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Our Kijana Global Innovation School fuses a holistic vision of education to specific learning activities that connect learners to the larger global society which we inhabit and share.
Students will be inspired and nurtured to fulfill their potentials and will be prepared to advance to the next stage academically with confidence, global understanding, and the individual and collaborative skills to compete and contribute in a challenging and engaging world. Kijana's developing world class institution will also be a venue for international collaboration as educators and students from other countries, including the United States, will be invited to visit, learn, and share in a beautiful and culturally interactive environment.
Students will learn to be engaged global citizens. Students will interact directly with their peers in other countries and will be taught global challenges and develop skills in analysis and problem-solving in order to be life-long global citizens. Students at the Kijana Global Innovation School will learn how to overcome challenges both individually and collectively.
More About Academics
A school's teachers are the heart and soul of the educational and personal relationship to learning for students. We have carefully selected a team of dedicated, experienced, innovative, and personable professionals for our inaugural teaching staff. Our team is led by the Principal, Mr. Simeon Buluku, who is a Kijana beneficiary, and experienced International School teaching professional.
Our teaching staff is complemented by a small team of staff members, who assist is creating a comfortable, safe, and structured environment for learning. Additional non-teaching staff members include a secretary, cook, cleaner, and driver.
Our team of caring professionals is dedicated to providing an enjoyable, yet energetic learning experience for our youths.
Christine Mahero - ECDE Teacher
Christine was born in 1991 in Ibukolo village, in Butere Constituency in Kakamega County. She says that Ibukolo is a local word that that means 'the ancestoral place' of the Butere people. She is married and has 3 children.
She studied at Kibokolo primary school and graduated in 2007 with a score of 320 out of 500 marks. In 2013, she joined Buchenya Girls high school within Butere, and graduated in 2013. She then studied Early Childhood Education from 2011 to 2013, under Pursue program in Kenya from the Chantily Academy of England. She is currently studying Early Childhood Education at Butere ECDE Centre in order to acquire a mandatory Kenyan certification.
She has been an ECDE teacher at Ebenezer Academy from 2016 to 2019. While there, she taught Mathematical, Language, Environmental, Religious, Creative, and Music Activities to pre-primary pupils.
She is now an assistant ECDE teacher at our Kijana Global Innovation School, in Butere Constituency, in Kakamega County, Western Kenya, in Africa. She is motivated by the desire to teach in a global school within her home area as a way of eradicating illiteracy in her community through teaching. She says that the Kijana Global Innovation School has an outstanding school infrastructure, best experienced teachers and up to standard modern learning and teaching material in the entire western Kenya. She says that she is proud to be a teacher here, the ultimate place for young learners.
Julius Emonyi - Mathematics Teacher
Julius, the first born in a family of 3 siblings, was born in Esiarambatsi village, in Emuhaya Constituency in Western Kenya. He is married and has three children.
He joined Ebusiloli Primary School in 1991 and graduated in 1999, with a score of 366 out of 700 marks in the national examinations. He then joined Ebusiloli Secondary in 2000 but dropped out in 2001 due to lack of school fees. Julius later joined Ebunangwe Boys High School and graduated in 2003 with a C Plain grade. In 2008, he joined St. Joseph's Teachers Training College where he pursued a P1 certificate course in Education. He graduated in 2010 after specializing in Mathematics and Sciences.
Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative kickstarted Julius' teaching career by paying for his teaching services at Ebusiloli Primary School from 2012 to 2014. He taught Mathematics and Science in grades 3 and 8, where he helped to catapult the academic performance from below average to a steady above average performance. He served the school with dedication up to 2019.
Julius' is now a teacher at our Kijana Global Innovation School, in Butere constituency, in Kakamega county; an opportunity he got in December 2019, after going through a successful application and interview process. Here, he teaches Mathematics, Physical Education, Creative Art, and Christian Religious Education for grade 1 and 2. He is the head of Evaluation and Assessment and also heads the Mathematics department at the school.
He says that this is a unique global school with the best learning and teaching material, best school infrastructure in Western Kenya, and best qualified and experienced teachers. He is proud to be part of the team that is taking Kenyan education global through the Kijana Global Innovation School, a perfect learning environment for your child. Welcome.
Kelle Solomon - Kiswahili, C.R.E Teacher
Solomon hails from Mwituha village in Emuhondo Sub location in Emuhaya Constituency in Western Kenya. He attended Ilungu primary school from 1999 to 2007, where he scored a remarkable 325 out 500 marks in his national grade eight exams. He joined Ebunangwe Boys High School from 2009 to 2011. He later joined Sigalame High School in Busia County, where he graduated in 2013 with a B plain grade of 64 points.
Solomon is grateful that Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative paid some of his school fees at Sigalame school when he needed the help most. He says that the opportunity gave him the inspiration to work hard in order to help change his and the lives of others in need in the future.
He joined Maseno University in 2014 and graduated in 2018 with a degree of Bachelor of Education Arts; Geography Kiswahili combination. He also holds a diploma in Bible Studies from Bible Discovery school in Ruiru, in Nairobi. Solomon is currently pursuing a diploma course in education management at Maseno University.
With a wealth of knowledge, and passion to serve the community, Solomon is now a teacher of Kiswahili language, Christian Religious Education and Environmental Activities for grade 1 and 2 pupils at our Kijana Global Innovation School. He is also the head of the portfolio program in the school. He says that he loves the conducive environment for learning and teaching, and the unique global school infrastructure, rare to find in these parts of the country. He contends that this is the best place for learners in Kenya, Africa and beyond. It is a globally connected school that greatly advances opportunities for your child. Karibu! Welcome!
Mr. Samwel Etole Omuchele - ECDE Teacher
Now nicknamed as 'Teacher Sam' by pupils at the Kijana Global Innovation School, Samwel was born in 1987 in Enyahela village, in Ipali location, Emuhaya Constituency of Western Kenya, Africa. He is the fifth born in a family of 8 siblings. He is a man married with 4 children; 3 boys and 1 girl. He is a humble, composed man full of friendly smiles.
He schooled at Ebbiba Primary from 1997 to 2004 where he scored 265 out 500 marks in eighth grade. He then joined Esibila Secondary School from 2005 to 2006. He went on to complete his high school education at Essong'olo Secondary School in 2008.
In 2014, Sam joined St. Michael Trinity Teachers Training College in Eregi, and graduated in 2015 with a certificate in Early Childhood Development Education (E.C.D.E), with a Credit rank. He furthered his education from the same institution in 2016 and graduated with a Diploma in E.C.D.E, with a Credit rank. In Kenya, E.C.D.E course is taken by almost 90% female students. However, Sam says that he was inspired by an internal urge to build the academic foundation for young learners. He was the only male ECDE student in a class of 78 students in his first semester of his first year. Sam has a passion for E.C.D. education and says that he plans to further his studies to the highest level possible.
He was a dependable E.C.D.E teacher at Neema Grace Christian School, in Luanda Constituency from 2016 to 2019. He was the pupils' favorite, their role model and a father figure.
Sam is now the ECDE teacher at our Kijana Global Innovation School, in Butere Constuency in Kakamega County, in western Kenya, after a highly successful interview. Sam enjoys his profession. He loves working with the children and they love him too. He says that he knew the school through Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative Facebook page, and that he is grateful to be a teacher at this prestigious Global Innovation school. He acknowledges that the school has the best school infrastructure, learning and teaching material, and a tranquil environment conducive for learning that cannot be matched by any other in Western Kenya. All are welcome.
Phoebe Oluoch Awuor - School Secretary
Phoebe was born in Konyowo village, in Ugenya Sub County in Siaya County in the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. She is married and has 2 children.
In 2001, She went to St. Mary's Primary school in Nakuru and graduated in 2008 with a 290 out of 500 marks score in the national exams. She then joined St. Mary's Girls high school in Nakuru in 2009 for her secondary education and graduated in 2012 with a C plus grade. Phoebe then joined FPFK Institute in Nakuru, where she pursued a computer studies course. She later joined Ujima College for 2 years where she pursued a proficiency secretarial course.
She is currently serving as the Secretary of our Kijana Global Innovation School after having been appointed in December 2019. She previously worked as the secretary at the Royal City Hotel in Nakuru from 2014 for 5 years.
Her primary role is performing secretarial duties at the Kijana Global Innovation School, which includes receiving, meeting and greeting school stakeholders, responding to school telephone calls, and preparing school reports as required, among other duties.
Richard Indetie - Driver at Kijana Glboal Innovation School
Richard is a humble and strong muscular man. He is popularly known as Richie. He was born in 1973 at Mumakunda Village, in Eshiatsala Sub location, in Butere Constituency in Kakamega County of Western Kenya. He is married and has 5 children; 2 boys and 3 girls.
He joined Eshiatsala Primary School in 1981 and graduated in 1990. In 1987, he was forced by his parents to repeat grade 7 so that his elder brother in the same class could proceed to the eighth grade. Upon graduation in 1990, Richie scored an impressive 54 out of 72 points. He then joined St. Peter Boys High School in Mumias, but unfortunately dropped out a year later because his parents were unable to afford his school fees.
He joined Ishmael Driving School in Mombasa in 1998. He first learnt the BCE classes of driving. Then he further learnt the A class in 2006, a mandatory requirement for public service vehicle drivers.
Richie worked as a taxi driver in Mombasa from 1999 to 2005. In 2006, he worked as tour driver at Mwangaza Tours. His humble persona and dedication to his work, earned his next job. He was then employed by a German family as their driver from 2007 to 2011, when they relocated back to Germany. He then moved to Moro Tours as a tour driver from 2011 to 2014. He decided to go back to his home village in 2014, where he was appointed by the then Member of Parliament for Butere Constituency; Hon. Andrew Toboso as his personal bodyguard.
As a widely experienced driver, he was appointed in March 2020 as the Kijana Global Innovation School Driver. He enjoys driving. Here, he drives a comfy 14 seater Toyota Hiace of a 9L engine. He says that he is really touched by the good plans that Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative has in changing his society. He adds that the Kijana Global Innovation School in Sabatia has created employment to many people, changing their lives and those of others. He is thankful to the<|fim_middle|> Kijana President James P. Cummings, who after 30 years of sustained relationship building and commitment to uplifting educational communities of western Kenya and beyond, has succeeded in opening the doors of the institution.
The school is located at Sabatia-Butere, Kakamega County, at Mulusi Village, Ekero-Buyango Rd. Kenya.
The Kijana Global Innovation School has a capacity of 250 students as of mid-year 2020. Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative, the parent NGO/Non-profit organization is developing a robust financial aid program to serve many of the capable, but underserved youth of the local community as it grows. President James P. Cummings intends to develop the school into the most advanced academic K-12 institution in the three-county region of Kakamega, Siaya, and Vihiga and a model for K-12 educational development worldwide.
Phase One of the School's physical development was overseen by Project Manager, Ebby Shiroya. The Architect and Contractor was Jeremiah Awori, and the site plan initial layout was the vision of Kijana Vice-President and Co-founder, Bruce Huber. The Founding Principal is Mr. Simeon Buluku Apeli.
Help Build the School
Our Multi-year Capital Campaign
Our Kijana Global Innovation School has only been possible as a result of many generous donors. We are in the midst of a multi-year Capital Campaign to raise the necessary funds to build this institution of wonder, exploration, inspiration and collective and individual skill development.
Consider joining the many individuals, and foundations, who have invested in our vision and are paving the way for these incredible learning opportunities for our global youth.
Together we are creating opportunities for youth to explore their talents, find new inspiration, seek new avenues for determination and become change-makers for the future in a variety of ways.
Click on the following link to see our Network for Good Capital Campaign page. If interested in donating in other ways, including stock, please contact Kijana President, James P. Cummings at kijana@kijana.org or kijanaschool@gmail.com.
Please see our Campaign page at Network for Good, at the following link.
https://kijana.networkforgood.com/
We recognize here the initial leadership gifts and pledges of the following individuals and foundations. We will update the list as new gifts are donated. We are particularly grateful to Stephanie and John Pew, whose gift in May of 2019 of $100,000 provided us with the seed money to begin construction in earnest, launching the development of the school.
Thank you very much to all who have contributed.
School Starter: $100,000+
Stephanie and John Pew
Kate and Geoff Cubitt
Global Citizen: $25,000+
The Progressive Education Foundation
Gail and James L. Cummings
James Bohnen
Innovator: $10,000+
Suzanne and Brian Selmo
Tammie and RJ Cummings
Edward & Bethel Kean Foundation
The Endeavor Foundation
Explorer: $5,000+
Independent Thinker: $1000+
Kevin Pearson
John Billingsley
Ariel Shibilski
Nancy McDaniel
Megan Sarnecki
Erika Ford
Priyesh Shah
Aaron Wielenberg
Marna and Phil Pier
Griot/Storyteller: $500+
Catherine Broadhead
James P. Cummings
Kathleen Hudson
Lekshmi Venu
Bridge Builder: $100+
Hailey Albergo
Hyacinthia Becton
The Began Family
Nick Chimerakis
Ben Clark
Marsha Cummings
Molly Cummings
Susan Duncan
Joyce Farling
Tiffany Felician
Robert Gass
Martha Gilbert
Danile Goggin
Brian Hammer
Nancy Hill
Jean Hanson
Bruce Huber
Gary Huber
Matthew Inbusch
Scott Kattenbraker
Paul Lawler
Mark Madison
John McAvoy
Everett McKinney
Christine Meserve
Rhinah Ondiso
Ruth Ostrom-Becker
Ruth Petzold
Dan and Tom Pier
Linda and Ron Ream
Elisabeth Romfh
Anita and Jack Scarola
Gretchen Schaefer
Alexandra Sexton-Milligan
Ebby Shiroya
Robert Simpson
Angela Szuminski
Dan Tighe
Debra Watkins
Jamie Weinstein | Kijana President Mr. James P. Cummings for this opportunity to serve.
Damary Matati Suchi - Cook at Kijana Global Innovation School
Damary was born in Shitali village in Butere Sub County in Kakamega County in 1979. She says that she loved cooking since growing up as a young girl. She also likes watching movies and she says that her favorite movie is 'The Titanic.'
Damary joined Buchenya Primary School in 1987 and graduated in 1995 with a score of 350 out of 700 marks in the national examinations. She then joined Lihrembe girls secondary in 1996 and graduated in 1999. In 2001, she joined Intraglobal Training Institute where she trained for a certificate course in Hotel and Catering Management.
She worked as a kitchen attendant at Kilimoni Secondary School as a kitchen attendant from 2002 to 2003. She then worked as a sales lady at House of Manji (biscuits' company) from 2004 for 2 years. She later worked at Regal Press in Industrial area, Nairobi as a tea girl from 2006 to 2011.
She was appointed as a cook in December 2019 at the Kijana Global Innovation School. She says that she is lucky to serve at this prestigious global school in a tranquil remote setting, and super conducive for every learner.
Pioneering Kijana beneficiary well into teaching career
Kijana Beneficiary Serving as Inaugural Global Innovation School Principal: Meet MR. SIMEON BULUKU APELI
A Kijana Success Story: Lucy Ong'ayo
Kijana School Opening
We opened our Kijana Global Innovation School with 15 students on January 13, 2020. Five teachers served as our inaugural faculty. The school was still in the process of being constructed, yet our students and their families were eager to be part of such a special and growing school. From the beginning, classrooms were much more spacious than area schools and the rooms were clean and with only 15 students, the five experienced teachers were able to provide significant individual attention to learners. By March 13th, when all schools in Kenya were closed due to the pandemic, student enrollment had risen to 28. Since the school has closed, we have continued to provide students with resources to learn at home. We have additionally provided families and other community members with care packages of food, soap, and masks to assist them during these challenging times.
Emergent School Culture
We had only just begun to develop a lively and comfortable learning environment for our students when the pandemic forced all schools to close. We are continuing to develop an environment where learners explore, play, interact with their peers and adults in a safe environment for development. We have a comfortable playground, very spacious classrooms with inviting furniture, many contemporary children's books and beautiful kid's carpets. We are developing plans to incorporate manipulatives, such as LEGO, into a structured learning environment with the goal of ultimately developing a robotics team. Each student has access to reading material at present and we are diligently developing a literary culture. We believe strongly that the physical learning space is extremely important. Students learn and feel comfortable, as we all do, in beautiful, inviting places. Consequently, we have unique public art already established on the school campus and will be developing wonderful artistic displays throughout the school in order to encourage the development of student creativity and expression. Students will ultimately be invited to create their own artistic expressions which will be preserved over years at the school so students learn to shape and impact their community and etch their own creative mark on the future.
A Vision Realized
The Kijana Global Innovation School has been a long term goal of | 806 |
Live Review: An Audience with Yasmine Day
The Albany, Great Portland Street, London, 21/07/2019.
On paper I shouldn't be fond of the comedy and music of Yasmine Day at all, if only because she ad<|fim_middle|> forthcoming musical that I truly hope she does one day perform in full.
Day has a stunning voice and is never less than a pleasure to listen to, but it's her absurdist, daft and occasionally bizarre sense of humour that really made me fall for this show. If you like your musical comedy to be bombastic, beautifully over the top, completely unpredictable and the kind of thing that will make you giggle over and over again then Yasmine Day will be someone that you'll wish really had been around since the eighties, and that you'd caught her live each and every year since.
You can catch Yasmine at the Edinburgh festival this year, and details on the show are here.
You can follow Yasmine on Twitter here.
Our interview with Yasmine.
An Audience With Yasmine Day
The Albany
Yasmine Day
Next Interview: Travis Jay | ores the music of the eighties and beyond, beyond being until 1989 at least, whereas bar a few exceptions I can't stand it and hated growing up as a teenager in that particular decade. But this live show where the world's no.1 Bonnie Tyler tribute act belts out slightly altered covers of eighties songs as well as a good few songs of her own turned out to be fantastic throughout.
Taking to the stage while singing Total Eclipse Of The Heart she has two dancers on hand to help recreate the famous video that accompanies the song, and though the prop budget was probably under a tenner she does so with aplomb, and in an extremely funny manner too. After this she introduces herself to the audience and explains just how this show came to be – which involves the story of her career along with a bizarre dream where she was a Gladiator, plunging a sword in to Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker – in a segment that's packed full of laughs and is pleasingly surreal at times.
The rest of the show follows along those lines where we get some superb songs along with tales from Yasmine's life. Almost all of it made me laugh hard and it's inventive and charming throughout, even during rare occasions it takes a dark turn, such as when her producer died just before she was about to record a song that everyone else thought was way too fast to enjoy. We get to hear said song and they weren't wrong, but that doesn't stop it from being gorgeously funny, as are her celebrity anecdotes, with one involving Madonna and a ketchup smothered limousine making me laugh the most, but all are a delight and I'd loved to have heard many more.
As well as the original songs there's a couple of covers, but all are performed in Yasmine's unique manner, such as a version of Eternal Flame where she only sings the vowels, or a take on Tiffany's I Think We're Alone that she sings to one audience member while wearing a crisps box over their heads. As good as they are it's Day's own original tracks that made me laugh the hardest however, with a Eurovision entry being truly hilarious, and she ends the show with a selection of tracks from a | 452 |
Studying at Campus Fryslân
Research at Campus Fryslân
About Campus Fryslân
To the Beurs! From dairy to bread, from a commercial building to a knowledge center
From dairy to bread, from a commercial building to a knowledge center. For a long time the Beursbuilding was one of the most important meeting points in Friesland. Niek Donker wrote a book for the University of Groningens''s Campus Fryslân about the long history of the building. It is called "Naar de Beurs!" or "To the Beurs!" in english.
Last Sunday, 24th November 2019, Niek Donker gave a lecture in Tresoar<|fim_middle|>7
This year, the increase in municipal residential taxes will be significantly higher than the inflation rate. Tenants will pay 5.1 percent more; owner-occupiers 4.3 percent. The waste collection levy will increase significantly – by 5.9 percent – as... | during the Museum Universiteit. During his lecture Niek shared the rich history of the building with the general public. Niek Donker also handed over the books to those who had submitted a story about the Beurs.
The book "To the Beurs!" is available for 14.95 at Uitgeverij Wijdemeer .
Last modified: 06 December 2019 2.38 p.m.
printView this page in: Nederlands
ELT MICADO Instrument Passes Preliminary Design Review
MICADO, the first dedicated imaging system for ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), has reached an important milestone in its design review. The MICADO consortium, together with a group of external experts from around the world, met at ESO's Garching...
Little dissatisfaction with asylum seekers' centres, a lot of dissatisfaction with the government
In a representative sample study involving over 1,200 Dutch people, researchers from the University of Groningen (UG) studied opinions about asylum seekers expressed between 2016 and 2019. The research was commissioned by the Research and Documentation...
Highest increase in municipal residential taxes since 200 | 250 |
Amir Khan has big challenge on his hands against Terence Crawford
Terence Crawford (left) and Amir Khan
Published: 19:54 Wednesday 17 April 2019
Amir Khan believes he is taking on one of the best fighters in the world in Terence Crawford at the weekend.
Khan and WBO welterweight champion Crawford go head-to-head at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old Briton told a press conference: "This definitely ranks at the top for me because I'm<|fim_middle|> talent and the skills that I have and the willingness to go in there and fight anybody and everybody that is available."
Anthony Joshua fight in doubt after 'adverse finding' in Jarrell Miller drug test
Passengers were 'sobbing' and 'making calls' to loved ones - Aer Lingus pilot hailed 'miraculous' after landing plane during Storm Brendan
NI snow alert - first snow of 2020 has arrived confirm Met Office - subzero temperatures expected tonight
Cate Conway shares tearful video of hug Stephen Clements gave her at end of their final radio programme together
Storm Brendan NI BLOG: Widespread disruption, roads closed, coastal flooding and power outages
Eamonn Holmes in tirade against Meghan Markle
Irish League Football
Farming Life
More from the Belfast News Letter | fighting a world champion like Terence.
"It's just amazing for me to be in this position again. To know I'm fighting the best out there again.
"I know that I can't make any mistakes out there because then I'll be in trouble."
Khan has won his last two fights since the defeat to Saul Alvarez in Las Vegas in 2016, where he was knocked out in the sixth round.
"We know we've done everything we have to do for this fight and I'm more than ready," Khan said.
"This is a dream come true and hopefully on Saturday a dream will come true. This just drives me, makes me work harder, train harder and stay focused.
"He's a good fighter and I know he's training hard because he doesn't want to lose his unbeaten record."
Crawford has won all of his 34 fights, claiming 25 knockouts.
The American said: "I don't believe no fight that I fight is just another fight. I believe all the fights I fight from here on out is about my legacy.
"Amir Khan's name came up because he was the next best welterweight in the division. Amir Khan is a great fighter and I can't take that away from him.
"I just want people to respect me for my | 265 |
The crested bandfish (Lophotus guntheri) is a species of crestfish in the family Lophot<|fim_middle|> Museum (Natural History). In his formal description, Johnston named the species guntheri, although the correct spelling for species named after Günther is guentheri. The species' common names include the crested bandfish, crestfish, unicorn fish and unicorn ribbon-fish.
Distribution and ecology
The crested bandfish is a marine pelagic species, found at depths up 90 metres, although it may occur at depths up to 300 metres. The species has been found in four locations in the western Pacific: in Australia, near Emu Bay, Tasmania and off the New South Wales coast; Johnston Atoll; and southwestern Taiwan. However, its true distribution is likely wider than this. The species' diet comprises cephalopods and small fish. It has an ink sac, which may be used as a defence mechanism when it encounters danger.
Conservation
Very little is known about the crested bandfish, although specimens have been reported to wash ashore following storms. The crested bandfish has been evaluated as "Least Concern" for the IUCN Red List.
References
Notes
Citations
Fauna of Victoria (Australia)
Marine fish of Tasmania
Fish described in 1883 | idae. It has a long string-like body, with large eyes, a red dorsal fin, elongated leading rays, and a short anal fin near the caudal fin. It grows up to 2 metres in length.
Etymology
The species was presumably named for Albert Günther, an ichthyologist at the British | 67 |
Austin Frakt recently wrote about the physical and psychological affects of commuting to work in his article: "Stuck and Stressed: The Health Costs of Traffic". Frakt explains that not only is our health being affected by breathing in a copious amounts of exhaust each day but we're taking on unnecessary stress which often leads to angry and often violent reactions. To read the full article, Click Here.
In response to Frakt's article, EBC employees want to give their perspective on how commutes affected their work and the changes they have made to practically eliminate the health cost of commuting.
For 2019, EBC's mantra is "Work Life Balance". As business professionals, wives, friends, and moms, our personal mission this year is to<|fim_middle|> commute can turn in to a 90 minute nightmare. We are able to alleviate ourselves from this bumper to bumper hair pulling energy drain by allowing for a more flexible work schedule and working from home when needed thanks to our cloud-based filing and database system. I personally find myself working at 6am before my daughter is awake, or after 8pm once she is asleep for the night. At first it was hard to adjust to working odd hours especially because before a baby I tried not to bring my work home with me. Now, I view my flexible schedule as a blessing and I do not mind working the odd hours if it means more time with my daughter.
Flexible hours or working at home is becoming more and more of the norm. The use of the technology has greatly enabled this type of telecommuting, and also the mindset of having a life outside of work is becoming increasingly important. I do believe this is an important consideration for all companies if it aligns with their business model. I feel less stressed about time, traffic and fulfilling my daily demands in this chaotic world. I can be more present for my child and my family as well as spend a few extra minutes of me time – even if it's tending to my orchid plants. | find that important equilibrium to create a healthy and happy work-life balance.
One factor that can contribute to a stressful work week is the commute. With Hawaii having some of the worst traffic in the nation, one fender bender and your 3 mile | 50 |
Omar Dominguez
Advising Partner
Omar has helped Happy Cities become a dynamic and internationally recognized leader in urban wellbeing consulting. In his former role as Managing principal at Happy Cities, he co-developed ground-breaking research and interventions to improve community wellbeing. He nurtured a talented interdisciplinary team of experts in urban planning, architecture and public health. He also led collaborations among senior government officials, real estate developers, academic partners and other city builders.
With a background in sustainable finance and urban design, Omar focuses on ways to ensure that new urban developments maximize public benefits and mitigate risks to society, investors and the environment. Omar is also a member of the Vancouver City Planning Commission, where he advises City Council on matters pertaining to the future of the city.
Omar currently works as Director of Government Relations & Sector Development at Vantage Point, where he connects, empowers and advocates for the<|fim_middle|>omo on Main | non-profit sector.
Omar completed a degree in International Business from the Technological Institute of Monterrey in Mexico City and has an MA in Community Development and Social Planning from the University of British Columbia.
Projects Omar has worked on
Clear Creek School District: Community wellbeing audit
Collaborative wellbeing audit in Mexico City neighbourhood
Inclusive Engagement
T | 70 |
CBMM, NSF STC » Smarter AIs could help us understand how our brains interpret the world | Science
Visit our public talks and events Google Calendar. To subscribe to this Google Calendar, visit the calendar and click on the "+GoogleCalendar" button in the bottom right<|fim_middle|> of data; for networks that classify images, that usually means collections of labeled photos. Performance improves with feedback as the systems repeatedly adjust the strengths of the connections between nodes..."
Read the full article on Science's website using the link below.
News Link:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/09/smarter-ais-could-help-us-understand-how-our-brains-interpret-world
Associated CBMM Pages:
Josh McDermott
Weekly Research Meetings
Postdoc Group Meetings | corner.
Smarter AIs could help us understand how our brains interpret the world | Science
By Kelly Servick
"PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA—While artificial intelligence (AI) has been busy trouncing humans at Go and spawning eerily personable Alexas, some neuroscientists have harbored a different hope: that the types of algorithms driving those technologies can also yield some insight into the squishy, wet computers in our skulls. At the Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience here this month, researchers presented new tools for comparing data from living brains with readouts from computational models known as deep neural networks. Such comparisons might offer up new hypotheses about how humans process sights and sounds, understand language, or navigate the world.
"People have fantasized about that since the 1980s," says Josh McDermott, a computational neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. Until recently, AI couldn't come close to human performance on tasks such as recognizing sounds or classifying images. But deep neural networks, loosely inspired by the brain, have logged increasingly impressive performances, especially on visual tasks. That "brings the question back to mind," says neuroscientist Chris Baker of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Deep neural networks work by passing information between computational "nodes" that are arranged in successive layers. The systems hone skills on huge sets | 290 |
Unknown to me, mom had<|fim_middle|> his friend Bradley and he touched his hair. Andrew then says your hair is different than mine but that is okay.
It is amazing how much kids process and I think that Andrew had learned the lesson and mommy is now pondering why do I bother to straighten my hair.
I must add a story from my husband that just occurred. As he walk back upstair by Andrew room, Andrew says Is God watching and Perry says yes. Then Andrew says is He in the hallway...how do you answer that. Perry's response God is watching us night and day. Just have to smile. | done a lesson yesterday in children's church about how God loves us all and made us different. So yesterday afternoon during nap time Andrew says, why is your hair curly. I am thinking ah this is an easy one - God made it curly. He continues to look at my hair and then ask why do you straighten it. Good question Andrew. Just have to smile.
Later that evening while Perry and I were enjoying a date night. He was playing with | 92 |
Jordan Spieth gives All Abilities Playground 'thumbs up<|fim_middle|> to sign up for the Advocate's weekly news digest and be the first to know what's happening in Lakewood/East Dallas.
By Carol Toler|2019-06-24T15:19:50-05:00September 14th, 2018|News, Parks and Outdoors, Sports|0 Comments
About the Author: Carol Toler
Blogger CAROL TOLER and her husband, Toby, are the parents of four. She has an MBA from SMU and a passion for writing good-news stories about fascinating people. Email ctoler@advocatemag.com.
New restaurant planned for little blue house on Lower Greenville
East Dallas educator wins teaching award from organization founded by Nobel family
Lawrence D. Sharp says:
We will surely miss David. My God comfort Kristi and each of…
Johnny McJohnson says:
I think that thebrokencarnage nailed it - "Then you'd see that it's…
OnTheWhip says:
As someone that patronizes these businesses and has driven through this intersection…
READ THE LATEST DIGITAL EDITION | ' at ribbon-cuttting
Jordan Spieth receives an LH hat from LHJWL's Bryn Volkmer(Photo by Carol Toler).
Growing up in Dallas, pro golfer Jordan Spieth recalls parents Shawn and Chris taking him to playgrounds with Steven, his brother, and Ellie, his sister with special needs.
"A slide, two swings, and a merry-go-round," Spieth says of the playgrounds, not unlike ones most folks remember from their own childhoods. "Someone happened to be injured by the end of the day."
Spieth was on hand Thursday to dedicate the Signature Play Ground for People of All Ages and Abilities at Flag Pole Hill, a state-of-the-art play space designed to be safe and engaging for families with children of varying capabilities, and to allow even parents or grandparents with limited mobility to actively participate with kids on the go.
"This playground supports social interaction, but also cognitive development, and that's not what you see in old playgrounds," said Spieth before cutting the ribbon. "This play space promotes and encourages inclusion, and we couldn't be more proud to be support a project like this."
The Jordan Spieth Family Foundation was a major donor to the project, committing early to match contributions of other individuals and groups. Lake Highlands Junior Women's League, Lake Highlands Women's League, Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, For the Love of the Lake and the Dallas Parks Foundation also played major roles, and city bond funds completed financing.
"This is the perfect example of a public-private partnership," said Dallas Park Board President Bobby Abtahi. "It was not an easy thing, but if it's easy, it's not worth doing."
"It's definitely the coolest playground in the city," agreed Lake Highlands Park Board rep Robb Stewart, "and probably the most expensive. It's a lot more complicated than what you see. We've preserved the shade trees. We have great fall zones. When you walk on it, you'll think you're on a king-sized bed."
Admission to the city-owned playground is free, stressed, Councilman Adam McGough. And the championship for best playground in the City of Dallas? McGough said that trophy goes to Jordan Spieth.
To that, Ellie's cheer squad from her Notre Dame School, also on hand for the ribbon cutting, game a b-i-g cheer.
You can see my photos here.
Jordan Spieth shakes hands with Noah McGough (Photo by Carol Toler)
Ellie Spieth and her Notre Dame cheer squad (Photo by Carol Toler).
David Bates swings with his daughter, who squeals with delight (Photo by Carol Toler).
Click | 534 |
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Roll Call Vote 115th Congress - 1st Session
XML Vote Summary
Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation Ralph R. Erickson, of North Dakota, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit )
Vote Number: 207
Vote Date: September 28, 2017, 12:16 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2
Vote Result: Nomination Confirmed
Nomination Number: PN586
Nomination Description: Ralph R. Erickson, of North Dakota, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit
Vote Counts:
YEAs95
Not Voting
*Information compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate bill clerk under the direction of the secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
By Senator Name
By Vote Position
By Home State
Alphabetical by Senator Name
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Baldwin (D-WI), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Bennet (D-CO), Yea
Blumenthal (D-CT), Yea
Blunt (R-MO), Yea
Booker (D-NJ), Yea
Boozman (R-AR), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Capito (R-WV), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Cassidy (R-LA), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Not Voting
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Coons (D-DE), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Cortez Masto (D-NV), Yea
Cotton (R-AR), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Cruz (R-TX), Yea
Daines (R-MT), Yea
Donnelly (D-IN), Yea
Duckworth (D-IL), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Ernst (R-IA), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Fischer (R-NE), Yea
Flake (R-AZ), Yea
Franken (D-MN), Yea
Gardner (R-CO), Yea
Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Harris (D-CA), Yea
Hassan (D-NH), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Heinrich (D-NM), Yea
Heitkamp (D-ND), Yea
Heller (R-NV), Yea
Hirono (D-HI), Yea
Hoeven (R-ND), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (R-WI), Yea
Kaine (D-VA), Yea
Kennedy (R-LA), Yea
King (I-ME), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Lankford (R-OK), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Lee (R-UT), Yea
Manchin (D-WV), Yea
Markey (D-MA), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Not Voting
Merkley (D-OR), Yea
Moran (R-KS), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murphy (D-CT), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Paul (R-KY), Yea
Perdue (R-GA), Yea
Peters (D-MI), Yea
Portman (R-OH), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Risch (R-ID), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rounds (R-SD), Yea
Rubio (R-FL), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Sasse (R-NE), Yea
Schatz (D-HI), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Scott (R-SC), Yea
Shaheen (D-NH), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Strange (R-AL), Not Voting
Sullivan (R-AK), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Tillis (R-NC), Not Voting
Toomey (R-PA), Yea
Udall (D-NM), Yea
Van Hollen (D-MD), Yea
Warner (D-VA), Yea
Warren (D-MA), Nay
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea
Young (R-IN), Yea
Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---95
Alexander (R-TN)
Baldwin (D-WI)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Blunt (R-MO)
Booker (D-NJ)
Boozman (R-AR)
Brown (D-OH)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Capito (R-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Coons (D-DE)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Cotton (R-AR)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Daines (R-MT)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Duckworth (D-IL)
Durbin (D-IL)
Enzi (R-WY)
Ernst (R-IA)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Franken (D-MN)
Gardner (R-CO)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harris (D-CA)
Hassan (D-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Heller (R-NV)
Hirono (D-HI)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kaine (D-VA)
Kennedy (R-LA)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lankford (R-OK)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lee (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
Markey (D-MA)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Merkley (D-OR)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murphy (D-CT)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Paul (R-KY)
Perdue (R-GA)
Peters (D-MI)
Portman (R-OH)
Reed (D-RI)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rounds (R-SD)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sasse<|fim_middle|>D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)
Wyden (D-OR)
Young (R-IN)
NAYs ---1
Warren (D-MA)
Not Voting - 4
Cochran (R-MS)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Strange (R-AL)
Tillis (R-NC)
Grouped by Home State
Alabama:
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Connecticut:
Delaware:
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Contact | Content Responsibility | Usage Policy | PDF Help | Privacy Policy | www.senate.gov | (R-NE)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Scott (R-SC)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Shelby (R-AL)
Stabenow (D-MI)
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Warner ( | 97 |
Liberty Garden
Dodge City Liberty Garden
The tragedies of September<|fim_middle|> Zoo
Other Sites of Interest | 11, 2001, will live in the memories of Americans for generations. Located in historic Wright Park, Dodge City's Liberty Garden was designed as a place of remembrance and solitude.
A project of Keep America Beautiful and the Dodge City CREW (Community Recycling Environmental Waste) program, this garden is meant to honor those people who were touched by the attacks on America.
World Trade Center Steel
Dodge City was honored to be the first community in Kansas to receive a portion of the World Trade Center. The 4-foot section of steel is placed under the U.S. Flag and between two 110 inch replicas of the twin towers. The 1,200 lb. piece of steel was recovered from Ground Zero in New York City.
Pentagon Limestone
Dodge City was again honored to be the final resting place for a piece of Indiana Limestone which was once a part of the facade of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. This piece of limestone was transported across the United States to Dodge City by the Patriot Guard Riders who without question gave generously of their time to make this honorable journey. The process to transport the stone to Dodge City took approximately eleven days, traveling through 9 states on ten different legs. Our gratitude and thanks to the Patriot Guard Riders in Washington, D.C, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas.
Shanksville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
A piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the hemlock grove next to the crash site of United Flight 93 was granted to the City of Dodge City by the National Parks Service and was received on September 11, 2006. The sandstone was permanently enshrined at Liberty Garden at the annual remembrance and dedication ceremony on September 11, 2008.
A Place of Honor
Dedicated on September 11, 2002, the Liberty Garden is open to everyone as a place of reflection and honor.
The Earth Charter (2000)
We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one earth community with a common destiny.
Wright Park
Boot Hill Casino & Resort
Boot Hill Casino and Resort Conference Center
Boot Hill Distillery
Boot Hill Museum
Carnegie Center for the Arts
Depot Theater
Dodge City Brewing
Dodge City Raceway Park
Dodge City Roundup Rodeo
Dodge City Trail of Fame
Ford County Legacy Center
Gunfighters Wax Museum
Historic Dodge City Walking Tour
Historic Trolley Tours
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Windhorst
Kansas Teachers' Hall of Fame
Long Branch Lagoon Water Park
Longhorn Park
Main Street Dodge City
Mueller-Schmidt House Home of Stone
Second Avenue Art Guild
The Southwest Storm Arena Football
United Wireless Arena
Western State Bank Expo Center
Wright Park | 636 |
Trulieve Celebrates Opening of 100th Florida Dispensary in Hometown of Tallahassee
Oct 18, 2021 | Cannabis News
Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), the largest multi-state operator (MSO) in the United States, today announced the opening of its 100th dispensary in the state of Florida. The location is in Tallahassee, Florida, where Trulieve opened its first store, and was formerly branded as Harvest House of Cannabis. Trulieve will host a ribbon cutting and begin serving patients at this location at 8:30 am on Tuesday, October 19 and will celebrate the milestone at all locations statewide.
Trulieve invites the Tallahassee community to join the celebration of its 100th Florida dispens<|fim_middle|>ahassee, the first ever medical marijuana treatment center (MMTC) in Florida. Each location across the state reflects Trulieve's commitment to expanding and ensuring direct, reliable access to medical cannabis for Florida's growing patient base.
"Tallahassee is where we opened our first dispensary and where we're proud to open our 100th in Florida," said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve. "Trulieve was the first licensee in the state of Florida approved to cultivate medical marijuana, first in the state approved to dispense, and first to open a dispensary, right here in Tallahassee. As the site of many important firsts and milestones for our company, Tallahassee has always been and will continue to be central to the Trulieve success story."
In 2015, Trulieve was among the first five Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs) in Florida to receive a license to cultivate, was the first with approval to begin growing cannabis plants, approval to go into production, and approval to sell medical marijuana products in Florida. The Company followed with a long line of firsts, almost all of which took place at the Company's flagship store in Tallahassee: the first sale of medical cannabis in the state, first home delivery, first sale of edibles, first sale of smokable cannabis, first to market with concentrates produced via hydrocarbon extraction, and now the first MMTC in Florida to reach 100 locations.
"This is a day of celebration, not only for Trulieve, but for our communities and patients across Florida," said Rivers. "From day one, we've been driven by the opportunity to create positive economic impact, support local philanthropic organizations, and improve the everyday lives of our patients, employees and communities. Tallahassee, Gadsden County, and the surrounding communities have been instrumental to Trulieve's story, and we're excited to continue honoring those relationships and growing with the community."
On October 7, 2021, Trulieve was recognized by the United Way of the Big Bend, receiving its annual Business Partner of the Year award. "The United Way of the Big Bend is honored to give Trulieve our annual award for Neighboring County Business Partner of the Year," said United Way of the Big Bend Board Chairman Dr. Jim Murdaugh. "This award is presented to one of our business partners who has gone above and beyond in their philanthropy to support the Mission, Vision and Goals of our United Way. As the largest private employer in Gadsden County, Trulieve impacts the neighbors we serve and provides economic opportunity and growth."
In stores and online, patients will find Florida's largest selection of THC and CBD products in a variety of delivery methods, including edibles, smokable flower, concentrates, tinctures, topical creams, vaporizers, and more. Trulieve also offers statewide home delivery, convenient online ordering and in-store pickup.
For more information, please visit Trulieve.com.
PreviousRed White & Bloom Completes Platinum Vape Management Transition, Reduces US$12.5 Million of Liabilities
NextEVIO Labs Florida Receives Honors for Accuracy in Testing
iAnthus Announces Ruling by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Trulieve Brings Medical Cannabis to Cutler Bay, Florida
Columbia Care Launches Legacy California Cannabis Brand, Classix, in Five New Markets Across the U.S.; Marks Industry's Widest Multi-State Flower Brand Launch in a Single Day
Red White & Bloom Completes Platinum Vape Management Transition, Reduces US$12.5 Million of Liabilities | ary opening with all-day deals, music, free swag, and brand partner giveaways. All registered patients — from those new to Trulieve to the dedicated Truliever community — will receive 25% off total purchase as well as a free edible product with orders over $100 at the new Tallahassee dispensary on opening day.
ANNOUNCING: Trulieve Tallahassee Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening
WHERE: 1800 W Tennessee Street, Suite 1, Tallahassee, Florida 32304
WHEN: Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at 8:30 am
The celebration will continue statewide at the Company's additional 99 dispensaries, including another location in Tall | 160 |
To facilitate the myriad of different<|fim_middle|> its dynamics which constitute a basic building block of the cell surface. | (signaling) processes that take place at the plasma membrane, cells depend on a high degree of membrane protein organization. Important mediators of this organization are tetraspanin proteins. Tetraspanins interact laterally among themselves and with partner proteins to control the spatial organization of membrane proteins in large networks called the tetraspanin web. The molecular interactions underlying the formation of the tetraspanin web were hitherto mainly described based on their resistance to different detergents, a classification which does not necessarily correlate with functionality in the living cell. To look at these interactions from a more physiological point of view, this review discusses tetraspanin interactions based on their function in the tetraspanin web: (1) intramolecular interactions supporting tetraspanin structure, (2) tetraspanin–tetraspanin interactions supporting web formation, (3) tetraspanin–partner interactions adding functional partners to the web and (4) cytosolic tetraspanin interactions regulating intracellular signaling. The recent publication of the first full-length tetraspanin crystal structure sheds new light on both the intra- and intermolecular tetraspanin interactions that shape the tetraspanin web. Furthermore, recent molecular dynamic modeling studies indicate that the binding strength between tetraspanins and between tetraspanins and their partners is the complex sum of both promiscuous and specific interactions. A deeper insight into this complex mixture of interactions is essential to our fundamental understanding of the tetraspanin web and | 311 |
South Hook LNG terminal located on the shores of the Milford Haven<|fim_middle|>bm carrier built in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries is operating under a charter deal with LNG producer Qatargas.
The South Hook terminal can process 15.6 million tons of LNG annually, which is close to 20 percent of the natural gas needs of the UK.
Qatar Petroleum owns 67.5 percent of South Hook LNG, ExxonMobil 24.15 percent and Total owns the rest.
Posted on November 28, 2017 with tags Al Ghashamiya, Qatar, South Hook LNG, UK.
The United Kingdom has booked its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo for June.
South Hook LNG terminal in the UK is scheduled to receive another cargo of Qatari liquefied natural gas next week.
Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex shipped a cargo to the South Hook liquefied natural gas terminal in the United Kingdom.
South Hook liquefied natural gas terminal in the United Kingdom is scheduled to receive a cargo from Qatar next week. | waterway is due to receive a cargo of Qatari liquefied natural gas next week.
The Nakilat-owned Q-Flex LNG carrier Al Ghashamiya is on its way from the Qatari port of Ras Laffan and is scheduled to dock at the South Hook terminal's jetty on December 5, port data reveals.
The 217,591-c | 82 |
\section{Introduction}
All the experimentally known fermions transform non-trivially
under the gauge group $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ of the standard model (SM).
However there are experimental
hints in the neutrino sector which suggest the existence of $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$
- singlet fermions mixing appreciably with the known neutrinos.
These hints come from
(a) the deficits in the solar \cite{solar} and atmospheric \cite{atm}
neutrino fluxes
(b) possible need of significant hot component \cite{dm} in the dark
matter of the universe and
(c) some indication of $\bar{\nu}_e-\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ oscillations in
the laboratory \cite{lsnd}.
These hints can be reconciled with each
other if there exists a fourth very light ($< {\cal O}$(eV))
neutrino mixed with some of the known neutrinos preferably
with the electron one. The fourth neutrino is
required to be sterile in view of the strong bounds on number of
neutrino flavours coming both from the LEP experiment
and from the primordial nucleosynthesis \cite{ns}.
The existence of a very light sterile neutrino demands theoretical
justification since unlike the active neutrinos, the mass of a
sterile state is not protected by the gauge symmetry of the SM
and hence could be very large. Usually a sterile neutrino is
considered on the same footing as the active neutrinos and some
ad hoc symmetry is introduced to keep this neutrino light.
Recently there are several attempts to construct models for sterile
neutrinos which have their<|fim_middle|> \rangle / \langle M_{Pl} \partial W/\partial Z +
W(Z)\overline{Z}/M_{Pl} \rangle $.
Note also that the field $C$ does not acquire a soft-breaking mass.
This mechanism can be generalized to arbitrary number of observable sector
fileds. For our purpose $C \equiv \sigma, y$, i.e., we couple $\sigma$ and $y$ to
the hidden sector field $Z$ with the above-mentioned choice for $a$.
\section{Conclusions}
Simultaneous presence of different neutrino anomalies points to the
existence of a sterile neutrino. In particular, the resonance conversion
of the electron neutrino into such a singlet fermion $S$ can explain
the solar neutrino problem provided its mass and mixing are appropriate
\refs{parameters}.
Supersymmetry is shown to provide a framework within which the existence
and the desired properties of such a light fermion follow naturally.
We have considered first a possibility that the sterile neutrino is
a quasi Goldstone fermion appearing in supersymmetric theories
as a result of spontaneous breaking of a global $U(1)_G$ symmetry.
This global $U(1)_G$ symmetry can be identified with the PQ
symmetry, the lepton number symmetry.
The smallness of $m_S$ can be attributed in supergravity theory
to no-scale kinetic terms for certain superfields.
The mixing of QGF with the neutrinos implies spontaneous or explicit
violation of $R$-parity. QGF can mix with neutrino via interaction with
Higgs multiplets (in the case of PQ symmetry) or directly via coupling with
the combination $L H_2$ (in the case of lepton number symmetry).
In the case of the PQ symmetry, the PQ-scale $f_{PQ}\sim 10^{10}-10^{12}$ GeV
determines several features of the model presented here.
It provides simultaneous explanation of the parameters $\epsilon$ and $\mu$ and
thus leads to small $R$-parity violation ($\epsilon LH_2$ with $\epsilon \sim 0.1$ MeV)
required in order to solve the solar neutrino problem in our approach.
It also provides the intermediate scale
for the right-handed neutrino masses which is required in order to solve
the dark matter and the atmospheric neutrino problem. Furthermore,
it controls the magnitude of the radiatively generated mass of the QGF
and allows it to be in the range needed for the
MSW solution of the solar neutrino problem.
Finally, the CDM can consist of the axion if $f_{PQ} \sim 10^{12}$ GeV.
Thus the basic scenario presented here is able to correlate variety of
phenomena.
The conservation of R-parity requires for the fermion $S$ to be
a component of singlet superfield which has no VEV.
This allows to construct simple model \refs{model3} in which the
properties (mass and mixing) of $S$ follow from the conservation of
$R$-symmetry. The singlet field is mixed with RH neutrinos by the
interaction with the field $y$ which can acquire VEV radiatively after soft
SUSY breaking.
Let us finally comment on the other phenomenological consequences of the
existence of such a sterile state $S$.
An $U(1)_G$ symmetry being generation-dependent \cite{paper1,paper2}
can provide simultaneous explanations for the predominant coupling of $S$ to
the first generation (thus satisfying the nucleosynthesis bound)
and for the pseudo-Dirac structure of $\nu_\mu$--$\nu_\tau$ needed in solving
the atmospheric neutrino and the hot dark matter problem.
In this case, it appears nontrivial to accommodate the
parameters of $\bar{\nu}_\mu \to \bar{\nu}_e$ oscillations in the region of
sensitivity of LSND and KARMEN experiments.
The simplest way is to introduce a slight violation of the $U(1)_G$ symmetry
through which such parameters can be incorporated.
| origin beyond the usual lepton
structure \cite{paper1,paper2,mirror1,mirror2,ma}.
In this report, we discuss the role of supersymmetry (SUSY) in explaining
both the existence and the lightness of a singlet fermion $S$ which can mix
with the neutrinos. As a case of special interest we will concentrate
on the mass of $S$ and its mixing with the electron neutrino in the range:
\begin{eqnarray} \label{parameters}
m_S &\simeq& (2-3)\cdot 10^{-3} \,{\rm eV} \nonumber\\
\sin\theta_{es} &\simeq& \tan\theta_{es} \simeq (2-6)\cdot 10^{-2} \;.
\end{eqnarray}
These values of parameters allow one to solve the solar neutrino
problem through the resonance conversion $\nu_e \to S$ \cite{msw}.
More discussions on simultaneous reconciliations of the diverse neutrino
problems can be found in refs.~\cite{paper1,paper2} on which this report is
based.
\section{Quasi Goldstone Fermion}
The existence of SM-singlet fields is a common property in physics
beyond the standard model.
The most interesting examples are the Goldstone bosons of spontaneously
broken global symmetries required to solve the strong CP problem (the
Peccei-Quinn symmetry) \cite{pq} and to explain the origin of neutrino masses
(the lepton number symmetry) \cite{cmp}.
In the SUSY limit, a spontaneously broken global
symmetry automatically generates a massless singlet (Goldstone) fermion
being a superpartner of a Goldstone boson. However, SUSY breakdown
results in generation of mass of a Goldstone fermion.
While the existence of these quasi Goldstone fermions (QGF)
is logically independent of neutrino physics, there are good
reasons to expect that these fermions will couple to neutrinos.
Indeed, in the case of lepton number symmetry the superfield which is
mainly responsible for the breakdown of the lepton number symmetry
carries nontrivial lepton number and therefore it can directly couple
to leptons if the charge is appropriate.
In the case of the PQ symmetry,
this superfield could couple to the Higgs supermultiplet.
If theory contains small violation of $R$-parity then this mixing
with the Higgs gets communicated to the neutrino sector.
Thus the occurrence of a QGF can have implications for neutrino
physics.
In the following subsections we elaborate upon the expected properties
of the QGF: their masses arising after SUSY breaking and
the mixing of these fermions with the electron neutrino.
\subsection{masses of QGF}
The supersymmetric standard model with some global symmetry $U(1)_G$ can be
characterized by the following superpotential:
\begin{equation} \label{w}
W=W_{MSSM}+W_S+W_{mixing} \;, \end{equation}
where $W$ is assumed to be invariant under $U(1)_G$.
As we outlined in the above, this symmetry may be identified with the
PQ symmetry, lepton number symmetry or combination thereof. The
first term in eq.~\refs{w} refers to the superpotential of the minimal
supersymmetric standard model (MSSM).
The second term contains $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ singlet superfields which are responsible
for the breakdown of $U(1)_G$.
The minimal choice for $W_S$ is
\begin{equation} \label{ws} W_S=\lambda (\sigma \sigma'- f_G^2) y \;, \end{equation}
where $\sigma,\sigma'$ carry non trivial $G$-charges and $f_G$ sets the
scale of $U(1)_G$ breaking.
The last term of eq.~\refs{w} describes mixing of the singlet
fields with the superfields of the MSSM.
In the case \refs{ws} the Goldstone fermion is contained in
$S\sim \sigma-\sigma'$ and is massless in the SUSY limit.
Broken SUSY itself cannot automatically protect the mass of a QGF.
It depends on the structure of the superpotential
$W_S$~\cite{chun1} and on the pattern of soft-terms~\cite{chun2}.
It also depends on the way this breaking is communicated to the singlet $S$
and the scale $f_G$ \cite{paper2}.
The most natural framework for light QGF is no-scale
supergravity~\cite{noscale}. No-scale models
contain only one kind of soft-terms, namely, gaugino masses.
Therefore, th soft SUSY-breaking terms corresponding to $W_S$ in eq.~\refs{w}
are absent at tree-level and thus QGF remains massless.
However, the radiative mass can be triggered by the $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ gaugino masses
through a set of interactions.
A realistic example can be found in the context of the seesaw mechanism.
The vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the field
$\sigma$ (or $\sigma'$) may give rise to large masses of right-handed (RH)
neutrinos $N$ as in the following superpotential invariant under
$U(1)_G$:
\begin{equation}\label{seesaw}
W = {m^D \over \langle H_2 \rangle} L N H_2 + \frac{M}{f_{G}} N N \sigma \;, \end{equation}
where we have omitted the generation indices.
The generation structure of the superpotential \refs{seesaw} will depend on
the $U(1)_G$-charge assignment to the fields \cite{paper2}.
This $U(1)_G$ symmetry is not necessarily the lepton number symmetry as we
will discuss in subsection 2.2.
The first term in eq.~\refs{seesaw} gives rise to the Dirac masses
of the neutrinos, whereas the second one gives the Majorana masses of
RH neutrino components.
The scale $f_{G} \sim 10^{10} - 10^{12} \,{\rm GeV}$ generates
$M \sim 10^{10}-10^{11}$ GeV required by the hot dark matter
and atmospheric neutrinos.
If the soft-term $A_N NN\sigma$ with $A_N \sim m_{3/2}$ is present, there appears
one-loop mass of the QGF proportional to $A_N$ \cite{ckl}.
But in no-scale models $A_N=0$ at tree-level and the QGF mass is
indeed generated in three loops as shown in Figure~1.
\begin{figure}
\begin{picture}(200,150)(-220,-20)
\put(-80,0){\line(160,0){160}}
\multiput(0,0)(0,-2.5){10}{\circle*{.1}}
\multiput(-50,0)(0,2.5){30}{\circle*{.1}}
\multiput(50,0)(0,2.5){30}{\circle*{.1}}
\put(-50,75){\line(4,3){50}}
\put(-50,75){\line(4,-3){50}}
\multiput(50,75)(-2,1.5){25}{\circle*{.1}}
\multiput(50,75)(-2,-1.5){25}{\circle*{.1}}
\multiput(50,75)(2,1.5){10}{\circle*{.1}}
\put(0,37.5){\line(0,75){75}}
\put(0,75){\makebox(0,0){$\times$}} \put(3,73){$m_{1/2}$}
\put(70,90){\makebox(0,0){$\times$}} \put(67.5,81){$\sigma$}
\put(0,-25){\makebox(0,0){$\times$}} \put(3,-27){$\sigma$}
\put(-80,5){\makebox(0,0){$S$}}
\put(80,5){\makebox(0,0){$S$}}
\put(-25,5){\makebox(0,0){$N$}}
\put(25,5){\makebox(0,0){$N$}}
\put(-28,99){\makebox(0,0){$L$}}
\put(28,99){\makebox(0,0){$L$}}
\put(-28,50){\makebox(0,0){$H_2$}}
\put(29,49){\makebox(0,0){$H_2$}}
\put(-62,37.5){$N$}
\put(52,37.5){$N$}
\end{picture}
\caption{Three-loop diagram for the QGF mass.
The cross with $m_{1/2}$ denotes gaugino mass insertion.}
\end{figure}
This three-loop mass can be estimated as
\begin{equation} \label{radmass3}
m_S \simeq {\alpha_2\over (4\pi)^5} {m_{\nu} M^3 \over v_2^2 f_{G}^2} m_{1/2}
\;. \end{equation}
Here $\alpha_2$ and $m_{1/2}$ are the $SU(2)$ fine structure constant and
gaugino mass respectively.
For $m_\nu \simeq 3$ eV, $m_{1/2} \simeq v_2 \simeq 100$ GeV, and $f_G \simeq
10^{12}$ GeV, one gets $m_S \simeq 3 \cdot 10^{-3}$ eV with a value of
$M \simeq 10^{10}$ GeV.
A contribution to the mass of the QGF can follow also from
interactions, $W_{mixing}$, which mix $S$ with usual neutrinos
(subsection 2.2).
\subsection{Neutrino-QGF mixing}
We now discuss how the QGF can mix with neutrinos.
Such a mixing implies the violation of $R$-parity
conventionally imposed in the MSSM \cite{hall}. This is simply because that
the leptons being ordinary matter fields are $R$-even and the QGF being a
fermionic partner of a Goldstone boson is $R$-odd.
The violation of $R$-parity may destabilize the lightest supersymmetric
particle (LSP) which is usually considered as the cold dark matter (CDM)
of the Universe.
For this reason, we consider the PQ symmetry as a good candidate for
$U(1)_G$ since the coherent oscillation of the axion can provide the CDM
for $f_{PQ} \sim 10^{12}$ GeV \cite{kt}.
Therefore, the PQ mechanism required for a resolution of the strong CP
problem can supply both the CDM and the sterile neutrino.
The best way to implement the PQ symmetry in the MSSM is to extend the Higgs
mass term in such a way that the smallness of the Higgs mass parameter $\mu$
can be naturally obtained. For instance, let us consider the
non-renormalizable term \cite{mu}
\begin{equation} \label{nr}
\lambda H_1H_2\frac{\sigma^2}{M_P}\;, \end{equation}
where $M_P$ is the Planck mass \footnote{One can also introduce the
renormalizable term to generate $\mu \simeq m_{3/2}$ \cite{chun3}.}.
Here the VEV of $\sigma$, $\langle \sigma \rangle
\sim f_{PQ}$, spontaneously breaks the PQ symmetry.
In this case, $\mu= \lambda\frac{\langle\sigma\rangle^2}{M_P}$ can be about the weak
scale. When the axion superfield $S$ is predominantly consists of $\sigma$,
the PQ symmetry breaking yields the Higgs mass term and the coupling of $S$
to the Higgs superfields
\begin{equation}\label{mix1} W_{mixing}=c_\mu\frac{\mu}{f_{PQ}}H_1H_2S + \mu H_1H_2 \end{equation}
with $c_\mu$ being ${\cal O}(1)$.
In order to have the mixing of $S$ with neutrinos, one needs the lepton
number violating term $\epsilon LH_2$.
It is remarkable to notice that the PQ scale is in the right range for
the RH neutrino masses.
The PQ symmetry can indeed play a role of the lepton number symmetry if
both the Higgs and leptons transform non-trivially under the PQ symmetry
as in ref.~\cite{lpy}. In this case one can correlate
the origin of $\epsilon$ and $\mu$ to the same symmetry breaking scale $f_{PQ}$.
The neutrino and Higgs coupling to QGF is then given by
\begin{eqnarray}\label{mix3}
W_{mixing}&=&\mu H_1H_2+\epsilon L_eH_2 + \nonumber\\
& & c_{\mu}\frac{\mu}{f_{PQ}}H_1H_2S +
c_{\epsilon}\frac{\epsilon}{f_{PQ}}L_eH_2S \;, \end{eqnarray}
where $L_e$ is the electron doublet.
If the PQ symmetry is the standard one unrelated to
the lepton sector, the parameter $\epsilon$ vanishes.
On the other hand, the global $U(1)$ symmetry becomes
the usual lepton number symmetry when $c_\mu = 0$ and the bare $\mu$-term is
introduced.
An example of models which leads to the mixing terms of eq.~\refs{mix3}
can be obtained by the PQ-charge prescription ($-1$,$-1$, 1,$-1$,$-2$) for
($H_1$, $H_2$, $\sigma$, $\sigma'$, $L_e$). It permits
the following $U(1)_{PQ}$ invariant superpotential:
\begin{equation} \label{model2}
W = \lambda (\sigma\s' - f_{PQ}^2)y + {\delta_\mu \over M_P} H_1 H_2 \sigma^2
+{\delta_\epsilon \over M_P^2} L_e H_2 \sigma^3 \;, \end{equation}
which gives the terms displayed in eq.~(\ref{mix3}) with
$c_\epsilon={3\over\sqrt{2}},c_\mu=\sqrt{2}$.
\smallskip
The $W_{mixing}$ in eq.~\refs{mix3}
generates the following effective mass matrix for $\nu_e$ and $S$
\begin{equation}\label{matrix3}
\left( \begin{array}{cc}
0&(c_\epsilon-c_\mu) \epsilon v\sin\beta/ f_{PQ}\\
(c_\epsilon-c_\mu) \epsilon v\sin\beta/ f_{PQ}
&m_S^0- c_{\mu}^2\mu v^2 \sin2\beta / f_{PQ}^2\\
\end{array} \right) \;, \end{equation}
where we added the direct mass $m_S^0$ which can be generated by the
mechanism of subsection 2.1.
According to eq.~\refs{matrix3} the $\nu_e-S$ mixing angle $\theta_{es}$
is determined by
\begin{equation}\label{ts2}
\tan \theta_{es}\sim \frac{(c_\mu-c_\epsilon) \epsilon v\sin\beta}
{m_S^0 f_{PQ}- c_{\mu}^2\mu v^2 \sin2\beta / f_{PQ}} \;. \end{equation}
For $f_{PQ} \simeq 10^{12}$ GeV, $m_S^0 \simeq 3\cdot 10^{-3}$ eV is the
dominant contribution to the mass of $S$. In this case one obtains from
eq.~(\ref{ts2}) for the $\nu_e-S$ mixing
\begin{equation} \label{ts1}
\tan \theta_{es}\sim \frac{\epsilon v \sin \beta}
{m_S^0 f_{PQ}}\;. \end{equation}
Then the desired value, $\tan \theta_{es} \sim (2 - 6)\cdot 10^{-2} \,{\rm eV}$
\refs{parameters}, can be obtained if the $R$-parity breaking parameter
$\epsilon$ equals
\begin{equation} \label {epsis}
\epsilon \sim \frac{m_S^0 f_{PQ} \tan \theta_{es}}{v \sin\beta}
\approx (2 - 6)\cdot 10^{-16} \frac{f_{PQ}}{\sin \beta} \;. \end{equation}
For $f_{PQ} \sim 10^{12}$ GeV one has $\epsilon \sim 0.1$ MeV.
Let us remark the other possibilities for the QGF mass.
If $m_S^0 = 0$ in eq.~\refs{matrix3}, the QGF mass,
$m_S = (2 - 3)\cdot 10^{-3} \,{\rm eV}$
can be obtained for the marginally allowed value of the PQ scale:
\begin{equation} f_{PQ} \approx v \sqrt{\frac{\mu \sin 2\beta}{m_S}}
\stackrel{\scriptstyle <}{\scriptstyle\sim} 4 \cdot10^9 \,{\rm GeV} \;. \end{equation}
For $f_{PQ} > 10^{10}$ GeV the QGF mass generated via $\mu$-term
is too small for the MSW solution. For $f_{PQ} \sim 10^{11}$ GeV,
$m_S \approx 10^{-5} \,{\rm eV}$ is in the region of ``just-so" solution
of the solar neutrino problem.
In these cases, however, axions cannot provide the CDM as we noted before.
\section{A light singlet in the standard seesaw structure}
In the previous case, the QGF mixes with the electron neutrino directly ($\epsilon
c_\epsilon \neq 0$) or via its coupling to the Higgses ($c_\mu \neq 0$). The small
mass of the QGF was related to the multi-loop effect or the suppression by
$1/f_{PQ}^2$ due to the Goldstone property. An important consequence was the
$R$-parity violation leading to destabilization of the LSP.
In this section, we will suggest another scheme in which $R$-parity is
preserved. For this, one should place the singlet $S$ in the superfield with
zero VEV. This implies that the singlet has to be introduced from outside.
Being a singlet $S$ can mix with neutrinos via its coupling to the
right-handed neutrinos. In this case, the existence of $S$ cannot be
explained but the smallness of its mass can be understood in terms of
the seesaw mechanism. In order to implement a light singlet fermion in the
standard seesaw structure, we will suggest to use $R$-symmetry which
occurs in many SUSY theories. The (unbroken) $R$-parity is then
embedded in the $R$-symmetry.
\smallskip
Let us first determine the parameters appearing in the phenomenological
superpotential
\begin{equation} \label{base}
W = {m_e \over \langle H_2 \rangle}L_e N_eH_2 + {M_e\over 2}N_eN_e
+ m_{es}N_e S \;, \end{equation}
where $N_e$ is the right-handed neutrino component.
The Dirac mass $m_e$ and the mixing mass $m_{es}$
are much smaller than the Majorana mass $M_e$: $m_e, m_{es} \ll M_e$.
The superpotential \refs{base} leads to the mass matrix in the basis
$(S, \nu_e, N_e)$:
\begin{equation} \label{mm1}
{\cal M} = \left(\ba{ccc} 0 & 0 & m_{es}\\ 0 & 0 & m_e \\ m_{es} & m_e & M_e
\ea\right) \;.
\end{equation}
The diagonalization of \refs{mm1} is straightforward. One combination of
$\nu_e$ and $S$ is massless and the orthogonal combination
acquires a mass via the see-saw mechanism:
\begin{equation} \label{m1}
m_1 \simeq -{m_e^2 + m_{es}^2 \over M_e}\;.
\end{equation}
The mass of the heavy neutrino is $\simeq M_e$.
The $\nu_e$--$S$ mixing angle is determined by
\begin{equation} \label{th}
\tan\theta_{es} = {m_e \over m_{es}} \;.
\end{equation}
Taking for $m_e$ the typical Dirac mass of the first generation:
$m_e \sim (1-5) \,{\rm MeV}$, and suggesting that $\nu_e \rightarrow
S$ conversion explains the solar neutrino problem with $m_1 =m_S$
as in \refs{parameters}, we find
\begin{equation} \label{mis}
m_{es} = {m_e \over \tan\theta_{es}} \simeq (0.02-0.3) \,{\rm GeV} \;.
\end{equation}
According to \refs{m1} the RH mass scale is
\begin{equation} \label{Mis}
M_e \simeq m_{es}^2/m_1 = {m^2_e \over m_1 \tan^2\theta_{es}}
\simeq (10^8-3\cdot10^{10})\,{\rm GeV}\;.
\end{equation}
One has now to understand how the mixing mass \refs{mis} arises without
introducing new mass scales.
One also has to ensure that there is no direct coupling of $S$ with $L_e$,
and the mass term $SS$ is absent or negligibly small.
\smallskip
Our prescription is quite simple. Consider the superpotential
\begin{equation} \label{model3}
W = {m_e\over \langle H_2\rangle} L_e N_eH_2 + f N_e N_e\sigma + f' N_e S y
- {\lambda \over 2}(\sigma^2 - M^2)y \;. \end{equation}
whose structure is determined by the $R$-symmetry
under which the fields ($L_e$, $N_e$, $S$, $y$, $\sigma$, $H_2$) carry
the $R$-charges (1, 1,$-1$, 2, 0, 0).
Note that the $R$-symmetry forbids the bare mass terms $SS$ as well as
the coupling $SS\sigma$. The last term in eq.~\refs{model3} can be replaced by
$(\sigma\s'-M^2)y$ to implement the lepton number symmetry.
In the global SUSY limit, $\sigma$ gets non-zero
VEV $\langle \sigma \rangle \simeq M \sim 10^{11}$ GeV which generates the Majorana
mass of $N_e$: $M_{e} = f \langle \sigma \rangle$.
The point is that $y$ develops a VEV as a consequence of SUSY breaking.
Broken SUSY produces the following soft-breaking terms in the scalar
potential:
\begin{eqnarray} \label{soft}
V_{soft} &=& \{ A_L {m_e \over \langle H_2 \rangle} L_e N_eH_2 +
fA_\nu N_e N_e\sigma + f' A_S N_eSy - \nonumber\\
& & {\lambda \over2}(A_y\sigma^2 - B_yM^2)y + \mbox{h.c.} \} +
\sum_i m_i^2 |z_i|^2 \;, \end{eqnarray}
where $z_i$ denotes the fields appearing in the superpotential \refs{model3}
and $A_L$, etc., are the soft-breaking parameters.
Minimization of the potential shows the following:
(1) The fields $L_e, N_e, S$ do not develop VEV and therefore $R$-parity is
unbroken.
(2) The field $y$ acquires non-zero VEV due to the soft-breaking terms.
Consequently, the mixing mass for $S$ and $N_e$ appears:
\begin{equation} \label{mis2}
m_{es}= {f'\over 2\lambda}(A_y-B_y) \end{equation}
Since $m_{es} \gg m_1$, no strong tunning of $A_y-B_y$ is needed.
For $A_y-B_y \sim {\cal O}(m_{3/2})$,
the desired value of $m_{es}$ \refs{mis}
can be obtained by choosing $f'/\lambda \sim 10^{-3}-10^{-2}$.
However, more elegant possibility is that $A_y=B_y$ at tree level
but a non-zero value for $A_y - B_y$ is generated due to radiative
corrections through the differences in interactions of $\sigma$ and $y$.
In this case one expects
\begin{equation} \label{mrad}
m_{es} \sim {\bar{\lambda}^2\over 16\pi^2} m_{3/2} \;,
\end{equation}
where $\bar{\lambda}$ represents a combination of the constants $\lambda,f$ and $f'$.
As a consequence, the value $m_{es}\sim 0.1$ GeV does not require
smallness of $\bar{\lambda}$ or $f'$.
The equality $A_y = B_y$ at tree level can be achieved by the
introduction of non-minimal K\"ahler potential allowing
mixings between the observable and hidden sectors.
Let us introduce the following K\"ahler potential:
\begin{equation}
K = C\overline{C} + C\overline{C}(a\frac{Z}{M_{Pl}} +
\overline{a}\frac{\overline{Z}}{M_{Pl}}) + Z\overline{Z} \;,
\end{equation}
where $C$ and $Z$ represent an observable and hidden sector field,
respectively. Then usual assumption that the observable sector has no
direct coupling to the hidden sector in superpotential, $W=W(C) + W(Z)$,
leads to the universal soft-terms:
\begin{equation}
V_{soft} \sim m_{3/2} W(C) + \mbox{h.c.} \;,
\end{equation}
provided $\overline{a}= \langle W(Z) | 6,338 |
We are now in a study of the of the last judgment that reveals what God must do with those who reject His peace offering of salvation in time by means of grace through faith alone in Christ alone and as a result remain in conflict with God's justice.
We have noted that when the unbeliever believes in Jesus Christ and becomes a believer they are aligned with God's justice because of the imputation of God's righteousness.
The divine solution for the unbeliever in spiritual death is faith in Christ. The divine solution for the believer in cosmic or carnal death from post salvation personal sin is to acknowledge any known sin to God. God always provides the perfect solution that matches the situation.
Salvation is by the function of faith alone in Christ alone and the function of the last nine problem solving devices is by the function of the faith-rest drill.
The only exception is the first problem-solving device of rebound because rebound is only used when the believer is under OSN control of the soul and as a result is not listening to God the Holy Spirit. This means that rebound does not function by means of the filling of the Spirit or by faith because that power is unavailable to the believer who is functioning in carnal or cosmic death.
The function of faith in the spiritual life is connected to the function of the stages of the faith rest drill. There is no promise to claim in rebound there is simply the mandate to follow God's instructions to acknowledge any known sin to God.
Believers who are under OSN control of the soul cannot deploy the faith-rest drill because they are not functioning under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. God's solutions are not emotional they are doctrinal. Believers simply obey God's mandate.
Rebound is based on the function of the believer's royal priesthood. To recover a believer priest simply fulfills the function of the Greek verb "homologeo" that means to admit, name, cite, or acknowledge your sin to God.
"Homologeo" does not include the concept of faith, because all post salvation faith only functions under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. The recovery of the filling of the Spirit through rebound recovers the power of faith-rest.
When believers name their sins by simply following instructions, God is faithful and always does the same thing. God forg<|fim_middle|> that the New Testament calls "the calling of God." The gifts and "calling of God" are irrevocable; Rom 11:29; God never changes His mind. He always invites everyone to believe in Jesus Christ. This invitation is issued through the communication of the Gospel.
In efficacious grace, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit makes faith in Christ effective for salvation.
2Cor 6:1-2; "We also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
v2 For He says, (Isa 49:8;) `At an acceptable time, I listened to you (positive volition at common grace), and on the day of salvation, I helped you (efficacious grace).' Behold, now is the time for acceptance (while we're alive); behold, now is the day for salvation."
The fact that this statement is quoted from an Old Testament passage indicates that God the Holy Spirit's grace ministry is trans-dispensational. Salvation is the same in all dispensations.
This grace ministry or "help" is required because of mankind's spiritual brain death. At the point of Gospel hearing, the unbeliever is spiritually dead which means he has spiritual brain death. Spiritual brain death he has no ability to comprehend spiritual things including the Gospel.
The reasons why the unbeliever is in a state of brain death regarding spiritual phenomena is because everyone is born in a state of total depravity, total separation from God, and total helplessness. | ives you and purifies you from all wrongdoing.
The principle is that God's integrity or His Holiness is never compromised by mankind's failure. If any human works were included in God's provision for mankind's failure God would be compromised but He is not because there is no human merit or human works involved.
God's' integrity is not compromised by faith alone in Christ alone at salvation.
God's integrity is not compromised by God's personal love for the believer.
God's integrity is not compromised when believers' acknowledge their sins for recovery of fellowship with God.
The indictment against unbelievers is based upon their insistence on relying on human good works. Sins are never mentioned because Jesus was judged for all sins on the cross. The only topic of discussion at the unbeliever's last judgment will be the unbeliever's good works and God's rejection of those good works.
The next thing that believers need to understand to witness properly is that God the Holy Spirit is the sovereign agent of witnessing so believers must recognize that it is impossible to witness effectively apart from the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
For the believer to properly understand this they must themselves be functioning under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8; 2Cor 3:3; so that they have the capacity to wait on God for the desired result to be accomplished.
Believers should never try to force a decision for Christ. It is God the Holy Spirit's responsibility to convict.
Remember that divine institution #1 is free volition that includes both freedom and privacy in decision-making. Believers provide the Gospel information and leave the results with God. The Gospel is designed to persuade, not to compel the unbeliever to believe in Jesus Christ.
Avoid gimmicks, emotional begging, and public invitations to raise hands or walk aisles. These are psychological and emotional and have no legitimate part in witnessing.
The convicting ministry of God the Holy Spirit functions in the categories of common and efficacious grace so this brings us to the doctrine of the convicting ministry of God the Holy Spirit and the doctrines of common and efficacious grace.
Real spiritual death is the condition of all mankind at the moment of physical birth when God imputes Adam's original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature that resides in the cell structure of the human body of every naturally born person.
Being born spiritually dead means we have spiritual brain death that results in the inability to understand anything related to the spiritual life or to Bible doctrine, including the Gospel.
The total depravity of real spiritual death also establishes trends toward both moral and immoral degeneracy.
Real spiritual death creates total separation from God and total helplessness to establish a relationship with God. We cannot comprehend anything spiritual. We cannot contact God. God must contact us.
Every person will eventually become either morally or immorally degenerate apart from restraint from the laws of divine establishment that motivates a certain category of virtue in unbelievers and regeneration or being born again that motivates an even greater virtue in believers who learn and apply Bible doctrine.
Because every person begins physical life in the status of spiritual death, the work of salvation must be the work of God on behalf of each one of us. That work begins with God addressing our spiritual brain death.
All three persons in the Godhead are involved in helping us to have a relationship with God. God the Father is the author of the plan to save the human race that called for Him to impute and judge all our sins in Jesus Christ on the cross.
God the Son willingly received that imputation and judgment for our sins, and His shout of " tetelestai" on the cross proved that salvation was completed on the cross. He willingly took our place in judgment.
God the Holy Spirit's ministries address the entire spiritually dead human race. His first ministry is the pre-salvation clarification of the Gospel. This is classified theologically as the doctrine of common grace.
When there is a positive response, God the Holy Spirit takes the faith of the spiritually dead person and makes it effective for salvation. This is classified theologically as the doctrine of efficacious grace.
These two enabling ministries of the Holy Spirit in evangelism can be compared to breathing. The inhale corresponds to the unbeliever in a state of spiritual death hearing the Gospel, that God the Holy Spirit makes understandable.
The exhale corresponds to the spiritually dead person believing in Jesus Christ for salvation when their faith that is not their own (Eph 2:8;) is made effectual for salvation through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
The spiritually dead person is dead to God so all of the works that the spiritually dead person does are dead works. They are dead works because they depend upon the power and ability of the spiritually dead person who is in a state of total depravity, total separation from God, and total helplessness so from God's point of view they are unable do anything.
The grace ministry of God the Holy Spirit in our so-great salvation is not as clearly understood. In the process of evangelism there are two categories of volition required from the spiritually dead person.
The volition of the unbeliever, who in spiritual brain death cannot comprehend the Gospel, but still chooses to listen is a totally non- meritorious decision that is compatible with grace and faith. He cannot comprehend the Gospel, but the Holy Spirit makes it understandable.
The volition of the spiritually dead person who responds to the Gospel exhales faith in Christ. Though that faith is ineffective because it is coming from a spiritually dead person God the Holy Spirit makes it effective.
These two functions of the spiritually dead person are noted in Eph 1:13, "In whom also, when you listened to the message of truth (common grace), the Gospel of your salvation (content of common grace), having also believed (efficacious grace), you were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise."
The sealing ministry of God the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of the validity of common and efficacious grace. It is the guarantee of eternal salvation, it is the guarantee of eternal security, and it is the guarantee of the conveyance of the portfolio of invisible assets including escrow blessings for time and eternity.
The grace functions of God's sovereignty in evangelism include the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in making the Gospel understandable, lucid, and comprehensible.
It includes the invitation of God the Father and God the Son to believe in Jesus Christ. This is classified as being called and it means the God the Holy Spirit has made the spiritual information that is contained in the Gospel understandable to the spiritually dead person..
It also includes the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit in making faith in Jesus Christ effective for eternal salvation. The spiritually dead person can listen to the Gospel and believe in Jesus Christ. But these decisions are incapable of providing salvation apart from the work of God the Holy Spirit.
The spiritually dead person is impotent, incapacitated, and powerless to be saved through his own works, merit, and ability. Man constantly wants to do something to impress God. But God the Father is only impressed with the work of God the Son.
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit provides the ability to accept the invitation to believe in Jesus Christ. Common grace is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in making the Gospel lucid and understandable to the unbelieving person who is spiritually brain dead.
Efficacious grace is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in making the faith of the spiritually dead person effective for eternal salvation. Common and efficacious grace emphasize the total helplessness of the spiritually dead person. No matter what a spiritually dead person can do, it is not sufficient for salvation.
Salvation is accomplished exclusively by faith alone in Jesus Christ because faith alone in Christ alone is the only thing that God the Holy Spirit makes effective for salvation.
The spiritually dead person can make legitimate decisions to listen to the Gospel and to believe in Christ. But these positive decisions originate from spiritual death so they have no efficacy apart from the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
This emphasizes the importance of God the Holy Spirit in evangelism. The Holy Spirit is the sovereign executive of the Gospel.
The works of a dead person have no place in evangelism. This means that both hearing the Gospel and believing in Jesus Christ are non- meritorious and therefore compatible with God's grace.
God has decreed that the free will of mankind and the sovereignty of God coexist in human history. The free will of mankind is totally separated from God and totally helpless to do anything about it in spiritual death.
Therefore, common grace is the work of the Holy Spirit in making the Gospel understandable. God's calling is the invitation of God the Father to believe in Christ and efficacious grace is the work of the Holy Spirit that takes faith Jesus Christ and makes it effective for eternal salvation.
Since mankind is born physically alive in spiritual death the only opportunity for eternal salvation is during the period of time that unglorified humanity resides on the earth. This means that the opportunity for eternal life only exists when individuals are physically alive between their physical birth and their physical death.
The positive volitional decisions that the spiritually dead person can only make in time are the decision to hear the Gospel and the decision to believe in Jesus Christ.
Once the spiritually dead person dies physically, God's Word tells us that the door is closed forever. There is no purgatory or halfway house. No one can buy anyone out of or pray anyone out of the torments section of Hades that results in consignment to the Lake of Fire at the Last Judgment.
2Cor 6:2; "Now is the time of acceptance (while we're alive); behold, now is the day of salvation."
The spiritually dead person must make those two decisions in time, for only in time will God the Holy Spirit validate those decisions with His ministry of common and efficacious grace.
In common grace, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit makes the Gospel understandable. In the calling that follows common grace, God the Father invites the spiritually dead person to believe in Christ.
It is an invitation | 2,040 |
PLC |
Tesco is partnering with Gorillas to pilot ultra-fast delivery for customers
Tesco has launched a pilot with rapid-delivery<|fim_middle|> to Gorillas to sell on its app. Customers will need to set up their own Gorillas account to use the service. The first of the five locations is Tesco's Thornton Heath store. The remaining locations will be confirmed in the coming weeks and months.
Delivery fulfilled by Gorillas ltd. £1.80 delivery charge. Gorillas aim to deliver within 10 minutes. Products may vary from Tesco standard range. For full T&Cs and delivery hours see tesco.com/gorillas.
Perfectly Imperfect initiative saves 50m packs of fruit and veg at risk of going to waste
Tesco receives royal approval for its approach to sustainability in Terra Carta Seal award win | company, Gorillas, to offer Tesco customers the chance to get their favourite products in just 10 minutes.
From today (28 October), Tesco products will be available to purchase on the Gorillas app and immediately delivered to customers in a selected area.
The partnership will see Gorillas set up micro-fulfilment sites at five large Tesco stores, where they will pick, pack and deliver to customers in the time it takes to pre-heat the oven. The first micro-fulfilment site will use excess warehouse space within the Thornton Heath Tesco store and stock a selection of around 2,000 products.
Combining Tesco's in depth understanding of its customers with Gorillas' experience in rapid delivery will ensure the service can offer a fantastic selection of products to meet customers' last minute needs, from forgotten items such as nappies or milk, to dinner for that evening.
Tesco is the largest online food retailer in the UK, delivering to 99.8% of UK postcodes and with over 400 Click & Collect locations. This partnership will add yet another convenient service to Tesco's online offer, catering to those that want food for now.
This year, Tesco also rolled out Tesco Whoosh, a 60-minute grocery delivery service, to around 50 Express stores and now expects to reach 100 stores by the end of the year. Tesco Whoosh has been particularly popular with customers looking to make their top-up shop even more convenient.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK & ROI CEO said, "The idea that we can reach our customers in just ten minutes is really exciting. We are committed to being easily the most convenient choice for our customers, enabling them to shop whenever and however they want. This pilot with Gorillas will help customers get their products right away, supporting those looking to buy food for tonight or last minute forgotten items. We look forward to hearing what our customers think."
Adrian Frenzel, Gorillas COO said, "We're thrilled to be announcing this first-of-its-kind commercial and real estate partnership with Tesco. As a fast-paced company at the forefront of the on demand grocery industry, we are always looking for ways to innovate, and this co-location partnership will bring unprecedented value to our customers in the UK who will now have the possibility to be delivered the best of Tesco within minutes thanks to Gorillas."
About the partnership:
Tesco provides products exclusively | 507 |
Man, do we love those dungarees here! Can't stop wearing them and noticing the indigo abrasion everyday. Impossible for me to photographically capture the beauty of the fabric, but the<|fim_middle|> to keep the indigo contrast and starch.
* Silhouette: 1930′s work slacks, straight leg.
* Pockets: Slash front pockets/Back "never ripum" style pockets/Ankle "tools-maps" pockets/Watch/Zippo pocket.
* Pocketing: MFSC original blue Chambray (end-on-end) cotton. NOS plaid fabric lining for Watch/Zippo pocket. | combo indigo "soaked" yarn warp and black dyed yarn weft has a life of it's own.
The face of the raw fabric looks like a rich very dark indigo/black. The inside looks black.
* Pattern: An all original MFSC pattern, inspired by twill work chino pants, old denim dungarees and European 20′s-30′s slacks.
* Fabric: 10 oz. original MFSC exclusive denim cotton twill, milled in Japan. Indigo warp x black weft. Royal blue selvedge ID. Non-sanforized (=not pre-shrunk).
Expect an average shrinkage of 5%, and recurring shrinking/stretching with wash and wear. Wash with COLD water, minimal mild detergent | 160 |
Drive urges older people to get online
Published on 11 April 2013 11:30 AM
A new campaign is being launched this month aimed at creating thousands of new silver surfers.
It comes as new figures suggest that many of the older generation are being left behind by the internet era.
More than 7 million residents in the UK have never used the web - that's around 1 in 9<|fim_middle|>She said this helps people become more discriminating consumers and enable them to research and manage issues such as health, well-being and money.
The drive is also backed by the charity Go ON UK. Its CEO Graham Walker said the web has improved the lives of 86% of people aged 55 plus who are online, but millions have still never benefited from using it.
He said initiatives such as Spring Online play a 'vital' role in highlighting those benefits.
The latest Spring Online campaign is delivered by Digital Unite, one of the UK's leading providers of digital skills learning, in association with Carphone Warehouse.
Several Carphone Warehouse shops are participating to stage digital taster sessions as well as BMI Healthcare and Marks and Spencer. | people. 9 out of 10 of these (6.3 million) are aged over 55.
Spring Online initiative wants to give thousands of older people and less confident users their first taste of digital technology from April 22.
As many as 30,000 people were helped to get online, many for the first time, by Spring Online's 2,000 nationwide events last year.
This year's events for Spring Online are being held in many diverse locations.
These include a candle factory, a paper mill, a London street market, the DVLA in Swansea, a job centre in Salford and the Peace Factory in Northern Ireland.
Other more conventional venues staging free digital tasters to help people get online include libraries, schools, sheltered housing schemes, UK online centres, cafes and community groups, village halls and churches.
A number of local Age UKs will also be taking part:
Find your local Spring Online event on the Digital Unite website
Millions still missing out on the benefits of being online
Digital Unite managing director and founder Emma Solomon OBE said Spring Online has made a 'fantastic difference' over the years, helping hundreds of thousands of people take the first steps on their digital journey.
Ms Solomon said: 'Having access to digital technology and being equipped with the skills to use it, is a must-have in today's digital society.'
| 286 |
About the ACTG
Leadership and Organizational Matrix
ACTG Committees and Centers
Underrepresented Populations
Contact the LOC
About the Clinical Trials Process
Active Clinical Trials
Clinical Trials Resources
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They Became My Family
Network Spotlights
Specimen Repository Website
HIV Databases
Spotlight on Morenike Giwa
Morenike Giwa hails from a public health background, but it was an interaction between her adopted daughter and a dentist that motivated her to become involved with the AIDS Clinical Trials Group's (ACTG) site in Houston, Texas, USA.
When Giwa and her daughter arrived for their biannual dental appointment, they were told a dentist who recently joined the practice would see them. When the new dentist scanned the young girl's medical chart and noticed she was living with HIV, which she acquired from her birth mother in Africa, the dentist refused to treat the child and asked Giwa's usual dentist to perform the routine cleaning.
"It was a shocking and disheartening experience," Giwa says. "I had this warm, fuzzy feeling when I adopted her at five-years-old. And then the incident at the dentist's office happened and it didn't end there. We had a family friend refuse to let her young daughter play with my daughter during a birthday party. I knew this was all coming from people's ignorance and fear. I was sad she was being treated this poorly and I felt the need to find friends for her."
Giwa and her husband have six children, two biological and four adopted. Their adopted children are all refugees from Africa. In addition to her daughter who was born with<|fim_middle|> to interact socially with other families facing similar issues in order to build meaningful relationships."
"Children should grow up with a supportive group around them," says Giwa. "We have people who come to our events where the mother is living with HIV and the children are not. Or the children are positive and the parents are not. Some families are public about their status and some are private. We are all different."
The volunteer-run Positive Playdates connects families with services and support agencies in the city as well as partnering with other organizations such as Camp Hope and the AIDS Foundation of Houston to raise awareness. In fact, Giwa was flying from the ACTG's Scientific Retreat in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, directly back to Houston to participate with her family and other members of Positive Playdates in a walk on March 10 in honor of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
"Positive Playdates also allows me to encourage people to join the Ryan White Planning Council and the ACTG CAB in Houston," says Giwa. "Others educate people in their church or synagogue or have started a blog. Whatever works for you. It's so important that people don't stay in their silo."
With her term on CSS ending in 2013, Giwa still plans on remaining involved within the ACTG with a run for the position of Houston CAB Chair. She hopes future research continues to focus on HIV reservoirs in the body as well as co-infections, particularly Hepatitis C virus (HCV), tuberculosis (TB) and human papilloma virus (HPV). When asked to reflect on her most memorable ACTG moments, two come to mind.
"We lost a CAB member from St. Louis last year, Philip Anthony, and then another CAB member lost their child to HIV," Giwa says. "No matter how long you are involved with this work, you are never immune to the sting of losing a friend to this virus, especially those who have been so brave and inspire us to continue to work for a cure."
"My second most memorable moment is when I attended the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, following the ACTG annual retreat last summer with my daughter who is living with HIV. She had just turned 11 and she met Timothy Ray Brown (the only known adult cured of HIV)," says Giwa. "She turned to me and said, 'Wow mom, that man was cured.' Seeing him gave us hope."
The mission of the ACTG Network
is to cure HIV and reduce the
burden of disease due to HIV
and its complications, including
tuberculosis and viral hepatitis.
Grants and Contracts
© ACTG. All Rights Reserved. | admin login | HIV, she adopted three children who were orphaned by the HIV epidemic there. After joining several online groups for parents with children infected or affected by HIV, Giwa decided a local group was needed and that she wanted to learn more about HIV. She became involved with the Ryan White Planning Council in Houston where she heard a presentation by the ACTG. In 2008, she joined the Community Advisory Board (CAB) of the ACTG's Houston AIDS Research Team Clinical Research Site (CRS).
"I was finding resources in Houston for teens or gay men, but none for children and families," Giwa says. "It's important for people to know that HIV is very diverse and there is no one face for this virus."
After spending a few months working with the ACTG's Houston CAB, Giwa decided to formally apply to be one of the 28 world-wide ACTG Community Scientific Subcommittee (CSS) representatives. CSS reps sit on protocols providing input to study teams as a hypothesis is being conceived, designed and tested.
"I applied on a whim to be a CSS representative in 2009," Giwa says. "I've always had an interest in research and I was trying to learn all about HIV since my four children were impacted by the virus. I was like a sponge absorbing all this information."
Her first year of her four-year CSS term introduced Giwa to the HIV lexicon and not only enriched her scholarly-side, but the CSS experience also personally fulfilled her.
"I love this group and we all really work well together," says Giwa, now in her fourth and final year as a CSS rep. "The community input is truly welcomed by the ACTG researchers. I'm impacting people and it really makes the research come alive for me."
During her time with the ACTG, Giwa has sat on the Houston CAB, the Underrepresented Populations Committee (UPC) and the CSS New Member Subcommittee. She has also served as the CSS representative to ACTG studies A5282 (HPV Test-and-Treat Study) and 1077HS (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Standard Version of the Promoting Maternal and Infant Survival Everywhere or PROMISE Study) as well as being a CSS ACTG-HPTN (HIV Prevention Trials Network) representative. Her passion for the works has not gone unnoticed. CSS Co-Chair Eric Lawrence says he sensed Giwa would be an asset to the group from the start of her term.
"Morenike came to the CSS with a lioness roar," says Lawrence. "She asks the tough questions that the community wants to know. With a tireless amount of energy, Morenike also brings a unique perspective to the group as a mother with an HIV positive child. Already, she has become a strong seasoned advocate."
Knowing her involvement with the ACTG would have a global impact on clinical trials for adults, Giwa then turned her attention to the children and families of Houston. In 2009, she founded Positive Playdates. The mission of Positive Playdates is "to connect and empower HIV affected families as well as refugee youth, all of whom can benefit from frequent opportunities | 650 |
Clementine came home last November at 19 months of age.
And five months later, so much has changed.
I've done my best to blog about all the changes, but honestly, she's learning and<|fim_middle|> her, to make sure she didn't get scared.
And a mama, waiting for her at the end.
It was her first trip to a park as a sister.
A beloved member of a family.
my heart feels pretty okay with that. | doing and changing so quickly, I really can't keep up.
When I think about the amount of time she's been home – in relation to how she has grown, and how she has absolutely captured us – it seems like a really long time. I mean, goodness… five months ago she was essentially a stranger. And now we could not imagine life without her.
But when I think about that five months – in relation to how long she was without us – it seems like almost nothing. And the 19+ months seems devastatingly long.
Makes my heart hurt in so many ways for her.
In a few ways my heart hurts for all of us. Like how many Clementine *firsts* we missed.
But then we have days like the other day. Clementine's very first trip to the park.
It was also her first time on a big swing, pushed by her mama.
And her first trip down a slide, being held by her baba.
Her first time to feel fake-park-grass-stuff under her feet.
And her first time to take a step on that grass-stuff all by tiny, sweet self.
It was her first adventure through a big yellow tunnel, with a brother sticking his smiling face through the holes to try to make her laugh.
And a sister behind | 265 |
Alexandra Mounger
Alea is originally from Lafayette and joined GaitWay after six years of working as a Riding Instructor, Lesson Program Coordinator, and Camp Director with BREC's Farr Park Equestrian Center. She manages the office at GaitWay and aids the Board of Directors in fundraising efforts. Alea began riding lessons at a young age and maintained her equestrian passion while serving in various leadership roles throughout her high school years. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management at the end of 2019. Alea looks forward to applying what she has learned on the job and in her fields of study towards fostering the mission and development of GaitWay.
Mallory<|fim_middle|>. As a way to reconnect the family, her mom signed the family up in a program called Horses for Heroes. After a lesson with her family, she remembers seeing a young boy in a wheelchair exemplify an abundance of excitement to ride. From there, she worked hard to find ways of making her dream of recreating that same joy in others into a reality. After living in nine different states, Marlena came to Louisiana to pursue her lifelong dream and continue making once in a lifetime opportunities in the process.
Changing Lives One Stride at a Time
Since 2005, GaitWay Therapeutic Horsemanship has been improving the health and abilities of Baton Rouge's special needs community. What started off as a one-woman operation with just a few horses and clients has grown into a program that currently serves over 60 clients annually with 11 equine therapists and a database of over 45 active volunteers. GaitWay is overseen by a Board of Directors comprised of eight dedicated individuals from various fields.
GaitWay offers its services to both children and adults with a wide array of disabilities in the Greater Baton Rouge area. For the individuals in this region, GaitWay is the only provider of equine-based therapy services that offers both a certified therapeutic program, and the option for financial assistance. Traditional approaches to therapy focus on the assistance one human can offer another; at GaitWay, the horse is a companion on the journey and the living embodiment of power through trust and collaborative effort. | Rhymer
Public Relations & Volunteer Coordinator
Mallory assists with our volunteer training and scheduling as well as managing our social media accounts. She is a lifelong resident of Iberville parish. Mallory has been involved in many aspects of community service her whole life and is excited to be working at GaitWay and with the wonderful community here.
Errin Hart
Barn Manager
Errin is a graduate from Mississippi State University with a BS in Agriculture Leadership/focus area in Animal Science. She is originally from Madison Mississippi where she began her career with horses working at a local hunter/jumper barn for 6 years. Since then, she has started to attend 3-day events with her horse YaYa an American Warmblood. Errin did her internship with Mississippi State Therapeutic riding center, and she has also worked with an occupational therapist in Madison MS that practices hippotherapy.
Brianna LeBlanc
PATH Certified Instructor & Lesson Program Coordinator
Brianna's journey with GaitWay started over 5 years ago. At 15 years old, Brianna came to GaitWay as a therapeutic rider. At GaitWay, she was able to make amazing friends along with progress in her riding and volunteering. She volunteered almost every day. Two years later, she got her first horse, Greta. As a teenager, Brianna remembers telling her riding instructor that she wanted to be just like her one day. And now here Brianna is, out of high school with her second horse, Heilo. She is still out at GaitWay almost every day and attending horse shows on weekends. She is now PATH certified and is an irreplaceable part of the GaitWay team.
Marlena McGrath
PATH Certified Instructor & Development Associate
Marlena McGrath is a graduate of St. Andrews University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Therapeutic Horsemanship. Her love and passion for horses began at the age of four. Her father commissioned into the United States Army, forever altering her life in the best way possible. Every move was a new adventure for her and her siblings. Marlena's desire to be a Therapeutic Riding Instructor stemmed from her first encounter with a Therapeutic Riding center in Upstate New York as a sophomore in High School. During this time, her father returned home after serving a year overseas in Iraq | 476 |
This textbook walks clinicians through the psychosocial issues and challenges faced by children and adolescents with cancer and their families. Through a developmental lens, the text provides guidance and resources that will enable<|fim_middle|> forefront of clinical care in a direct and approachable way, integrating research literature with practical clinical guidance. | clinicians to understand the physical and emotional impact of the disease from diagnosis onwards, to work with families in distress, and to diagnose and treat a range of behavioral, psychological, and psychiatric issues. The book also addresses the burgeoning fields of social media, complementary therapies, palliative care, and survivorship. Among the variety of useful resources supplied are assessment tools, websites, and additional reading materials. The psychosocial issues that arise for children and their families during the course of treatment are an important yet often overlooked aspect of pediatric oncology care. The reader will find that Pediatric Psychosocial Oncology: Textbook for Multidisciplinary Care covers these issues at the | 133 |
Horrible Adorables x Kidrobot are about to reunite for 2018! Last year we saw plenty of vinyl releases from Horrible Adorables x Kidrobot and this year Horrible Adorables<|fim_middle|> you "Share Bear" Once again we are breaking the rules to bring you another leak, see what we do for you guys.
These are just vector images so stay tuned for actual images of Share Bear. Medium size vinyl release should be around the 4″-5″ mark.
As much as I love Horrible Adorables I personally feel like I would at least love to see one piece of wool felt, incorporated into a vinyl release. Dunno if it's just a Monday thought, I mean I love the design but not having Horrible Adorables wool felt losses a little spark for me.
Cannot wait for them come out? why not head to Horrible Adorables Etsy STORE and feast your eyes on their fab work.
If you want to get your Designer Toy news first, you should look to download our new TTC Mobile App. Designer Toy news direct to your smartphone. No dealing with social media algorithms. You can find Jordan Elise – Horrible Adorables at their Facebook , Instagram, Etsy shop . | are next inline to have taken Kidrobot's licenced Care Bears and given them the Horrible Adorables treatment! Like they say "sharing is truly caring" Horrible Adorables x Kidrobot present to | 43 |
Cadair Idris | National Nature Reserve at Cadair Idris0300 065 3000work Nature ReserveCader/Cadair Idris is a spectacular mountain reserve with a variety of landscapes and terrain. Rugged summits, glacial lakes and a mossy wooded gorge cover over 450 hectares of breathtaking landscape.
The Nature Reserve lies within Snowdonia National Park and is part of the Cadair Idris Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of<|fim_middle|>487. The Minffordd path to the summit of Cadair Idris also starts from this location.
Parking: with charge
Accessible by Public Transport: 10 miles from Tywyn station
Mobility Accessibility Facilities
Dogs accepted | Conservation (SAC).
The reserve encompasses the mountain and lower slopes, with a variety of habitats of European importance. These include dry heath, wet heath, blanket bog, woodland and the species-rich marshy grasslands of Tir Stent common, as well as a number of low nutrient or clear-water lakes. The cliffs support tall herbs growing on the ledges, and a range of plants growing on rock crevices. These habitats support a wide range of species, including slender green feather-moss and marsh fritillary Butterfly.
While the romantically inclined attribute its features to the work of giants, geologists come up with more prosaic but nonetheless interesting explanations that span hundreds of millions of years. The origin of the rock is volcanic, some of the lavas being poured out under the sea and shaped into bulbous "pillows" that give it the name pillow lava. These are interspersed with layers of ash and other sediments that settled out on the sea bed of the time.
The glaciers of the last ice age scoured and scraped at this hard upfolded rock leaving visible scratches on some of the surfaces and hollowing out basins now filled with small lakes such as those at Cregennan on the first 'step' up the mountain, or the supposedly bottomless Llyn Cau on the south side.
Amongst this craggy country on the mountain tops there survive rare Arctic/alpine flowers, a legacy of the last Ice Age such as purple saxifrage and least willow (a 'tree' that never gets to more than a scrambling shrub).
CADAIR IDRIS VISITOR CENTRE & TEA ROOMS
Cadair Idris Visitor Centre and Cadair Tea Room are 250 metres from the car park and the Minffordd path to the summit passes by them. The visitor centre houses an exhibition showcasing the wildlife, geology and legends of Cadair Idris National Nature Reserve.
The exhibition includes: interactive games short film about the making of the mountain film about work that Natural Resources Wales does for nature conservation here animated films telling the legends of Idris the Giant live infrared footage of rare lesser horseshoe bats in the roofspace The centre is owned by Natural Resources Wales, and managed in partnership with the staff of Ty Te Cadair Tea Room. Both the visitor centre and tea room are open seasonally.
DOL IDRIS NATURE TRAIL (0.7 miles, 1.25 kilometres).
The Dol Idris nature trail is located in the parkland on the foothills of Cadair Idris in the south of the Snowdonia National Park. Dol idris has around ¾ miles of accessible paths to take you around the parkland, going past a picturesque little lake and its fish ladder, exotic trees and the remains of a soft drink laboratory!Southern SnowdoniaLL39 1AXUnited Kingdom52.721219855881-3.930699158752http://www.naturalresources.wales/cadairidris?lang=en
Cadair Idris | National Nature Reserve at Cadair Idris
Nature Reserve, free entry
Southern Snowdonia,
LL39 1AX
Cader/Cadair Idris is a spectacular mountain reserve with a variety of landscapes and terrain. Rugged summits, glacial lakes and a mossy wooded gorge cover over 450 hectares of breathtaking landscape.
The Dol Idris nature trail is located in the parkland on the foothills of Cadair Idris in the south of the Snowdonia National Park. Dol idris has around ¾ miles of accessible paths to take you around the parkland, going past a picturesque little lake and its fish ladder, exotic trees and the remains of a soft drink laboratory!
www.naturalresources.wales/cadairidris?lang=en
Cadair Idris Visitor Centre and Cadair Tea Room are 250 metres from the car park and the Minffordd path to the summit passes by them. The visitor centre houses an exhibition showcasing the wildlife, geology and legends of Cadair Idris National Nature Reserve. The centre is owned by Natural Resources Wales, and managed in partnership with the staff of Ty Te Cadair Tea Room.
Visitor Centre & Tea Room
Cregennan Lakes
Cadair Idris | Walking Routes
Cadair Idris | Stories & Legends
Map reference: SH 696154 Lat: 52.72122 Long: -3.93070
Public Transport:
Bus services 30,32,34 [Dolgellau-Tywyn-Machynlleth] run on the A487, stopping at the junction with the B4405 close to the entrance of the car park. The T2 Trawscymru service stops at Minfordd and Dolgellau
The nearest main line railway stations are Machynlleth, Tywyn and Barmouth.
www.Traveline.Cymru is a useful journey planner for public transport in the region.
By Car: Cadair Idris Visitor Centre Car park is signposted off the A | 1,091 |
HM Communications has over 25 years' experience in Contract publishing and we now have an impressive portfolio of clients who advertise across a wide range of media.
HMC will often work in partnership with other similar marketing companies to help them sell their advertising, sponsorship and digital media across a wide range of projects. This service is invaluable in a highly competitive and specialised market place, often where the commercial viability of a specific project can be determined by the revenue it generates.
"Halcyon" – The official magazine for Harrods Aviation and its clients.
This quarterly publication of exceptional quality is designed to target some of the richest and most influential individuals in the world today. Harrods Aviation is the UK's leading London based business aviation service provider and the publication is positioned in front of a unique audience whilst they are using an array of private Jet<|fim_middle|> determined by the revenue it generates. | facilities made available to them through Harrods aviation.
"Champion Golfer – A definitive guide to the Open & Senior Open Championships presented by Rolex" – produced in conjunction with the Patrons and Suppliers.
HMC will often work in partnership with other similar media companies to help them sell their advertising, sponsorship and digital media across a wide range of projects. In 2018 HM Communications worked as the marketing partner for HPM Consultants and Carnoustie Links to produce the 2018 Edition of Champion Golfer. We believe this type of partnership is invaluable in a highly competitive and specialised market place, often where the commercial viability of a specific project can be | 136 |
The Great Amnesty Campaign of 1869
Published January 8, 2013 in Revolutionary History
On Sunday October 10th 1869, Dublin heaved with excitement and trepidation. Political banners hung from houses while the city's trade union offices buzzed with excitement. Despite a police ban on a planned procession through the city tens of thousands of people turned out. They were joined by thousands more who flooded into the city from across Ireland to participate in what was destined to be the largest demonstration in a generation.
Amid the clamour of marching bands and singing, over one hundred thousand people converged on Cabra, a sleepy village north west of Victorian Dublin, to demand an amnesty for Fenian prisoners. Now a sprawling suburb home to tens of thousands of people, in 1869 Cabra was a quiet village surrounded by farmland. But on October 10th that year these fields hosted the greatest demonstration Ireland had seen since the famine.
This demonstration was the culmination of one of the most impressive campaigns in later 19th century Ireland which saw one provincial newspaper proclaim 'political demonstrations are becoming as fashionable in 'the island of Saints and Scholars' as the Bull fights in Spain'1. The remarkable story of the Amnesty campaign of 1869 began two years earlier in Manchester, England, with the accidental killing of a policeman, an incident that led to the famous case of the Manchester Martyrs.
The Smashing of the Van
The path to the massive demonstration in Cabra began on September 11th 1867 when two Irish Americans were arrested for loitering in Manchester, England. It soon emerged that the police had unwittingly arrested two of the most sought after Fenians; Colonel Thomas Kelly and Captain William Deasy who were on the run after having participated in a failed uprising in Ireland earlier that year. Within a week the two were hauled before a court. As the horse drawn police van took them back to custody it was attacked by a large group of Fenians.
In the process of rescuing Kelly and Deasy the crowd accidentally killed a policeman the first ever killing of a police man in Manchester. In the aftermath a wave of anti-Fenian and anti-Irish sentiment swept through Manchester and three Irish men William Allen, Michael Larkin and William O Brien were arrested tried, convicted and sentenced to death under dubious circumstances. On November 23rd, 1867 the three were hanged in Salford gaol.
These executions in turn created a wave of anti-British sentiment across Ireland and among Irish communities in England. This was fuelled further when it emerged the three had been denied a Christian burial after their execution. The outrage was palpable; the day after their execution thousands attended a mock funeral for the three in Clerkenwell, London2. The three became known to the world as the 'Manchester Martyrs' and within weeks these three relatively unknown men Allen, Larkin and O Brien had become some of the most famous Irish political martyrs. The Freeman's Journal described them as 'humble Irishmen' who 'suffered for a cause they believed'3. The editor of The Nation, T.D. O Sullivan wrote this famous song The Smashing of the Van in their honour in 1867. (Incidentally the song was not a Fenian song as the youtube user implies. O Sullivan and the Fenians despised each other – he doesn't once mention the fact the prisoners were Fenians.)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8cpTt_MfL0&w=420&h=315]
While their execution would be evoked time and again in the following decades in the short term it set in train a series events that lead to the incredible scenes in Cabra in 1869.
Reactions to the executions
Through late 1867 the executions served to unify the various wings of the republican and nationalist movement in Ireland. Since the founding of the Fenians in 1858 their commitment to armed struggle had created tensions between middle class constitutional nationalists and the disenfranchised working class who tended to support Fenianism. For the first time both groups could now rally around the same cause. Even the Catholic Church who vociferously opposed the early Fenians (who had been staunch secularists) leant limited support.
While this new unified Irish nationalist movement presented an unforeseen and unexpected political challenge to the the British authorities, one might expect the anger to dissipate as time passed. Instead in early 1868 the anger ignited around the case of the Manchester Martyrs began to crystallize around the remaining Fenians being held in harsh conditions in British prisons in England and in Western Australia.
Allen, Larkin & O Brien
Many of these Fenians had been imprisoned before and during the failed revolt of March 1867 which had been ill prepared and heavily infiltrated by informers. The rising achieved few goals and resulted in many receiving severe sentences. By late 1867 there were one hundred and five Fenians being held in brutal conditions in prison4 These included such notables as John Devoy, John O Leary and a man who would come to symbolise the suffering of the prisoners collectively in 1869, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa. He had had his hands manacled behind his back for thirty-five days during which he was forced to eat like an animal. It was the plight of these prisoners now that became the focus of the new found unity among the nationalist and republican movement.
Campaign fora Fenian Amnesty.
As the one year anniversary of the execution of Manchester Martyrs approached, all commemorative demonstrations were banned5. However, in early November a meeting was called in the Mechanics Institute on Marlborough Street, Dublin, with the view to campaigning for an 'amnesty to those persons who are suffering for political offences' 6.
Such was the interest in this cause that an hour before the meeting the hall in the Mechanic's Institute was full.7 At the gathering, chaired by MP Isaac Butt (who had defended Fenian Prisoners in the mid 1860's) a new movement demanding unconditional release of all Irish political prisoners was launched.
Throughout early 1869 branches of this movement were set up across Ireland. The establishment of a branch usually began with a public meeting after which subscriptions and signatures were collected for a petition calling for amnesty. Although the British government had released forty-nine prisoners in early 18698 who they deemed to have been naïve young men rather than leaders this did not stop the growth of the emerging Amnesty movement, which demanded a full amnesty for all prisoners.
Growing from strength to strength, the campaign amassed quarter of a million signatures and received the support of several municipal politicians in Ireland. They were also successful in garnering the equivalent of celebrity support when the prominent economist John Stuart Mill backed the call for amnesty9
This new campaign was led by a central amnesty committee which met each Tuesday evening at 8 o clock in the Mechanics Institute, Dublin. Incidentally the Mechanics institute, which would become the original Abbey theatre in 1903, was long associated with radicalism in the 19th century. It hosted a meeting addressed by Friedrich Engels and African American anti-slavery campaigner Sarah Redmond amongst others.
The Mechanics' Institute (which became the original Abbey Theatre) source: abbey.ie
In an age before the internet, detailed reports of the central amnesty commitee's activities and meetings were published in several supportive newspapers such as The Nation and in particular The Freeman's Journal.
While the organisation was fronted by the MP Isaac Butt, he had little interest in the day to day running of the campaign. In the late 1860's only 10% of the population could vote and the Amnesty cause would have limited currency among upper middle class electors. The organisational side of the movement was largely left up to members and supporters of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. John Nolan, who was a member of the Supreme Council of the I.R.B. and also an early trade unionist was the de facto leader of the movement in Ireland. His tireless campaigning lead him to become known as John 'Amnesty' Nolan. Other prominent members of the movement included the London based Fenian J.P. Mc Donnell, who had been sworn into the I.R.B. by O'Donovan Rossa himself and could claim Karl Marx among his friends,10 as well as the republican Presbyterian lawyer 'Honest John' Martin.
Despite the limited successes of the campaign in early 1869 there was no movement from the British government on the remaining prisoners being held. It was clear the campaign needed to alter its tactics and strategy for it to win. This saw the campaign evolve from the previous strategy of gathering petitions to a more forthright campaign of engaging the population and in particular the peasantry and working classes on the issue. This change in strategy lead directly to the Monster Meeting in Cabra the following October.
Isaac Butt
The Amnesty Association
The Amnesty Committee was reorganised into the Amnesty Association11. The thrust of this strategy was based around a massive show of strength on the issue but this was not easily done. While the 19th century was very much the era of mass politics where demonstration of tens of thousands people were not uncommon, in the early part of the 19th century Daniel O'Connell's several hundred thousand strong meetings had set a high standard. These numbers had not been repeated since the famine of the 1840s but this did not deter the Amnesty Association and they carefully planned how they would achieve similar numbers.
Before they dared to attempt to host such a major demonstration they held hundreds of smaller meetings across Ireland. The first took place on July 11th when several thousand people demonstrated at Mallow, the birthplace of the Attorney General Sir Edward Sullivan M.P. who was hostile to the movement. Throughout July and August meetings were held up and down the country and the issue gained momentum into September.
On September 5th twenty thousand people demonstrated in Bray probably in no small fact due to the fact that the chief organiser John 'Amnesty' Nolan hailed from the seaside town. A week later on September 12th four meetings took place in Longford, Dundalk, Kilkenny and Castlebar with crowds from five thousand demonstrating in Kilkenny12 to twenty thousand in Longford.13 While these numbers are and were impressive they were not unique in the post-famine period. In the 1850s tenants' rights meetings had drawn huge crowds, for example in 1851 twenty thousand people attended such a meeting in the small mining town of Castlecomer in north Kilkenny. What was unique however was the intensity of these meetings through the summer of 1869. Over four hundred meetings were organised, primarily in Leinster, Munster and Connaught; only eight were organised in Ulster.14
Meetings were not limited to Ireland; across England, amnesty meetings and demonstrations were held, most famously in London in September 20th, 1869 when several thousand people marched from Finsbury circus to Trafalgar Square, a march organised by the radical internationalist group The International Democratic Association15
How the meetings were organised
The success of these meetings cannot be attributed solely to the fact that big demonstration were common in<|fim_middle|>869
16Freemans Journal September 13th 1869
18Page 22 Ireland in Transition, 1867-1921 edited by Professor David George Boyce, Alan O'Day & English, Irish and Subversives Among the Dismal Scientists pge 396
19Freemans Journal, September 24th 1869
20Census figures for 1871 showed a population of 405,000 a slight decline on 1861.
21Freemans Journal, September 22nd 1869
24Freemans Journal, September 23rd 1869
25The Nation, October 9th 1869
26Freemans Journal, October 7th 1869
29Frederich Engels letter to Karl Marx September 27th 1869 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1869/letters/69_09_27.htm
30Freemans Journal October 11th 1869 estimate
31Irish Times October 11th 1869 estimate
32The Irish Times, October 11th 1869.
33NLI LB 39988 v.1 20(b)
34Ancient Order of Foresters
35Coming from the Irish Gaelic bróg meaning shoe
36Isaac Butt who chaired the events
37The MP George Henry Moore
38Kingstown is the pre independence name for Dun Laoghaoire
39The word in the NLI original is clearly bail but it may be a misprint from the word sail. Dun Laoghaoire/Kingstown is a port
40This refers to Richard O Sullivan Burke, a leader of the 1867 rising who had been captured and imprisoned in Clerkenwell. A rescue attempt ended in disaster as far too much gunpowder was used to blow away the prison wall and nearby tenements were destroyed. Twelve people were killed and ninety were seriously wounded.
41Waded
42The word Green is presumably missing. The last parliament prior to the writing of this song sat at College Green.
43The IRB The Irish Republican Brotherhood from the land league to the Sinn Féin Owen McGee pge 43
44Political Violence in Northern Ireland: Conflict and Conflict Resolution by Alan O'Day pge 49
Tags: John Devoy, Manchester Martyrs, Cuba 5, David Donnelly, Freemans Journal, Friedrich Engels, G.H. Moore, International Democratic Association, Isaac Butt, J.P. Madden, J.P. McDonnell, John Keegan, John Nolan, John O Leary, Manchester, Mechanics Institute, Michael Larkin, O Donovan Rossa, Salford, Thomas Kelly, William Allen, William Deasy, William O Brien
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Check out our extensive archives - view archive | the 19th century, they were also well organised. The locations were usually selected due to their geographical or political importance; usually at a convergence between road and rail networks. Placards were erected across the surrounding countryside in the weeks before the demonstration while advertisements were placed in the nationalist press in advance. In an age before motorised cars people frequently travelled several miles to attend these meetings. For example at the meeting in Kilkenny the audience included people from Graiguenamanagh thirty kilometres to the south east and Freshford fifteen kilometres to the north west16 while some even travelled from as far away as Clonmel and Thurles.
The meetings were almost universally held on a Sunday afternoon which maximised the turn out given it was the only work free day in the 1860's. The meetings were very vibrant often having several marching bands present. Attendees wore green ribbons and listened to speeches on the prisoners and wider politics usually from a priest, a politician and local and national representatives of the Amnesty Association.
It is difficult to tell exactly who attended these meetings. Overtly sympathetic press tended to focus on the dignitaries in attendance, however the Irish Times reported that at the Kilkenny demonstration the attendees were largely drawn from the city's working class17. This corresponds with the fact that Fenianism drew its greatest support from the poor and also corresponds with the only demonstration we have minute detail on, that in Dublin on the 10th, October 1869.
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Politics of the movement
The success of the movement during the summer of 1869 was in many respects astounding. The Amnesty Association managed to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people across Ireland and England on what was a relatively abstract issue. This was largely due to a three part message. Firstly they constantly repeated a deeply personal message which focused of the prisoners destitute families. This was supplemented by focusing on the horrific conditions the prisoners themselves endured particularly the case of O'Donovan Rossa. Secondly the movement tapped into the growing nationalist sentiment in Ireland through imagery around the concept that Mother Ireland was not whole while her sons languished in a foreign prisons.
Finally they were also able to tap in to wider resentments toward the British Government, particularly around the issue of tenants rights. Amnesty meetings were by no means the only major political campaign in the summer and Autumn of 1869. Across the country large tenants' rights meetings were being held. While they were happy to tap into this sentiment the Fenians were not willing to allow tenant organising to detract from the Amnesty issue, to the point that they obstructed tenants' rights meetings in the autumn of 186918.
The Great Meeting in Dublin.
The series of meetings across Ireland were all leading to a grand finale to be held in Dublin on October 10th, 1869. As the secretary of the association, John Nolan, explained the strategy was 'to allow all Ireland speak on the question of Amnesty before the final capital meeting in Dublin' .19 It was clear this meeting was of immense importance to the Amnesty Association. It would reflect the strength of the movement as it was coming to the end of months of intense activity. It also had political significance given Dublin was the seat of British administration in Ireland and the island's capital city. With over four hundred thousand people20 living in Dublin county alone a massive turn-out was important. To this end the central committee asked that no other town in Ireland hold a demonstration on October 10th. While other demonstrations were held on October 10th in defiance of this request, none were advertised in the national press; all focus was on Dublin.
Cabra (courtesy of Al Katraz)
In order for it to be successful the location for this demonstration was crucial. There was nowhere within the city environs that could hold large crowds. To this end the Amnesty Association acquired a 32 acre field from David Donnelly, a farmer in Cabra. This site was perfect. Not only was it situated outside the Victorian city which gave space for a large crowd to congregate but it was also within walking distance of all three major train stations of 19th century Dublin – Amiens Street Station (now Connolly Station), Kingsbridge Station (now Heuston Station) and the now defunct Broadstone Station less than a mile away on Constitution Hill. The exact location of the site appears to have been in what was known then as Grangegorman Lower between the North Circular Road and the Cabra Road where Cherrymount Park housing estate stands today.
Guaranteeing a crowd was by no means easy. The success or otherwise of the demonstration would be determined on whether the city's population and in particular the working class of the city, the group with greatest sympathy to Fenianism would turn out. In the 1860s the city's working classes were organised through what were the forerunners to modern trade unions – trade associations. Many members of these associations were sympathetic to the issue and some had Fenian activists among their ranks.
However the United Trades Association, a conglomeration of these Trades Associations, had strict rules about not engaging in political activity. This had to be overcome for the Amnesty demonstration to be successful. On Monday 20th September John 'Amnesty' Nolan was allowed to address the meeting and it was unanimously agreed that the Amnesty was not a 'political question with in the meaning of the rules of the United Trades Association'.21
After this decision, a committee was formed including both John Keegan of the Trades Association and Nolan from the Amnesty Association with the aim of mobilising the city's working class behind the demonstration and the following week, Keegan and Nolan organised a meeting of the various trade associations to prepare.
While the working class would make the mainstay of the demonstration they were by no means the only group sector to whom the Amnesty Association appealed to. On September 30th commercial men 'of all classes'22 were invited to a meeting in the Mechanics Institute.
Advertisment in the Freeman's journal on the 30th of September 1869
During these weeks the Amnesty Association received a lot of support from women in Dublin. Decades before the emergence of the feminist movement no meeting of women was organised so they could have their input. Instead on September 30th the Amnesty Association published a notice announcing it would make arrangements for women wishing to attend and they welcomed banners which ladies might make.23
From late September, Dublin was a constant flurry of meetings and activities around the Amnesty issue. On September 24th a New York company of the 'Star Minstrels' performed at the Rotunda24 supported by Dublin acts in aid of the prisoners families.
While the preparations were finalised tensions increased when it serious rioting broke out in Newry on the weekend of the 3rd October as Orangemen opposed an upcoming Amnesty demonstration in the town25
Nevertheless, during the final week before the demonstration, each evening as work ended meetings took place across Dublin as various trade associations and other organisations planned their participation. On October 4th the Ancient Order of Foresters, a charitable society met in the Mechanics Institute to be followed by shop and warehouse porters, grocers' assistants and the barbers and hairdressers26 amongst others.
On October 6th a general meeting of all groups was held to plan the details of the demonstration. The demonstration was planned to gather in and around Beresford Place and the adjoining streets from 11 a.m. and then march to Cabra. The association expected large crowds and the various sections of the march were given staggered meet up times with the last group only congregating at 1p.m. In the following days sympathetic newspapers were littered with advertisements from trade associations and groups instructing their members where to congregate before proceeding to the meet up point at Beresford Place to join the main demonstration. Some even instructed their members on what emblems to wear.
Large numbers were expected from across Ireland as well. By October several hundred thousand people had attended meetings27 and many wanted to be present on the great day itself . To this end train companies put on special services to bring people to Dublin for the day28
Last minute challenge
As the day itself approached the Cabra field itself was prepared. Members of the Amalgamated Building Trades used timber donated by a local business to erect a huge stage from where speakers would address the crowd. By Friday evening all seemed set. Newspapers carried the exact details of the order of march and where each section was in the procession so there would be no confusion on the day.
Police notice in The Nation October 9th, 1869
However at the eleventh hour the entire event was cast into doubt. Late on Friday evening, the Dublin Metropolitan Police announced that the march from Beresford Place to Cabra was prohibited although the meeting itself could go ahead in Cabra.
Worse still, as morning broke over Dublin on Saturday the 9th of October and the Amnesty Association tried to organise alternative arrangements, word filtered out that a magistrate from Monaghan, J.P. Madden was in South Dublin Metropolitan Police court trying to have the entire day's proceedings banned as the presence of bands, banners and flags contravened the strict Party Processions Act. While this was rejected by the courts the Amnesty Association still convened meetings on the Saturday afternoon to decide what to do about the prohibition of the march.
To push ahead or not
It appears that the police action was purely a show of force and attempt to flex the muscle of the state in the face what was growing nationalism in Ireland. Nevertheless the police seemed intent on enforcing this gesture of authority. The newspapers on Saturday 9th carried notices that made this abundantly clear stating 'that all necessary measures would be taken to enforce this measure'. This was no idle threat. Dublin in the 1860s was a heavily militarised city. Friedrich Engels the co-author of the Communist Manifesto who had visited Dublin just a few weeks earlier wrote to Karl Marx describing Ireland and Dublin as follows:-
'The state of war is also noticeable everywhere. There are squads of Royal Irish all over the place, with sheath-knives, and occasionally a revolver at their side and a police baton in their hand; in Dublin a horse-drawn battery drove right through the centre of town, a thing I have never seen in England, and there are soldiers literally everywhere.'29
There was no option but to call off the procession from Beresford Place but this did not prevent people marching from other locations. While technically the Amnesty Association would abide by the letter of the law this did not mean they were bound by the spirit of the same law.
The demonstration.
When Dubliners awoke on October 10th, 1869 months of tireless campaigning had come to an end and finally the strength of support for the cause of Amnesty in the capital would be tested. Nonetheless confusion must have reigned as the last communiqué in the press on the issue had been from the police prohibiting the procession from Cabra.
The city appears to have had a festive mood. Houses were adorned with banners supporting the prisoners while men and women wore green sashes and ribbons. Instead of one large procession to Cabra from early morning several smaller demonstrations began to make their way from the various train stations and trade association offices while local Dublin branches of the Amnesty Association marched directly to the field. On Bachelors Walk several hundred women assembled dressed in green wearing orange rosettes and marched to Cabra singing the song 'O'Donnell Abú' as they entered the field.
While the mainstay of the demonstration was the nearly 40 different trade associations and the local Amnesty branches from across Ireland they were joined by religious confraternities and civic organisations such as the charity the Ancient Order of Foresters. While many of the various sections contained marching bands, these did not strike up until they had passed the churches. At twelve o clock the scene at the Amnesty Association office at the Mechanics Institute was impressive as the various branches of the Association who had arrived from as disparate places as Derry, Cork and Castlebar marched to Cabra.
Cherrymount estate is now built on where Donnelly's field lay in 1869 (courtesy of Luke McManus)
By two o clock the roads surrounding Donnelly's farm in Cabra were thronged with crowds as an estimated one30 to two hundred thousand31 people gathered. Across the field banners were held aloft with slogans such 'God Save Ireland' (a phrase associated with the Manchester Martyrs), 'Erin weeps for her imprisoned sons' and 'Release the political prisoners32.' After a rendition of 'God save Ireland' got the proceedings under-way, the crowd was addressed by MP's, clerics, trade unionists and Amnesty campaigners in a meeting chaired by Isaac Butt. After the meeting drew to a close the various groups paraded off the field being lead by their marching bands playing tunes. While the Dublin Metropolitan Police attempted to stop this it was a pointless task given the size of the demonstration. While these remarkable events were reported in the press across Ireland and the world it also went into local folklore. In a world without cameras or computers, the easiest way to immortalise events was through song. The following song was composed about the demonstration in its aftermath. While its lyricist appears to have limited skills (the numerous mistakes were in the original), it is a contemporary view of the demonstration which has survived in a collection in the National Library. (It is from a Home Rule point of view and appears to be quite hostile to Fenian politics particularly in the last three verses.)
The Glorious meeting of Dublin held in Cabra. With an account of the bands and banners, Peace and order of that day For the liberation of the prisoners33
All you that loves old Ireland I hope you shall attend
And Listen to these simple lines the truth I have here penned
Its those brave unhappy men that Ires in dismal sells [sic]
The only crime they did commit they lov'd Irelane
Now Irisomen they are resolved to live in unity
And for to use all legal means to set these brave men free
The ten day of October in the year sixty-nine
Many thousands did assemble the cause it was devine
The bands did play and banners we've most glorious to be sees
And Erins sons and daughters they wore the lovely green
The first I will mention is the forester34 so grand
With lovely banners they did appear a credit to the land
Butchers, bricklayers and millers to with coopers did appear
And the brave brouge35 makers true & brave that never yet knew fear
At 2 o clock came? brave? But36 he took the chair
He said and smiled as he gaz'd round let Ireland not despair
Brave Henery Moor37 whose heart is pure & of true Iris mold
With Mc Sweeney to likewise O'Ne? Heroes true as gold
Five hundred thousand did attend upon that glorious day
From Belfast Newry and Dundalk & they in rich array
And Drogheda was not behind they always nobly stand
Their gallant fathers noble fought against Cromwell & his band
In parts of Ireland ……. meetings have been held
for to release those unhappy men from their cursed chains and cells
Tipperary Cork and Mallow & Galway of renown
Like heroes brave that hates being slaves they put all tyrants down
There was Wexford and sweet Bray …the Kingstown38 I go bail39
In the cause of freedom they never yet did fail
For when their country was in want, they pure bold and true
No traitor land nor wincing? Clan? May ever them subjue [sic]
O Donovan Ross & General Burk40 & likewise many more
For their sad fate each Irish heart they sadly do deplore
Confined in Dungeons dark & deep o dismal is their fate
Far from their wives and children dear with food not fit to eat
No separation we do want we only seek our rights
In France & Spain & the Crimea brave Irish men did fight
And everywhere in great foreign lands they won great renown
Through fields of blood they wa'ed41 for England & and the crown
Now Dublin city well may boast when they think upon that day
Our loss I'm sure they must a'ow it was a grand display
No drunkness [sic] or disturbance anywhere seen
But peace likewise good or er & they all were the green
Now to conclude & finish I have no more to say
May those brave men without delay be at their liberty
May trade and commerce flourish & all peace seen
And may we have our Parliament once more in Cotledge 42
Aftermath of the demonstration
The ramifications of the Amnesty campaign of 1869 and the Cabra demonstration in particular were felt across Ireland and even England for years to come. Within a few weeks the depth of its success was illustrated clearly during a by-election in Tipperary in November. The Amnesty Association, at the suggestion of the MP G.H. Moore43 stood the imprisoned Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa as a candidate. Although his rival, the Catholic Liberal candidate Denis Caulfied Heron eventually took the seat in parliament, this was after two elections. incredibly O'Donovan Rossa won the first election only to be disqualified because he was a convicted felon. This was remarkable given that the electorate was tiny and not normally inclined to support Fenian politics.
1869 Election Manifesto of O'Donovan Rossa source celt.ie
Although it would take another year of campaigning, the movement of 1869 delivered the winning blow on the Amnesty issue. The Associations tireless work had made Amnesty the primary political issue in Ireland and among Irish communities in England during 1869. As British Prime Minister Gladstone had won the 1868 election on a promise to deliver on Ireland he was forced to act and soon the prison gates were opening.
In December 1870 several Fenians being held in Australia were released and by February 1871 ten had returned to Ireland, including Thomas Cullinane, a man who had been originally been sentenced to death by hanging, drawing and quartering. This was followed by a major amnesty of prisoners in England in January in 1871.
In these cases the British government would not agree to release these men unconditionally. Instead they were released on the condition that they go into exile for the remainder of their sentences. Among the thirty-three released in January 187144 were John Devoy and Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, who both boarded a ship the 'Cuba' for exile in America. From the US these two men would have a huge influence over militant nationalism in Ireland for nearly five decades.
In the following years the unity that had made the Amnesty Movement so strong failed to hold. In 1870 the Vatican issued a cyclical condemning Fenianism while the organisation itself was relatively disorganised in the early 1870s. However the election of O'Donovan Rossa began the uncomfortable relationship between militant Irish nationalism and electoral politics. In 1874 the Fenian John O'Connor Power successfully ran as MP for Mayo, for which he was expelled from the I.R.B. a few years later. Through the course of the following century the issue of electoralism would divide republican and nationalist movements in Ireland.
The Cabra demonstration did not end campaigning on the Amnesty issue. Throughout the 1870s numerous Fenians were imprisoned. In 1873 two massive meeting were again held on Dublin's northside, at Clontarf and then Glasnevin, but it never reached the intensity it had in 1869 as the issue of tenants' rights became the key issue steadily throughout the 1870s, resulting in the outbreak of the Land War in 1879. One of the last prisoners freed by the Amnesty Association's campaigning was none other than the Fenian arms agent Michael Davitt. After his release he threw himself whole-heartedly into the land question, an issue the Fenians ten years earlier had attempted to suppress to keep the political focus on the Amnesty Association.
1Nenagh Guardian October 13th 1869
2Daily News (London, England), Monday, November 25, 1867
3Freeman's Journal November 25, 1867 .
4Mc Conville , S. Irish Political Prisoners, 1848-1922: Theatres of War pge 153
5Mc Gee, O. The IRB; the Irish Republican Brotherhood from the land war to Sinn Fein pge 42
6Freemans Journal November 11th 1868
8Political Violence in Northern Ireland: Conflict and Conflict Resolution Alan O'Day pge 82
9The Nation Saturday, February 06, 1869
10He was also an early member of the first international
11The Nation,Saturday, May 29
12Irish Times, September 13th 1869
14Political Violence in Northern Ireland: Conflict and Conflict Resolution, Alan O'Day pge 49
15Daily News (London, England), September 21st 1 | 4,477 |
The 28 October 1983 magnitude 7.3 (Ms) Borah Peak earthquake ruptured the Thousand Springs segment of the Lost River normal fault in east-central Idaho. This event is the largest historic earthquake in Idaho and caused significant hydrogeologic changes over an 18,000 km2 area, including spectacular groundwater eruptions at several locations. Adjacent to Chilly Buttes, in the epicentral area, at least 47 eruptive features, ranging in size from 0.6 m to 23.0 m in diameter, formed during the earthquake. The violent upward migration of ground water observed at Chilly Buttes most likely resulted from tectonic disturbance of the underlying limestone aquifer, rather than from compaction of the over- lying alluvium as in liquefaction events.
Joint data for the limestone bedrock were collected and eruptive features mapped as part of this thesis in order to better determine the correlation between jointing and coseismic groundwater eruptions. From these data, a 200-m wide NNW trending zone was delineated which could be associated with one of the two primary joint sets identified in the study area. Seismic reflection and refraction experiments were conducted across this zone to measure the depth to the upper surface of the limestone bedrock. These data delineate a northeastward sloping contact between the limestone and the overlying saturated sediments; the estimated maximum overburden thickness from the reflection data is less than 90 m beneath the zone of sediment boils. The fact that no boils developed in areas with greater depth to the limestone aquifer suggests that overburden thickness is one factor in localizing the formation of the sediment boils.
A ground penetrating radar (GPR) experiment was conducted to obtain an image of the subsurface structure of one sediment boil which had erupted during the 1983 earthquake. Following the GPR experiment, the sediment boil was trenched to visually examine its structure and establish any correlations with the radar images. The radar images and<|fim_middle|> in the primary study area were examined and a site was identified with characteristics indicative of a buried sediment boil. Trenches of the site revealed evidence for a paleo-sediment boil. Additionally, the excavation of the site of an anomalous point diffraction revealed a void. This void is evidence that one origin of eruptive sediments is their elutriation from subsurface deposits. Sediment removal is, in turn, a likely cause of areas of collapsed ground which are prevalent in the primary study area.
Since a specific combination of tectonic, sedimentary and hydraulic conditions were required for the formation of sediment boils at Chilly Buttes, the identification of other areas which have similar characteristics is possible. As small closed basins, sediment boils can fill in a relatively short period of time. Such rapid degradation may help preserve material which can be used to date major earthquakes. GPR is a useful tool in the search for ancient boils which no longer have surface expression, and thereby may have application in a program to determine earthquake recurrence intervals.
Bolger, Robert D., "Geophysical and Geological Investigation of Sediment Boils at Chilly Buttes, Idaho" (2000). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 415. | the trench logs give supporting evidence for the repetitive nature of sediment boil eruptions and the reuse of groundwater flow pathways, including indications of two pre-historic earthquakes. Furthermore, the data indicate that multiple downward curving reflections and disrupted and truncated bedding may be diagnostic of buried sediment boils in radargrams.
As a test, the radar profiles acquired | 69 |
A big welcome to the home page of Jersey Cottage Nursery, a family run retail plant nursery<|fim_middle|> customers for their support and kind comments through our opening years. Looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2019. | situated in the small village of Moulton Seas End, Lincolnshire.
We offer a wide range of garden plants that includes many of the old garden favourites through to the rare and more unusual. If you have a few minutes please have a browse through our stock lists which should give a good indication of what we are about. We are unable to stock all plants at all times so it is always a good idea to send us a quick e-mail to check on availabilty, pot size and price. It is always our aim to offer high quaity, healthy plants at a reasonable price.
Unfortunately we are unable to accomodate mail order.
The plant sales areas are within a fairly large display garden where a leisurely stroll will reveal most of the plants that are available in the nursery.
1. Name, country of origin (If applicable) and family.
2. Growing requirements, sun, shade, well drained etc.
A big thank you to all our existing | 193 |
..was an. all-ages event with information booths, music, food, activities, and workshops on environmental action and awareness. Thanks in a big way to the many volunteers, presenters, musicians and over 400 participants, a wonderful time was had by all, and about $2300 was raised for PEI environmental education programs!
Thank you<|fim_middle|>-at-gmail.com or Tony Reddin at 902-675-4093.
You can also keep up with Wild Child activities by joining our Wild Child PEI Facebook Community Group. | also to the performers, auction item donors, volunteers and all who came out to support the PEI Wild Child Fundraiser on Feb 27th. Wild Child is our nature immersion program designed by the Sierra Club Canada Foundation to get children in daycares and afterschool programs experiencing, exploring, and playing in nature.
For more information on the Wild Child program or to make a donation to PEI Wild Child, please contact Hanna Hameline at wildchildpei | 95 |
Viña Concha y Toro's Center for Research and Innovation (CRI), together with UC Davis Chile, invites you to participate in the seminar on "Understanding red grape extraction in winem<|fim_middle|> Auditorium. | aking". The talk will be given by David Block (PhD), from the Department of Chemical Engineering of UC Davis California (see CV), who will work with the CRI on the Línea T R&D project. The focus of the seminar will be on the review of new technologies and methodologies for the analysis, modeling, simulation and optimization of the alcoholic fermentation process in red wines, with an emphasis on the extraction of polyphenols, particularly anthocyanins and polyphenols, which are related to color and quality in the mouth. The technologies and methodologies to be addressed will essentially involve the application of bioprocess engineering, IT and automation concepts and tools. The activity is directed towards the Technical Management team and its winemakers, and will be held next Wednesday, June 14, from 15:00 to 16:30 in the Extension Center Auditorium, located in Pencahue, Talca. Please confirm attendance by sending an email to: [email protected] What? Seminar on "Understanding red grape extraction in winemaking". When? Wednesday, June 14, from 15:00 to 16:30. Where? CRI Extension Center | 249 |
Adam Alter: How Do We Take Back Control Of Our Attention?09<|fim_middle|>resistible and Drunk Tank Pink.
He received his BS in Psychology from the University of New South Wales, and his MA and PhD in Psychology from Princeton University.
Copyright NPR 2021.
Related TED Bio: Adam Alter
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On Kids And Screens, A Middle Way Between Fear And Hype | :51
NPR/TED Staff
Adam Alter on the TED stage. (Bret Hartman/Bret Hartman / TED)
Part 5 of the TED Radio Hour episode IRL Online.
About Adam Alter's TED Talk
Within the last decade, we've opted to replace time spent on hobbies, exercise, and conversation with screen time. Social psychologist Adam Alter describes ways we can reclaim our attention.
About Adam Alter
Adam Alter is an Associate Professor of Marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business. His academic research focuses on judgment, decision-making, and social psychology. He has been featured widely in academic journals, TV, radio, and print outlets around the world.
Alter has also written for the New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, Atlantic, WIRED, Slate, Huffington Post, and Popular Science, among other publications. He is the author of two books: Ir | 183 |
\section{Introduction}
Reinforcement learning (RL) studies sequential decision-making problems where the agent aims to maximize its expected total reward by interacting with an unknown environment over time. However, in many applications such as electric grids and robotics, the agent often deals with conflicting requirements \cite{mannor2004geometric}, or has safety constraints during the learning process \cite{<|fim_middle|>, and the next state $s' \sim P(\cdot | s,a)$. The stochastic approximation $ L^{\xi}(\lambda,\mu,v)$ \eqref{eq:Stochastic approximation for Lagrangian function} is an unbiased estimator for the Lagrangian function \eqref{eq:Lagrangian_LP_CMDP}, i.e., $\mathbf{E}_{\xi, P(\cdot | s,a),q }\Bigr[L^{\xi}(\lambda,\mu,v)\Bigr] = L(\lambda,\mu,v) $. Using the proposed stochastic approximation of the Lagrangian function, consider the following projection algorithm for solving the C-RL problem in a model-free setting:
\begin{align}\label{eq:SA regularized saddle flow dynamic}
v^{n+1} &= \Psi_{\mathcal{V}}\Bigr[ v^n+\alpha^n\Bigr(\mathbf{1}_{\xi(s,a)>0}\frac{\lambda(s,a)[e(s)-\gamma e(s')]}{\xi(s,a)} \nonumber \\ &-(1-\gamma)\mathbf{e}(s_0)- \frac{1}{\rho}(v^n-\hat{v}^n)\Bigr) \Bigr] , \nonumber \\
\hat{v}^{n+1} &= \Psi_{\mathcal{V}}\Bigr[\hat{v}^{n}+\alpha^n \frac{1}{\rho}(v^n-\hat{v}^n) \Bigr], \nonumber\\
\mu_i^{n+1} &= \Psi_{\mathcal{U}}\Bigr[\mu_i^n + \alpha^n\Bigr(h^i -
\mathbf{1}_{\xi(s,a)>0}\frac{\lambda(s,a)g^i(s,a) }{\xi(s,a)} \nonumber \\
& - \frac{1}{\rho}(\mu_i^n-\hat{\mu}_i^n)\Bigr)\Bigr], \nonumber\\
\hat{\mu}_i^{n+1} &= \Psi_{\mathcal{U}}\Bigr[\hat{\mu}_i^{n}+\alpha^n \frac{1}{\rho}(\mu_i^n-\hat{\mu}_i^n)\Bigr], \nonumber\\
\lambda_a^{n+1} &=\Psi_{ \Delta}\Bigr[ \lambda_a^{n}+\alpha^n\Bigr(-\frac{1}{\rho}(\lambda_a^n-\hat{\lambda}_a^n) \nonumber \\ & + \mathbf{1}_{\xi(s,a)>0}\frac{ r(s,a) - v(s)+\gamma v(s')+ \sum_{i}\mu_i^n g^i(s,a)}{\xi(s,a)} \Bigr)\Bigr] , \nonumber\\
\hat{\lambda}_a^{n+1} &= \Psi_{ \Delta} \Bigr[\hat{\lambda}_a^{n} + \frac{1}{\rho}(\lambda_a^n-\hat{\lambda}_a^n) \Bigr],
\end{align}
The following Theorem is a direct application of Theorem \ref{Thm: Projection Theorem} and \ref{Thm:Saddle flow for C-RL}, which shows the sequence from \eqref{eq:SA regularized saddle flow dynamic} almost surely converges to the optimal solution to the C-RL problem.
\begin{thm}
Assume \ref{ass:Slater C-RL} and \ref{Ass: Stochastic approximation} hold, as $n \to \infty$, the sequence $\{\lambda^n, v^n ,\mu^n\} $ generated by \eqref{eq:SA regularized saddle flow dynamic} almost surely (w.p.1) converge to the optimal solution of the C-RL problem \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP}.
\end{thm}
\section{Numerical Examples} \label{sec:numerical}
In this section, we illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach using a classical CMDP problem: flow and service control problem in a single-server queue \cite{altman1999constrained}. Specifically, we consider a discrete-time single-server queue with a buffer of finite size $L$. We assume that, at most, one customer may join the system in a time slot. The state $s$ corresponds to the number of customers in the queue at the beginning of a time slot $ (|\mathcal{S}| = L+1) $.
The service action $a$ is selected from a finite subset $A$, and the flow action $b$ is selected from a finite subset $B$. Specifically, for two real numbers satisfying $ 0 < a_{\min} \leq a_{\max} < 1$, if the queue is non-empty and if the action of the server is $a\in A$, where $A$ is a finite subset of $[a_{\min}, a_{\max}] $, then the service of a customer is successfully completed with probability $a$. Likewise, for two real numbers satisfying $ 0 \leq b_{\min} \leq b_{\max} < 1$, if the queue is not full and if the action of the server is $b \in B(s)$, where $B(s)$ is a finite subset of $[b_{\min}, b_{\max}]$, then the probability of having one arrival during this time slot is equal to $b$. We assume that $0 \in B(x)$ for all $x$; moreover, when the buffer is full, no arrivals
are possible $(B(L) = {0})$. The transition law $P(\cdot | s,a)$ is therefore given by:
\begin{align*}
\begin{cases}
a(1-b) \;\; &\mathrm{if} \;1\leq x\leq L,y = x-1;\\
ab+(1-a)(1-b) \;\; &\mathrm{if} \;1\leq x\leq L,y = x;\\
(1-a)b \;\; &\mathrm{if} \;0 \leq x < L,y = x+1;\\
1-(1-a)b \;\; & \mathrm{if} \; y=x=0;
\end{cases}
\end{align*}
The reward function $r(s,a,b)$ is a real-valued decreasing function that depends only on $s$, which can be interpreted as a holding cost. The reward function $g^1(s,a,b)$ corresponding to the service rate is assumed to be a decreasing function that depends only on $a$. It can be interpreted as a higher service success rate having a higher cost. The reward function $g^2(s,a,b)$ corresponding to the flow rate $b$ is assumed to be an increasing function that depends only on $b$. It can be interpreted as a higher flow rate is more desired.
Suppose we want to solve the optimal policy for C-RL problem \eqref{problem:CMDP}, while satisfying constraints for service and flow. In the following numerical example, we compare the result generated by \eqref{eq:SA regularized saddle flow dynamic} and the ground truth result by directly solving the linear programming \ref{eq:LP_CMDP}, where we use the transition law stated above. Specifically, we choose $L = 4, A = [0.2,0.3,0.5,0.6,0.8], B = [0.1,0.3,0.5,0.9,0]$. The initial distribution $q$ is set as uniform distribution. The reward functions are $r(s) = -s+5, g^1(a) = -10a+3, g^2(b) = 10b-3 $.
\begin{figure}[ht]
\label{ fig7}
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.5\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{reward.png}
\caption{objective function}
\vspace{4ex}
\end{minipage
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.5\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{constraint.png}
\caption{constraint functions}
\vspace{4ex}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.5\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{lambda.png}
\caption{occupancy measure $\lambda$}
\vspace{4ex}
\end{minipage
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.5\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1\linewidth]{v.png}
\caption{dual variable v}
\vspace{4ex}
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
We compare the cumulative reward function, constraint functions, and output decision variables $\lambda,\mu,v$ with the ground truth result by directly solving the linear programming problem \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP}. Results show that the decision variables converge to the optimal solution while satisfying the constraints for flow and service.
\section{Conclusion}
In this work, we propose a novel SGDA algorithm to solve the C-RL problem in occupancy measure space leveraging tools from regularized saddle flow dynamics. Even when the Lagrangian function is bilinear, the continuous dynamics asymptotically converge to the optimal occupancy measure and policy. The discretized SGDA is a stochastic approximation of the continuous-time saddle flow dynamic. We further proved the SGDA algorithm almost surely converges to the optimal solution to the C-RL problem.
\ifthenelse{\boolean{arxiv}}{
| achiam2017constrained}. The constrained reinforcement learning (C-RL) framework is a natural way to embed all conflicting requirements efficiently and incorporate safety \cite{altman1999constrained,paternain2019constrained,castellano2021reinforcement,achiam2017constrained,chen2021primal,bai2022achieving,calvo2021state}.
There are two major approaches to finding the optimal policy of a C-RL problem, where the first approach solves it in the occupancy measure space. The constrained Markov Decision Process (CMDP) framework is a standard, and well-studied formulation for reinforcement learning with constraints \cite{altman1999constrained}. The agent aims to maximize the total reward function while satisfying requirements in secondary cumulative reward constraints. The CMDP problem can be equivalently written as a linear programming problem in occupancy measure space, and the optimal policy could be recovered from the optimal occupancy measure \cite{altman1999constrained}. However, this approach requires knowledge of the transition kernel of the underlying dynamical system explicitly, which is not always available in many realistic applications.
An alternative approach is to apply the Lagrangian duality and solve the C-RL problem in policy space \cite{chen2021primal,bai2022achieving,calvo2021state,liu2021learning,ding2020natural}. These approaches solve the min-max optimization problem using a sampling-based primal-dual algorithm or stochastic gradient descent-ascent (SGDA) algorithm, where the Lagrangian function is augmented with a possible regularization term, e.g., a KL divergence regularization. The primal variables and dual variables are updated iteratively, either using gradient information or solving a sub-optimization problem. The outcome of primal-dual algorithms is often subject to two cases: in the first case, the output of the primal-dual algorithm is a mixing policy, which is a weighted average of history outputs \cite{chen2021primal,bai2022achieving,calvo2021state}. In the second case, instead of showing the output policy converges to the optimal policy, they present a regret analysis for objective functions, and constraints \cite{liu2021learning,ding2020natural}. In summary, a key limitation is that the policy often oscillates and does not converge to the optimal policy, i.e., there is a mismatch between the behavioral policy and the optimal one. In this paper, we aim to tackle the above limitations by introducing a novel SGDA algorithm leveraging recent results on regularized saddle flow dynamics. Some of the proofs are omitted due to space constraints.
The key insight that the above sampling-based primal-dual algorithms do not converge is that the Lagrangian function for the C-RL problem does not possess sufficient convexity. The Lagrangian function is bilinear in occupancy measure space and is non-convex-concave in policy space. Our proposed method is rooted in the study of saddle flow dynamics \cite{you2021saddle, cherukuri2016asymptotic}. By adding a carefully crafted augmented regularization, the dissipative saddle flow proposed in \cite{you2021saddle} makes minimal requirements on convexity-concavity and yet still guarantees asymptotic convergence to a saddle point.
Leveraging tools from this dissipative saddle flow framework, we propose a novel algorithm to solve the C-RL problem in occupancy measure space, where the dynamics asymptotically converge to the optimal occupancy measure and optimal policy. We further extend the continuous-time algorithm in a model-free setting, where the discretized SGDA algorithm is shown to be the stochastic approximation of the continuous-time saddle flow dynamic. We prove that the SGDA algorithm almost surely converges to the optimal solution of the C-RL problem. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to solve the C-RL problem to converge to the optimal occupancy measure and policy.
Notation: Let $ \mathcal{K} \subset \mathbb{R}^n $ be a closed convex set. Given a point $ y \in \mathbb{R}^n $, $\Psi_{ \mathcal{K}}[y] = \argmin_{z \in \mathcal{K}} \|z- y\| $ denote the point-wise projection (nearest point) in $ \mathcal{K}$ to $y$. Given $x \in \mathcal{K}$ and $v \in \mathbb{R}^n$, define the vector field projection of $v$ at $x$ with respect to $ \mathcal{K}$ as:
$ \Pi_{\mathcal{K}}[x,v] = \lim_{\delta \to 0^+} \frac{\Psi_{ \mathcal{K}}[x + \delta v] -x}{\delta}$
\section{Problem Formulation}
In the constrained reinforcement learning problem (C-RL), $\mathcal{S}$ denotes the finite state space, $ \mathcal{A}$ denotes the finite action space, and $P: \mathcal{S} \times \mathcal{A} \to \triangle^{| \mathcal{S}|}$ gives the transition dynamics of the CMDP, where $P(\cdot | s,a)$ denotes the probability distribution of next state conditioned on the current state $s$ and action $a$. $r: \mathcal{S} \times \mathcal{A} \to [0,1]$ is the reward function, $g^i: \mathcal{S} \times \mathcal{A} \to [-1,1]$ denotes the $i^{th}$ constraint cost function. The scalar $\gamma$ denotes the discount factor, and $q$ denotes the initial distribution of the states.
A stationary policy is a map $\pi: \mathcal{S} \to \triangle^{| \mathcal{A}|}$ from states to a distribution in the action space. The value functions for both reward and constraints' cost following policy $\pi$ are given by:
\begin{align*}
& V^{\pi}_{r}(q) = (1-\gamma)\mathbf{E}_\pi[\textstyle\sum_{t=0}^\infty \gamma^t r(s_t,a_t) \,|\, s_0\sim q ],\\
& V^{\pi}_{g^i}(q) = (1-\gamma)\mathbf{E}_\pi[\textstyle\sum_{t=0}^\infty \gamma^t g^i(s_t,a_t) \,|\, s_0\sim q].
\end{align*}
The standard C-RL problem aims to maximize the total reward function while satisfying requirements in secondary cumulative reward constraints:
\begin{align}\label{problem:CMDP}
\max_{\pi}\;\; & V^{\pi}_{r}(q) \nonumber\\
s.t.\;\; & V^{\pi}_{g^i}(q) \geq h^i, \;\;\forall i \in [I] .
\end{align}
There exist two classes of approaches to solving the optimal policy of a constrained reinforcement learning problem. The constrained Markov Decision Process (CMDP) framework equivalently expresses the C-RL problem as a linear programming problem in occupancy measure space \cite{altman1999constrained}.
Given a policy $\pi$, define $\lambda^{\pi}: \mathcal{S} \times \mathcal{A} \to [0,1]$ as occupancy measure:
\begin{align*}
\lambda^{\pi}(s,a) = (1-\gamma)\textstyle\sum_{t=0}^\infty \gamma^t P_q^\pi(s_t=s,a_t=a) ,
\end{align*}
where $s_0 \sim q$. By definition, the occupancy measure belongs to the probability simplex $\lambda^{\pi} \in \Delta$. Problem \eqref{problem:CMDP} can be equivalently written as a linear programming problem:
\begin{align}\label{eq:LP_CMDP}
\max_{\lambda \in \Delta}\;\; &\textstyle \sum_{a} \lambda_a^Tr_a \\
s.t. \;\; &\textstyle \sum_{a}\lambda_a^T g^i_a \geq h^i, \;\;i \in [I] \nonumber \\
&\textstyle \sum_{a} (I - \gamma P_a^T)\lambda_a = (1-\gamma)q ,\nonumber
\end{align}
where $\lambda_a = [\lambda(1,a),\dots,\lambda(s,a)]^T \in \mathbb{R}^{|\mathcal{S} |} $ is the $a^{th}$ column of $\lambda^{\pi}$, $r_a =[r(1,a),\dots,r(s,a)]^T \in \mathbb{R}^{|\mathcal{S} |}$ denotes reward function associated with action $a$, $P_a$ denotes the transition matrix associated with action $a$. The optimal policy could be recovered by finding the optimal occupancy measure
\ifthenelse{\boolean{arxiv}}{
\begin{align*}
\end{align*}}{$\lambda^* $ from \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP} :
$ \pi^*(a|s) = \lambda^*(s,a)/\sum_{a'\in \mathcal{A}}\lambda^*(s,a')$ \cite{altman1999constrained}. }However, a key limitation in this approach is that it requires knowledge of the transition kernel of the underlying dynamical system explicitly, i.e., $P_a, r_a, g_a^i$.
Another approach is to apply the primal-dual algorithm to find the saddle points of the associated Lagrangian function of problem \eqref{problem:CMDP} in policy space:
\begin{align*}
L(\pi,\mu) = V^{\pi}_{r} + \textstyle \sum_{i=1}^I \mu_i (V^{\pi}_{g^i} - h^i).
\end{align*}
Algorithms often augment Lagrangian function with a regularization term $ \hat{L}(\pi,\mu) = L(\pi,\mu) + R(\pi,\mu)$, e.g., a KL divergence regularization, and update the policy and dual variable using one of the following rules:
\begin{align*}
\pi_{k+1}\! =\! \begin{cases}
\pi_k \! + \! \eta\nabla_{\pi}\hat{L}(\pi,\mu_k) \\
\mathrm{argmax}_{\pi} \hat{L}(\pi,\mu_k)
\end{cases}
\mu_{k+1} \!= \!\begin{cases}
\mu_k \!- \eta\nabla_{\pi}\hat{L}(\pi_k,\mu) \\
\mathrm{argmin}_{\mu} \hat{L}(\pi_k,\mu)
\end{cases}
\end{align*}
Among the sampling-based primal-dual algorithms, several algorithms output a mixing policy of the form $ \pi_T = \sum_{k=0}^{T-1} \eta_k \pi_k$, which is a weighted average of the history updates \cite{chen2021primal,bai2022achieving,calvo2021state}. The output policy oscillates and does not converge to the optimal policy. On the other hand, several papers provide a regret analysis instead of showing the algorithm's convergence.
\ifthenelse{\boolean{arxiv}}{
To summarize, the CMDP approach could directly solve the optimal occupancy measure and the optimal policy while requiring knowledge of the transition kernel. The sampling-based primal-dual algorithms often output a mixing policy of history and do not converge to the optimal policy. The key limitation is that the Lagrangian function for the C-RL problem does not possess sufficient convexity. Specifically, the Lagrangian function is bilinear in occupancy measure space and is nonconvex in policy space. In this paper, we aim to provide a novel algorithm that tackles the above difficulties.}
{}
\section{Key insight from saddle flow dynamics}
Before introducing our algorithm, we would like to illustrate our key insight from saddle flow dynamics, which explains why the primal-dual algorithm oscillates and does not converge. For a min-max optimization problem, primal-dual algorithms require the Lagrangian $L(x,y)$ function to be strictly convex or concave on $x$ or $y$, respectively, to converge. Consider the following motivating example with bilinear Lagrangian function:
\begin{align*}
\min_{x} \max_{y}L(x,y):=xy .
\end{align*}
Our goal is to apply different dynamic laws that seek to converge to some saddle point $(x^*,y^*)=(0,0)$ of $ L(x,y)$, which satisfies $L(x^*,y) \leq L(x^*,y^*) \leq L(x,y^*) $. In particular, consider the following classical primal-dual algorithm:
\begin{align*}
& \dot{x} = -\nabla_x L(x,y) = -y,\\
& \dot{y} = \nabla_y L(x,y) = x.
\end{align*}
In Figure \ref{fig:Bilinear_example}, (a) plots the time series trajectory of states $x$ and $y$, and (b) plots the vector field and corresponding phase portrait. We observe that the dynamical system oscillates and does not converge to the saddle point (0,0).
\begin{figure}[!htb]
\centering
\subfloat[\centering time series trajectories]{{\includegraphics[width=4.5cm]{Bilinear_time.png} }}%
\subfloat[\centering phase portrait]{{\includegraphics[width=4.5cm]{Bilinear_phase.png} }}%
\caption{Primal-dual dynamics of bilinear Lagrangian function}%
\label{fig:Bilinear_example}%
\end{figure}
In \cite{you2021saddle}, the authors introduce a regularization framework for saddle flow dynamics that guarantees asymptotic convergence to a saddle point based on mild assumptions. In this paper, we further extend the above framework to solve the C-RL problem. Specifically, consider the following constrained min-max optimization problem,
\begin{align*}
\min_{x \in \mathcal{K}} \max_{y \in\mathcal{V}}L(x,y)
\end{align*} where $\mathcal{K} \subset \mathbb{R}^n,\mathcal{V} \subset \mathbb{R}^m$ are bounded closed convex sets. We propose a regularized surrogate for $L(x,y)$ via the following augmentation:
\begin{align*}
L(x,y,z,w) :=\frac{1}{2\rho}\|x-z \|^2+ L(x,y)-\frac{1}{2\rho}\|y-w \|^2
\end{align*}
The following projected and regularized saddle flow dynamics aim to find the saddle points of the regularized Lagrangian, which contains the saddle point of the original Lagrangian. The regularized saddle flow dynamics still preserve the same distribution structure, which can be implemented in a fully distributed fashion, and requires the same gradient information as the classical primal-dual algorithm:
\begin{align}\label{eq: projected saddle flow dynamics subequations}
&\dot{x} = \Pi_{\mathcal{K}}\Bigr[x, \!-\!\nabla_xL(x,y) \!-\! \frac{1}{\rho}(x-z)\Bigr] , \dot{z} =\Pi_{\mathcal{K}}\Bigr[z, \frac{1}{\rho}(x-z)\Bigr] \nonumber \\
&\dot{y} = \Pi_{\mathcal{V}}\Bigr[y,\!-\!\nabla_yL(x,y) \!-\! \frac{1}{\rho}(y-w)\Bigr] , \dot{w} =\Pi_{\mathcal{V}}\Bigr[w, \frac{1}{\rho}(y-w) \Bigr]
\end{align}
\begin{thm}\label{thm:Saddle FLow Dynamics}
Assume that $L(\cdot, y)$ is convex for $\forall y$ and $L(x,\cdot)$ is concave for $\forall x$, continuously differentiable, and there exists at least one saddle point $(x^* \in \mathcal{K} ,y^* \in \mathcal{V})$, where $\mathcal{K} \subset \mathbb{R}^n,\mathcal{V} \subset \mathbb{R}^m$ are closed and convex. Then the projected saddle flow dynamics \eqref{eq: projected saddle flow dynamics subequations} asymptotically converge to some saddle point $(x^*,y^*)$ of $L(x,y)$, while $x(t) \in \mathcal{K}, y(t) \in \mathcal{V}, \forall t$ with initialization $x(0) \in \mathcal{K}, y(0) \in \mathcal{V} $.
\ifthenelse{\boolean{arxiv}}{
\textit{Proof}: See Appendix}
{\textit{Proof}: See \cite{zheng2022constrained}.}
\end{thm}
The above theorem shows the projected and regularized saddle flow dynamics will asymptotically converge to the saddle point of the Lagrangian function, which requires mild assumptions on convexity. Additionally, the following result summarizes conditions under which the solutions of the projected system exist and are unique.
\begin{prop}\cite[Prop 2.2]{cherukuri2016asymptotic} \label{pro:existence_projected_system}
Let $f: \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^n$ be Lipschitz on a closed convex polyhedron $\mathcal{K} \in \mathbb{R}^n $. Then, for any $x_0 \in \mathcal{K} $, there exists a unique solution $t \to x(t)$ of the projected system $\dot{x} = \Pi_{\mathcal{K}}\Bigr[x, f(x)\Bigr]$ with $x(0) = x_0$.
\end{prop}
We now apply the regularized saddle flow dynamics to the bilinear Lagrangian function $L(x,y)=xy $.
\ifthenelse{\boolean{arxiv}}{
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align*}
& \dot{x} =-y-\frac{1}{\rho}(x-z), & \dot{z} = \frac{1}{\rho}(x-z), \\
& \dot{y} = x - \frac{1}{\rho}(y-w), & \dot{w} = \frac{1}{\rho}(y-w).
\end{align*}
\end{subequations}
}{}According to Figure \ref{fig:2}, the trajectories of the above saddle flow dynamics asymptotically converge to the saddle point $(0,0,0,0)$, even when the original Lagrangian function is bilinear.
\begin{figure}[!htb]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.6\columnwidth]{Bilinear_Regularized.png}}
\caption{Regularized saddle flow dynamics for $ L(x,y)=xy$ }
\label{fig:2}
\end{figure}
A direct application of the above projected and regularized saddle flow dynamic is to solve the C-RL problem in occupancy measure space \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP}, where the Lagrangian function is also bilinear. Specifically, the Lagrangian function for \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP} in occupancy measure space is:
\begin{align}\label{eq:Lagrangian_LP_CMDP}
L(\lambda,\mu,v)= &\sum_{a} \lambda_a^Tr_a + \sum_{i}\mu_i(\sum_{a}\lambda_a^T g^i_a - h^i)\nonumber \\ & +(1-\gamma) \langle q,v\rangle - \sum_{a\in \mathcal{A}}\lambda_a^T (I - \gamma P_a)v,
\end{align} where $\mu_i \geq 0$ is the Lagrange multiplier associated with the $i^{th}$ inequality constraint and $v$ is the Lagrange multiplier associated with the equality constraint. Therefore, motivated by the projected and regularized saddle flow dynamics framework, we propose a regularized surrogate for \eqref{eq:Lagrangian_LP_CMDP} via the following augmentation:
\begin{align}\label{eq:augmented lagrangian}
L(v,\hat{v},\mu,\hat{\mu},\lambda,\hat{\lambda})& := \frac{1}{2\rho}\|v-\hat{v} \|^2+ \frac{1}{2\rho}\|\mu-\hat{\mu} \|^2 \nonumber \\ &+ L(v,\mu,\lambda) -\frac{1}{2\rho}\|\lambda-\hat{\lambda} \|^2
\end{align}
Slater's condition for C-RL and the following Lemma establishes the boundedness of dual decision variables, which naturally provides a closed convex set for projection.
\begin{ass}[Slater's condition for C-RL]\label{ass:Slater C-RL}
There exists a strictly feasible occupancy measure $\tilde{\lambda} \in \Delta$ of problem \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP}, i.e., there exist some $\psi > 0$ such that
\begin{align*}
& \sum_{a}\tilde{\lambda}_a^T g^i_a \geq h^i + \psi,\;\; i \in [I] \nonumber \\
& \sum_{a\in \mathcal{A}} (I - \gamma P_a^T)\tilde{\lambda}_a = (1-\gamma)q ,\nonumber
\end{align*}
\end{ass}
\begin{lem}\cite[Lem.1]{bai2022achieving}[Bounded dual variable]
Under the assumption \ref{ass:Slater C-RL}, the optimal dual variables $\mu^*,v^*$ are bounded. Formally, it holds that $\| \mu^* \|_1 \leq \frac{2}{\psi}$ and $\| v^* \|_{\infty} \leq \frac{1}{1-\gamma}+\frac{2}{(1-\gamma)\psi}$
\end{lem}
Therefore, we propose the following projected saddle flow dynamics to find the saddle points of \eqref{eq:augmented lagrangian}, where $\mathcal{U}:= \{\mu | \mu \in \mathbb{R}^{I}_{\geq 0}, \| \mu \|_1 \leq \frac{2}{\psi} \}, \mathcal{V}:= \{ v | v \in \mathbb{R}^s, \| v^* \|_{\infty} \leq \frac{1}{1-\gamma}+\frac{2}{(1-\gamma)\psi} \}$ are both closed convex polyhedrons.
\begin{align}\label{eq:regularized saddle flow dynamic C-RL}
&\Dot{v} \;= \Pi_{\mathcal{V}}\Bigr[v, \sum_{a\in \mathcal{A}} (I - \gamma P_a^T)\lambda_a-(1-\gamma)q - \frac{1}{\rho}(v-\hat{v})\Bigr] \nonumber ,\\
&\Dot{\hat{v}} \;= \Pi_{\mathcal{V}}\Bigr[\hat{v},\frac{1}{\rho}(v-\hat{v}) \Bigr]\nonumber,\\
&\Dot{\mu}_i = \Pi_{\mathcal{U}}\Bigr[\mu_i, h^i- \sum_{a}\lambda_a^T g^i_a - \frac{1}{\rho}(\mu_i-\hat{\mu}_i)\Bigr] \nonumber,\\
&\Dot{\hat{\mu}}_i = \Pi_{\mathcal{U}}\Bigr[\hat{\mu}, \frac{1}{\rho}(\mu-\hat{\mu})\Bigr] \nonumber,\\
&\Dot{\lambda}_a =\Pi_{\Delta}\Bigr[\lambda, r_a - (I - \gamma P_a)v + \sum_{i}\mu_i g^i_a- \frac{1}{\rho}(\lambda_a-\hat{\lambda}_a)\Bigr] \nonumber,\\
&\Dot{\hat{\lambda}}_a =\Pi_{\Delta}\Bigr[\hat{\lambda}_a, \frac{1}{\rho}(\lambda-\hat{\lambda})\Bigr] ,
\end{align}
The following theorem is a direct application of Theorem \ref{thm:Saddle FLow Dynamics} and Proposition \ref{pro:existence_projected_system}, which guarantees \eqref{eq:regularized saddle flow dynamic C-RL} asymptotically converge to the unique (optimal) saddle point of the C-RL problem \eqref{eq:LP_CMDP}. Then we could recover the optimal policy from the optimal occupancy measure $\lambda^*$.
\begin{thm}\label{Thm:Saddle flow for C-RL}
Let Assumption \ref{ass:Slater C-RL} hold. Then the projected saddle flow dynamics \eqref{eq:regularized saddle flow dynamic C-RL} asymptotically converge to some saddle point $(\lambda^* ,\mu^* ,v^*)$ of $L(\lambda,\mu,v)$, while satisfying $\lambda(t)\in \Delta, \mu(t) \in \mathcal{U}, \forall t$ with proper initialization.
\end{thm}
\section{Stochastic Approximation for C-RL}
In the following section, we aim to extend the proposed continuous-time saddle flow algorithm \eqref{eq:regularized saddle flow dynamic C-RL} to a model-free setting. Specifically, we propose a novel stochastic gradient descent-ascent algorithm, which does not require the knowledge of transition kernel. We show that the SGDA algorithm is a stochastic approximation of the continuous time saddle flow dynamics \eqref{eq:regularized saddle flow dynamic C-RL}, which almost surely (w.p.1) converges to the unique saddle point of the C-RL problem.
In many optimization problems, the goal is to find some recursive numerical procedure that sequentially approximates a value of the decision variable $x$, which minimizes the objective function, e.g., $\dot{x} =h(x)$ or $ x^{n+1} = x^n + \alpha^nh(x^n)$. Stochastic approximations attempt to solve the problem when one cannot actually observe $h(x)$, but rather $h(x)$ plus some error or noise. Consider the following projection algorithm:
\begin{align}\label{eq:projection algorithm from projection theorem}
x^{n+1} = \Psi_{ \mathcal{G} }\Bigr[x^n + \alpha^n \Bigr(h(x^n) + \xi^n\Bigr) \Bigr],
\end{align}
where $\mathcal{G} := \{x: q_i(x) \leq 0, i \in [s] \} $ denotes the constraints and $\{\xi^n \}$ denotes a sequence of random variables. The goal is to generate a sequence $\{x^n\}$ estimate of the optimal value of $x$ when the actual observation has random noise $h(x^n) + \xi^n$. In general, the projection $\Psi_{ \mathcal{G} }[x]$ is easy to compute when the constraints are linear; i.e., when $ \mathcal{G} $ is a polyhedron. We introduce the following list of standard assumptions for stochastic approximation
\begin{ass}[Stochastic Approximation]\label{Ass: Stochastic approximation} \;\;
\begin{enumerate}
\item[1.1] $h(\cdot)$ is a continuous function.
\item[1.2] $\{\alpha^n\} $ is a sequence of positive real numbers such that $\alpha^n >0, \sum_n \alpha^n = \infty, \sum_n(\alpha^n)^2 < \infty$,
\item[1.3] G is the closure of its interior and is bounded. The $q_i(\cdot), i \in [s]$ are continuously differentiable.
\item[1.4] There is a $T>0$ such that for each $\epsilon > 0$
\begin{align*}
\lim_n P\{\sup_{j \geq n} \max_{t \leq T}|\sum_{i=m(jT)}^{m(jT+t)-1}\alpha^i\xi^i |\geq \epsilon \}=0,
\end{align*}
where $t^n := \sum^{n-1}_{i=0} \alpha^i$ and $ m(t):= \max_n\{ t^n \leq t\}$ for $t \geq 0$.
\end{enumerate}
\end{ass}
Under those standard assumptions for stochastic approximations, the sequence $\{x^n \}$ generated by the projection algorithm \eqref{eq:projection algorithm from projection theorem} will converge almost surely to a stable solution to the projected system.
\begin{thm}\cite[Theorem 5.3.1]{kushner2012stochastic}\label{Thm: Projection Theorem}
Assume Assumption \ref{Ass: Stochastic approximation} hold. Consider the following ODE:
\begin{align}\label{eq:Projected ODE projection theorem}
\dot{x} = \Pi_{\mathcal{G}}\Bigr[x,h(x)\Bigr].
\end{align} Let $x^*$ denotes an asymptotically stable point of \eqref{eq:Projected ODE projection theorem} with domain of attraction $DA(x^*)$ and $x^n$ generated by \eqref{eq:projection algorithm from projection theorem}.
If $A \in DA(x^*)$ is compact and $x^n \in A$ infinitely often, then $x^n$ converges to $x^*$ almost surely as $n \to \infty$.
\end{thm}
Consider the following randomized primal-dual approach proposed in \cite{bai2022achieving,wang2020randomized}, where we assume the presence of a generative model. For a given state action pair $(s,a)$, the generative model provides the next state $s' $ and the reward functions $r(s,a), g^i(s,a)$ to train the policy. Consider the following stochastic approximation for the Lagrangian function \eqref{eq:Lagrangian_LP_CMDP} for a distribution $ \xi $:
\begin{align} \label{eq:Stochastic approximation for Lagrangian function}
& L^{\xi}(\lambda,\mu,v)=(1-\gamma)v(s_0) - \sum_{i \in [I] } \mu_ih^i +\\ & \mathbf{1}_{\xi(s,a)>0}\frac{\lambda(s,a)\Bigr[r(s,a)-v(s)+\gamma v(s')+\sum_{i \in [I]}\mu_i g^i(s,a) \Bigr]}{\xi(s,a)} \nonumber
\end{align}
where $s_0 \sim q, (s,a) \sim \xi $ | 7,060 |
For many children, adolescents, teens, and adults managing chronic pain, depression or anxiety, interactions with domesticated animal companions — dogs, cats, bunnies, birds and more — improve mood and self-esteem, lower blood pressure and decrease anxiety.
Read several inspirational stories in Pain-Free Living's "Healing Power of Animals" series.
Learn how a military hero stumbled upon a friendly stray kitten and found hope.
Read how a Massachusetts teen is reaping the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding in Pain-Free Living's "<|fim_middle|> story of how a nonprofit founder with fibromyalgia is reaping the benefits of pet- and animal-assisted therapies.
Learn how several people have drawn inspiration from cats and dogs during difficult times. | Healing Power of Animals" series.
Find out about the important role of dogs in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) pet therapy program in Pain-Free Living's "Healing Power of Animals" series.
Read the inspirational | 45 |
On March 13th, 2018, Dylan was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. This is an incredibly rare disease affecting 1-2: 1,000,000 children per year. LCH is when your body overproduces Langerhan Cells which then accumulate and can take over your organs, central nervous system, lungs, skin or bone. The most recent research has found that LCH is more a cancer rather than an autoimmune disease and is treated at such.
Dylan has made it to every single practice and game all season long. You would never know the ordeal he has been through based on his positive demeanor and the smile that never leaves his face. He has done everything our coaching staff has asked of him and he is even willing to help us out with play calls every now and then! Dylan shows up to every practice and game ready to play, gives full effort, shows positive sportsmanship, and he is very well liked by his teammates and coaches, most of whom do not even know about his health issues.
2018 TYLERSTRONG Tournament. Thanks to all that made this another sucessful tournament!!
Our mission is to help kids and families from the Victor community who may come across struggles of their own.
About Tyler Strong Foundation
The TYLERSTRONG Foundation would like to thank Mike Vistocco for his generous donation. Mike recently retired from the Victor Central School District. In lieu of gifts Mike asked his co-workers, friends and family to donate to the foundation.
Thank you Mike!
Golf Tournament July 8th 2019! tylerstronggolftournament.com
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Golf Day Pictures -- 2018
Vince Lombardi one said, "Winners never quit and quitters never win." Tyler overcame many challenges through his 17 years, but never saw them as a challenge, he just never quit. This started right when he was a baby coming into this world 6 weeks early, through his toddler years where he overcame kidney issues and five surgeries, and then in fifth grade where he overcame a blood clot in his brain. During that time, Tyler developed a love of sports and what it means to be a part of a team.
Tyler played youth baseball (where he also coached and umpired), recreation soccer and basketball, JV golf, and his biggest love was that of football<|fim_middle|>14 Tyler Strong | starting with flag football to Varsity football. He loved everything about the sport whether it was playing or coaching alongside his father when he couldn't play for a couple of years as he recovered from his blood clot, supporting his Varsity team when he was sidelined for a knee injury or cheering on the Buffalo Bill ( hoping someday they would make the playoffs).
Tyler lived by the golden rule, "Treat others as you would want to be treated," and that is what he showed his team and the Victor community. Tyler loved and was passionate about his parents, brother, family , friends and the Victor community. In memory of Tyler continue to be kind and never quit! That is what "T Hutt" would do!
2018 Victor Youth Football -- Tyler Hutt Award. Congratulations Dylan Paolozzi
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RANDALL BRAMBLETT:
DEVIL MUSIC
New West Records
Randall Bramblett - Vocals on all tracks; Hammond on tracks 1, 2, 4, 8 & 9; Keys on tracks 3, 5, 10 & 11;
Sax on tracks 3, 6 & 10; Piano on tracks 7 & 9; Soprano Sax<|fim_middle|>retless Bass on track 9
Kevin Hyde - Trombone on tracks 3 & 11
Tom Ryan - Bari Sax on tracks 3, 6 & 11
Derek Trucks - Electric Slide Guitar on track 4
Chuck Leavell - Piano on track 6
1. Dead In The Water (4:23)
2. Devil Music (4:48)
3. Bottom Of The Ocean (3:47)
4. Angel Child (4:50)
5. Pride In Place (3:56)
6. Reptile Pilot (3:20)
7. Whiskey Headed Woman (5:52)
8. Strong Love (4:34)
9. Ride (5:46)
10. Thing For You (4:45)
11. Missing Link (3:43) | on track 7; Synth Solo on track 8
Mark Knopfler - Electric Guitar on track 1
Davis Causey - Electric Guitar on all tracks
Nick Johnson - Electric Guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 & 11
Michael Rhodes - Bass on tracks 1, 2, 6, 7 & 8
Gerry Hansen - Drums on all tracks; Percussion on tracks 4, 7 & 8
Dylan Hansen - Trash Kit on track 2
Seth Hendershot - Percussion on tracks 2, 5, 10 & 11; Backing Vocals on tracks 3 & 5; Trash Kit on tracks 8 & 10
Michael Steele - Bass on tracks 3, 4, 5, 10 & 11; Backing Vocals on tracks 3 & 5; F | 213 |
On family day (15 February) we went to the Auto Show. Andy got free tickets<|fim_middle|> want. The next car will be a hybrid I think.
Jesse is pointing to the Mustang logo because his friends' Dad (Jack and Fraser) in NZ has a Mustang and he thought they would be jealous that he got to see this one. Baz, I've included a photo of the price details to make you even more jealous.
Loved the interior of this futuristic car, it had daisies printed on the white leather seats and was very open with a huge sunroof. | from work so we thought that we'd check it out. It was a huge show although others told us that it was not as big as in previous years. It spanned across two buildings and we caught a shuttle bus from one to the other.
Thought I'd post the photos of Jesse trying every imaginable car and motorbike. There were huge queues to even sit in the cars so he didn't get to try all the ones he wanted but he did enjoy himself. I particularly liked the Lexus RX350 but my conscience would not let me drive a huge petrol powered SUV like that, even if it has everything anyone could ever | 127 |
The Terry Bicycles Women's Sun Goddess Shorts feature a shorter inseam to fend off overly obvious tan lines. Fashioned from a stretchy mix of nylon and spandex, these shorts allow for comfortable movement and provide a hint of compressive support. Their wide, elastic-free waist and comfort leg bands provide a secure, pinch-free fit through even the longest rides.
Equipped with Terry's newest Fleet Air chamois, the Sun Goddess Shorts feature seamless padding with four-way stretch Elastic Interface Technology and multi-density foam for a smooth, chafe-free feel. A lightweight, microfiber cover promotes ventilation while simultaneously reducing the insert's thickness profile at the inner thigh to combat chafing and irritation.
These are the lowest rise bike shorts I've ever come across, and low rise is not something I want in a pair of cycling shorts. If that's what you're looking for, then these may work for you. The pad seemed very thin compared to<|fim_middle|> so I would only recommend these for short rides, or for riders that need little to no padding. These also seem to run a little smaller than some of the other Terry shorts. | the one in the Bella shorts, | 7 |
Arts Events & Festivals Movies & Videos Reviews The Mob's Reel
CRITTERS ATTACK! FANTASIA FEST and chews its face off…
Celestial Catnip
CRITTERS ATTACK!
DIRECTOR: Bobby Miller
WRITER: Scott Lobdell
CAST: Jack Fulton, Jaeden Noel, Ava Preston, Dee Wallace, Tashiana Washington
The alien Krites are back,<|fim_middle|> Korea's EXTREME JOB
FANTASIA FESTIVAL moves into an unsettling 1BR and won't let you go!
Sherry Nelson: TV Host Extraordinaire Taking The Entertainment World By Storm
Snap Shots: Because A Picture is worth a Thousand Words. 'Trantasy'
It was pretty semetic | and this time they're chomping up a small college town. Do you really need to know more? It's Critters. It's not high art.
CRITTERS ATTACK! is a very silly blood & ooze soaked ode to 80s horror, specifically the tiny creatures flicks that the original CRITTERS films were a mainstay in. It's mindless fun. I'm not gonna harp on dialogue or low budget performances, because ultimately if you're watching a CRITTERS film it's because you love 80s trash cinema and just want to see tiny creatures fuck stuff up.
Speaking of 1980s, Genre queen and pioneer Dee Wallace is in this one kicking ass as Aunt Dee, in a much different role than her previous critters appearance. It's fun to see Dee up there blasting Krites because it's friggin' Dee Wallace, and I think they needed an anchor from the old films to bring the fans back to this one, but I digress.
Back to the Krites, yes, this film has your back if you want ridiculous puppets with a lot of teeth chomping up a storm. Yes, they're cute and vicious! There is so much Critter mayhem in this film. So many chewed up limbs and faces. So many exploding ooze-filled balls of fur.
In response to lack of blood and violence of the director's previous flick, THE CLEANSE (which also played Fantasia Festival a few years back), Bobby Miller said, "alright, mother fuckers!" and amped up the gore with this one. That's pretty much an exact quote. That's the kind of film this is. It's ridiculously violent. There's more face being eaten here than at a high school prom. It's the big dumb violent creature feature you expect it to be.
Even the actors were excited to see said blood and gore and fight scenes on set, which shows because the cast seemed to have a lot of fun time with this one. They were especially excited to be part of the franchise and see the "furry balls everywhere".
Speaking of the furry balls, probably the only thing every other reviewer seems to agree on liking in this film, the Krite puppets were very important to director, Bobby Miller. They had about twenty of them on set, three or four animatronic ones, and a bunch of others that they blew up. That's quite impressive because It feels like there's a lot more of them in the movie, so it's amazing how they pulled that off. Some of those puppets were recycled from previous CRITTERS instalments that the studio sent over. It's good to know the studio goes green when it comes to 80s horror schlock.
Regarding all those practical FX, Miller made it very clear it was of the utmost importance to him. He kept saying no to the CGI guy, and kept said CG to a minimum. He felt that digital FX is so prevalent these days, that the idea of awe and wonder is gone. There's a magic to practical FX, and that magic shines through with CRITTERS ATTACK! It really feels like a product of the era it birthed. So if that doesn't work for you, maybe you should check out something like MIDSOMMAR and stop harping on friggin' CRITTERS.
This film is stupid, stupid, horrific fun for an age where we take shit too seriously. Maybe it's just for diehard fans of the franchise. Maybe it's just for 80s fans… but honestly, there's a scene where a bumbling forest ranger is in a shower and mistakes a hairy Krite for a loofah. Need I say more? How can you not love that? It's Critters. It's probably all we'll get until they give us more GREMLINS sequels.
Fantasia runs through Concordia until August 1st!
CRITTERS ATTACK! will continue to run the festival circuit. It's available for pre-order on several On Demand sites.
Fantasiafantasia 2019Fantasia FestivalFantasia Film Festival
About Author / Celestial Catnip
When Theo isn't drawing weirdo art he's watching Films. Theo likes films. Theo likes all kinds of films. Sometimes we even get a coherent review out of him. Sometimes. Read his yearly coverage of the Fantasia Festival and you'll see what we're talking about.
FANTASIA FESTIVAL eats up South | 924 |
The difference between explicit and implicit information in sources
Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/middle-ages-poet-writing-ancient-4938310/
Students often find that understanding the difference between 'explicit' and 'implicit' information in historical sources to be<|fim_middle|>He was a god", they could imply it by saying:
"The emperor had powers that no normal human being had: he could control the weather, read other people's minds, and even cause earthquakes whenever he wanted. Finally, when the emperor had decided that his time on earth was finished, he flew up to heaven by himself."
In this example, you notice that the words, "He was a god", is not actually said anywhere. Instead, the author has given their audience enough information that they would reach that conclusion without actually being told directly.
In many cases, the authors of historical sources used implicit meaning to change people's minds about something without the audience noticing, because the information is not clearly stated. For this reason, implicit information is used a lot in propaganda and other persuasive texts.
How to show that you know the difference
The need to know the difference between explicit and implicit meaning is often most important when completing assessment, especially exams. When you complete these tasks, you need to successfully show the exam marker that you can identify information that is either explicitly or implicitly expressed.
To show explicit information, you need to find the exact words in a source that conveys the information. The best way to do this is with a direct quote. Therefore, use the following steps when constructing your answer:
Read the historical source closely and mark (using an underline or a highlighter) the exact words used by the author.
Then, in your answer, quote these exact words to show that you've been able to identify explicit meaning.
To show implicit information, you need to summarise the meaning of a source using your own words, since it is never directly stated in the source. The best way to do this is by using an indirect quote. However, to show how you reached this conclusion, you also need to support your answer by providing some direct quotes from the source that show what information the author provided that led to this conclusion. Therefore, use the following steps when constructing your answer:
Read the historical source carefully two or three times.
Write down, in your own words, what you think the source is trying to convince you of.
Find two or three statements in the source that leads you to this conclusion.
Then, in your answer, state your summary first to explain what the source was trying to say.
Next, support your summary by showing the two or three direct quotes from the source.
Finally, explain how these direct quotes led you to the conclusion you stated in your summary.
Sources can both be explicit and implicit
The more you study historical sources, the more you realise that they can provide both explicit and implicit information. Usually, you notice this when you are looking for direct quotes to support implied meaning.
Here is a quote from a source:
"The pharaoh enslaved his own people and forced them to build his pyramid. Over a thousand of his citizens died following his commands, but the pharaoh continued with his plans regardless of the suffering caused."
In the above source, it is clear that the author is implying that the pharaoh was a cruel tyrant who was happy for people to die in order to get what he wanted. This was never clearly stated, and is, therefore, implied.
However, in order to imply this, the author provided explicit information in order to lead you to this conclusion. For example, it clearly stated that he "enslaved his own people" and that he "continued with his plans regardless of the suffering caused".
A way to remember the difference
Many people have tried to devise a simple way to help remember the difference between the two concepts. Any way that helps you remember is perfectly fine, but here is a handy way to remember the difference between explicit information and implicit information that some students have found helpful.
This trick focuses on the sound at the start of each word:
Explicit has the sound 'ex' at the start. This should be a hint that the information uses the exact words. 'Explicit' and 'exact' start with the same sound.
Implicit has the sound 'im' at the start. This should be a hint that you have to 'imagine' what the author wanted to convince you of. 'Implicit' and 'imagine' start with the same sound.
If you'd like further resources on implicit and explicit information from historical sources, read the following pages on the History Skills website.
The Comprehension page provides further resources on how to identify explicit meaning in sources.
The Interpretation page provides additional help with implicit information in sources.
tagPlaceholderTags: implied
Harry (Wednesday, 10 March 2021 20:22)
This is very useful. I've always struggled with this.
Couldn't be happier!
Mr Bean (Tuesday, 16 March 2021 18:43)
great stuff, great for helping me study!!!! | difficult.
I think that most of the confusion arises from the fact that the words 'explicit' and 'implicit' sound similar. However, it needn't be a struggle, as the difference is very easy to learn.
In this blog post, I will step you through the two different concepts and provide you with some clear examples to help clarify any lingering confusion.
But first, let's look at why historical sources contain implicit and explicit information in the first place.
Watch a video explanation:
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Why historical sources use both explicit and implicit information
When authors are writing down information, they are trying to convince their readers to believe something.
For example, an author might write a biography about a famous general to convince you that they were incredibly brilliant at leading their armies.
Therefore, authors will tell you specific information so that you believe what they're trying to convince you of.
For example, if they're trying to convince you about the brilliant general mentioned before, they will share a range of stories about their greatest victories, or their most inspiring speeches.
When they do this, the authors must choose particular words to convey their information. They could choose to be very direct in convincing you or be cunning in how they share the information with you.
For example, they could simply say, "General Jones was an incredibly brilliant general".
Alternatively, the author could try to be more subtle. Instead of just saying, "He was a brilliant general", they could instead say, "His personality was so powerful and so rare that no-one else could match his leadership or ability to inspire his men".
In this example, the author can use one of two ways to convey their information: either with the exact words or using a more subtle approach where they mention associated things that allow you to come to the same conclusion without using the specific words.
One of these approaches is called 'explicit information' and the other is 'implicit information'.
Let's look at each one separately.
Explicit Information
The most obvious way for authors to convey information is 'explicitly'.
'Explicit' means 'clearly stated'. Most of the time, this is when the author uses specific words to tell you what they want you to believe.
If a source said: "The Renaissance was a historical period where European society finally freed itself from the dark misery of the Middle Ages", it is explicitly stated that the author believed that the Middle Ages was "dark" and caused "misery" to "European society". This information is clear because exact words are used to tell you what the author wanted you to believe.
In most circumstances, authors of sources choose to use explicit information so that their audiences aren't left wondering what to believe. Their information is so clearly stated, and spelled out with exact words, that there is no room for doubt or confusion.
Implicit Information
The second way an author can convey information to convince their audience is to 'imply' meaning or to be 'implicit'.
'Implicit' means 'not clearly stated' or 'not exactly said'.
When providing information in an implicit way, authors aim to be more subtle, or clever with how they try to convince you to believe what they want you to believe. Rather than stating something directly, they give you enough information so that you reach the conclusion yourself, without the author having to say it in exact words.
If an ancient author was trying to convince their audience that a particular Roman emperor was a god, rather than explicitly saying, " | 698 |
Quick Answer: How To Make A Riff Transition Into A Chorus?
Home > Chorus > Quick Answer: How To Make A Riff Transition<|fim_middle|>orus?
How many riffs should a song have?
So usually we end up with 4 or 5 riffs for an entire song. However, he also tends to mix riffs up with chord progressions.
What is the most famous guitar riff?
8) "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" – Rolling Stones (1965)
7) "Whole Lotta Love" – Led Zeppelin (1969)
6) "Back in Black" – AC/DC (1980)
5) "Beat It" – Michael Jackson (1982)
4) "You Really Got Me" – The Kinks (1964)
3) "Smoke on the Water" – Deep Purple (1972)
2) "Mannish Boy" – Muddy Waters (1955)
What is the difference between a riff and a lick?
The main difference between a guitar lick and a guitar riff is how a melody or idea is used. If the idea is a key part of the song, it's a guitar riff. If it's a once-off idea that is part of a solo, it's a lick. It is a key part of the song and forms the main theme of the song.
What is the key similarity between an ostinato and a riff?
The definitions of ostinato and riff are almost the same: a repeated pattern of notes. The biggest difference is that an ostinato is a repeated BACKGROUND pattern, sometimes a one or two note rhythm. A riff is usually more melodic and NOT background. A riff doesn't necessarily repeat immediately. | Into A Chorus?
1 How do you transition to a chorus?
2 What is a riff chorus?
3 How do you transition from a chorus to a verse?
4 What is the riff of a song?
5 How many riffs should a song have?
6 What is the most famous guitar riff?
7 What is the difference between a riff and a lick?
8 What is the key similarity between an ostinato and a riff?
How do you transition to a chorus?
Let's take a look at how you can transition from a verse to a chorus. One of the simplest ways to shift from a verse into a chorus is to have the chord at the end of a verse resolve into the beginning chord of a chorus. The best way to do this is through the use of a cadence.
What is a riff chorus?
The riff starts the song and remains a fundamental element in it, It's repeated all throughout or recurs frequently as the chorus (or a part of it), In rock and metal music, the riff is usually played by the electric guitar on the lower strings (often in power chords).
How do you transition from a chorus to a verse?
the key is to have your chorus have more energy than the verse, and keep the chorus simple/have a strong chord progression for it, where in the verse you have more freedom to wander. so, just use different vocal melodies/add instruments, etc. in the chorus. that way, it won't sound too similar to the verse.
What is the riff of a song?
Rikky Rooksby states, "A riff is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase, often pitched low on the guitar, which focuses much of the energy and excitement of a rock song."
You might be interested: Often asked: Which Line Oedipus Anticipates Ch | 369 |
1. What's the deal with the website Equifax has set up for consumers?
Equifax has set up a website, equifaxsecurity2017.com, where consumers can check if they've been affected by the breach. Once on the site, click on the button "Potential Impact" at the bottom of the main page. You then need to click on "Check Potential Impact," where you will be asked to provide your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number — a request that was widely mocked on social media as being too intrusive when the standard request is for only the last four digits.
Equifax has stated that regardless of whether your information may have been affected, everyone has the option to sign up on the website for one free year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection. You can do so by clicking the "Enroll" button<|fim_middle|> card statements: Review your financial statements regularly and look for any transaction that seems amiss. Take advantage of any alert features so that you are notified when suspicious activity is detected. Your vigilance is an essential tool in fighting identity theft.
It's amazing that a major, multi-billion dollar business that handles so much of our personal, private information could have a data breach when they are fully aware that doing so would be costly and damaging to such a vast amount of people. The science of protection is incredibly important to stay ahead of.
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· Fraud alerts: Your first step should be to establish fraud alerts with the three major credit reporting agencies. This will alert you if someone tries to apply for credit in your name. You can also set up fraud alerts for your credit and debit cards.
· Credit freezes: A credit freeze will lock your credit files so that only companies you already do business with will have access to them. This means that if a thief shows up at a faraway bank and tries to apply for credit in your name using your address and Social Security number, the bank won't be able to access your credit report. (However, a credit freeze won't prevent a thief from making changes to your existing accounts.) Initially, consumers who tried to set up credit freezes with Equifax discovered they had to pay for it, but after a public thrashing Equifax announced that it would waive all fees for the next 30 days (starting September 12) for consumers who want to freeze their Equifax credit files.6Before freezing your credit reports, though, it's wise to check them first. Also keep in mind that if you want to apply for credit with a new financial institution in the future, or you are opening a new bank account, applying for a job, renting an apartment, or buying insurance, you will need to unlock or "thaw" the credit freeze.
· Credit reports: You can obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the major credit agencies once every 12 months by requesting the reports at annualcreditreport.com or by calling toll-free 877-322-8228. Because the Equifax breach could have long-term consequences, it's a good idea to start checking your report as part of your regular financial routine for the next few years.
· Bank and credit | 410 |
How does the scanner trigger my stimulus program?
When the scanner starts acquiring data the stimulus computer will receive the same signal as if the "5" has been pressed in the top number row of the computer keyboard, as illustrated in the picture (NOT the "5" in the numeric keypad, that is a different signal). Pressing the "5" in the top number row on any computer is IDENTICAL to the trigger signal received from the scanner by the stimulus computer, therefore for trigger testing purposes it is not necessary to connect to the scanner set-up.
What is the slice acquisition order for functional scans?
Slices are acquired in an interleaved fashion from inferior to superior (i.e. bottom of the head to the top) assuming you have an axial or oblique axial acquisition (which is usually the case). If you have an odd number of slices, the lowest slice will be the first to be acquired (i.e. slice 1), whereas if you have an even number of slices,<|fim_middle|> Parallel Acquisition Technique) is the Siemens implementation of parallel imaging. Parallel imaging exploits the multiple channels of the head coil and their different spatial sensitivities to allow for the acquisition of a reduced data set while maintaining image quality. This reduction in acquired data can then allow for faster, higher resolution, or larger coverage scans. However, the use of parallel imaging results in a reduction in SNR, can result in an increased sensitivity to motion, and if used too strongly can result in artifacts. As such, the use of iPAT for functional scans should generally only be considered when one needs to push either spatial resolution below the typical value of ~3 mm, or make the TR much shorter than 2 s, both while maintaining whole brain coverage.
What regions are typically affected by susceptibility effects in gradient echo BOLD?
Regions commonly affected by susceptibility artifacts in gradient-echo BOLD include the medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC), temporal poles, and inferior temporal lobe. If your interest is particularly in one of these areas you may consider running a spin-echo BOLD scan, instead of gradient-echo, as it is unaffected by susceptibility effects.
How do I use/interpet the physiological (physio) recordings?
The easiest way to use the physio recordings (.ext, .puls, .resp) are to first process them using the prepphysio script that exists on most Rotman servers. prepphysio will "Preprocess Siemens physiological data dump files and convert them into a simpler format usable by AFNI and pretty much any other software." For more information on how to use the script, just run the prepphysio command without any arguments on one of the servers and it will output instructions on how to use it.
Read in the first row of the file and ignore/remove: a) the header information (orange above), and b) Any instances of 5000 (red above) or higher (e.g. 5003). You should then be left with the raw physio recording.
The start and end times of a given physio recording are given, in msec from midnight (i.e. 0 would refer to 12AM), by LogStartMDHTime and LogStopMDHTime respectively. The start time of a given fMRI run can be found in the header information of that run's first DICOM (if you don't have a way to see DICOM header information, try ImageJ; when you open a DICOM ImageJ, click Image -> Show Info…). In the header, it will be found under the heading "0008,0032 Acquisition Time:" and will be in a 24h clock format (e.g. 165445.652500 = 16h 54m 45.6525s); you may want to convert it to msec from midnight.
Using the two start times, find the point in the raw physio recording (from step 1) at which the run starts (Note: The physiological recordings are sampled at 50Hz, i.e. each sample is 0.02s after the previous). You can calculate the number of physio samples to include from this sync point on by using the TR and number of frames in your fMRI run (e.g. if your TR = 2s and you have 192 frames, then you will need to take a total of TR*number of frames/physio sample period = 2*192/0.02 = 19200 samples).
Write the synced time course of physio samples into another file. If you want the file to be in the same format as output by prepphysio make sure that you save them into a text file with one value per line and save the text file with a .1D extension (i.e. run1.puls.1D, run1.resp.1D). NOTE: The default output of prepphysio for the .puls.1D file is to contain a time course that does not contain the raw pulse signal, but rather one that indicates the peak point of each pulse beat with a '5', and '0' everywhere else. If you are attempting to recreate the default output of prepphysio you will have to take this into account (i.e. you will have to find the peak points for the pulse time course, either manually or with a peak detector (e.g. in MATALB)).
For further questions please contact Jacob Matthews. | the second to lowest slice will be first (i.e. slice 2). For example, if you acquire 7 slices the order of slice acquisition would be [1 3 5 7 2 4 6], whereas if you acquire 8 slices it would be [2 4 6 8 1 3 5 7].
How long should my functional scan be?
The length of a functional scan is entirely dependent on the length of your paradigm. This being said, when developing the structure of your scan session/paradigm, it should be kept in mind that it is generally better to have a greater number of shorter scans than a smaller number of longer scans. This is mainly for two reasons: 1) longer scans are more prone to subject fatigue, and 2) in the event of a technical malfunction in the middle of a scan, less data will be lost when using shorter scans. Typical lengths for functional scans range from 6-10 minutes. Triggers are actually sent at the beginning of each frame (i.e. every TR), though it is most often only the trigger of the first recorded frame that is of interest for synchronization.
How many frames should I ignore in BOLD imaging?
With a TR of 2s, the standard BOLD sequence ignores the first two frames of every scan (i.e. these frames are not recorded; these are called "dummy scans" this value depends on the TR, so if you have a different TR please inquire further with Jacob), meaning the first trigger is actually sent at the beginning of the third frame, which is the first frame whose data is actually recorded. This should suffice, and therefore no extra frames need be ignored, however, if it is of concern, ignoring another 2 frames would be more than enough (though this would have to be appropriately taken into account in the corresponding stimulus program). The exception to this rule is Multi-Band EPI Data. For very low TRs (<500ms) steady state is not reached after the built in dummy scans. Programming your stimulus and analysis to skip the first ~10 frames is likely important. This may change in the future if we gain the ability to alter the number of built in dummy scans.
What are the differences between the 12 channel and the 32 channel head coils?
In general, the 32 channel head coil provides better SNR than the 12 channel head coil. This is particularly true for anatomical scans, however, for functional scans it is not the case for all regions within the brain. For example, the 12 channel has been shown to record stronger functional activation in subcortical regions, while the 32 channel was advantageous in detecting activity in the visual cortex (Kaza, E. et al. 2011). Voxel resolution is another point to consider; at a voxel resolution of 3mm, there may be minimal benefit in using the 32- over 12-channel coil, while at 2mm the benefit becomes more apparent (ISMRM 17th Annual Meeting, 2009, Abstract #1614). In fact, due to a greater receive field heterogeneity, scans may be more sensitive to motion with the 32-channel coil. In addition, the 32 channel coil is physically smaller (226mm A-P, 196mm L-R; note these measurements do not include padding, which will take up a few mm in each direction) than the 12 channel and will not accommodate larger sized heads, something to consider if scanning a population where this may be an issue. It should also be noted that EEG cannot work with the 32 channel coil simply because the physical set-up is not possible.
What is the resolution, aspect ratio, and visual angle of the projector in the scanner?
The native resolution of the projector is 1024×768 (an aspect ratio of 4:3). The native resolution of the monitor attached to the stimulus computer is 1280×1024 (an aspect ratio of 5:4). By default the projector displays an interpolated image at a resolution of 1280×1024 (an aspect ratio of 5:4). We can have the projector display a native image at a resolution of 1020×768 (an aspect ratio of 4:3) upon request. You can chose your preference of resolution (interpolated up to 1600×900) from your own stimulus laptop. The viewing distance from eye to screen is ~132 cm. With an aspect ratio of 5:4 the screen size is 34.7 cm (horizontal) x 28.2 cm (vertical). This is a slightly cropped image. Yielding visual angles of 14.98 (horizontal) and 12.19 (vertical) from edge to edge. With an aspect ratio of 4:3 the screen size is 37.4 cm (horizontal) x 28.2 cm (vertical).This is a maximized image. Yielding visual angles of 16.13 (horizontal) and 12.19 (vertical) from edge to edge.
If the visual angle of particular images you're displaying is of critical importance to your experiment, contact Jacob Matthews after your experiment is programmed but before you begin your pilots to arrange a time to confirm the correct display of your stimuli.
What is iPAT? What are its advantages/disadvantages?
iPAT (integrated | 1,163 |
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Leigh Rix
Mr. Rix is the Director of Property and Land for Clinton Devon Estates, the countryside management business responsible for 25,000 acres stretching across North and East Devon, 15,000 of which are designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Prior to joining Clinton Devon Estates, Mr. Rix served as Area Manager for the National Trust (East Midlands Region), overseeing several sites including The Workhouse, which is a museum of the National Trust and one of the founding members of the Coalition. Mr. Rix was instrumental in the development of The Workhouse, located in Nottinghamshire, England, which preserves and interprets an example of a once-familiar type of building in Victorian Britain that loomed on the outskirts of every town as both a refuge and a warning to the millions who lived near subsistence level during the 19th Century. The site seeks to serve as a place for confronting issues of poverty, welfare, disability, and homelessness. Mr. Rix is a Regional Committee Member<|fim_middle|> as a Board Member of the Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire and Peak District Destination Management Partnership. | for the East Midlands Country Land and Business Association and has also served as the Regional Land Use Adviser and Regional Rural Surveyor, as well | 28 |
NFL: Buffalo Bills, quarterback Ryan…
NFL: Buffalo Bills, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick agree on six-year deal
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to terms of a six-year, $59 million contract on Friday in a deal that secures him as the Buffalo Bills' long-term starter, the Associated Press has learned.
Two people familiar with negotiations said the deal was reached Friday, and Fitzpatrick was informed of the development shortly after practice. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the<|fim_middle|> the end of the team's charter flight to San Diego. He will miss at least two games while he recovers.
Browns: Running back Peyton Hillis missed a second straight practice with a strained hamstring, but it was also learned that he got married Tuesday in Arkansas. Hillis' marriage was confirmed by a few of his teammates after Friday's practice. | Bills had not made an announcement.
The contract is one of the most lucrative signed by a Bills player and includes $24 million in guaranteed money. That's a significant raise over the $3.22 million base salary the Harvard graduate was making this season. Fitzpatrick, in his seventh NFL season, was in the final year of the three-year contract — worth $7,405,000 in base salary — he signed upon joining the Bills as a free agent in 2009.
Fitzpatrick has helped the Bills to a surprising 4-2 start.
Raiders: Kansas City linebacker Tambi Hali was fined $15,000 by the NFL for striking Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer in the knee area in Sunday's Chiefs win.
Raiders linebacker Aaron Curry got a $10,000 fine for a late hit, and cornerback Stanford Routt was fined $7,500 for unnecessary roughness for hitting Chiefs running back Jackie Battle out of bounds. Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers was nailed for $10,000 for using the football as a prop, considered unsportsmanlike conduct.
Other fines: Seattle defensive end Red Bryant $15,000 for head-butting Cleveland tight end Alex Smith, earning the Seahawk an ejection; Miami safety Yeremiah Bell $15,000 for roughing Denver passer Tim Tebow in the head and neck area; Baltimore safety Bernard Pollard $10,000 for his hit on defenseless Jaguars RB Deji Karim.
Bengals: Cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was activated off an injury list, making him eligible for Cincinnati's game in Seattle.
Jones has been sidelined for approximately a year by a bulging disk in his neck that required two surgical procedures. He is still listed as questionable but takes the roster spot of running back Cedric Benson, suspended a game because he violated the NFL's conduct policy.
Chargers: The NFL is looking into the events surrounding a concussion suffered by Pro Bowl offensive lineman Kris Dielman.
He was concussed with about 12 minutes left in the loss Sunday to the New York Jets, after which he struggled to maintain balance. He finished the game despite the head injury and was not assessed until after the loss.
Dielman suffered a grand mal seizure near | 484 |
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Society has established ceremonies to recognize highpoints, and low points, of our lives: baptism, bar mitzvah, graduation, marriage, anniversaries, retirement parties, and funerals. A funeral service, memorial service, or a celebration of life all serve to facilitate the process of healing after the loss of a loved one. As hard as this process may be, it brings together the friends and family we need to help us mourn and grieve and share our loss and feelings.
Viewing is a recommended option when dealing with death. With a sudden death, viewing reaffirms the death itself. In the case of a prolonged death, viewing brings comfort by establishing that the pain and suffering are over and the person is at peace. It is the beginning of the process often referred to as 'closure' Our services range from the traditional to the non-traditional. We are not afraid to be different. We are willing to explore what each and every family may want. No request is unreasonable for us to consider.
Funerals offer a time and place for people to gather and support one another. The gathering of family and friends allow each participant to grieve in their own way and help us to recognize there are others suffering too, along with us. We invariably learn more about our loved one as we share our sadness and our joy in the celebration of the life well-lived.
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Wednesday, October 24 • 8:30am - 10:00am
Diving Into AI: Three Fintech Use Cases & What You Need to Know
The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, but only in the<|fim_middle|> Education business, growing market share from zero to almost 70% in its first four years. Jeff spearheaded marketing efforts for Google Apps in Global 2000 accounts and led sales, business... Read More →
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Senior Research Director, Microsoft
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Dror is Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder at Kasisto, creators of KAI Banking, the leading conversational AI platform for the finance industry. Kasisto counts DBS Bank, JP Morgan, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, TD Bank, and Wells Fargo among its customers as well as other leading... Read More →
Wednesday October 24, 2018 8:30am - 10:00am | last few years has its applicability grown to have real-world implications. AI and its modern applications will have profound effects on our near-term future, including the financial services industry. If AI is a frontier to be discovered, our instructors for this deep dive session are the explorers pushing the boundaries of the technology and its application. Join these industry experts for an insider's guide on what you need to know to apply AI in your business across three core fintech use cases: credit decisioning, fraud mitigation and CX.
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Jeff joined Upstart after spending 6 years at Google. He launched and built the Google Apps for | 299 |
TORONTO — Amanda Riva is a big fan of sous vide cookery when delightful because she knows anything she arrange using the temperature-controlled "weewee oven" will be finished flawlessly.
"If I'm doing steak<|fim_middle|> vide cookery, including the extra process to brown meats. Another is the era involved — you can't whip up a hurried dinner after work, maintain Couvelier.
Timing can range from 30 flash for a salmon fillet, to an lifetime for a chicken breast or steak, and 12 hours for veau shanks, such as for osso buco, hold McDonald.
It's trendy, but not everyone is clasp sous vide cooking.
"It's not my bag," declare celebrity chef Jamie Jazzman.
"For me personally I'm kind of old shoal. As much as I respect it, I kind of affection marinating stuff the old way and just roasting it, caramelization," he maintain.
"I think I'm a genesis above that and I credit I'm going to leave it to the cool kids to get fine-tune with that."
Go next @lois_abraham on Twitter. | , for case history, I can pre-sous vide everything so it's all baked perfectly and then I dependable have to sear it off right previously I serve it. You've got that delicate crust on the outside, but you're not overcooking it," maintain the CEO of food marketing way THP.
"It really takes a lot of the hound of timing out of meal prep."
For sous vide cookery, food is placed in a void-sealed plastic pouch, bag or canning jar, so immersed in a water bath or a temperature-contained steam environment.
The technique was before reserved for chefs in fancy restaurants, affirm Chris McDonald, preceding chef-owner of Cava and Avalon restaurants in Toronto, who has experimented with the channels for more than a dozen age.
While it's currently trendy middle foodies, sous vide has truly been around for a couple of c years. It was first commercial in the 1960s, in object to increase the yield of foie gras.
"If you prepare it at too high a temperature it wants to create all its fat and you're left with a lessen-quality product and much fewer of it, so sous vide helps you with that," maintain McDonald, who has compiled his tips and expanded than 175 recipes in "The Integrated Sous Vide Cookbook" (Parliamentarian Rose Inc.).
Until a few years ago, the circulator gimmick for sous vide cooking resembled adapted lab equipment and was very expensive. Sous vide contrivance are now more compact and cost most the same as a good food cpu, says McDonald. Some disappearance circulators are small sufficiency to store in a cutlery artist and can be packed in luggage for traveling.
Sous vide should not be regarded as "churn in a bag" cooking, points out Christine Couvelier, who owns a appliance.
With sous vide cookery meat becomes inordinately tender, vitamins and minerals are preserved and the colour of vegetables is preserved.
"My best example is a herb, particularly purple carrots," states the Victoria-based Couvelier, whose Culinary Concierge fellowship keeps clients ahead of activity trends.
"You falsify them and even if you daze them with cold flood after you've cooked them they commonly are not the same colour purple as you buy them from the smallholder market — but if you do them in sous vide they're very.
"When you sous vide any centre — sous vide a chickenhearted breast with tarragon and ail and white wine and a little bit of saltiness and pepper — it will be the most independent-tasting chicken breast you've Day-to-day had in your life," she combine.
A steak can be cooked so the desired doneness outstretch from edge to edge and so it can be browned quickly, says McDonald.
Sous vide is moreover ideal for transforming tougher, fewer expensive cuts of meat, or for safely defrosting bread.
The precise temperature control of sous vide cookery also means custard or egg-supported sauces won't curdle, adds McDonald.
He advance cooking four box of food at a duration, then swing one in the fridge, two in the freezer and using one now.
"Because they're certain in pouches, there's usually real little air so you don't get freezer flare and you get long shelf life in the refrigerator."
He also suggests precooking burgers for barbecue.
"They're fully baked and they're in a bag so they're nicely crowded in your picnic cooler and so when you get ready to have your beef you just have to worry around getting it hot through on the grill."
Thither are some drawbacks with sous | 731 |
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HomeStoriesOlga Neuwirth World Premiere
Spirit of Adventure and Nonconformity
Olga Neuwirth's
"Keyframes for a Hippogriff" celebrates world premiere
(Photo: Harald Hoffmann)
Olga Neuwirth met Elfriede Jelinek when she was sixteen, and they have been friends since then. Neuwirth gained international recognition at the age of 22 with her two mini-operas on texts by Jelinek. Today her compositions are presented worldwide and have received numerous awards. Her work Keyframes for a Hippogriff will have its world premiere under conductor Jakub Hrůša.
If one looks for the notorious central thread in the 53-year-old composer's almost incalculably diverse oeuvre, it cannot be found in stylistic or formal categories, but in a fundamental approach to the art form of music: a spirit of adventure and nonconformity have made Olga Neuwirth one of the most exceptional exponents of contemporary music, who has significantly expanded the concept of composition. Her sources of inspiration are universal: phenomena from art, architecture, literature and music, intellectual history, psychology, science and everyday reality are transformed into a poetry of the weird and unfathomable which invariably revolves around individuals, their states of mind and contradictions.
Her most recent opera Orlando (world premiere in 2019), based on the epochal novel by Virginia Woolf, was the first large-scale opera by a woman presented at the Vienna Staatsoper. The Austrian cosmopolite is regarded as a pioneer of intermedia composition, also beyond the opera stage. This calls for an active listener, which Olga Neuwirth explicitly demands: "For me as a composer, the purpose of music cannot be to lull people into a false sense of security with promises of a solidarity that transcends all boundaries . . . I want to have consciously thinking people, independent thinkers, as listeners, who see in music and art in general the reflection of the searching individual, who is determined to understand the familiar, to overcome the prevailing spirit and to push forward into the unknown."
World premiere: "Between rage, fragility and loneliness"
Keyframes for a Hippogriff was composed in 2019/20, commissioned for a series of concerts by the New York Philharmonic to celebrate the 19th amendment to the American constitution, which gave women the right to vote in 1920. The work will not be premiered until 11 September 2021, however, due to the Corona epidemic.
The large-scale vocal work for countertenor, children's choir and orchestra is based on a text collage of different epochs and stylistic forms: fragments by Ariosto, William Blake, Edward Lear, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Zinaida Gippius, Gertrude Stein and Olga Neuwirth as well as various examples of street graffiti are interwoven in a dialogue between the countertenor and children's chorus, juxtaposing the bustling activity of an exhausted world and the principle of hope.
Olga Neuwirth describes the idea behind the work as follows: "We try to tell the diverse stories of our brief life against the white noise of information, in which technology already seems to have overtaken human interaction."
The plurality of the textual and musical content originates in Neuwirth's desire to express a range of existential experiences – freedom and diversity as the utopia of a more human society. The music fluctuates "between rage, fragility and loneliness", in order to express the anger and helplessness of the individual as well as the potential for social change, the composer says.
She adds that the children's choir, which sings graffiti "like a chorus of slam poets", serves as a symbol of hope and the "voice of resistance against a ruinous public order, which is damaged by the self-serving interests of government and industry. Let Keyframes be a contribution to 'humanistic composition' – at a time of political and social instability and the destruction of our planet".
Keyframes for a Hippogriff – Musical Calligrams in memoriam Hester Diamond
Olga Neuwirth's work is an homage to Hester Diamond (1928–2020), the prominent American art collector and interior designer who combined the old masters and modern design in a<|fim_middle|> cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Settings
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Legal NoticeTerms of usePrivacy | unique way and whom Olga Neuwirth met in 2006.
Keyframe is a term from animation technique and refers to an image that serves as the start and end point for the images in between. (Neuwirth had initially studied film in San Francisco, and there are comics and animated cartoons in her catalogue of works).
A hippogriff is a mythical creature with the front half of an eagle and the body of a horse. A calligram is a text format in which the layout of the lines creates a visual image related to the meaning of the words themselves – a combination of text and image. Keyframes for a Hippogriff thus leaves traces of a "fluid identity".
Dirk Wieschollek
Experience Olga Neuwirth's world premiere on two concert evenings
The website of the Berliner Philharmoniker uses | 174 |
Editors' note: This story was originally published in a different form on March 20, 2014. The most recent update includes review-based recommendations for the D3400.
Not everyone approaches the dSLR buying decision as a tabula rasa choice. If you've already chosen Nikon -- whether it's because you already have some lenses, your friends are enamored of the brand, or you simply have had good experiences with the company's point-and-shoots -- here's some help selecting the right dSLR model.
On a general note: if your budget is tight, and unless there's a specific feature or performance level you need from a particular model, it's usually a good idea to save money on the body and spend it on a better lens.
Still to come: the D5 and D810.
The last-generation entry-level dSLR in Nikon's lineup, the D330<|fim_middle|>815, AU$1,300) with a more affordable $700 (£630, AU$850) price, at least in the US and Australia. The body delivers better photo quality than all the cheaper cameras (and similar quality to the D7100/D7200), as well as a much broader feature set that includes GPS plus slightly better performance. While the lens is technically still pretty slow, it covers a much broader range and is a lot more flexible -- especially if you only plan to use one lens. The D5300 with the 18-55mm VR II lens ($700, £450, AU$650) is also a better buy than the D5500 ($750, £540, AU$1,000) for the kit with the same lens if you have big hands or don't miss the touchscreen and Wi-Fi.
The D5500 $750 (£540, AU$1,000) for the kit with the 18-55mm VR II lens is very similar to its predecessor -- same video and photo quality and I suspect the same performance (I didn't have a D5300 in-house to retest with our new methodology). It's slightly smaller, and the redesigned grip may not be comfortable if you've got large hands.
I qualify this with "modern" because the old D5300 kit with the 18-140mm lens $700 (£630, AU$850) is an overall better choice. Plus, I don't like the 18-55mm VR II collapsible lens very much. However, if you feel the need to only buy current-generation products, the D5500 is a good choice.
The least expensive choice for action photography, the D7100 is a great camera, delivering better photo quality, performance, and improved weather sealing than its predecessor. That said,folks who don't need the build quality or the extra continuous-shooting speed might be better saving some money over the D7100's $700 (£560, AU$900) body-only price tag and opting for the D5300 18-140mm kit $700 (£630, AU$850. The newer D7200 (body $870, £700, AU$1,100) is almost the same camera with only minor updates -- the only important one is a better continuous-shooting buffer -- but a higher price.
It's hard to really differentiate the D7100 from the D7200: the D7200 has slightly improved photo quality and a deeper continuous-shooting buffer, which makes it a marginally better choice for dim light and long-burst photography. And it has a few updated features, including time-lapse movies. It's a good camera, and the price has finally dropped into great-buy territory at $870 for the body, at least in the US. It's still significantly more expensive than the D7100 in the UK and Australia, though (£700, AU$1,100).
The full-frame D610 competes with the more expensive D750 ($1,900, £1,700, AU$2,500), and the latter is a better camera in many ways. But if your budget's tight, this approximately $1,500 (£1,150, AU$1,800) body is worth the step up to full-frame from APS-C; it gives you access to a larger selection of wide-angle focal lengths (no crop factor) and extremely shallow depth of field in situations where it might not be attainable with an APS-C camera.
The trade-off is that decent lenses are more expensive for this model than for the D7200. While the D610 supports both DX (APS-C) and FX (full-frame) lenses, to get the most out of this camera you need to use more upscale glass.
With a great feature set, excellent performance, photo and video quality, plus a solid design, the D750 ($1,900, £1,700, AU$2,500) earned an Editors' Choice Award for general-purpose prosumer cameras under $2,000 (£1,635, AU$2,625). It has a lot of advantages compared to the more-expensive D810 ($2,800, £2,000, AU$3,200) and better photo quality than the D500 ($2,000, £1,650, AU$3000), but only a few drawbacks. If you have room in your budget, it's worth it over the D610 ($1,500, £1,150, AU$1,800), but you might also find it worth it to spend the difference on a better lens.
Though it costs more than the full-frame D750 ($1,900, £1,700, AU$2,500) the APS-C-based D500 ($2,000, £1,650, AU$3000) is a different beast. The D750 is really a general-purpose prosumer camera, while the D500 is best suited as a camera for shooting action and manually focused 4K video, making it the best choice for big-budgeted bird and sports prosumer photographers and action-shooting pros on a really tight budget. It's fast, with excellent autofocus and great photo quality (for APS-C). The 4K video quality is excellent, but the autofocus in video isn't great.
Although I haven't reviewed the D810, I have tested it. While its filter-free sensor delivers sharper photos with better dynamic range, compared to the cheaper D750 the $2,800 camera (£2,000, AU$3,200) has only a few other advantages. It maxes out at one stop faster shutter speed (1/4,000 sec. vs. 1/8,000 sec.), and it has a higher flash sync of 1/200 vs. 1/250 sec.
It's a bit of a niche, but the D810A ($3,800, £2,900, AU$4,500) is a version of the top-of-the-line D810 optimized for astrophotography with an IR cut filter and some expanded features.
This now last-generation double-grip full-frame model is still great for sports shooting, but the D5 which replaces it has a lot of important enhancements: better continuous shooting, much updated autofocus system, two extra stops of ISO sensitivity in the native range and two in the expanded range and 4K video, to name a few. The price isn't as low as it had been earlier this year, but at $5,000 (£4,200, AU$7,000), it's still a good buy if you can't afford the D5 ($6,500, £5,400, AU$7,000 for the CompactFlash version) -- at least in the US and UK.
If you're really cash strapped, I suggest that you look for a used model since a lot of people will likely be selling them to buy a D5, and used pro cameras retain their value pretty well.
While I haven't finished testing it yet, I the D5 has the best Nikon autofocus and metering system specs to date, at 12fps it's the fastest Nikon as well (though the typical continuous-shooting speed is 10fps and it only hits 12fps under specific circumstances), and it's the first Nikon to offer 4K video. You'll pay for the privilege, though at $6,500, £5,400, AU$7,000 for the CompactFlash version. It comes in two models which differ by storage media: one with two CompactFlash slots and one with dual XQD slots, the fast but not widely supported media format introduced in 2010.
Nikon nirvana: Which Nikon dSLR? | 0's price has finally dropped below (or gotten very close to) that of the D3200, rendering the much older D3200 a forgettable option; with the older 18-55mm II kit lens the D3300 costs about $500 (£400, AU$500) or £370/AU$550 with the AF-P VR kit lens (I can't find the same kit in the US). Because old D5200's price has started the upward trend that indicates it's disappearing from the market, it's about $200 (£50, AU$150) to step up to a significantly better autofocus system in the D5300.
A much better value than it used to be, the Nikon D5300 kit with the 18-140mm f3.5-5.6 lens is the best overall choice under $1,000 (£ | 213 |
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Somerville House students, Nataissa and Hayley board together at school and now have completed work experience together with Brisbane construction company, Paynters.
12 January, 2021 3 min read
CSQ and Paynters have a strong partnership that provides schools involved with CSQ's Gateways Program (like Somerville) opportunities for their students to undertake work experience with the company.
Hayley, 17, is working with the preconstruction team learning all things Architecture.
"I do Art subjects at school and we are looking into Architecture at the moment and my dad is an<|fim_middle|> in construction; before I wanted to be a nurse… I know now that I want to be onsite and in the office, behind the operations of projects."
The students get the low down on what each job entails through the placement.
Paynters does a great job in creating a workspace and roles that are very realistic so the students get a proper taste of work life.
"I am picking out lighting for a current project, it's awesome to get the real experience!" says Hayley.
Nataissa tells her achievements over the week:
"Paynters have shown us what it's like to be onsite – on Wednesday we went to visit a site in Milton and it was really great being there in person."
"Being able to then go back to the office where you can talk to people and interact with them about the project was so cool too."
"Throughout the week I have been looking at budgeting and estimations for projects."
Starting the day at 8.30 am and finishing at 5 pm, the students gain an understanding of what it is like to work full-time hours in a workplace setting.
"My favourite part of the workday is lunchtime and bonding with other staff members," Hayley says like a true worker.
"I am loving my work experience with Paynters and I'm sad to be going at the end of the week," she says.
Nataissa has found the experience equally rewarding: "I think this work experience will help me to get a job into my chosen profession in the future."
To find out more about our Gateways Program, click here. | Engineer which is where my design/ architecture interest has stemmed from," Hayley explains.
Paynters' Construction Department works with Nataissa to provide experience in Project Management.
Nataissa says: "This work experience has sparked my interest | 48 |
Can You Be Perfect? Football as an Allegory for Religion and Life
September 23, 2020 February 15, 2018 by Jeff Worthy
Author's note: One day as I looked around my Unitarian church congregation on a Sunday morning, I noticed half the group were wearing Seattle Seahawks jerseys, as it was Seahawks gameday. That got me to thinking about the power that football has to inspire. Football isn't a religion, and can't hope to compare to one–but it can inspire. What follows is a thought exercise done just for fun. I hope you enjoy it.
In the year 1987, a writer named H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger went to east Texas to write a book about high school football. He titled it Friday Night Lights, telling the story of one year with the Odessa-Permian Panthers and how football in Odessa, Texas was not just a game, but a way of life. Certainly neither Bissinger nor the Permian athletes could have predicted what a phenomenon the book would go on to become. It was made into a feature length Hollywood film starring Billy Bob Thornton as Odessa Head Coach Gary Gaines. Near the end of the film, the Odessa-Permian Panthers are playing in the Texas State High School Championship game against the Carter Cowboys from Dallas. At halftime of that game (at least in the film), Coach Gaines gives the following speech to his players:
Well, it's real simple. You got two more quarters and that's it. Now, most of you have been playin' this game for ten years. And you got two more quarters and after that most of you will never play this game again as long as you live. Now, y'all have known me for a while, and for a long time now you've been hearin' me talk about being perfect. Well, I want you to understand something. To me, being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship to yourself and your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn't let them down, because you told them the truth. And that truth is that you did everything that you could. There wasn't one more thing that you could've done. Can you live in that moment, as best you can, with clear eyes and love in your heart? With joy in your heart? If you can do that gentlemen, then you're perfect. I want you to take a moment. And I want you to look each other in the eyes. I want you to put each other in your hearts forever, because forever's about to happen here in just a few minutes. Boys, my heart is full. My heart's full.
Now, not everyone will play or has played American football in their lives. Many have. Many love it, where others loathe it. The goal here is not to craft a manifesto defending the game from its detractors, something that has already been done on many occasions by writers and speakers in a much better position to do so than me. No, my goal is to illustrate the connections and similarities football has to both religion and life, and how it can be a source of spiritual inspiration and life guidance for those willing to seek it in what might seem to be the least likely of places. Let's see where this goes.
So, is football a religion? That may depend on how you define religion. Here are some definitions of the word; let's see if they fit. RELIGION: 1) The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal god or gods (Okay, this one doesn't really match up). 2) A particular system of faith and worship (We're getting warmer). 3) A pursuit of interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance (Yeah. I'd say that one fits). Thousands of athletes pursue it, millions take interest in it, and it can be of supreme importance to those who play and follow it. Absolutely. Several parallels can be drawn between the chief elements of football and religion; let's explore some of those for a bit just for comparison's sake to see if we might then be able to make the claim that football itself is a religion too.
Established religions have sacred spaces such as churches, cathedrals, mosques, et cetera; football has stadiums, practice fields, weight rooms, locker rooms, et cetera. There are many different religions; there are many different football teams. Each religion has its congregations and believers; football has its devout fans and supporters. Religion has to face its heretics or non-believers; football has its share of detractors. Religions have one level of leaders such as ministers and priests who work to inspire the followers each week; football has its players, who work to inspire the fans each week. Religion has its higher level of leaders, such as the Pope; football has its hierarchy of higher leaders such as coaches, owners, and general managers. Oh, but there's more.
Religions have their holy relics, such as the bones of saints; football has the balls, jerseys, and helmets used and worn by its greatest players in its greatest moments. Religions have their saints; football has its Hall of Fame. Religions have their symbols, such as crosses, chalices, et cetera; football has its team logos. Religions have passionate followers; so too with football. Religions have their sacred holidays and festivals; football has its championship games and the Super Bowl. Religions often hold services twice on Sundays, say at 10:00 and 2:00 and at other times during the week; football has two games on Sundays (for the pros, usually at 10:00 and 1:20), Saturday games for colleges, and Friday night games for high schools. We're still not done.
Religions have special songs and hymns; football teams have fight songs and chants. Many churches within religions have coffee or social hours following services; football has tailgate parties and concession stands. Many churches have choirs who lead their congregations in song; football teams have cheerleaders. Religions have sacred texts as sources of wisdom; football has its playbooks, but also true stories in book and film form that provide wisdom and inspiration such as "Rudy," "Remember the Titans," "Invincible," "We Are Marshall," and of course, "Friday Night Lights" (a book, movie, and TV show). For many, religions help inspire and provide meaning and purpose in life, and provide people a vehicle to give back to society. And football…I'll get back to this one soon.
So there we have a list of parallels (granted many will see some false equivalencies here, but we're having fun so let's roll with it). Do all these parallels do enough to qualify football as a religion? They do seem to share a lot of elements. Sure, football hasn't quite endured for centuries and connected with billions of people all around the globe, but hey, give it time. There are games in London now, and that's a start!
So how are football and our journeys through life, despite our spiritual paths, allegorically similar? Let's look at that. The summer before a football season begins (this is speaking from my own personal high school experiences, mind you) there is pre-season training, which involves a lot of running, lifting weights at six in the morning, and snapping footballs back between your legs at tires to improve your accuracy (centers and long snappers only). This phase of the football year could be equated to very early childhood. There's not a lot of intense mental challenge just yet, you're just trying to get control of your body, make it stronger, and establish some muscle memory patterns. Then, when the fall comes, two-a-day practices begin. Lots of repetitive practice of fundamental skills, closely overseen by coaches, to help you be successful in the season to come; lots of culture and team building. Later childhood and coming of age transitions look like this. You learn the fundamental skills and you build up your stamina in order to take your place as an adult in your society, overseen by parents, teachers, and mentors—you prepare to "take the field" of life.
Then the season starts—you enter adulthood. Your coach now steps to the sideline, still giving advice, but you can change the play if circumstances call for it. Your mentors step back, and you are mostly on your own; it's up to you to perform now. You have plays, or strategies designed to help you reach your goals. You wear pads and a helmet as protection—representing things you do in your life to stay safe and healthy. You're ready to play.
When the games begin, you face opponents. In life, our opponents are mostly ourselves, but also the obstacles that stand between us and our goals. We "tackle" the pursuit of our goals one goal at a time. Sometimes football players suffer injuries (things we can't control) or are charged with penalties (conscious mental mistakes we make); in life, we have setbacks like those that postpone our goals, if only temporarily.
During those games or the pursuit of those goals, we work incrementally toward their fulfillment. In a football game, we have first downs, little mini-goals that give us additional opportunities to continue reaching toward the larger goal. Football teams score touchdowns, representative of success in a phase of our larger goal. Some games we win—some goals we reach. Some games we lose—some goals we abandon, but we learn from the process. When a game is lost, players have a choice: they can quit the team, or they can regroup, watch the film, analyze where improvements are needed, and get back to work. When we fail to achieve our goals, we can give up on them or learn from what brought that failure about and try again. Each game is a new goal we face as we learn and grow throughout our lives.
Eventually, the season ends—a life phase has come to a close, and it is time to transition to a new one. Football players then have a chance to heal, reflect, and prepare for what's next. Each phase of life brings new challenges; a new season begins, with new opponents and new goals.
Then, one day, the football player's career ends. I remember that vividly. Though I had only played the game for five years, it was hard for me to accept that my career was over after losing a playoff game when I was a senior in high school. We had a long, three- hour bus ride back home, and I didn't take my helmet or shoulder pads off the entire time, knowing that once I did, I would never put them on again. In life, there comes a day when we realize that we have achieved most of what we set out to do, and the time has come to step aside and retire. We can then leave the field with dignity, making room for younger dreamers to step onto the field and pursue their goals, perhaps mentoring them and sharing our experiences with them to help them experience success and navigate defeat when it comes.
Yes, football mirrors life. Now, I want to come back to the question left hanging earlier when we were comparing football to religion, acknowledging that for many people, religions inspire and give purpose and meaning to life, as well as providing people with vehicles and opportunities to help others and give back to the community. Does football do this? Can it inspire, provide meaning, and serve as a means for helping the greater community? Absolutely.
Let's take a look at what football can teach us. It can help us make a "game plan" for life; it can teach us how to work hard to achieve a goal under unpleasant and challenging circumstances. Sometimes the way a football game goes doesn't seem fair. Life is much the same. Football teaches us lessons about teamwork and brotherhood. All throughout life we have to learn to go from being a leader to being a member of a team and working with others. The group that can organize, cohere, and work together has a distinct advantage over the one that can't, and football teaches that lesson. Angus Reid, a former professional football player in the Canadian Football League, gave a TEDX Talk in Vancouver, B.C. in 2016, and here is what he said regarding the lessons that football can offer:
Because of football, I can stand before people and speak to them. I can look people in the eye. I can speak about things that matter. I can commit to something and stick with it. I know how to work hard for goals I set for myself. I know how to be a good teammate. I can work with multiple changing personalities on an ongoing basis. I know how to lose, and how to move forward. I can function under pressure and keep clarity of mind. I also know that football can make kids want to go to college who otherwise wouldn't want to even try. Football doesn't just shape lives—it saves them (Angus Reid).
Hamlet perhaps said it best: "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how<|fim_middle|> belonging, character building, cooperation, and yes, altruism. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is given annually to an NFL player who has not only excelled on the field, but has given back in extraordinary ways to his community. Players donate millions of dollars a year to charities, start foundations, organize fundraisers for specific causes, visit hospitals, and give back to the communities that support them in countless other ways.
I'd like to close with some quotes about the game for your contemplation, hoping that the next time you have a chance to watch a football game, perhaps visiting a local high school on Friday night, you can just to soak in the atmosphere and feel the energy and raw emotion that permeates the field. Let it wash over you—cheer, cry…and dream. You don't have to play, to have ever played, to open your soul to football's spirituality. It is as real as any other human endeavor that inspires the mind, invigorates the heart, and ignites the spirit.
"I rejoice at every dangerous sport which I see pursued…in this snug, over-safe corner of the world we need it, that we may realize that our comfortable routine is no eternal necessity of things, but merely a little space of calm in the midst of tempestuous untamed streaming of the world, and in order that we may be ready for danger."
"The most competitive games draw the most competitive men…and in truth I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline."
"The person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in a gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
If the church of football is open, I can only respond with the words that greet visitors to the homepage of the Seattle Seahawks: "I'm In."
Now go be perfect.
www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechfridaynightlights2.html
Why We Need High School Football | Angus Reid | TEDxWestVancouverED, 2016. You Tube
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Facing Defeat and Despair with Compassion
1 thought on "Can You Be Perfect? Football as an Allegory for Religion and Life"
Thomas Schenk
Jeff, Interesting post!
I have thought about the behavior of football fans as being religious-like, but I had never thought of this from the angle of a player. Thinking about it this way, I see a good analogy between fans and players and what I consider the difference between religion and spirituality.
Religion is somewhat passive – one can be religious by just showing up. But spirituality is active – one has to put belief into practice. Practice is key for both players and those who are on a spiritual path.
Football fans are loyal, and partisans of religion are faithful. But as you say, good players seek a kind of perfection in their game and through spirituality people seek a greater perfecting of their life.
A professional footballer might make it to the Hall of Fame in Canton, but through my spiritual practice, I hope to make it to the uncharted Hall of Fame of Life. That's kind of an interesting way to think about it. I know I'm not worthy of being enshrined there yet, but I keep trying.
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RC Concepcion, author of The HDR Book, shows you how to turn your HDR images into stunning black and white, using Lightroom CC (2015 release).
Lightroom CC 2015 has a great HDR module. RC Concepcion, author of The HDR Book, shows you a few different ways you can use the HDR module in Lightroom and why it can be a powerful tool.
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In this excerpt from The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC /Lightroom 6 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers, Martin Evening shows you how to use the new Photo Merge feature in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to create HDR photos. | High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Merge to Panorama in Lightroom and Camera Raw.
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Please join us for an evening or weekend of Heart Yoga at the Summer Solstice, June 18-20, in Nelson. This workshop will deepen and inspire your yoga practice, open your heart to unconditional love, and strengthen and infuse your body with light. Through our practice together, we will experience the sacred union of the radiant body with the awakened heart, and the love, peace, and sacred passion that is birthed from this marriage.
We'd love to share our joy with you in the birth of this book. Deep thanks to all of you who, through your love and support, have been midwives in this process.
Heart Yoga is grounded in the universal mystical vision of the Sacred Marriage, the marriage of spirit and body, transcendence and immanence, heaven and earth, masculine and feminine, that is continually birthing the cosmos through the power of radiant love. In this workshop, we will explore our vision of this marriage by unfolding the five great joys that emanate from it: the joys<|fim_middle|>. For each of these joys, we offer beautiful combinations of yoga postures with sacred poetry, meditations, and visualizations drawn from the classical mystical traditions. These enable each joy to be experienced simultaneously in the illumined mind, ecstatic heart, and conscious body.
When yoga practice is infused with the inspiration of sacred texts and poetry, yoga becomes a way to experience a great mystery—that of the embodiment of the divine in the human. Our practice together will be an embodied prayer for all human beings to enter into the fullness of this birth of the divine human, and so to be inspired to act with wisdom and compassion in the world.
Yoga mat and a cushion or two. | of transcendence, creation, love for all beings, Tantra, and service | 15 |
Success in the cattle business depends on a series of choices. Make the right ones and learn how to add value to your herd by attending the cattle industry's premier event, the 2018 Angus Convention at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Industry-leading<|fim_middle|> attendee or exhibitor.
Angus Media is accepting booth reservations for the 2019 show in Reno, Nevada. | speakers, the largest Angus trade show to date and an extensive educational venue will lead the program, Nov. 3-5.
Join thousands of other ranchers for entertainment, Certified Angus Beef® brand meals, grand prize giveaways, awards programs and the business meeting of the world's largest single-beef breed organization, the American Angus Association®. When all sectors of the industry work toward a common quality goal, opportunity is born and value is realized.
Here's what our exhibitors have to say about the event.
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Make plans to attend the Angus Convention, whether as an | 126 |
I heard shouts over me as I was slammed onto a hard table.
My vision was blury, but I could make out my beautiful girlfriend standing over me. Sweat<|fim_middle|> too, Dereck," She replied.
That was the last thing I heard before my eyes closed and my heart stopped beating. | on her forehead. Fear in her eyes. My body was engulfed in pain emmiting from my shoulder.
"What's happening," I made out.
"It's ok, baby. You're going to be, ok. Just stay with me. Just keep your eyes open. A doctor is on the way," She said trying her best to smile at me.
Military? Here? That's odd. There hasn't been military personnel here for years now. Almost three years ago the military left. Abandoned us completely. Now they were here. How strange.
"What is the military doing here?" Tessa asked.
"They arrived while we were out collecting supplies. Everyone seems real happy about it," The man said.
Collecting supplies? Right. We were out collecting supplies. We were low on gasoline for the generators. Horace thought that there might be some stuff South. We traveled there today as a group of four. Me, Tessa, Horace, and Rebecca. Horace was at the door looking out and answering Tessa while Rebecca was going through pill bottles.
"I don't think antibiotics are going to do anything for him," Horace said.
"We have to do something for him," Tessa said squeezing my hand.
"Hurry, officers in here. We have a bite victim," Horace said as two other people stepped into the building.
Another wave of pain hit me and I let out a gasp. More things came back to me. The bite. We went South over the old train bridge and found ourselves swarmed by an unexpected crowd of The Diseased. They surrounded us.
"How did we get out?" I asked Tessa.
"It's ok Derek. You're going to be, ok," Tessa said with tears in her eyes.
I turned my head and looked over at my shoulder. My left shoulder was a bloody mess of red cloth and mangled flesh. That was my source of the pain.
"What's going on," The man in military uniform asked.
"We have a bite victim. Can you help him?" Rebecca asked.
A woman emerged from behind the military men wearing a long white coat and came over to me as I laid on the table.
"The vaccine! Can't you give him the vaccine?" Someone yelled from the doorway.
"Vaccine? What are they talking about?" Tessa asked.
"It doesn't work that way," The doctor said shyly as she tended to my shoulder.
"What do you mean," I said through gritted teeth.
"It only works on the living. Not the dead," The man said starring at the ground.
"He's not dead! He's alive! He's bitten, but he's alive," Tessa yelled.
"No! No! I don't believe you. Give it to him! Give it to him now!" Tessa screamed.
She pulled the revolver from her belt and held it against the doctor's head.
"Woah. Woah." Everyone reacted around the tent.
The military man raised a rifle pointing it at Tessa.
"Drop it, lady," He ordered.
She looked over at me. She had tears streaming down her face.
I had only seen her like this a few times. Her face gets real red. Her nose starts to run. Her eyes swell up a little bit before the tears start. She was a mess. A beautiful mess.
"Alright," She said lowering the weapon.
The doctor let out a sigh of relief and then went back to cleaning my shoulder. Again the pain radiated through my body and my vision went blurry. I felt my consciousness go a bit and I blinked. My head was back on the wooden table.
"Derek," Tessa came to my side.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," I muttered as a little bit of blood ran from my lip down the cheek.
"It's starting," The doctor said.
"We need to move him to a place where he can't hurt anyone," The military men said.
"You're not touching him," Tessa snapped at him.
"I'm not going to let them take you," Tessa said.
"I love you," Tessa said kissing my forehead.
"I love you too," I said giving her a slight smile.
The doctor finished up wrapping my shoulder with gauze and treating the wound. Rebecca handed me some pain pills and a water bottle. I took them which helped a little bit with the pain, but my shoulder was still painful.
"Is that how you see it, just a war of us against them?" Tessa asked him.
"I know this is hard on you. We've all lost people. But don't forget that we're here to help you. If we want to put humanity back together, we'll have to work with one another," He said.
"We did pretty well without you," Tessa said.
Tessa looked back at me.
"You could have come a little earlier, you know?" She said letting go of her rage.
With that the whole building went silent.
Horace took a step forward.
"Yes. I need to make sure everyone gets the vaccine before I leave. Not one person goes unvaccinated," He said as both him and Horace left the building.
Another women wearing a similar white coat approached with a plastic tackle box. She opened revealing small jars similar to baby food jars full of a light blue, transparent liquid.
The female doctor turned to both Tessa and Rebecca.
"May we give you the vaccine?" She asked.
Rebecca rolled up a sleeve and the nurse went to her to administer the vaccine.
Tessa nodded and the doctor gave her the vaccine.
I squeezed Tessa's hand. I knew it was hard on her to accept it when I was here dying of the disease, but I was glad she would never have to suffer the same fate.
"Let's get you moved to the house," She said.
Both Tessa and Rebecca helped off the table and out of the building. We walked towards me and Tessa's house which was less of a house and more of a double-wide shed. Rebecca laid me on the bed before making a quick leave letting Tessa and I alone in the house.
I laid against the makeshift headboard and wiped blood from my mouth.
Tessa sat down on the bed next to me and hung her head.
"I can't believe it. We shouldn't have gone out today. If we would have stayed here, you would have been safe," She said.
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her closer to me.
"Remember that creepy doll?" Tessa asked with a laugh.
"Remember it? I still have nightmares about it," I said.
"I stand by that," I said.
"I love you, too," I replied.
We spent the next few hours reminiscing about our time together.
Although the end of the world was horrible for a hundred reasons, at least the apocalypse brought us together. That's one thing that we were both happy about. Survivors that both struggled on our own before we found this camp. She came here a few months before I arrived. We worked on the walls together for a few weeks before we were put on supply runs as a group. Tessa found a box of wine that was probably too far gone. We shared it getting really drunk and we ended up kissing. We officially started dating two weeks later. Crazy to think that was almost two years ago.
"I found something interesting today," I said after a nasty coughing fit.
"What?" She looked at me.
I reached into the interior of my shirt and pulled out a small, metallic ring.
"I found in the jewelry store," I said placing it into her hand.
She stopped as she looked at it.
"An engagement ring? You found an effing engagement ring?" She gasped.
She threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. Again she began to cry.
"So is that a yes?" I asked.
"Of course, you big idiot," She said as she cried into my shoulder.
There was a knock on the door and three people entered. The same military man, female doctor, and Horace walked into the room.
"Sorry to both you, Tessa and Derek, but we're here to check up on you," Horace said.
The doctor walked over and felt my forehead.
"We need to move you to a more secure location," The military man said.
"I'm staying with him through everything," Tessa said.
They moved me to a standard medical tent that the military had set up on the edge of the camp. They brought out handcuffs and handcuffed my arms and legs to the hospital bed. Tessa was angry about it, but I eventually convinced her it was ok.
There I spent my last couples of life. The pain in my shoulder got worse and worse. The fever got worse and worse. My fingers and toes went numb and there was a ringing in my ears.
Tessa kept looking at the ring on her finger and then looking at me. Her tears had dried up. It was a matter of time.
There was a short discussion on what to do with me after I turned.
"I'll put him down. Then we burn the body," Tessa said.
"Tessa, you don't have to…" Rebecca started.
"Yes, I do," Tessa said.
Eventually the breathing got harder and harder. My lungs felt like they were full of cement. My head was burning. My vision was very blurry. My heart beat like crazy, but my whole body was cold. My vocal chords tightened.
"I love you, Tessa," I said.
"I love you | 1,945 |
Last month, Search Engine Journal introduced LinkPatrol, a WordPress plugin we've developed that empowers site owners to find, review, and clean up outgoing links.
Since then, we've been collecting feedback. (Thank you responders!) We got a lot of interesting answers to this question: What's the one thing you would add to LinkPatrol?
One of the most popular answers: The ability to nofollow or strip links in blog comments. Why do people want to strip links from blog comments? Probably the same reason we do– the dreaded Link Removal Request.
Nearly every week we receive an email imploring us to remove links, which are almost always coupled with a disavow threat. Apparently many of you deal with this regularly as well.
LinkPatrol 1.1 now available: Strip Those Comment Links!
Your wish is our<|fim_middle|> How to Analyze Your Links in WordPress with LinkPatrol. It has some nice screenshots, as well as a guide on how to use all the features.
Blogger Harsh Agarwal of ShoutMeLoud wrote up How LinkPatrol Plugin Fixed My Blog External Link SEO Problem. Harsh goes into some detail how LinkPatrol solved one of his SEO problems, and also features a short interview with Slobodan Manic, Search Engine Journal's CTO.
WordPress resource site WPKube, managed by Devesh Sharma, also wrote about LinkPatrol, calling it an indispensable tool for site owners who are serious about SEO. Their review has a full feature walkthrough and it also explains why you should take your outgoing links seriously.
Already own LinkPatrol? If you activated your license key, you can update LinkPatrol just like any other WordPress plugin from the WordPress admin dashboard. | command: In v1.1, released last week, we've expanded the ability to nofollow/strip links from posts and pages to now include blog comments.
For those of you that have already bought LinkPatrol, simply update your plugin version like any other plugin from the WordPress admin dashboard.
WPBeginner, a blog devoted to WordPress resources and guides by Syed Balkhi, published a review on August 7: | 86 |
I hope you all had the most amazing holidays! Mine were good but with study always in my mind it gets so hard to 100% enjoy them...anyone else feeling the same?
It has been a while since the Longines Masters but with college, horse shows, Christmas, the New Year and life in general, I only had the chance to sit down to blog now...just after I finished a Macroeconomics exam, bahhh!
A few days ago I was talking with a friend who told me that since I went to the same show for two consecutive years, next year I should go to a different one but I honestly love this show so much that I'm already thinking about returning. Not that there aren't more incredible shows around the world that I would LOVE to attend but I have so many good memories from Longines Masters that I can't think about not going there!
As you might have seen on my first and second vlogs from Paris (here and here), on the first day I arrived at the event almost at 7pm so I spent the rest of the day at the show (the Salon closed at 7pm). We ate something and then watched the Longines Speed Challenge which is always a super exciting class!
Julien Epaillard/Cristallo A LM won, Kevin Staut/Avade de Septon et HDC were 2nd and Lorenzo De Luca/Limestone Grey were 3rd - quite a podium, ha?
On Saturday, December 2nd, I had the entire day to enjoy that mystical place so I spent my time jumping from the Salon to the Masters whenever there was an interesting class - I think I've never walked so much before, there's so much to see that even feeling tired, I just couldn't stop!!
-Team Europe: Philippe Guerdat (Team Leader), Kevin Staut, Lorenzo de Luca, Maikel van der Vleuten, Grégory Wathelet and Jos Verlooy.
-Team USA: Robert Ridland (Team Leader), Laura Kraut, Lauren Hough, Devin Ryan, Chloe Reid and Reed Kessler.
Observing their strategy as team or even as members of a team was something that made me<|fim_middle|> Allen...) but it was still very competitive.
Daniel Deusser and Cornet D'Amour won, Simon Delestre/Hermes Ryan were second and Lauren Hough/Ohlala third.
Before ending the post I must refer that the atmosphere of the Prestige Village is absolutely unique and chic! From the bar to the high-end booths, everything is completely different from an average show (at least from the ones I know) so it's really easy to feel like you're living in a fairytale.
The next event of the EEM series will happen in just 35 days in Hong Kong! | learn and think a bit more about my own tactics, this is the best part of watching the top riders to me! They are the definition of perfection but what's behind that? Lots of work, lots of mental strength, dedication and a huge team that allows them to be focused on what matters: entering the arena and riding like a boss!
The European team won (yay, European girl over here!) and they are the current leaders but who knows what will happen next April on the Riders Masters Cup of New York?!
Last but not least, the Grand Prix day! What can a showjumping addict say about this?! With so many talented riders that's always the class I don't want to miss, I would be mad if I missed it! I was a little disappointed that some riders I admire weren't there/didn't enter the GP (Scott Brash, Ludger Beerbaum, Luciana Diniz, Marcus Ehning, Bertram | 194 |
Nanoscale switch could serve as sensor, medical tool
Improving significantly on an early prototype, Johns Hopkins University researchers have found a new way to join two unrelated proteins to create a molecular switch, a nanoscale "device" in which one biochemical partner controls the activity of the other.
Lab experiments have demonstrated that the new switch performs 10 times more effectively than the early model and that its "on-off" effect is repeatable.
The new technique to produce the molecular switch and related experimental results are reported in the November issue of the journal Chemistry & Biology. The paper builds on earlier research, led by Marc Ostermeier, which demonstrated that it was possible to create a fused protein in which one component sends instructions to the other. The second then carries out the task.
"Last year, we reported that we'd used protein engineering techniques to make a molecular switch, putting together two proteins that normally had nothing to do with one another, but the switching properties of that version were insufficient for many applications," said Ostermeier, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins. "With the new technique, we've produced a molecular switch that's over 10 times more effective. When we introduce this switch into bacteria, it transforms them into a working sensor."
As in their earlier experiments, Ostermeier's team made a molecular switch by joining two proteins that typically do not interact: beta-lactamase and the maltose binding protein found in a harmless form of E. coli bacteria. Each of these proteins has a distinct activity that makes it easy to monitor. Beta-lactamase is an enzyme that can disable and degrade penicillin-like antibiotics. Maltose binding protein binds to a type of sugar called maltose that E. coli cells can use as food.
In the previous experiments, the researchers used a cut-and-paste process to insert the beta-lactamase protein into a variety of locations on the maltose binding protein, both proteins being long chains of amino acids that can be thought of as long ribbons. In the new process, the team joined the two natural ends of the beta-lactamase chain to create one continuous molecular loop. Then, they snipped this "ribbon" at random points before inserting the beta-lactamase in random locations in the maltose binding protein. This technique, called random circular permutation, increases the likelihood that the two proteins will be fused in a manner in which they can communicate with each other, Ostermeier said. As a result, it's more likely that a strong signal will be transmitted from one partner to the other in some of the combined proteins.
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In their new paper, the Johns Hopkins team reported that this technique yielded approximately 2<|fim_middle|> on harms caused by alcohol in pregnancy
E-cigarettes stress and inflame the lungs, impair key regulatory proteins | 7,000 variations of the fused proteins. Among these, they isolated one molecular switch, in which the presence of maltose, detected by one partner, caused the other partner to increase its attack on an antibiotic 25-fold. They also showed that the switch could be turned off: When the maltose triggering agent was removed, the degradation of the antibiotic instantly slowed to its original pace.
Ostermeier believes the same molecular switch technology could be used to produce "smart" materials, medical devices that can detect cancer cells and release drugs, and sensors that could sound an alarm in the presence of chemical or biological agents. His team is now seeking to create a molecular switch that fluorescently lights up only in the presence of certain cellular activity. "We've proven that we can make effective molecular switches," he said. "Now, we want to use this idea to create more interesting and more useful devices."
Gurkan Guntas, a doctoral student in Ostermeier's lab, was lead author on the new Chemistry & Biology paper. The co-authors were Ostermeier and Sarah F. Mitchell, a doctoral student in the Program in Molecular Biophysics at Johns Hopkins. The research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The Johns Hopkins University has applied for a patent covering the molecular switch and methods of producing it.
http://www.jhu.edu/
Posted in: Medical Research News
Tags: Antibiotic, Bacteria, Cancer, Drugs, E. coli, Enzyme, G-Protein, Penicillin, Protein, Protein Engineering, Research
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Midwife's research included in new national guidance | 435 |
Bible > Commentary > MacLaren > 1 Samuel
◄ 1 Samuel 7 ►
MacLaren Expositions Of Holy Scripture
And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
REPENTANCE AND VICTORY
1 Samuel 7:1 - 1 Samuel 7:12.
The ark had spread disaster in Philistia and Beth-shemesh, and the willingness of the men of Kirjath-jearim to receive it was a token of their devotion. They must have been in some measure free from idolatry and penetrated with reverence. The name of the city {City of the Woods, like our Woodville} suggests the situation of the little town, 'bosomed high in tufted trees,' where the ark lay for so long, apparently without sacrifices, and simply watched over by Eleazar, who was probably of the house of Aaron. Eli's family was exterminated; Shiloh seems to have been destroyed, or, at all events, forsaken; and for twenty years internal disorganisation and foreign oppression, relieved only by Samuel's growing influence, prevailed. But during these dark days a better mind was slowly appearing among the people. 'All . . . Israel lamented after the Lord.' Lost blessings are precious. God was more prized when withdrawn. Happy they to whom darkness brightens that Light which brightens all darkness! Our text gives us three main points,-the preparation for victory in repentance and return {1 Samuel 7:3 - 1 Samuel 7:9}; the victory {1 Samuel 7:10 - 1 Samuel 7:11}; the thankful commemoration of victory {1 Samuel 7:12}.
I. We have first the preparation for victory in repentance and return. At the time of the first fight at Eben-ezer, Israel was full of idolatry and immorality. Then their preparation for battle was the mere bringing the ark into the camp, as if it were a fetish or magic charm. That was pure heathenism, and they were idolaters in such worship of Jehovah, just as much as if they had been bowing to Baal. Many of us rely on our baptism or on churchgoing precisely in the same spirit, and are as truly pagans. Not the name of the Deity, but the spirit<|fim_middle|> field of our life's conflicts, and have it engraved at last on our gravestones, where we rest in hope.
The best use of memory is to mark more plainly than it could be seen at the moment the divine help which has filled our lives. Like some track on a mountain side, it is less discernible to us, when treading it, than when we look at it from the other side of the glen. Many parts of our lives, that seemed unmarked by any consciousness of God's help while they were present, flash up into clearness when seen through the revealing light of memory, and gleam purple in it, while they looked but bare rocks as long as we were stumbling among them. It is blessed to remember, and to see everywhere God's help. We do not remember aright unless we do. The stone that commemorates our lives should bear no name but one, and this should be all that is read upon it: 'Now unto Him that kept us from falling, unto Him be glory!'
Expositions Of Holy Scripture, Alexander MacLaren | of the worshipper, makes the 'idolater.'
How different this second preparation! Samuel, who had never been named in the narrative of defeat, now reappears as the acknowledged prophet and, in a sense, dictator. The first requirement is to come back to the Lord 'with the whole heart,' and that return is to be practically exhibited in the complete forsaking of Baal and the Ashtoreths. 'Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' It must be 'Him only,' if it is Him at all. Real religion is exclusive, as real love is. In its very nature it is indivisible, and if given to two is accepted by neither. So there was some kind of general and perhaps public giving up of the idols, and some, though probably not the fully appointed, public service of Jehovah. If we are to have His strength infused for victory, we must cast away our idols, and come back to Him with all our hearts. The hands that would clasp Him, and be upheld by the clasp, must be emptied of trifles. To yield ourselves wholly to God is the secret of strength.
The next step was a solemn national assembly at Samuel's town of Mizpeh, situated on a conspicuous hill, north-west of Jerusalem, which still is called 'the prophet Samuel.' Sacrifices were offered, which are no part of the Mosaic ritual. A significant part of these consisted in the pouring out of water 'before the Lord,' probably as emblematic of the pouring out of soul in penitence; for it was accompanied by fasting and confession of sin. The surest way to the true victory, which is the conquest of our sins, is confessing them to God. When once we have seen any sin in its true character clearly enough to speak to Him about it, we have gone far to emancipate ourselves from it, and have quickened our consciences towards more complete intolerance of its hideousness. Confession breaks the entail of sin, and substitutes for the dreary expectation of its continuance the glad conviction of forgiveness and cleansing. It does not make a stiff fight unnecessary; for assured freedom from sin is not the easy prize of confession, but the hard-won issue of sturdy effort in God's strength. But it is like blowing the trumpet of revolt,-it gives the signal for, and itself begins, the conflict. The night before the battle should be spent, not in feasting, but in prayer and lowly shriving of our souls before the great Confessor.
The watchful Philistines seem to have had their attention attracted by the unusual stir among their turbulent subjects, and especially by this suspicious gathering at Mizpeh, and they come suddenly up the passes from their low-lying territory to disperse it. A whiff of the old terror blows across the spirits of the people, not unwholesomely; for it sets them, not to desire the outward presence of the ark, not to run from their post, but to beseech Samuel's intercession. They are afraid, but they mean to fight all the same, and, because they are afraid, they long for God's help. That is the right temper, which, if a man cherish, he will not be defeated, however many Philistines rush at him. Twenty years of slavery had naturally bred fear in them, but it is a wise fear which breeds reliance on God. Our enemy is strong, and no fault is more fatal than an underestimate of his power. If we go into battle singing, we shall probably come out of it weeping, or never come out at all. If we begin bragging, we shall end bleeding. It is only he who looks on the advancing foe, and feels 'They are too strong for me,' who will have to say, as he watches them retreating, 'He delivered me from my strong enemy.' We should think much of our foes and little of ourselves. Such a temper will lead to caution, watchfulness, wise suspicion, vigorous strain of all our little power, and, above all, it will send us to our knees to plead with our great Captain and Advocate.
Samuel acts as priest and intercessor, offering a burnt-offering, which, like the pouring out of water, is no part of the Mosaic sacrifices. The fact is plain, but it is neither unaccountable nor large enough to warrant the sweeping inferences which have been drawn from it and its like, as to the non-existence at this period of the developed ceremonial in Leviticus. We need only remember Samuel's special office, and the seclusion in which the ark lay, to have a sufficient explanation of the cessation of the appointed worship and the substitution of such 'irregular' sacrifices. We are on surer ground when we see here the incident to which Psalm 99:6 refers {'Samuel among them that call upon His name. They called upon the Lord, and He answered them'}, and when we learn the lesson that there is a power in intercession which we can use for one another, and which reaches its perfection in the prevailing prayer of our great High-priest, who, like Samuel and Moses, is on the mountain praying, while we fight in the plain.
II. We have next the victory on the field of the former defeat. The battle is joined on the old ground. Strategic considerations probably determined the choice as they did in the case of the many battles on the plain of Esdraelon, for instance, or on the fields of the Netherlands. Probably the armies met on some piece of level ground in one of the wadies, up which the Philistines marched to the attack. At all events, there they were, face to face once more on the old spot. On both sides might be men who had been in the former engagement. Depressing remembrances or burning eagerness to wipe out the shame would stir in those on the one side; contemptuous remembrance of the ease with which the last victory had been won would animate the other. God Himself helped them by the thunderstorm, the solemn roll of which was 'the voice of the Lord' answering Samuel's prayer. The ark had brought only defeat to the impure host; the sacrifice brings victory to the penitent army. Observe that the defeat is accomplished before 'the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh.' God scattered the enemy, and Israel had only to pursue flying foes, as they hurried in wild confusion down the pass, with the lightning flashing behind them. The same pregnant expression is used for the rout of the Philistines as for the previous one of Israel. 'They were smitten before,' not by, the victors. The true victor was God.
The story gives boundless hope of victory, even on the fields of our former defeats. We can master rooted faults of character, and overcome temptations which have often conquered us. Let no man say: 'Ah! I have been beaten so often that I may as well give up the fight altogether. Years and years I have been a slave, and everywhere I tread on old battlefields, where I have come off second-best. It will never be different. I may as well cease struggling.' However obstinate the fault, however often it has re-established its dominion and dragged us back to slavery, when we thought that we had made good our escape,- that is no reason to 'bate one jot of heart or hope.' We have every reason to hope bravely and boundlessly in the possibility of victory. True, we should rightly despair if we had only our own powers to depend on. But the grounds of our confidence lie in the inexhaustible fulness of God's Spirit, and the certain purpose of His will that we should be purified from all iniquity, as well as in the proved tendency of the principles and motives of the gospel to produce characters of perfect goodness, and, above all, in the sacrifice and intercession of our Captain on high. Since we have Christ to dwell in us, and be the seed of a new life, which will unfold into the likeness of that life from which it has sprung; since we have a perfect Example in Him who became like us in lowliness of flesh, that we might become like Him in purity of spirit; since we have a gospel which enjoins and supplies the mightiest motives for complete obedience; and since the most rooted and inveterate evils are no part of ourselves, but 'vipers' which may be 'shaken from the hand' into which they have struck their fangs, we commit faithless treason against God, His message, and ourselves, when we doubt that we shall overcome all our sins. We should not, then, go into the fight downhearted, with our banners drooping, as if defeat sat on them. The belief that we shall conquer has much to do with victory. That is true in all sorts of conflicts. So, though the whole field may be strewed with relics, eloquent of former disgrace, we may renew the struggle with confidence that the future will not always copy the past. We 'are saved by hope'; by hope we are made strong. It is the very helmet on our heads. The warfare with our own evils should be waged in the assurance that every field of our defeat shall one day see set up on it the trophy of, not our victory, but God's in us.
III. We have here the grateful commemoration of victory. Where that gray stone stands no man knows to-day, but its name lives for ever. This trophy bore no vaunts of leader's skill or soldier's bravery. One name only is associated with it. It is 'the stone of help,' and its message to succeeding generations is: 'Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.' That Hitherto' is the word of a mighty faith. It includes as parts of one whole the disaster no less than the victory. The Lord was helping Israel no less by sorrow and oppression than by joy and deliverance. The defeat which guided them back to Him was tender kindness and precious help. He helps us by griefs and losses, by disappointments and defeats; for whatever brings us closer to Him, and makes us feel that all our bliss and wellbeing lie in knowing and loving Him, is helpful beyond all other aid, and strength-giving above all other gifts.
Such remembrance has in it a half-uttered prayer and hope for the future. 'Hitherto' means more than it says. It looks forward as well as backward, and sees the future in the past. Memory passes into hope, and the radiance in the sky behind throws light on to our forward path. God's 'hitherto' carries 'henceforward' wrapped up in it. His past reveals the eternal principles which will mould His future acts. He has helped, therefore he will help, is no good argument concerning men; but it is valid concerning God.
The devout man's 'gratitude' is, and ought to be, 'a lively sense of favours to come.' We should never doubt but that, as good John Newton puts it, in words which bid fair to last longer than Samuel's gray stone:-
'Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through.'
We may write that on every | 2,337 |
Toy and Museum Shops Maximizing Sales of Games, Puzzles, and Craft Kits
By Alison Levin
Fun. That is what we all seek – adults and children alike. While the main focus of toy store and museum gift shop retailers is the children, there are plenty of fun opportunities for the whole family to enjoy together, especially when it comes to playing games, doing puzzles, and working on projects.
"In many ways, traditional games still sell the best for us," said Candace Moreno, shop manager for San Marino Toy and Book Shoppe in San Marino, Calif. "Candyland, Monopoly, Yahtzee, and Jenga are all very popular games. These are your classics that parents grew up playing. The age range on these games is very wide, so entire families can enjoy together."
Photographed behind the register at Tom's Toys was Store Manager Tua Pangaribuan. Winning Moves games sell well for the store.
Similarly, Jillian Wahlquist, vice president of Tom's Toys in Montrose, Calif., finds that these classic, or "retro", games are big hits in her store as well. "We look for unique games that you can't always find everywhere. Winning Moves is a great brand whose games are the same as the ones you played as child, but often are updated and maybe have some new rules. It gives adults an option to play the games they grew up on, and to share those games with their families," Wahlquist said.
Aside from the classic board games, toy store and museum gift shop customers are simply looking for fun ways that their families can bond with one another. "Our best-selling games right now are Tenzi and the Floor is Lava," said Jeff Massey, gift shop manager at the Scott Family Amazeum, in Bentonville, Ark. "Tenzi is just a fun, fast dice game that is very simple to play and you can keep evolving the game for newer challenges. The Floor is Lava is another fun family game that the whole family can play," remarked Massey, whose shop brings in about $300,000 annually, with sales rising each year.
On the other end of the spectrum, games that keep kids engaged and occupied on their own tend to be top-sellers at the Fairbanks Children<|fim_middle|>ishables line. "We offer all three types, 15-inch, 7-inch minis and the 3-inch micro plush. For us 'comfort food' Squishables are the most popular and it is the tween market that seems to love them the most," Moreno said. Another hugely popular plush item for Moreno's shop has been Flappy the Elephant from Gund. "We often suggestive sell, and everyone delights when they see the ears move and hear it sing. This is great for the 'new baby' market." Moreno said there are no plans to add more plush to the shop in the near future.
At Wahlquist's Montrose, Calif., toy shop, Ty plush animals are as popular as ever. "There are some newer, smaller Ty products that do well and also the sequined Ty plush is very trendy now," Wahlquist said. The other latest trend at this shop are Surprizamals. These are little plush animals that come inside of a ball, so the recipient never knows which one they are getting until they open it. "The surprise element is a lot of fun for kids, and our plush demographic is between 4-8 years old, so they are the perfect age for these," Wahlquist said. The shop is already so diverse with the amount of plush they carry that Wahlquist does not intend to add any new plush items anytime soon. Said Wahlquist, "it would have to be significantly different in order for us to consider adding something."
Four to 8 is also the average age range for plush sales at Sanchez's Phoenix gift shop. "The trendiest plush right now are the Squishmallows, which are extremely soft and cushy animals," said Sanchez. "But we are always bringing new products into the store, and that includes plush. We have a buying team who handles that, and our 2019 product line has not been announced yet, but we will surely have some new plush."
Massey finds that the plush trend in his shop tends to be anything unicorn or sloth related. Additionally, he is noticing that sequined plush seems to be taking off lately, as well. Younger kids visiting the shop, aged 2-7, seem more interested in the basic plush, with older kids enjoying the more fun, sequined items."Right now we have a pretty good selection of plush items. We are always adding new things, though, and trying to keep on top of what is in demand," Massey said.
← Tips to Sell More Sea-Themed Gifts, Quality Gifts and Home Décor Items A Look at What Is Being Collected Among the Collections → | 's Museum, in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to Meredith Maple, visitor services manager. Popular games at the museum's gift shop include Magnatiles, House of Marbles mazes, and Tegu. All of these are games that encourage creativity and imagination, and are games that children can play on their own or with friends and family.
Speaking of activities that kids can do on their own, puzzles are another timeless activity. "We are the go-to place in our area for puzzles," said Wahlquist. "Because that is something we are known for, we really like to give our customers a huge selection to choose from." Wahlquist's shop is roughly 5,000 square feet, so there is ample space for stock. Wahlquist has a close partnership with Ravensburger, so the majority of their puzzles come from this brand. "Ravensburger is a fantastic company with an incredible product line, so we have fabulous sales on our puzzles," Wahlquist said.
For Moreno, puzzles tend to be geared more towards the adult market. "We carry a lot of Cobble Hill jigsaw puzzles and the most popular are about 300-500 pieces. These are great for the grown-ups, but families also like to work on them together, which is nice," said Moreno. "The Cobble Hill family puzzles actually have pieces of three different sizes in the same box, so little kids can have an easier time working on a puzzle with their family," Moreno described.
Tom's Toys Store Manager Tua Pangaribuan photographed with a toy display. Retro games are big hits for the store.
Craft kits are another fabulous option when it comes to buying a birthday gift or special treat for a child. At Moreno's shop, DIY bath bomb kits are very much on-trend. "Most of our craft kits are geared towards girls, with Creativity for Kids and Klutz kits selling the best," said Moreno. The same is true for Wahlquist, who raved about Creativity for Kids. "The packaging sells itself, truly. Their kits are very eye-catching and the price-points on these kits make them perfect for gift-giving," Wahlquist said.
Because those visiting the gift shop at The Children's Museum of Phoenix are fresh off of their educational experience throughout the exhibits, customers' interest is piqued when it comes to more educational crafts. "We sell many clay kits, such as clay mold dinosaurs. Build Your Own Terrarium kits, and rock painting kits are popular, as well," said Theresa Sanchez, retail manager. "However, what's popular in our store tends to depend a lot on what we are most actively demonstrating at any given time."
Hands-on demos remain one of the top ways to increase sales on any item. "We have many interactive demos around our shop, such as tables where kids can work on puzzles. If they can see first-hand how fun something is, that encourages sales," Sanchez said. Aside from demos in the shop, Sanchez said that there is always merchandise that is available for sale placed around the museum. "This way, the kids can see what they like as they explore the exhibits, but everything is labeled so they know how to find it when they make their way back to the shop."
Jillian Wahlquist, vice president of Tom's Toys in Montrose, Calif. Updated retro games let adults play with their families the games they liked when they were younger.
Massey and Moreno also find that demonstrating products leads to higher sales. Said Massey, "To maximize sales, we have to have a knowledgeable team. We like to test out most of the games we sell and are not afraid to break one out and play one with the kids out in the lobby. Same goes for craft kits. We do a lot of testing around here." Moreno also stated that her sales staff will often take out a demo edition of a game or craft so the customers can learn how to play with it.
Aside from knowledgeable staff who perform great demos, another way to increase sales is through sales and signage. "We occasionally advertise our discounts that are available to members of the museum," said Maple, who also places signs throughout the shop to call attention to promotions. Wahlquist also stressed the importance of giving value to the customer, so her shop regularly offers promotions and sales. "The other way to increase sales volume is to just offer a great and unique selection," said Wahlquist. "That is our main focus. Our products are always in stock and we have tons to choose from. There is no way that our customers are going to walk about without finding something; that is our priority."
Are Craft Kits Gaining or Waning in Popularity
• "In our store, craft kits are extremely popular right now. The trend is definitely gaining. I blink and we are all sold out." – Candance Moreno, San Marino Toy and Book Shoppe, San Marino, Calif.
• "For us, craft kits are pretty stable. They are always a great go-to for birthday party gifts, so they consistently sell. No real increase in sales, but they definitely are a staple." – Jillian Wahlquist, Tom's Toys, Montrose, Calif.
• "I think craft kits may be waning in popularity, due to just a simple lack of time. A lot of things these days are all about the instant gratification, whereas craft kits you have to devote time to. But it really depends on the craft kit and the level of excitement it brings." – Jeff Massey, Scott Family Amazeum, Bentonville, Ark.
• "For us, craft kit sales were decreasing for a while, but I think they are coming back. We are seeing a slow rise in sales. However, it depends on the price point and on them truly being a bit more unique." – Theresa Sanchez, Children's Museum of Phoenix, Phoenix, Ariz.
Focus On Plush
Plush, a longtime staple at toy stores and gift shops alike, stands securely and adorably in place as a top-selling, go-to gift. For Moreno, the biggest sales in plush come from the Squ | 1,246 |
Biggest tech advancements of 2020 - Intuit Developer Community Blog
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December 28, 2020 | Intuit Developer Team
Biggest tech advancements of 2020
Looking back at 2020, it's highly improbable that your first thought is, "The 2020 tech advances were awesome!" We know it's more along the lines of, "Is it over yet?" Still, even some years we would like to wish away have some merit, so we asked the Intuit® Developer community what they saw as this year's biggest tech advancement.
2020 tech advances
More than 2,245 people participated in our latest Twitter poll, and 49.1% declared 5G the big winner. The adoption of AI followed with 25.1%, and serverless computing and distributed cloud competed for last place, with 13.2% and 12.5% of the vote, respectively.
Why did 5G dominate?
When 5G became available for commercial purposes in 2019, it was heralded by the Forbes Technology Council as exciting—if not "exhilarating"—technology for consumers, developers, tech-driven enterprises, and carriers. In their review of 5G and how it will affect mobile app development, Sanjay Malhotra wrote, "Looking ahead, 5G will allow developers to explore, build new platforms and create apps that will offer faster, more personalized user experiences."
To understand why 5G is so exciting, you need to understand the difference between 5G and its 4G predecessor. According to Qualcomm, a company that says they contributed to the foundational technologies that help make up 5G, the architecture between the two technologies is different. "5G is based on OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing), a method of modulating a digital signal across several different channels to reduce interference.<|fim_middle|> of 5G will take time. GSMA estimates that global connections will be at 20% by 2025, though there have already been 106 commercial 5G launches and 7% population penetration as of this date.
While 5G continues to expand its reach, the adoption of AI seems to be moving forward. An IBM survey found that 34% of U.S., EU, and China businesses have deployed AI. As Intuit's Shir Meir Lador writes, AI "provides a myriad of benefits for their customers as well as to the business itself, including improving their efficiency by performing data-driven tasks faster and better than humans." She notes other benefits, such as accelerating customer support and detecting anomalous behaviors in company systems.
In Demystifying artificial intelligence and machine learning, Brian Gorbett cites another benefit: early cancer detection. He unapologetically declares that "every business in the world should be an artificial intelligence company," and says we're in an AI revolution as algorithms have advanced, businesses in all industries are recognizing the power of data, and the availability of GPU is more affordable and available.
5G and AI in the future
Voting 5G and the adoption of AI as the top two 2020 tech advances was pretty spot on, if Forbes contributor Anshel Sag has any say in it. He sees 5G and AI as complementary technologies, now and in the future.
"What is interesting about both technologies is that they are universally applicable across many industries and are likely to change the way many of them operate," he writes. "For that matter, each technology has its own set of use cases, which are also inextricably connected to one another. The pairing of 5G and AI stands to amplify the rate and impact of both technologies."
He explains that 5G provides the connectivity AI needs to maximize its abilities, and that AI helps 5G scale data based on pertinence. The two currently work together in smartphones and within voice assistants, and he mentions that XR, transportation, and robotics are in the works for the future.
It will be fascinating to look back at the end of 2021 and see how 5G and AI technology will affect businesses in every industry. Will they land as the top two tech advances next year? We'll have to wait and see. Until then, check out what Shir Meir Lador has to say about AI, including:
How to avoid conflicts and delays in the AI development process (Part 1) and
Lessons learned leading AI teams.
December 28, 2020 | Intuit Developer Team Share | 5G uses 5G NR air interface alongside OFDM principles. 5G also uses wider bandwidth technologies such as sub-6 GHz and mmWave."
The increased connectivity brought by 5G technology outshines that of previous generations of mobile networks, but 5G is still maturing. Even so, 5G-enabled devices, such as 5G phones, are already taking advantage of the benefits:
Faster upload/download speeds.
Lower latency (5G cuts latency of 50 milliseconds to just one millisecond).
Increased communication density (supports 1 million connected devices in a defined space).
However, full-scale adoption | 130 |
Tag Archives: Cobie Smulders
Film Review: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (dir by Mike Mitchell)
Posted on June 6, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman
Sometimes, it's hard not to feel that the Lego movies are their own worst enemy.
I mean, they're just so cute and fun and likable and cheerfully dorky that it's easy to overlook just clever they often are. Everything is Awesome may have been a cute song but it was also a pitch perfect parody of mindless conformity. And yes, The Lego Batman Movie got a lot of laughs out of Will Arnett's guttural growl but it was also the best Batman film since The Dark Knight and it also had a lot to say about how lonely it can be when you're an extremely paranoid super hero. As for The Lego Ninjago Movie …. well, give me a minute and I'll think of something. Uhmmmm …. it had that cute kitty! Woo hoo!
Beyond all that, all of the Lego movies — from the best to the less-than-the-best — celebrate imagination. They celebrate being an individual and the joy of creating your own world as opposed to just conforming to someone else's rules. As much as I loved Chris Pratt as Emmett and Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, the heart of the first Lego Movie is to be found in the scene where Will Ferrell essentially realizes that he's being a jerk when he won't let his son build what he wants to build.
That said, the main appeal of the Lego movies is that they're incredibly cute. Just take The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part for instance. Especially when compared to the first Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie, this sequel has its flaws. Admittedly, some of those flaws are unavoidable. Just the fact that we start the movie knowing that everyone is in Will Ferrell's house means that the sequel can't take us as much by surprise as the first Lego Movie did. Though the film's original directors, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, wrote the script and contribute some genuinely witty dialogue, the sequel's pacing occasionally seems a little bit off. There's a few slow spots, the majority of which are really only noticeable when you compare the sequel to the flawlessly paced first film. And yet, in the end, it's such a cute movie that it's easy to overlook those flaws.
The sequel begins immediately where the first ended, with Will Ferrell decreeing that both his son and his daughter are now allowed to play with his Lego collection. Jump forward five years and this has basically led to chaos. The Lego Universe is now a Mad Max-style wasteland. Not surprisingly, both Wylstyle and Batman have really gotten into their new dystopian lifestyle. Meanwhile, Emmett remains just as blindly cheerful and optimistic as ever. He still feels that everything is awesome.
Or, at least Emmet feels that way until all of his friends are kidnapped to the Systar System, where Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) wants to marry Batman. Determined to rescue his friends, Emmett decides to travel to the Systar System himself. Helping him out is Rex Dangervest, who seems like the type of adventurer that Emmett has always dreamed of becoming. Chris Pratt voices both Rex and Emmett and the film has a lot of fun playing with Pratt's post-Guardians of the Galaxy stardom. Rex is not just an intergalactic explorer. No, he's also a cowboy, a dinosaur trainer, an archaeologist, a first baseman, and — we're told — a script doctor. (Those, of course, are references to Pratt's roles in The Magnificent Seven, Jurassic World, and Moneyball. Interestingly enough, his work in Passengers goes unmentioned.) Rex pressures Emmett to become more cynical and ruthless in his efforts to save his friends and destroy the Systar System and Chris Pratt does a great job voicing both roles. Indeed, if nothing else, this film will always stand as a tribute to the incredible and unending charm of Chris Pratt.
If Lego Movie 2 never reaches the glorious heights of the first film, that's because the element of surprise has been lost. There's no moment in the sequel that's as memorable as when a live action Will Ferrell suddenly showed up in the first movie. (In the second movie, Ferrell appears in a flashback and has a brief voice cameo as President Business. Maya Rudolph does show up as his wife but the sequel's live action scenes just don't have the emotional impact of the first film's.) But, with all that in mind, it's still an undeniably cute and entertaining movie. All of your old favorites back — everyone from Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as Superman and Green Lantern to Alison Brie as Unikitty to Charlie Day as the astronaut. (Sadly, Liam Neeson did not return as the Good Cop/Bad Cop and his absence is felt.) The film is full of clever parodies, my favorite being the references to Mad Max: Fury Road. There's more than enough witty lines, visual gags, and sweet moments that Lego Movie 2 will hold your interest and bring a smile to your face.
At the box office, Lego Movie 2 fell victim to the same Lego fatigue that took down the Lego Ninjago film and it did not become quite the phenomenon that the first movie did. Regardless, it's still a worthy sequel. I wouldn't quite say it's awesome but it's definitely a lot of fun.
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Alison Brie, Brooklyn Prince, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Charlie Day, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Elizabeth Banks, Film, Ike Barinholtz, Jadon Sand, Jason<|fim_middle|> year so far were given by actors appearing as villains in MCU films, Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther and Josh Brolin in this one.
As befits the film's subject matter, Infinity War is a sprawling film, one that skips from world to world. The visuals are frequently spectacular, as are the many battles. From the opening attack on New York to the final battles in Wakanda and in space, the action is non-stop and thrilling. (It helps that, as opposed to some of the previous MCU films, it's always clear who is fighting who and why they're fighting.) For me, though, the most memorable scenes are the scenes where Thanos looks and considers the worlds that he's destroyed. There's a scene where an exhausted Thanos rests on a placid planet and it's one of the strongest images in the history of the MCU.
I've been told that I shouldn't worry too much about all of the characters who are killed over the course of Infinity War. From what I've been told, it's apparently something of a tradition in Marvel comics to kill off a bunch of recognizable characters and then have them come back to life an issue or two later. And the fact that the sequel to Infinity War has already been filmed and is set to released next year leads me to suspect that nothing's permanent. I mean, if all of these people are really dead, there aren't going to be many heroes left to make any more movies about. That said, I still got far more emotional than I probably should have at some of the unexpected demises. Especially … well, no. I won't say the name. But seriously, it was upsetting.
2018 is shaping up to be the year of Marvel. So far, Marvel has released two of the best films of the year. To be honest, a film as huge as Infinity War shouldn't have worked and yet, it does. It's a masterpiece of pop art.*
* For a totally different response to Avengers: Infinity War, check out Ryan's review by clicking here!
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Anthony Mackie, Anthony Russo, Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Benicio Del Toro, Bradley Cooper, Carrie Coon, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Danai Gurira, David Bautista, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Ethan Dizon, Film, Florence Kasumba, Gwynneth Paltrow, Idris Elba, Isabella Amara, Jacob Batalon, Joe Russo, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Kerry Condon, Letitia Wright, Lisa Marie Bowman, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU, Michael James Shaw, movie, Paul Bettany, Peter Dinklage, Pom Klementieff, review, Robert Downey Jr, Ross Marquand, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Gunn, Sebastian Stan, Stan Lee, Terry Notary, The Russo Brothers, Tiffany Espensen, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Vin Diesel, William Hurt, Winston Duke, Zoe Saldana | 14 Comments
Film Review: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (dir by Joss Whedon)
In some ways, I think I may be both the worst and the best possible person to review the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, largely because I've seen all the films but I don't know much about the comics on which they are based. As a result, I can judge each film solely by what is on screen but, at the same time, I know that there are a lot of references that go straight over my head. For instance, when we saw Avengers: Age of Ultron earlier tonight, I had to get my boyfriend to explain to me why certain members of the audience got so excited when Iron Man mentioned an African country called Wakanda. But what's important is that I would have still enjoyed Age of Ultron even if I had never known why Wakanda was important. The MCU has, so far, managed to maintain a balance between keeping the Marvel fans happy while also remaining accessible to viewers like me. The MCU has created its own separate reality, one that even someone like me can feel comfortable exploring and reviewing.
However, before I get around to giving you my feelings on Age of Ultron, let's be honest about something.
There are a lot of critics out there who have been waiting for a chance to attack the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some of them have disliked the MCU since the very first Iron Man film. They have been lone voices in the wilderness, arguing that the entire franchise is overrated and, in some cases, creatively destructive. Much like the Old Testament prophets, they continue to warn of the future while other filmgoers ignore the pillar of fire forming over the nearest theater. And then there are other critics who have praised previous MCU efforts but have never really been comfortable about it. These are the critics who resent having to write positively about a mere genre film. These are the critics who still haven't gotten over just how good Guardians of the Galaxy truly was. They have been waiting for an MCU misfire so that they can do their penance for suggesting that Robert Downey, Jr. deserved Oscar consideration for Iron Man 3.
These critics are going to watch The Avengers: Age of Ultron and they are going to pounce. They are going to point out that Age of Ultron puts too much emphasis on action over nuance and, as impressive as the CGI may be, it's impossible to deny that Age of Ultron almost robotically follows the classic action movie formula. They'll point out that none of The Avengers really develop as characters over the course of the film. Depending on how they've felt about the MCU up to this point, some of them will point out that Age of Ultron feels a bit like a step backwards. It doesn't have the political subtext of Iron Man 3 or Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It lacks the satiric edge of Guardians of the Galaxy. And, ultimately, it's just not as much fun as the first Avengers film.
And they won't necessarily be wrong. I mean, let's be honest. I write this as someone who has enjoyed (and, in some cases, loved) the previous MCU films. Avengers: Age of Ultron is not going to be remembered as one of the best of the MCU films. This is a flawed film that never reaches the heights of the original Avengers. All of the criticisms listed above are perfectly valid.
But, with all that in mind, I still enjoyed Avengers: Age of Ultron and I happily recommend it without a bit of hesitation.
Age of Ultron opens with the Avengers attacking a HYDRA base and we quickly discover that the Avengers are exactly the same as we remembered them. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) is cocky, self-destructive, and torn by guilt over his past as a weapons manufacturer. Captain America (Chris Evans) is earnest and idealistic. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is … well, he's a God. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is scared of what he becomes when he transforms into the Hulk. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) is still shooting arrows and feeling out-of-place. Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) is still flirty, enigmatic, and apparently in love with Bruce Banner.
One of the reoccurring themes of the MCU is that whenever Iron Man tries to make the world a better place, he instead ends up nearly destroying it. His latest attempt leads him to create Ultron (voiced quite chillingly by James Spader), a robot who has Tony's personality and who has decided that the only way to bring about "peace in our time" is to destroy all of humanity. Ultron's motives are as close as this film gets to any sort of thematic subtext. Ultron stands in for every ideology that would take away a person's individual freedom in the name of the greater good. Age of Ultron doesn't explore this subtext as much as I would have liked it to but, at the same time, I appreciated that it was at least there. That's more than you can say for a film like Man of Steel.
Ultron is not the only new character to show up. Andy Serkis has a small role as a character that will undoubtedly be a villain in a future MCU film. After voicing JARVIS in several films, Paul Bettany finally gets to actually appear onscreen. I can't talk too much about his character without spoiling the film but Bettany makes good use of his limited screen time.
And then there's Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen. Previously, they played lovers in Godzilla. In Age of Ultron, they play siblings who just seem like lovers. Taylor-Johnson is Pietro, who can move at super speeds. Elizabeth Olsen is Wanda, whose powers are a bit less defined but mostly seem to consist of being able to do whatever the script needs her to do at the time. (As the film explains it, "He's fast, she's strange.") In the past, I've had mixed feeling about Taylor-Johnson. I thought he was brilliant in Nowhere Boy and Anna Karenina but, in other films, I found him to be excessively mannered and a little dull. But, in the role of Pietro, Taylor-Johnson really shines, achieving a good balance of arrogance and vulnerability. As for Elizabeth Olsen, she is perfectly cast as the angry but sensitive Wanda. At the very least, Age of Ultron better serves both of them than they were served by Godzilla.
(Add to that, Wanda and I share similar tastes in fashion, which will make it easy for me to dress up as her for Halloween.)
Director Joss Whedon does a good job with the film's many battle scenes, especially the final one. And, as someone who hated the mindless destruction of Man of Steel, I appreciated that, as characters, the Avengers spent as much time trying to protect innocent bystanders as they did battling Ultron and his henchrobots. At the same time, it was hard not to feel that the film's emphasis on action did sacrifice some of the character moments that have made other MCU films so memorable. Early on in the film, there's a great scene where the Avengers simply hang out at a party. They dance, they dink, they laugh, and eventually, they all take turns attempting to pick up Thor's hammer. It's a fun scene because it brings these heroes back down to Earth and, for a few minutes, we get to relate to them in the way that we would relate to our best friends. Age of Ultron could have used more scenes like that.
That said, the cast of Age of Ultron provides enough old fashioned movie star charisma that they overcome the script's shallow characterization. In many ways, it's like one of the old Frank Sinatra rat pack movies, where you forgive a lot because you enjoy hanging out with the cast. They're just fun to watch. Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo; at this point they are so identified with these characters that the actors and their roles might as well be interchangeable.
(And, at this point, if it were revealed the Robert Downey, Jr. owned a suit of armor, would you really be surprised?)
Ultimately, Age of Ultron feels a lot like one of the less acclaimed James Bond films. It's flawed, it's imperfect, but fans of the franchise will find a lot to enjoy. Much as you wouldn't introduce someone to James Bond by showing him Moonraker, you probably wouldn't want to introduce someone to the MCU by showing him or her Age of Ultron. If, somehow, you've managed to exist without ever seeing any other MCU films, then Age of Ultron will leave you confused and wondering what the big deal is. But, if you're already a fan of the franchise, you'll find a lot to enjoy here.
And, flaws and all, you'll walk out of the theater looking forward to the next installment.
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Age of Ultron, Andy Serkis, Anthony Mackie, Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ulton, Chis Evans, Chris Evans, Chris Hemswoth, Claudia Kim, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Film, Hayley Atwell, Henry Goodman, Idris Elba, James Spader, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Joss Whedon, Julie Delpy, Linda Cardellini, Lisa Marie Bowman, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel, Marvel CInematic Univese, MCU, movie, Paul Bettany, review, Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Stan Lee, Stellan Skarsgard, The Avengers, The Avengers: Age of Ulton, Thomas Kretschmann | 11 Comments
A Vision of the Avengers: Age of Ultron for the Third Time
Posted on March 4, 2015 by Arleigh
The third and, hopefully, final trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron was unlocked today after a Twitter event which had millions of people tweeting the hashtag #AvengersAssemble. One has to give it up to the Marvel marketing machine. They know how to get the public clamoring for more when it comes to their films.
All that could be said has been said about this film. Just sit back and enjoy (or critique) one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year.
Posted in Film | Tagged Aaron Taylor-Johnson, action film, Andy Serkis, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ben Davis, Brian Tyler, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Claudia Kim, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Jack Kirby, James Spader, Jeremy Renner, Joss Whedon, Kevin Feige, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel Studios, Paul Bettany, Robert Downey Jr, Samule L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, sequel, Stan Lee, Stellan Skarsgard, superhero film, Thomas Kretschmann, Tom Hiddleston, trailer, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Leave a comment
Shattered Politics #88: Grassroots (dir by Stephen Gyllenhaal)
Posted on February 10, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman
Well, it's nearly over.
For the past three weeks, I've been watching and reviewing 94 films about politics and politicians. We started Shattered Politics by reviewing the 1930 film Abraham Lincoln and, 86 reviews later, we have finally reached 2012! It's hard to believe that, over just three weeks, I have reviewed that many films. Some of those films have been good. Some of them have been bad. And, quite a few of them, have been somewhere in between.
The 2012 film Grassroots in one of those in between sort of films. It's based on a true story. Phil Campbell (Jason Biggs) is a Seattle-based journalist who has just lost his job. Unsure what to do with himself, Phil finds himself reluctantly dragged into the city council campaign of his friend, a music critic named Grant Cogswell (Joel David Moore).
Grant is running because he feels that the city council is not making proper use of the Seattle monorail. Grant also appears to be a bit crazy, the type of guy who will spontaneously start to shout about everything that he views as being wrong with the world. However, Grant is also very sincere in his desire to do the best for the people of Seattle and Phil agrees to manage his campaign.
And, as Grant continues to campaign and as the city's political establishment goes out of its way to make it difficult for Grant or any other insurgent to run a legitimate campaign, he starts to pick up support and suddenly, it starts to look like he very well could win.
And then, the World Trade Center is attacked on September 11th and suddenly, the voters are a little bit less enthusiastic about handing the keys to the asylum over to one of the inmates…
Grassroots is a minor film but it's definitely likable. It took me a while to adjust to the film, largely because almost all of the characters are the type of stereotypical Seattle hipsters who would probably be used for violent comic relief in most other films. (Don't misunderstand, though — some of my best friends are hipsters … though they'll never admit it.) As well, the film trots out the familiar trope of having the campaign cause friction in Phil's marriage and seriously, is there a more tired plot point than sudden marital friction?
But, ultimately, the film won me over because, much like Grant, it's just so sincere in its love for Seattle and in its belief in grassroots politics. It won't challenge Milk for the title of being the most inspiring recent film about a city council election. But, taken on its own terms, Grassroots is a likable movie that should inspire even more hipsters to run for public office.
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Cedric the Entertainer, Christopher McDonald, Cobie Smulders, DC Pierson, Emily Bergl, Film, Grassroots, Jason Biggs, Joel David Moore, Lauren Ambrose, Lisa Marie Bowman, movie, review, Shattered Politics, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Todd Stashwick, Tom Arnold | Leave a comment | Momoa, Jonah Hill, Lisa Marie Bowman, Margot Rubin, Maya Rudolph, Mike Mitchell, movie, Nick Offerman, Ralph Fiennes, review, Richard Ayoade, Stephanie Beatriz, The Lego Movie, The LEGO Movie 2, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second One, Tiffany Haddish, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Will Forte | 2 Comments
Film Review: Avengers: Endgame (dir by the Russo Brothers)
Posted on April 30, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman
(Minor Spoilers Below! Read at your own risk.)
So, how long does the no spoiler rule for Avengers: Endgame apply? There's so much that I want to say about this film but I know that I shouldn't because, even though it had a monstrous opening weekend, there are still people out there who have not had a chance to see the film. And while this review will have minor spoilers because, otherwise, it would be impossible to write, I'm not going to share any of the major twists or turns.
I will say this. I saw Avengers: Endgame last night and it left me exhausted, angry, sad, exhilarated, and entertained. It's a gigantic film, with a plot that's as messy and incident-filled as the cinematic universe in which it takes place. More than just being a sequel or just the latest installment in one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history, Avengers: Endgame is a monument to the limitless depths of the human imagination. It's a pop cultural masterpiece, one that will make you laugh and make you cheer and, in the end, make you cry. It's a comic book film with unexpected emotional depth and an ending that will bring a tear to the eye of even the toughest cynic. By all logic, Avengers: Endgame is the type of film that should collapse under its own weight but instead, it's a film that thrives on its own epic scope. It's a three-hour film that's never less than enthralling. Even more importantly, it's a gift to all of us who have spent the last ten years exploring the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film itself starts almost immediately after the "Snap" that ended Avengers: Infinity War and we watch as Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner, returning to the franchise after being absent in the previous film) finds himself powerless to keep his family from disintegrating. After often being dismissed as the Avengers's weak link, both Clint Barton and Jeremy Renner come into their own in the film. As one of two members of the Avengers who does not have super powers, Clint serves as a everyperson character. He's a reminder that there's more at stake in Endgame than just the wounded pride of a few super heroes. When Thanos wiped out half the universe, he didn't just wipe out Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Groot. He also left very real wounds that will never be healed.
When the film jumps forward by five yeas, we discover that the world is now a much darker place. When we see New York, the once vibrant city is now gray and deserted. Our surviving heroes have all dealt with the Snap in their own way. Clint is now a vigilante, killing anyone who he feels should have been wiped out by Thanos but wasn't. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) drinks and eats and feels sorry for himself. Captain America (Chris Evans) attends support groups and, in one nicely done scene, listens as a man talks about his fear of entering into his first real relationship in the years since "the Snap." Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is living as a recluse and is still blaming himself. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is now an avuncular, huge, and very green scientist. Only Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) remains convinced that the Snap can somehow be undone. She's right, of course. But doing so will involve some unexpected sacrifices and a lot of time travel….
And that's as much as I can tell you, other than to say that the film takes full advantage of both the time travel aspects (yes, there are plenty of Back to the Future jokes) and its high-powered cast. With our heroes — which, along with the usual Avengers, also include Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) — hopping through time and space, we get a chance to revisit several of the films that led up to Endgame and it's a thousand times more effective than it has any right to be. Yes, one could argue that the cameos from Robert Redford, Tom Hiddleston, Hayley Atwell, and others were essentially fan service but so what? The fans have certainly earned it and the MCU has earned the chance to take a look back at what it once was and what it has since become.
Indeed, Avengers: Endgame would not work as well as it does if it hadn't been preceded by 21 entertaining and memorable movies. It's not just that the MCU feels like a universe that it as alive as our own, one that is full of wonder, mystery, sadness, and love. It's also that we've spent ten years getting to know these characters and, as a result, many of them are much more than just "super heroes" to us. When Tony Stark and Captain America argue over whether it's even worth trying to undo the Snap, it's an effective scene because we know the long and complicated history of their relationship. When the Avengers mourn, we mourn with them because we know their pain. We've shared their triumphs and their failures. Tony Stark may be a guy in an iron suit but he's also a man struggling with his own demons and guilt. Steve Rogers may be a nearly 100 year-old super solider but he's also every single person who has struggled to make the world a better place. As strange as it may be to say about characters known as Iron Man, Captain America, and the Black Widow, we feel like we know each and every one of them. We care about them.
Needless to say, the cast is huge and one of the great things about the film is that previously underused or underestimated performers — like Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, and Karen Gillan — all finally get a chance to shine. As always, the heart of the film belongs to Chris Evans while Robert Downey, Jr. provides just enough cynicism to keep things from getting to superficially idealistic. Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo get most of the film's big laughs, each playing their borderline ludicrous characters with just the right combination of sincerity and humor. Of course, Josh Brolin is back as well and he's still perfectly evil and arrogant as Thanos. But whereas Thanos was the focus of Infinity War, Endgame focuses on the heroes. If Infinity War acknowledged that evil can triumph, Endgame celebrates the fact that good never surrenders.
As Endgame came to an end, I did find myself wondering what the future is going to hold for the MCU. A part of me wonders how they're going to top the past ten years or if it's even possible to do so. Several mainstays of the MCU say goodbye during Endgame and it's hard to imagine the future films without their presence. It's been hinted that Captain Marvel is going to be one of the characters holding the next phase of the MCU together and, fortunately, Brie Larson is a quite a bit better in Endgame than she was in her previous MCU film. Hopefully, regardless of what happens in the future, Marvel and Disney will continue to entrust their characters to good directors, like the Russo Brothers, James Gunn, and Taika Waititi. (Wisely, Disney reversed themselves and rehired James Gunn for the next Guardians of the Galaxy film. Of course, Gunn never should have been fired in the first place….)
And that's really all I can say about Avengers: Endgame right now, other than to recommend that you see it. In fact, everyone in the world needs to hurry up and see it so we can finally start talking about the film without having to post spoiler warnings!
For now, I'll just say that Avengers: Endgame is a powerful, emotional, and entertaining conclusion to one of the greatest cinematic sagas ever.
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Angela Bassett, Anthony Mackie, Avengers, Avengers: Endgame, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Bradley Cooper, Brie Larson, Callan Mulvey, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Danai Gurira, Dave Bautista, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Emma Fuhrmann, Endgame, Evangeline Lilly, Film, Frank Grillo, Gwynneth Paltrow, Hayley Atwell, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jacob Batalan, James D'Arcy, Jeremy Renner, Jim Starlin, John Slattery, Jon Favreau, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Kerry Condon, Letitia Wright, Lexi Rabe, Linda Cardellini, Lisa Marie Bowman, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Maximiliano Hernández, MCU, Michael Douglas, Michael James Shaw, Michelle Pfeiffer, Monique Ganderton, movie, Natalie Portman, Paul Rudd, Pom Klementieff, Rene Russo, review, Robert Downey Jr, Robert Redford, Ross Marquand, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Stan Lee, Taika Wattiti, Terry Notary, Tessa Thompson, The Russo Brothers, Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Ty Simpkins, Vin Diesel, William Hurt, Winston Duke, Zoe Saldana | 1 Comment
Spider-Man: Far From Home Teaser and International Trailers
Spider-Man: Homecoming was the Spider-Man that fans have been waiting for. It was able to balance the character of Peter Parker and his alter-ego of Spider-Man. Where the Sam Raimi version was able to make the former stand-out at the cost of the Spider-Man alter, the Marc Webb version swapped the two dynamics. Webb's version had a great Spider-Man but had a Peter Parker whose moral compass was a bit skewed.
Jon Watt's Spider-Man and Peter Parker were a nice balance. It helped that the character was now free (to a degree) to play in the huge cinematic sandbox that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Last we saw Spider-Man and Peter Parker, he was dusted just like half the living things in the universe following the Thanos Snap. The question that gets brought up whenever Spider-man: Far From Home, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, gets talked about is does this film take away from the emotional sucker punch that was Avengers: Infinity War and it's upcoming sequel, Avengers: Endgame.
From this teaser trailer and it's international version has shown, the question still remains as both teasers mention nothing about the Avengers and keeps the timeline of the film vague enough to make one wonder if this sequel happens before Avengers: Infinity War.
I guess fans will find out on July 5, 2019 when the film is released worldwide.
….and here's the International Teaser trailer
Posted in Film | Tagged Amy Pascal, Angouri Rice, Cobie Smulders, Columbia Pictures, Hemky Madera, international teaser trailer, J.B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jon Favreau, Jon Watts, Kevin Feige, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios, MCU, Michael Giacchino, Michael Keaton, Numan Acar, Pascal Pictures, Samuel L. Jackson, sequel, Sony Pictures Releasing, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, superhero film, teaser trailer, Tom Holland, Tom Revolori, Zendaya | 1 Comment
Lisa Reviews Avengers: Infinity War (dir by Joe and Anthony Russo)
Posted on May 1, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman
(Warning: There are spoilers in this review. They're not necessarily huge spoilers but they're there. Read at your own risk.)
Avengers: Infinity War is a lot of things. It's big, it's thrilling, it's emotional, it's colorful, it's loud, it's flamboyant, and, clocking in at two and a half hours, it's occasionally a bit exhausting. It's overwhelming but it's never boring. It's a nearly perfect example of pure cinema, where the story is less about what happens and more how it's told. It's a tribute to not just the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also to the audiences who have been flocking to each movie since Iron Man was first released way back in 2008. Avengers: Infinity War is a pop art masterpiece, one that provides the first part of a climax to a saga that's been unfolding for ten years.
In the days leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the main selling point was the assumption that this movie would feature every single character that's been introduced as a citizen of the MCU so far. Though the film comes close to including everyone, there are still a few characters who are notable for their absence. Ant-Man and the Wasp are nowhere to be seen. None of the Marvel Television characters show up, which is a shame because I'm sure Jessica Jones would have had some choice words about the potential end of the universe. Two familiar SHIELD agents make a brief appearance, though you have to wonder where they were when New York and Wakanda were being invaded.
That said, all of the big heroes show up. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) flies into space with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) teams up with Rocket Racoon and Groot (voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, respectively). When Wakanda is attacked, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), White Wolf (Sebastian Stan), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Rhodey (Don Cheadle), and Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) are all present to defend it. Meanwhile, Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) continue to pursue their odd relationship while Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) search for Gamora's father, Thanos (Josh Brolin).
It's a packed film and the fact that it works as well as it does is a testament to the power of perfect casting and movie star charisma. At this point, we feel as if we know these characters. We know that Tony Stark is going to be haunted by what happened the last time Thanos's minions involved New York. We know that Spider-Man is going to be desperate to prove that he belongs with the adults, just as we know that Dr. Strange isn't going to be particularly impressed with anyone he meets. Needless to say, some characters get more screen time than others. Despite a good deal of the film taking place in Wakanda, Black Panther largely stays in the background. I personally wish that both Natasha and Captain America had been given a bit more to do. Considering just how talented both Anthony Mackie and Don Cheadle are, it's a shame that neither one of them ever gets to do much in these films. At the same time, Infinity Wars allows both Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany to come into their own and Chris Hemsworth again shows that he may be the most underrated star in the MCU. I've read a lot of criticism of certain actions taken by Peter Quill towards the end of the film but actually, it's exactly what you would expect his character to do in the situation and, up until that moment, Chris Pratt is a welcome presence. It's important to have someone around who appreciates good music and who can make you laugh, especially considering that Thanos is planning to wipe out 50% of the universe's population…
Oh yes, Thanos. After spending years lurking in the background, Thanos finally steps forward in Infinity War. In fact, it can be argued that Avengers: Infinity War is actually much more of a Thanos film than an Avengers film. While our heroes are continually spending the film trying to catch up to Thanos and reacting to his latest action, Thanos is always one step ahead. Thanos is the one who steers the narrative and, for once, you really do believe that an MCU villain views the heroes as being mere distractions. Thanos is the one on a quest and the film follows him through every step of his search. In fact, the film's most emotional moments belong to Thanos. For all the death and destruction to be found in the film's surprisingly dark narrative, Thanos is the only character to ever shed a tear. Like all great villains, Thanos doesn't view himself as being evil. Instead, Thanos speaks very sincerely of his desire to bring balance to the universe. The scary thing about Thanos isn't that he claims that he's being merciful when he slaughters millions of beings. The scary thing about Thanos is that believes it.
Thanos, you see, is a bit of an intergalactic environmentalist. As he explains it, the universe only has a finite number of resources. By killing half of the universe's population, he is ensuring that the other half will be able to survive in peace and harmony. Most people would call Thanos's actions genocidal but Thanos would probably say that he's merely making the difficult decisions that others don't have the courage or intelligence to make. It may all sound rather far-fetched and melodramatic until you consider that, just last week, bureaucrats and doctors in the UK decided it would be better to starve a sick infant to death rather than allow his parents to take him to be treated in another country. With his mix of narcissism and absolutely belief in his own moral certitude, Thanos is a far more familiar villain than a lot of viewers might want to admit. As opposed to the forgettable villains who have appeared in so many MCU films, Thanos is a compelling and complicated figure. It's interesting to note that two of the best performances of the | 3,836 |
European River Cruises - The Romantic Danube River Cruise on the MS Amaserena.
Travel to legendary destinations on this European river cruise and land tour, beginning with a 3-night stay in majestic Prague followed by 8 days cruising from Vilshofen to Budapest. Explore a 2,000-year-old city, wander along the banks of the Vltava River, enjoy a wine tasting at a local winery, and experience the timeless beauty and fascinating history of Vienna and Budapest.
This morning, choose between a standard city tour and a hike. Both reveal why Prague is considered one of Europe's most attractive cities, with a historic city center that's recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See Rudolfinum, the National Museum, Wenceslas Square and the Hundertwasser Dancing House. Next, visit the 1,000 year-old Prague Castle and St. Vitus before walking over the romantic Charles Bridge to the Old Market Square, where you can find the capital's famous Astronomical Clock, Tyn Church and the statue of Jan Husek. The rest of the day is at your leisure, perhaps to enjoy yourself in one of the city's many charming cafés.
Check out of your hotel and depart Prague, stopping in Regensburg for a guided walking tour of one of Germany's best preserved medieval cities. Continue on to Vilshofen to board your cruise ship. Later in the day, attend an exclusive Oktoberfest celebration with traditional beer and Bavarian folk music and dancing, and afterwards enjoy a welcome aboard wine toast.
The ship arrives in Linz where you have several choices of excursions. Opt for a full-day excursion to Salzburg where you can tour the historic center, Mirabell Gardens, Residenz Square and the Old Market. En route to Salzburg, stop at Mondsee, home of the famed Basilica St. Michael and site of the wedding scene in "The Sound of Music." Alternatively, you can join a morning walking tour through Linz's old city center and by the Mozart House; or go on a guided bike tour along the city's famed "Culture Mile" and the Danube. During the afternoon, you have three more options of excursions. Choose a half<|fim_middle|> and the world famous Spanish Riding School. Alternatively, join an exclusive tour to a famous Viennese café for a taste of sachetorte, a sinfully rich chocolate cake, and sekt, an Austrian sparkling wine. For those who prefer to get more active, you can cycle along the Danube and through the Donaupark. During the afternoon, enjoy free time or bike to the majestic twelfth-century Klosterneuburg Monastery.
Your morning excursion includes sightseeing in the cities of Buda and Pest spread over both banks of the river. See famed Heroes' Square and Castle Hill, home to Fisherman's Bastion, Matthias Church and spectacular views of the Danube. Alternatively, you may also opt to join a hike up to Castle Hill on which you can see Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion and Parliament Square. After dinner, the ship sails a special Illuminations Cruise past the glittering riverfront of Budapest.
- Transfer from hotel in Munich to Vilshofen with a visit to BMW World Museum or Nymphenburg Palace. | -day in Salzburg or take a scenic drive through the beautiful Austrian Lake District with a stop in St. Wolfgang. You can also choose to visit the charming mountain town, Český Krumlov, located just over the Czech-Austrian border.
Cruise to Weissenkirchen, gateway to Dürnstein located in the heart of the Wachau Valley. Once here, you can choose to join a walking tour in Dürnstein along its cobblestone streets to the Baroque Stiftskirche, Dürnstein's famed church tower, and savor a tasting of the region's renowned wines. Or for the more active adventurer, hike up to the fortress where Richard the Lionheart was once held.
This morning savor the Baroque elegance of romantic Vienna through your choice of one of three different excursions. The first option is a panoramic tour of Vienna that guides you past the majestic Opera House, the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburg Emperors, Parliament, Town Hall and Vienna University. Afterwards, visit Vienna's historic city center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and see St. Stephen's Cathedral, Graben and the world famous Spanish Riding School. The second option is a walking tour of Vienna's hidden treasures that takes you to secret places and sights like Ankeruhr, a whimsical Art Nouveau clock. Your third option is a guided bike tour along the Danube and through the Donaupark. This afternoon, you can join a guided bike ride to Klosterneuburg Monastery, or explore at your leisure. Be sure to sample some Viennese coffee and pastries.
Enjoy a scenic morning cruise to Bratislava, where you have three choices of excursions. The first is a walking tour that includes the Old Town Hall, Mirbach Palace and St. Martin's Cathedral. The second is a Slovakian Specialties tasting where you can enjoy a welcome glass of sparkling wine, sample a creamy soup made from sheep's cheese and learn how to prepare stuffed potato ravioli. Finally, you can also join a hike up to Bratislava Castle, which includes visits to the Castle Upper Terrace and Court of Honor. The remainder of the day is free to explore on your own.
Experience the regal elegance of Vienna with one of three different excursions. Join a city tour that takes you by the majestic Opera House and the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburg Emperors. Afterwards, visit Vienna's historic city center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and see St. Stephen's Cathedral | 522 |
RGVA named Commercial Vehicle Graphics Award winner at the British Sign & Graphic Awards for the second year running!
18 Dec RGVA<|fim_middle|> was used as part of a beautifully simple creative but is stunningly brought to life with the right materials.
"It's a real honour to have won the Commercial Vehicle Graphics Award twice consecutively in the six years of the awards, it's never been done before!" said Richard Cox, Commercial Director at RGVA. "We were given a simple but very open brief and we focused completely on the objective to make the Vision Van a bold, head-turning, visual statement for the client. It truly is an impressive sight to behold and a project we're immensely proud of". | named Commercial Vehicle Graphics Award winner at the British Sign & Graphic Awards for the second year running!
Posted at 09:24h in RGVA News by RGVA Vehicle Branding Team
RGVA Vehicle Graphics, based in Maidstone, Kent, have scooped the top commercial vehicle graphic title yet again, this time for their work with the Road Haulage Association and Vision Express on the 'Vision Van'.
The British Sign and Graphics Association have hosted the awards since 2013. They aim to showcase the very best of modern British signwriting and to celebrate the achievements, innovations and creativity that's still very much alive within the ever-changing industry today.
Held earlier this month in Leicester, representatives from all areas of sign writing, which include everything from traditional craft skills to décor and architectural signs and of course, vehicle graphics, came together for the gala dinner awards ceremony.
Having had previous success at the awards with their project Convoy in the Park, RGVA this time submitted a livery that they completed in conjunction with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Vision Express.
The Vision Express mobile eye testing unit was launched in March 2018 and has since journeyed the length and breadth of the UK offering free eye tests to the public. Managed in association with the UK's Road Haulage Association (RHA), it helps to raise awareness of the importance of regular eye tests, particularly for drivers.
Vision Express briefed the RGVA to create a livery that would stand out in every environment and one which would also be easily recognisable for the brand.
With RGVA's expert knowledge of vinyl material (they are a 3M Select Gold Partner) they had just one product in mind for the job, the recently launched 3M 780C Reflective that gives the illusion of being 'glow in the dark'. In reality it's really millions of particles of crushed glass compressed together into a vinyl material so that with even the slightest amount of light the printed colours glow almost fluorescently.
The award win recognised that the team at RGVA used their design expertise and vinyl material knowledge to create an out of the box concept. The distinctive Vision Express Iris | 447 |
Privacy on Social Media: A Student's Perspective
Home > Blog > Privacy on Social Media: A Student's Perspective
Megan Duncan, a student in Jon Pfeiffer's Fall 2015 Media Law class at Pepperdine University, wrote the following essay in response to the prompt: "As a generation who grew up with the Internet at their disposal, Millennials have developed a view on sharing information via social media that is unique to their generation, with the line between what should and should not be shared online continuing to blur. In your opinion, what are the advantages of the ease of assessing information via social media, and in what ways does using these sites compromise privacy? Do the benefits outweigh the costs?"
For Millennials, social media has become a natural, everyday form of communication. It's the way they keep up with friends, communicate with family, connect with acquaintances, stalk celebrities, understand brands and even meet strangers. Yet somehow, many people don't think about the privacy implications of social media communications. While the ease in worldwide communication benefits outweigh the costs of skewed privacy perceptions, it's important to take comprised privacy into effect when contemplating social media.
On one hand, social media connects people throughout the world.<|fim_middle|> many are willing to take.
Megan is a senior at Pepperdine University majoring in Advertising and Multimedia Design.
Jon Pfeiffer is an experienced entertainment and copyright trial attorney practicing in Santa Monica. Jon is also an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California where he teaches Media Law. COM 570 covers First Amendment issues as well as copyright, defamation and privacy. | For example, through the Instagram community I have met friends in Switzerland, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Spain and all over the United States. Due to the large amount of life information shared through social media, it's easy for people to connect with others from completely different cultures and not feel like complete strangers. It also keeps people in touch. Facebook acts as a directory of all of the person connections you've made in your lifetime and LinkedIn has the same purpose for professionals. Life information, milestones and attitudes are all easily accessible for everyone you know, all in one place. Yet, most people only assess their social media privacy levels when doing high-stake activities like searching for a job.
On the other hand, social media takes freedoms of speech and press to a whole new level. All of a sudden, one average person's inappropriately impromptu tweet could become a mass media phenomenon, such as the Justine Sacco Twitter scandal. Now states like Maryland are creating laws releasing organizations from liability for their employees' social media posts. Opinion can be debated and shared in mere instants. Social media can be so impactful that it can even help ignite revolutions such as the Arab Spring. Casual conversation can rocket into headline news, or at least a trending article on Buzzfeed. Posting to social media sites contains the risk of your life content being used in ways you never intended, though you posted it publicly on the Internet. Even when privacy settings are well-set, hackers are known for infiltrating social media systems and releasing widespread information to the world. Now brands are able to retrieve more in-depth data on trends, online communication, lifestyles, and brand interaction than ever before. Where most people post mindlessly on these sites, there is a blurred line between public and private space.
However, when people are intentional about what they post to social media, I believe the benefits of these online connections outweigh the costs. Though it has turned into another avenue of mass media, the potential to use social media for good overshadows the ability for privacy to be breached. As long as people are mindful of their social media activities, using these platforms is a privacy risk that | 431 |
Danny Worsnop Gives A Heartwarming Performance At A Fan's Wedding
Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria flew out to give an intimate performance of Angels at a fan's wedding.
Danielle Chelosky
Finally, something wholesome and sweet: Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop flew out to a couple's wedding in Wichita, Kansas, for an intimate performance of his touching song Angels, a slow love song written for his fiancée. You can watch the official music video for the song below:
The couple, Chuck and Danae Marsh, reached out to Danny in December to see if he could make an appearance. Luckily, he was very willing, he even tweeted about it afterward. He sat down with an acoustic guitar to make the day even more special and take pictures with the bride and groom.
In an interview Kerrang! did with Danny, he revealed 10 songs that changed his life. He didn't fail to bring his own music into it, including<|fim_middle|> I can't actually remember completing it.
"I sat down a couple of days later to work on it, went into the files on my phone and there was a recording in there of the finished track," he added. "It's difficult for me to open up that much, to the extent that it was heartbreaking for me to write the words down. I was admitting so much about myself that I didn't want to – stuff I'd been denying for so long."
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Asking Alexandria, We Are Harlot and solo star Danny Worsnop talks domestic bliss, the right to bear arms and rock star rebellion…
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Album Review: Danny Worsnop – Shades Of Blue
Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop shows off his pipes on second solo album Shades Of Blue... | a couple of Asking Alexandria tracks and his solo song High. "It was hard to write because it's so vulnerable," he admitted to Kerrang! about the intimate track. "I've never taken more than a day to write a song, apart from in the case of High, which took me a week. I finally finished it late one night before blacking out – | 75 |
YES! We want to reward you for getting a large group together! So if you buy 6 tickets you can get another 2 tickets free<|fim_middle|> our speakers are not able to attend all venues. We are working on this and will have details of which speakers will be present at which conference when we publish the conference schedule two weeks out from the conference.
We will attempt (subject to technical issues) to film or audio-record some of the talks and make them available afterwards on a USB stick. However this is arranged by volunteers so technical glitches can happen – so please don't be upset if you find your favourite talk is unavailable for some reason.
A filled roll (ham or chicken), something sweet (cake/slice) and a piece of fruit. Tea and Coffee will also be served throughout the day. There is no cash-option for lunch on-site – but there are cafe's within a few blocks of all our venues.
Is there a Gluten Free option for lunch?
We are working with our caterers to offer a gluten free option on the day – however this option will not be available for those who order later than one week before the conference (as this is when we need to give numbers to our caterer).
We are pleased to have a growing number of women speakers joining us this year – including our keynote speaker for the Auckland and Christchurch conference! If you have any recommendations for New Zealand female Christian apologists – please email us and let us know.
In the first instance we would suggest giving your ticket to someone else – they will just need to use your name to get the ticket from the registration desk on the Friday Night. They will also need to meet the minimum class of ticket purchased, e.g. Pensioner, Youth, Student, though a student, youth or pensioner can use an adult ticket.
Should you need to cancel a conference or event registration for any reason, a refund will be made less an administration charge of $15, provided notification is received 7 DAYS PRIOR TO the conference start date. After that date no refunds will be made. | (25% discount). Or buy 10 tickets and get 5 more free (33% discount). To redeem this offer – place and pay for your order as per normal. Then drop us an email telling us about your bulk order – then we will adjust your ticket quantity to include your free tickets and let you know we have done this. Note if your bulk tickets are a mixture of both Adult and Youth/Student tickets – then your free tickets will be the same mixture (e.g.: Buy 3 Adult and 3 Youth tickets and we will give you an extra one of each). Email us if you have any questions.
No. The registration process involves you giving us your personal details which we will use to identify you on the day. Simply come to the Welcome Desk on arrival and you will be issued with a conference program and wrist-band that will give you access to the conference.
Who qualifies for the Student/Youth/Pensioner prices?
Youth: Includes anyone 18 or under.
Students: Anyone enrolled in a tertiary or post-graduate program who can produce a student ID on the day of the conference. No Student ID on the day – sorry no admission.
Pensioner: You will have to show your Gold Card at the welcome desk on arrival.
Our ticket pricing only allows for us to break-even on all conference costs – but if you are also on a particularly tight budget then drop us an email explaining your circumstances and we'll see what we can do.
We hope a small number of our key supporters will purchase some extra tickets for those who simply cannot afford to join us. Please drop us an email explaining your circumstances if you would like to apply for this. We can't promise anything – so please also pray for provision in this.
We want to give people a teaser of what Saturday will be like by having our most popular speakers give the Friday night messages. The Friday night message is especially seeker-friendly with a gospel focus – so come and check us out – and bring some friends! But arrive early as we have limited seating and if we exceed capacity then we could be forced to turn latecomers away!
No – unfortunately some of | 439 |
Know about Figures of Speech- Meaning with Examples.
Meaning of Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech are phrases that have a different meaning from their literal definition. These are somewhat simialar but differ from Idioms.
On one hand, a Figure of Speech is nonliteral and imaginative language but can be understood by someone who isn't familiar with that particular Figure of Speech. On the other hand, it's impossible to understand an idiom without being familiar with that particular idiom.
In general, Figures of Speech can be metaphors or similes but can fall into other categories as well. Figures of Speech are designed to make comparisons. This is achieved by devices such as alliteration (the repetition of certain sounds) or exaggeration, known as hyperbole. This<|fim_middle|>ilder synonyms.
Euphemism, with its awkwardly placed diphthong, is pronounced \ˈyü-fəˌmi-zəm\, for those who are familiar with the phonetic alphabet. It's one of the few English words that begin with eu.
Venus is au naturel
Speaking of euphemisms, you may be familiar with Sandro Botticelli's, "The Birth of Venus", and you may call the painting "a nude." If you did so, you wouldn't be wrong.
Yet, it's important to recall that Western Civilization has roots in Puritanism, a belief that certain subjects are taboo to speak of and that certain phrases may evoke wanton thoughts. With this in mind, you may want to use the euphemism:
"Botticelli's Venus is au naturel,"
When referring to the painting, it's less provocative than using the words "naked" or "nude" in describing it.
Sandro Botticelli's Artwork | creates a dramatic effect.
Alliteration in figurative language is fun. For example, you may hear a native English speaker say:
"I bought a box of bricks."
The repetitive b sound makes the phrase have a nice ring to it. Not just is the saying alliteration, it's hyperbolic.
Hyperbole, one of my favorite types of figurative speech, exaggerates an attribute of something, calling attention to it. In the above example, I didn't literally buy "a box of bricks." I bought a faulty product. I called the product "a box of bricks" because it didn't work correctly. You, in your lifetime, have probably bought "a box of bricks" too, perhaps you purchased a faulty phone.
Ophelia is my guardian angel
Here's another example of hyperbole:
"Ophelia is my guardian angel."
In reality, Ophelia isn't a mythical creature. But she helps me when I'm in need, and so, I used this hyperbole when discussing her.
Figures of Speech: Metaphors – Meaning of Metaphors with examples
Figures of Speech, like idioms, have evolved through usage, rather than the work of Lexicographers, those who decide what goes in the dictionary. But unlike idioms, the meaning of the Figures of Speech known as metaphors can be deduced through logic.
Figures of Speech fall into many categories. They can be
Similes,
Hyperbole and
Metaphors.
What are Metaphors?
Metaphors, the language of poets, are Figure of Speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn't exactly true. However, these untruths help to describe the object or actions by comparing them to something else. For example, you may hear a native English speaker say:
Adam is a walking encyclopedia
"Adam is a walking encyclopedia of music."
Upon hearing this Metaphor, you would be correct to assume that Adam isn't literally a collection of books that give information on many subjects. Adam is simply knowledgeable about music.
A figure of Speech: Oxymoron
Definition and Meaning of an Oxymoron
"Oxymorons" have been used since the heyday of Greek poetry, The Greco-Roman Period.
They are a figure of speech in which seemingly contradictory concepts are smashed together, and a literary device that describes those contradictory bits of life, like a bittersweet moment.
I Hope This Blog Doesn't Go Down Like a Lead Balloon
As I write this blog, I hope it doesn't go down like a lead balloon, fail to be engaging, or communicate my point.
This "oxymoron" is as fun as "jumbo shrimp." The images it brings to mind are exceedingly funny. It could even be applied to historic events like the crash of the Zeppelin.
Euphemism: Au Naturel! Dictionary, meaning with example
Meaning of Euphemism
A euphemism, by definition, is the substitution of an inoffensive phrase for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. They are figures of speech that can be idioms or m | 643 |
How the World Sees You by Sally Hogshead
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Book Title and Author Byline
How the World Sees You
Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination
Sally Hogshead
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Sally Hogshead believes the greatest value you can add is to become more of yourself.
Hogshead rose to the top of the advertising profession in her early 20s, writing ads that fascinated millions of consumers. Over the course of her ad career, Sally won hundreds of awards for creativity, copywriting, and branding, and was one of the most awarded advertising copywriters right from start of career, including almost every major international advertising award.
She frequently appears in national media including NBC's Today Show and the New York Times. Hogshead was recently inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, the industry's highest award for professional excellence. Her advertising work hangs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
The science of fascination is based on Hogshead's decade of research with 250,000 participants, including dozens of Fortune 500 teams, hundreds of small businesses, and over a thousand C-level executives.
Connect with Sally
Fascinate FB
Fascinate Website
<|fim_middle|> ads that fascinated millions of consumers. Her internationally acclaimed book Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation has been translated into over a dozen languages. The science of fascination is based on Hogshead's decade of research with 250,000 initial participants, including dozens of Fortune 500 teams, hundreds of small businesses, and over a thousand C-level executives. She frequently appears in national media, including NBC's Today show and the New York Times. Hogshead was recently inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, the industry's highest award for professional excellence.
"The book will help you differentiate yourself and your business from others, to put what is unique and exciting about you on the table for the world to see. You will learn 'the best of how the world sees you' and how to use it to communicate more effectively." —--800CEORead
"[An] engaging, lively work... This hands-on work is worth the time of anyone trying to set him or herself apart in an ever-more competitive job market." —--Publishers Weekly
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Hudson Booksellers
800ceoread | Sally Hogshead believes the greatest value you can add is to become more of yourself. Hogshead rose to the top of the advertising profession in her early twenties, writing | 36 |
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday for most Christians. The weather is finally shaking off the winter blues with a spate of near normal temperatures. Today's high of 55°F was actually above the normal high of 50°F for this date. The morning started out clammy and dreary, but the sun and gentle breeze pushed the fog and haze away. It was also the first day of enjoying the three season porch for more than a few moments. Several inches of snow cover vanished today and the furnace has made nary a sound since early this morning. The ice pack in the back yard has rivulets and chasms carved out by snow melt working its way to the drainage pond at the end of the cul-de-sac. People were outside tinkering with lawnmowers and weed trimmers anticipating lawns turning green. Spring is staking its claim.
Bird activity increased when the sun broke through. Three pair of cardinals plus a couple of males looking for mates spent most of today scouting nesting locations and drinking from the bird bath. An inquisitive black-capped chickadee spent several minutes clinging to one of the porch door screens peering in. I have heard robins for several weeks but have not seen one yet. No signs of the snow birds (juncos) that were common at the start of the month. One sure sign of spring is seeing a turkey vulture gliding on the thermals near the Minnesota River. Even the "bird brains" have figured out spring is near.
I think I have some squills poking though near the garage. That garden has western exposure and seems to thaw the fastest. The lilacs have fat leaf buds at the ready, waiting for another couple of days of sun and warmth. Flower buds are getting larger on the forsythia. It usually blooms by mid-April, so it is right on schedule. Easter is the time for plants to resurrect from the dead and for hibernating creatures to awaken. The sidewalks are somewhat treacherous. Snow melt runs down the sidewalks and will freeze in shady areas. Lubricating a low friction icy surface with water guarantees causing unexpected equilibrium shifts, which can result in a painful and<|fim_middle|> be expected next weekend.
My forsythia cutting started dropping flowers last Wednesday. I think it bloomed for over two weeks. To help break up the monotony of snow and grit, I bought a small orchid. Orchids are not expensive and even if I am unsuccessful at rejuvenating it after it goes dormant, I can get another.
The snow blanket is also keeping me from getting the gardens ready for spring. I have my dahlias started in plastic coffee cans to try extending the bloom season. The gladiolus and Asian lily bulbs destroyed by chipmunks and squirrels last year have replacements at the ready. The local garden centers do not have tulip bulbs yet. I'm going to try a Gloriosa lily variety this year that Lucy liked. I purchased all the usual annual seeds and they are waiting to go into seed starter containers: scarlet flax, borage, bluebonnet, sunflower and morning glory. This year's seed experiments will include cypress vine and castor bean. Both plants are critter-proof because they are bitter and have emetic and laxative properties. This could lead to some "clean up in aisle one" moments. I have a fenced-in back yard and there are no children in the neighborhood under age 12.
I am hoping for a decent growing season this year. Lucy enjoyed gardening. I think the reason she enjoyed it so much was looking at the colors and life, and watching the birds and butterflies visit. We figured out how to optimize our gardening effort, which gave us more time to enjoy the result. Like last year, there will be twice as much gardening work for me. Unlike last year, Lucy is not here to encourage me. I'll get it done though. Of course, if anyone wants to help, I'd appreciate it.
Give your loved ones a meaningful hug and let them know you love them. Try to smile today. If you'll excuse me, I have to find a way to coax Spring out from behind the dryer.
What do you consider "home"? Is it the house you grew up in? Is it the first place you lived in after moving out on your own? Is it the house you bought with your spouse? I know some of you moved often during your childhood. Others of you spent time in one or more foster homes before adulthood. Still others are renters and quite satisfied with not worrying about maintenance.
When we were younger, we could not wait until we could start our new adventure. What we didn't know then is that adventure culminates in finding our new "home" and building new memories. I think we go through a restless period akin to Goldilocks sampling the porridge, chairs, and beds in the Three Bears' home. We may not know what we are looking for, but we know when we find it.
Home is the place where you made the most memories, where you felt safe, grounded, and surrounded by love. Even as adults, many of us consider "home" as the place we grew up, not the place in which we currently reside. Home is where the heart is. I consider two places as "home": my primary home is the house Lucy and I bought and my other home is the house my parents now live.
One difficult transition we can face as adults is the sale of our childhood home. Lucy's siblings found a buyer for their parent's home and it has been bittersweet for them. The transition is a loss and reminds us that time marches forward even if we may not like the tempo. What was once familiar and comforting has changed. Someday I will be unable to maintain my home, which will probably require me to move into a senior's center. I will have my memories of home to help me make that transition just as memories of my time with Lucy help me transition to a life without her. In both cases, one can hope the new owners will start building memories of "home" there and have love and joy fill the rooms.
The mind's power is what helps us cope with the myriad of changes modern life sends our way. We cherish those memories of home, each one a thread woven into our life's fabric. We use that fabric to shelter us from the unpleasantness that sometimes arises in life. As such, we never lose "home" unless we want it to go away. It will always be with us because it is part of us, providing us with peace, comfort, and smiles. You can go home again. Please keep Steve, Suzy, and Julie in your thoughts as they make this transition.
Yesterday was "National Napping Day" in areas that switched to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday. I hope that those of you who actively participated did not do so while driving. Other whimsical days this week include "National Pi Day" on Thursday and "National Quilting Day" on Saturday. Holiday Insights lists more if these interest or amuse you.
Tomorrow marks eleven months since Lucy passed away. Please think of her tomorrow. Thank you for keeping Lucy in your heart.
Things are coming back to normal after the snow event that enveloped the upper Midwest Monday night. Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport reported 9.4″ total snowfall for the storm. Tuesday's road conditions were terrible in the morning but improved by late afternoon. Keeping the driveway cleared after several passes by the city's snow removal equipment provided enough cardiovascular activity for the week.
Friday night I attended Annette's birthday party at her shop. Carver is a small quaint town and I believe the majority of the populace attended throughout the evening. Al gave a very touching birthday speech for Annette that made the evening even more special. One of my fortune cookies had the following fortune: "You have a charming way with words and should write a book". I leave that for you, the reader, to decide.
While I was driving to meet Suzy and Julie on Sunday, I saw a large white raptor flying near the Minnesota River. The airport has had snowy owl sightings reported this winter and the Minnesota River flows just southeast of the main terminal.
Spring is showing more influence even though Winter may have briefly regained the upper hand. I saw several bald eagles circling my route from Bloomington to St. Louis Park. House finch songs are filling the air. Maple tree sap is running judging by the drops on my driveway and the lilac leaf buds are swelling. Hawks are soaring in pairs. Potholes dot the roadways and the ubiquitous orange cones and detours are appearing on schedule. The dead season of winter is transitioning to the rebirth season of spring.
I neglected to include a picture of the blooming forsythia cutting in my last post. It is part of this edition. The leaf buds are starting to appear and the flowers will fade in another week or so. Enjoy your spring sightings and give your loved ones a hug!
Today's weather was a "pull my finger" sort of day. The heavy snowstorm threatened for last night took a more leisurely route and may arrive tonight. A Winter Storm Advisory issued Sunday morning became a Winter Storm Warning by Sunday afternoon declaring 7″ – 12″ of snow during the day Monday. Mother Nature gave us a "pull my finger" joke with the delay.
I'm a very logical, linear person and that can cause some "pull my finger" moments, as Lucy found out while we were dating. We learned quickly how to adjust, mostly with me adjusting to her communication style. My sister-in-law Julie has had the misfortune to experience a few of these moments, yesterday included. I feel badly that she ends up as the occasional (I hope) locus of my foibles and I am deeply grateful for her good humor and patience. I really am lucky having Julie and Suzy in my life.
Movie listings in the daily papers, on Yahoo! and on Google presented a "pull my finger" moment yesterday with a bogus showing time. Suzy, Julie, and I had planned on lunch and a movie yesterday. We settled for lunch at TGIFriday's. It was still a very nice day despite the "Keystone Kops" subplots.
Parking in downtown Minneapolis is usually a "pull my finger" ordeal. During an event, parking downtown has a finishing touch of a flaming bag of dog poo. There are numerous restaurants worth the trouble of finding near the Convention Center. Check the Minneapolis Convention Center event calendar before making the trip, trust me on that.
It's been nice getting a chance to see some long-time friends. I'm catching up with Susan, and I have to make plans with Mike and Ken next week.
The Forsythia cutting is in full bloom, which is about three weeks earlier than I expected. It is a welcome splash of color and a reminder that spring is on the way in sixteen days. Another sure sign of spring are the seed and gardening catalogs arriving in the mail. Jung and Burpee seed catalogs are here and the Spring Hill Nursery catalog will probably arrive yet this week. Lucy had planted some Gloriosa lily bulbs a couple of years ago and I would like to try them again. It's time to get the dahlia tubers in some dirt and start the seed tray.
I have completed the blog conversion. Facebook has been problematic with group notifications, so I have created a "Journey of the Teal Owl" page. If you could take a moment and "Like" the page, it will help with future notifications. I'm still discovering features with the WordPress software. Let me know what you think!
Having fun with loved ones is always a pleasure. Some of you like to play practical jokes. Let that special someone know that you care, hopefully without having him or her pull your finger. | wet fall.
I know a few of you will be traveling this weekend; I am going to John's house tomorrow. Mom and Dad are scheduled to be there. The weather in southwestern Minnesota might be a bit tricky tonight with a threat of freezing rain and snow. I wish a happy birthday to Diane tomorrow.
Take a few minutes to give your loved ones a meaningful hug and let them know you love them. Enjoy your day tomorrow!
We are having a mild winter in the Twin Cities thus far. The snow cover held off until November which helps make the season seem shorter. Unlike the winter of 2010-2011, there have been no protracted cold spells or a seasonal record-setting snow.
I am ready for Spring's calendar arrive tomorrow, but like many others in this region, Spring's timidness this year puzzles me. It reminds me of a cat that is afraid of visitors and streaks across the room to find a hiding place. After several hours and some coaxing, the cat finally appears and finds a new lap to nap on while getting a belly rub.
Last year spoiled everyone in my area. We had a stretch of ten days that recorded or tied record highs in eight of them. Yesterday's high temperature of 29°F was 50°F colder than last year's record high of 79°F. The latest weather quirk has been threats of blizzards or heavy snow on Sunday night. This week was no exception, and there are rumors that next Sunday night may bring in near-blizzard conditions to southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa. Take solace in the fact that weather forecasters have been predicting snowfall amounts higher than what actually falls. Perhaps that trend will also continue. There is still 6″ of snow cover here. Easter egg hunts in snowdrifts might | 370 |
TUCSON, Ariz. (April 4, 2016) - Tucson-based Simpleview, the world's leading provider of websites, CRM and search marketing for travel and tourism, will welcome storied baseball executive Billy Beane as headline speaker at the 11th annual Simpleview Summit, April 4 - 7. More than 600 attendees from 7 countries are registered for the event, to be held at the J.W. Marriott Tucson Starr Pass<|fim_middle|> sales and marketing, but we've never had so much of it," said Simpleview CEO Ryan George. "The challenge today is making all that information meaningful. It's a topic we're tackling in several sessions throughout this year's Summit, so we saw Billy's story as a perfect opener."
Driving Hometown Economy
Focused exclusively on the destination marketing sector of travel and tourism, all Simpleview's services are aimed at helping cities, counties, states and countries win shares of the $7.6 trillion global travel economy. In part, they achieve that by bidding on and winning large-scale meetings and conferences, not unlike Simpleview Summit, which each year drives hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Tucson economy through direct spending, downstream business support and associated taxes.
Simpleview is the travel and tourism industry's leading provider of CRM, CMS, website design, search marketing, revenue generation, and mobile technologies for destination marketing organizations (DMOs). The company employs 185+ staff and works with 395 customers in North America and around the world, including destinations like Paducah, Ky (population 25,018), the country of Norway and 12 of the top-20 U.S. cities.
Cara Frank, Director of Marketing at Simpleview
Tags: Press Release, Summit
Cara Frank
A former CVB Director of Convention Services, Cara Frank adds DMO experience and perspective to her role as Chief of Staff for Simpleview. Cara not only helps grow and shape the Simpleview brand, but is also a triathlete and mother to two. | Resort and Spa.
Data Maverick and Modern-Day Legend
Beane, executive vice president of baseball operations for the Oakland A's, implemented dramatic changes in talent acquisition as the team's general manager on the heels of the 1997 season, when the A's were generally regarded as one of the sport's worst teams.
Constrained by a low payroll budget compared to other teams, Beane bucked conventional wisdom and used data analysis to hire undervalued players at lower costs, assembling teams that ultimately led the A's to six American League West Division titles.
Beane's story and strategy inspired the book-turned-Oscar-nominated movie Moneyball and saw Beane named Major League Baseball Executive of the Year in 2002 and 2013. Today, his "moneyball" approach has inspired organizations of all stripes to leverage analytics for greater insights, profits and efficiency.
"Data has always mattered in | 188 |
The first part of Leo's wish began on Friday at 10 am when he headed to The Star. Upon arrival, he was greeted by staff members of the team. As Leo entered the exquisite building, there was a line of "fans" waiting for Leo with signs and pompoms to welcome them to the facility. He was then taken into the media lounge where he was met by player personnel. He said that before getting started, there was some official business that needed to be taken care of. Leo was going to be the newest member of the Dallas Cowboys and needed to sign his contract! He was presented with an official NFL contract to the tune of $1 with a fancy, fake dollar bill. He was also given an official Cowboys jersey with the #4 on the back and his last name above.
Like any new member of the team, next up was facing the media. Leo made his way into<|fim_middle|> Leo and his family were so grateful for every moment of their experience and were in awe of all the work that went in to making wish trip so memorable. | the adjacent press conference room and took his spot behind the podium to answer the questions of the gathered reporters (aka family and Cowboys staff). He answered questions, gave predictions for the game and posed for photos like a natural.
He and his family then continued with a tour of The Star with stops in the radio, locker room and noticed details all along the way. There are quotes, interesting facts, pieces of memorabilia and statistics scattered perfectly throughout the building. It felt like a museum at times. Then Leo made his way to the indoor facility to watch practice for about 30 minutes from the sideline. As practice concluded, he was invited by Coach Garrett to break down the huddle with a "Cowboys on 3! 1-2-3, Cowboys!" Soon after, he was swarmed by all the players giving high-fives. He got to meet lots of players, but the moment he had been waiting for was finally in front of him – Dak Prescott! He was excited to meet Leo and gracious to sign autographs for the family members and pose for pictures. He and Dak even got to throw around the football – a dream come true!
By now it was lunch, so Leo and his family were treated to a nice meal at the Training Table (cafeteria for the organization). They each got to pick whatever they wanted from the various stations and had reserved seating together. You really felt how the Cowboys organization is like a family as there was staff, players, and even Jerry Jones and his kids eating in this common area. To cap off their time at The Star, Emily delivered a few more surprises – gift bags for everyone, game programs, and our tickets and sideline passes for the game on Sunday.
Sunday was finally here which meant it was almost game time! Leo and his family were picked up by a stretch limo and headed to the stadium. Upon arrival, he met up with Emily and headed onto the field. They took their spots on the sidelines to watch warm-ups with a front row seat to all the action. Leo had a visit from Jason Garrett, Rowdy the Mascot and fist bumps from others.
Soon it was game time and Leo made his way to the seats. It was a very exciting game to witness with the Cowboys winning over the Chiefs 28-17! After the game Leo made his way back to the limo and headed to the hotel. | 485 |
The new satellites have been placed in low-Earth orbit via the International Space Station. The satellites are RainCubes (which is a shortened version of Radar in a CubeSat). As a trial, the nanosatellites send back images a storm that blew across part of Mexico in August 2018, followed by some detailed images taken during September during Hurricane Florence.
The images taken of the major storm focused on the rainfall associated with the storm, and this should be the basis of using space technology to improve Earth sciences..
The satellite technology uses Ka-band precipitation radar technology fixed onto a quick-turnaround platform. The RainCube is a prototype that could become the template for an array of weather monitoring device. In essence these devices would act as miniaturized weather stations, with the necessary instrumentation reduce down to a tiny scale.
The aims are to monitor severe storms so that the path of the storms can be tracked and to seek improvements in terms of<|fim_middle|> climate change, although this would require a larger time period.
The advancement in miniaturized technology means that the nanosatellites can be produced at a relatively low cost. This includes improved satellite communications using the Ka band, which allows for higher bandwidth communication.
The RainCube "umbrella-like" antenna sends out specialized radar signals (dubbed as 'chirps') which bounce off raindrops. This provides the basis for enhanced images of the inside of a storm, allowing researchers to track the storm activity and progress. This is much like an echo.
He adds: "We just don't have any information about that at all, yet it's so essential for predicting severe weather and even how rains will change in a future climate." | weather forecasts, such as predicting the movement of rain, snow, sleet, and hail. The data could also be used to make assessments about | 29 |
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The LX200-ACF optical system delivers the same sharp, flat, coma-free field from edge to edge as a typical Ritchey-Chretien. The use of the corrector plate in the ACF system creates a closed and protected optical tube, reduces astigmatism and eliminates the diffraction spikes inherent in the traditional RC design.
The LX200-ACF includes all the field-proven features of the LX200 including GPS, Primary Mirror Lock, Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser, Oversized Primary Mirror, SmartDrive™, Smart Mount™, AutoStar® | 148 |
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I don't know what we were thinking. It was Saturday afternoon and my husband got off the boat early so we decided to head to the mall to grab a few things. Now, let me start off by saying, I hate the mall. I hate everything that is the mall. I hate shopping. I hate gobs and gobs of greedy people. I hate when my road rage comes out because of the idiots who decide they need 3 parking spaces for their broken down Nissan.
Okay now that is out of the way, I can get on with it. We had to go to Sam's Club to stock up on the important things that make our family run i.e. cat litter. That is something you do not want to<|fim_middle|> at the trains.
Once that nano-second was up, we were out of there! It was really cute because Bub's wanted to walk. I was a little hesitant to let him walk in the mall since it was so crowded, but he walked holding both of our hands through a sea of legs. Not a care in the world, going at his pace...which was surprisingly quick for having such short legs. He must take after me.
After all the errands were done, we made our way to our favorite chicken wing joint in he area. I have to admit that Bub's is the best baby to take out to dinner. He is fascinated with other people and just loves to smile, flirt, and chat it up with anyone and everyone.
Hub's and Bub's sat and read a new book while we waited for our delicious wings I sat and enjoyed my beer.
Okay I'll admit...this was the second time this week we went for wings!!!
This weekend also consisted of some family snuggle time. When my husband has the day off from fishing or comes home early we love to snuggle as a family, eat popcorn, watch a movie, read books, ect. It's so relaxing and nice to have that kind of quality time together.
Then when Bub's goes to bed, lately Hub's and I have been playing card games. Right now our choice game has been Skip-Bo.
So the weekend before Christmas when all through the world it's bat sh*t crazy, we are calm and enjoying family time. | run out of when you have 3 cats. So since we were heading in the direction of the mall, the only real mall in Maine, we decided to hit it up to grab a couple of things.
BAD IDEA! Not only did it not hit me that it was Saturday but it also didn't occur to us that it was the last Saturday before Christmas! Not until we circled the mall trying to find a spot, and finally pulled into a spot next to said broken Nissan and walked inside to see a half mile long line of screaming, crying, parents kids waiting to see Santa. I understand that a lot of peole love that kind of stuff, but I do not. I ran so fast past that line I think I knocked a few tots over with my tail wind.
Thankfully we were on a mission and I knew exactly where things would be located. My Hubs and Bub's were trying their best to dodge and weave through people staying hot on my heals. It was not a complete forced march, we stopped for a few, and I mean about a nano-second, for Bub's to look | 227 |
(Video) – Salif Diao fires home opener in LFC Legends match
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Former Red, Salif Diao, opened the scoring today at the Hong Kong Stadium as LFC Legends took on Borussia Dortmund legends.
From a set-piece, the ball wa played into the box where Luis Garcia was waiting to pounch on the incoming delivery; the Spaniard's shot was saved and Diao strode in to leather it into the roof of the net.
A Gérard Houllier signing from CS Sedan Ardennes for £5 million, the Senegalese joined the Reds just before the 2002 World Cup helping Senegal make it the quarter finals (including a famous <|fim_middle|> You can watch the game LIVE on YouTube: https://t.co/0vpeeChAGB pic.twitter.com/sIEFgtJtOL
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 8, 2019
More Stories: Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Liverpool FC Legends, Salif Diao
Arsenal 'confident' that Thursday's EFL Cup semi-final tie against Liverpool will go ahead
Liverpool are reportedly 'interested' in a Barcelona star who is 'stalling' on a new contract deal
(Video) – 'We back': Harvey Elliott in good spirits in post-training video as he nears return to action | 1-0 win over France).
Diao scored a spectacular second from the halfway line right after kick-off to make it 2-2, before Robbie Fowler stepped up to convert from the penalty spot to win the game for the Reds legends.
Not known for his goals, it was nice to see the 42-year-old amongst them in Hong Kong surrounded by the likes of Fowler and Dirk Kuyt.
It's also nice to see the new kit being worn out on the pitch by some utter legends!
Salif Diao nets our opener in Hong Kong. ⚽️🔴
🙌 | 121 |
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Layoffs &<|fim_middle|> its first-ever class of "They've Got Next: The 40 Under 40," a selection of talented young lawyers, innovators, and diversity and inclusion champions. Included among this esteemed group is Outten & Golden partner Menaka N. Fernando.
"I am both thrilled and humbled to be a part of this exceptional class of attorneys and to be honored for my efforts in advancing workers' rights," said Ms. Fernando, a member of the firm's Family Responsibilities & Disabilities Discrimination and Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Practice Groups who practices in Outten & Golden's San Francisco office. "I share this recognition with the mentors and colleagues who have helped shape my career and the clients who have trusted me to pursue and protect their rights."
Bloomberg Law selected Ms. Fernando for her many accomplishments, such as:
Securing mid to high six-figure settlements for numerous women and women of color in the tech industry subjected to hostile work environments, pay inequities, and denials of promotional opportunities.
Collaborating with the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund to successfully represent fast food, retail, and other lower-wage female employees who have called out workplace abuse.
Obtaining victories for protected employees terminated under the pretext of COVID-19 related layoffs, including a pregnant employee terminated while on maternity leave and a tech worker fired soon after reporting sexual harassment.
Co-chairing the California Employment Lawyers Association Legislative Committee and helping draft and pass dozens of workers' rights bills, including critical bills addressing sexual harassment in the wake of #MeToo.
Serving as an executive committee member with Stand Up for Workers Political Action Committee, which seeks and supports political candidates who prioritize workers' rights, and sitting on the board of Open Door Legal, a San Francisco-based non-profit whose mission is to eradicate poverty in the city by providing universal access to legal aid.
Increasing the focus on race discrimination that African-American workers have long endured in the workplace and promoting educational efforts and discussions about racial inequities within her firm and the legal community.
Bloomberg Law editors and reporters spent months closely reviewing the many nominations, examining applicants' records of success for their clients, and weighing their leadership contributions. The 40 honorees represent "the best of the future of the legal profession."
"Menaka has been and continues to be a shining star in our firm," said Adam T. Klein, Outten & Golden's managing partner. "She never hesitates to take on important litigation, outreach, and mentoring roles, and her energy and enthusiasm are infectious. We congratulate her on this tremendous honor."
Outten & Golden LLP focuses on advising and representing individuals in employment, partnership, and related workplace matters both domestically and internationally. The firm counsels individuals on employment and severance agreements; handles complex compensation and benefits issues (including bonuses, equity agreements, and partnership interests); and advises professionals (including doctors and lawyers) on contractual issues. It also represents employees with a wide variety of claims, including discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, disability, national origin, religion, and age, as well as retaliation, whistleblower, and contract claims. The firm handles class actions involving a wide range of employment issues, including economic exploitation, gender- and race-based discrimination, wage-and-hour violations, violations of the WARN Act, and other systemic workers' rights issues.
Outten & Golden has nine practice groups: Executives & Professionals, Financial Services, Sex Discrimination & Sexual Harassment, Family Responsibilities & Disabilities Discrimination, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Workplace Rights, Discrimination & Retaliation, Whistleblower Retaliation, Class & Collective Actions, and WARN Act.
Outten & Golden has offices in New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
For media inquiries, contact Managing Partner Adam T. Klein at (212) 245-1000.
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Bloomberg Law Names Menaka Fernando to the Inaugural Edition of "They've Got Next: The 40 Under 40"
PRNewswire—Outten & Golden LLP
Outten Golden partner recognized for representation of employees in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other workplace disputes
Bloomberg Law has announced | 152 |
Exhale 8
Exhale 8 – one-off artwork
Category: painting Subject: woman Mediums: acrylic paints, own technique
Materials: canvas Style: contemporary, cubism, abstract, realism
Size: 160 H x 100 W<|fim_middle|> durable, elastic, resistant to aging, does not turn yellow, does not crumble.
Certainly, all these advantages contribute to the growing popularity of this painting medium among contemporary artists.
Note: Using images of Ania Luk's paintings can only be done with the written agreement of the artist.
Recent Paintings
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Unfathomable
Tranquility II
Supergirl X
Reverse II
Reflection II
Sunrise Sunset 5
"Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent , but must develop it." Pope Saint John Paul II | x 2,5 [cm] / 63,0 H x 39,4 W x 1 [in] Year: 2021
Painting Exhale 8 – cubism
Exhale 8 is an original painting, painted on canvas using own technique with the use of acrylic paints, combining a palette of warm and cold colors. This work was created from a mixture of metallic and non-metallic acrylic paints. Emotional, energizing and original creation maintained in the artist's current style. Which combines geometric abstraction with realistic painting with a splash of cubism. The main theme is a mysterious sensual woman. The original composition and presentation of the figure of a woman with deliberately distorted proportions of the body and the environment. As the co-founder of cubism, Pablo Picasso once said:
"Art is the elimination of the unnecessary."
There is a well-chosen chosen color scheme and tone game so to get a sensual image in reception while maintaining an elegant and warm form. An expressive, mysterious but positively tuning message.
This high-quality acrylic painting was painted on a linen canvas with a slightly visible texture, without having to be embedded in a decorative frame, because the edges are linen, not covered with any color. Ready to hang, with a brass fixing bracket on the back.
The painting Exhale 8 was painted by a painter graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts – Ania Luk. Signed on the front and back, with a certificate of authenticity, secured with a semi-matt varnish. Personalized hologram on the back of the canvas. This painting fits perfectly into modern interiors. Leading colors – golden, brown, blue, orange and green. Completed in September 2021 and at the beginning of October 2021 joined a private collection in the EU and is on display in an Art Nouveau tenement house in the heart of one of the European capitals.
The painting was created with the mixture of metallic and non-metallic acrylic paints, which makes colours very interesting depending on how the light falls on them, as it's presented below:
The eighth artwork from the series "Exhale". The seventh painting from the series was completed in September 2020. The following quote perfectly brings out the inspiration for this series of paintings:
"Follow your dreams, and start exhaling life."
Cubism is an early 20th century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture. In addition, some people say that it's the most influential art movement of the 20th century.
Noteworthy in cubist artworks, objects are rather analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form. Instead of depicting objects from a single viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. The most famous painters associated with the cubism movement are especially Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
"When we discovered Cubism, we did not have the aim of discovering Cubism. We only wanted to express what was in us." Pablo Picasso
Most of all abstract art creates a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. It's a result of the need of creation a new kind of art which would encompass the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy going through the end of the 19th.
Finally abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. Furthermore this departure from accurate representation can be slight, partial, or complete.
The precursors of abstractionism were: Wassily Kandinsky, Edward Munch.
"Whoever thought the immediate alternates with the immediate action is not an abstract painter." Pierre Alechinsk
It has set on in 1945, after the II World War and lasts till today. The foundation for the contemporary art was prepared by the Dadaists, who perceived the artist as the creator of the idea. New trends were born, such as abstract expressionism (in Europe- informel), action painting, color field painting, pop-art, op art, conceptual painting, street art, calligraphic painting and others.
The most famous artist are: Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Francis Bacon , Victor Vasarely.
In contemporary art there isn't one aim or a point of view. It gives a heterogeneous and ambiguous glance at the contemporary world. Furthermore, there has always been a huge tendency to experiment and search for innovative language which would be consistent with the changing reality (photomontage, collage, manifesto, object, installation, happenings, video installation, performance). Sadly, today it seems that there are virtually no aesthetic or moral bounds in artistic expression.
"One of the things I feel confident in saying we can do is bring some excitement, and challenges, to people's lives. We want them to be able to embrace the unexpected." Zaha Hadid
Firstly, realism in the arts is the effort to represent subject matter truly, without artificiality. Secondly, it has been prevalent in the arts at many periods. It is in large part a matter of technique and training, and the avoidance of stylization. Thirdly, realistic paintings are mostly scenes from the life of ordinary people. Painted with a simplified means of expression, of peaceful palette and composition.
Finally, the realism art movement in painting began in France in the 1850s. The realism painters rejected Romanticism, which had come to dominate literature and art, with roots in the late 18th century.
The most important artist of realism came from France – Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Honoré Daumier.
"It is far easier to debate about realistic painting than to paint one." Igor Babailov
Painting technique using acrylic paints, which have a similar characteristic to oil paints. Acrylic paintings are as durable as oil paints.
The most important practical difference between acrylic paints and oil paints is the drying time. Acrylic paints are ideal for painters using sharp and firm brush movements. Mixing acrylic is more difficult than mixing oils just because acrylics are starting to dry quickly. With oils you can mix colors for many days. Resulting in a variety of color variations on which acrylics will not give you enough time. This slow process of drying oil is one of the advantages for some painters. On the other hand, this lengthens the process of image formation.
Another advantage of acrylic is that there is no need for solvent to clean brushes. When dry, the paint layer is waterproof and can quickly overlap both hides and lacquers. Acrylic paint is | 1,353 |
Some ministers may be retained — Buhari
May 28, 2019 Jethric News 0
PRESIDENT BUHARI INAUGURATES NORTH-EAST DEV COMM. 0A. President Muhammadu Buhari inauguration members of North-East Development Commission at the Council Chamber, State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. MAY 8 2019
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday indicated that he may retain some ministers, as his first term winds down.
The<|fim_middle|> office.
He said he would focus on law enforcement and judiciary in order to make both institutions efficient for citizens.
"I will make the police and the judiciary much more efficient. They are at the forefront of law enforcement," the president said.
He also promised to be tougher on incompetent officials in the security sector.
"I will find out who is responsible" where they are not efficient, Mr Buhari said.
The president has been widely criticised for failing to sack security chiefs, amidst widespread breaches that have cost thousands of Nigerian lives.
Boko Haram has killed hundreds of Nigerian soldiers since it launched a campaign against military formation in July 2018 alone. The police have also been condemned for failing to tame armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes that have kept citizens awake at night.
Nigerian elite have always been against me — Buhari
Nigerian escapes court conviction in Singapore | president said in an interview aired on NTA Monday night that he had asked ministers to submit their records of achievement and expect to leave the cabinet, but he was considering whether some "would stay" during his next four years which begins on May 29.
The president asked ministers to submit their performance earlier this week and prepare to leave | 67 |
Get your food hall fill with these local options.
The food hall trend is taking over the metro, which means it's never been easier to stuff your face with some unique and often gourmet offerings. Oh, and you can shop at food halls, too. Make no mistake: Food halls are having a vogue moment right now. No, we're not talking about a comeback of Sbarro and Subway at the local mall food court. Today's food hall — the kind that's popping up in cities across the country — is an expansive mini-market designed as a foodie paradise and boasting an amalgamation of restaurants, bars and food retail shops. Sound intriguing? Get your food hall fill with these local options.
There's something for everyone at Parlor, the foodie playground that opened in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District in September. This two-story building features seven independent, local restaurants that can cater to just about any flavor you're feeling. Farm to Market Sandwich Co. offers — what else? — gourmet sandwiches (get the house-made pastrami on rye). Yaki-Ya serves savory Japanese pancakes and skewers. Providence Pizza dishes up Detroit-style slices. Vildhäst offers over-the-top Scandinavian street food. Karbon's menu features delicious Yucatán and Turkish fusion dishes. Sura Eats gives diners a taste of Korean classics (you'll love the kimchi fried rice bowl).<|fim_middle|> class for kids on Dec. 2 and the Lenexa Holiday Farmers Market on Dec. 8. | And Mother Clucker delivers Nashville hot chicken.
Each floor of Parlor also features a full bar stocked with local spirits and craft beers, not to mention a dedicated cocktail list. This modern space has various seating areas and plenty of nooks and crannies for guests to huddle for meetings and share (or not share) their dishes. It also includes a four-season patio on the second floor, which looks out onto the Kansas City skyline.
The Made in KC brand keeps growing, and the latest evidence of this local patriotism can be found at the MiKC Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza, which opened in August. While the other MiKC locations are largely gift shops offering goods from local artisans, the Marketplace merges that concept with the food hall concept.
There are several retail stations set up in the Marketplace, some permanent (such as SewKC, MADE Urban Apparel, Wonder Boy, Sandlot Goods and Christopher Elbow Chocolate) and some rotating. Shoppers can refuel with a treat from Ice Cream BAE or Aixois Creperie, get their coffee fix from the MiKC coffee bar or loosen up with something a little stiffer from the grown-up bar in the back of the Marketplace, where the cocktail menu features local spirits only and the beer list invites you to try the best seasonal taps from Kansas City breweries.
Since it opened a little more than a year ago, the Lenexa Public Market has been a hit. The 11,000-square-foot food hall and market has, in that short amount of time, incubated foodie startups, held numerous cooking classes and launched local retail merchants. One of the Market's success stories is Chewology, a restaurant that features Japanese gyoza (pan-fried dumplings — try the beef and kimchi ones) and salmon and tuna poke bowls that now have a cult following.
Another fan favorite is Red Kitchen Tamales. The restaurant prides itself on bringing authentic Mexican-style street food to Johnson County. For breakfast, you can't lose by ordering the burrito stuffed (and we do mean stuffed) with eggs, potatoes, cheese, chorizo and tomatillo sauce. If you want a lunch you'll remember the rest of the day, get a tortas (a sandwich made with a telera bread that's pillow-soft on the inside and a has a thin, crunchy crust on the outside). The best part of the tortas, besides the bread, is the homemade jalapenos and pickled carrots that top the sandwich.
When you're done feasting, check out locally-sourced honey and bee beauty products (from bees who call Fort Leavenworth home) from Next to Nature Farm, and sign up for a cooking or art class.
Upcoming Events: For holiday fun, put these two dates on your calendar: Gingerbread House cooking | 573 |
Because they are unbleached<|fim_middle|> with my first baby.
Very easy to use, absorbent, fast drying, fits snugly and inexpensive. I love that you get discounts when you buy them in bulk. Very customisable— Toddler size can be used on your infant as well if folded differently. So it gives you the flexibility to use them at any stage. Customer service is great! They have answers to everything and know their product really well! User friendly website too! Doing cloth is so much fun. Thanks to Bubblebubs! | they have a natural ivory cotton color to them. As with all prefolds these will shrink 5-10%.
Infant (3-7kg) 30cm x 40cm unwashed - 4x8x4 prefold with 8 layers of cotton in the middle third and 4 layers on each side.
Toddler (6-13kg) 35cm x 52cm unwashed - 4x6x4 prefold with 6 layers of cotton in the middle third and 4 layers on each side.
I am very happy with these prefolds that I regret not doing it | 132 |
In its 12 year history, the CHC Safety & Quality Summit has grown to become an industry-leading aviation safety event. This year's event will take place Sept. 27 through Sept. 29 at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel & Convention Center located in Grapevine, Texas, near CHC's global headquarters.
<|fim_middle|>, or email summit@chcheli.com. | Each year, this three-day Summit draws hundreds of attendees from across the globe who gather to learn from leading experts in aviation, oil & gas and safety industries. Speakers share best practices and present on topics with an aim toward making the helicopter transport and aviation industry better through promoting excellence in safety and human factors, and maintaining a robust safety environment.
The theme for this year is: "Can we truly manage all the risk: What if the barriers are not as robust as they seem?" In the aviation and oil & gas industries, organizations strive to put barriers in place to mitigate risk and ensure the highest level of safety possible. However, there will always be room for improvement. If the barriers are not strong enough or if there are undetected gaps in safety policies or practices, unsafe situations can occur. The goal for this year's theme is for delegates to discuss how to strengthen and improve those barriers, which will help continue to build a robust safety culture across our industry.
Attendees are invited to gather with colleagues and industry professionals to collaborate and share safety best practices. Delegates at this year's event will have the unique opportunity to hear from John Foley, Organizational and Personal Performance Expert, Former Lead Solo Pilot, U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, at the opening day gala dinner. Delegates are invited to open the Summit by attending an address by Karl Fessenden, President and CEO, CHC Helicopter, followed by the open plenary sessions led by Stephen Carver, Senior Lecturer in Project & Programme Management from the Cranfield School of Management, and Dr. Nicklas Dahlstrom, Human Factors Manager from Emirates Flight Operations Training.
Registration for this event is now open. To register or learn more about the 13th annual CHC Safety & Quality Summit, visit: www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com | 368 |
Jun 15, 2011 Issue
Putting Prevention into Practice
An Evidence-Based Approach
Aspirin for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
KENNETH W. LIN, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine
Am Fam Physician. 2011 Jun 15;83(12):1469-1470.
Related U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement.
Related editorials: Appropriate Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and The Case Against Routine Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention in Low-Risk Adults
K.T., a 48-year-old man, presents for a routine office visit. He is worried about cardiovascular disease (CVD) and asks whether he should take daily aspirin to lower his risk. His blood pressure is 120/6<|fim_middle|> combined with aspirin use neither increases nor decreases the risk of serious GI bleeding.
E. The USPSTF recommends against the use of aspirin for CVD prevention in men and women 80 years and older.
1. The correct answer is E. Discuss the risk factors for MI and GI hemorrhage with K.T., and elicit his preferences. The USPSTF recommends the use of aspirin in men 45 to 79 years of age when the potential benefit of a reduction in MIs outweighs the potential harm of an increase in GI hemorrhage. When benefits and harms are closely balanced, the physician should guide a shared decision-making process that explains the potential benefits and harms of using aspirin. The patient can then make an informed decision that incorporates his personal preferences and values. Web-based calculators that estimate 10-year risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) are available at http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp for men and http://www.westernstroke.org/PersonalStrokeRisk1.xls for women. Given his risk level and age, K.T. has a 10-year CHD risk of 4 percent (Table 1).
Enlarge Print
10-year CHD Risk Levels at Which the Number of Cardiovascular Disease Events Prevented Is Closely Balanced with the Number of Serious GI Bleeding Events
10-year CHD risk* (%)
10-year stroke risk* (%)
CHD = coronary heart disease; GI = gastrointestinal.
*—Numbers based on the assumption that the patient is not currently taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
2. The correct answer is C. The USPSTF recommends against the use of aspirin for stroke prevention in women younger than 55 years. The USPSTF recommends that women 55 to 79 years of age use aspirin when the potential benefit of a reduction in ischemic strokes outweighs the potential harm of an increase in GI hemorrhage. Risk assessment for CVD in women differs from that in men. Age, diabetes, blood pressure, and smoking status must be considered in both sexes. Risks of MI in men also include high cholesterol; risks for ischemic stroke in women include a history of CVD, atrial fibrillation, and left ventricular hypertrophy.
3. The correct answer is C. The optimal dosage of aspirin for preventing CVD is not known, but a dosage of 75 mg per day seems to be as effective as a higher dosage. The risk of GI bleeding may increase with a dosage above 75 mg per day, with no apparent corresponding benefit in primary prevention of CVD. The USPSTF did not find sufficient evidence to determine the balance of benefits and harms for the use of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular events in men and women 80 years and older. Therefore, the USPSTF does not recommend for or against its use. NSAID therapy combined with aspirin use quadruples the risk of serious GI bleeding.
CVD, including heart attack and stroke, is the leading cause of death in the United States.
The author thanks Tazia Stagg, MD, MPH, for her contribution to the development of this piece.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150(6):396–404.
Wolff T, Miller T, Ko S. Aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events: an update of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150(6):405–410.
The case study and answers to the following questions on aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease are based on the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention that systematically reviews the evidence of effectiveness and develops recommendations for clinical preventive services. More detailed information on this subject is available in the USPSTF Recommendation Statement and the evidence synthesis on the USPSTF Web site (http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/). The practice recommendations in this activity are available at http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsasmi.htm.
Coronary Artery Disease/Coronary Heart Disease
Continue reading from June 15, 2011
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Home / Journals / afp / Vol. 83/No. 12(June 15, 2011) / Putting Prevention into Practice: Aspirin for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease | 0 mm Hg, and his total cholesterol is 180 mg per dL (4.66 mmol per L), with a low-density lipoprotein level of 80 mg per dL (2.07 mmol per L) and a high-density lipoprotein level of 40 (1.04 mmol per L). He does not have diabetes mellitus and does not use tobacco. K.T. reports no gastrointestinal (GI) tract pain and says he has never had an ulcer or used anticoagulants. He estimates that he uses an over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) about twice per month for headache or joint pain. Based on this information, you calculate his risk of heart attack and GI hemorrhage, and determine that his risks of each are approximately the same.
Case Study Questions
Based on the recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which one of the following is the appropriate next step regarding aspirin use for K.T.?
A. Recommend that he start an aspirin regimen to reduce his risk of myocardial infarction (MI).
B. Encourage aspirin use because he is older than 45 years.
C. Discourage aspirin use because he is younger than 50 years.
D. Encourage aspirin use to reduce the risk of ischemic stroke.
E. Discuss the risk factors for MI and GI hemorrhage, and elicit his preferences.
If K.T. were a woman and all other factors described above were the same, which one of the following would be the appropriate next step regarding aspirin use?
A. Discuss the risk factors for MI and GI hemorrhage, and elicit her preferences.
B. Discuss the risk factors for ischemic stroke and GI hemorrhage, and elicit her preferences.
C. Advise her that she does not need to consider daily aspirin use to reduce her risk of ischemic stroke before she reaches 55 years of age.
D. Encourage aspirin use to prevent ischemic stroke.
Which one of the following statements about aspirin use and CVD is correct?
A. CVD, including heart attack and stroke, is the second leading cause of death in the United States.
B. The optimal dosage of aspirin for preventing CVD is 75 mg per day.
C. The optimal dosage of aspirin for preventing CVD is not known, but 75 mg per day seems as effective as a higher dosage.
D. NSAID therapy | 525 |
TOWER London
http://www.tower-london.com
Multi-Award winning Independent Footwear Retailer, TOWER London, was founded in 1980. A trailblazer in London's independent footwear retailer scene, TOWER London is<|fim_middle|> of British Independent Retailers Awards – Best Independent Footwear Retailer 2015 May 2014: Drapers Footwear & Accessories Awards – Independent Retailer of the Year 2014
Email me jobs from TOWER London | fast becoming THE go-to destination for footwear and accessories for men, women and children, from the likes of Converse, Vans, Timberland, UGG, Dr. Martens, Kickers, Lacoste and Hunter Originals. With five London stores, headquarters in Shoreditch, and a North London distribution centre, TOWER London is a diverse company that prides itself on its work ethic, strong customer service mentality and passion for footwear. TOWER London is committed to bringing you the best possible experience in store and online. From dedicated store assistants and a multi-lingual customer service team to original content and handpicked products from your favourite brands, Team TOWER goes the extra mile to ensure we give you the best possible shopping experience, wherever you are. Recent Awards July 2016: Drapers Footwear Awards 2016 – Winner, Independent Footwear Retailer of the Year August 2015: Buyers Power List 2015 – Best Individual Footwear Buyer February 2015: Best | 214 |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Nobody should ever say Nadi Beciri's biggest moment came in garbage time.
His reward<|fim_middle|>'s a business major and a beautiful person,'' Herenda said - will begin the process of getting his resume together and applying for jobs. | came Thursday night at the tail end of an 87-49 loss to Gonzaga, when he took a pass from Brandon Powell and made a layup while getting fouled with 28 seconds left. It trimmed Fairleigh's deficit to 38. Beciri shared a long embrace with his coach - one that looked more like a championship hug than something for after a meaningless hoop to make the scoreboard look less bad.
With his rehab going well and the Knights in the NCAA Tournament, Beciri said he asked coach Greg Herenda if he could just suit up, presumably just to sit on the bench. Herenda figured, `Why not.' And then, with the game against Gonzaga completely out of hand, and with the trainers saying Beciri was ready to go, Herenda decided to give him a taste of the tournament.
''I'm mad at him,'' Herenda said. ''I needed 50'' points.
Soon, Beciri - ''Write that name down. He | 203 |
Pregnancy is an exciting and nerve-wracking time. One of the times it's especially nerve-wracking is when you're in a car crash. Between 2006 and 2012, the NHTSA reported approximately 112,300 pregnant women were in car crashes. In those cases, approximately 2 percent of the fetuses didn't survive the<|fim_middle|>, have someone at the scene take photos of the crash. If you have to take them, try to do them while sitting down. If you have a dash cam, store the footage and save the files on the SD card or to the cloud if that's an option.
You're going to be stressed. You will also probably be sore where the seat belt and possibly airbag hit you. Don't expect to drive yourself home. Have a significant other, best friend, or family member meet you at the hospital. You'll be calmer if you have a support person by your side. That person can also help by starting paperwork related to the medical care you receive and accident forms that the police and insurance companies may need.
After you've been monitored, carefully listen to the doctor's instructions. Make sure you know warning signs for issues. If you don't feel the baby kicking for hours and hours, call and ask to be seen. Explain you were in a car crash. Take it easy. If the doctor tells you to take a few days off of work, do so. If you're worried about lost income, auto insurance will cover that. Also, make sure you attend follow-up appointments.
After an accident, auto insurance companies get to work. Someone is sent to appraise the damages to your vehicle. They estimate the current value of your car to see if it would cost more to fix it than to replace it. They look at your medical bills and expenses like lost income or rental cars. Using this information, they come up with the settlement offer. You are not obligated to accept the settlement. The insurance company's goal is to give you a fair settlement without being excessive. That amount may not be enough.
The car insurance company rarely factors in the time it's going to take you to find a replacement car. If they're paying for a rental for one week, you may struggle to find a car in the same condition as yours that's within an hour of your home. They're not thinking of the hours you're spending trying to find a new car.
Request a consultation with a personal injury attorney. Bring any evidence you've already obtained, such as the accident report, investigating officer's name, and the other driver's name and insurance information. An attorney can tell you if you have a case or if the settlement offered by the insurance company is fair.
Call Trial Lawyers For Justice to discuss your car accident. Don't settle with the insurance company without first talking to an expert in personal injury cases. Email us at info@tl4j.com for a free consultation. | crash. Fetal death in a car crash is not common.
If you're in a car accident in any stage of your pregnancy, it's stressful and is likely to leave you scared and uncertain. That's understandable. If you're in a car accident while pregnant, make sure you do these things in this order.
Protect yourself and your unborn child by wearing a seat belt. It may not be comfortable, but it's the best way to avoid being thrown forward or to the side during a collision. The seat belt should go across the shoulder and chest and not across your neck. The lap belt should be below your belly and not over it.
Why wear your seat belt? In the same NHTSA study, they found that 99.9 percent of the women who wore seat belts did not have any injury to the placenta or uterus, which is a leading reason for a fetus to go into distress.
If possible, ask for paramedics to be called. While trauma to the fetus isn't likely thanks to the protective amniotic fluid and muscle of the uterine wall, it's best to get checked out. You could have head injuries, and your unborn child needs you to be healthy, too.
When the paramedics arrive, tell them how far along in your pregnancy you are and ask to go to the hospital. The fetal heart rate will be monitored. Your OB/GYN may request an ultrasound to make sure the placenta is still attached and that the fetus is okay.
While you're waiting for paramedics to arrive | 312 |
Loyal readers or those that use the wayback machine and like reading CMH Gourmand archives may recall my pepperoni roll research a few years ago. The pepperoni roll's roots harken back to the early 20th century when coal miners and factory workers dragged back and forth from back braking<|fim_middle|> been at the North Market and not bought one as my lunch for the day or as a meal for later. Each bite offers a mouthful of fresh, chewy roll, slightly greasy pepperoni and hardened, crusty, chewy and crispy cheese. No sauce is needed just three simple ingredients combined for a happy meal that needs no prize at the end.
This entry was posted on November 4, 2012 at 8:46 PM and is filed under cheese, markets, sandwiches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
As good as the pepperoni role is, the spicy veggie roll is way better. | labor and soul crushing hours on the job. With little time, energy, or money for a meal, they needed something they could eat with their hands while standing or on the go. The pepperoni roll became the answer for many of these folks seeking a cheap and filling meal. The Pepperoni Roll is ubiquitous to West Virginia and can be found throughout the state in restaurants, diners, family kitchens and gas stations – made by hand or made en mass.
I came to appreciate this bit of culinary history but rarely find them on this side of the Ohio River. Oddly enough, the best pepperoni roll in all my travels resides here in my home town at The North Market. Omega Artisan Bakery takes this staple of the common man to such great heights. The ingredients of a pepperoni roll are as basic as can be – bread, pepperoni and cheese. The key to any good sandwich (or sandwich like product in this case) is good bread. In the case of Omega good bread is the baseline so part one is easily accomplished. Next, the balance of pepperoni and cheese is critical. I have encountered many ratios of these three ingredients but Omega seems to have found the magic mix of about 34%-33%-33% (my favorite measurements for many things, I guess). Since I discovered the Pepperoni Roll at Omega I can not think of a time I have | 281 |
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A history of passion for mechanics and continuous, constant progress lasting more than 50 years.
1959: The current Chairman Rino Montanari, founded "Fratelli Montanari", a mechanical machining company.
1967: The company moved to the Corte Tegge headquarters and, following the transformation into "Meccanica Montanari", in addition to the production of accessories for agricultural machinery power take-offs, the construction of the first gear racks began.
1982: The company evolved into the current "GFM" and backing up strategic choices, the production focused on the construction of gear racks.
From that moment a path of constant commitment and development began that led GFM to becoming one of the leading companies in Italy in the production of gear racks. There are two words that have characterized GFM for half a century: quality and technology. Because from the outset the professionalism, the attention to detail and the "craftsmanship" dedicated to making the products have remained in tune with technological evolution.
So still today, if GFM's soul is linked to the passion for the accuracy of craftsmanship, its body consists of the most advanced technology available in the industry.
Currently GFM, led by its founder Rino Montanari and his three sons, builds its own products within the 4500 Sq. M. of the Corte Tegge facilities, making use of the experience and professionalism of 47 employees.
From the mid-eighties GFM began to make itself known abroad and today the<|fim_middle|> quotes
© Copyright 2017 - All rights reserved - G.F.M. MECCANICA Spa - Via dell'Industria 36/A - Cavriago (RE) - Tel. 0522 941497 - info@gfmmeccanica.it - P.iva IT01058400357
Privacy e Cookie Policy | CREDITS | products are exported to various European Union countries.
Elements that have always made us stand out:
Continuous Research and Development
Respecting delivery times
We are always available to answer questions,
for information or | 39 |
The Conversation Model
We believe that the best people to paint scenarios and shape the strategic direction for any organisation are those who are expected to implement the strategy.
When engaged to facilitate a strategic session, we ask the executive team to sit at a round table or in a horseshoe configuration so they can see each other. Conversation is as much about gestures and facial expressions as it is about what people actually say. It also means that nobody has superior status at the table because of position. We encourage the conversation to be as participative as possible since the best strategists in a team are often the last people who want to speak up. We use the Socratic method of asking questions to stimulate the participants to re-examine their basic beliefs about the organisation.
There are no sacred cows!
We also insist on zero paper except for the flip charts on which we record the conversation. We want people to bring their minds, their experiences and, most of all, their imagination to the meeting.<|fim_middle|>Finally, we believe there is a big difference between being a facilitator and acting as a consultant. The former is there to extract brilliance from the minds of the participants who make up the session, whereas the latter is there to provide original ideas that may not have occurred to the participants themselves. Self-revelations induced by the Socratic question-and-answer method have a much greater chance of changing people's minds about the future than ideas introduced by an external agency. Nothing beats good facilitation that tests the basic beliefs and principles of the executives concerned. They are then ripe for thinking the unthinkable (and becoming foxes in the process). | Long documents on strategy tend to contain figures that are based on consensus forecasts and therefore kill the imagination, the very faculty that allows people to think outside of the box.
Such documents also seek alignment before the conversation has taken place, when the whole point of the conversation is to obtain a diversity of views and then gain alignment.
Above all, long papers on strategy normally confuse strategy with tactics. An old nineteenth-century saying sums up the difference quite well: "Strategy differs materially from tactic; the latter belonging only to the mechanical movement of bodies, set in motion by the former". In brief - strategy is the direction of the business and the tactics are how to get there. What this means is that a handful of strategic decisions determine all future operational decisions. The order of events is shown in the diagram below. In our experience, the conversation around 'aiming' the business should take one day, or two days at the most. The third and more detailed phase around 'firing the gun' can take considerably longer.
Strategy, the aim of the business, should not change that often, while tactics to stay on course will vary according to how the game evolves. Indeed, we have defined seven principles of strategy:
Strategy is direction. Tactics are how to get there.
Strategy formulated without first consulting the context will probably end up being bad strategy.
Strategy is as much about ruling in potential paths that fit your scope as ruling out others that don't.
Good strategy can be turned into bad strategy by a future change in the context. Scenarios are a way of exploring alternative futures, which might necessitate a change in strategy.
Bad tactics can destroy good strategy, but no tactic can rescue bad strategy.
Good strategy has a greater chance of being converted into good results if tactics are accompanied by a set of measurable outcomes to which people can aspire.
Above all, strategy is about understanding what you do and don't control, and what is certain and uncertain about the future - and knowing when to change direction to avert unintended, and possibly tragic, consequences.
The strategic conversation we facilitate is in two parts: firstly defining the game and secondly playing the game. The first part has six steps and the second has four as indicated in the model below:
Defining the Game
The first step in defining the game is to review its evolution in recent years and where it stands today (together with your status as a player). The second step - Scope - is really about strategy, because selecting the game you want to play in future is equivalent to choosing the direction of the business. Steps 3, 4 and 5 examine the interplay between your strategy and environmental factors beyond your control, while step 6 - the scenarios themselves - provide the possible outcomes.
1. Context:
How has the game in your field or industry changed? Where is it heading? Has it become more international or more competitive? Has there been consolidation in the industry? Are, say, the Chinese now a threat? Importantly, how have you fared as a player? These questions are designed to take the participants over familiar territory and act as a warm-up for the harder questions ahead.
2. Scope:
What is the current playing field of your organisation? What lies inside and outside its boundaries? Should the field be wider or more focused? Where is there scope to extend the field into new, profitable activities? Should you change your game completely because it has become so unattractive? Scope can be divided into product range (horizontal range of goods and services), product chain (vertical chain from raw materials to customers), geographical footprint (the countries where you want to market your product/service or own businesses) and market segment (profile of your customers in terms of age, income, industry where you have industrial clients etc).
In considering Scope you have to reflect on your brand, culture, core competencies, organisational structure, business model, resources and location. Where they have to be changed to accommodate a modification in Scope, suitable tactics will have to be considered under Options below. For example, going downstream in the product chain or entering new countries may require competencies you don't possess. Tactics may therefore include joint ventures/alliances with companies that have competencies in the areas being targeted.
Scope at this point of the conversation should be considered provisional, since it may be altered by important issues raised later on.
3. Players:
Who are the players that can significantly change the outcome of the game you've chosen? Who are the ones for you that want you to win; who are against you and want you to lose; and who are neutral and liable to swing either way? We start by asking you to name your main competitors and what their strengths and weaknesses are, and in particular how big they are in relation to you. You can just as easily be killed by a big gorilla with greater economies of scale as by a swarm of bees with no overheads. Remember in sport it's common practice to do a SWOT on your competitors before you play them.
Then we ask who are your key suppliers and are they assisting you in winning the game? How about your customers? How do they regard you, and when did you last do a customer survey? Are your employees for you or are they neutral? You can never win a game with an unmotivated team! What about trade unions, communities around your areas of operation, the government, shareholders and the media? Where do they stand?
4. Rules of the Game:
Every game has rules. If you break them in sport, you get a red card and get sent off the field. If you break them in business, you go bankrupt. However, unlike sport, the rules of the game of business can change significantly over time.
We have identified three kinds of rules that you need to establish in order to understand the DNA of your game:
Descriptive rules, which give you a basic licence to operate in the country/countries where you are located. Of course, these rules can differ from country to country. In addition, descriptive rules include those which describe the long-term forces governing your market or industry in the future;
Normative rules, which cover ethics, corporate governance, the environment, health, safety and corporate social investment. These rules should be universal for all countries; and,
Aspirational rules, which will give you the edge to win the game. These are usually few in number but crucial to the sustainability of the business. For example, in the mining industry cost leadership and quality of ore deposits are rules to win, while in many service industries a rule to win would be the establishment of long-term relationships with clients based on trust and value for money.
Options (below) should include tactics to lead you towards closer compliance with the rules, especially the rules to win. In other words, how you act in accordance with the rules is within your control, whereas the rules themselves are part and parcel of the game.
5. Key Uncertainties:
What are the main uncertainties that can have a major impact on your business and affect the outcome of the game? Uncertainties can be economic, political, social, technological, and legal, or revolve around your market or your competitors' strategies. They can be international, national, local, related to your specific industry, or internal (e.g. CEO succession). They are the surprises that may necessitate a change in strategy or tactics. Whereas external uncertainties are usually beyond your control, your response to alleviate the impact of these uncertainties is within your control and constitutes tactics.
Good examples are a stock market meltdown (shock event), the uncertainty around global warming (gradual threat) and the level of oil prices in the future (volatile parameter).
6. Scenarios:
What are the two principal variables affecting your company from which you can construct a 2x2 matrix or scenario gameboard, giving you a best-case scenario, a worst-case scenario, as well as two intermediate scenarios? Many companies choose the state of the market as the horizontal axis and competitiveness as the vertical axis ( see examples of scenario gameboards ). Which scenario are you in at the moment? Where have you come from and where do you want to be in, say, a year, and looking further ahead? Equally important, what is the current position of your competitors on the gameboard, and where do you expect they will be in the next few years? Drilling down, where would you put your individual business units or products on the gameboard?
Step 7 is a realistic assessment of your own profile and situation before looking at strategic choices (direction) and tactics (how to get there) in steps 8 and 9. Step 10 gives you a concrete mission statement for the next five years.
We don't allow the executive team to get up from the table without measurable outcomes. Otherwise, why waste time on a strategic conversation? In this sense, our strategic conversations are very different from the traditional strategic workshops, which can end up in a haze of hot air and are often soon forgotten. People don't normally do things unless they are measured and, in order to measure them, you need measurable outcomes.
7. SWOT:
What are your internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threats in playing the game? How do you measure up to your rivals in this regard? In what way does your SWOT change as you move around the scenario gameboard? Most companies already do SWOT analyses, but in our model it is done in the context of the game after profiling your competitors. Thus it is usually more accurate than one done in isolation. It also gives you an idea about tactics that play to your strengths, overcome your weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities and counter threats.
What are your strategic and tactical options (i.e. things that you can realistically do within your control) to take the negative scenarios as far as possible out of play and thrive in the good ones? How do you get closer to the rules to win? Given a company has finite resources, options need to be prioritised on the basis of importance/ urgency, leverage (output to input ratio) and risk versus reward. Options can be exclusive where you can do either this or that; or be inclusive where you can do this and that. Normally the greater the magnitude of resources required, the more exclusive the option becomes. The most frequent trap a company falls into is to select a change in scope (i.e. strategic direction) and then not allocate sufficient resources to make it happen because it falls outside the comfort zone of 'business as usual'.
9. Decisions:
What are the preferred options that, right now, are 'go' and can be turned into decisions and actions? What is the initial action associated with each decision i.e. who is going to do what by when and how much is it going to cost? What options do you want to defer, either because they are lower priority or they will only be triggered by other scenarios coming into play? Which options are too risky or unethical and should be rejected? Of course, the difference between options and decisions is that in the former case you can be as wild as you like because you're not making a commitment. In the latter case you are committed. Where an option is exclusive, its selection will always carry the 'opportunity costs' associated with the options refused. The decision may therefore be harder to take than for an inclusive option.
10. The Meaning of Winning:
We like to end the conversation on an uplifting note; so our final question to each person at the table is simple: What is your personal criterion by which you will judge whether the company has won or lost the game in five years time? This should be expressed as far as possible as a measurable outcome.
Different people give different answers. For example, the Human Resources Director may well want the company to be the 'employer of choice' in the industry, one to which all smart graduates thinking of joining the field will apply; the Technical Director may want at least three revolutionary breakthroughs in product design so that the company is seen as cutting-edge in the industry; and the CEO generally wants the share price to triple because he or she has more share options than anyone else!
The result can be treated as the mission statement or balanced scorecard for the company over the next five years (balanced because if you press the button too hard on one meaning of winning, you may lose out on another one). It is a much more useful tool than the homilies which pass as vision/ mission statements in many companies. Equally, it demonstrates that winning in business is much more subtle than winning in sport where outright victory is always the intention. The purpose of business is to win but not necessarily make other people lose. Sometimes a business has to accept a 'draw' on the grounds that a strategy of outright victory could easily end up in outright defeat because of factors beyond its control. In practice, business is a combination of pure rivalry games and co-operative games (a touch of von Neumann with a dash of Nash).
Whatever you feel about foxes and hedgehogs, try out this agenda when you next have a strategic workshop. The conversation will be entirely different, as will the strategic insights.
Two questions we are frequently asked are:
How often should you conduct these strategic conversations?
How far down the organisation should you go with these conversations?
The answer to both questions is that there is no set formula and it is very much up to you as to how to use our model. Some people like to have a one-off conversation on strategy and then only review it if and when the external environment changes to the point that it has to be reviewed. Obviously, any tactical decisions taken at the meeting along with their associated measurable outcomes are regularly monitored. Certainly the gameboard is continually updated to keep the team aware of its competitive position. Other teams like to review strategy once a year before the next round of operational planning and budgeting begins.
On the second question, some companies like to restrict the conversation to their top executive team, while others like to cascade it down through the different business units and service departments. Obviously the lower one goes, the more restricted the scope of the game becomes. Nevertheless, it is still useful to consider the range of activities inside any production unit/service centre and whether these should be changed to accommodate the needs of other in-house departments which are its clients. Equally, relationships with 'supplier' departments can be examined as well.
The Wack Test
Pierre Wack was the recognised master of scenario planning during the 1970s and 1980s. He used to say that the acid test for a successful scenario exercise was not that it captured an unusual future before it happened; rather it was whether the scenario penetrated the mindset of the relevant decision-makers and persuaded them to act ahead of time. We call this the Wack Test. The scenario itself did not have to be entirely accurate in its details, as long as it modified the course of action taken for the better.
Many scenario exercises are brilliant intellectually, but fail the Wack Test because they do not connect to the people who make the decisions. There are, however, three aspects to our conversation model which give the scenarios a good chance of passing the Wack Test:
We assist the decision-makers in writing the scenarios themselves instead of having external specialists presenting scenarios to them. The decision-makers are an intrinsic part of the scenario process;
We have integrated options, decisions and measurable outcomes into the same conversation that handles the formulation of the scenarios. Thus the practical implications of the scenarios cannot be ignored;
The scenarios sometimes feature the main decision-makers in the story. This makes them feel more committed to take appropriate action to ensure greater probability of the virtuous scenario materialising, or the worst-case scenario being avoided.
| 3,193 |
The Soldiering On Awards (SOA) is an important part of X-Forces Enterprise (XFE). SOA recognises the outstanding achievements of those who have served their country, including the entire diverse range of people, teams, businesses and animal partners who work together in support of the Armed Forces community.
All Award-winners are eligible to receive bespoke ongoing support through a 12 month XFE programme "3:6:12".
Ren Kapur MBE: XFE CEO and Co-chair of SOA says:
"I believe that winning an award should be the start of a journey; not the end. Soldier<|fim_middle|>, called 3:6:12 incudes promotion and knowledge exchange or connections and is designed to help empower the next stage of each award-winner's amazing journey."
Click here to find out more about the Awards and all of our 2020 Finalists and Winners! | ing On Awards night is the first step of a 12 month journey of support for Award-Winners. Each Winner will have a bespoke 12-month programme of support from the range of services provided through XFE and/or our partners. This programme of support | 54 |
We arrive at our hotel where we will enjoy a welcome<|fim_middle|> home. | drink before settling in.
This morning we will visit Normandy's most charming port town of Honfleur, a favourite of impressionist painters such as Monet. Utterly enchanting, the Vieux Bassin area is the heart of the port, characterised by its front-row homes, built by wealthy families of days gone by, overlooking the yachts in the harbour. The quarters on the different sides of the Vieux Bassin each have their own distinct character, with the eastern side being packed with interesting buildings, whilst the western area slopes up to the splendid wooden church of Saint Catherine, in a district where we will find the town's main museums dedicated to the arts. In the afternoon, we make our way back to Rouen, where we will have time to explore its medieval cobbled streets, admire its half-timbered houses, gothic monuments and the magnificent Great Clock (Gros Horloge) with the oldest mechanism of its kind in France, as well as the Market Square where Joan of Arc was executed in 1431.
This morning, we will travel to the charming resort of Saint Valery-sur- Somme, with its lovely medieval town, beautiful promenade along the bay and stunning harbour. Here we enjoy free time for lunch and to explore the cobbled streets, picturesque, colourful houses and medieval walls and buildings. In the afternoon (Apr - Oct) we board the lovely old steam train of the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme and take a scenic 1 hour trip along the stunning coastline around the bay to Le Crotoy where our coach will meet us for the return journey to our hotel.
Today, we will make our way | 345 |
Almost on the corner of Albany Highway and Duncan St where the Commonwealth Bank and Victoria Park Post Office are.
Travelling to us by Foot, Car, Bus, Bike or Train?
We are conveniently located along Albany Highway's shopping pedestrian and café precint so easy stroll to get to and plenty to see when you are walking around.
There is plenty of parking available along Albany Highway, in the carparks and<|fim_middle|>76, 177, 179 that come from the Perth Bus Port will have you on our doorstep in 10 minutes. Hop off the bus along Albany Highway at bus stop number 11712 and we are directly opposite.
Disembark at the Victoria Park Train Station, walk straight along Duncan Street into Victoria Park and we are pretty much there on the corner of Duncan St and Albany Highway - maybe a 5 minute walk. | side streets off Albany Highway. In the Wilson Car Park underneath Woolworths Centro you can park there free up to 3. We are then just opposite Woolworths Centro so better value to park undercover there. When parking in the streets, remember to obtain a Town of Victoria Park parking ticket from one of the many ticket machines to display on your dash.
Coming from Perth? Any of the bus numbers 170, 1 | 88 |
THIS ITEM IS A PRE-ORDER AND DUE TO BE RELEASED ON OR AROUND APRIL 26th, 2019.
Avandra ascends to the upper reaches of the prog sphere.
With sophomore album "Descender", the Puerto Rico<|fim_middle|>ine Tree, and The Ocean Collective with the soulful depths of Seal.
- High-quality CD in 6-panel digipack, glass-mastered specifically for CD.
- Gorgeous artwork by legendary artist Travis Smith.
- Features guest solos by Kevin Moore (ex-Dream Theater, Chroma Key, OSI) and Richard Henshall (Haken), and percussion programming from Astronoid's Daniel Schwartz. | -based four-piece demonstrates a massive growth in writing and production, displaying a mastery of progressive metal seen in their genre forebears – Opeth, Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, The Porcupine Tree, The Ocean Collective – and injecting the soulful intensity of R&B heavy-weight Seal.
After making waves locally on such a scale as to register in mainland America and Europe with their debut, the band are set to become the new name to watch in progressive music. Taking their blend of heavy grooves, soaring leads, and dreamy synths to further extremes, the added dramatic flair of delicate piano and acoustic guitar passages propel the album's tale of Helios' descent upon the world and the gift of fire to mankind to heady narrative territory, woefully absent in the genre since Opeth's "Watershed" over a decade ago.
Navigating between hard hitting assaults, agile fretboard runs and double kick patterns, ethereal synth beds, dynamic piano accents, and introspective laid-back grooves, the progressive juggernaut is bound together by frontman Christian Ayala Cruz's powerful voice. Cutting through the dizzying displays of technicality and contemplative sonic observations, his performance stands as a unique voice which takes Avandra's progressive pedigree and carves out a realm in the pantheon which belongs to them alone.
In "Descender", Avandra rises to give the fiery gift of progressive music back to mankind.
- Incredible blend of progressive metal, rock, and R&B, combining the best qualities of Opeth, Dream Theater, Porcup | 312 |
Local HOG Chapters allow people who share a passion for Harley-Davidson® motorcycles to come together. The Salem HOG Chapter provides members with plenty of opportunities to meet with friends, have fun, support worthy causes, and ride. Full membership is for owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles only. Just provide your VIN. Associate memberships are available for family members of a full member.
Interested in membership? Submit an online membership interest form for more information and a personal invitation to join our chapter!
The Salem HOG Chapter meets on the fourth Tuesday each month. February & March 2019 meetings will be at Salem Harley-Davidson,3601 Silverton Rd NE Salem, Oregon 97305. The meet and greet (formally meeting) will start at 6:00 P.M. and finish up at 8:00 P.M. We will have two food trucks, games, and more . The Salem HOG Chapter is sponsored by Salem Harley-Davidson.
* Members of either of these sister HOG Chapters may attend the meetings of one or both HOG Chapters.
<|fim_middle|> www.salemharley.com.
We installed a Comodo SSL certificate for your safety. Always look for the green bar and/or lock in your browser's URL bar before entering credit card or personal information on a website. | Salem Harley-Davidson is the local dealership in Salem, Oregon, for Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, parts, accessories, MotorClothes® merchandise, T-Shirts, collectibles, great service and friendly staff! Their extensive expertise in financing programs is second to none! Salem Harley-Davidson is located at 3601 Silverton Rd. NE, Salem, OR 97305, Phone: 503-363-0634. See their website at | 106 |
The Innova Competition Caddy Pack is an integrated bag, seat and backpack strap designed to allow any disc golfer to carry a maximum load with minimal strain. The Caddy Pack features a lightweight high-capacity Competition disc golf bag, Caddy Seat stool, and the BackSaver Strap that pulls it all together into an integrated unit.
The Caddy Seat is a comfortable portable stool that doubles as a backpack frame allowing the weight of an Innova bag with Backpack Straps to rest on the built in lumbar pad. Less time spent on your feet or carrying your bag saves energy and allows you to focus on your game. The seat has a 250 lb. limit.
The Competition Bag is a lightweight high-capacity disc golf bag that offers fit, function, and durability for players of all abilities. This awesome-looking bag comes ready for action and can accommodate up to 20 discs, and provides a variety of pockets for all of your important stuff.
The Competition bag comes standard with a padded shoulder strap, but also sports a 4-point hookup that can be used for a backpack strap (included with this Competition Caddy Pack). This bag is constructed from heavy-duty water-resistant Nylon for long life.
It is clear that Innova has put a great deal of thought into the style and construction of this eye-catching bag. So, don't delay.<|fim_middle|> sometimes drop shipped from the manufacturer via UPS or FedEx. Please provide a street address for delivery at checkout and allow additional time for processing. This item is not eligible for Rush Order Processing. | Grab one of these great bags for your next competition! Available in Black & Gun Metal Gray, Blue & Gun Metal Gray, Red & Gun Metal Gray, Moss Green & Khaki, and Orange & Khaki.
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What You Don't Know About Is Kosher Salt the Same as Sea Salt Could Be Costing to More Than You Think
Page Content Different varieties of salt have various uses in the kitchen. Kosher salt was initially employed for religious purposes. It is allowed to remain a more coarse-grained salt, meaning that the structure of Kosher salt under a microscope looks like a series of cubes stacked on top of each other, rather than a single grain. Kosher salt, though large grained, has lots of surface area. When you purchase kosher salt, you know that you're getting a bigger salt grain that's flat or pyramidal.
You will have to confirm the nutrition label of the salt you use and then determine how much to use dependent on the mg of sodium. Kosher salt is not as salty than sea salt because it is not as dense and flaky. It is made by evaporation process. It is not usually iodized. It has a very coarse, flaky texture that is very god at removing blood. It is a form of sodium chloride. It may also have a hollow pyramidal shape.
Life, Death and Is Kosher Salt the Same as Sea Salt
Surprisingly, there are numerous kinds of salt to pick from. It is normal to add salt when cooking pasta or potatoes and several other foods. There's a lot to understand about salt. To put it differently, it can be bad for your health, but real salt is actually a crucial part of good health! Pickling salt is normally utilised in pickling and canning foods but may also be used for baking. It is available in supermarkets, and is also referred to as canning sal.
The salt is made up of many smaller grains of salt fused together. It is the thing that makes foods salty, of course. Kosher salt can be gotten from both underground mines along with sea water and the true difference can be found in the way it's processed. Diamond Crystal kosher salt does not have any anti-caking agents, but it's coarser than the Morton brand so you'll have to measure by weight to acquire the mandatory amount.
The Basics of Is Kosher Salt the Same as Sea Salt That You Will be Able to Benefit From Beginning Today
There is a variety of of salt, but when they're employed in cooking it's almost not possible to taste the differences. As stated by the Mayo Clinic, the principal difference between that fine, table salt and sea salt is the manner where the salt is processed. Sea salt is created by drying out sea water. You don't really ever must use sea salt, but it's fun and fancy.
The salt is usually available in an assortment of grain sizes. Kosher salt doesn't dissolve together with regular salt, since it's is larger. So it is regular, unadulterated salt that is made so that it is suitable to use for koshering. In fact, it isn't even necessarily certified kosherthough if it is to be used in a kosher meal, it has to be. It typically does not contain any additives though some companies may add some minerals to make it free flowing. It does not have any added preservatives or additives such as iodine. You may also have noticed that it's called cheese salt, canning salt or kosher salt.
Nutritionally speaking, salt can help you to retain water and supplies electrolytes that are vital to the normal functions of your cells and organs. Sea salt has gotten increasingly popular, especially in restaurants, due to its healthy and all-natural image. It offers the same benefit as kosher salt only if it's a coarse-grained variety. 1 good thing about sea salt is it does provide more of a taste punch once it comes to flavor.
Typically salt is composed of sodium and chloride. It can be used in almost any room of the house to assist in cleaning, sanitizing and deodorizing the home<|fim_middle|> contour of the grains has an important effect on a recipe's measurements. | . You're able to use any other type of salt you desire that's readily available to you, it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive or purchased at a distinctive store. Sea salt does not have any such special function. On the other hand, since it is the most unrefined variety of salt, it also tends to be the most expensive. Mediterranean sea salt naturally consists of a wide range of minerals.
The Secret to Is Kosher Salt the Same as Sea Salt
The salt is otherwise exactly the same. In general, it is essential for maintaining healthy functioning of the body's cells, nerve conduction, digestion, as well as the absorption of nutrients and the elimination of waste products. Kosher salt doesn't have any additives. It is the same sodium chloride compound that you find in other types of salt such as sea salt and table salt. While table and kosher salt may taste the exact same, the various dimensions and | 188 |
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