Classifying Potent and Highly Potent Molecules

August 1, 2018
Jeff Pavlovich

Jeff Pavlovich is senior process safety engineer at Cambrex.

Page Number: s18–s20, s33

Determining how much containment is needed for API handling requires evaluation of multiple factors.

Highly potent drugs represent a growing proportion of medicines, including therapies in development and those commercially available. As older products reach patent expiry, generic-drug companies are also moving into this space, creating an increasing demand for capability and capacity to manufacture highly potent APIs (HPAPIs), particularly for contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs).

A significant proportion of HPAPIs are in the oncology field, and as approximately one-third of all new drug approvals are currently cancer medicines, this represents a substantial market opportunity. Other therapeutic areas where drugs may be highly potent include asthma and pain management.

The chemistry to make these molecules is not necessarily difficult; however, the greater challenge is in the handling and containment of them to ensure operator and environmental safety. It is vital that a careful assessment is made of the hazards posed by each individual product, reagent, and intermediate involved in the synthesis ahead of manufacture. If the risks are underestimated, people within and around the plant will be in danger. Conversely, if the risks are overestimated, the result will be excessive amounts of money spent on containment and an increase in project costs.

A compound is deemed to be potent in pharmaceutical terms if it has an eight-hour, time-weighted average occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 10 µg/m3 or less. There is, however, no formally agreed definition of the OEL level that constitutes a “highly potent” compound. To add to the confusion, the same compound might be classified differently by individual risk assessors. This variability in classification is exemplified by a study carried out by Cambrex in which a panel of 38 molecules was sent to three risk assessors. Three different results were provided: one assessor deemed five of the 38 to be highly potent, one assessed 37 of the 38 to be highly potent, and the third fell somewhere between the two extremes.

The subjective nature of these results highlights that any CMO managing a facility to manufacture multiple APIs that may, or may not, be highly potent should consider each project on a case-by-case basis. A flexible approach allows manufacturing techniques, equipment, and containment options to be tailored to the molecule’s properties, and the requirements of each individual step of the synthesis. The result should be increased safety, lower costs, and enhanced capacity for the manufacturing of HPAPIs.

Risk determination

When determining risk, the starting point is the OEL and other safety-related properties of the molecule determined as part of the drug development process. Once an investigational drug reaches the large-scale manufacturing stage, extensive safety data will have been compiled, including results from preclinical toxicology assessments, animal studies, and early-stage clinical trials.

These data on potential hazards and dose–response effects are used as a basis by experts in risk assessment to generate OELs and occupational exposure bands (OEBs) that allow informed decisions to be made about engineering strategies and industrial hygiene requirements. Appropriate containment and personal protective equipment should be supplemented by comprehensive training to ensure their proper use.

There is an important caveat. Although toxicological data offer a useful starting point, there is a difference between potency and toxicity. Potency is a measure of how much of the API is required to have a therapeutic effect; toxicity is a measure of its adverse effects. A cytotoxic drug to treat cancer may be extremely toxic but its potency might be low, and therefore, side-effects are likely. Conversely, for some drugs that only require very small doses to have a medical benefit, the dose that causes side-effects may be substantially larger. The handling requirements in the manufacturing plant will be very different for the two.

Toxicology data gleaned from preclinical research or clinical trials are not designed for direct application to OELs, either. The aim of an early-phase clinical study is to determine optimal doses, balancing therapeutic benefit and what patients can tolerate. There is a huge difference between exposure in this context, and the inadvertent inhalation of dust in a manufacturing facility; there is no direct correlation between these clinical trial data and the safe exposure level for operators.

The data will, however, provide indications to issues that might occur with acute exposure. If they highlight issues such as respiratory problems, lachrymatory issues, adrenergic concerns, or somnolence, for example, acute problems might be anticipated in manufacture. There may be indicators toward chronic exposure issues, also, if there are indications that the compound might be carcinogenic, mutagenic, a sensitizer, or a clastogen.

With this information in hand, the next step is to identify any critical effects that exposure might have, such as target organ toxicity or pharmacological effect, and the dose-response curve. However, inter-person variation makes it difficult to make a definitive risk assessment.

At the lower end of the dose–response curve (Figure 1) is no-observed-effect level (NOEL), where the chemical causes no effect at all. The next point moving up the curve is the no-adverse-event level (NOAEL), which is commonly cited in risk assessments. Next, there are the analogous low-effect level (LOEL) and low-adverse-effect level (LOAEL), and then doses that are well tolerated, followed by the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Past this point, the APIs are likely to be hazardous. In animal tests, at the ED50 point, half of the animals will experience an effect; at the TD50 point, half will experience toxicity; and at the LD50 point, half the study animals will die at that level of exposure.

[Eq. 1]

OEL (μg/m3) =PoD x BW/UFc X MF x V

OEL is occupational exposure limit
PoD is point of departure for extrapolation (mg/kg-bw/day)
BW is body weight (kg)
UFc is composite uncertainty factor
MF is modifying factor
V is volume of air breathed during work shift (m3)

The OEL equation (Equation 1) includes uncertainty factors (Table I) that compensate for unknowns. The numerator comprises factors that will increase occupational exposure, while the denominator includes those that will reduce it, including uncertainty factors. Those components that can contribute to uncertainty include variation between species and between subjects, the duration of the study, the severity of the effect, bioavailability and bioaccumulation, and pharmacokinetics.

Area of uncertaintyUncertainty factors
Intraspecies variation10
Interspecies variability2–12
Study duration3–10
Low-effect level (LOEL) to low-adverse-effect level (LOAEL)10
Database sufficiency1–10
Severity of effect1–10

Modifying factors are also considered by some risk assessors, including the slope of the dose–response curve, and the choice of critical effect and its clinical significance, its reversibility, and its relevance to workers. Susceptible subpopulations and read-across similarity may also be considered, as may a lack of independence for uncertainty factors.

This uncertainty is at the root of the variability in risk assessments. Depending on the magnitude of uncertainty values that are applied, and whether modifying factors are given weight, there is the potential for as much as eight orders of magnitude of difference in the OEL determined by individual assessors. Reconciling this variability in the final risk assessment is a major challenge.

The solution lies, at least in part, in applying real-world context to the uncertainty factors. Perhaps the most important is the acceptable exposure risk for an individual operator, and even for the most conservative risk assessor, a one-in-one-thousand risk may well be more realistic than the one-in-one-million risk to be an appropriate likelihood of an exposure happening. The one-in-one-thousand risk is not without context: it is commonly cited as the chance of a severe injury in a hazardous work environment.

Three orders of magnitude difference in acceptable exposure risk can represent a major difference in cost. If an API is placed in a higher OEB in the absence of data and with a large weight placed on uncertainty factors, then far more costly containment will have to be employed, and the manufacturing process will take longer. How necessary is it that the API is treated as so much more hazardous? And what about the intermediates involved in its production? It is less likely that there will be a calculated OEL for those intermediates.

It is important to carefully consider exposure modifiers. Is the process likely to generate dust? If so, the likelihood of airborne hazard is far greater. How long will the operator be exposed to the material? Theoretical OELs are based on an eight-hour exposure; however, the time of potential exposure may be only a few minutes. A case-by-case assessment of the actual facility, process, and procedures will give a far more realistic picture of the hazard. There may be limits on how long people can work on individual projects because of the potential for chronic effects. If an API is a known teratogen, it may be advisable for pregnant women to keep well away.

Determining OEBs

Occupational exposure bands are a useful tool for matching a hazard with containment requirements. APIs that fall into OEB1 are non-toxic, and a standard exposure level of 500 µg/m3 will suffice. OEB2 compounds will have special hazards, such as carcinogenicity, and the OEL will need to be lower.

At OEB3, where the hazards are greater but not extreme, the opportunity to customize handling to account for real-world situations is greater; this is where the greatest cost and time savings might be anticipated. Here, the containment could-and should-be designed around the process itself. The existing plant may suffice; alternatively, safety requirements might be met by introducing high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters or soft-sided isolators, a more conservative approach than simply using personal protective equipment. The risk assessment should also consider the solvents and whether they can degrade processing or containment equipment. A program of surrogate testing is required to prove that the containment strategy is appropriate and working successfully before the hazardous material is introduced.

OEB4 APIs are more highly potent and toxic, and special handling and careful containment will be required. An additional band, OEB4+, encompasses compounds that are so potent that their OEL falls below 0.1 µg/m3. For OEB4 and OEB4+ compounds, the opportunity for customization is limited, and the process must be designed around the containment, and not the other way around. Dedicated isolators will most likely be employed, and rapid transfer ports for APIs deemed to be OEB4+.

This type of complete containment is extremely expensive, and while the conservative approach would be to use such containment for all highly potent compounds, in reality it may be overkill for OEB3 APIs. Instead, it may be more realistic to start out with the assumption that full containment is required, but then relax the handling requirements as further data become available, if the data suggest this will be safe. This level of flexibility will allow a CMO to offer its customers a more cost-effective solution, and faster timelines.

About the author

Jeff Pavlovich is senior process safety engineer at Cambrex.

Article Details

Pharmaceutical Technology
Supplement: Outsourcing Resources
Vol. 42
August 2018
Pages: s18–s20, s33

When referring to this article, please cite it as J. Pavlovich, "Classifying Potent and Highly Potent Molecules," Pharmaceutical Technology Outsourcing Resources Supplement (August, 2018).

download issueDownload Issue : Pharmaceutical Technology-08-01-2018


Revisit the early 1990s on the last years of the D&H and the ushering in of CP Rail to new territory in the US. This was a very colorful era in the Northeast and dramatic changes were still in effect from ripples of the bankruptcy of the old Penn Central days. We cover the history of the D&H and its sad demise. Don’t miss the parade of older and borrowed power that came from all over North America.

This was also a time when CP Rail was consolidating its extensive US-based rail lines. We bring you power from the D&H, Soo Lines and from lines such as CSX, NS, Conrail, leasing companies and others.

This new video is the perfect companion to the first Northeast Rails DVD that covered the success of the Conrail in the late 1980s. Revel in wonderful scenery, colorful power, “Fallen-Flags” and graffiti-free trains in a by-gone era that will never come back again.

Charles Smiley Productions DVD. 93 minutes.


Car Accident Checklist: What Should You Do After A Car Accident In Texas

Driving is a risky business and with over 270 registered vehicles in the United States, chances are it’s only a matter of time before you experience some kind of car accident. As a matter of fact, if you haven’t been in a car accident, you should consider yourself extremely lucky. Statistics say that you will file a claim for a collision about once every 17.9 years. That means that if you got your driving license at age 16, there is a big chance that you will experience some sort of car crash by the time you are 34. Or, if we put it over the course of a long driving lifetime, you should have a total of three to four car accidents in your life. The good news is that most of these car collisions won’t be deadly since just three out of every one thousand accidents involve fatalities.

1 1

In reality, even a seasoned driver may feel unsure of what to do right after a car crash. While preparation cannot prevent it from happening, it can surely help in order to limit the damage in the moments afterward and the days which follow. Taking part in a car crash is a shocking and frustrating ordeal nobody wants to experience. A fine preparation in advance can do no harm and could save your life and potentially hundreds if not thousands of your hard-earned dollars.

In this article, we are going to cover all the things you should do after you have taken part in such an event.

#1 Stop and check for injuries

You are peacefully driving while listening to your favorite song on the radio when another vehicle slams into your car. The damage is done and there is no turning back. What should you do right now?

First things first, there is nothing more important than your health and wellbeing. Even though it’s going to be really difficult to remain calm and focused – that’s exactly what you should do. Stop immediately and check for injuries. After you make sure everything is OK with you, get out of the vehicle and check on everyone else involved in the car crash.

#2 Call 911 if there is anyone injured

If anyone sustained an injury in the process, don’t wait and call 911 to get the proper help. Let the dispatcher know about the sustained injuries or fatalities you can speak of, and make sure they are made aware of any hazards that emergency medical services and police should know before they arrive at the scene.

Use the closest address or mile marker when describing the location through the phone. Describe absolutely everything that you can think of which may help the medical service in order to arrive quickly and act right away such as the direction you were traveling and which side of the road your car is on.

#3 Deal with the police

When the police arrive at the crash scene, make sure you thoroughly follow their instructions since they are highly trained in accident investigations. Stay present at the scene and answer any questions they ask honestly. The police officers are authorized to coordinate the care and transport of the injured, make the necessary arrangements to have the disabled cars towed, secure the scene, issue traffic citations, verify insurance information of the drivers, make arrests when needed, collect evidence and file a police crash report.

With the filing of a police crash report, the police gather all the necessary information about the car accident such as driver information, vehicle data, and injury reports. Also known as the CR3 Peace Officer Report, the sole custodian for these kinds of reports for the state of Texas is The Texas Department of Transportation. Under the Texas Transportation Code §550.062, any law enforcement officer who investigates a motor vehicle crash that results in injury or the death of a person or damage to the property of $1,000 and more, must submit a written report of the crash to the Texas Department of Transportation not later than the 10th day after the date of the accident.

These reports which are very important in order to file a claim with your insurance agency, are also made available online, in a registry updated on an everyday basis with all the car accidents that occurred in the precinct. You can search the online police crash records by location, like an Austin police accident report or a Dallas police accident report, or with the knowledge of the car model, the manufacturing year or the date the accident occurred.

#4 Collect evidence and information

In order to prove that another driver caused property damage and injuries, collecting evidence and general information about the car accident are really important. Write down everything that is relevant and take photos of the crash scene, vehicle registrations, and every important detail if possible. This way you make sure that other people involved in the accident won’t change their story in the latter stages.

#5 Notify your insurance company

Don’t waste time and reach out to your insurance company as soon as you can. You already have a vehicle insurance policy which practically is a contract between you and your insurance company. One of your obligations out of the insurance policy is to notify the company right after the accident, regardless of who caused it. This way the company will be able to provide better protection for you if the other driver decides to file a claim against you.

#6 Reach out to a car accident attorney

What happens if the accident settlement falls short of covering your injuries and damages or your insurance claim is denied? You reach out to a highly-skilled car accident attorney to help you with your case. Even for the initial consultation, make sure you bring copies of your medical records and bills, car crash reports, photos, statements of witnesses and every other relevant piece of information or evidence related to the accident. The attorney will review your case and afterward will let you know about the potential value of your claim, or if they believe that the claim will settle or if the claim could be tried in court.


GDPR... Big Challenge or New Opportunity?

Utopia Marketing | February 13, 2018 | 2 min read

As the May 25, 2018 deadline approaches, organizations are looking to outside agencies, data protection experts and legal counsels to determine what needs to be done. Penalties for non-compliance can range from 2% annual revenue (or €10 million) to 4% annual revenue (or €20 million) depending on the severity of the violation, which are large enough to gain the attention of almost any organization.

Under GDPR, individuals are granted the right to see that their data is being processed lawfully and companies must demonstrate that accountability on an on-going basis. This process of GDPR compliance requires organizations to manage all elements of the data lifecycle including a long-term data governance strategy and deletion of personal data at the end of purpose (EoP). This means that if there is no longer a legitimate purpose that requires the use of personal data, it must be deleted. When deleting data, all objects related to that data set must be deleted as well.

Typically, GDPR compliance involves significant effort, and cost, for your organization, and not just for implementation, but there can also be concerns around resources needed to sustain it throughout the years. As you are preparing for GDPR, the challenges to becoming truly compliant can be daunting… but we encourage you to embrace the opportunity it creates to build a new framework for data processes and improve the long-term governance of your data assets.


Progression to secondary school, male (%) in Costa Rica was reported at 93.05 % in 2017, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Costa Rica - Progression to secondary school, male - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2021.

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 costa rica progression to secondary school male percent wb data

Progression to secondary school refers to the number of new entrants to the first grade of secondary school in a given year as a percentage of the number of students enrolled in the final grade of primary school in the previous year (minus the number of repeaters from the last grade of primary education in the given year).

Costa Rica | World Bank Development Indicators


Artist’s Statement

I feel that my role as an artist is to create paintings that evoke strong feelings and emotions. Abstract art has the potential to be powerful enough to accomplish this. I have always loved color, and my art gives me the means to explore texture, shapes, and color. During the painting process, I let the paint and mood lead me to the next step as I strive to connect with the viewer. I often use products that allow me to create paintings that have an almost sculptural effect. Painting is an integral part of my life and makes each day an exciting adventure.

Artists Incorporated Gallery; Vestavia, Alabama
Artists Incorporated Market at the Shops of Grand River; Leeds, Alabama

Mary-Jean is a founder and co-owner of Artists Incorporated Gallery
in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.


Plant diversity drives global patterns of insect invasions

Liebhold, Andrew M. ; Yamanaka, Takehiko ; Roques, Alain ; Augustin, Sylvie ; Chown, Steven L. ; Brockerhoff, Eckehard G. ; Pysek, Petr (2018)

CITATION: Liebhold, A. M., et al. 2018. Plant diversity drives global patterns of insect invasions. Scientific Reports, 8:8448, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30605-4.

The original publication is available at

During the last two centuries, thousands of insect species have been transported (largely inadvertently) and established outside of their native ranges worldwide, some with catastrophic ecological and economic impacts. Global variation in numbers of invading species depends on geographic variation in propagule pressure and heterogeneity of environmental resistance to invasions. Elton’s diversity-invasibility hypothesis, proposed over sixty years ago, has been widely explored for plants but little is known on how biodiversity affects insect invasions. Here we use species inventories from 44 land areas, ranging from small oceanic islands to entire continents in various world regions, to show that numbers of established insect species are primarily driven by diversity of plants, with both native and non-native plant species richness being the strongest predictor of insect invasions. We find that at large spatial scales, plant diversity directly explains variation in non-native insect species richness among world regions, while geographic factors such as land area, climate and insularity largely affect insect invasions indirectly via their effects on local plant richness.

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Distance from USA

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Washington to Oklahoma travel time

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The Fuel cost( Gas cost , Petrol cost) to travel from Washington location to Oklahoma is 270.21 USD. The given fuel cost may vary based on the fuel consumption of your vehicle and varying price of the fuel. ;

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Design (Un)Certainty and Decision Trees

Billy Vaughn Koen, in The Discussion of The Method: Conducting the Engineer’s Approach to Problem Solving, says, “the absolute value of a heuristic is not established by conflict, but depends upon its usefulness in a specific context.”

Heuristics often compete and conflict with each other. Frequently I use examples I find in presentations or blog posts to illustrate this point.

For example, I took this photo of a presentation by Michiel Overeem at DDD Europe where he surveyed various approaches people employed to update event stores and their event schemas.

Five different alternatives for updating event stores

Five different alternatives for updating event stores

Event stores are often used (not exclusively) in event-sourced architectures, where instead of storing data in traditional databases, changes to application state are stored as a sequence of events in event stores. For an introduction to event sourced architectures see Martin Fowler’s article. An event store is comprised of a collection of uniquely identified event streams which contain collections of events. Events are typed, uniquely identified and contain a set of attribute/value pairs.

Michiel found five different ways designers addressed schema updates, each with different tradeoffs and constraints. The numbers across the top of the slide indicate the number of times each approached was used across 24 different people surveyed. Several used more than one approach (if you add up the x/24 count at the top of the slide there are more than 24 updates). Simply because you successfully updated your event store using one approach doesn’t mean you must do it the same way the next time. It is up to us as designers to sort things out and decide what to do next based on the current context. The nature of the schema change, the amount of data to be updated, the sensitivity of that data, and the amount of traffic that runs through apps that use the data all play into deciding which approach or approaches to take.

The “Weak schema” approach allows for additional data to be passed in an event record. The “upcaster” approach transforms incoming event data into the new format. The “copy transform” approach makes a copy and then updates that copy. Michiel found that these were the most common. “Versioned events” and “In-Place” updates were infrequently applied.

I always want to know more about what drives designers to choose a particular heuristic over another. So I was happy to read the research paper Michiel and colleagues wrote for SANER 2017(the International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering) appropriately titled The Dark Side of Event Sourcing: Managing Data Conversion. Their paper, which gives a fuller treatment of options for updating event stores and their data schemas, can be found here. In the paper they characterized updates as being either basic (simple) or complex. Updates could be made to events, event streams, or the event store itself.

Basic event updates included adding or deleting an attribute, or changing the name or value of an attribute. Complex event updates included merging or splitting attributes.

Basic stream update operations were adding, deleting, or renaming events. Complex Stream updates involved merging or splitting events, or moving attributes between events.

Basic store updates were adding, deleting or renaming a stream. Complex store updates were merging and splitting streams or moving an event from one stream to another.

An example of a simple event update might be deleting a discountCode attribute. An example of a complex event update might be splitting an address attribute into various subparts (street, number, etc.).

Importantly, their paper offered a decision framework for selecting an appropriate update strategy which walks through a set of decisions leading to approaches for updating the data, the applications that use that data, or both. I’ve recreated the decision tree they used to summarize their framework below:

Decision Tree for Upgrading an Event Store System from The Dark Side of Event Sourcing: Managing Data Conversion

The authors also tested out their decision framework with three experts. Those experts noted that in their experiences they found complex schema updates to be rare. Hmm, does that mean that half of the decision tree isn’t very useful?

Also, they offered that instead of updating event schema they could instead use compensating techniques to accomplish similar results. For example, they might write code to create a new projection used by queries which contained an event attribute split into subparts—no need to update the event itself. Should the left half of their decision tree be expanded to include other compensating techniques (such as rewriting projection code logic)? Perhaps.

Also, the experts preferred copy or in-place transformations instead of approaches that involved writing and maintaining lots of conversion code. I wonder, did they do this even in the case of “basic” updates. If so, what led them to make this decision?

Decision trees are a good way to capture design options. But they can also be deceptive about their coverage of the problem/solution space. A decision table is considered balanced or complete if it includes every possible combination of input variables. We programmers are used to writing precise, balanced decision structures in our code based on a complete set of parameters. But the “variables” that go into deciding what event schema update approach aren’t so well-defined.

To me, initially this decision framework seemed comprehensive. But on further reflection, I believe it could benefit from reflecting the heuristics used by more designers and maintainers of production event-sourced systems. While this framework was a good first cut, the decision tree for schema updates needs more details (and rework) to capture more factors that go into schema update design. I don’t know of an easy way to capture these heuristics except through interviews, conversations, and observing what people actually do (rather than what they say they prefer).

For example, none of the experts preferred event record versioning, and yet, if it were done carefully, maybe event versions would require less maintenance. Is there ever a good time for “converting” an old event version to a newer one? And, if you need to delete an attribute on an event because it is no longer available or relevant, what are the implications of deprecating, rather than deleting it? Should it always be the event consumers’ responsibility to infer values for missing (deleted) attributes? Or is it ever advantageous to create and pass along default values for deleted attributes?

This led me to consider the myriad heuristics that go into making any data schema change (not just for event records): Under what conditions is it better to do a quick, cheap, easy to implement update to a schema—for example deciding to pack on additional attributes, having a policy to never delete any?

People in the database world have written much about gritty schema update approaches. While event stores are a relatively new technology, heuristics for data migration are not. But in order to benefit from these insights, we need to reach back in time and recover and repurpose these heuristics from those technologies to event stores.Those who build production event sourced architectures have likely done this or else they’ve had to learn some practical data schema evolution heuristics through experience (and trial and error). As Billy Vaughn Koen states, “If this context changes, the heuristic may become uninteresting and disappear from view awaiting, perhaps, a change of fortune in the future.” He wasn’t talking about software architecture and design heuristics per se, but he could have been.

Reconciling New Design Approaches with What You Already Know

Last week at the deliver:Agile conference in Nashville I attended a talk by Autumn Crossman explaining the benefits of functional programming to us old timey object-oriented designers. I also attended the session led by Declan Whelan and Sean Button, on “Overcoming dys-functional programming. Leverage & transcend years of OO know-how with FP.”

The implication in both talks was that although objects have strengths, they are often abused and not powerful enough for some of today’s problems. And that now is an opportune time for us OO designers to make some changes to our preferred ways of working.

Yet I find myself asking: when should I step away from what I’ve been doing and know how to do well and step into a totally new design approach?

No doubt, functional programming is becoming more popular. But objects aren’t going away, either.

There are some benefits of pure functional solutions to certain design problems. Pure functional programming solutions don’t have side effects. You make stream-processing steps easily composable by designing little, single purpose functions operating over immutable data. You are mutating data, it just isn’t being mutated in place. In OO terms, you aren’t changing the internal state of objects, you are creating new objects with different internal state. By using map-reduce you can avoid loop/iteration/end-condition programming errors (letting powerful functions handle those details). No need to define variables and counters. This is already familiar to Smalltalk programmers via do:, collect:, select:, and inject:into: methods which operate on collections (Ruby has its equivalents, too). And by operating on immutable data, multi-threading and parallelization get easier.

I get that.

But I can create immutable data using OO technology, too. Ever hear of the Value Object pattern? Long ago I learned to create designs that included both stateful and immutable objects. And to understand when it is appropriate to do so. I discovered and tweaked my heuristics for when it made sense to stream over immutable data and when to modify data in place. But in complex systems (or when you are new to libraries) it can be difficult to suss out what others are doing (or in the case of libraries, what they are forcing you to do).

But that’s not the point, really. The point is, once you understand how to use any technique, as you gain proficiency, you learn when and where to exploit it.

But is pure functional programming really, finally the panacea we’ve all been looking for? Or is it just another powerful tool in our toolkit? How powerful is it? Where is it best applied?

I’m still working through my answers to these questions. My answers will most likely differ from yours (after all, your design context and experience is different). That’s OK.

Whenever we encounter new approaches we need to reconcile them with our current preferred ways of designing. We may find ourselves going against the grain of popular trends or going with the flow. Whatever. We shouldn’t be afraid of trying something new.

Yet we also shouldn’t too easily discount and discard approaches that have worked in the past (and that still work under many conditions). Or, worse yet, we shouldn’t feel anxious that the expertise we’ve acquired is dated or that our expertise can’t be transferred to new technologies and design approaches. We can learn. We can adapt. And, yet, we don’t have to throw out everything we know in order to become proficient in other design approaches. But we do have to have an open mind.

We also shouldn’t be seduced by promises of “silver bullets.” Be aware that evangelists, enthusiasts, and entrepreneur frequently oversell the utility of technologies. To get us to adopt something new, they often encourage us to discard what has worked for us in the past.

While I like some aspects of functional programming, I see the value in multi-paradigm programming languages. I’m not a purist. Recently I’ve written some machine learning algorithms in Python for some Coursera courses I’ve taken. During that exercise, I rediscovered that powerful libraries make up for the shortcomings and quirks of any programming language. I still think Python has its fair share of quirks.

And while some consider Python to support functional programming, it isn’t a pure functional language. It takes that middle ground, as one stack overflow writer observes:

“And it should be noted that the “FP-ness” of a language isn’t binary, it’s on a continuum. Python doesn’t have built in support for efficient manipulation of immutable structures as far as I know. That’s one large knock against it, as immutability can be considered a strong aspect of FP. It also doesn’t support tail-call optimization, which can be a problem when dealing with recursive solutions. As you mentioned though, it does have first-class functions, and built-in support for some idioms, such as map/comprehensions/generator expressions, reduce and lazy processing of data.”

Python’s a multi-paradigm language with incredible support for matrix operations and a wealth of open machine learning open source libraries.

I haven’t had an opportunity to dial-up the knobs and solve larger design problems in a pure functional style. I hope to do so soon. My current thinking about a pure functional style of programming is that it works well for streaming over large volumes of data. I’m not sure how it helps support quirky, ever-changing business rules and lots of behavioral variations based on system state. Reconciling my “go to” design approaches with new ways of working takes some mental lifting and initial discomfort. But when I do take the time to new design approaches, I have no doubt that I’ll find some new heuristics, polish existing ones and learn more about design in the process.

What we say versus what we do

Nothing ever goes exactly by the book

And here’s a photo of the dish as I prepared it:

Writing, Remembering, and Sharing Design Heuristics

1. Writing helps us remember the important bits

2. Writing in longhand helps us process our experiences

3. Written heuristics can be shared

A Simple Idea- QHE Cards

AnnotatedQHECard2019_04_12 2_03 PM Office Lens~2 (1)

Multiple Events for a Single Process

Summary of Problem

Summary of Solution

What do typical design heuristics look like?

  • Pattern: Do a Mock Installation
  • Difficulties:
  • Solving this is feasible because:
    • Maybe the system includes some kind of self-test
  • After the build prepare a report:
    • Version number of libraries, frameworks and patches used
    • Dependencies between the infrastructure
    • Problems you encountered and how you tried to solve them
    • Suggestions for improvement
  • Tradeoffs:
    • Pros:
    • It is an essential prerequisite
    • Demands precision
    • Increases your credibility
    • Cons:
    • Tedious activity
    • No certainty
    • Difficulties: Easy to get carried away.

Growing Your Personal Design Heuristics Toolkit

Courtesy of

Courtesy of

Billy describes three different type of heuristics:

    1. Heuristics we use to solve a specific problem;

Let’s take a closer look at each type.

First contact design pattern language

What’s going on here?

Question: What is more exasperating than reading design documentation that doesn’t synch up with the code?
One answer: Writing such useless design documentation.
Another answer: Writing documents that don’t stand a chance of being aligned with the code.
My answer: Reading design documentation that is at the wrong level of abstraction or detail to help me do the task at hand.

Courtesy xkcd

A few years ago I worked with someone, who, when asked for a high level overview of some complex bits of code we were going to refactor, produced a detailed Visio diagram that went on for 40+ pages! In that document were statements directly lifted from his code. The intent was to represent the control logic and branching structure of some very complicated algorithms (he copied conditional statements into decision diamonds and copied code that performed steps of the algorithm directly into action blocks). To him, the exercise of creating this documentation had really clarified his design. I was amazed he went to such an effort. To me, the control structure was evident by simply reading the code. Moreover, what I was looking for, and obviously didn’t communicate very well, was that I would appreciate some discussion at a higher level, explaining what algorithm variations there were and how code and data were structured in order to handle myriad typical and special cases.

I wanted to be oriented to the code and data and parts that were configurable and parameterized.

Later, I learned from one of his colleagues that “Bob” always explained things in great detail and wasn’t very good at “boiling things down.” If you wanted to ask “Bob” a question about the code you’d better plan on at least spending half an hour with him.

Another time a colleague created a sequence diagram explaining how data was created that was used by a nightly cron job. What was missing was any description of what that cron job did. Maybe it was so obvious to him that he didn’t think it was important. But I lacked the context to get the full picture. So I had to dig into the cron job script to understand what was really going on.

When I want to get oriented to a large body of code, I like to see a depiction of how it is structured and organized and the major responsibilities of each significant part. Not the package or file structure (that will be useful, eventually), but how it is organized into significant modules, functions, classes and/or call structures. I want to know what the major parts of the system are and why they are there and relationships between them. And at a high level, how they interact. And then I want to understand key aspects of the system dynamics. Just by staring at code I’ll never fathom all the ins and outs of its execution model (e.g. what threads or processes there are, what important information is consumed, produced, or passed around).

Simon Brown gave a talk at XP2016 on The Art of Visualizing Software Architecture. Simon travels the world giving advice and training and talks at conferences about how to do this. He has also build a tool called Structerizr which:

“ blend[s] together the best parts of the various approaches and allow software developers to easily create software architecture diagrams that remain up to date when the code changes. Structurizr allows you to take a hybrid “extract and supplement” approach. It provides you with a way to create software architecture models using code. This means you can extract information from your code using static analysis and reflection, supplementing the model where information isn’t readily available. The resulting diagrams can be visualized and shared via the web.”

I had the opportunity to spend an hour with Simon getting a personalized demo of Structurizr, and discussing the ins and outs of his tool works, how it has been used, and some aspirations for the future.

I was initially surprised about how you specify what your “model elements and relationships” are: you write code specifications for this. To me, it seemed that this could have more easily be accomplished by writing some parseable external description or using a diagramming tool which enabled me to link to the relevant code.

However, I know why Simon’s made this choice: He deeply believes that code should be the reference point for all structural architecture information. So he thinks it a natural extension that developers write a bit more code to specify the important elements of the models they want to see and how to depict them. To Simon, it isn’t sensical to just “add an element” to a diagram unless there is some attachment to actual code. For example, you may define a Hibernate specification to represent data access to a repository. Then that can be specified as a data source. With external descriptions that are not based on code, you have a greater chance of it becoming disconnected from what code actually does. So be it. This is where my values diverge a bit from Simon’s. I favor a richer or higher level documentation that isn’t code based if it tells me something I need to know to do a task (or something I shouldn’t do) or that gives me insights that I wouldn’t find otherwise. I also like the freedom to embellish my diagrams with extra annotations, colors, highlights, etc., etc. so I can focus viewers’ attention. And consequently, I also like to create a key that describes the elements of any diagram so casual readers can understand my notation, too.

After processing these model descriptions, Structurizr spits out JSON descriptions that represent aspects of a C4 model: Context, Containers, Components, and Class diagrams. These are then submitted to a service, which then create various model visualizations that can directly link to parts of your code source. There’s also a rudimentary ability to add additional bits of information to textually describe your architecture and architecture requirements. I’m glad that, recognizing the limits of what code can tell about architecture, the tool provides an easy entry way into developers telling more about the architecture in text.

In our conversation, Simon emphasized that one important benefit of linking architecture document to code is that it never gets out of synch. The code for your architecture documentation can be versioned, right along with your production code.

Fair enough. Useful even. But how helpful is the documentation that is generated in understanding what’s going on in your system?

I think this is one way (certainly not the only way, however) to provide an orientation into the overall structure of your system and major relationships between its parts. But there are definite limits to what you can describe by models generated from static analysis of code. Such models don’t tell me the responsibilities of a component. I have to glean that from supplementary text (which I didn’t see an easy way to attach to the model descriptions) or to abstract that by reading code. And they certainly won’t explain any dynamic system behavior or system qualities.

While I find Structurizr’s direct connection to the code intriguing, it is also its biggest limitation. Structurizr is intended to be used by developers who want to create some architecture documentation, which stays in synch with their code and that also can be shared via websites or wikis or embedding it into other documents.

Structurizr has succeeded with this fairly modest goal: assist developers who don’t ordinarily generate any useful architecture diagrams whatsoever to do something.

But this isn’t enough. As designers or architects, only you can tell me answers to my larger questions about why your code is structured the way it is, and what are the important bits about the system and runtime execution that are intentional and crucial to understand and preserve. No diagram generated by a tool will ever replace your insights and wisdom. No amount of code comments can convey all that either. I need to hear (and read) and see more of this kind of stuff from you.

Being Agile About Documenting and Communicating Architecture

Software architects and developers often need to defend, critique, define, or explain many different aspects of the design a complex system. Yet agile teams favor direct communications over documentation. Do we still need to document our designs?

Of course we do.

We won’t always be around to directly communicate our design to all current and future stakeholders. Personally, I’ve never found working code (or tests) to be the best expression of a software design. Tests express expectations about observable system behavior (not about the design choices we made in implementing that behavior). And the code doesn’t capture what we were thinking at the time we wrote that code or the ideas we considered and discarded as we got that code fully functioning. Neither tests nor code capture all our constraints and working assumptions or our hopes and aspirations for that code.

So what kind of design documentation should we create and how much documentation should we create, for whom, and when? And what is “good” enough documentation?
Eoin Woods gave a talk at XP 2016 titled, “Capturing Design (When You Really Have To)” that got me to revisit my own beliefs on the topic and to think about the state of the current agile practices on documenting architecture.

One take away from Eoin’s talk is to consider the primary purpose of any design description: is it primarily to immediately communicate or to be a long-term record? If your primary goal is to communicate on the fly, then Eoin claims that your documentation should be short lived, tailored to your audience, throwaway, and informal. On the other hand, design descriptions as records are likely to be long-lived, preserve information, be maintainable and organized, and more formal (or well-defined).

Since we are charged to deliver value with our working software, it is often hard to pay attention to any perceived efforts at “slowing down” to describe our systems as we build them. But if we’re building software that is expected to live long (and prosper), it makes sense to invest in documenting some aspects of that system—if nothing more to serve as breadcrumbs useful to those working on the system in the future or to our future selves.

So what can we do to keep design descriptions useful, relevant, unambiguous, and up-to-date? Eoin argues that to be palatable to agile projects, design documentation should be minimal, useful, and significant. It should explain what is important about the design and why it is important; what design decisions we made (and when), and what are the major system pieces, their responsibilities and key interactions. Because of my Responsibility-Driven Design values and roots, I like that he considers system elements and their responsibilities as being minimally useful information descriptions of a system. But to me this just a starting point to get an initial sense of what a system is and does and does not do. There certainly is room for more description, and more details when warranted.

And that gets us back to pragmatics. A design description isn’t the first thing that developers think of doing (not everyone is a visual thinker nor a writer). I know I’m atypical because, early in my engineering career, I enjoyed spending 3 weeks writing a document on my universal linker worked and how to extend it and its limitations. I was nearly as happy producing that document as I was in designing and implementing that linker. It pleased me that sustaining engineering found that document useful years after I had left for another job.

So for the rest of you who don’t find it natural to create documentation, here’s some advice from Eoin:

  • Do it sprint-by-sprint (or little by little). Don’t do it all at once.
  • Be aware of tradeoffs between fidelity and maintainability. The more precise it is, the harder descriptions will be to keep up to date.
  • Know the precision needed by your document’s users. If they need details, they need details. The more details, the more effort required to keep them up to date.
  • Consider linking design descriptions to your code (more on that in another blog post)
  • Create a “commons” where design descriptions are accessible and shared
  • Focus on the “gaps”—describe things that are poorly understood
  • Always ask what’s good enough. Don’t settle for less when more is needed or more when less is needed.

To this list I would add: if design descriptions are important to your company and your product or project, make it known. Explain why design documentation is important, respond to questions and challenges of that commitment, and then give people the support they need to create these kinds of descriptions. Let them perform experiments and build consensus around what is needed.

Be creative and incremental. One company I know made short video recordings of designers and architects giving short talks about why things worked the way they did. They were really short—five minutes or less. Another team created lightweight architecture documentation as they enhanced and made architectural improvements to the 300+ working applications they had to support. It was essential for them that there be more than just the code as the knowledge about these systems was getting lost and decaying over time. Rather than throw up their hands and give up, they just created enough design documentation using simple templates and only as new initiatives were started.

Find a willing documenter. Sometimes a new person (who is new to the system and to the company) is a good person to pair with another old hand to create a high-level description of the system as part of “getting their feet wet.” But don’t just stick them with the documentation. Have them write code and tests, too. From the start.

It’s Not That Simple: The Interplay Between Fast and Slow Thinking

  • Stay calm, focused, and alert; and

We don’t get to choose which form of thinking we use.


Quick Answer: What Is BPO Shrinkage?

What is AHT formula?

To calculate average handle time, add total talk time with total hold time, then add ACW.

Lastly, divide that by the total number of calls to get the AHT.

Calculating AHT.

What is Utilisation in BPO?

Call center agent utilization is the percentage of time an agent spends on handling contacts and customer interactions or handling contact-related work. It measures how much time agents who are logged into the queue spend handling customers and how much time they are being paid to work in the call center.

What is employee shrinkage?

How can we prevent shrinkage in BPO?

Here are four tips to handle shrinkage and blunt its negative impacts.Track it. To track schedule adherence, many call centers deploy employee tracking applications that let users log in and out as they start and end their shift, respectively. … Monitor absenteeism.Keep employees engaged. … Reward productive agents.

What is Excel shrinkage?

In retail terms, shrinkage refers to a company’s percent loss resulting from damage, product expiration and theft of unsold products. … You can calculate retail shrinkage in Excel by dividing the value of goods lost to shrinkage by the total value of goods that are supposed to be in the inventory.

What is a good shrink percentage?

The average shrink rate – your shrink amount defined as a percentage of your sales – was 1.44 percent nationally, but almost one in four retailers reported a shrink of 2 percent or higher.

What is the meaning of shrinkage in BPO?

Shrinkage is a term that is broadly defined as the percentage of time that scheduled agents are not available to handle customer interactions. … Shrinkage can encompass planned events, such as breaks, paid time off, training, team meetings, coaching sessions, or other activities.

How do you control shrinkage?

Understanding how shrinkage happens in retail stores is the first step in reducing and preventing it.Shoplifting. … Employee Theft. … Administrative Errors. … Fraud. … Operational Loss. … Implement Checks and Balances. … Install Obvious Surveillance and Anti-Theft Signage. … Use Anti-Shoplifting Devices: Security Tags.More items…•

What is KPI in BPO?

Introduction to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Key performance indicators is the term for a type of performance metric used to evaluate how a company is progressing towards their business goals. It is one of the efforts businesses use to measure productivity using trackable numbers.

What is shrinkage factor?

Percentage by which an output falls short of the estimated or planned output. Percentage of the total inventory by which a loss due to counting or recording errors, or from pilferage, spoilage, theft, or wastage occurs.

How do you calculate shrinkage?

Divide the amount of shrinkage by the original size to find the shrinkage rate. In the example, divide 2 by 8 to get 0.25. Multiply the shrinkage rate by 100 to find the shrinkage as a percentage. In the example, multiply 0.25 by 100 to get 25 percent.

What is shrinkage percentage in call center?

How is occupancy calculated in BPO?

Calculating Occupancy This is called the “total handling time”. … Once the contact centre has calculated these figures, it can then simply divide the number calculated for “total handling time” by the figure calculated for “total logged time” and multiply the result by 100, to find a percentage occupancy.

What are the 3 main causes of shrink?

There are three main sources of inventory shrinkage in retail:Shoplifting. The number one source of shrinkage for a retail business is, perhaps unsurprisingly theft by consumers themselves. … Internal/employee theft. … Paperwork errors.


How wireless earphones have evolved over time

Oct 03, 2020, 05:00 AM

How wireless earphones improved over time and the changes that they brought with them.

Wireless earphones have become a big thing now. But how did that happen? In this episode of Our Own Devices, Host Nandagopal Rajan and veteran tech journalist Nimish Dubey talk about how these earphones have evolved and improved over time, the changes they have brought with them and whether they have helped usher in the era of voice assistants.


URIAH HEEP's MICK BOX On Hypothetical ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Induction: 'If It Happens, It Happens'

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box was asked why his band has not yet been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded: "Funny enough, we did a European tour with THE ZOMBIES supporting us. And then they got nominated, and they got in the Hall Of Fame. So I don't think there's any particular rules. I think they've got their own agenda, and I think they only choose a small amount of people each year. Our industry is full of people that deserve to be there, and it's nice that people include us in that deserving place. But if it happens, it happens; and if it doesn't, we'll carry on with life. But if we do get in the Hall Of Fame, it will just be a tick in the box that we'll be very proud of getting there. But you can't rely on it; as I say, they've got their own agenda. And if we do get chosen, then we'll be very happy puppies."

URIAH HEEP's 25th studio album, "Living The Dream", was released in September 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc was helmed by the widely respected Canadian producer Jay Ruston, known for his work with STONE SOUR, ANTHRAX and STEEL PANTHER.

Along with LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP helped invent a decorative and uniquely British form of heavy metal with "Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble", offered as a self-titled on American shores, but whatever the titling, historically massive in the invention of a music format that would rule the '70s and only intensify in the '80s.


Girls Varsity Basketball · Life is better like this!

No problem

Some people hold you to higher standards than they do themselves. They expect you to be responsible for all of your choices but conveniently avoid responsibility for theirs. They demand responsibility for the impact of your behavior and fail to keep the same expectation of their own action.

This isn’t ideal, but it’s not a problem. Not for you. You know better.

Because someone else’s inconsistencies, judgments, or hypocrisies are not a barrier to you taking responsibility for yourself, your choices, and the consequences of your action. You don’t control anyone but yourself and you understand that. So you focus on the one thing you control and you take responsibility for that at the highest level. And you never, ever expect from someone else what you don’t apply to yourself with integrity and discipline.

Discipline is the shortcut. Do the work.


Quick Answer: How Many Sides Does A Circle Have?

Does a circle have 0 or 1 side?

How many sides does a circle have.

A circle has zero sides.

A side is a line segment.

Every point in a line segment is colinear..

Does circle have side?

This is a simple, easily understandable phrase that perfectly captures the sides of a square. We have failed to find a satisfactory generalisation of this to curved figures, so the best thing to do is stick with the original. And a circle doesn’t have any. For no sides: true, according to a sensible notion of “side”.

Does a circle have an angle?

Let’s see it below.An angle of a circle is an angle which is formed between the radii, chords or tangents of a circle. We saw different types of angles in the “Angles” section, but in the case of a circle, there, basically, are four types of angles. These are: central, inscribed, interior, and exterior angles.

What do you call a shape with infinite sides?

ApeirogonsIn geometry, an apeirogon (from the Greek words “ἄπειρος” apeiros: “infinite, boundless”, and “γωνία” gonia: “angle”) or infinite polygon is a generalized polygon with a countably infinite number of sides. Apeirogons are the two-dimensional case of infinite polytopes.

What is a circle kindergarten?

A circle is a shape that is made up of a curved line. It’s round, and all points on the curved line are an equal distance from the center point. This shape is two-dimensional, which means it’s flat.

Does a circle have 360 sides?

For your circle, you’ve got an infinite number of “corners” but the angle you turn at each one is infinitesimally small so it still works. They are both in a two dimensional plane. … Draw a cross in the middle of a circle and you have 4 sides of 90 degrees, which equals 360.

What describes a circle?

How many sides does a circle have kindergarten?

What is a shape with 1 side called?

1 side. monogon (impossible figure in Euclidean geometry) 2 sides. digon. 3 sides.

Does a circle have 2 sides?

Why is circle a 2d shape?

2D shapes A 2D shape is a flat shape. We are learning about the following 2D shapes – circle, square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon. … E.g. a triangle has 3 straight sides and 3 corners, whereas a circle has 1 curved side but no corners. 3D shapes A 3D shape is a blown up shape.

Does a sphere have infinite sides?

A sphere is not a polyhedron. A polyhedron has a finite number of faces, each face being a polygon belonging to a plane. A sphere does not have any faces. … So, no, a sphere is not an infinite sided shape, but you can approximate it as closely as you like by taking polyhedra with sufficiently many faces.

Does a circle have a face?

Because a circle is a flat, plane shape, it is a face. But because it is round around the outside, it does not form any edges or vertices. A cylinder has two circular faces but also no edges or vertices.

How many sides does a circle have grade 1?

In our primary education resources, we say that a circle has one curved side. However, it is also possible to challenge older children with the concept that a circle has an infinite amount of straight sides.

How many sides has a circle?

2 sidesTo answer this riddle, a circle has 2 sides.

Why does a circle have 0 sides?

Does a circle have infinite corners?

Does a circle have 0 corners or infinite corners? A circle has zero corners. Even though the limit of an n-sided polygon as n approaches infinity is a circle, a circle itself has no corners. … In order for a circle to have infinitely many sides, a side of length (a point) must count as a side.

What is the edge of a circle?

Under this definition a circle has one edge – the entire boundary. A semicircle would have two edges: the curved portion, and the diameter.

Does a circle have vertices?

0Circle/Number of vertices


The synthesis and in vitro anticancer activity of dihalo(η6-p-cymene)(3,5,6-bicyclophosphite-α-D-glucofuranoside)ruthenium(II) complexes are described. The compds. were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectrometry, and the mol. structures of dichlorido-, dibromido- and diiodido(η6-p-cymene)(3,5,6-bicyclophosphite-1,2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranoside)ruthenium(II) were detd. by X- ray diffraction anal. The complexes were shown to undergo aquation of the first halido ligand in aq. soln., followed by hydrolysis of a P-O bond of the phosphite ligand, and finally formation of dinuclear species. The hydrolysis mechanism was confirmed by DFT calcns. The aquation of the complexes was markedly suppressed in 100 mM NaCl soln., and notably only very slow hydrolysis of the P-O bond was obsd. The complexes showed affinity towards albumin and transferrin and monoadduct formation with 9-ethylguanine. In vitro studies revealed that the 3,5,6-bicyclophosphite-1,2-O-cyclohexylidene-α-D-glucofuranoside complex is the most cytotoxic compd. in human cancer cell lines (IC50 values from 30 to 300 μM depending on the cell line).


Hiking 101: The Complete Guide to Hiking for Beginners

You’ve got your hiking boots on, your worries left at home and a trail in front of you. You’re surrounded by dense nature, no sounds of buses or chatter, just the calming sounds of birds singing and a breeze whistling through the trees. You can feel the sun on your skin, you fill your lungs with perfectly fresh air and can smell the environment around you. All the while you feel warm and alive from this therapeutic, whole-body workout whilst you move through the natural world. Welcome to the world of hiking.

Hiking really is an incredible thing: medicine for the mind, body and soul. An activity you can do in almost any place around the world, for no cost and for pretty much any length of time. Besides the personal benefits, the time spent in the wilderness can also help people value and appreciate their surroundings, ultimately leading to more sustainable lifestyles. It’s something so good scientists, politicians, magazines and newspapers are constantly singing its praise.

Basically, no matter who you are, where you live or what you do, hiking will be an incredible addition to your life, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start.

In this guide to hiking for beginners you’ll learn…

What is hiking?
Benefits of hiking
How to plan and prepare for a hike (incl. picking the right hike and how to find the best trails)
What to pack hiking
What clothes to wear hiking
Hiking foods and water
Hiking safety tips
What to do post-hike
How to stay green and respectful on the trail

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Monday, March 01, 2021

Divrei Torah - JewishLink

Remote, Not Removed

Understanding Yaakov Avinu’s frame of mind in Parshat Vayeitzei offers an enlightening insight as to how to best navigate in a time of ambiguity and grave uncertainty.

The last two pesukim of the parsha state:

“And Yaakov went on his way, and angels of God

How the Avot Returned the World to Adam HaRishon Before the Sin

If we study the essence and lives of the three Avot, it can be suggested that they brought the world to a state of Adam HaRishon before the sin. Breaking down Adam’s sin, we find three elements: One a lack of heeding God’s command; second, a fall from kedusha; and third, a new existential battle between good and bad. When we look to the

Bigger, Better Picture

Yaakov is on the run from his big bro Eisav, and interestingly enough, this escape drama affects the way the text of the Torah looks. Typically, parshiyot have paragraph breaks, but Vayeitzei surprisingly has none. Baal Haturim quotes those who explain that the reason why the text of this week’s parsha is “closed” (meaning, there are

Fulfilling Our Birthright

Last year, Parshas Toldos was the occasion of the pidyon haben (redeeming the firstborn) of the older of our twin grandsons. For my own family, this was a brand-new mitzvah, as our oldest children were twin girls. The firstborn rights play a prominent role in Parshas Toldos, where Yaakov purchases Eisav’s birthright.

I Will Choose Free Will

The world of religious ideas was steadily coalescing. Gradually, God introduced humanity to fundamental principles of religion. The horrific flood demonstrated the rule of moral “cause and effect”: if humans descended into moral chaos, the world would literally collapse. Subsequently, the selection of Avraham confirmed that a

‘Letz’ Think About It

“These are the offsprings of Yitzchak the son of Avraham; Avraham bore Yitzchak.” If Yitzchak is the son of Avraham, it seems redundant to then say “Avraham bore Yitzchak.” The Siftei Chachamim based on the Gemara (Bava Metzia 87a) explains the back story. Upon Yitzchak’s birth [which was certainly a profound miracle that

Tranquil Triumphs

There is something to be said for revolutionaries. For founders. For the people who have the foresight and the daring to chart a course untrodden. Revolutionaries put their ideals to the test by living the principles they believe can transform the world around them, and history will always be enamored by such people. Avraham was a

Chancing to Find a Designated Shidduch

It was last year in the week of Parshas Chayei Sarah that my older brother, Binyamin, got married to Sarah Miriam Kaplan. Both had been single for many years and never married. They planned for a small wedding, with more friends coming for dancing and a buffet at the end. To their surprise, when they walked down the aisle, every seat was

Living With God

Avraham’s revolution had begun to gain traction. He traversed the promised land, participating both in wars as well as in diplomacy, all the while disseminating awareness about a one God. Though his message radiated throughout the Land of Israel, it still hadn’t infiltrated cultures outside the land of God. His only previous

Hashem Will Provide

I recently received a phone call from an out-of-town friend of mine. His young adult daughter had been dating a yeshiva-oriented young man and it looked as if this might lead to an engagement. The young man wanted to study Torah and possibly pursue a career in chinuch (teaching) after several years. However, he had given no serious thought

Belonging to the Land

Parshat Chayei Sarah describes the first portion of land any Jew ever owned in Israel: Avraham’s purchase of the Machpeilah cave in Chevron as a burial plot for Sarah.

Why does our permanent and tangible connection with the Land of Israel begin as the purchase of a burial plot? Indeed, for thousands of

No Questions Asked

Ephron pulls the chair on Avraham, positing an exorbitant amount of cash for the plot of land Avraham wants to bury Sarah in. Avraham had not so much of a choice but to accept. One who reads through the exchange and puts himself in place of Avraham can imagine the possible frustration and annoyance involved, as well as the faintheartedness


Welcome to JOYCE DILORENZO.com

Check out my latest books

About the Author

Joyce was born in 1951, on the Indonesian Island of Java, in the village of Surabaya.  Her father and mother were of mixed Dutch and Indonesian descent, they are Eurasians.  After the Indonesian National Revolution, which followed World War II, her parents, forced to leave independent Indonesia, repatriated to the Netherlands.

When Joyce was five, her parents divorced, consequently, she and her younger sister; Ellen were raised by their mother and grandmother. At the age of ten, Joyce’s family immigrated to the United States to chase the American Dream. Her childhood was ideal, growing up in Redwood City; a friendly town located in Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area.

Having journeyed with her family from Southeast Asia to Europe as a baby, before settling in the United States of America as a teenager, Joyce has a penchant for traveling, accordingly it has always been a part of her life. Her first unchaperoned trip, was one year after high school graduation. It felt sensational to spread her wings, discover her own travel style and explore different traditions and cultures at her own pace. At first, her travels were limited to visiting family in the Netherlands, however, as she gained confidence and experience, her adventures included trips to Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Great Britain and several western European countries.

In 1986, Joyce met her Prince. Vincent Joseph Di Lorenzo was the most handsome man she had ever met. Vince introduced her to sailing and before long he brought her to the tropical British Virgin Islands on an unforgettable sailing expedition. Almost simultaneously, Joyce fell in love with Vince and their new spirited way of traveling. They were married on October 1, 1988, in the enchanting bayside village of Sausalito.

Vince and Joyce made their first trip to Italy in 1990, where Vince discovered his connection to the country of his heritage. They embraced the Italian lifestyle that seemed to grab hold of their hearts. Now they divide their time between their home in San Carlos; an idyllic suburb of San Francisco and their home in Morcella; an enchanting medieval village in Umbria; the Green Heart of Italy. The couple’s sailing adventures continued throughout the years, they have sailed in the South Pacific, Mediterranean, Caribbean and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Living an adventuresome life, Joyce discovered her passion for writing as she journaled her experiences.  She is adept at using her creative flair and imaginative thinking to bring her stories to life, pulling the reader along as they turn the pages.  Her books are often rated as one the most popular books of the month on various internet websites.
About the Author

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Reader's Favorite Book Review ★★★★★

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite.

Landing on a Star in Umbria by Joyce Di Lorenzo is an interesting autobiography that follows one woman’s life after a devastating loss as she struggles to give sense and meaning to her existence. After the untimely death of her mother after suffering a stroke, Joyce becomes listless, unfocused, and absorbed by grief. Then one day, her husband, Vince, makes a proposition that takes her off guard and gives her life a new direction: find a home in Italy. In this autobiography, she takes readers on a journey to one of the most exotic places in Italy, Umbria, making them feel the ambiance of the place, its beautiful cuisine, its great architecture, and its rich culture.

This is a lovely story that explores an individual’s struggle with loss and how the search for a new home allows her to reconnect with herself and the world, and to heal. Readers will be gripped by the compelling narrative voice, by the author’s gift for storytelling, for capturing details in her narrative without losing sight of the broader picture. The story is emotionally rich and it also offers powerful insights into what it takes to find a new home. I enjoyed the way the individuals come out through this narrative and how the narrator establishes relationships that are essential in the progress of the story. The setting is well captured and it is developed in a way so that readers can easily feel as though they were part of that beautiful world. Joyce Di Lorenzo’s writing is impeccable and Landing on a Star in Umbria will both entertain and inform readers.

This is the compelling true story of my life as a refugee immigrant child from Indonesia to Holland; a tiny country on the continent of Europe and ultimately to the United States; a world power country on the continent of North America.  It is the story of our search for a better life, as told by my loving mother and grandmother while I was growing up and as I remember living it with my younger sister.  Although the dates sometimes may not be historically accurate, the experiences are true and consequently, the deep emotion with which I composed each chapter is genuine and gut wrenchingly heartfelt.

The story begins with my grandmother who was born to Muslim parents on May 1, 1910, in Banjuwangi; a port city located near the Bali Strait on Java; the fourth largest island of Indonesia, the heart of the nation.  Boasting a dazzling array of bewitching landscapes, magical archaeological sites, iridescent rice paddies, smoking volcanoes and rainforests, it is an island of mesmerizing natural beauty with profound traditions in art, music, dance, and cuisine.  My grandmother was at a young age when her parents divorced and her mother re-married a Christian man who adopted her. The family moved to the tropical jungle island of Borneo; the third largest island in the world, where the pace of life was relaxed and natural.

At the age of sixteen, my grandmother married my grandfather, they bore three children.  Their oldest daughter was born in September 1927, in Singkawang; known as the “City of a Thousand Temples” for the many temples found in the city and it’s surroundings.  After the birth of their daughter, the family returned to Java, where my mother was born in the city of Banjuwangi, in April 1929, followed by the birth of my uncle, two years later.

My father was born in 1924, in the city of Djombang, Java; near the birthplace of my mother.

These exceptional Dutch-Indonesian people, made strong by the horrors they survived during Indonesia’s Wars for Independence, made passionate by their optimism and courage to create new beginnings, were the backbone of my family and accordingly, the significant influence of my childhood, which shaped my character as an adult.

I was born in January 1951, on the island of Java, in the village of Surabaya.  After the Indonesian National Revolution, which followed World War II, my family, forced to leave independent Indonesia, repatriated to the Netherlands.  I was a baby when we made the month-long voyage to the Port of Rotterdam on a refugee ship called the Groote Beer; the Great Bear.

Throughout my life, I shared my heart and soul with my younger sister; Ellen.  From the day she took her first breath, we were kindred spirits. When I was five, my parents divorced, consequently, my sister and I were raised by our mother and grandmother.  At the age of ten, our family immigrated to the United States to chase the American Dream.  By coincidence, it was also the Groote Beer that crossed the Atlantic Ocean and brought us to New York.  I will never forget the day when our ship entered the harbor and we sailed past the Statue of Liberty; the global symbol of hope and freedom.  Even in my young life, I knew that when the tugboats safely guided our ship to the harbor; our point of entry into the Land of Opportunity, it was a powerful and emotional moment.

Our mother, then just barely in her thirties, aspired for something better for her children, her mother, and herself.  Through grit, determination and force of will, she strove to give us a divine childhood while shaping our character, teaching us how to choose wisely and recognize that in life every choice will create either an opportunity or an obstacle.  Instead of sheltering her daughters from struggles, my mother encouraged us to be bold by taking healthy risks and facing challenges.  By example, she taught us that steady work achieves dreams, that putting others before self has great benefits and that staying optimistic is key.  Our grandmother taught us to be endlessly optimistic by not looking at those who are worse off.  “There is no bottom to that,” she would say.  "Instead, look at those who are better off and find a way to get there.”

My sister and I are their legacy, we are the women we are as a result of my mother and grandmother leading the way on Our Bold Path to Prosperity.

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Reader's Favorite Book Review ★★★★★

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

Our Bold Path to Prosperity by Joyce DiLorenzo is a moving autobiography that explores the life of an immigrant and what it means to survive and succeed in foreign lands. The protagonist shares a story that allows readers deep insights into the culture and history of Indonesia following WWII, the challenges of moving to another country, and what it meant to finally settle in the US. Born to Indonesian-Dutch parents, the protagonist’s family moved from Indonesia to Holland just after the Revolution in search of a better lifestyle, but the divorce left the children alone under the care of their mother and grandmother. Follow their story as they move to the United States, pursuing greener pastures and how, through determination and relentless toil, they were able to prosper.

This is a gritty autobiography, beautifully written and filled with insightful passages. Readers will encounter strong women in this story, including the grandmother of the protagonist, her mother and her sister. We look at these great women as they deal with life-changing moments, including divorce, immigration challenges, and embracing a new culture. It is also interesting how these women could transform their obstacles into opportunities, taking calculated risks without fear and trusting in life. I enjoyed reading about Joyce DiLorenzo’s mother, a woman who is determined to succeed and who instills in her children the lessons she’s learned herself, teaching them to fight for the things they value. Our Bold Path to Prosperity is told in a very candid and powerful voice and the prose flows gracefully. I enjoyed the author’s gift for description and the ability to create scenes that are deeply emotional, focused, and that grab the reader’s attention. This is a delightful and inspiring tale that shares what it means to be an immigrant.

email: jdiloren@comcast.net text: 415.987.7960


Marketa Kemp Monotypes: from Creativity to Expression

How and when did you decide to become an artist?

I cannot really say I ever made the conscious decision to be an artist. I think I have always been interested in ‘creativity’ in various forms, but more as a past time.  I know the time when I become serious about making art was in 2015 when I travelled to Paros (Greece) to undertake a course in watercolor at The Aegean Center for The Fine Arts.  This is where my passion for art was truly awakened, and I have not stopped making art ever since.

Marketa Kemp Self-Portrait black and white photograph

What are your other interests?

I love hiking. Camping is fine, but to get up to the top of a mountain, where one can only get on foot, brings this unexplainable contentment and happiness.  It’s the true feeling of ‘being at one with nature’. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why my art is mostly nature inspired. I’m also a bit of a gym addict, and not afraid to admit it!

Marketa Kemp fog and dew landscape morning hike

Do you have any artists that you find inspiring? It can be someone you learned from, are friends with, or admire.

There are many, each for different reason. I have a huge admiration for Frida Kahlo. Not only for her art but also her strength, passion and persistence in going after her goals, not only in art but in life. The Old Masters, Rembrandt, Edgar Degas are my greatest role models.  From the contemporary artists I find Godwin Bradbeer (with whom I met and have done several workshops) very inspiring.  Wayne Viney who taught me printmaking will always be one of the artists I look up to.

Marketa Kemp three framed monotypes

As you described in your "About" from your website, you were drawn to printmaking because you enjoy the "random imperfection, unpredictability and surprise [of] the process". Why is this important to you and your artistic expression?

I feel it infuses the artwork with so much freedom. For me it is particularly important as I naturally tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist. To strive for perfection in art can sometimes be limiting and inhibiting, and I know I can be somewhat prone to it. The unpredictability I find in monotype printmaking loosens my approach and creates artwork that is organic and often open to interpretation.

The Australian landscape is often captured in your artwork. What makes Australia special to you in comparison to the other places you have travelled and lived?

Australia has been my home for almost twenty-four years, and I feel deeply connected to its landscape. In my work I try to capture the emotion and how the landscape makes me feel, rather than to replicate the exact vista. Australian landscape is where I find such emotions to be the strongest. There are many amazing places in the world though, which I would and have used in my art; that’s especially true for  the island of Paros in Greece, and naturally the city where I was born which is Prague in the Czech Republic.

Marketa Kemp Australian outback bush

In terms of your community, do you surround yourself with other creative people/other artists? How would you describe the community that you are a part of?

Yes, absolutely. I go to life drawing sessions when I can and have formed some close friendships there over the years.  I am also in regular contact with several artists, with whom we exchange tips, ideas and artistic opportunities; or sometimes just catch up for a drink and chat. When I’m working though, I like to be alone…

Marketa Kemp - charcoal from life drawing classes nudes

How has your artistic practice changed over time?

I started primarily as a painter. But since I discovered printmaking and ink my practice has slowly moved towards creating works on paper.

Marketa Kemp studio shot with tools and monotypes drying

Describe creating a monotype. For example, do you work on one piece at a time or do you have multiple pieces in process at once? Do you sketch in the landscape first and then create in your studio? What time of day are you post productive? Do you work in small bursts or steadily over time?

For me a monotype requires a full day.  I will start mid-morning and often continue well into the night. I usually sketch the landscape first before rolling out ink. When using a specific geographical location for a reference I often use a photograph and blur it out to remove the detail, which allows me to focus on the light and shadow rather than being too specific with the detail to begin with.

Marketa Kemp camping blurry sfumato

The first layer of the monotype is generally the background, water, sky and the clouds. I will create this image on the plate in various tones and roll it through the etching press to print it. I will spend more time on the second layer and paint the actual landscape on a clean plate, then print it on the same sheet of paper. I often use random tools such as toothpicks, sponges, old cut up credit cards, toothbrushes, cotton buds etc.  I find that these create interesting textures. Sometimes I return to the monoprint once it has dried and scratch into in with a scalpel for more texture.... the process can go on forever.  But I generally work on one piece at a time.

Marketa Kemp a monotype ready to be printed on the press

Marketa Kemp tools of the trade

Next article William H. Hays : Sharing his process for relief printing


Autumn Fashion Trends 2020

By Imani King

As the temperature slowly decreases, and sunny days are making less and less of an appearance, people are being forced to ditch the shorts and dresses and bring out their fall looks. As a result, I took a deep dive into various social media platforms and designer webpages to find the hottest trends for the 2020 chilly season and deliver them to you.

Continue reading “Autumn Fashion Trends 2020”


Smooth victory for Ruben in Yokohama

Ruben (ATP-153) has easily qualified for the second round of the challenger tournament in Yokohama, Japan. In the first round he was too strong for a South African.

Ruben started as the sixth seed in Yokohama. In the first round he was up against Harris Llyod (ATP-277). In the first set had to the Belgian had to save three break points, one break was enough to win the set 6-3. Afterwards Ruben was no longer in trouble, with 6-4 in the second set he took the victory. The match lasted just under an hour.

In the next round Ruben will play against wildcard Kaito Uesugi (ATP 1126).


Quilvio Hernandez

Person Placeholder

Position Title
Major(s): Mathematical Analytics and Operations Research
Year:  Senior

Major(s): Mathematical Analytics and Operations Research
Year:  Senior
E-mail: qahernandez@ucdavis.edu

Why would you want to serve?
Progress in education doesn’t come without the voices of students. I want to bring my experiences to the discussion of how we can challenge the status quo and further improve the undergraduate experience for my fellow Aggies and Aggies of the future.

What issues do you feel are important for undergraduate students?
Mental Health: I feel the stigma on mental health has been moving in the right direction over the past couple years, however it continues to be a prominent issue for undergraduate students resulting in distress, anxiety, depression, and poor academic performance.

Student Empowerment: The greatest good any institution can do is instill confidence in its students. The benefits of confidence are numerous such as improved mental health, ability to take risks, improved leadership and more that create a positive ripple effect. Beyond instilling confidence, I believe another aspect of student empowerment is to empower them to pursue their ambitions. Many majors are stigmatized. For example, as a math major I often get “What’re you even going to do with math? You should just study computer science.” Yet, math majors are found in nearly every industry, and especially among tech companies math majors are highly valued. Career paths are almost as unique as individuals themselves, and no student should feel as though they have to follow a formulaic walk of life because of their major.

Diversity & Inclusion: D&I is often used in terms of race, however I think the Davis community does an excellent job at creating a welcoming atmosphere for students from any racial/ethnic background to feel accepted and find a home. I believe the biggest diversity and inclusion issue that needs to be addressed is in socioeconomic terms. Students from poorer backgrounds are fighting an uphill battle. There are many great programs to help close this gap such as Avenue e, EOP, First Generation Initiative, etc., but this is not an issue we can be complacent on. Davis should continue to strive for an equal playing field among all its students. Another issue I’ve seen is regarding women in STEM, specifically the TEM terms. It’s important to ensure women feel a sense of belonging and assured they are surrounded by allies, both from students and faculty.


Quick Answer: Can You Use Magic Erasers On Glass Windows?

What can you not use magic eraser on?

4 things you should never clean with a Magic EraserYour car.

Stone benchtops.

Stainless steel..

Can you use Mr Clean Magic Eraser on a glass top stove?

Can you use dawn on glass top stove?

How do professionals clean glass shower doors?

Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, and use it to thoroughly saturate the glass. Let the vinegar soak in for at least 10 minutes. Let it soak even longer if there’s significant buildup. Dip a scrub sponge into baking soda, and scrub the glass.

Are Magic Erasers safe on glass?

The Magic Eraser is safe and effective at cleaning glass showers. … Clean Magic Eraser is a multipurpose cleaning tool that helps homeowners solve difficult cleaning situations. It’s safe on a range of surfaces such as walls, kitchen counters and glass showers.

How do you get hard water spots off glass?

Removing Water Marks From Large Glass or WindowPrepare a mixture of 50% water and 50% vinegar. … Now spray this mixture on the areas with water spots. … Rinse the glass thoroughly and remove excess water using a sponge. … If there are some stubborn water marks, you can loosen the mineral deposits using an old toothbrush.

How do you get rid of haze on inside of windshield?

Can Magic Eraser be used on teeth?

I’m not sure who first thought using a Magic Eraser on their teeth was a good idea, but it turns out it’s actually pretty effective for removing food and drink stains. Since the Magic Eraser Original sponge is non-toxic it’s completely safe as well, but you have to be careful not to rub it on your gums.

Can you use magic eraser to clean windows?

Clean Magic Erasers. This little-known method can be used on the inside of windows and helps to remove any heavy build up and haze. … It should be used lightly, especially on tinted windows, because the eraser can abrade the windows tint.

What is the best way to clean glass windows?

Does Magic Eraser scratch glass?

Magic Eraser Bath with Febreze Lavender Scent This eraser is specifically manufactured to clean glass shower doors and many other surfaces in the bathroom. Glass scratch score: There is a 0% chance this product with scratch a glass surface.

How do hotels keep glass shower doors clean?

How do I make my shower doors sparkle?

What is the best cleaner for glass?

Below, our guide to navigating the options and choosing the best glass cleaner for you.BEST OVERALL: Windex Ammonia-Free Glass and Window Cleaner.RUNNER UP: Sprayway Glass Cleaner Aerosol Spray.BEST FOR VEHICLES: Invisible Glass Premium Glass Cleaner.BEST WIPES: Glass & Surface Wet Wipe Cloth.

Do Magic Erasers have chemicals in them?

Enter the Magic Eraser ($8), an ordinary-looking sponge that, despite a few rumors, is actually nontoxic. … Formaldehyde is not and has never been an ingredient in Magic Eraser. One ingredient in Magic Eraser (formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer) contains the word “formaldehyde” in its chemical name.

Can I use magic eraser on glass shower doors?

Simply wipe your Magic Eraser firmly across the glass shower doors with a firm, steady swipe. All it takes is a few wipes to break through soap scum and hard water. Your doors will go from grimy to shiny in no time at all.

Will Magic Eraser remove pencil from wall?

What is the best cleaner for glass shower doors?

The 6 Best Cleaners for Glass Shower Doors of 2021Best Overall: Puracy Organic Natural Multi-Surface Cleaner at Amazon. … Best Natural Cleaner: Seventh Generation Glass Cleaner Fragrance Free at Instacart.com. … Best for Hard Water Stains: Bio Clean Hard Water Spot Stain Remover at Amazon. … Best for Soap Scum: … Best Repellent: … Best Daily Spray:

What do professional window washers use to clean windows?

Professionals use squeegees fitted with a stable rubber blade. Get two or three of these to keep at hand. Remember that the rubber blade should be changed once a day. This is recommended because when the edge of the blade gets rounded, nicked, sliced over time, we cannot clean effectively with it.

Why do magic erasers work so well?

Magic Erasers are sponges made of melamine foam, which have been used for decades as an insulation and soundproofing material. … It works because when melamine resin cures into foam, its microstructure becomes almost as hard as glass – causing it to act like super-fine sandpaper on stains.


The Dwarves are for the Dwarves!
~ Griffle's motto

Griffle is a supporting antagonist in The Last Battle, the final book in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. He is the leader of the dwarves who refuse to acknowledge the existence of Aslan, and even fight against the heroic Narnian loyalists during the Battle of Stable Hill.

Griffle is a Black Dwarf, one of the two ethnicities of Dwarf in Narnia (other than Red Dwarves). As a Black Dwarf, he is generally more sullen than Red Dwarves but like all dwarves is an excellent smith, miner and archer.

During the conquest of Narnia by Rishda the Tarkaan, Griffle is one of the many Narnians taken in by the "Tashlan" ruse that Shift and Ginger perpetuate: that the Narnian god Aslan and the Calormene god Tash are in fact the same being.

Having been sold into slavery by Shift, Griffle is one of thirty dwarves rescued from the salt mines by King Tirian and informed of how they have been deceived (Tashlan being a donkey in a lion's skin). He immediately declares that "the Dwarves are for the Dwarves" and that they will not follow anyone but themselves, claiming that neither Aslan nor Tash are real.

During the Battle of Stable Hill, Griffle and his dwarves show their true villainous colours when they use their natural proficiency in archery to indiscrimately shoot people participating in the battle. This includes not only Carlormenes but also Narnians attempting to defend their land. They also ruthlessly kill the Talking Horses after seeing them trying to rescue the captive Narnians.

When the world of Narnia is destroyed by Aslan, who allows all the inhabitants the choice to join him in Aslan's Country, Griffle and his dwarves become deluded due to their stubborn refusal to believe in Aslan. They believe themselves to be trapped in a stable, unable to leave. Aslan says that not even he can help them, and they presumably end up in Tash's Country, the equivalent for Hell in The Chronicles of Narnia series.

           NarniaTitle.png Villains

The Magician's Nephew
Jadis the White Witch | Uncle Andrew

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Prince Caspian
Miraz | Telmarines (Sopespian & Glozelle) | Nikabrik | Hag & Werewolf

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Green Mist | Gumpas | Pug

The Horse and his Boy

The Silver Chair
Lady of the Green Kirtle | Gentle Giants | Quarrelling Giants

The Last Battle
Shift | Rishda the Tarkaan | Ginger | Tash | Griffle