
Live with Rav Meir!
How Does Halakha Work?
Israeli Poetry as a Window to Israeli Society and History
Rabbinic Responses to Past Plagues with Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper
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Foods Limited
Parrs Brand History
Family firm Parrs started in Parr Street, Lower Parkstone, in 1949 making crisps and chewing gum. After the factory burnt down, the company relocated to Alder Road, Branksome in the late 1960s.
In the 1980s the company began mass producing jellied sweets including jelly babies, wine gums and fruit jellies.
Parrs was once the world’s biggest manufacturer of lettered rock, employing more than 200 people and exporting as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
The Queen was presented with a special souvenir stick of Parrs rock during a visit to Bournemouth in 2004.
Present site in Scarborough was opened in 2008. Parrs continuous to be a prominent and respected name in the confectionery industry. The company now specialises in honeycomb, toffee and chocolate apples and kits.
Parrs historic factory site
Queen given Parrs seaside stick of rock
Parrs Foods Limited ©2020 | design: dako.studio
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OHCHR > English > Countries > Europe and Central Asia Region > UN Human Rights in Moldova
Moldova overview
(over 3 years old)
UN Human Rights Report 2019
OHCHR Management Plan 2018-2021
Human Rights in Action (PDF)
A Handbook for Civil Society (PDF)
UN Human Rights in the Republic of Moldova
HTMLCountry11
UN Human Rights in Moldova assists the UN Country Team in Moldova, the authorities, the judiciary, the parliament, national human rights institutions and civil society through technical advice and capacity building activities to protect, respect, fulfill and mainstream human rights in the country.
Type of engagement
Human Rights Adviser
Number of staff
Annual budget needs
With the support of UN Human Rights, the National Human Rights Action Plan (HRAP) encompassing the recommendations from the International Hman Rights Mechanisms was adopted by the Parliament in 2018. The plan establishes the National Human Rights Council, a high level inter-branch body to coordinate the implementation of the HRAP in Moldova.
OHCHR Moldova has been actively engaged in the preparation and sustained support of the ground-breaking engagement of Mr. Thomas Hammarberg (Senior UN Human Rights Expert) in the Transnistria region. In spring 2018, Mr. Hammarberg conducted his follow-up visit to Moldova, including Transnistria region, after his previous engagement in 2012. This engagement has strong prospects for inaugurating good practices that can be replicated in other similar situations.
The Office supported the establishment of the National Equality Council, as well as the capcity building of its staff. OHCHR has also engaged with the People's Advocate to strengthen its capacity, which was recognized, in 2018, as fully compliant with Paris Principles and was granted the A status by GANHRI.
With the support of the Office, young activists from different ethnic and linguistic communities and regions created a youth platform of minorities – Group of Youth for Interethnic Solidarity – in the Republic of Moldova in 2017.
OHCHR Moldova continues to support the engagement of the State authorities and rights-holders with the International Human Rights Mechanisms. It has facilitated, prepared and followed up on visits of 4 Special Rapporteurs from Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council that have provided roadmaps in key human rights areas of relevance for the country context in the last 5 years.
OHCHR Moldov also supported the engagement of NGOs with International Human Rights Mechanisms. In this context in 2019 around 30 NGOs participated in training activities conducted by OHCHR on alternative reporting to CEDAW, out of which 23 organizations submitted alternative reports, and 12 of them benefited from coaching in the process of developing and submitting the alternative report. A total number of 13 CSO representatives enchanced their capacities on international human rights advocacy by attending review of Moldova by CEDAW.
As a response to COVID-19, OHCHR Moldova facilitated the establishment of the NGO Task Force Covid-19 and Human rights which was joined by 54 NGOs from across Moldova, including from the Transnistria region and Gaguzia. An assessment conducted in the context of the NGO Task Force contributed to informing three successful COVID-19 related funding proposals in the context of COVID-19, targeting the most vulnerable and marginalized in Moldova, including the Transnistria region. Additionally, 12 thematic working groups of the NGO Task Force developed advocacy strategies with authorities, exchanged best practices on how to operate in the context of COVID-19 and will be conducting monitoring of the respective rights.
Representatives of the Resource Group of Parents of Children and Youth with Disabilities, established with OHCHR's support in 2019, regularly conducts advocacy actions to promote the rights of persons with disabilities and human rights based approach to disability. One such example of advocacy action is the #10yearsCRPDMoldova campaign initiated by OHCHR with the active involvement of the Resource Group in July – August 2020 which ended with a high-level on-line event to promote the ratification of the Optional Protocol to CRPD, during which the Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection reconfirmed Moldova's commitment to ratify the Optional Protocol by 2021.
In the context of COVID-19, OHCHR Moldova developed nine human rights guidances on thematic human rights issues as well as on human rights concerns of vulnerable grops. These guidances were published in Romanian, Russiand and four of them in easy to read easy to understand format. 31940 copies were requrested by and distributed to 57 national and local NGOs from Moldova including in the Transnistria region for their distribution to rights holders. Furthermore discussions on some of them with state authorities were conducted.
OHCHR Moldova conducted a successful media campaign on COVID-19 and its impact on different vulnerable groups in the Transnistria region, with a focus on Roma, people with chronic diseases, older persons, and women victims of domestic violence. Eight media products, including 5 posters, 2 comics, and 1 audio photo essay were produced and placed in social and local media resources.
In 2020, OHCHR Moldova initiated the piloting of the Roma community mediators' institution in the Transnistria region, similar to that existing on the right bank of Nistru River. Field visits to 13 urban and rural areas densely populated by Roma the Transnistria took place in June – July 2020, where 69 Roma and Roma leaders were interviewed. The report on field visits gave an insight of the inequalities faced by Roma in access to education, empolyment, housing and documentation and will serve as a base for drafting a Roadmap and Action plan for establising the first Roma community mediators' institution in the Transnistria region.
Partners and Donors
Partners: UN agencies, Government of the Republic of Moldova, Parliament of Republic of Moldova, CSOs, People’s Advocate Office, The Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality.
Donors: Embassy of Sweden in Chisinau, European Union, MPTF.
UN Human Rights Focus Areas
Thematic pillars
Mechanisms: Increasing implementation of the international human rights mechanisms outcomes
Accountability: Strengthening rule of law and accountability for human rights violations
Development: Integrating human rights in sustainable development
Non discrimination: Enhancing equality and countering discrimination
Participation: Enhancing & protecting civic space and people's participation
Global constituency
Spotlight populations
Last reviewed: November 2020
Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD)
Contact is in Geneva, Switzerland.
Europe and Central Asia Section
Email: ecasection@ohchr.org
OHCHR Human Rights Adviser
Address: Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov Dzinot 23,
1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Voices from the Field: Protecting human rights in Moldova amidst COVID-19
Equality law empowers Moldovans to fight discrimination
Muslim community thriving in Moldova
Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions
Note: OHCHR is not responsible for the content of external links.
Human Rights Components of Peace Missions
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National Human Rights Institutions
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Online-Casinos.com News Online Casinos Homepage The Best Gambling News and Analysis from Around the World
Legal Casinos in Brazil Depend on This One Thing
by Scott Lawson, 12 December 2019
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has been courting the evangelical vote in anticipation of expanding legal gaming in the country. Their support, which helped Bolsonaro secure his 2018 Presidential victory, is essential for legalizing a national gaming industry.
Rio lawmakers, including Evangelical Mayor Marcelo Crivella, hope that legalized casinos on the waterfront would bring a much-needed boost to their economy. ©LhcCoutinho/Pixabay
The Potential for Brazil’s Gaming Market Has Been Widely Noted
Many in the international gaming industry have remarked upon the promise that could be monetized by greater expansion of a legal casino market in Brazil. One such recent commentator was Pansy Ho, a Macau-based billionaire and current owner of MGM Macau.
Another major market magnate with their eyes on Brazil was Las Vegas Sands CEO and chairman Sheldon Adelson, who has made no secret of his interest in establishing Brazil locations — particularly in São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro — for several years now.
Adelson reportedly went so far as to meet with then-President Michel Temer in 2018 to attempt to convince the political leader to overturn Brazil’s longstanding gambling ban, in effect since the 1940s. At that time, Adelson was reportedly encouraging President Temer to consider an $8 billion resort-casino, which got many talking about the prospect of greater leniency in Brazil’s gaming laws.
Even more, a panel at this past summer’s Brazilian Gaming Congress (BgC) in São Paolo, comprised of Hard Rock International’s Alex Pariente and Entertainment Inc.’s John Maddox (also VP of government relations at Caesars), devoted time to discussing the potential of the gaming industry in Brazil. On the topic, Maddox revealed Caesars is “clearly interested in this jurisdiction”.
In addition to eyes from foreign companies, locals in the Brazil government have also made clear their interest in expanding the gaming industry. At the same conference where Ms. Ho stated the promise of Brazil’s gaming market, Brazil’s Minister for Tourism, Marcelo Álvaro António wanted to make sure that no one missed Brazil’s own interest in gaming market expansion, saying:
“I want to remind you that the legislative [power] in Brazil is considering regulating the operation of casinos in [resorts]…, opening major avenues of investment.”
Similarly, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella has also pushed for greater legalizationof gambling in his city. The fact that he is a licensed Bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God could prove helpful in Bolsonaro’s courtship of the religious vote.
Preparing for the possibility of legal gaming, the Municipal Urban Planning Office of Rio has prepared a pitch designed to attract international operators to build integrated casino-resorts on Rio’s famous waterfront. Officials hope this could mean new life is brought into an area in need of a renaissance.
Finally, Bruno Omori, who works with the Brazilian Association for the Hospitality Industry, also has gone on the record as advocating for more integrated resort-casinos in Brazil, saying, “Brazil offers the most potential for gambling growth in the world.”.
Why The Interest in Brazil?
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America, with the sixth-largest population of any country in the world.
Beyond what it could offer international operators, growing the gaming industry could be a huge boon to Brazil’s economy, which has struggled to stand on steady footing in the last years.
Initially Opposed, President Bolsonaro Has Softened On the Concept
While on the campaign trail in 2018, President Bolsonaro — known to some as the “Trump of the Tropics,” — vocally opposed gambling throughout his campaign. In President Bolsonaro’s first year in office, the incumbent President emphasized his commitment to “family values.”
However, something must have changed his mind. In April of this year, Bolsonaro said via Facebook live that the question of gambling’s legality lies in the hands of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Bolsonaro maintains that he personally is opposed to gambling, but, like certain gambling-related regulations in the US, the gaming laws in Brazil should be decided on a state-by-state basis.
In 2018, Brazil did make steps forward in gaming licensing, legalizing sports betting nationwide. As in many Latin American nations, however, the particular regulations for this form of gaming (both virtual and real) remain under discussion.
Still, something significant lies in President Bolsonaro’s way from legalizing gambling in Brazil the way many operators are hoping: the President is very opposed to slot machines, which he sees as being a threat to families. Unfortunately for operators, slot machines tend to be the largest money-maker of casinos.
This will not be the first time politicians in Brazil have pushed to legalize gambling in the last year, though this is the most promising attempt yet.
A Major Negotiation: Winning the Evangelical Vote
In order to make headway with greater gaming leniency, President Bolsonaro must court the votes of Brazil’s bancada evangelica (“Evangelical Bench,” in English), who occupy 200 of Brazilian Congress’s 513 seats.
According to reports, the bancada evangelica played a significant role in Bolsonaro’s 2018 election, making his appeal to them vital for the pro-gaming cause.
Some evangelical leaders, like Marco Feliciano, are outspoken in their opposition to gambling. This past October, Feliciano described the evangelical voting coalition as “totally” against casino licensing, going so far as to say there would be no possibility of persuasion.
Another Factor: The Question of Locals vs. Tourists
Another significant question which has arisen in recent weeks is whether or not legal casinos could allow local citizens to visit their establishments. Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Marcelo Crivella, who is also an evangelical bishop, wants his city to have a casino, but one that only tourists should be allowed to go to.
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Ground Cover plants are mature and blooming age bare root plants that can be planted anytime and ships year round. All plants will come up the following spring after planting. 1 year guarantee on all plants. Ground covers never has to be taken up in harsh winter weather and they return each spring.
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The trumpet flower vine, with its showy, brilliant orange-red blossoms, is a herald of summer. Named for the shape of those same flowers, it is beloved of hummingbirds, whose bills and tongues are exactly the length and shape needed to sip their nectar. When the vine is well established, other birds love to build nests in its heavy foliage, which is made out of deep green, oval leaves.
Besides its flamboyant beauty, the perennial trumpet vine is easy to grow. Indeed, it's so easy that a well cared for a plant can grow up to 40 feet in a single year. It's not particularly fussy about soil even though it does best in rich loam that's well-drained. But once a plant is established, it doesn't even need fertilizer. All it needs is a trellis or a long, sturdy fence to grow on and some judicious pruning early in the spring and in the fall. The vine can also tolerate some drought and is deer resistant.
Flower Vines, such as the Trumpet Flower Vines, are a gardener's delight
Trumpet flower vines can be raised from seeds or from suckers that are dug up and replanted. The plant is an abundant reseeder and will produce long seed pods after the blooming season is over. These pods split open and spill out many winged seeds. Because of their wings, the seeds can take root a considerable distance away from the parent plant.
Seeds can be bought from a local nursery, purchased online or through a catalog. They should be planted about one-quarter inch deep after all danger of frost is over. The plant prefers full sunlight but can also do well in partial shade. However, a vine planted in partial shade won't produce as many blossoms.
Flower Vines can be grown from seed as long as they are kept moist
While the plant is young, the soil should be kept moist. The seedling should be given an all-purpose fertilizer for the first few months. Just before it blooms, it should be fed with a mix high in phosphorous.
The trumpet flower vine, whose botanical name is campsis radicans, is native to the southeastern United States, where it can be seen clinging to tall pine trees. Now, it is a garden favorite all over the country as well as in Canada, Europe, and Latin America.
Flower vines are beautiful around trellaces or when planted to climb a home's exterior. They also have very decorative uses as providing a carpet like beauty as ground covers. The look best when displayed on a fence or some type pole upright.
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Ottumwa, Iowa
Indian Hills dinner theater serves up Titanic flavor
MARK NEWMAN
Courier Staff Writer
Apr 11, 2012 Updated Jul 28, 2014
Extravagent meals aboard a cruise is nothing new. Cooks preparing a historical meal in Ottumwa learned that in 1912, the Titanic crew set a lavish table — for some passengers.
“We [decided to do] dinner theater this time, and I said maybe we could find out what was served on the Titanic,” said Jennifer Boyenga, director of fine arts at Indian Hills Community College.
“We did some research and found there’s whole books that have been written on the food of the Titanic,” she said.
The fine arts department had been wanting to try a dinner theater type experience, she said, and this seemed like a good opportunity. The play “Titanic Aftermath” is being performed this weekend.
It’s been fun, she said, learning more about such a specific part of the voyage. Far from being historically unimportant, meals on board the ship help tell the story of society in the early 1900s.
“We have such a distinction between first class, second class and third class,” Boyenga said.
In fact, Culinary Arts Chairman Gordon Rader, his staff and students will allow “passngers in first class” to avoid having to mingle with the common people — at least during dinner.
“We’re doing two menus,” Rader said. “A captain’s buffet upstairs, and the first-class dining downstairs.”
Upstairs, guests will serve themselves off a buffet. In first class, servers will deliver plates of food totaling six courses. The 80 guests upstairs paid about $15 for their experience, while fewer than 40 guests downstairs paid $30 each. The event is fully booked, the chef said.
Of course, he’s serving roast beef to Indian Hills guests in “third class” instead of bread and water. Things were a bit more strict in 1912, Boyenga said.
Her office’s research showed a menu describing a seven-course dinner in first class. Down in the belly of the ship, travelers in third class might get stew or a hearty soup with a slice of bread, maybe with a little meat.
Even the plates were different, she said, describing a stoneware mug and a bowl down below, while above, guests were served meals on China plates with multiple pieces of silverware.
“One thing that I noticed,” said Boynega, who saw the photos and replica place setting on display in the school library, “the coffee cups in first class were tiny, and in third class they had these huge mugs.”
Perhaps, she agreed, that’s because the first-class passengers had waiter’s hovering over them, anticipating their every need, “neds” which might include freshly brewed coffee poured staeming hot every few minutes.
Boyenga called on the culinary department at the school to see if they’d take on what she admitted was quite a challenge.
Rader said he’d be happy to try something different.
“I was so glad to see them trying dinner theater,” he said. “There is a need for cultural opportunities in this region, and with the school providing opportunities like live theater, I feel very fortunate. Museums, theater, art, these are all part of what makes civilization civilized.”
So what was Boyenga looking for?
“We went to him with a book which had the last meals served on the Titanic,” she said, “and we handed those books off to Chef.”
“That made it easy [to plan],” Rader said about his first look at the menu. “They said, ‘Chef, what do you think?’ and I said, ‘I love it!’ I also love the idea of working with the theater department.”
“It’s been fun [planning] this event,” Boyenga said.
On any day, a multi-course meal is supposed to be special, with good timing. But the formal and historical nature of this dinner gives it a unique theatrical vibe, Rader said.
“It’s just like a performance. What are the opening lines? For us, it’ll be canapes, a very elelgant opening,” he said of the little edible “plates” of fried bread topped with small tastes of luxurious foods.
The next “acts” will be cream of barley soup flavored with cream and whiskey, chicken in a dijon sauce and a salad of fresh spring asparagus flavored with champagne-saffron vinegar. The main course is grilled filet mignon of beef, followed by a cheese course, then dessert, which Rader called the final scene.
“It will have six courses, accompanied by wine,” he added.
For him, with many of his students off at competitions, he wanted to avoid trying to feed as many people as he could cram into a room; because this would be a way of showing what the culianry arts department could do — even with a 100-year-old luxury liner menu — it was important to serve fewer people a better meal.
“I want it to be exceptional, something they’ll remember,” he said.
Indian Hills Community College
Titanic Aftermath
Gordon Rader
Jennifer Boyenga
SIMMONS, Donna
Reid, Laurance
Melvin, Linda
KENNEY, VivAnn
SIEREN, Nick
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Oxford Friends of the Earth is a thriving and effective local group that has been active for over 40 years. Our purpose is to work together to promote a healthy and sustainable environment
The COP 26 Climate Summit is coming in 2021 – Be part of it!
The 2021 United Nations ‘COP26’ climate change summit will be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever seen in the UK. They will coming to discuss solutions to the biggest global crisis of our time.
Oxford Friends of the Earth will work to support and enable action across the county towards COP26. We are setting up an Oxfordshire COP26 Climate Alliance (OCCA).
Our suggestions for how this might work are here:
Towards COP26: an Oxfordshire Climate Alliance – suggestions for a county alliance
We invte your organisation or group to join the Alliance – click here:
As a first step we are planning a report to record and promote all the work being done across the county – find out more about this here: Oxfordshire Action on the Climate Crisis – a report. This will be a major project and we are looking for people and groups to help us gather information. Email us: climate(at)oxfoe.co.uk if you’d like to know more.
For more on why CO26 matters please see below. And NOW please sgn up to the national Climate Coalition decaration – The Time is Now – (135,000 people have already signed) which will go as a letter to the government setting three key priorities for 2021.
Why is COP 26 so important?
If the worst consequences of climate change are to be avoided, the Glasgow summit has to deliver real progress. This means that the UK has to be an effective leader. We have to act now if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, the goal agreed in the UN Paris Agreement. As the country which led the industrial revolution and built our wealth on coal and oil, the UK has a responsibility to lead the just transition to a zero-carbon world.
COP26 needs to make important decisions that have been delayed at recent meetings, and to finalise “implementation guidelines” for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which has to do with “cooperative approaches” to tackling climate change. This includes the contentious issue of carbon markets.
COP26 is also critical because, under the 2015 UN ‘Paris Agreement’, this is when governments have pledged to step up and to improve their own commitments – their ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’. The targets they have set so far for cutting their own emissions are not enough to prevent dangerous climate change – we are still on course for over 3°C of devastating warming. This COP is when they agreed to revisit those targets.
Global emissions have increased in recent years. The Covid crisis has led to a global fall in 2020 of over 7% but this may be wiped out if we do not plan the recovery carefully. The IPCC (the UN scientific advisors) has said that in order to achieve the 1.5°C target, the world needs to cut carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. So 2021 has to be a year to deliver.
Why does action in the UK matter?
In 2019 the UK was the first G7 country to set a ‘net zero’ target in national law, committing to eliminate our territorial contribution to climate change within a generation. However, the UK cannot rest. Emissions are not falling fast enough to meet the net zero target or even to meet goals under the 80% reduction target set in 2008.
The UK government – who will chair the conference – must push for real action. But the Government cannot credibly claim to be a climate change leader – to set an example to other nations – unless it implements policies that demonstrably put us on track to reaching net zero as soon as possible and ending the UK’s contribution to climate change.
We – as civil society organisations – need to push the government to show real leadership. We must also reaffirm and strengthen our own local commitments.
True leadership means doing five things. Britain must:
Use its diplomatic influence to close the gap between existing Paris Agreement pledges for 2030, and those needed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.
Champion increasing financial support to help poorer countries adapt to climate change and manage loss and damage, ensuring this support reaches those who need it most.
Support and fund nature-based solutions which can help to achieve net-zero emissions globally, whilst restoring the Earth’s precious ecosystems and biodiversity.
Stop all new support for fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) overseas, phase-out existing investments, increase support for clean energy systems, and help deliver universal access to energy.
Get our own house in order – enact new policies, laws and investment to put us unmistakably on the path to eliminating our carbon emissions as soon as possible.
What can we do locally?
We here in Oxfordshire (and in towns and cities across the UK) have roles to play.
We need to:
Engage with our MPs and push the UK government to show leadership
Make new commitments for action here
Ensure people across our area understand the importance of COP26
Encourage our councils to be active partners
Organise local events to build support
Support people to take part in events in Glasgow during COP26
You can download this text as a briefing document here.
We also need COP 26 to be a transparent and inclusive event,
with wide and diverse participation by civil society. Governments must ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable are heard in Glasgow from impacted countries and marginalised groups. This especially includes women from the global south, who have been largely excluded from COPs to date, despite being on the frontlines of the crisis. Millions of people in developing countries are already living with the threat of climate change – homes are becoming uninhabitable, land unfarmable, access to clean water unpredictable and lives unbearable. Richer countries are also suffering – as the fires in Australia and the USA have shown. The UK has also been hit by substantial and costly flooding.
This is a critical year. Christiana Figueres, who led the UN work on the Paris Climate Agreement has said that the decisions made at this COP “will decide the quality of life for every living thing on this planet for at least the next century.”
We face the challenge of the Covid pandemic alongside the climate emergency. But we cannot ‘wait until later’ to speed up action on climate. We need to work together to make COP26 a genuinely successful event that puts the world on a route to a safer future.
Oxford FoE held a meeting on ‘The UN COP 26 climate conference – and why it matters’ on Weds. 2 Dec. 6. The video of the meeting is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWeoSL0ujOQ [The first 22 minutes are the presentations].
The Slides are available to download here. These are presentations by:
Stuart Neaverson (The Climate Coalition) on the context for COP, why it is so important and what will happen in the run-up:TCC COP slides
Chris Church (Oxford FoE) on the background to the COP, the key issues and ideas for local action: OxFoE COP26 slides
For more on Glasgow and COP26 see:
The Climate Coalition https://www.theclimatecoalition.org/cop26
The COP 26 Coalition (a world wide civil society grouping based in Scotland) https://cop26coalition.org/the-coalition/
The ‘official’ page: https://www.ukcop26.org/
Oxford Friends of the Earth will be working on this through 2021, and we will look to cooperate with all other groups who also want to see success at COP26. Contact us via climate@oxfoe.co.uk
© 2021 Oxford Friends of the Earth. Built using WordPress and the Highlight Theme
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Tiny Add-on Turns IPhone Into Hand Projector, Throws 25-inch Screen From 1 Meter
By Jay Alabaster
IDG News Service |
A tiny projector that plugs into an iPhone's docking slot and can throw a 25-inch image about a meter away has gone on sale in Japan and China.
The projector weighs just 32 grams and is about the size of half an iPhone. Its tiny LED lamp runs off the phone's battery and generates 320-by-240 resolution at a brightness of 10 lumens.
The device can display iPhone content including YouTube and iPod videos as well as photos, and has a small speaker. It comes with a small tripod and can also be used to connect an iPhone to a TV or play video from another device via video and USB cables.
Thanko, a retailer which is selling the device in Japan, said it has tested the projector with iPhone models including the latest 4S, the iPad and the iPod touch.
The company, which operates a gadget store in Tokyo's geeky Akihabara district as well as an online shop, is charging ¥15,800 ($US202) per unit. Its first shipment of 100 was sold out on Tuesday, a day after the initial launch, though a spokesman said more were on order.
An search online showed what appeared to be the same device on sale at least one Chinese online shop for half the price.
Video of the tiny projector in action is also available on YouTube.
Century, a separate Japanese manufacturer, released a larger iPhone projector embedded in a battery case last week.
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POMPEY MOURN PAVEL SRNICEK
Former Blues keeper passes away
Portsmouth Football Club are mourning the death of former Blues keeper Pavel Srnicek, who has sadly passed away at the age of just 47.
He arrived at Fratton Park in September 2003 and played four times before signing for West Ham the following March.
The Czech Republic international made his debut in a League Cup tie at Southampton before keeping a clean sheet in a Premier League draw with Everton.
Former team-mate Linvoy Primus said: “It’s incredibly tragic news because he was still very young and had plenty to offer – in football and in life.
“When Pavel signed, we knew we had brought in an experienced goalkeeper who could do a job for us.
“But he was also a solid guy off the pitch and encouraged all those around him. He got on with everyone in the squad and I know he’ll be missed by many.”
Fellow keeper Alan Knight added: “I’m gutted. He didn’t play a huge amount of times for the club, but was a larger than life character and a great person.
“It’s very sad, especially because he was still a young man. My thoughts are obviously with his family and loved ones.”
Srnicek came to England to sign for Newcastle in 1991 and became a firm favourite with the fans during his seven years in the north-east.
He also turned out for Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham before returning to Tyneside for a short second spell with United in 2006.
Srnicek suffered a cardiac arrest while jogging before Christmas and was placed in an induced coma.
Everyone at Portsmouth Football Club would like to send their deepest condolences to Pavel’s family and friends.
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Dominic Cortis Soccer
Star players: How big is their effect?
World class soccer players are extravagantly gifted, highly paid and adored by cheering fans worldwide. With top class teams gathering the best talents they can afford, what is the real impact of superstars on a team’s overall results? Here’s a statistical answer by Dominic Cortis.
A recent discussion initiated by a reader queried on the effects of star players within a team and opened the question whether star player’s effect on a team’s performance can be measured. Hirotsu was the first to evaluate the efficiency of each player within a team using 'Data Envelopment Analysis'. In the absence of a research that examines the effects of a star player over time, this article attempts to measure this statistically.
Choosing the right candidate
The first step in this regard is choosing a start player. We needed a star player who is still playing and who ideally has always played with that particular team. We immediately dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Although they are at the pinnacle (pun intended) of humanely possible skills, we wanted to opt for a team without so many other superstars. Our eyes eventually set on AS Roma and Totti.
Francesco Totti, born in 1976 in Rome, is an attacking midfielder/supporting forward and the captain of AS Roma. He joined the youth squad in 1989 and has spent an entire career at Roma, winning a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles and the World Cup in 2006.
He also won several individual awards - the most significant of which being the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the Golden foot. Totti is currently the most capped player in AS Roma’s history and the second highest scorer of all-time in Italian league history (244 goals).
In summary Totti has been a consistent part, if not the main fulcrum, of AS Roma for many years. Indeed he has played in 276 league matches (from a total 380) between the 2005/06 and 2014/15 seasons.
The main question we tried to determine is Totti’s effect on AS Roma's results. For the sake of simplicity we included league games only.
To define success or failure for AS Roma, we focused on three stats: the points per game (where 3 points are earned for a win and 1 point for a draw), the proportion of games won and the proportion of games lost.
When comparing stats for Roma with and without Totti, we adjust these so that a positive value signifies an improvement with Totti on board. For example, a positive change in the proportion of games lost means that AS Roma lost less matches when Totti was playing.
Finally we considered four levels of Totti's contribution: playing part of a match, playing a full match, being substituted out and being substituted in.
Overall stats show that Totti has had an effect on the team. Whenever he played a match, AS Roma earned an additional 0.118 additional points per game.
The results are not as rosy for matches in which he played the full ninety minutes. In these cases the team has 0.203 less points per match, won 7.4% less and lost 5.5% more of games. We obviously wouldn’t interpret this as the star player having a negative effect on the team. The most likely scenario is that he remained on pitch when the team was not doing as well.
This is corroborated by the all-around positive stats of when he was substituted out of the game: an extra 0.36 points per match, 14.3% more wins and 7.4% less losses. The rationale here could be that in the case of a clear win, Totti was more likely to be substituted so as to evade injury.
We also looked at his stats whenever he came in as a substitute as he would probably be called in to save the team. Coming in as a substitute had little to no bearing on points (only 0.09 additional points) but 7.8% more wins and 6.2% less in losses.
This however happened a measly 18 times over a 10 year period so the results in that regard are anything but reliable, as an extra win/loss in the sample could have distorted our results due to the limitations of the average.
The image above shows these stats per season under each of the four levels of Totti's contribution to a match.
We tried to apply statistical techniques to find proof of a star player effect but none provided clear evidence. This, however, does not mean that a star player is just a placebo effect.
Indeed, any team would be lucky to have Totti on board. Even when nearing 40 years old, he is one of Italy's top talents. Despite the lack of solid statistical proof, the metrics used in the above charts imply that Totti’s form has a bearing on the final outcome.
This article was co-authored by Maria Cauchi.
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Dominic is a lecturer in actuarial science and insurance risk at The University of Malta. He is an actuary by training and his research focuses on risk with special emphasis on betting markets, financial derivatives, ruin and insurtech. Dominic's application of mathematical strategies to specific sports has proven to be an invaluable tool for bettors.
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San Francisco pension board member faces ethics complaints over investments
Wikicommons
Ethics complaints against San Francisco City & County Employees' Retirement System board member Wendy Paskin-Jordan could force her off the board.
The city Board of Supervisors, using a rarely used provision challenging a mayor's appointments, will hold a special hearing on Jan. 7, and then decide whether to rescind her reappointment to the retirement board by Mayor Ed Lee.
Supervisors received two complaints against Ms. Paskin-Jordan, who is the wife of former San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan and runs her own money management firm, Paskin Capital Advisors in San Francisco, records show.
The complaints were filed anonymously.
The first complaint concerns her investment with Grantham Mayo van Otterloo & Co.
The $19.9 billion pension fund has a $388 million investment with the company. Ms. Paskin-Jordan, in a disclosure form, reported she had made a personal investment between $100,000 and $1 million in GMO in August 2011. The ethics complaint says that is below the company's minimum investment threshold of $10 million, alleging special treatment for Ms. Paskin-Jordan, who was on the retirement board at the time.
City rules also prohibit SFERS board members from investing with private equity, limited partnerships and non-publicly traded mutual funds that are doing business with the system.
The second ethics complaint says Ms. Paskin-Jordan received favorable fees for her clients invested with Northern Trust Asset Management between September 2011 and November 2013. Northern Trust is the pension fund's custodian.
It also alleges without going into detail that her clients are receiving “special favors” from several dozen money managers doing business with the pension fund.
“(Ms.) Paskin-Jordan has served the SFERS with many hours and deep knowledge,” said Supervisor John Avalos in a statement to Pensions & Investments. “At the time of her reappointment, we should have certainty that the cloud of questions hanging over her is cleared so that we are making the right decision.”
Mr. Lee reappointed Ms. Paskin-Jordan to a second five-year term to the retirement board on Dec. 8 and she has already been sworn in. But city supervisors have 30 days to reject the mayor's appointments, though they must have a super majority of eight of 11 board members.
A woman answering the phone at Paskin Capital Advisors, who would not give her name, said Ms. Paskin-Jordan would be in meetings all day and would be unavailable for comment.
The woman referred all inquiries to Jay Huish, the retirement system's executive director. Board Secretary Norm Nickens said Mr. Huish was unavailable for comment.
However, Pensions & Investments obtained a letter written by Mr. Huish to the city ethics commission, which is also investigating the matter, referencing the GMO investment.
Mr. Huish said Ms. Paskin-Jordan received a threshold waiver to invest with GMO from two former employees at Montgomery Asset Management, who went on to work at GMO. The three had worked together at Montgomery.
Mr. Huish said the pension fund considers GMO a manager of public market assets, and board members are allowed to make investments in those assets. Mr. Huish said in the letter that after consulting with staff and the city attorney, he did not believe Ms. Paskin-Jordan had violated the city's conflict-of-interest rules but acknowledged others could reach a different conclusion.
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Replay Maintenance Receive Glowing Results at University of Leeds
by Chris Bassett
in Industry News
0 Replay Maintenance Receive Glowing Results at University of Leeds
Following complaints of a slippery surface, The University of Leeds sought the help of Replay Maintenance to ensure its sand dressed hockey pitch returned to its usual excellent standards.
Sports Park Weetwood, University of Leeds, is renowned for playing host to some of the finest hockey in the UK. Not only is Weetwood recognised as an England Hockey High Performance Assessment Camp and Junior Regional Performance Centre but the England Hockey North offices are based on site. The facility supports a wide range of hockey activity which includes the Yorkshire Youth Hockey League, Leeds Hockey Club, the University hockey programmes, county and regional school championships as well as hosting England Junior Hockey Teams, Welsh Dragons Hockey team and the Regional Masters Hockey tournament.
It's no surprise that the pitch has an incredible amount of usage. With 12 hours use on a Saturday and Sunday, all day on a Wednesday and evening sessions every week from 4pm till 9pm, the pitch sees approximately 60 hours usage a week. It was inevitable that the pitch would start to show the all too familiar signs of wear and tear.
"We were starting to receive complaints of a slippery surface. The players couldn't stand on their feet with the high level of hockey that's played on the pitch and the speed of the game. So we really needed to find a solution," said James Wright, Chargehand at Sports Park Weetwood.
James explored a number of recommended treatments from various maintenance contractors which unfortunately were not "thorough enough" to clear the problem. After a string of unsuccessful results, Labosport, a world leader of independent testing laboratories dedicated to sports surfaces and equipment, advised James on the procedure needed; he then went away to carry out research on the process.
"At the University we have to get appropriate quotes from a wide range of various suppliers. So we had a number of companies competing for the tender but I was really impressed with the way that Replay Maintenance came across," said James.
Replay Maintenance carried out their popular Rejuvenation process which can restore artificial turf pitches to a "good as new" in terms of performance and appearance. In some instances, the process can also double the playing life of the. Therefore, more and more sports facilities are opting for the Replay Rejuvenation process as an alternative to a new pitch because the speedy process saves both time and minimises loss of revenue for the facility.
The work is carried out by Replay Maintenance's fully qualified and experienced team who operate the company's class leading Beaver machines. The contaminated infill is extracted utilising compressed air directly delivered into the carpet, decompacting the surface and driving out the contaminated infill. Pile fibres are cleaned, untangled and restored to a vertical position while weak seams are also repaired. A purpose-built sand spreading machine then distributes and brushes in fresh infill to the desired depth. The outcome is a pitch which maximises playing performance, surface life and sees the customer with an excellent return on their investment.
After recommending the procedure to James, Labosport returned to the University to undertake rigorous testing. The results revealed a 30% increase in traction, improved drainage and was deemed to meet all of the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) pitch requirements.
Following the glowing results, James commented that it certainly won't be the last time the University turns to Replay Maintenance.
"I'm extremely happy with the work that was undertaken by Replay Maintenance and we have already agreed that they will be returning to carry out more rejuvenation work on another pitch later in the year," he said.
For further information, please contact Replay Maintenance on 01636 640 506 or visit the company's website www.replaymaintenance.co.uk.
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Home News McLaren ‘not happy’ with token loophole
McLaren ‘not happy’ with token loophole
Date published: July 28 2020
Andreas Seidl is “not happy” that Racing Point will have a free token next season while McLaren has to use one of theirs to fit its new engine.
Next season the Formula 1 teams will only be permitted to develop limited parts of their cars after they voted in favour of continuing with this year’s car in next year’s championship in order to cut costs.
The teams will each be handed two development tokens to upgrade their cars between this season and next season.
McLaren has to use one of those to alter its MCL35 to fit the Mercedes engine that it will be running next season, leaving the Woking team with just one token for performance.
In sharp contrast other teams, such as Racing Point and AlphaTauri, are getting to update their cars without using a token as both receive year-old parts from other teams, Mercedes and Red Bull respectively.
Racing Point spark fresh wave of controversy
Could get 'free' upgrades in 2021 thanks to Mercedeshttps://t.co/Jg10EGDOxa #F1
— Planet F1 (@Planet_F1) July 19, 2020
Gearboxes and rear suspension are among the parts that require a token spend to be updated for 2021, but that does not apply to teams that use year-old gearboxes and rear suspension.
Instead any team using a 2019 gearbox and rear suspension in this year’s championship, but wishes to update to the 2020 equivalent next season, “this change will be acceptable without the use of any tokens” reads Article 22.8.5b.
Seidl isn’t impressed.
“We’re also not happy with that ruling, because for us, it simply is not logical,” the McLaren team boss told Motorsport.com.
“If you compare it with our situation, we’ve had a contract in place since quite some time that we are doing the switch from the Renault power unit to the Mercedes power unit.
“We have to accept that in the end the two tokens each team has available, we have to use for that, which we were happy to accept that compromise.
“If you compare that with another team, getting an upgrade from ’19 to ’20, [a] gearbox for example or suspension bits, being able to do that token-free just doesn’t make sense.
“But that’s something we bring up again with some other teams to the FIA. It’s simply down to the FIA to comment on this.”
Seidl says teams are still in talks with the FIA regarding the loophole.
“That has been and still is a permanent dialogue that we’re in,” he said.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of work ongoing together with the FIA in terms of finalising details of the regulations. That’s where we are in at the moment.
“I think within these discussions I think it is simply important to bring this topic on the table again as well.”
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto agrees that the loophole needs to be closed.
“The only point we are still debating, I think we are not fully happy that there are teams that eventually can upgrade their entire package from a 2019 to a 2020 package,” he said.
“That I believe would be unfair, because the season with two tokens is similar for everybody.
“We’ve got only two tokens and everybody should be limited to that one.”
Follow us on Twitter @Planet_F1 and like our Facebook page.
The Nearly Men: Felipe Massa
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Voltalia acquires 379MW wind energy portfolio in France
23 July 2015 (Last Updated July 23rd, 2015 18:30)
French green energy firm Voltalia has purchased a portfolio of wind projects from Maia Eolis totalling a potential power generation capacity of 379MW.
Maïa Eolis is a joint entity formed by Groupe Maïa (51%) and Engie (49%).
The agreement signed between Voltalia and Maïa Eolis also includes land rights for projects that are currently in the study phase.
The two firms intend to co-ordinate in order to maintain relationships with local partners, including authorities and land owners, for the power developments.
"We anticipate enhanced ambitions for the accelerated development of renewable energy in France by 2030."
Construction work for the first of the acquired projects is likely to start within the next two years. Financial details about the transaction have not been disclosed.
Voltalia CEO Sébastien Clerc said: "With the COP21 conference in Paris in a few months, we anticipate enhanced ambitions for the accelerated development of renewable energy in France by 2030, while the country currently lags behind its existing 2020 targets.
"Renewable energies will therefore keep on growing in France."
The deal raises the company’s power portfolio to almost 1,600MW worldwide, which has 22% located in France itself.
In addition to wind, Voltalia also operates across solar, hydro and biomass power sectors and has existing assets in France, Brazil, Greece, French Guiana, and Morocco.
Presently, the total installed capacity of the company is 271MW.
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History of the Peace Summit initiative at Pelican Bay
Got a keyboard? Help type articles, letters and study group discussions from prisoners. help out
[Control Units] [Organizing] [Pelican Bay State Prison] [California]
by a California prisoner October 2006 permalink
Concerning the Pelican Bay State Prison Peace Summit initiative, I'm all too familiar with the initiative and the brothas that are seeking grassroots community support. Back in the year 2000, we the progressive class of Black prisoners had initiated efforts through these prison bureaucrats, in order to initiate some peace/resolve to the social conflict that had materialized out in general population, i.e. "race war." But as to be expected, these prison bureaucrats launched an aggressive "armed propaganda" campaign, in order to sabotage and disrupt our efforts. Because, as you know, it is these pigs nature to exist in a quagmire of diabolical, corrupt, and violent practices. So the armed propaganda campaign consisted of spreading a rumor to the head officials in Sacramento (CDC department heads) who had sanctioned the "peace talks" initially, that we prisoners that were directly involved with these "peace talks" were manipulating this opportunity to organize and conspire in criminal and violent activities, which is completely false and unfounded!
But by the time that we got around to challenging this nonsense, our efforts had proven to be futile, as we did not have any grassroots community support, which remains to be a critical component that needs to be addressed in light of our material existence, in being held in the restricted bondage and isolated confines of the SHU (Security Housing Unit). Besides, these fascist pigs in here also had a vested economic interest in seeing that the cycle of violence remained a material factor, as it continues to be perpetuated out in general population (mainline) in the form of a "race war" (southern Mexicans and white supremacist Europeans vs. the class of New Afrikan Black prisoners), in that, if our collective goal towards peace had been materialized into a reality, then the fascist pigs would no longer been able to prey on the fears of the public, under the premise of violence being a out of control issue, and the justification for the continued existence of these super-maximum slave kamps would have also been negated!!
This is why it is ever so critical that we mobilize ourselves now, in order to obtain some real grassroots community support so that we may effectively combat this social dilemma and bring some peace and resolve, to not just these mainliners, but also in the communities of southern California, to where these acts of senseless violence has spilled over. Meaning, that individuals of these racial nationalities who have no knowledgeable insight of this social conflict (race war) is being arbitrarily subjected to the capricious whims of violence, i.e. "innocent victims." So the onus is on us to restore order on these mainlines and in the communities of Southern California, as these fascist pigs (U.$. government ) has never had our best interest at heard, in particular, as it relates to poor people of color.
Agreement to End Hostilities
Response to my critic in SNY debate
California Hunger Strike Representatives Promote Peace Agreement
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Parents, teachers defend Achievement First's plan to triple enrollment at Providence school
Linda Borg Journal Staff Writer @lborgprojocom
PROVIDENCE — Achievement First rallied the troops Wednesday, with more than a dozen teachers, parents and school leaders speaking in favor of the mayoral charter school's proposal to more than triple its enrollment by 2026-2027.
Only two people, Rep. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence, and City Councilman Bryan Principe, voiced opposition to the plan, which could turn into a referendum on the future of charter schools in Rhode Island.
Achievement First, which operates two elementary schools in the city, seeks to expand from 720 students to more than 3,000 students. The schools also draw from Cranston, Warwick and North Providence.
In what could shape up to be the next big battle over charter schools, the mayors of Cranston and Warwick have already said they oppose the charter's growth. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, who chairs the Achievement First board of directors, has reserved the right to veto the plan if the expansion will hurt the traditional Providence public schools.
At a public hearing in Providence last night, one parent after another spoke passionately about how their children are thriving at Achievement First. They described a school that demands respect from its students, that holds children to a high standard and that makes parents feel included in their child's education.
They spoke of the 1,200 children on waiting lists to get into Achievement First, which is part of a network of 30 charter schools in New York and Connecticut.
"It truly feels like family," said Lalena Porreca, a parent. "I would be devastated if my children wouldn't be able to attend middle and high school there.
Belinda Philippe, a community advocate, said he is tired of seeing low-income and minority children "getting the short end of the stick."
"There are some systems that are better than most," she said. "Achievement First is one of them. When I walked into that school, I saw pride. I saw children who were engaged. I felt proud to be a minority."
But Regunberg said there is hard data that shows that "this type of boundless growth" has a negative impact on the financial situations of traditional public schools. He also questioned why Achievement First qualifies as a mayoral academy, since 86 percent of its students come from Providence. Mayoral charters, he said, were created to bring children from urban and suburban students together.
Principe, a father of two, said the Providence public schools can't afford to lose another 2,000 children to a charter school, especially since the school funding formula is poised to level out in a couple of years. He said the set aside for charter schools is already the third largest line item in the city's school budget.
The state Department of Education must consider the financial impact of a multi-school charter on the sending school district as part of the charter's approval process.
lborg@providencejournal.com
providencejournal.com ~ 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902 ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Cookie Policy ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service ~ Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy
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TIA wages aggressive initiative on toy safety
November 21, 2007 by Michael Bush
NEW YORK: With the holiday shopping season in full swing, the Toy Industry Association (TIA) has instituted a more aggressive communications program to combat the ongoing negative media coverage related to toy safety issues.
Julie Livingston, senior director of marketing communications at the TIA, said the association has definitely taken a stronger stance. "We decided to get a bit more aggressive because of the importance of the December shopping period," she said.
As part of those efforts the association, which represents 500-plus member companies, has hired Fleishman-Hillard to help set up its new consumer Web site, Toyinfo.org, and a consumer call center, both of which launched in late October. Livingston said executives at the association wanted additional agency help with the holiday season approaching.
"Our president, Carter Keithley, and [our] board of directors felt we needed some real muscle behind the campaign, and wanted to position the industry well during this series of crises," Livingston said. The TIA is also working with G.S. Schwartz and Strategy XXI on outreach efforts.
The consumer call center is open seven days a week, while the site provides a video feed with messages from TIA executives.
Livingston told PRWeek in September that the TIA was adding components to its media and consumer outreach efforts due to the Mattel recalls. Since that time, the recalls - which haven't all involved Mattel - have continued and the bad publicity has mounted, resulting in increased TIA communications.
The most recent bad development is a lawsuit brought by the state of California against 20 companies, including Mattel and Toys 'R' Us, accusing them of manufacturing or selling toys with illegal quantities of lead.
Livingston said G.S. Schwartz has amplified its media outreach efforts to place TIA experts in outlets like MSNBC, Fox News, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and The Houston Chronicle. On December 4, the association will kick off a radio media tour featuring its VP of standards and regulatory affairs, Joan Lawrence.
The TIA has decided to partner with NewsMarket to distribute video. "We have a lot of b-roll footage we just took in Chinese factories, illustrating the toy-safety testing process," Livingston explained. "NewsMarket gives us an opportunity to post additional b-roll footage that focuses on toys and product trends," she added.
She noted that despite the large amount of negative coverage the industry is receiving, the TIA will not stop doing what it does every holiday season - provide parents with tips on what toys to buy. The NewsMarket subscription also allows them to provide b-roll of analyst Reyne Rice talking about the season's toy trends.
"We don't want to walk away from that, and that lets us put a light on some of the more positive things going on now," Livingston explained. Rice has recently done interviews with The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, and The Wall Street Journal.
"There are many consumers concerned about buying toys this holiday season," Livingston said. "Our goal is to allay their fears, reassure them about the safety of toys on the shelves, and provide them with tips on what's hot."
Livingston said while the group focuses "a bit more" on top-tier media outlets, it's also reaching out to non-traditional outlets like bloggers covering the industry, mommy bloggers, and mommy sites.
Livingston says the TIA and its members are succeeding in addressing consumers' concerns, but thinks that more can be done.
"Going forward as an industry we need to focus more on toy safety at the retail level," she said. "A lot has been done. But since it's on everyone's mind, maybe we need to continue this campaign throughout the year instead of focusing on it now. The industry has always focused on toy safety year-round. But in a PR sense, we have not."
Dole CMO Rupen Desai on the intersection of personal and company purpose
A clean break indeed: Planterra thanks rivals Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat in open letter
‘Someone is getting fired in Lightlife marketing today’: Impossible Foods hits back at Clean Break campaign
Rebecca Chen joins Speakable as first marketing head
Is it way too early for the Pumpkin Spice Latte to return?
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Learning to Connect the Dots
By Fred Wistow
Five, maybe six, excited by her return, wanting to share something with her—a bit of news, myself—I burst into her bedroom. The unexpected darkness there told me I had done something wrong. Faint evening light edged the closed venetian blinds. I sensed her presence in a corner to my left. There in a shadowy dark, my mother stood, undressing.
The underneath of her, the body below the protective clothing I had always known her through, was visible as if for the first time. Soft, fleshy parts of her I had felt but never remembered seeing now suddenly appeared, sickeningly alluring and, I somehow knew, to be avoided. Dark bits of underthings, flashes of metal and straps stretched tightly about her body held her in, covered up the rest of her. She seemed so complicated—disparate fragments of translucences and opacities, inviting pools and intimidating depths.
Her front leaned forward slightly. As if tied behind her back, her hands were awkwardly undoing one of the contraptions. She smiled uncomfortably. “You shouldn’t be in here,” she said in that strange tone I had only overheard from other rooms. We were confused. I blushed, wanting to look up at her again and being afraid to. For a moment I peeked and saw again the outlines of her broad curves, flecks of light and dark. I wanted and feared that fabric and skin in sharp contrast. I could not say something.
I was stopped. For some reason, I could not run into her arms and be held. The joy I ran into the room with had been replaced by spooky unease. How much I had wanted to kiss her ears, smell her powderiness, feel her fleshy presence and be lost in the infinite softness of her, making her laugh with my attentions. But now there was some boundary not to be crossed. My visual knowledge of her and her awareness of that knowledge of her and her awareness of that knowledge checked my desire. A unity had been destroyed. A formerly unqualified haven, she had suddenly developed limits the nature of which were still unclear but whose emergence into reality had been thunderous.
If you want to be a sex therapist, a certified sex therapist, the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists requires you to experience something called a Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR). In addition to small group discussions, the SAR workshop, which is also open to couples and singles who wish to enhance their understanding of human sexuality, includes—indeed, is notorious for—the viewing of sexually explicit films.
I am not a therapist (sex or otherwise), nor am I (currently) part of a couple, but the moment I first heard about SARs something in me clicked; I wanted to line up for one instantly. It felt like a challenge. The idea of watching dirty movies in a group was scary enough—sex is supposed to be private isn’t it? Isn't that the message that I, and almost everybody else I knew, had been given since childhood? But then to go on and talk about the dirty movies seemed startling: what would happen if you took an essentially private activity—sex—and made it shamelessly public? What secrets would come out?
The very existence of SARs implied that perhaps sex didn’t have to take place-as it had throughout my life—only behind closed doors. My family’s attitude about sex had always been clear: it simply didn't exist. Throughout adolescence I had constantly discussed sex with male friends, but there, too, something felt hidden. Often paradoxically prudish about explicit details, these conversations had a nudge-nudge, wink-wink quality, as if life took place only in a locker room, as if to talk about love, anxiety, or shame might leave a dangerous mark against one’s masculinity. And female friends generally seemed to focus almost exclusively on the feelings aroused by sex, as if to discuss its embarrassingly physical aspect might debase what they felt.
Why was all that so? What was it all so charged? Maybe the experienced professionals who designed SARs had something to teach about why talking about sex—what we feel about it, what we do when we engage in it— is so upsetting to people, me included, and why it therefore remains off limits. I wanted the secrecy of sex, the mystery of sex, revealed and explained.
And then I also wanted to test myself, to see what prejudices and fears would pop up on being exposed to what for me was an incredibly wide range of previously unseen sexual activities. What might others find erotic that I would see as only disgusting or repulsive? In other words, I suspected that the SAR might answer the question: what made sex so “unspeakable” in both senses of the word?
There were only 11 of us, all very straight, very middle class, not a weirdo or sleaze among us: five couples who were broken up for our discussion groups (by chance, four of the five women were housewives) —a 50ish salesman and his wife, in matching jogging suits; a sincere young minister and his wife; a black academic couple, both in their fifties; an attractive young lawyer and his attractive young wife; and an energetic small businessman and his somewhat younger wife; all in therapy, all sent to the SAR in the hopes of improving sexual communication (although only the salesman revealed why he was there)—and me, alien single on this tiny planet of couples. Exceptionally quiet at first, we all managed to affect an air of remarkably false calm.
Our leader, Frank, certified sexologist and former schoolteacher, opened the workshop by reading us an allegedly humorous passage about society’s long-standing queasiness about the word “F-U-C-K.” Then, our first film, a tame animated short, showed a Smurf-like Adam and Eve experiencing something like the shame and confusion of puberty as they are forced to confront new parts of themselves suddenly popping into view.
The film is so sweet and Frank so earnest that we mistakenly begin to entertain the idea that we know more than we thought we did and that this whole weekend may turn out to be a piece of cake. We smile in recognition the comic cries of our cartoon forebears—What are these things called God?” “What are they for?” – remind each of us of more innocent days.
“It’s when your dick gets hard.”
Tommy was defining “boner” for me, word I’d heard in a joke. We were walking down the steep hill to Arch Street on our way to school, a few blocks away.
“What?” I said. I’d heard him but somehow couldn’t understand. It was one of those times when one part of my brain was working so hard it prevented some other part from absorbing what my ears were hearing.
“It’s when your dick’s hard,” he repeated, a little impatiently. Two years older, he was as embarrassed teaching as I was asking. We had dropped our standard comic personas so that real information could be conveyed, but without them the subject matter was too intimate. There was something sticky in the air between us, as thick as the fog in my brain. Things felt improper. The faster I got it and the topic changed, the better for both of us.
He elucidated: “Like when you wake up in the morning, or you see a girl, and your dick’s hard.”
“Yeah,” I said, still confused.
“That’s a boner.”
“Oh,” I finally realized, “that”. A rush of shame and desire flooded my arms as I remembered something:
A travelling amusement ride had double-parked on the block, recorded calliope music blaring from its primitive speaker. Garish yellow and blue mesh fencing partially obscured the ride whose name-the “up-down” ride? The swing?—nobody knew. Two sets of fire-engine red stairs faced each other, like a letter V with setbacks, forming two sets of bleachers. The whole contraption was suspended from a bar and, when pushed and pulled by the ride man, would swing back and forth like a giant cradle.
I had sat huddles on the next-to-the-bottom row, hands gently cupping the safety bar, scared and excited as the arc increased. On the uppermost tier opposite me was Christine, her dungarees tight against her thighs, her precious breasts stretching her sweater, her long hair fanning out on the downswing, her arms outspread, her half-mocking, half-real screams, her smile, her legs, her hair, her self filling the air, filling my chest. I could not swallow. I wanted to envelop her, be enveloped by her. The exaltation of her presence and the butterfly excitement of the sight and the motion, the sunlight reflecting off the central suspending bar had produced in me a powerful resonance, a stiffening focus of excitement in a body filled with excitement.
That has a name, I’d just learned.
“Thanks, man,” I said to Tommy.
Incredible how everything has a name.
Frank starts the SAR’s first real films. The moment is ripe with anticipation. Will the secret of sex become apparent by watching films? There are lots: videos, photomontages, a 16-millimeter shorts, some put together by sex institute is), others clearly porn films.
First, a series of stills of...vaginas: opened, closed, shaved, natural; then a similar display of penises: limp, erect, ejaculating, detumescing. The room is quiet. Nobody jokes, nobody coughs. Nobody moves. Sex is serious.
A film of women masturbating then follows. They stroke only their clitorises; no breasts, no thighs are touched. This single-minded focus on genitality is in stark contrast to the next film in which a man who, after hygienically examining himself for testicular cancer (presumably the results were negative), lies down on a silk-sheeted bed, thoroughly oils his naked body and, in colorful close-up, masturbates while inserting a vibrator in his anus.
At the break, our group is a little stunned by what it has seen and its own reaction. Was he gay?, some of us wonder, as if that would explain something other than our own homophobia. The elaborateness of his pre-masturbatory ritual seemed to our conventional minds a strong indication of homosexuality. Frank assures us, nonetheless, of the star’s heterosexuality.
“I don[t even know what I think,” I say, very confused. “I just watched a movie of some guy jerking off, shoving a dildo up his ass. Is that okay? I mean, do I have to stick up a dildo up my ass now when I jerk off?”
No one has an answer.
“Are we ready for more?” Franks asks, rubbing his hands gleefully, the leer in his voice palpable. His joking manner—that we’re there to be titillated, that this is somehow the last place on earth you can see sex films (every video store in the country notwithstanding) – doesn’t work. The films unsettle us, but if anybody’s turned on by them, they’re certainly not saying.
Back to the screening room.
Grainy footage of two smiling lesbians on a playground swing, then naked on a bed, making love. A well-made, late ‘70s pre-AIDS documentary about the gay life in San Francisco depicting, among other things, two men happily engaged in anal intercourse.
The group is really uneasy at the break. Nobody seems to care about the lesbian film (did we even see it?), but for all of us, women included, male homosexuality has touched an uncomfortable nerve.
“Well,” says the salesman, shaking his head, having given it a lot of thought, “I can take the two women, no problem. But I just—I’m sorry—I just can’t accept two guys butt-fucking. I just don’t understand that.” Tight-lipped, the women gently nod.
We go on to theorize why male homosexuality is more troublesome to us than female homosexuality. We discuss the problems of penetration, the messiness of semen. We analyze penises and asses. We examine the lack of symmetry in our reactions: why aren’t the women as uneasy in confronting lesbians as men seem to be about male homosexuals?
Well-meaning, curious, prejudiced, we try, to the best of our analytic abilities, to understand what our limits of tolerance are. But we can’t figure out what’s at the root of our discomfort, even as we fail to take note that we are discussing matters most of us have never discussed before.
A long silence.
“I didn’t even know there were homosexuals when I was a kid.” It’s Frank helping us out. He’s speaking in that can-you-believe-this-kiddies?-aren’t-you-filled-with-wonder? tone of voice used by hosts of children’s cartoon shows. “My parents sure never told me anything about sex.”
Everyone in the group, from 28 to 58, agrees. We all grew up in families never talking about the one subject that obsessed us most.
“Do you want to know what my sex education was?” he asks. “My friend Bernie told me once that if you want to drive a girl wild, really wild, you just wiggle your tongue in her ear while you wiggle your pinky in her pussy. 'They go cra-a-a-z-y,' he said."
"That was my sex education. And don't you know that every time I ever made out with a girl after that I'd be right in there, wiggling my pinky and wiggling my tongue." Each time he says the word "wiggling" his voice travels up the musical scale while his pinky pantomimes the action.
"And as far as communication goes, what do you think I kept doing—for years—after I got married?" He holds up his pinky, moving it slightly. He's told this story before.
"After five years of marriage my wife turned to me in bed one night and said, "'Frank, would you please stop doing that. It doesn't do a damn thing and it drives me crazy.' Only she didn't mean 'crazy' the way Bernie did. So I stopped.... My sex education was complete."
Laughter abates our tension. We're relieved to learn that event he expert, deep down, has lived a life as riddled with ignorance and secret fears as is our own. Is this the secret of sex: nobody knows what they're doing?
When I was a kid, I'd sometimes crawl with exquisite furtiveness up to my parents' bedroom door. There on the floor I'd lie, barely breathing, proud of my stealth, and listen, waiting to hear, out of their muffled and throatier tones, a secret. Unmasked, their voices lacked the jovial faces with which I was familiar. From those different tones I expected to learn different facts, startling ones, about me and "the older one," my brother—that we were, for example, adopted or hated. The real facts never came.
The search for the real facts went on in my parents' absence as well. I'd hunt through dresser drawers that always seemed to contain my mother's things rather than my father's—the aroma of perfume, strangely soft garments, spangled pocketbooks and sequined scarves that spoke of a forgotten glamour and excitement.
On one such scavenger hunt through my mother's lingerie drawer one early teenage day, I discovered a gross of Trojans. A gross! Did that reflect a pattern of hyperactive coupling or merely a budget-minded lifetime's supply? I had no way of knowing.
I had discovered masturbation by then and stole one of the remaining 137, wondering, as I did, if my theft would prove as obvious as my pounding heart feared it might. I retrieved my treasure trove of hastily clipped-out photos from The Daily News and lay on my parents' bed. (In those days, cheesecake seemed more precious than today and therefore worthy of preservation. In the summer, though, bathing suit season, supply increased dramatically as the paper managed almost every day to print a shot of a beauty caught lounging on the beach at Coney or Orchard above a caption whose heading read something like "W-h-e-e-w!" While an editor somewhere might have been able to argue that such pictures were run solely to fulfill the noble journalistic obligation to report what a scorcher the day before had been, the not-so-subtle leer behind the inevitable pun that described the girl herself as capable of raising temperatures was not lost on my lascivious eyes.)
I examined some of my cherished but overly familiar (oh, how too quickly overly familiar) pictures for a while and when I got hard thinking of touching the soft, unattainable, swimsuited bodies (like Pavlov's dog, I may even have gotten hard on simply seeing the container in which my harem was kept—an empty reel-to-reel magnetic recording tape box), I opened the little metallic foil pack and pulled out the contents. A rubber. It was tightly rolled, and unlike its lubricated descendants, covered with a thin, powdery coat.
I unrolled the object down the length of my prick which, reaching for the new, swooningly ached with the novelty of the sensation, straining with delight and in its straining seeking to increase the delicate teasing eye-closing pleasure of being completely covered by a sheath so thin and light and which, most miraculous of all, was not my hand. Soon, too soon, my body began to arch, then pulled tight as I shot myself into what now, as I was returning to earth, had become merely an encapsulating device.
Crash-landed, I lay still for a moment, then checked for damage. Seeing none, I hid all signs of my trespass, certain my parents would eventually discover it. They never did. Or, if they did, they said nothing; Raskolnikov went unpunished.
A new era had dawned: a secret of theirs had been replaced by one of mine.
The films go on.
A bisexual narrates his split-screen life: we see him democratically have sex with, first, his girlfriend, and then, his boyfriend. A comic film about a first date—from pick-up to dinner to sexual advance and conquest to goodnights—in which roles are reversed and the woman acts out what we’ve traditionally come to expect as male behavior, produces titters from the audience for the first time.
But we’re quiet again as a mélange of hard-core slides of group sex flash before us while, on the soundtrack, Roberta Flack inappropriately and repeatedly sings “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Next a young black couple make love in an open field.
At the breaks we now talk only briefly about the films which, shocking as they may be, have become mere jumping off points. Our group discussions are turning more and more into public confessions. We seem compelled to aerate our twin sins of fear and ignorance and thereby, perhaps, dispel our shame forever. As for content, female orgasm, the onset of menstruation, and penis size tend to demand an inordinate amount of our attention.
As kids, we keep realizing, none of us got guidance about sex from our parents, and this single fact starts to grow in significance. (“Maybe that’s why we’re here this weekend,” someone observes.) In the midst of our families, we each maintained a hidden counterlife of proliferating fantasy and confusion, just as our parents must have done when they were kids. And everybody knew everybody else had secrets but everybody somehow also knew that to let them out of the bag would be impossible. And so everybody sneaked around a little, trying to uncover something, but basically everybody kept mum. And crazy as it all may be, that silence continues to be the way we approach sex today, as alleged adults. We don’t know how to talk to anybody either, let alone to our children.
Like Frank, we learned what little we did from the streets, picking up misguided information from slightly older friends who had learned whatever they knew in some similarly off-hand way and this garbled oral tradition wound up as gospel. And, incredibly enough, our kids are doing the same, only, of course, they have TV to help them.
We start to make generalizations which sound like sexist cliché’s, but which, our dues having now been paid by our film-watching, we somehow have the right to utter: Men see sex as an end; women, as a means. Men are trained by the culture from boyhood on to view women as objects; only lately has the culture been teaching women to view men as anything other than people. We make distinctions, we point out differences, we specify.
The group is on a roll, but to where is unclear. We’re like a P.T.A. or Concerned Citizens meeting, well-intentioned, but off the mark. We’re not getting anywhere near as graphic as the films we’ve been watching, and we’re not evoking deep feelings either. Unable to find the proper vocabulary to give voice to that hidden counterlife we’ve acknowledged exists, we still seem, as always, to be ignoring it. Our propriety keeps it all sanitized.
Tommy was our sexual pathfinder.
Growing up with two younger siblings in a one-bedroom apartment, Tommy kept the door firmly closed on the dissatisfaction he felt with his tight living quarters and his father’s abusive alcoholism by displaying a boisterous bravado. Slightly older, a lifeguard in the summer, concerned with clothes, strong, tall, funny, most of all loudly funny, he seemed, simply, unafraid. Everybody else had issues, fears. For some it was intelligence, or size, or parental occupation or their own possibilities in life. For most of us it was our would-be manhood, sex. Tommy, though, seemed to live in a special realm, beyond shame and fear.
While the rest of us on the block felt as comfortable around girls as we might around extra-terrestrials, Tommy, to our amazement and awe, began having real-life encounters with them. If an actual member of the opposite sex could be attracted to one of us, how could it be anyone other than Tommy? His journey down into the church basement with Judy Judge one hot August night was a landmark event in our consciousness, the first genuine sexual experience anyone could verify.
Judy had arrived one day from nowhere—no one knew exactly where she lived—as if in answer to a casting call. She was unkempt, her hair straggly long before that style was to become popular. She spoke with a mild lisp and, to top things off, her lazy left eye would gaze off into the distance whenever her right was brave enough to look at you head on. Defective, but a girl all right. Tommy managed to attract her gazes and before we knew it they had a “date” for Saturday.
The date had somehow become a public event. A bunch of us waited by the church with Tommy, who had dressed in new white dungarees for the occasion. At eight or so, Judy answered our question by showing up. Her usual messiness looked neater, as if arranged. Tommy invited her inside the church and the two of them made their way down into the darkness. Even though his mother was a principal member of the congregation, Tommy, true to form, was utterly unconcerned about any consequences from his sacrilegious trespass.
The rest of us hung out on the stoop, wondering what, if anything, was going on down there. We talked about how Mantle had been doing lately batting righty when one of us grabbed Howie’s wallet out of his back pocket. We tossed it back and forth for a while, outside his reach. “Fuckheads!” he shouted when the contents spilled onto the sidewalk. The old ladies sitting on beach chairs down the block turned at the sudden noise, shook their heads at what they saw, then resumed their obliviousness to us. Howie picked up his stuff as we waited for Tommy to come out.
At last, he did. Orpheus, he emerged, discovering under the bright glare of the streetlight how his fashionable white dungarees were now smeared with black grime. His loud whoops of laughter brought still further attention to himself while at the same time helping him to transcend the ridiculousness of the moment.
A minute later Judy appeared, her dishevelment worse than ever. When she and Tommy had descended she had been the focus of attention, the desired, mysterious, albeiet imperfect Female. While not very pretty, she had possessed an earthy allure. Now she was a used-up discarded, repulsive thing. Tommy’s grime was a comical badge of honor, Judy’s was a defilement. Red-faced, Tommy mocked her with laughter. He had conquered something at her expense and hid whatever doubts he harbored behind his pride.
Tommy went up to change his pants. We waited. Judy stood around confused. It was suddenly and awkwardly apparent that she had expected to be taken out and that she was still waiting for the “date” portion of the evening to begin.
No one spoke to her; no one even knew how. We waited for Tommy to come down, to show us the next step. But when, cleaned and refreshed, he reappeared, Tommy said nothing to her either. As he led us all down the hill to the pizza place, it was as if she were not there.
But she was. Judy followed ten steps behind the group, still magnetically drawn to Tommy, who was filling our incredulous ears with the story of how this being trailing behind us had gone down on the floor of the church basement amid the boxes of mimeograph materials and Christmas decorations and tried to give him a blow job, but, unable to position herself in the darkness, failed and, at his insistence, gave him a hand job instead.
Tommy shouted the comic details of his adventure into the night. We laughed in nervous disbelief, too afraid to turn around to actually look at his co-star. In town to our cruel contemptuousness, Judy followed, waiting to be told what, if anything, would come next.
The final films:
An older man picks up a young coed and, back in his apartment, for a mind-numbing eternity we see his penis enter her vagina, then leave, then enter, leave, etc., etc., intercut periodically with expressions of mutual ecstasy, i.e., heavy lids and slack jaws. This goes on so long we feel beaten.
With the next film a different note is struck: a Swedish couple in their seventies make love, and then a real-life quadriplegic narrates and extraordinarily touching film. We follow a day in his life from the science lab where he works back home by wheelchair to an afternoon tryst in bed, catheter and all, with his tender and patient girlfriend.
Some of us are disgusted by the again and inoperative bodies in these films, but most have been inspired by what we’ve seen.
“I never thought about handicapped people making love,” says the minister’s wife. “It was beautiful. It really shows you how sex is about bodies, but that it’s about more than bodies, too.”
“And the old people. That they were together all those years and still felt a physical connection. I thought that was great,” says the young lawyer.
What secret is coming out now? Everybody needs sex. Every body. No matter what that body looks like, even if it’s not young and beautiful. And the pleasure the old and the physically impaired derive from sex is no less than that taken by the young and the beautiful bodies we’ve been watching all weekend.
In a way this insight is so contrary to what we generally think about sex that it takes a while for the power of it to sink in. We all need this stuff, whether we’re fat, old, disabled, or playmate of the year. The more we are obsessed with how we look, in fact, the less chance we may have a connecting in as loving a way as the Swedes or the guy in the wheelchair.
Our spirits continue to rise with the last two films, no longer graphic. Gay senior citizens talk about the pioneer days of their sexual youth. And finally, a prim and pudgy Minnesota school teacher points out how prevalent are our cultural restrictions on touching each other and then goes on to preach the necessity and miracle of touch not only for the young but for all of us.
Who can keep track of what it all means? On the most cynical level, none of us could dispute the less explicit a film was, the more openly we received it; the less intimidating the characters on screen were—the less they made us feel inferior—the more we could admire them.
Thirty, divorced, I am driving to a family wedding with a girlfriend. We have spent the weekend together at a romantic country inn being romantic. It has been lovingly sexual. In the car we continue to kid around. She playfully lifts her skirt to reveal a flash of thigh, giggling with delight at the power she can exert over me simply by showing me parts of her body, the sight reminding me of past joys, promising future ones. We are in a cozy bubble of our own.
As we pull up to the catering hall, the bubble bursts. I notice how the lightness and playfulness of the past two days are slowly disappearing; my desire to hold and stroke and kiss her is ebbing away. I give her an almost grandfatherly embrace before we go in, a final hug before sentencing. I see my aunt observing us through the window.
By the time we’re inside, I am struck by how completely neutered I’ve become. The weekend’s spell is gone, a distant memory. If I were now to display sexuality in any way-even a light kiss—I would probably shock myself as much as my relatives. The same behavior that had gone unnoticed in other public places would, here, under the watchful eyes of my parents and aunts and uncles, be unthinkable. Exhibitions of affection are inappropriate in my family; they are embarrassing and must be hidden. The bubble has been replaced by a strait jacket.
Everybody knows (to the extent they ever think about it—and they have to, don’t they?— although they never say anything, it’s all implicit) that we’re sleeping together, but for some reason, that fact cannot be acknowledged; the subject is off-limits.
My girlfriend, too, is an awkward position. She must appear, if not virginal, at least not too sexual. She knows she’s being analyzed and compared. She doesn’t seem to mind that she’s forced to act in a certain way, that she can’t look like a “tramp.” On the contrary, she seems to be proud all these booby traps. Where did she pick up this skill on top of all others?
It’s not just the two of us who have been stripped of our sexual natures; as the night goes on, it is apparent that the room is filled with others like us. There are exceptions, but not many: a few effervescent women in low-cut dresses, dancing suggestively with escorts who look like Rory Calhoun. The only sanctioned references to sex are the tired double entendres about the wedding night. For the most part, however, it’s a party of celibates.
My aunt then has a brainstorm. She must get a picture of her nephew dancing with her sister. Refusal proves to be impossible and soon the marionettes are stiffly waltzing: I with my mother; my father, diplomatically, with my girlfriend. A few feet away on the dance floor, my girlfriend is at the end of an infinitely long tunnel I cannot traverse.
The four of us make jokes about the schmaltzy music as my aunt snaps away. Years later, the rarity of the configuration gives the photographs a doctored feel.
“There are two ‘theologies’ underlying our views about sex,” Frank tells us during the SAR wrap-up. We have seen and said things we’d never seen or said before and are now hoping he’ll be putting it all together for us.
“Where you stand on issues like promiscuity, abortion, homosexuality, really any sexual issue, is dictated by your implicit theology.”
‘Theology A,’ he writes on the flip chart. “The ‘A’ theology holds that sex is about reproduction. Exclusively. Accordingly, and ‘A’ person is really saying that sperm is sacred. It’s function is solely for procreation. Any sexual act or relationship which does not fulfill that mission—the ejaculation of a male’s sperm into a female’s vagina free of birth control; in a word, procreation—is wrong and should be condemned.
“B’ people feel that, in sex, relationships are of primary importance. They are more tolerant of variations in sexual behavior. Acts which may seem terribly wrong to an ‘A’ person, like oral intercourse, for example, are not in themselves evil to a ‘B,’ if, by engaging in the act, the participants are obtaining pleasure and furthering their relationship with each other.”
Great. We’re mastering our A’s and B’s, but why did we spend the weekend watching all those dirty movies?
“The purpose of the films was to make you educable. The only way we could do that in an area as anxiety-provoking as sex was to increase your anxiety through such an overexposure to sex that you became desensitized, bored, and therefore receptive.”
To what? To be B’s? Is that the secret secret?
He’s right, though, about one thing. The more we were exposed to sex, the more de-sexualized it became. But what did that prove? We had grown more comfortable with the topic and yet, in remembering the intensity of my own feelings about sex—the excitement and fear, the shame and lust, the mystery and passion—I realized they’d all been missing from the weekend. The wonder that has been inside me since childhood was nowhere to be seen. The comfort we felt, while a relief, was also a distortion.
Becoming blasé to the shocking, almost unearthly, experience of watching other people engage in sex had not helped me to better understand the mystery and joy I feel when I touch a woman or look into her eyes. In fact (except for the disabled and the elderly), the films tended to make it all seem tedious and a little disgusting. Our discussions as well became too comfortable, too safe and, as we echoed each other, our fears almost comical.
“It’s like we’re still in the family,” the salesman’s wife says, implying, as we asexually bear-hug each other good-bye, that we still haven’t found a way to talk about sex. After the weekend we’re no longer completely mute—we’ve been able to open the door and reveal that yes, Virginia, people do have sex—but having gone that far, we can go no further. We’re still tongue-tied, our unruly counterlives sentenced permanently to secrecy.
I am barreling out of the city, a straight line, driving north. A relationship with a woman, yet another, has just ended. I am anxious to get away from that hurricane of self-doubt and pain that marks the end of a love affair, the collapse of a world. Maybe the wind whizzing by will blow it all away. Where am I going and what’s the point? Thirty-five, I am travelling fast and standing still at the same time.
At a rest stop that boasts both a Coke machine and scenic overlook, I drown my obsessive need to review with a swig of soda and a vista of river valley. But the past—what was, what should have been, what could have been— will not rest. Moments of closeness jostle against flashes of betrayals and rejections. Issues of character and trust seem paramount in understanding why we broke up; sex, surprisingly, is secondary. Yet sex is at the core of the loss: if we had not been physically connected, the pain would not have been this acute; if we had been more connected physically, I painfully consider, perhaps we might not have broken up.
The memories of recent and more distant pasts line up for inspection. Certain moments stand out in such bold relief that they seem to be of another order than the rest.
It’s then that I realize that I have made love no more than five or six times in my life.
My mind stops. Does the number merit gratitude or more self-pity?
From the vantage point of the rest stop all the other times start to resemble masturbation except that whatever woman I was with substituted for my genitals, as I did, hers.
During sex, even with someone I love, it seems that in spite of everything I know or want or feel, I too often wind up in a mutual manipulation whose only ultimately understandable aim is orgasm. Touching and being touched, kissing and being kissed, sighs, smells, sights—the intimate murmuring presence of otherness, the excitement of difference—all of that wonder inevitably seems to boil down to the question, stated or not: “Did you come?” Two people become two objects.
I make her come. She makes me come. Our job is done. I have been macho enough to break through her wall of not-coming, to overpower her not-coming state, thereby proving my manhood and the wizardry of my technique. She has reconfirmed her own desirability through my erection and ejaculation. Through coming, our anxieties about not coming—of not pleasing and being pleased—ease. Relaxed, we can feel protective of the other. And protected: some private part of us has not been touched; some hidden part has remained hidden.
Then, the few havens in the heart of my memory rush forward, the half-dozen times when love and the transcendence of shame overshadowed the orgasms and power trips.
Those few times something broke, something very strong and ever-present, yet so invisible I am never aware of it— or what is behind it—except when it is broken. It is a wall behind which hides a self, adamantine in its refusal to emerge, a private self which seeks protection in remaining unseen. It is a primal, needy and desiring, and most of all, ashamed and oh so fearful of the pain it might encounter if, in revealing its need, it should be spurned.
The few times I have been brave enough to peer out from behind the wall a woman always showed me the way. Through a word or gesture she let a terribly private part of her be seen and I followed.
On those few occasions when the wall has broken I have felt myself spill into another person. It is a me I rarely see, the trusting desiring child-me. The threat, the competition—the ability to hurt—that other people represent, ceased needing to be defended against and I, I who was liquid—semen, sweat, sometimes tears—flowed without restraint. And she at those times became not just a doll to touch and rub in order to make come, but instead, a tender welcoming resonating bowl who in the course of holding me I held, her own private trembling self revealed, by me embraced. The magic of discovery, disclosure, and acceptance. Mutual acceptance of secret selves. We were separate yet entwined.
Looking back, I realize I should not complain: I shared one such magic experience with my most recent lost love.
We are living a connect-the-dots game. The dots are moments of contact, special intimate moments when we see ourselves and others see us, too. Most of our lives is spent in the passage of time between the dots. But when we recall what’s meaningful about our lives, we remember the dots, forget our lines.
Sex, the greatest opportunity for contact, makes for the boldest dots. It can also afford the most complex labyrinths in which to hide. The few times I haven’t hidden myself, something magical happened: the boy who entered his mother’s bedroom—able once more to bestow and take pleasure, unashamed—regained paradise.
I finish the Coke and walk back to the car. A fever has passed.
I start heading back home.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 1988 issue of Psychotherapy Networker.
Fred Wistow is a lawyer who lives in New York City.
Topic: Sex & Sexuality
Tags: sex | sex life | couples | Couples & Family | Couples & Family | family | intimacy | intimacy issues | love | love and relationships | marriage and family | Men | Men and Intimacy | Sex & Sexuality | sex therapist | sexual fantasies | sexual orientation | sexuality
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"Racing Beyond Limits": Iron Dames launch web series
Iron Dames, the fully-female line-up that has been breaking barriers in ELMS and at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be launching a web series to take you behind the scenes of their 2020 season
Photo credits: Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab
They did it once in 2019 and they did it again - the Iron Dames made headlines less than a month ago at Circuit de Sarthe, where the all-female crew finished the toughest race in the world in the top-10.
For the second year in a row, Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Manuela Gostner completed the endurance classic in ninth position, after a flawless and mistake-free 24-hour race.
It’s been another roller-coaster of a year for the Iron Dames, a project born from the dream of driver and advocate for women in motorsport Deborah Mayer.
After making history in 2019, the three ladies have become ambassadors for female empowerment, also thanks to the many initiatives promoted by Iron Lynx Motorsport, its sponsors and the FIA Women in Motorsport commission.
By making their voice heard in a widely male-dominated environment like motorsport, the Iron Dames are much more than a racing team - rather the proof that passion and determination can go a long way and can help to break down barriers. They embody that change and diversity that our sport sometimes lacks.
Their story will now be told also through an exclusive Youtube web series, “Racing Beyond Limits” - a title that perfectly captures the project’s values - that aims to bring race fans behind the scenes of these pioneers’ adventure in motorsports through six episodes.
Cameras will follow Michelle, Rahel and Manuela not only on track, but also in their daily lives and challenges; a fascinating and emotional glimpse behind what it takes to compete at the highest levels of endurance racing.
Indeed, their story keeps inspiring men and women alike, of every generation.
This is why Swiss watchmaker Hublot, main partner of the team, recently renewed its sponsorship with Iron Lynx and will continue to support the Iron Dames, as they have also led the way in several brand activation campaigns during the unfortunately audience-free Le Mans 24 Hours.
As the Iron Lynx outfit gets ready to race this weekend at another iconic motorsport venue - the Temple of Speed in Monza - fans now have the chance to be further immersed in the Iron Dames’ dreams and adventures via their social media profiles and, soon, on their Youtube channel.
You can watch the “Racing Beyond Limits” web series official trailer here:
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Press Releases Switch Confidently with EAO’s Rugged Selector Switch
Switch Confidently with EAO’s Rugged Selector Switch
A rugged, large-lever selector switch for switching clearly between two positions has been developed by EAO, the expert partner for human machine interfaces (HMI).
Featuring a tough, anodised aluminium handle that is comfortable to grip, this is an ideal HMI device for any application where it is critical to show a very clear change in status – a door lock, for instance.
Behind the lever, there is an immensely strong stainless steel locking mechanism from EAO’s series 04 range. It can withstand harsh operation, impact and even very forceful acts of vandalism.
A self-cleaning, snap-action switching element with gold-plated silver contacts provides a reliable and long service life; silver / palladium contacts may be specified for particularly aggressive environments.
This HMI device was originally developed as a door-locking mechanism for on-board toilet facilities in rail vehicles. EAO worked in full partnership with Bombardier, one of the world’s largest train builders, to address the needs of both passengers and service providers.
To improve comfort and privacy, passengers require a clear, reassuring indication that the door is locked when the facility is in use. It must be intuitive, attractive and easy to use by both able-bodied passengers and less able-bodied.
Bombardier required a robust, highly reliable solution that requires minimal maintenance and a long life-cycle cost benefit, that is resistant to heat, shock, vibration and vandalism and compliant to the latest disabled-access regulations.
EAO designed the selector switch to complement the series 56 pushbuttons, with their bright yellow bezel, LED ‘halo’ illumination and braille markings. Bombardier received a complete, fully-wired aluminium panel, ready to install.
EAO met all the requirements and more, providing the human touch that is so desirable in modern passenger environments.
EAO – Your Expert Partner for Human Machine Interfaces
The first illuminated pushbutton of EAO was introduced to the market in 1958. The product...
Ground-Breaking New Products for Rail Vehicle Control Panels
EAO, the expert partner for Human Machine Interfaces, has unveiled some ground-breaking new products for...
New PCB Adapter for EAO Emergency-Stop Button
EAO, the expert partner for Human Machine Interfaces, has introduced a new PCB adapter for...
Two Golds for EAO at Industry Awards
EAO, the expert partner for Human Machine Interfaces, collected two gold awards for 'Best New...
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Double Bay - +61293277971 Bondi Beach - 02 9327 7971 Call Now
Double Bay / Bondi Beach
Information For Bidders
Homeowners & Buyers
What does the latest rate cut mean for my mortgage?
Investors & Tenants
The Reserve Bank’s decision to make an out-of-cycle cut to the official interest rate on Thursday 19 March has left some borrowers exasperated their lenders haven’t passed on the 0.25% cut in full.
Not long after the RBA announcement, for example, Commonwealth Bank announced it would not be passing on the rate cut to standard variable rates. Instead, the bank announced a massive 100 basis point interest rate reduction for all existing small business loans. Australia’s largest bank has made this decision to try and provide some assistance to small business, which desperately needs a break. It is a move that will help those Australians who need the help most, especially as most commercial loans are tied to SME owner’s homes.
This situation aside, the critical message to borrowers is that the government has jumped in to back lenders as they did in 2009 during the GFC to ensure there is plenty of finance for those seeking to borrow money.
Nonetheless, if you have problems such as a loss of income or are now out of work, be sure to contact a finance broker such as Our Broker for assistance. A broker can advise you how to talk to the banks about your changing circumstances. The banks have been given a pot of money by the government that allows them to provide cheaper finance to residential mortgage customers feeling the pinch.
A broker is available to help you through the troubled waters we’re currently experiencing. It might be that you can take a moratorium on repayments for a period or seek an extension of payment term. It’s in the interest of the banks to help borrowers through this period rather than foreclose them.
The banks also want to avoid a wide-ranging fire sale of distressed properties because that outcome devalues the assets, they hold on their balance sheets. The government is also incentivising the banks to help customers through the next 3-6 months.
If you require some assistance with managing your home loan obligations, please call Our Broker on 02 8232 0327.
Prepared by Raine & Horne Pty Limited for general information purposes only. Information current as at 27 March 2020 and we will reserve the right to update this content as more news comes to hand.
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RailNewsBlog
New Caledonian Sleeper carriages on the road to Velim
By kerttuvali | August 26, 2017 - 4:32 pm | Serco
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In a major programme milestone, the first of the 75 new carriages for the iconic Caledonian Sleeper service have arrived at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic, where they are to undergo several weeks’ testing.
Five carriages, two seated, one Club and two sleeper, were despatched earlier this month from the factory in Beasain, northern Spain where the new fleet is being manufactured and assembled for Serco by CAF. They were transported by road from the CAF factory to Hendaye station in France where they started their rail transit to the Czech Republic.
Dynamic testing will start in the near future at Velim Test Centre and will last several weeks. Once these tests are successfully completed, the carriages will then be moved from Velim to Polmadie in Glasgow, UK via the Channel Tunnel. The UK test programme is expected to start before the end of the year, initially with static and locomotive interface testing, progressing later to dynamic testing.
Serco committed to the introduction of the new fleet when it won the contract in 2014. It represents an investment of over £100m, part-funded by a £60m capital grant from Scottish Ministers, and when introduced in 2018 it will bring new standards in guest comfort.
Commenting on the start of the Czech trials, Peter Strachan, Serco’s Chairman, UK Rail, said: “It’s great to see the first of the new carriages on the move. To design, build and introduce a new fleet of rail sleeper coaches is extremely challenging and complex. Achieving this milestone is entirely due to the professionalism of the Serco team and everyone involved across the rail industry. We still have a lot of work to do to successfully bring the new sleeper fleet into service next year, but I am really excited about the quality of experience we will be able to offer our guests when it arrives.”
The carriages will offer four innovative ways to travel in comfort on the Sleeper service – reclining seats, berths, en-suite berths and luxurious ensuite double rooms for couples. The service will also include a Brasserie style Club Car for dining. Other new features being introduced include a hotel style key-card entry system to rooms, phone and gadget charging facilities for all guests and on-board WiFi. The new look and feel of the carriages has been overseen by award winning Scottish interior designer Ian Smith, with the patterns reflecting a contemporary Scotland theme.
Serco began operating the Caledonian Sleepers rail franchise for Scottish Ministers in April 2015 and has already brought in many improvements to the current fleet. These have included opening a new Guest Services Centre in Inverness; a new booking website allowing guests to book up to 12 months in advance; new bedding with more comfortable pillows and duvets; new customer sleep packs – upgraded dining options with seasonal local produce menu; procurement that focuses on Scottish food and drink sourced from local suppliers; new smart branding with new uniforms; on board events and a new on-board magazine.
New Intercity Express Trains for Devon and Cornwall begin testing
By kerttuvali | August 9, 2017 - 10:58 am | Hitachi
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Class 802 at Stoke Gifford (Bristol) depot
Passengers in the South West are a step closer to experiencing new trains as Hitachi begins testing the Class 802 fleet.
On Tuesday 8th August, the first of Great Western Railway’s Intercity Express Trains for Devon and Cornwall carried out test runs in Somerset, between Bruton and Cogload.
Two more trains are due to arrive in the South West within the coming weeks as part of a comprehensive test programme.
Modern trains designed for Devon and Cornwall
From 2018 this fleet of Class 802 Intercity Express Trains, which is being financed by Eversholt Rail, will connect London Paddington to Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance and many more communities.
Part of GWR’s new Intercity fleet, the 36 Class 802s are fitted with bi-mode technology, allowing trains to use both diesel and electric power, ensuring passengers experience new trains as soon as possible.
Passengers will benefit from more seats, better on-board facilities and shorter journey times.
The Intercity Express Train is also designed to withstand the region’s variable weather conditions, including routes along the Dawlish coast. These new trains harness Hitachi’s Japanese bullet train technology and will offer a step-change in the journey experience for passengers.
Berry Sas, Projects Director at Hitachi Rail Europe, said:
“This is an exciting milestone for our team as we ensure the trains are delivered on time and in top condition. Passengers and enthusiasts will be able to catch glimpses of the new trains as they begin regular test runs in the region”
Mark Hopwood, Managing Director of GWR, said:
“We know how important the railway is to the economies and communities of the South West, and the start of testing today marks another milestone in delivering the improvements we know our passengers wish to see.
“These trains will help us deliver faster, more frequent services into the South West, each providing up to a fifth more seats per train.”
Wilhelmshaven reinforces rail link to the Rhine-Ruhr region
By kerttuvali | August 7, 2017 - 11:01 am | EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven
Comments Off on Wilhelmshaven reinforces rail link to the Rhine-Ruhr region
EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven has extended its rail connections to the Rhine-Ruhr region. As of now, container trains will operate once weekly between EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven and Container Terminal Dortmund. The Rhine-Ruhr region is one of Germany’s most important economic centres with a high foreign trade share and is among the world’s major metropolitan regions. Besides connections to the Europe-wide rail network, Dortmund’s port is linked to all major German and European inland ports via the canal network. In April, duisport already established a weekly connection between Wilhelmshaven and Duisburg Port. Rail services to and from the container port in Wilhelmshaven have been massively extended since April 2017. In the meantime, Rail Terminal Wilhelmshaven handles up to 25 container trains a week. For an overview of all rail connections, go to www.eurogate.eu.
Container Terminal Dortmund operates two terminals in Dortmund for the combined transport of goods. The terminal went into operation in early 2016 and has four tracks with a length of 724 metres each. The container trains run once a week on Wednesdays (at 5.00 h) from Dortmund and on Thursdays (at 2.30 h) from Wilhelmshaven. The trains each have a freight capacity of 100 standard containers (TEUs).
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BMW shows its racer for everyone: The M235i Racing
BMW's awesome new entry-level racer breaks cover.
By James Wolfcale
Before today, we knew just about everything there was to know about BMW's except what it would look like. Now, BMW has finally gotten around to releasing some images of its new entry-level turn-key racer. The M235i racing is powered by a slightly tweaked version of the 3-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder found in the road car, and it produces 333 hp. Its first taste of competition will come in the VLN series, which takes place exclusively on the Nürburgring. Sales to privateer teams wishing to compete in other parts of the world will come shortly after.
With its giant flared wheel arches and tweaked aero bits, the M235i Racing looks positively up for it. We hope to see a similarly shaped car on the road with an M2 badge on the trunk.
The M235i Racing comes equipped with a variety of FIA-mandated safety features like a roll cage and a racing fuel tank. It also comes with all manners of active safety features such as ABS, DSC, and traction control to help novices and pros alike appear all the more heroic. It joins the M3 DTM, Z4 GTE/GT3, 320 TC, and M3 GT4 in BMW's current lineup of customer race cars.
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#10 Cadillac Wins Petit Le Mans As Leaders Wreck
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Tag: Chivalry & Sorcery
Magick and Faith in Chivalry & Sorcery
In contrast to Rolemaster’s spell system, Chivalry & Sorcery requires two (sometimes three) rolls to resolve its use of Magick. To clarify this, it’s perhaps helpful to understand more of the game’s Magickal metaphysics. C&S posits a Shadow World, in which exists this Magickal energy. To cast a spell, practitioners first must successfully access this power in the Shadow World. Then they must “target” their object on the material plane. Some Magick may be avoided with a Resistance Roll or even Dodged.
The intriguing aspect about C&S is that Magick is fueled by a character’s Fatigue, not any kind of “spell per day” or magical resource (such as RM’s Power Points). I know that in the game Dungeon Crawl Classics, casters can expend Hit Points (I believe the process is called “Spellburn”) to power magic. I have considered something similar to this for RM. But not until I read C&S and saw Magick use tied directly to a mage’s physicality did it became clear to me that this style of mechanics is more emulationist than “traditional” fantasy rpg magic systems. In the fictions I have read, wizards who are called into strenuous arcane battles often became mentally and physically exhausted at the ends of their conflicts. Seldom do I see them say, “Nope, all tapped out. No Spells or magical juju left in this gray-headed sage!”*
The innovation implications for RM should be obvious: get rid of Power Points and instead power Spells with Hit Points. Do I hear you say that this is too radical? It might be. Maybe I shouldn’t do away with PP entirely—this is one possible function of a sorcerer’s magic staff, after all—but not allow PP per Level, instead just one bonus, per the Attribute, at Level 1. Does this make the magic-user an unviable character Class, particularly if I don’t allow Body Development per Level? Possibly. It’s an interesting thought experiment, though. Would this likewise place high-level magic permanently out of reach? I’m not sure. It certainly would be difficult to do all alone, but, in a Ritual context, with mages sharing resources, it shouldn’t be so far beyond one’s grasp.
I already have claimed that C&S’s Magickal Vocations are impressively distinct from one another to a greater degree than the caster classes from other systems. C&S gets even better by differentiating the “divine” Vocations from the arcane Magicks. One could argue that, in traditional FRPGs, there aren’t even two different kinds of “magic.” There are different spells, sure, but, whether a caster works with Channeling, Essence or Mentalism (or, in some other games, the Arcane or the Divine), in practice all magic essentially is the same, powered either by PPs or rote memorization in the mornings. In contrast, when it comes to divine power, C&S adds a Faith Skill and a new resource, Belief Points.
Here’s how divine “magic” works in C&S. When an Act of Faith is performed, a Skill Roll, Faith, is performed and Belief Points expended to “power” the effect. If the test Critically succeeds, the believer gets all his Belief Points +1 back immediately. If it just succeeds, all of them. If it fails, only half. If it Critically fails, none. Similarly, characters being exposed to Miracles of a different religion must test their Faiths or lose BPs.
It’s a really neat method for emulating divine systems that require faith (even if the character’s belief is only the size of a mustard seed!) on the part of the adherent and the dynamic nature to this fidelity that might result from failures of divine acts and interactions with other religions. On a first examination, the mechanic might appear to belie my claim that C&S divine magic is qualitatively different from the arcane. Aren’t BPs, one might ask, just another magical resource like PPs? Yes, but unlike PPs, that take hours to recover, BPs are reliant only on the success of a character’s Faith. Moreover, it’s worth reminding the reader that C&S Magicks are powered through a caster’s Fatigue and not PPs, making the practitioners bodily sacrifice to her craft that much more palpable.
I should add that some C&S Acts of Faith require Fatigue, too. This, I suppose, simulates religious exercises such as fasting and fervent prayer. It also feels like a touch of humor when I read that characters can receive BPs for going to church at the expense of losing some Fatigue.😇
This Faith system does not emulate the kinds of theologies that posit an all-powerful Deity that does whatever He or She wants for Her or His worshippers at any time. I’m not sure if this can be systematized (outside of a GM inhabiting that admittedly arbitrary and potentially capricious role), and C&S points this out in its text. I believe we can get closer to this emulation, however, by doing away with BPs. This alternative system would use the Faith Skill alone. Very grand Acts of Faith would receive great penalties to the Skill attempt (simulating, for example, the natural doubt that would arise from trying to move an entire mountain to, say, walking on water). And the Skill itself, not BPs, would be subject to alteration depending on whether the Miracle was successful or not.
As a last observation, Magicks & Miracles demonstrates the greater possibilities of C&S’s Critical Die feature. For many of the Skill Tests presented in this book, the Critical Die offers a range of resolutions, not just a very good Pass or a very Bad fail. It encourages me to consider more granular options in RM’s—or even Against the Darkmaster’s—Action Resolution Tables.
*The exception, probably, would be The Dying Earth series of Jack Vance, upon which D&D’s magic system is based. Obviously novels published by any actual game companies are precluded from consideration.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 17, 2019 February 17, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery8 Comments on Magick and Faith in Chivalry & Sorcery
Chivalry & Sorcery’s Gorgeously Detailed Magickal Vocations
The latest version of Rolemaster contains a very interesting and useful section (2.8, to be exact) on Customizing Magic in an RM game. As inspiration for this consideration, I’m recommending that every RM gamer, if you don’t already have it, pick up Chivalry & Sorcery’s Magicks & Miracles. It’s free, after all.
If you’re like me, though, and this is your first time exploring C&S, let me give you a warning: this isn’t a very well-organized book.* Designing an rpg is an art form, and expressing an rpg—in an orderly and systematic way—might be even more of one. I believe that a good rpg should be a mutually-dependent network of narrative mechanics, each component leaning on and resting on another, all bending toward a nexus, the Core Mechanic. It’s very difficult to present a game such as I have described in the linear method necessitated by prose. Sometimes the writer of rpgs has to rely on the reader to keep a concept or term in mind, patient for when it will, in time, be clarified. At the very least it is helpful to give some brief context for a component at the moment wherein it first is mentioned, even better to provide a glossary. Unfortunately Magicks doesn’t employ any of these strategies for comprehension.
Instead, someone fresh to Magicks, without being told to do so, must read the entirety of the book and then return, armed with greater understanding, to earlier portions of the text. I have done this, and perhaps my words here can better prepare new initiates to the experience.
Because, now that my criticism about Magicks’s delivery is aside, I must say that I love this book. Love this book. Each of the Magickal Vocations feels unique. As a result, the independent Magicks in which each practitioner specializes seems fresh. The C&S Magick system exhibits verisimilitude and suggests exciting possibilities for RM gamers.
To begin, let me remind the reader of the three Realms of RM Magic: Channeling, Essence and Mentalism. Channeling comes from the gods, Essence from the force, Mentalism from one’s own personality or being. It wasn’t until encountering C&S Magick that I realized just how limiting this structure is. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great way of organizing sources of magic, but when the powers being tapped come to define the casters themselves, you end up with (despite RM’s menu of magical Professions) just three (four, if you count Hybrid casters as a separate category) kinds of magical practitioners.
To contrast this with C&S, I’m willing to claim that C&S presents fourteen distinct casters. Two qualities conspire to define the Magickal Vocation: the Vocation itself, with its preferences for certain Magick Skills; and its primary Skill, the one specific to the caster’s central art, which explains the practice in great detail and provides specifications and descriptions of the artist’s preferred Focus. There simply isn’t space to provide descriptions for each of the Magickal Vocations, nor to explain just why I believe they’re so individual. As a way to give you at least one example of why I’m so enthusiastic about them, however, here’s the relevant language concerning the first listed Magickal class, the Conjuror.
The Vocation description.
Conjurers employ potions to perform their feats of magick, brewed from an enchanted cauldron. Conjurors are particularly adept at the magicks of illusion and transmutation and are able to brew potions that allow others to cast spells, though this can be risky.
Where a conjuror can practice magick it is restricted in that he must use a rather non-portable cauldron that acts as his focus. In the cauldron the conjurer keeps his “brew,” which contains Magickal components of all the spells he has learned. Often this brew attracts the attentions of a spirit (affectionately referred to as a “spook”) that will reside in the cauldron.
The Skill description.
Conjuration involves the preparation of “brews” in which the Conjuror prepares and stores spells for later casting. He actually binds minor spirits into potions. When drunk, the spirit is released, conditional upon the spell being cast. The Conjuror is particularly adept at the spells of Transmutation and Illusion, which are very amenable to the kind of casting procedures he employs.
The Conjuror has two major Items of Arcana, which he must fashion in order to cast his magick:
The Cauldron: This is the Conjurer’s major focus. The cauldron forms the container for the “Brew” through which the Conjuror casts all his spells. It must be constructed by using the 22 correspondences related to his birth sign. Once fully enchanted to MR 0 the metal correspondences must be taken to a metal worker to be smelted together with 50 lbs of copper and beaten into a 10 gallon cauldron (smaller cauldrons can be made for portable use). The Conjuror then enchants the remaining materials to anoint the cauldron. The enchanted gems must then be set into the handles of the cauldron by a Master Jewelsmith. It should be noted that the metals indicated in the list of correspondences cannot be replaced by other materials with the exception of metals such as Dwarvish or Greater Gold.
The Brew: This forms the Conjuror’s “Spell Book” and is created initially by using 7 parts of each of the 22 correspondences, all crushed, plus 21 different herbs, 7 flowers, 7 essences and 21 parts of each of 13 different liquids. All these ingredients must be fully enchanted to MR 0. Also, once each year the Conjuror must add 3 parts of each of the 22 correspondences and 13 parts of each of 13 different liquids. These need not be enchanted. If the Conjuror fails to do this, the Brew will dry up and both it and the Cauldron must be replaced afresh.
I see that this description should require some explanation about these “correspondences” and MR (Magic Resistance).
I’m able, only in part, to explain correspondences. The last chapter of this book, “The Apothecary Shoppe,” contains lists of ingredients, both Magickal and mundane. But, at a glance, I think it would be difficult for a character to find in this list twenty-two correspondences specific to her Vocation for the construction of a Focus (again, each of the fourteen Magickal Vocations have recommendations for Foci). It might be that the arcanist is supposed to cobble together all of the necessary correspondences by exploiting the various “Laws” of Magick, as specified by the rules, many of which allow seemingly counter-intuitive ingredients (such as Water for a Fire spell—the Law of Polarity) to be used to power or modify spells and their effects.
Magick Resistance is a result of C&S’s metaphysics of Magick. The rules explain that most substances resist being manipulated through the Magick arts and that they must be enchanted down to a level in which their energies might be more readily transferred. This would be MR 0. In a pinch, casters are able to work with MRs higher than this, though at a penalty.
I also should add that Foci, ranging from Simple to Greater, add bonuses to the casters’ Skill abilities, heighten their Magick Levels, and store Magickal energy.
You ask, how would I port any of this into Rolemaster? Well, in C&S, specific Vocations, of course, are able to purchase the Skills in which they specialize at lower costs than others. I’m running Against the Darkmaster, and in that game “Spell Lores” and Spell Skills are developed together by purchasing Ranks in a single Spell Lore. I could make Vocation Lores less expensive, award one-time bonuses for Vocation Lores, or create Background Options involving arcane “specializations.” It’s probably this last that I would implement, providing the vocational Focus or other relevant item with a higher Background Tier. C&S Spells are neatly organized by Vocation, so it should be no trouble to translate these into Lists or Spell Lores—particularly for VsD, wherein each Lore contains just ten Spells.
Next I shall explore C&S’s Magick system and how it might relate to RM’s. I also will look more closely at C&S’s “Priest Mages” and C&S’s detailed rules about Faith.
*Would you believe that a section called “Magick”, with two immediate subheadings of “What is Magick” and “Practising Magick”, doesn’t appear till Chapter 5–Chapter 5! Perhaps, after the introduction, start here.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 16, 2019 February 16, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery1 Comment on Chivalry & Sorcery’s Gorgeously Detailed Magickal Vocations
Considerations of Social Status and Action Economies in Chivalry & Sorcery and Rolemaster
Going forward, my reading of Chivalry & Sorcery will be entirely with a mind for how I might adapt attractive features into Rolemaster. My exhaustive, three-part exploration of Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation, I believe, well enough presents the basics of C&S’s system, so I pass with little comment over sections detailing its Core Mechanic, Vocations and Skills.
C&S, as we understand already, is a percentile system; tasks are resolved with a d100 roll. Attributes and Skills might contribute to the likelihood of succeeding at a test. Even though C&S utilizes a “Critical Die,” Skill resolution is more or less pass/fail (as in conventional RM). C&S Vocations essentially are RM Professions, and here the GM interested in running a game that simulates medieval history might do well to read carefully the Vocation descriptions and consider translating them or finding their analogues in RM. The C&S list of Skills is as prodigious and entertaining as anything found in RM. Movement contains, I suppose, slightly different calculations and estimates for types of travel over various terrains.
Now we get to C&S’s Social Class system. Social Class contributes to a character’s Influence Factor, which is calculated in this way: (INT + WIS + BV + APP) / 4 + Social Status. It’s easy to see how readily this might be translated into RM; instead of using the base values, as C&S does, RMers could average the bonuses for their characters’ RM Attribute analogues. Or they could total them altogether. I can see making some allowance for low-born characters who, because of their qualities, are “destined” for greatness. The C&S method for Exerting Influence is a bit of a process, but I can see an RMer comparing the two Influence Factors and using that as a modifier for the main actor on the Skill roll. C&S mechanizes the amount of any bribe being used, which would be easy in my Against the Darkmaster game that uses an abstract Wealth system. A single integer of Wealth would translate to +/-10 on the appropriate Skill roll.
Like the latest version of RM, C&S uses an Action Point system for resolving physical conflict. Unlike RM’s, however, C&S Action Points aren’t static. We already have seen how my character’s Action Points are derived from certain Attributes. Now, at the beginning of a Combat Round, I roll 1d10 and add this result to my PC’s Action Points total. This 1d10 roll might be modified if my character is wearing Armour. (Armour also burns Fatigue.) Then the conflict begins (or continues—the process is repetitive).
Actions are declared and resolved in the order of whoever currently has the highest number of Action Points, so the high number holder could—and most likely will—change after each action is declared and resolved. No more than 10 AP can be spent per Action Phase. Not to be confused with the Round, the Phase essentially is the declaration and resolution of a single Action, though a single Action could take multiple Phases (APs exceeding 10, with most likely a new character declaring an Action after this 10 AP Phase). APs can be held and carried over into the next Round.
With the exception of this last feature, it appears that C&S and current RM use differing mechanics to achieve similar results. Instead of adding a random number of AP to a character’s pool, as C&S does, RM uses an Initiative roll. Armour modifies the C&S AP roll; penalties modify RM Initiative. RM has a leaner action economy than C&S. Some C&S Actions take multiple Phases to resolve, some RM Actions take multiple Rounds.
There appear to be just two significant differences between the two systems: C&S allows PCs to hold over (and thus hoard?) Action Points into subsequent Rounds, and, in C&S, the AP cost of combat Actions might vary based on a character’s proficiency (or Personal Skill Factor) in that Action.
Without actually sitting down and playing this out, I’m having a difficult time imagining just how much of a “game changer” it would be to allow characters to carry over AP, from Round to Round, without penalty. A character might “sit the action out” for multiple Rounds, racking up AP, to finally explode, top of a Round, in a bewildering sequence of Actions. Would this strain credibility and realism, or does such a feature emulate the cinematic character who pauses and considers and then takes care of business with fluidity and economy? It’s important to note that, within C&S, Fatigue Points and Exhaustion are one more obstacle to C&S characters exploiting—if game imbalance is indeed possible—this freak of AP economy.
A final observation about C&S combat is that not all weapons, because of their varying sizes, equally are able to parry one another. The latest version of RM doesn’t appear to codify weapon sizes in this way but leaves such rulings to the purviews of individual GMs—definitely something I shall do in my home game if VsD doesn’t already have something in place (I shall have to investigate).
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 13, 2019 February 13, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery3 Comments on Considerations of Social Status and Action Economies in Chivalry & Sorcery and Rolemaster
Interlude: A Rolemaster Hack of Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation
So far, I’m charmed. With time and the right group, I’d explore the entirety of Chivalry & Sorcery, on its own terms, by playing it as the game it is. But since that’s unlikely to occur—at least not anytime soon, especially since I face a multiplicity of similarly attractive systems—I’m tempted to steal some of C&S’s most exciting features and “hack” them into any version of Rolemaster.
C&S’s determination of a character’s Social Class is full of roleplaying possibilities and seems easy enough to integrate into RM in a variety of ways. I probably would treat Social Class as a Culture, that feature that awards characters with starting Skill Ranks. In the realist medievalist milieu that C&S emulates, Social Class would replace Culture (since there is, broadly speaking, just the one “culture” of Middle Ages Europe). In a fantasy setting in which regional environment contributes to culture, I would use Social Class Ranks in addition to or as a subset of these more usual starting packages. Unless I had a specific campaign experience in mind—an adventuring party comprised entirely of Knights, for example—determination of character Social Class would be random. Social Class moreover, as in C&S, would contribute to a character’s starting equipment, overall Wealth, and reflect the character’s Social Status (also while recognizing that my current game system, Against the Darkmaster, presents “Noble” as a Culture). I have yet to see how Status, in C&S, behaves as a mechanic, so, without that precedent yet in mind, in an RM game Status probably would translate into a special bonus on certain Skills and Maneuvers.
I also like the determination of the Father’s (or Mother’s, for non-patriarchal settings) Vocation and Social Status and the Sibling Rank and Status in One’s Family tables. I’m not sure if I would use the C&S charts in toto or drift them into the RM method for Sibling generation as found in one of the Companions; I’d investigate my options in more detail. Porting in these C&S features again raises the question of how C&S deals with its Status rating system, so keep tuned as I discover this and consider possibilities for translating this feature into RM.
I would browse through all the C&S Special Talents & Abilities, being sure to compare them to RM’s (there appears to be considerable overlap). Since I am running VsD for my home group, I would use both C&S Talents and Abilities and RM Talents and (going back to the Companions) Background Options as inspirations for the slightly different packages VsD offers as Background Options.
Adapting C&S’s character Body Points system for RM probably would be the most radical hack I could make, and I want to do it. The approach essentially would result in making RM hp more or less static after character generation; Body Development would be removed as an RM Skill option (or I could make it prohibitively expensive, just for Fighter-types, perhaps). This would make development of Weapons Skills critical for adventurers (as if it wasn’t already) so that plenty of OB always would be on hand for Parrying. For VsD, I would give PCs starting HPs based on Kin and character bonuses resulting from Fortitude, of course, with yet another bonus that results from C&S’s character Build table. This necessitates that I also port in C&S’s character Size rules.
I would modify and use the Horoscope table. I need not adhere to the Earthly zodiacal calendar. It also need not be contingent on celestial systems. I could see myself designing a Viking game wherein runes are used for these purposes.
Finally, character age is appealing to me as an RM variation. The game group would have to be agreeable to the use of this feature, but, essentially (contingent on random rolls) PCs would begin play at various Levels. This approach might even make up a shortcoming that I have noticed in VsD’s emulation of its inspirations: the fictions informing VsD present PC parties of varying “power levels,” something that VsD, rules as written as yet, does not accommodate.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 11, 2019 February 11, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery5 Comments on Interlude: A Rolemaster Hack of Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation
Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation Part the Third
Step 14: Determine Character Fatigue Points
Fatigue Points appear to be pretty much how they sound. To determine them, players have the choice between two calculations, whichever is more beneficial for their characters. Mine is a total of Strength and Constitution, so 30.
A PC can extend this resting period up to a maximum of 1 hour and still recover some Fatigue Points. The recovery rate after the first 10 minutes of rest is 1 FP per 10 minutes of additional rest for a PC with CON 15 or less and 2 FP per 10 minutes of additional rest for a PC with CON 16+. If the PC wishes to recover more he needs to sleep. A character can then recover Fatigue Points at the sleeping rate which has no maximum period for sleep.
If a character does not sleep once after every 24 hour period, the character’s “effective” Constitution is “reduced by one level for every hour he goes past 24 hours without sleep.” There isn’t a mention how long a character must sleep. Here’s an open door for you, Power Gamers!
Step 15: Determine Character Lifting & Carrying Capacity
In this section appears another one of C&S’s delightful observations:
Not only in modern times but also throughout history, infantry carried a burden of 50 to 100 lbs of armaments, ammunition and equipment. In good condition and with the weight properly distributed by a decent backpack, etc., infantry can march for many miles under that load over all manner of terrain! To reflect this, Carrying Capacity is calculated as 1/2 x LCAP (rounding up).
A casual search doesn’t reveal the thread to me, but the foregoing strongly reminds me of some comments on Encumbrance I received on the Rolemaster boards over a year ago.
If a character exceeds his carrying capacity, he suffers a penalty of –1 Fatigue Point for every 20% of the character’s CCAP that he exceeds it, for every hour or part of an hour he carries it.
Uh-oh. This is the first calculation that has struck me as “fiddly.” Weight calculations are annoying enough, though in this game they are mitigated by C&S’s lenient approach to character penalties. Yet here that generosity seems to be “walking back.”
Note: Naturally I’ve been thinking about the play experience that these rules might accommodate at the gaming table, and it might be that “fiddliness” would be a boon rather than a curse. The types of characters likely to be generated (at least through the random method) encourage careful roleplaying rather than fast-paced action anyway. With the right group, I can see time-intensive considerations of weights and microscopic maneuver calculations as a pleasurable and essential component of the C&S experience. As I’ve been reading, I’ve been thinking that what this game emulates is not something that I would have enjoyed in my youth. It is something I would enjoy as an adult. On the other hand, some of the crunchiness is not something I’m particularly attracted to now, whereas, in my youth, my group would have been just fine spending an hour on something as mundane as totaling the weights of our packs.
Step 16: Define Character’s Jumping Ability
More fiddliness. It’s Strength + Agility x .25. Then I add 2 for a Human. I get 9.
The rules for Running and Standing Jumping are interesting but a little too much to delve into here.
Step 17: Determine Character’s Movement
There are two ways of determining Base Action Points. It’s based either on Agility and Constitution or on Agility and Intellect. The selected values are added and divided by 2.
My character is better off using Constitution. 10+12/2=11.
This is the first notice of an action economy system. It is going to be very interesting to contrast this structure with Rolemaster’s.
Step 18: Determine Character’s Horoscope
The designers say that this is optional but highly recommended. It’s another percentile roll. I roll 79, Capricorn. For this, my “Favoured Skills & Benefits” are Charisma and Materia Magica [sic?]. I’ll have to note this for later, when I deal with Skills, because, with this astrological reading, I get to choose two Skills from one category or one Skill from both categories.
It appears that the governing birth sign also awards XP bonuses whenever the character uses Skills affected by this portent. This further is skewed up or down dependent on the character’s Aspect. Finally, bonuses resulting from the use of Magick Skills are parsed away from the others.
My character gets +10% XP from the use of Charisma Skills and +10% XP from the use of Magick Skills.
This causes me to consider if every single action the character performs (such as in early Rolemaster) is going to be tracked in game for the purposes of calculating Experience.
Step 19: Character Age
Also optional. I roll 97. I’m 25 years old and therefore much more “experienced” than characters of the default age of 18. At this time, I’m not sure precisely what this might mean in game terms. It appears I have a lot of starting experience points. Are these to be spent on Skills? I wonder.
The implications of this alternate rule are exciting. I’m imagining, now, of starting PC parties of varying “power levels.” Their compositions would be something akin to Tolkien’s Fellowship which, at times, was comprised of a Maiar Wizard, an ageless Elf, a resourceful High Man and a smattering of others, including four “Level 1” Hobbits. As long as players aren’t concerned with “fairness,” this feature can be inspiring and rich with narrative possibilities.
Step 20: Determine Character’s Personalising Traits
Also (strangely) optional for such a detailed game. This section contains a table of possible physical traits, but it’s not designed to be rolled upon. There might be something like it in the GM book, or there are sources published by other parties that might be of use. This goes, as well, for something likewise surprisingly absent: a table of names, or at the very least a list of some that would be most appropriate for C&S’s default milieu of Europe in the Middle Ages. The player also is encouraged to imagine the Personal Foibles of his or her character.
Character Generation is finished—yes, I know there still is much to be done, but this closes the book’s first section.
Postscript: The very next section details Special Abilities & Defects. In it I find a description for my character’s Low Metabolic Rate:
The character has a highly efficient metabolism. He requires half the normal amount of food per day to sustain his health and energy levels. His Fatigue Points are restored by 1/3 D10 FP (rounded down) above normal levels per hour sleeping or +1 FP per 10 minutes resting.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 10, 2019 February 10, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery5 Comments on Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation Part the Third
Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation Part the Second
Step 6: Determine Sibling Rank
I’m going with a Knight. Perhaps, out of a sense of obligation to his Father’s wishes and desires, my character has chosen this path to enlarge his family’s estate. I expect my character frequently will regret this decision and feel the force of a priestly “Call” whenever he encounters Men of the Cloth. He probably abjures violence but is mercifully good at it whenever required to be.
I get to roll again. I roll 59. I’m the third child in my family; three siblings are younger than I am.
Step 7: Status in One’s Family
I roll again. 82. I am a Credit to the Family (the most likely result, 16-85%). 01-15% results in a Black Sheep and a resultant +5 PC points for the point-buy method. With this Status, however, the character is penalized in status points and starting funds. 86-100% results in Good Son/Daughter, and, though penalized with -5 PC points, the character is rewarded with double starting funds.
As a Credit to the Family, I enjoy regular starting funds and the full outfit of a knight.
At this point I start wondering about gender. Recognizing the patriarchal quality of the C&S milieu, I had—largely by default—been thinking of my character as male. But it would seem that players might choose to play a female—even while recognizing her lack of power historically. I haven’t noticed a table for randomly determining gender, though of course it would be easy to do with a 50/50 (as a GM, I frequently determine NPC gender in this way).
Step 8: The “Curse”
Since my character is Neutrally Aspected, I don’t need to roll on this table and I choose not to. The option is open to me, however, if, as the rules suggest, I want “to make things ‘interesting’.”
I can see the appeal of “spicing up” roleplaying (another way that the rules puts the attraction to Curses) in this way. Looking at the d100 table now, I see compelling effects such as “flames glowing blue in one’s presence” or “plants withering at one’s touch.” But I’m resolved to keep my character inviolate—at least for now.
Step 9: Special Talents and Abilities
It could be that these are as cool as Curses are. Let’s see if I get one or more.
I roll a 12. That means I roll for one (this result is the next likeliest eventuality next to none). Less likely rolls allow me to roll twice or thrice or (on a roll of 100) select “any special Ability I desire for the character.” I don’t see the rules stating any numerical limit to this last possibility.
I roll 47 for my Special Ability. I have a Low Metabolic Rate. (I’m not sure what this means in game terms—even in “real” terms—but there is an upcoming chapter that might provide more details and the Internet for the latter.)
Any character with a Special Ability must also roll for a Flaw.
Step 10: Character Flaws, Deficiencies & Defects
Since my character has a Special Ability, there is a 40% chance that he also has a Flaw. I roll 80. Nope, I’m Flawless.
Step 11: Personal Fears
One isn’t mandatory. I can elect to have a Phobia for my character either by rolling or choosing. I decide to do neither.
Step 12: Determine Character Size
For a Height of a Historic Human Male (sizes are based on genders and “power ratings”) I roll 2d10+57. I get 67 total (the average is 58). For Build I roll 1d10+1. I get 4 (average Build is 6). If I had had significantly higher Agility or Constitution scores, this number would have been modified negatively or positively, respectively.
My character’s Weight is determined by adding 5 pounds for every inch over 40 to a base starting weight of 10. That gives me 145. I’m a lightweight! No, wait, it’s worse than that. My Build of 4 is characterized as an Average Build on the low end, so I reduce my total Weight by 5%. So now (rounding up the fraction, per the rules) my total Weight is 137. A part of me, knowing that average human builds have increased since the Middle Ages, wonders if this is intentionally “historical.”
Step 13: Determine Character Body Points
This foregoing isn’t just “fluff.” A character’s Build helps calculate the character’s Body Points. My 5% reduction results in a column just below another whose range begins with a Weight of 145. I start with 18 Body. I add this to my Constitution (12) and half (rounded down) of my Strength (9) for a total of 39. At this point in my exploration of this game, I have no idea if this is “good” or not.
A table shows me how many Body Points my character may recover per day (dependent on rest) as well as his ability to Resist Disease. The rules advise to make this calculation once and to record it on one’s character sheet.
When a character’s Body is reduced to negative values, he is not necessarily dead. One can sustain negative damage up to his CON and still remain alive, although deeply unconscious. When Body Points fall below a negative level equal to or lower than CON then death occurs.
I find the C&S relationship between Build and Body Points neat, intuitive and workable. Because of the lens with which (due to the nature of this blog) I am approaching this system, I inevitably compare it to the latest version of Rolemaster, which doesn’t appear to do much with its own concept of “build” outside of calculating Encumbrance thresholds and character Stride. I ask the community here to correct and/or clarify this or any other observations I’m about to make.
I’m beginning to suspect that C&S characters develop, incrementally, by discretely improving character Skills. It may be (as in systems such as Champions) that Attributes might likewise be available for advancement. In this latter case my forthcoming observations about realism and simulationism might be minimized.
A (more or less) static hit points score is the first hallmark of realism in a fantasy roleplaying game. Yes, a character should be able to develop her or his ability to absorb or resist pain and damage, but this aptitude should not be open-ended nor constant.
The D20 systems and their derivatives such as Rolemaster, for some time now, have explained that hit points are “abstract” values, representing a character’s ability to avoid and receive damage. Presumably, then, D20 and Rolemaster characters progressively improve at avoiding damage, but, say, 6 points of Bleeding damage always is going to be literal damage.
Mind you, at this point I’m not saying that C&S is a “better” game or more fun to play than Rolemaster nor its progenitor. What I am saying, though, is that C&S, so far, appears to be more “realistic,” and I admire the elegance displayed by making Build relevant to a character’s ability to take damage.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 9, 2019 February 9, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery2 Comments on Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation Part the Second
Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation Part the First
Step 1: Decide PC Race
My best understanding of C&S is that the system prefers a human-centric milieu, with the option of “outsider” PC “Races.” Because of the mention of Elves and Dwarves, it appears that these outsider Races are what can be expected.
Notes such as these suggest the sorts of fictive qualities that this game might emulate: fairly realistic medievalist societies wherein folk belief is validated but actual experience largely consigned to the fringes of human interaction. I would describe such a genre as historicized versions of the Matter of Britain and “low-magic” fantasies such as A Game of Thrones (at least as it is presented early in the book series).
I prefer human-centric games anyway. I elect to be a Human.
Step 2: Select a Character Creation Method
From my first read-through, it appears that, whenever relevant in C&S, gamers have the option of randomly generating a character aspect. Personally, as a player, I would choose this every time. I’m always excited about giving up control of these choices, being handed some features—just as the real world does to the real us—and making the most of them. This “Wheel of Fortune” worldview contributes particularly well to the feudal society setting implicit in a C&S game.
But, as awesome as this is, I see this presenting the most difficult obstacle for—of all people—the GM, because this is an emulation of a feudal society. The game makes great pains to clarify that the Middle Ages is not a democracy, that serfs were little more than slaves, that they had no rights, that it was fully expected of them to obey, without question, the whims and will of their superiors. So… you can “do the math.” What kind of a player dynamic will it be in a campaign wherein all the players have randomly generated characters from the lower classes? Though the random class table (soon to be seen) is weighted towards a preference for Rural Freemen, it’s possible that you’ll get a spectrum of classes. Some PCs will have to be subservient and deferential to others. To me, this sounds cool, rich with roleplaying possibilities, but all the players will have to be on board. Such a game will be an experiment in exploring a unique, collective narrative, not escapist heroism (at least not for some).
Step 3: Divine the Birth Omens
Now I get to make my first roll. Looks like I’m Neutrally Aspected, the most likely result (a d100 roll of 16-85). If I were Well or Poorly Aspected, I would be supported by either Good or Evil supernatural forces that would affect my Magickal (yep, I “spelled” that right) affinities. Depending on either Aspect, my character would lose or gain 10 PC (Player Character) points, respectively.
Looking ahead, though, and having elected the random generation method, I see that PC points will not be tracked during character creation. All PC point values are for point-buy generation exclusively. Also, in case it wasn’t clear earlier, once Random selection is decided upon, all possible rolls will be random. The other options are point-buy and default selections.
Step 4: Determine Personal Attributes
This gets interesting. For Attributes I roll 2d10 eleven times and record the results, discarding the lowest two values. Then I assign them, by choice, to my nine Attributes. If I were doing the point-buy system, for the Human character I have selected there are Minimum and Maximum scores of 02 and 20 (for Historical campaigns), 22 (for Heroic campaigns) and 25 (for Super-heroic campaigns) respectively.
In the explanation of Attributes we get a first glimpse of C&S’s core mechanic. Each of these Attributes can be translated into a percentage roll. It’s a “roll under” system, so to test an Attribute I would roll 3d10 under its percentage score. Two of these tens determine the percentile. The third is the Critical Die, with a 1 denoting a Critical Failure (if the percentile test failed) and a 10 being a Crirical Success (if the percentile test succeeded). Precisely what these Critical results might mean will be detailed later in the rules.
Here are my rolls: 18, 16, 14, 10, 9, 8, 12, 12, 11, 17, 9.
Regardless of the choices to come, I’m beginning to imagine a Knight with a strong leaning towards the priestly crafts. As with most games, Appearance appears to be an attractive dump stat. We shall see if ever I learn to rue this choice.
Note: The nine Attributes are interesting to me. For almost a year I ran Le 7eme Cercle’s/Cubicle 7’s Northern culture game Yggdrasill, which organized Attributes into nine designations under the three macro-stats Mind, Body and Soul. Outside of the consonance with Old Norse numerological symbolism, I still find this a neat formulation of a sentient, physical being. RM”s ten stats make sense to me because of its consonance with the decimal system, but I think they’re more than is needed for game utility.
It’s interesting that Attribute values are to be assigned before Social Class is resolved, another deterministic aspect of the game, I suppose.
Step 5a: Determine PC’s Social Class
I get to roll again!
As you can see, the point-buy method necessitates that the higher classes be purchased with PC points, whereas choosing the lowest classes award PC points. A random roll most likely will result in a Rural Freeman.
I roll an 81. I have landed a Landed Knight. Sweet!
Whether or not the historical accuracy of this game is in question, it is features like this result that make C&S simply a joy to read. Turning to the section on the Gentry, I learn that “[c]ontrary to modern popular opinion, not every manorial lord was a knight. Some English manorial lords even tried to avoid knighthood because they did not want the extra governmental responsibilities or the hazardous obligations of personal military service.”
As a Gentle, my character enjoys +3 Action Points and -1 DF to the Skills Courtly Love and Renown. Right now I’m not certain what these terms might mean, but I’m sure that they’ll be explained anon.
Basic Chivalric Training includes Riding, Riding a Warhorse, Mounted Combat, Cavalry Lance, 2 other Combat skills, Wearing Armour, plus Courtly Manners. He might also have Reading if the INT requirement is met (this is usually due to instruction by a Priest who notices the character’s promise or at the orders of the Lord).
Step 5b: Determine Father’s Vocation and Social Status
It appears that, no matter what method of character creation is being used, the Father’s Vocation and Social Status always is rolled randomly. There is an individual table for each of the distinct Social Classes. This is in keeping with the rigid, hereditary caste system of feudal society.
I roll a 03. It appears, then, that my Father was a very minor Knight, with a feudal holding of 4 square miles. My Father’s status grants me, the PC, the Basic Chivalric Training package already described above, one more Combat Skill and a Social Status of 25 (undoubtedly to be better understood later).
Before I leave behind Part the First of C&S’s Character Creation, it appears that I have one more intriguing option as the offspring of a Landed Knight.
I shall have to mull over this.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 8, 2019 February 8, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery1 Comment on Chivalry & Sorcery Character Generation Part the First
Chivalry & Sorcery: The First D100 System?
There is a quality to Rolemaster that encourages me to read about actual history, to research real weapon and armor use and fighting styles, to consider types of fortifications and siege engines and tactics, to explore large scale military deployment, naval warfare, resource management, battlefield maneuvers that encompass horse and various kinds of troops. If I’m occupied with a version of traditional D&D… not so much. In this latter case I’m more interested in the weird, wondrous and sometimes “gonzo” elements at play in its preferred fantasy milieu. The nuts and bolts of “real” probabilities are a less considered texture in its usual background.
Informed by my light reading about the origins of our hobby, I’d suggest that some early companies might likewise have recognized a liminal space between the quality of the inspirations informing early D&D (according to Gary Gygax’s Appendix N) and some of the more “realistic” considerations in determining mechanical probabilities for narrative resolution in rpgs. They consequently wrote into this space. As just a few examples, I submit Fantasy Games Unlimited’s Chivalry & Sorcery, Chaosium’s Runequest, and (later) our own beloved Rolemaster and Columbia Games’s Harn campaign setting and rules system Harnmaster.
I admittedly cherrypick these examples for two reasons: unlike some other crunchy game systems (such as GURPS and the Hero System) they are specific to fantasy roleplaying, and they appear to recognize the granular benefits of expanding the d20 core mechanic of the Original Games into a d100. Both aspects of these games should be of interest to RM gamers as points of comparison and perhaps innovations from which we might steal for our own homebrewed systems.
So I’m joining Peter R in an exploration of competing d100 systems. Perhaps my survey will contain a more historical emphasis, as I journey back to 1977 to begin with Chivalry & Sorcery.
Well, maybe I’m not doing precisely that, because I’m choosing to read the 2000 edition of C&S, which is subtitled “The Rebirth.” The editors of this version, in their introduction, state that these rules have been streamlined and expanded, so I expect that, as a modern gamer, there might be more for me to learn here than in its inception—though reading original editions always is interesting from the perspective of them being artifacts of antiquity. Also, all three volumes (and more!) of the core game are entirely free on DriveThruRPG. Can’t beat that!
In Designers & Dragons: The 1970s, Shannon Appelcline claims that C&S’s creators hoped to sell the prototype-version of their product, called Chevalier, as an “advanced” form of Dungeons & Dragons. They planned to meet with Gary Gygax at GenCon.
However after watching Gary Gygax chew out a staff member, Simbalist decided that he didn’t like the “vibe” of TSR, and so he left without mentioning his game, and promptly ran into Scott Bizar, who proved to be interested in the game himself. After Backhaus and Simbalist spent about four months stripping D&D from the manuscript, Bizar published it as the first of FGU’s three big-name RPGs, Chivalry & Sorcery (1977). It was one of the first roleplaying books ever published as a single trade paperback, rather than as a hardcover or in a box.
But perhaps even more interesting to us as RM gamers is Appelcline’s description of C&S. It was complicated and “realistic”: “The game provided a very thorough simulation of medieval feudalism and the economics that underlay it.”*
I can’t resist quoting from Appelcline again. He contextualizes C&S so well.
Finally, C&S fairly dramatically took RPGs out of the dungeons when few others were doing so. This resulted in the need for actual plots, and allowed C&S gamemasters to tell real stories when most other gamemasters were still running glorified miniatures games. Of course, many of those plots involved raiding “places of mysteries,” hideouts, castles, and other locations that were dungeons in all but name.
I already have read with interest volume one, the Core Rules of Chivalry & Sorcery’s Rebirth. I intend to go back to the beginning of this book, which involves character creation, and explain and model the process to the best of my ability. Some features of the system are exciting, others puzzling, but I think they provide unique perspectives on my current d100 gaming. The next part in this series should appear soon.
*”Though Simbalist would later acknowledge that it wasn’t necessarily a simulation of real feudalism, the product felt truthful (and thorough) enough that it was nonetheless widely accepted as such.” Appelcline.
Author Gabe DybingPosted on February 6, 2019 February 6, 2019 Categories RolemasterTags Chivalry & Sorcery, D100 Systems9 Comments on Chivalry & Sorcery: The First D100 System?
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Together let us start rebuilding our jungles.
Foreword by Sarosh Lodhi
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Return To The Jungles > What Is Return to the Jungles?
What Is Return to the Jungles?
Return to the Jungles is a call to the people of India to return to the lap of nature where civilizations started from. Where is the lap of nature? How far is it from home? And why so many of us don’t seem to have any answers? Because many amongst us have never seen one. They have never experienced the joy of being in nature – so long has been the disconnect from that which is intrinsic and latent to every human being. Instead they have lived and breathed every second of their lives in dirty, polluted cities surrounded by structures that leave no space for nature to prosper. And they have grown up to believe this is what is required for happy lives and healthy societies.
At some stage of our lives; all of us started hearing about global warming, carbon footprint, ecology destruction, habitat destruction, extinction of species, melting of glaciers, melting of the polar ice caps and deforestation. However, most treat these issues as theory and move on. They complain of erratic rainfall, searing summer temperatures and untimely snowfall but still find it hard to believe that the balance of our planet’s ecosystem has been disturbed. Why wouldn’t they? They have either not been exposed to the magnificence of nature or not been sensitized to its absolute centricity in our lives. For them life is about jobs in big corporations, big houses and fast cars. That more and more land should be freed from its delightful natural covers – mountains, hills, forests, freshwater bodies – to make space for global corporations to grow so that they can enhance shareholder value and make the rich richer. There is scant regard for the damage being done to Earth and for the legacy being left behind for the generations to come.
Probably, only a handful of people know that India has been the only home in Earth for all the 4 big cats – Tiger, Lion, Leopard and Cheetah. Alas! The Cheetah was lost in mid – 1850s and the magnificent Asiatic Lion has been relegated to one corner of this big country. The Royal Bengal Tiger is down to a couple of thousands while the gorgeous Leopard is treated almost like vermin. The Tiger and the Leopard are regularly snared, poisoned, run down, poached, electrocuted across India. That is how well we respect the natural bounty that we were blessed with. Again, probably, a handful of people in India know the difference between a Leopard and a Cheetah because their exposure to nature is next to none. And probably, very few even know that once upon a time; we were home to the Asiatic Cheetah. These things remind us all over again just how disconnected people, in general, are from nature.
There is a lot that is being said and written about the rapid decay of nature all around us. Nature is making its displeasure clear to us with vengeance. Still the urge to make resurrection of nature a priority is hardly visible right from the industry captains to politicians to the common public. It is not even a point of debate during the parliamentary elections. The point of awakening is still a distant reality. During the times of Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson; a stroll in the forest was just a few kilometers away from the city. The cover of green was thick all around and the air wonderfully refreshing. Today, the cover of the jungle has receded by thousands of miles from city limits. In the process many major and minor species have gone into history and natural spots have been replaced with lakes frothing with pollutants, ugly human constructions and toxic air. Those that commit crimes against nature have little to fear. Forest fires have become more and more common. The Amazonia – supplier of 20% of the planet’s Oxygen – is burning as I write. Some parties with vested interests have set it on fire. The global media was not even reporting it till the news and images went viral on social media. Such is the extent of degradation of the human mind that it has almost completely forgotten to respect and value that which is essential for life.
We are in the midst of natural disasters in many shapes and forms, but still can we do something to make our contribution to the process of resurrection of nature? Or will we wait for the government to do it all? Unfortunately, there is little time left and too much to do. I don’t know how but I won’t wait any further to take the next steps and ask and encourage one and all to join me in this journey.
So how do we Return to the Jungles? Answer the questions below:
Do you own a piece of land?
Can you make a commitment to turn it into an oasis of green?
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Can you devote the funds instead to buy a piece of land and convert it into a forest even if small?
Do you own barren land?
Can you develop it into a forest?
Can you hand over your barren land to a responsible agency for development of a forest?
Do you understand the importance of making your contribution to rebuilding this planet?
Can you be less materialistic and devote some of your funds to afforestation?
Do you understand that the planet is in a severe problem and that climate change is manifesting in dangerous ways all around us?
Do you want to help India reduce its carbon footprint by developing more and more forests?
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Do you want to help fund conservation projects starting with a minimum individual contribution of Rs.500 (Five Hundred)?If you are a conservation or forestry expert; are you willing to guide people to develop “Sacred Groves”? Please see the section on “Sacred Grove” for details.
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Sterling to rise this year on hopes for smooth Brexit - Reuters poll
By Jonathan Cable
FILE PHOTO: An English ten Pound note is seen in an illustration taken March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s pound will gain more than 3% against the dollar this year, supported by interest rate differentials and hopes for a smooth departure from the European Union, a Reuters poll found on Friday.
Sterling GBP= has gyrated wildly on any snippet of news about Brexit, largely ignoring economic data, and soared more than 2% after Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a resounding election victory in December, leading markets to believe an orderly exit from the EU was all but certain.
It has since dropped back and was trading around $1.30 on Thursday as Johnson has signalled he plans to take a hard line in talks with the EU, raising fears about the prospect of a new cliff edge at the end of the year if no deal is reached.
But the poll of nearly 60 foreign exchange strategists, taken this week, said the pound would be up at $1.32 at the end of this month - when Britain and the EU are due to part ways - and will have risen to $1.35 by the end of 2020.
“Knee-jerk moves and profit-taking aside, the trend in 2020 remains for a drift higher in GBP/USD in our view and we look to renew our GBP long bias,” said Jordan Rochester at Nomura.
“The removal of near-term hard Brexit risks, the widely expected fiscal expansion, U.S.-China trade tensions lower and a global recovery in economic data suggest the Bank of England will stay on hold.”
Most major central banks eased monetary policy last year, including the U.S. Federal reserve, which cut interest rates three times in 2019, but the Bank of England has kept its key policy rate steady at 0.75%.
The Bank is not expected to move interest rates until 2022 at least, and while the European Central Bank eased policy late in 2019 it is expected to stay on the sidelines for the next two years.
So against the common currency the pound EURGBP= will have barely moved by the end of the year. On Thursday one euro would get you 85.16 pence and at the end of 2020 its value will be little changed at 84.5p, the poll found.
Polling by Tushar Goenka and Sumanto Mondal; Editing by Alex Richardson
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China's Meituan Dianping shares dive as rising costs inflate losses
By Josh Horwitz, Adam Jourdan
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Meituan Dianping's 3690.HK share price plunged on Friday after the Chinese online food delivery-to-ticketing firm reported a far wider quarterly operating loss amid a costly battle with rivals including Alibaba-backed Ele.me.
FILE PHOTO: The management team of China's Meituan Dianping, an online food delivery-to-ticketing services platform, attends a news conference on its IPO in Hong Kong, China September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
The firm, which operates a "super app" of services and is backed by tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd 0700.HK, saw its stock fall as much as 14.4 percent and was heading for its worst trading day since raising $4.2 billion in a September IPO.
The stock was at HK$54.40 in late morning trade, down 11 percent, compared with a 0.4 percent decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI.
The drop, which chopped off more than $4 billion from the Meituan Dianping's market valuation, underscores the challenges of a company up against the clout of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.N and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T, which has invested in ride-hailing-cum-delivery firm Didi Chuxing.
“These companies are in an all-out blitz for market share - profitability only comes after one has consolidated its share of the market,” said Don Zhao, co-founder of Shenzhen-based e-commerce consultancy Azoya.
Meituan said late on Thursday its operating loss in the three months to Sept. 30 tripled to 3.45 billion yuan ($497.12 million) - though revenue rose 97.2 percent to 19.08 billion yuan.
Overall gross transaction volume grew 40 percent in the quarter. That compared with 55.6 percent in the first half of the year.
“Transactions were up only 40 percent, which indicates that growth may be slowing down,” Zhao said. “This is why the market reacted so negatively - because investors question how much longer the company can sustain growth and whether or not it’s willing to shift its focus to profitability.”
Net loss soared to 83.30 billion yuan from a loss of 4.4 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier, which the firm attributed to changes in the fair value of convertible redeemable preferred shares.
Meituan Dianping, which makes most of its revenue from food delivery, said increased costs for payment processing and delivery riders had contributed to its losses.
It also owns bike-sharing firm Mobike, which it bought in April for a reported $2.7 billion. In an earnings call, Meituan Dianping Vice President Shaohui Chen said the firm would reduce its number of bicycles to address “extensive supply in the market”.
The losses comes as China’s tech scene is being roiled by concerns the heady days of growth that saw firms like Alibaba and Tencent double in value over the past few years may be over, hammering tech shares, including those of new IPO entrants.
Meituan Dianping now has a market valuation of around $38.5 billion, having seen its shares drop 25 percent since listing amid cooler economic growth and a biting trade war between China and the United States which has sapped investor confidence.
Reporting by Josh Horwitz in HONG KONG and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Christopher Cushing
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